I Don't See How This Could Backfire On Them

NYC-CAN is organizing a fax-blast campaign. Hilariously, they want everybody to copy a two-page letter and fax it to several NYC Council members' offices.

The topic, as usual, is WTC-7. Their hook is the recent article at Fox News which contained this crucial passage:

Governor Ventura and many 9/11 “Truthers” allege that government explosives caused the afternoon collapse of Building 7. This is false. I know this because I remember watching all 47 stories of Building 7 suddenly and silently crumble before my eyes.

Shortly before the building collapsed, several NYPD officers and Con-Edison workers told me that Larry Silverstein, the property developer of One World Financial Center was on the phone with his insurance carrier to see if they would authorize the controlled demolition of the building – since its foundation was already unstable and expected to fall.

A controlled demolition would have minimized the damage caused by the building’s imminent collapse and potentially save lives. Many law enforcement personnel, firefighters and other journalists were aware of this possible option. There was no secret. There was no conspiracy.
While I was talking with a fellow reporter and several NYPD officers, Building 7 suddenly collapsed, and before it hit the ground, not a single sound emanated from the tower area. There were no explosives; I would have heard them. In fact, I remember that in those few seconds, as the building sank to the ground that I was stunned by how quiet it was.

In addition to the Fox News article, the letter contains the ridiculous statements of Kevin McPadden, and footnotes citing YouTube videos and WhatReallyHappened.com.

Pacifica Stations To Ban Opposition to Da Troof

Gotta laugh at this one:

The Official Story of 911 is found by many Pacifica Foundation members to be a propaganda fabrication designed to provide a pretext for the unleashing of aggressive war in Afghanistan and Iraq, while hiding the activity of a private, extra-legal, and anti-constitutional network of officials in the United States government, high ranking military officers, and individuals within private corporations and political institutions, who actively prepared, promoted, organized, assisted, fomented, and/or passively enabled the September 11 attacks and the cover-up that followed.

Pacifica Foundation members have made repeated and long standing accusations of censorship of 911 Truth issues by programmers who have advanced the official propaganda fabrication, and against staff, management, and governance who support them. This has created an atmosphere of corrosive distrust, profoundly harmful to working together in a democratic and collaborative environment. Thousands of former Pacifica Foundation members have left over this issue.

Of course, they're leaving themselves the fig leaf that they just want both sides of the issue discussed, but this is pretty specific:

2. Programming which consistently and unquestioningly advances the “official story” of 911, by commission or omission, is not consistent with the Pacifica Mission and may be a breach of both the letter and spirit of the Mission.

And it's not as if Pacifica hasn't engaged in plenty of 9-11 kookery. Remember that Box Boy Gage claims he became a "Truther" after listening to David Ray Griffin on KPFK's Guns and Butter. No Lies Radio, an inaptly named show, indulges in Trooferism quite often, with Kevin Barrett and Carol Brouillet as regular guests.

Update, the proposal is being put forth by Christopher Bayard Condon, a longtime 9-11 nutbar. He served as the foreman on a "Citizens Grand Jury" in LA back in 2005. The charges are worth a look; most are the absurd crap that you'd see in Loose Change I or II. For example:

1. At least eight of the alleged hijackers identified by the FBI were alive after 9/11, none of their names were on the flight manifest lists, and no physical evidence of any of their bodies' remains were found at any of the attack sites, nor were any of the names of any of the alleged hijackers on any of the flight manifests of any of the four airplanes, and that evidence linking the specific identities to the incidents appears - at best - planted to assure association, but illogical given the nature of the crime to be committed and the personalities involved; the government's assertion that the alleged 19 hijackers operated without being detected by official surveillance is untenable, and evidence is strong that the alleged hijackers — whatever their identities and whatever their involvement - acted in coordination with a faction within the government itself.

Here's his candidate statement for the board. After a paragraph of resume, we get this:

I am committed to finding a PD who understands the deleterious consequences of the last eight years of censorship on 911 at KPFK; and is committed to implementing the policy of the LSB for free and open discussion and debate on what happened to us on that fateful day.

I first became involved in KPFK out of disgust over our Public Affairs programmers apparently adopting a unitary line over 911, supporting the official propaganda fabrication, and belittling and insulting as "conspiracy theorists" any who would question the obviously false cover up of 911 - on Free Speech Radio. Our Public Affairs programming, with some exceptions, seems to be an open conduit for establishment views into the progressive left, at best. At worst, they are an uncritical conduit for whatever disinformation roll-out the CIA and National Security state wants to foist on the American people. The 911 lie tops the list, but is not the only issue.

After two years of investigation I can report to the listeners -the electorate - that there has indeed been an organized censorship, always denied, of 911 related issues and the National Security and Economic consequences, at KPFK. This has been undertaken by a small group of Public Affairs programmers both at KPFK and Pacifica wide who not only do not want to deal truthfully with 911, but don't want anyone else at KPFK to do so either. I do not know where these programmers came from, did we inherit them, they seem to have been here for decades and feel they own their on-air time.

