Scott Fenstermaker on Hardfire

Scott Fenstermaker, the lawyer who has been representing one of the accused al Qaeda members who are scheduled to stand trial in New York, goes on Hardfire with Ron Wieck, who long time readers will know for his shows with Richard Gage, Jim Fetzer and others. I am still trying to figure out this guy. He is a strange character. It is an interesting show though.

Ryan Mackey to Debate Troofers Szamboti, Chandler

On Hardfire, hosted by Ron Wieck. You know that we'll have the video up as soon as it is available. As I mentioned in that thread, I am confident that we are sending the right man into the arena, armed with the facts. Break a leg, Ryan!

Ryan Mackey on Hardfire: Part III

The third an final part of the Hardfire interview with Ryan Mackey is up. Enjoy.

Ryan Mackey on Hardfire: Part II

The second part of Ryan Mackey's presentation on the physics of 9/11 is up. In this part Ron Wieck gets more into his saga trying to book David Ray Griffin on to the show. I replied to Ron that he should have tried booking someone less demanding, like Barbra Streisand. I still need to do a post on that whole episode. Anyway, enjoy.

Ryan Mackey on Hardfire

NASA engineer, and David Ray Griffin's worst nightmare, Ryan Mackey appears in the first of a series of shows on Hardfire, hosted by Ron Wieck. Ron actually was trying to book Griffin originally, which didn't work out for a variety of reasons, which I may get into in a future post. In the meantime enjoy something a bit more logical.

Ace Baker on Hardfire, Part II

I have not had a chance to watch this video as yet, but I am sure that Steve Wright did as excellent a job as he did in the initial version. Kudos to Ron for setting this up.

No-Planer Theories Discussed on Hardfire

Ace Baker represents the TV fakery view, while Ron Wick (just kidding, Wieck) and Steve Wright argue the rationalist case. Ace presented his "evidence" well, but his case collapsed at freefall speed after Wright (an expert in video special effects) started analyzing it. Another excellent job by Ron in setting this up. There will be a second part to come in a week or so.

PrisonPlanet on Alex Jones' BBC Appearance

Alex Jones' PrisonPlanet website posts an article on his recent appearance on BBC radio (which Pat has mentioned a few times). I am just stunned that this savvy group of investigators hasn't broken 9/11 wide open by now.

After Guy Smith announced that the BBC would soon be releasing a new documentary devoted to Building 7, presumably given that they completely omitted the topic in their last hit piece, a strange new debunker was introduced as "Ronald Wick".

Mr Wick was introduced as a broadcaster in New York and "a well known 9/11 conspiracy theory debunker", yet having written about the 9/11 truth movement and the attacks for over six years, I have never heard of the man, neither has Prisonplanet editor Paul Watson and neither has Alex Jones. Furthermore, a Google search produces no related results. Seemingly then "Ronald Wick" is either not a "very well known" debunker or is hiding behind a pseudonym.

"Wick" attempted to counter revelations that the BBC had reported the collapse of building 7 a full 26 minutes before it's actual fall by suggesting that everyone had expected the building to collapse from fire damage for hours before it did. This claim does not hold up when put into context with statements from firefighters, reporters and first responders on the ground who have stated that they had to literally run for their lives when a 20 second demolition countdown began and the building suddenly fell.

"Wick" and the other debunkers also attempted to suggest we believe the BBC were somehow "in on the conspiracy" and were specifically approached and fed with a "script of events" on 9/11 because, according to Guy Smith, laughable though this opinion is, it is the media outlet most opposed to George W. Bush.

And you have got to love the ending:

Any rational person who listened to this chaotic exchange will have gone away wanting to hear more from Alex Jones, who draws his knowledge and discussion points from the study of history, declassified government archives, expert analysis and mainstream reports, rather than take heed from the total lack of any insight whatsoever from the two studio guests and the strange accusatory tone and debate framing of the mysterious "Mr Wick".

It is Wieck, genius. Geez, we know you read the blog. You just mentioned us yesterday.

Hardfire WTC7 Show

Ron Wieck interviews retired FDNY Fire Chief Arthur Scheurman and debunker Mark Roberts on WTC 7. Well worth watching.

Challenge to Truthers: Stump Mark Roberts!

Our buddy Gravy from the JREF forums will appear again on Ron Wieck's Hardfire program, along with Arthur Scheuerman to discuss World Trade Center 7. The show will be live at 9:00 PM Eastern time tomorrow night, February 26. Having been unable to find a 9-11 "Truther" willing to debate these gentlemen, Ron will throw open the phone lines, and 9-11 conspiracy theorists are specifically encouraged to call in with their questions and challenges.

The main number is 718-935-9598. If it's busy, call 917-763-9896.

You can watch the show live tomorrow night here.

Put up or shut up, Truthers!

Update: Kick to top for the rest of Tuesday.

Ron & Mark on Schroeder, Rodriguez

This is a fascinating discussion about the John Schroeder interview tying it in with Willie Rodriguez's claims. The only negative is that the show is only a half-hour long.

