I hope you guys in Europe are preparing for the last Bioethics commission to be held across the pond. There will be one more here first, for those of us here in the US that can attend.
They made it harder for the public to speak this time. 300 people called in wishing to speak to the commission. This was stated by Dr Wagner the Co-chair at the beginning of public speaking. Normally only half the people speak. This means there could have been 600 people in attendance.
The hall rented though was only 1/2 the size of the first one. After the 300 people had called in to Ester Yoo as requested to announce they would be coming to speak, emails were sent to those requesting to speak telling them they couldn't. only 30 t0 45 minutes is given for public speaking. This time they made the public speaking time at the end of the first day instead of the second. Also a guard was at the door this time keeping people from entering even though some seats were empty during the morning.
The overflow congregated in the lobby like last time but as we began to interview and film other TIs we were told to stop by the hotel management. Then one girl asked the hotel for the WiFi code. This made it possible for us to watch the, "Presidents Bioethics Commission", live from her computer. Again hotel management came up and told us to stop.
In the afternoon they gave in a little and let more people into the commission. They also opened up a room asking us to go there where we could watch the commission on our computers, do interviews and be out of sight.
I had been denied the right to speak but had arranged to speak for Ted Gunderson. He was an FBI agent in charge of 700 men in Los Angeles when he retired. He is now a target for speaking against corruption. He had actually been involved in COINTELPRO thirty years ago but he said it paled in comparison to what we are going through. We were to fly Ted in but he opted out the day before his flight. He is 83 and has cancer. In a last minute deal he got the commission to agree to have me speak for him. Unfortunately when I got there I was told I couldn't. Just before lunch a woman approached me and said they were going to look into letting me speak. Later I was told no by others when I tried to follow up on it.
I had a half hand written and half computer text that I transcribed from Ted over the phone hurriedly while trying to get ready myself. I also had to cancel his flight and go through a run around to try and get a refund even though we bought insurance on the ticket. He was sent forms to have his doctor fill out in the end. You need a reason to cancel so keep that in mind should you get the insurance. I had to deal with this on the day I was to pack and get ready.
So when they called, "Ted Gunderson's", name during the, "public comment 1/2 hour", I was not ready to speak. When I tried to speak for myself they quickly shut me down. In the end I made a ten second statement for Ted. It didn't help that I was unable to sleep the night before. I might have been the subway rumbling under the hotel every 24 minutes or occasionally hearing the announcements over the speakers below in the subway. New York is a very strange place.
The lesson is they will try to discourage you. Don't let them. Be prepared to speak in case they let extra people speak as they have done both times now. Remember the lessons learned that I just wrote down. Unimpeded there would have been 600 people representing the public there. Holding this in the middle of Manhattan had it's own challenges including a $45 fee for valet parking at the hotel.
This is still an opportunity for us to go on record officially and we won't know if there are any concrete results until President Obama receives this Bioethics Commission's report and recommendations. Be polite and dress as professionally as you can.
You might also want to see this as a form of protection. By going on the official record it would look strange if a number of us were knocked off or hospitalized.
The Manhattan meeting location, the small conference room, Emails discouraging participation, hotel management interference and all we have gone through as targeted individuals by way of torture and mind control reminds me of the movie, "Close Encounters of the Third Kind". Only the very persistent made it there in the end. At least for us who were not New Yorkers who knew how to navigate the subway system. Still it was worth the effort.
Peter Rosenholm
Comments
Peter,
I really like to say a big Thank you for what you guys did, you & Ken were great.
For TIs in Asia, I believe they feel for the first time warmth and hope in the fight against MC.
China & Japan TIs sent in their letters through the participants.
thx Tree, it was very interesting.
And that they do all they can to discourage you is not surprising but it s good to know.
Thx again, keep safe.
For people who can't fit in the room and aren't in the queue to speak, how about leafleting or tabling with literature on the sidewalk, if city law allows?
If I had $ I would definitely go to the next meeting.