Jeremy Rothe-Kushel Does the Captain May Routine

I just love this crap. Note in particular that the March 11, 2004 bombing in Madrid was not precisely 911 days after 9-11; it was 912. Kudos to JREF forum member Knife Fight Colubus, who did the videotaping.

Why We Censor Freedom of Speech Around Here

My mom's dead and in the ground for 11 years, so it's not those stupid comments about her. But Blogger comments page now has a page rank of 8 (higher than the page rank of Ford Motor Company, for example), so most of the time, when we pull a comment out it's not because the person put together an imaginative pairing of my sex organs and another person; it's because they are advertising.

But Whether It's LIHOP, or Whether It's MIHOP...

Some of you may remember the zither guy singing that wacky song in the Abby Scott video. What amazes me, though, is how many of the Truthers don't realize that LIHOP and MIHOP are mutually contradictory. That is, if one of them is true, then the other isn't. For example, suppose we accept LIHOP. That means that there were 19 hijackers on the planes, Hani Hanjour did fly AA77 into the Pentagon, and there was no controlled demolition at the WTC. I doubt many MIHOP proponents would accept those three facts.

We see this all the time from the Truthers, though. Hell, Dylan sometimes makes the case even weaker, stating something along the lines of "the government was, at a minimum, criminally negligent." That's not even LIHOP. That's IHBON (It Happened Because of Negligence).

Why do they do this? The answer is pretty obvious. Even the Truthers recognize that their case for MIHOP is a bunch of BS, and so they're setting up a series of fallback positions. Yes, they require a dramatically different account of the events of 9-11, but the one thing that doesn't change is the Bush Administration is, in one way or another, guilty as charged.

Hence, a new "Truther" movie from the rebunkers.


It's not going to work. This movie is just as bad as Loose Change; it's a mixture of the usual BS from the Troofers: Quote mining ("Set up to fail"), selective presentation of facts, and bizarre interpretations (Norm Mineta's testimony about a shoot-down order becoming a stand-down order, for example). Note as well that his hope that if LIHOP were discovered to be true, that the Patriot Act would be repealed and the Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq would end, has no basis in reality. If you accept LIHOP, then that still means there are dangerous terrorists in the world, right?

Troofer Kills Wife, Self

Why am I no longer shocked at stories like this?

The Lake Jackson woman shot to death by her ex-husband before he killed himself during a police chase had gone through a bitter, contentious divorce from him and suffered personal attacks from him on the Internet, her attorney said on Thursday.

Melissa Meza, 34, a Dow Chemical engineer, was shot multiple times in the front yard of her home Wednesday night by 42-year-old Curtis Boone Maynard, a registered nurse, who later shot himself. The couple had been divorced for more than a year.

Maynard also shot his 16-year-old stepdaughter, Celeste Morales, in the face inside the home before fleeing in his car. Morales remains in stable condition at Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center.

He belongs to that special branch of the 9-11 Troof Movement that talks a lot about the Jews:

This ridiculous theory is advanced by the same folks that suppress the abundance of evidence implicating the Israelis and a complicit and predominantly Jewish media in what happened in NYC and at the Pentagon on 9-11...

According to blog posts at several white supremacist sites, Maynard was a "whites only" kind of guy, but lost some credibility among his fellow neo-nutbars when it was discovered that he had a Hispanic wife.

This appears to be Maynard's own blog. Note the Gandhi quote in the sidebar.

Hat Tip: Falcon Apoda

Duensing Shooting Justified According to Police Review Board

You may recall Jim Duensing, the 9-11 Troofer who managed to get himself tased and shot in Las Vegas. Duensing resisted arrest, pulled the taser leads from his body and ran from the cop, apparently reaching for his own gun at the time, resulting in him absorbing a few bullets. No surprise, the police review board has determined the shooting was justified:

Officer Bill Cassell said a use of force board on March 21 determined unanimously that Gilbert's actions were justified. Gilbert has been with the department's traffic bureau since 1993.

Cassell wouldn't release details on how the board arrived at its decision, saying the review is not a public process. He also wouldn't comment on whether the board made its determination based on whether Duensing reached for a weapon.

Gilbert has been back with the department since Nov. 11, after a brief paid leave. Cassell said the leave was meant to evaluate Gilbert to ensure he was fit to return to duty because shooting a suspect can be traumatic for officers.

Duensing's problems will continue:

The trial is scheduled for Aug. 24, although Yampolsky plans to file a motion to get the indictment dismissed.

He said Duensing faces multiple felonies including resisting arrest, carrying a concealed weapon for the knife that police say measures 3.75 inches partially hidden in his pocket, and a charge of carrying a firearm by an unauthorized person.