Challenge to 9-11 Deniers: Try Your Hand at "Debunking 9-11 Debunking"

(Bumped to top for the remainder of Tuesday; scroll down for newer content)

Our debunking buddies Mark (Gravy) Roberts and Ron (Pomeroo) Wieck will be taping two Hardfire shows tonight. The first one will feature Mark and Ron discussing Kevin (Waterboy Wonder) Ryan's and William (Keymaster) Rodriguez's claims.

The second one will be a call-in show starting at 9:00 PM EDT where callers can try their luck at debunking the #1 9-11 debunker. Ron wants it to be noted that Kevin Ryan, William Rodriguez and Richard Gage are specifically invited to call in during the show. Of course, we know that Ryan will chicken out, but it is certainly possible that Willie or Gage may pick up the phone.

The call-in number:

718-935-9598

You can watch the latter show live tonight at 9:00 Eastern here:

Scroll down, and click on channel 2.

The other show (without the call-ins) will be available on Google Video at some later date.

Griffin's Voice-Morphing Technology Takes a Big Hit

Ron Wieck, also known as Pomeroo, kept digging at particular points in the 9-11 conspiracy nuts narrative. As I discussed a couple months ago, David Ray Griffin essentially endorsed the voice-morphing claims in his speech in Vancouver a few months ago, although of course he retained a fig leaf of deniability by using the locution that "The 9-11 Truth Movement, by getting empirical, discovered that voice-morphing...."

Indeed, this is such a crackpot claim that even Dylan a few months ago announced that he was dropping it from the Final Cut. Of course, it was the voice-morphing claims that made me see red about Loose Change in the first place; otherwise I would have laughed it off as a kookumentary.

Anyway, Ron contacted the inventor of the voice-morphing technology cited in Loose Change who says:

Purveyors of conspiracy theories have claimed that the events of 9/11 were the result of a massive government plot and cover-up. (See, for example, (www.loosechange911.com.) According to their version of events, there were no hijackers. Instead, the World Trade Center buildings were blown up by explosives planted inside the buildings rather than, or at least in addition to, the effects of the passenger airplanes crashing into them. They claim that the government (or the CIA or someone other than Osama bin Laden and the hijackers) was behind 9/11.

However, a major problem for their allegation, given that they claim there were no hijackers, is that the passengers on United Flight 93 that crashed in Pennsylvania called home with desperate messages to loved ones, in which they said there were hijackers. Accordingly, the conspiracy theory purveyors have needed to claim that someone (namely, me) created the voices of the passengers in those phone calls. That allegation is plainly outrageous and demeaning to the memories of those courageous passengers.

I originally developed the technology of voice morphing, the technology by which it is possible to make someone seem to say something they did not say (see www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/dotmil/arkin020199.htm ) and coined the phrase. Therefore, I know what would have been required to create such bogus calls. Practical considerations preclude making counterfeit telephone calls in this situation. For example, it is necessary to have samples of the voices of the people to be imitated. In situations like this, where the goal is to participate in an unconstrained conversation, the voice sample must be extensive. I cannot imagine how I might have obtained extensive samples of the voices of the passengers on Flight 93, especially not knowing which of them would call home. Additionally, in this situation it would be necessary to know what someone would say to his or her loved ones under such circumstances. What pet names would be used? What references would be made to children and other loved ones? Do believers actually suppose that the government (or I) listens in to everyone’s pillow talk? In a separate essay, I will cover the technical aspects of voice morphing, which will further demonstrate the implausibility of the scenario set forth by the purveyors of conspiracy theories.

Whether such wild-eyed theories are worth being concerned about is problematic. However, in their own words, their conspiracy theory organization “has grown from a cult following to a grassroots organism that can no longer be contained” (op cit). I have received email from a high school social studies teacher who told me that her students actually believe that I did everything the purveyors of conspiracy theories say I did. Why they would so mistrust their government and be so naïve with regard to technical issues are interesting questions, albeit matters well beyond the scope of this essay.

Great job by Ron, as usual. I do apologize to my readers and him for not highlighting this post earlier; I saw it a couple days ago but got distracted by something else. Kudos as well to Dr. Papcun for his work.

Fetzer, Roberts & Wieck III

Starts with WTC 7 which of course is one of my favorite topics. Gravy gets off a devastating bit about "bombs and explosions".

Overall, Fetzer managed to dodge a lot of obvious problem punches. He got away with dominating the conversation. Fetzer does have some skills at debating conspiracy theories and compared to the Loosers and Les Jamieson, he acquits himself well.

I want to emphasize that is largely due to Fetzer's slipperyness, not to any superiority of fact. Mark Roberts didn't fatten his average against Uncle Fetzer because you cannot improve on 1.000. Once again Roberts surprised me with his breadth of knowledge, as did Ron.

Gravy Versus Fetzer: Round One

It took place in Brooklyn, so I suppose we could call it the Flatbush Flattening? Round one to Mark Roberts. Now we understand what he meant when he said he felt like an altar boy after the debate! Kudos also to Ron Wieck, the host, who cuts to the chase quite effectively.