9/11 Conspiracy Theorists Full of Bull, says Popular Science

[fossten]

Popular Mechanics Editor Takes on 9/11 Conspiracy Theories in NY Post Op-Ed
Posted by Noel Sheppard on September 12, 2006 - 12:33.

Following up his performance on “Democracy Now” as reported by NewsBusters, James Meigs, the Editor-in-Chief of Popular Mechanics, penned a great op-ed that was published in Tuesday’s New York Post (hat tip to American Thinker). Meigs comically began (emphasis mine):

ON Feb. 7, 2005, I became a member of the Bush/Halliburton/Zionist/CIA/New World Order/Illuminati conspiracy for world domination. That day, Popular Mechanics, the magazine I edit, hit newsstands with a story debunking 9/11 conspiracy theories. Within hours, the online community of 9/11 conspiracy buffs - which calls itself the "9/11 Truth Movement" - was aflame with wild fantasies about me, my staff and the article we had published. Conspiracy Web sites labeled Popular Mechanics a "CIA front organization" and compared us to Nazis and war criminals.

Makes one wonder what these folks think about Tim “The Toolman” Taylor! After discussing the various conspiracy theorists, including but not limited to the folks at “Loose Change,” Meigs continued (emphasis mine):

Popular Mechanics has been fact-checking such claims since late 2004, and recently published a book on the topic. We've pored over transcripts, flight logs and blueprints, and interviewed more than 300 sources - including engineers, aviation experts, military officials, eyewitnesses and members of investigative teams.

In every single case, we found that the very facts used by conspiracy theorists to support their fantasies are mistaken, misunderstood or deliberately falsified.

Meigs then offered the reader some examples (emphasis mine):

Meyssan and hundreds of Web sites cite an eyewitness who said the craft that hit the Pentagon looked "like a cruise missile with wings." Here's what that witness, a Washington, D.C., broadcaster named Mike Walter, actually told CNN: "I looked out my window and I saw this plane, this jet, an American Airlines jet, coming. And I thought, 'This doesn't add up. It's really low.' And I saw it. I mean, it was like a cruise missile with wings. It went right there and slammed right into the Pentagon."

We talked to Walter and, like so many of the experts and witnesses widely quoted by conspiracy theorists, he told us he is heartsick to see the way his words have been twisted: "I struggle with the fact that my comments will forever be taken out of context."

Apparently, those that take them out of context, Walter, don’t so struggle. Meigs offered another example:

An article in the American Free Press claims that a seismograph at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory picked up signals indicating that large bombs were detonated in the towers. The article quotes Columbia geologist Won-Young Kim and certainly looks authoritative. Yet the truth on this issue is not hard to find. A published Lamont-Doherty report on the seismic record of 9/11 says no such thing. Kim told Popular Mechanics that the publication's interpretation of his research was "categorically incorrect." Yet the claim is repeated verbatim on more than 50 Web sites as well as in the film "Loose Change."

Color me unsurprised. Meigs appropriately concluded (emphasis mine):

Every 9/11 conspiracy theory we investigated was based on similarly shoddy evidence. Most of these falsehoods are easy to refute simply by checking the original source material or talking to experts in the relevant fields. And yet even the flimsiest claims are repeated constantly in conspiracy circles, passed from Web site to book to Web site in an endless daisy chain. And any witness, expert - or publication - that tries to set the record straight is immediately vilified as being part of the conspiracy.

The American public has every right to ask hard questions about 9/11. And informed skepticism about government and media can be healthy. But skepticism needs to be based on facts, not fallacies. Unfortunately, for all too many, conspiratorial fantasies offer a seductive alternative to grappling with the hard realitiesof a post-9/11 world.

Words of wisdom, James. Words of wisdom.

 

[Calabrio]

Popular Science has really contributed some great articles recently regarding this misunderstood, but widely discussed, topics.

 

[Calabrio]

original link

It’s “How I Spent My 9/11 Vacation,” Truther-style, penned with great effort and sincerity by “Treez:” I’m back! - FearBush Forums. (Hat tip: ChenZhen.)

Reprinted in full because, well, it’s just so freaking hilarious that it should be preserved for all time.