And once again, the Willie Nelson Theory is confirmed:

Yampolsky said after Duensing was shot, police found a pipe with marijuana residue in the car's center console.

Tax Evaders for 9/11 Truth

Now I am no tax lawyer, but I don't exactly see their work as charitable.

Dear AE911Truth Petition Signers, supporters and friends,We are delighted to announce that the IRS has approved our application for tax exempt status. Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth is now a 501c3 non–profit corporation. This means that donations made to our organization will be tax–deductible — as allowed by laws and regulations.

This was a long winding road — navigated by our exceptional board of directors, led at the time by Dwain Deets, our volunteer of the year here at AE911Truth, who wrestled this IRS 1023 application into shape month after month. Also, our IRS non–profit attorney, who crafted it with precision, deserves a profound thank you. And we also thank our dozens of dedicated selfless serving volunteers, who make up this family of hearts and minds focused on and dedicated to the work of our mission. Thank you all for your contstant support.

Although I suppose it is a religion.

Grifter Responds

A group called the Institute for Religion and Democracy put out a press release noting that David Ray Griffin will once again be using church facilities to spread his conspiracy nonsense:

A professor from a United Methodist seminary who argued that the World Trade Center and Pentagon were actually attacked on September 11, 2001 by the Bush Administration is back with another outrageous book.

David Ray Griffin, author of “Christian Faith and the Truth Behind 9/11”, is releasing a ninth book on the attacks, this time alleging that the Obama administration is attempting to undermine 9/11 conspiracy theorists. Griffin’s earlier work was published by Westminster John Knox Press, the official publishing house of the Presbyterian Church (USA), a move that sparked controversy in the denomination. Starting April 23, Griffin is also launching a 15-city lecture tour questioning the justification for the war in Afghanistan. The tour will feature stops at Presbyterian and United Methodist Churches, as well as schools such as Iowa’s Drake University.

Grifter has now responded. It's the usual crapola:

Already at that time, however, my 9/11 books had also been endorsed by professors of economics, history, philosophy, and international law, as well as by former members of the Reagan and George H. W. Bush administrations, including the CIA, and by a member of the British Parliament (as anyone can see by looking at the "editorial reviews" on Amazon.com). My more recent books have been endorsed by a member of the Japanese Senate, a former US governor, by 9/11 widows (including members of the "Jersey Girls," who were instrumental in getting the 9/11 Commission established), by engineers (including Jack Keller, who has been given special recognition by Scientific American), and by several natural scientists (one of whom was awarded the National Medal of Science24). Does IRD believe that such people endorse silly books?

I can't speak for the IRD, but I certainly believe that those people endorse silly books. Jesse Ventura is the "former US governor", and he's a total fruitcake. I assume that Fujita is the member of the Japanese Senate. The Washington Post recently described Fujita's beliefs as "too bizarre, half-baked and intellectually bogus to merit serious discussion." The Jersey Girls? At least two of them (Lorie Van Auken and Patty Casazza) are crackpots, and I've got my suspicions about Mindy Kleinberg as well. Jack Keller? As usual with the academics among the troofers, his professorship is "Emeritus", and his engineering background? According to Patriots Question 9-11, he's an agricultural and irrigation engineer. Too bad the title "Waterboy" is already taken. The natural scientist is Lynn Margulis, an eminently silly woman.

Note as well, that Grifter tries to have it both ways. When somebody from the government opposes his theories, they're "from the government":

NIST's reports are no better. This is not surprising, because NIST is an agency of the Commerce Department.

But when they agree with him, suddenly this is evidence that he's credible:

Already at that time, however, my 9/11 books had also been endorsed by professors of economics, history, philosophy, and international law, as well as by former members of the Reagan and George H. W. Bush administrations...

Read it for yourself; it's the usual whining about how the government's own theory is a conspiracy theory, the planes should have been intercepted in ten minutes, Barbara Olsen's phone calls, etc.

Mostly About the Bentham Open Chemical/Physics Journal

A terrific bit of debunking here. Note that the Bentham Open Chemical Physics Journal only published four papers in 2009. Care to guess their total for 2010? Here's a hint; it's a nice, round number.

The Continuing Idiocy of Kevin Barrett

Looks like he's digging in about his Holocaust Denial; he's having a prominent Holocaust Denier on his show this Saturday, and he's published an open letter to Andrea (sic) Merkel on his blog admitting his own "skepticism" that six million Jews died in the concentration camps.

But seriously, Ms. Merkel, you may ask why I side with Hilberg's estimate of 5.1 [million] Holocaust deaths rather than the well-known figure of six million. My answer is that Thomas Dalton, in his book Debating the Holocaust, presents evidence that the figure of six million European Jewish victims threatened with destruction repeatedly occurs long before anyone could possibly have known the real figure. For example, the February 23rd, 1938 New York Times describes six million European Jews as "slowly dying of starvation, all hope gone." Yet at that time the Holocaust, much less its precise body count, was still several years away. A few decades earlier, the May 7, 1920 New York Times cited "Jewish war sufferers in Central and Eastern Europe, where six millions face horrifying conditions of famine, disease and death..."

