Saturday, June 07, 2008

Financial Times (London) Covers WTC 7

This article is, I will admit, a marvel of balance; do they cover the claims of creationists as even handedly?

To the truthers, "building 7" – the third building in the World Trade Center complex to collapse on September 11 – is evidence that the mainstream media is in on the plot. On that day, the BBC reported the building's fall almost half an hour before it happened. Journalist Jane Standley was broadcast at 4.54pm eastern time reporting that the tower had collapsed – but in the background, it was still standing.


What I find interesting is the assumption by the writer than nobody needs an explanation as to who the truthers are. We're so close to the situation that it's hard to see the forest; have we actually arrived at the point where everybody knows what a "truther" is?

He gets a couple of points wrong or at least is not up to date:

But in the minds of the truthers, this explanation was undermined by Porter's admission that the BBC no longer had the original tapes of its coverage.


They have since located them.

NIST's working hypothesis is that fire and/or flaming debris from the collapsing north tower (which left a long gash in building 7's south face) damaged a critical column which supported a 2,000 sq ft floor bay. The remaining floor bays were unable to redistribute the loads, and the whole structure came down on itself. The fact that the collapse was triggered by an internal failure would explain the appearance of a controlled demolition with a small field of debris left behind.


I don't have a clue as to what he's talking about here. Is he discussing the mechanical penthouse when he says "floor bay"?

And get this hilarious detail:

The BBC, meanwhile, has yet to persuade some of its critics. It had wanted to film the 9/11TruthLA seminar at the Immanuel Presbyterian Church in Los Angeles but was barred by the organisers, who cited building 7.


Isn't that freaking hilarious? The Truthers moan all the time about not getting media coverage for their nuttery, and yet here's an event featuring Richard Gage and Steven Jones and they won't let the BBC in the door!

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