Well, the day started at 4 a.m. when me and my boy got up to catch the 5:52 a.m. train to NYC from Philly. We arrived at Penn Station in Manhattan at 7:15 a.m.. As soon as we got up to ground level, 2 other dudes our age came over to us to bum a ciggerette. They noticed our custom T-shirts(as SOOOO many people did throughout the day) that we had gotten airbrushed the day before in Philly. Black T-shirts with “Investigate” in cursive writing accross the top of the shirt, then below that, a huge 9 and next to that the two towers forming an 11. But the dudes obviously didn’t read above the 911 where it said “investigate”, and the one with the dreadlocks looked at us in utter confusion and asked “ya’ll dont REALLY beleive terrorists brought those buildings down, DO YOU????” “Hell no dawgs, that’s why it says ‘INVESTIGATE’.” After realizing we were both citizens of Reality, we stood around and talked for a few minutes, smoked our Newports, then parted ways.

Great start to the day. Then we flagged a cab, got in, told him “Church and Fulton” and we were off to ground zero. He dropped us off a few blocks away because traffic was blocked off for a few blocks radius of GZ. We walked up to GZ and arrived around 7:50 and began looking for fellow “black shirts”, which weren’t hard to find. The 9/11 Truth Movement all wore black T-shirts that said “Investigate 9/11” on the front and had some other stuff on the back including a link to the LooseChange website. But immediately they started taking notice of me and my boy’s custom T-shirts and asking us to pose for pictures. I must’ve posed for at least 10 pictures if not more, the shirts were a huge hit. Then a lady with a microphone came up and asked for an interview, and we agreed, but I just let my boy handle the interview and answer her questions.

Everyone was just standing around and there was a guy assembling a huge sign consisting of two huge wooden poles and a banner stretching between them. The banner said “9/11 was a US Black Op” on one side, and “USA did 911” on the reverse. Needing a helping hand, he just said out loud “any 9/11 Truth people can give me a hand?”. Since I was standing right there, I offered my assistance in holding one of the poles while he stapled the banner together. After the banner was erected, I guess that I was automatically assigned to holding one of the poles.

I guess during the process of putting up the sign, the Truth Movement had been told to relocate, because I looked around and suddenly the black shirts were no where in sight. Then the hate began. Some Jew looking dude in a suit came up to me and asked “where are you from?” I said “PA”, and he said “you should go back to PA, axxxxxe” and walked away. It took me by suprise, and I started laughing, I thought about saying “you should go back to Israel” but instead just shouted to him “you have a nice day too sir” and smiled. Then some lady walked by the huge sign and said something dimented about “you guys will pay in hell”. Easily laughed at. Then as I’m holding up the one end of the sign, I felt the sign being literally pulled down, lol, and looked and some idiot had grabbed the other pole and was wrestling to pull it down, I kept my end up and the cops grabbed the flaghead (literally, he was wearling a flag bandanna) and the other guy got control and the sign was back up.

Then some guy in a brown trechcoat with a notepad came up to me and asked if he could ask me some questions. I said sure. What’s your name? I gave him a fake name, then he asked who I was with. I told him I was with the 9/11 Truth Movement, he asked what that was and I told him it’s a loose knit group of people from all over the country who have unanswered questions about 9/11 that the official story doesn’t answer and that we want a new, serious investigation into the attacks by people who aren’t biased like the original committee. He was about to ask another question, but I was approached by a police officer who said that we had to relocate with the sign. So we began walking up Church street carrying the sign. At one point I had given my end of the sign to my boy to carry and was walking along with them. Some lady came up and said something about “xxxx this or that”, I said “Maam, we’re not the ones being disrespectufl and hateful, we’re only asking question, like why did WTC 7 fall down?” She walked away mumbling about xxxxxxxs.

Anywayz, that was the most hectic it got, the walk up the street, we were feeling the hate big time, all the suits and ties were pissed at us for questioning things, they hate Arabs so bad that anyone asking questions that might lead to Arabs not being responisible might as well be Arab. Disgusting, and to think that these are the same type of people that worked in the towers and were killed who I travelled from PA to speak up for, it’s sad.

Anywayz, we were led by the police up to Trinity and Cedar. At Trinity and Cedar, the entire park there was full of black shirts, throughout the day, Trinity and Cedar became known as Camp Freedom, because it was nothing but the Truth Movement there.

So we’re holding this big ass sign on the pavement at Trinity and Cedar, and one of the best moments of the day for me happened. A police officer approached me and said “I think you guys are doing a great thing, I support you guys. I don’t think you are the bad guys at all, like I said, you’s are doing a good thing here. But I need you to take down that sign because it’s a crowded area and if it were to fall, people could be injured.” I said “no problem sir, and thank you for the kind words.” Then I told the dude who’s sign it was that the cop said it had to come down because of the safety concern, he protested, but I put my end down and went into Camp Freedom to mingle with the other Truth members.