Barrett goes on to mention the Auschwitz Gambit, which has been debunked for years. Oddly after all this nuttiness, Barrett arrives at a number for the Holocaust:

After reading three books on the issue--Lipstadt's Denying the Holocaust, Shermer's Denying History, and Dalton's Debating the Holocaust--I am now prepared to state that I find pre-eminent Holocaust scholar Raul Hilberg's estimate of 5.1 million Jewish Holocaust victims a more reasonable estimate.

Oddly, because that's not an unreasonable number. Nobody, despite the claims of Holocaust Deniers, says that six million is set in stone. Indeed, in the famed lawsuit between David Irving and Deborah Lipstadt, the definition of the Holocaust was:

Evans argued that the term is generally understood to denote "the attempt by Nazi Germany, led by Hitler, to exterminate the Jewish population in Europe, which attempt succeeded to the extent of murdering between 5 and 6 million Jews in a variety of ways, including mass gassings in camps built for the purpose".

(Bolding added for emphasis).

I'm not sure where Barrett is going with his claims that the NY Times published stories about 6 million Jews dying much earlier than that figure could have been known or even contemplated; I suspect his argument amounts to "they kept claiming 6 million Jews perished after WWI and eventually the world accepted it about WWII." It's certainly a stupid argument, kind of like arguing that since Wonder Woman crashed her plane into the World Trade Center in a mid-1980s comic book, nobody could later have crashed a plane into the Twin Towers.


Incidentally, while we're on the subject of Holocaust Denying, 9-11 kooks, Bishop Williamson was fined 10,000 euros for his Holocaust Denial.

Hat Tip: JREF Forum Member Nick Terry. Good find!

Jesse Ventura Interviewed by Holocaust-Denying, Hate-Mongering Paper

Coming off his guest-hosting Larry King Live, Jesse the Nutbar Ventura was interviewed by American Free Press.

The straight-talking Ventura had just finished filling in for CNN’s Larry King Live as a guest host when he spoke with this AFP writer. Notably, Ventura had Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) as one of the guests on the show the evening of April 9. Another was “defrocked” former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich who, despite harboring more liberal views than Paul, concurred with the Texas congressman on several matters, particularly Paul’s insistence that the United States end its interventionist foreign policy that is a factor in bankrupting the nation.

What is American Free Press? Those who've been reading this blog for awhile know its a publication by Holocaust Denier Willis Carto:

In 2001, after years of stalling and legal wrangling in an attempt to shield his assets from seizure, Carto was ordered by the courts to relinquish control of Liberty Lobby and The Spotlight and to vacate his long held Liberty Lobby offices in Washington, D.C. Soon after, Carto did shutter The Spotlight (its last edition was July 2, 2001). However, a month later, Carto and former staffers of The Spotlight created yet another newspaper, American Free Press. Today, the Press carries stories on Zionism, secret "New World Order" conspiracies, American Jews and Israel. Mixed in are advertisements for outfits like Pete Peter's Scriptures for America and Kingdom Identity Ministries — practitioners of Christian Identity, a theology that claims that Jews are the biological descendants of Satan.

We've talked extensively about the American Free Press in the past, including its former 9-11 CT reporter (and current fugitive) Christopher Bollyn.

Why on Earth is Jesse Ventura palling around with a neo-Nazi publication? According to the interview, the Conspiracy Theory show he hosts on TruTV has been picked up for another ten episodes:

While the former Navy Seal who became a high-profile independent Minnesota governor would love to specify the 10 topics, he was not yet fully at liberty to reveal what they are, though he did say one is about the shooting of John F. Kennedy. “Initially there were seven episodes; now they’re ordering 10 more,” he stated in an upbeat manner, while noting that some decisions still have to be made on what will air and in what order.

“We have 20 conspiracies that we’ll have to pare down to 10. I’ll have to battle with the network, but in the end we’ll settle on 10 of them. They promised JFK. There is no pecking order at all.”

Is it too much to hope that Jesse will decide to do one on the Holocaust?

Luke Joins Elite Patriots; Infowars Goofball Arrested

Luke's kooks get him listed at the SPLC in a feature called "Meet the Patriots".

Since he formed We Are Change as a group of "patriot journalists" in 2006, the loose-knit group has grown into a network of more than 200 independent chapters, mostly in the United States. Finding the "truth" behind the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks is a driving force — as are concerns about a looming "one world order," according to the group's website. It also seeks "to uncover the truth behind the private banking cartel of the military industrial complex" that wants to "eliminate national sovereignty."

Rudkowski said the group doesn't engage in broad New World Order conspiracies but focuses on the alleged role of groups such as the Bilderberg Group or the Trilateral Commission. These groups have been common targets for Patriot and other conspiracy theorists for decades.

Meanwhile, Infowars "reporter" Aaron Dykes got his sorry ass arrested at a Karl Rove speech:

Luke and Steven Colbert

Looks like Luke is now immune to assassination by the Bilderberg group. However, we do have some bad news for him. That wristband? It's got the stuff that goes into chemtrails inside.

Another Brilliant Experimenter

This guy might give Spooked 9-11 a run for his money.

Methodology: A concrete landing block was placed at the bottom of a balcony at a condominium complex. Another concrete block would be dropped on top of it, from a distance of 50 feet, or 15.24 meters. The fall was recorded on video for the scientific community to review.

Safety Precautions: For anyone who replicates this experiment, be sure to remember "safety first before science." An orange safety cone was placed on the side walk to warn possible pedestrians. A watchman was posted to make sure no one walked in the way during the experiment, especially the Condo Manager or Security. A concrete block was dropped from the 5th floor balcony and the results were photographed.

Our researcher was "Professor Rick Shaddock". Unfortunately, when I googled that term in quotes, the experiment page was the only result. However, Googling Professor "Rick Shaddock" came out with significantly more results. Let's see how many typical Troofer traits we can find with Mr. Shaddock.

Third party candidate? Check; Rick ran for Congress in the 1990s on the Natural Law Party line.

Believes in other conspiracy theories? Check:

Helping to find out the full story of who killed John F. Kennedy and why

Believes in a religion that is very tiny in the US? Check:

Transcendental Meditation Center
Washington, DC
Fairfield, Iowa
Contributor, web host, volunteer
Sponsor for Arlington center

(Not knocking TM, by the way, just as it is no knock against Buddhism that Kevin Ryan is a Buddhist. Just pointing out that these people have a tendency to go way off the beaten path.)

Creative facial hair? This one comes back negative:


He has a whole page dedicated to other "experiments". Remember the stackable office tray guy?



Or the snowman WTC?

Willie Nelson, Engineer

Unfortunately Larry King is not much of a debunker.

Just What the World Needs...

Another David Ray Griffin conspiracy theory book.

Griffin has written eight books on the subject with another on the way: "Cognitive Infiltration: An Obama Appointee's Plan to Undermine the 9/11 Conspiracy Theory."

The appointee, a former Harvard professor named Cass Sunstein who now heads the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, co-wrote an academic paper saying government should undermine conspiracy theory groups by infiltrating their chat rooms, social networks and group meetings.

Griffin believes "cognitive infiltration" is the wrong term. "It's more like fascism," he says.

Now personally, I think Sunstein's idea is a silly waste of time, but I am not sure how you get "fascism" out of it. I have studied European history pretty thoroughly and I don't recall a significant portion of Hitler or Mussolini's policies being to send people to dissident meetings and suggesting "you know, you may be wrong". Griffin must be really hard up for material though, if he is going to devote an entire book to a 30 page academic paper in which 9/11 is not actually the main subject.

Two Hilarious Poems

This one's by Myriad at JREF:

One bright day, in the middle of the night,
Trustworthy traitors with explosive thermite
Put bombs in the basement for top-down collapse,
Then told thousands of Jews, "keep this plan under wraps."
They publicly flaunted their secretive ways
With a twelve-hour power-down that lasted two days.
Then innocent terrorists hijacked planes (four times),
Showing us how the U.S. is guilty of war crimes.
Then bomb-laden holograms flew in their place
(By the FBI, to throw themselves off the case)
Toward four helpless targets that planes couldn't harm.
NORAD defenders stood down in alarm
Then shot down one plane and to Cleveland flew it
To fool all the networks, who already knew it.
The fire chief said "pull it" and pushed the towers down,
Into their own footprints, for blocks all around.
These pre-taped events were all shown on TV live
(Just like when O'Brien told Winston to see five!)
As part of an idiot's ingenious plan
To fight the Iraqis in Afghanistan.
But because I know nothing, they couldn't deceive me.
I only tell lies to prove you should believe me.

And this is by the brilliant Dr Adequate, who used to be at JREF:

The Republicans came, and the Democrats too,
'cos they're all the same party (I guess that you knew)
and Jew after Jew after Jew after Jew,
and some guys in black suits (CIA).
There were people from Bilderberg, FEMA and NIST,
there were people so secret they barely exist;
the Masons had gatecrashed, they weren't on the list,
but Cheney allowed them to stay.

There were people who said they were friends of Karl Rove's,
and the bankers turned up in their limos and droves,
quite enough for a dozen Bohemian Groves,
'til the meeting was packed wall to wall.
There were people whose badges just said "FBI";
there were folks representing the FDNY,
and the Federal Reserve (though I still don't know why)
and old Uncle Tom Cobley and all.