So I’m standing there with my boy, and I look over, and I notice Corey Rowe (one of the guys who made Loose Change). I said “Corey Dylan!!” then corrected myself...“yooooooooooo Corey Rowe, what’s up!!” he shook my hand and said thanks for showing up and complimented me on my shirt. Then me and my boy went to this place called “Pinnina Bread” or something to get some food. When we came back to Camp Freedom, we started talking to these other dudes (the boy my age was from NYC and his dad was a firefighter that got his lungs xxxxed up working at ground zero) and he said that Alex Jones was there. So I started looking for him (Alex). And there he was.

Now, the worst moment of my day happened. I went up to Alex, and said “Alex, could I get a quick picture taken with you?” He said he had to make a phone call real quick, I said hey take your time man. So boom, he got off the phone and came over to me. I told my boy to get ready to take the picture. Me and Alex shook hands for a few seconds and then we parted ways.

I was happy and wanted to smoke weed now, so me and my boy took a walk and found an empty alleyway to smoke in. Then when I was lighting up, my boy started freestyling and said “I hate to see how Trees heart’s gon’ be breakin/ cuz him and Alex parted ways before the picture was taken”

What he just said sank in and I said “NUH UH!!?!?” “STOP PLAYIN!!!!!” He had taken too long bringing up the camera options on his cellphone and didn’t get the shot!!!!! I was pissed at him, for a long time. Still kinda mad at him. After we smoked, we walked by a bar and I said he had to buy me a double of Jack Daniels for :q:q:q:qin my picture up, so we went in the bar and got a little buzz on. Then we headed back to Camp Freedom at Trinity and Cedar. Word was that at 2 pm, after they finished reading the victims names at Ground Zero, Alex was gonna go down and speak on the megaphone at GZ. So me and my boy went to get something to eat.

When we came out, the boy I seen earlier that told me about Alex said “yo, you’re boy Immortal Technique is here somewhere, he’s down by Ground Zero”. This would’ve made up for the lost Alex Jones picture, but I never ran into Imortal Technique. Anywayz, we chilled in Freedom Park for an hour or so before 2 pm came and we headed to GZ.

By now, the flagheads rolled out and the 9/11 Truth Movement controlled Ground Zero. The police showed up with big rubber bullet firing machine guns and lined both sides of the street. Both sides of Church Street, maybe it was Fulton, but anywayz, BOTH SIDES of the street were filled with Black Shirts and Alex Jones took the Megaphone. Alex spit facts and led the crowd in chants of “9/11 was an inside job, 911 was an inside job, 911 was an inside job!!” The Truth movement was massive, and the media completely DISAPPEARED. At one point, an ABC news van drove down the street in front of us and were BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOed and screamed at to “do your job!!!”.

Anywayz, that went on for a while, and then the movement began walking to 120 Broadway, where Larry Silverstiens office is. The police blocked off 2 lanes of traffic and the Truth Movement gathered in the middle of the street. Alex Jones got on the megaphone again and started speaking about WTC 7 and other things. In the hour or so we were there, we chanted “Pull it! pull it! pull it!” and “murderer! murderer! murderer!” among other sayings like “911 was an inside job, we have the proof, so face the truth!” After that, the Truth Movement marched to Police HQ, but me and my boy were both tired as :q:q:q:q and beat, so we decided to head back to Penn Station.

It was a great experience all together. One thing I took away from it was the fact that something so massive could take place, so many people from all over could gather and voice an opinion, and the media could black it out as if it never happened. It’s upsetting. I was there, it was massive, and no one I know that watched the news yesterday seen it.

Another thing I couldn’t help but notice was the respect, concern, and love that the 9/11 Truth Movement represented. And on the other side, the hate and anger and wickedness of the so called “ordinary” people. They could not debate one fact, they couldn’t talk without cursing or offending whoever they were talking to. To think that if it were them who died in the towers, and I had been there fighting for truth and wanting to know what happened to them, how unworthy they would be to protest for. I’m absolutely sure that there were good people that died in the towers, and not all evil hateful monsters like those there yesterday pretending to mourn. I dedicate my protest to any good person that died in the buildings, but it’s sad to say, those people I encountered yesterday in mass, are not worth protesting for. Next time they’re government kills them, I might just stay home and be quiet.

 

[FreeFaller]

Well...at least we know that this truth movement has got the pot smoking/anti semite crowd locked down.