***

Then Cheney addressed them, and said, with a sneer:
"I assume you all know why I've gathered you here.
We're agreed on mass-murder", he said (to a cheer)
"but there's something we haven't resolved.
Although I'm an evil despicable man
--- no, hold your applause --- I can't think of a plan
to destroy the Twin Towers, be darned if I can ...
so we got all you people involved."

Some cried: "Use a missile disguised as a plane!"
some spoke up for lasers, while others again
opined it was clear to a man with a brain
that holograms ought to be used.
Then FEMA declared they could do it themselves
with some classified hardware they kept on the shelves;
but: "You'll need our assistance!" cried all Keebler's Elves ---
and the meeting grew slightly confused.

The people from NIST said: "To make people die, on
the whole, it's explosives you ought to rely on"
--- some clapped, but the senior Elder of Zion
said: "Really? Explosives? ... perhaps ...
but it sounds rather iffy ... if I may advance
an idea that's a cert and leaves nothing to chance
then we Jews have a plan that's quite foolproof --- let's dance!
and the buildings are sure to collapse."

Some argued for "pods", whereas others expressed
the opinion that "squibs" give atrocities zest.
Some said: "If they're silent, then nukes would be best",
but others denounced this as bull.
They said: "We reject and rebut your position:
let's not mess about with your fusion or fission;
conventional missiles will do for this mission";
and Larry said: "What if we pull?"

The debate grew quite heated and dragged on for hours
as they looked for a way to demolish the Towers:
some argued for death rays with magical powers,
and others said thermite was nice.
When the argument's heat gave no promise of dropping,
they bickered and wrangled all night without stopping,
and sent out for pizzas with twelve kinds of topping,
and fought for the very last slice.

Then the man they called "Dubya" got up from his seat;
he banged with his gavel, he rose to his feet,
and he said: "Here's a plan that I think can't be beat:
let's do the caboodle --- the lot!
Use holograms, thermite, and lasers and things,
and explosives and missiles and pigs that have wings ---
'cos we all know that added complexity brings
more chance of success to a plot."

***

Then some guy started laughing and punching the air,
and the plotters observed, as they turned round to stare,
on the delegate's badge that they gave him to wear:
"Dylan Avery, Second Class Shill";
and he sat and he scribbled his notes all the while,
and was heard to remark with a curious smile:
"If this won't make people go into denial
I don't think that anything will."

Fan Mail

I am not sure why, since I don't post much anymore, but I have been receiving "fan mail" lately. Some choice examples:

If you're so smart why are you too chickens*** to use your real name. Job offers? Are you hoping that the elite or PNAC or some other evil swine will elevate you to some loftier position in life.

You are a tool and probably an over entitled trust fund twerp

Here's my name motherf*****, come and get me

Not sure exactly how someone who put himself through school on the GI Bill comes through as a "trust fund twerp" or exactly why I would want to come and get this guy.

We all know 911 was a FALSE FLAG, why don't you debate Richard gage or any of the 1000's of architects?

Here in the USA we have over 10 million muslims and 1 million illegals cross the border every year. YET THERE HAS NOT BEEN ONE ATTACK IN 9 YEARS!

How can that be genius???? How can you stop terrorism if IT HAPPENED HERE ALREADY?

The supposed pilots trained WHERE???? FLORIDA!

The attacks happened where???
HERE

So WHERED AL QAEDA GO TRAITOR????

Besides ALL THE SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE OF A DEMOLITION AT WTC 1,2 and 7, besides there WERE NO LARGE COMMERCIAL PLANES AT PENNSYLVANIA/PENTAGON you STILL ARE TRYING TO PUSH THIS BULLSHIT SCARE TACTIC.

Who DO YOU WORK FOR TRAITOR???? NOT US and one day I HOPE YOU GO ON TRIAL FOR and hang for treasion!

Well how can I argue with such bulletproof logic?

Australian Podcast Pans 9-11 Conspiracy Theory

Downloadable here. This is apparently only a teaser for the entire lecture which will be broadcast on Sunday.
Based on what I've heard so far, it sounds worth a listen. Predictably, the Troofers are outraged.

World's Most Prominent Truther Calls for New Investigation of 9/11

No word yet on whether he is endorsing the NYC CAN people.

TEHRAN — Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has written to UN chief Ban Ki-moon, asking him to launch an investigation into the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, news reports said on Monday.

"The minimum expectation from your excellency is to set up an independent and trusted fact-finding group to comprehensively investigate the real factors behind September 11," Ahmadinejad said in the text of the letter carried by official news agencies.

They did not say when the letter was sent.

Dylan, the King John Look Is Never In

The beret is next, I swear!

Update: The show he appeared on is appropriately named: Zero Info.

Troofers Take Up Cause of Lynn Stewart

No surprise, by lying about her.

Lynne Stewart has been tried and convicted in District Court of Judge John G. Koeltl of aiding and abetting terrorism based solely on the fact that she defended a man demonized by the State for the purpose of creating a climate of fear in the United States and public acquiescence in global wars of conquest including Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen and beyond.

She was just defending him? No, she was aiding and abetting him:

In 2005, Stewart was convicted on charges of conspiracy and providing material support to terrorists, and sentenced to 28 months in prison. Her felony conviction led to her being automatically disbarred. She was convicted of helping pass messages from her client, Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman, an Egyptian cleric convicted of planning terror attacks, to his followers in al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya, an organization designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the United States Secretary of State.

She is to be re-sentenced on April 22, 2010, in light of her possible perjury at her trial and other factors not properly considered against her by the sentencing judge.

How's That Paperwork Coming Along, Dylan?

The Avery Foundation is still processing paperwork?

The Avery Foundation is still processing paperwork with the IRS. As soon as we can legally collect donations an announcement will be made.

The Avery Foundation is being created this year by Dylan Avery, writer and director of the Loose Change series of documentaries about the events surrounding the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11th, 2001. The Avery Foundation will donate funds to well-established charities who care for the First Responders and victims of 9/11 as well as all their families, by providing them much needed financial assistance.

It is now almost 7 months since Loose Change An American Coup was released. What's the holdup with the foundation?

Oh, By The Way

Killtown is a Holocaust Denier.

I've always had a problem with the claimed numbers of Jews that allegedly died there. I keep hearing "6 million" or "1.5 million." That alone is a HUGE discrepency. Some say the number was as low as 280,000.

Suspecting what the Israeli/Palistine conflict is really about, the strong evidence Israel was involved with 9/11, and seeing how 9/11 was faked in general, it makes me wonder how much of the Holocaust was true or not.

I didn't know that about him. I knew he was a dolt, although you know how it is; that's a given for 99.9% of the Troofers. But I didn't see this back in 2006.

Spam Scam

I've sort of ignored the "Building What?" campaign by the NYC-CAN branch of the Troofers. They've been contacting the various NYC council members, demanding an investigation into WTC-7's collapse. They apparently think that being pests is going to get the council on their side.

But Orphia Nay at JREF has been getting their updates via email, and I had to share this one:

"We’ve decided to continue sending email blasts. To make it possible, we kindly ask you to donate to help cover the extra $250 it will cost to send 12 more email blasts, AND, your donation will go toward a new NYC pubic opinion poll. Please donate a manageable amount of $25 - or more if you can manage. The poll will allow us to show the City Council that a majority of New Yorkers support a new investigation, and that a vast majority who've seen footage of Building 7 collapse do not believe office fires were the cause."

Email blasts run $20 apiece these days? Who knew? At any rate, it's clear that this is just another scam on the gullible Troofers.

Are Some 9/11 Troofers Complete Morons?

OK, the title is a rhetorical question, but how else to refer to this idotic topic for a troofer radio show tomorrow, Are Some of the 9/11 Passengers Still Alive?...and other disturbing questions.

There is a reason it is disturbing, because it is both idiotic and offensive.

Are the two people in this photograph the same person? A nose job, some cheek implants and a little eyelid work and maybe we have a before-and-after image. Maybe.

I am the first one to admit that there are a lot of far fetched theories and allegations floating around about what really happened on September 11th, 2001, none crazier however than the official explanation. But the latest information to come my way, courtesy of our guest Phil Jayhan of the LetsRoll Forums, has left me stumped and thirsting for answers, which some of you out there may be be able to provide.

Most of us have this little voice in our head that tells us when something is really stupid, and we should be using our brainpower for something more productive. In the troofer case, I think that gene is missing.

Steven Jones "Would Be Very Sad" to See Holocaust Denier Leave Troof Movement

Adam Syed, whose Holocaust Denial I discussed here, posted an April Fools' Day Prank on 9-11 Blogger this week, in which he "announced" that he was now an ex-Troofer. Professor Jones commented:

I figured it must be an April Fools joke as I read your name, Adam.

You know about explosive nanothermite -- something the debunkers shy away from.

I would have been very sad to see you go and leave the fray...

Troofers: We Started the Tea Party Movement

Pointing to this video:



Of course, invoking the Boston Tea Party is centuries old, while Troofers memories get fuzzy about when it actually was that Brad Pitt dumped Jennifer Anniston for Angelina Jolie. For example, does anybody remember the "tea-bag revolt" of 1988? Quoting from the book The Elephant in the Room (page 59):

In 1988 the House of Representatives voted to increase its pay by 51 percent, to $135,000 from $89,500; a talk show host in Detroit, Roy Fox, launched a "tea-bag revolt" (the anniversary of the Boston Tea Party was coming up), where citizens sent tea bags to Congress as a protest, demanding that the pay hike be repealed. The protest worked, and as organizers dumped 160,000 tea bags in front of the White House, Congress withdrew the pay raise."

WAC-Utah Infests Tea Party

I enjoy the plaintive song they play when the Tea Partiers block their sign with the flags. Does he really think that the government is funding the Tea Party crowd?

Moron Misprision

I just love these efforts by the Troofers. Nothing is going to get officials on your side quicker than accusing them of a crime.

First Responders' Health Risks Dubious, Says NY Post Column

I've said in the past that I take no sides in this particular debate. I sincerely hope that the first responders to 9-11 are not getting sick and dying at an elevated rate, but I'm willing to let the experts determine that. Here's a column that claims the science behind the issue is a bunch of bunkum.

He points to some of the issues that have been raised in the past:

Ironically, her bill is named after Det. James Zadroga, whose name made headlines when the New Jersey medical examiner was persuaded to link his death to 9/11, a first. But later review by New York City's medical examiner found that his death was associated with the misuse of painkilling drugs, not 9/11 dust.

And does this sound familiar?

In defense of her bill, Maloney points to "dozens of peer-reviewed scientific studies" showing injuries from "toxins at Ground Zero." But the studies she cites are generally published in journals that exist to create such claims, but lack credibility in the broad scientific arena.

Further details from Jeff Stier here.

To be clear: Some studies on Maloney's list are quite legitimate -- but they cover issues like post-traumatic stress disorder, not Trade Center dust.

Yet other publications on the list don't even pretend to about science -- they merely chronicle the fact that, as one piece puts it, "a broad and sophisticated grassroots environmental movement has arisen in Lower Manhattan to push for environmental cleanup and for access to health care for impacted populations and communities. This movement unites community, labor and environmental groups and continues to organize five years after 9/11."

That's political science, not health science.

ANSWERing the Question

LeftWright, who's moderating 9-11 Blogger during the new glasnost era, asks at Truth Action:

Who are you referring to? Have you tried working with the ANSWER crowd?

We were civil and did everything they asked and they shut us out, again.

We endorsed the March 20th event, donated as much or more than most of the other organizations and they denied us two minutes to speak on stage.

Next time you see Brian Becker ask him why his brother Richard treats us so poorly in SF. Ask him why the ANSWER organizers threatened to call the police on WAC LA during their march.

The Northern California 9/11 Truth Alliance booth was the most popular at the rally, but they won't let anyone mention 9/11 on their stage.

Tell me what you think is going on here, Jon?

This is a very good question, and the answer (ANSWER) is that the "peace" movement has collapsed so completely during the Obama Administration that they can't see that the "Truth" movement is now on a par with them. I remember back in 2006, the Troofers used to point to an oceanful of signs and say "Look, there's a 9-11 Truth poster." Now they actually dominate the scenery as we saw with the LA crowd.

But the peace movement is still operating under the old regime, where they had hundreds of thousands showing up to protest Bush. Nowadays they're drawing fractions of the Tea Party movement (which I neither endorse nor condemn). They are having a hard time adjusting to the fact that the Troofers are a very significant minority in the anti-Obama peace movement; probably larger than the Workers World Party cadres (from whom ANSWER was formed), and just as motivated.

I actually give Cindy Sheehan and Dahlia Wasfi some credit here; they seem to have adjusted to the realities on the ground. The 9-11 Troof movement is now a significant part of the peace movement. As to which side that benefits, deponent sayeth not.

Why The Chain of Custody Matters

Over in the thread at Truth Move, Victoria Ashley says:

John, the chain of custody issue is cooked up by the debunkers. The handling of the samples was done no differently then typical scientific studies, and much research out there on the dust uses the same methods and no police were involved. The USGS did not have police escorts, the UC Davis researchers did not get dust from the police, etc. That is just not done in scientific studies, which is what this is. In fact, most studies never say anything about how the dust was obtained, only where it was found.

And in a sense, she's right. Nobody cares where the USGS or the EPA (which she mentions later) got their samples. But there's a crucial difference here. The chain of custody matters precisely because the Troofers are claiming this is evidence that nanothermite was used to bring down the towers. Presumably they would like to use this as evidence in a court of law, which has very strict standards for chain of custody.

She BSes a bit here:

John, yes, it looks like the French researcher did not have the equipment to do the crucial calorimetry test so could not be considered to have done a significant independent analysis. Thanks for reminding me about him, I'd forgotten what the issues were about his attempt to analyze the samples.

Let's reiterate what he said:

The chips do not react even when heated to 900 degrees C. He doesn't need a calorimeter to measure that. BTW, although he mostly found red chips instead of red and gray ones, that doesn't matter, because Jones claimed that it was the red portion that showed the thermitic reaction.