Falling Towers
Thank you for publishing the article about Architects and Engineers for 9/11 Truth [Cover Story, “A Towering Debate,” 9/17/09]. It was refreshing to read an article that does not treat the skeptical as if they are lunatics. The official theory on how the buildings fell makes very little sense. It would be valuable for all of us to devote a little bit of effort to try to understand why those buildings actually fell. It is hard to swallow the concept that three steel-frame high-rises collapsed within a few hours of each other when there had been no such failures in the history of steel-frame high-rises prior to 9/11.
I would urge your readers to watch any news video they can find of the collapse of WTC 7. It will remind them of the confusion we all experienced throughout that day, and how far-fetched it is to claim that this building collapsed in the manner it did because of the fire burning within it.
As your story pointed out, this is a very difficult thing for any American to contemplate. Whatever the implications, it remains true that without a complete understanding of the events of that day, it is difficult for any of us to evaluate the actions we have taken since then in the name of preventing future attacks. – Jose Baer
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As I read the Levin/McKenzie article, I thought about how refreshing it was to see such objectivity, as shown by their exquisitely written for-and-against arguments. It wasn’t until I reached the third to last paragraph that I questioned the authors’ states of mind about where they stand with respect to conspiracy theories, when they wrote, “A Democratic Congress wouldn’t : impeach a president who broke laws.”
Putting that quibble aside, wouldn’t it be transformational to this country to see this kind of objective, for-and-against writing return to journalism on a grand scale? – Michael Steinman
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Thank you for having the courage to run the “Twin Towers, Twin Myths” story. It is encouraging to those of us who understand the basics of physics and the fact the “official story” concerning 9/11 is the one impossible myth. I’m your newest Loyal SB Independent fan. Keith Crawford
Great piece about the twin towers. I am finally feeling hopeful that we will get some accountability for what happened on 9/11. There has been a mainstream media blackout for anything that could be a platform for views dissenting views from the “official story” but last week Larry King gave Charlie Sheen an open forum to debate “live” on Larry King anyone who truly believes the 9/11 Commission Report. So far, no takers-not even the head mouthpieces over at Faux News.
I, and the 3,000 innocent victims of that day, thank the Santa Barbara Independent, also on behalf of the 5,000 Americans and one million Iraqis who have died as a result of the rush to war based upon the deliberate deception of 9/11. The first casualty of war is the truth.-Jeff Bellamar
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Kudos to Jay Levin and Tom McKenzie for their balanced article on 9/11, and thanks to the Independent for publishing it. This is a most welcome change from the standard 9/11 fare promulgated in the mainstream media, which relies primarily on ad hominem attacks and the tiresome, predictable invocation of that old “conspiracy theory” chestnut.
The term “conspiracy” has unfortunately acquired emotional baggage in recent decades, so perhaps it is time to reacquaint ourselves with the real meaning of the term. A conspiracy is “a plan, by two or more people, to do something of a criminal or nefarious nature.” Conspiracies are thus very commonplace; the majority of major crimes involve two or more persons. The official 9/11 story, which revolves around the accusation of “19 arabs and a bearded 6’5″ man in a cave” thus belongs squarely in the “conspiracy” category.
In contrast, the scientists in the AE911 group featured in the Levin-McKenzie article are not involved in conspiracy theory promotion. Their task is scientific, for example the analysis of the World Trade Center dust samples, and seeking answers to pertinent questions related to the results. The fact that their peer-reviewed findings have blown a jagged hole in a central support column of the official version of 9/11 is enough to warrant a proper, independent, criminal investigation into the events of that day, with full subpoena power. The 9/11 Commission, according to the majority of its commissioners, not only reneged on the promise to “leave no stones unturned” but was also deliberately “set up to fail” according to commission co-chairs Thomas Kean and Lee Hamilton.
America deserves, and should be able to handle, the whole truth.Nik Green.
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Thank you for giving your thoughts to the 3000-plus people whose life suddenly ended on my birthday in 2001. I find it hard to believe that we somehow hold them in our thoughts more than the 25,000-plus folks who perish every year because they do not have health insurance to allow them to go to a doctor and get a diagnosis for medical care that can and would save their lives. Their treatment could save the next 25,000 lives between now and 09-11-10.
So, like some of the detectives that try to solve the impossible mysteries, I would like to add a few observations and suggest we examine the facts to first find a motive for the crime. After all, the murder of the 3000-plus people is a crime.
Let us begin to find a motive. I suggest that there are religious fanatics that would and could do anything to aid and abet criminals to plan an attack on the USA like the one that occurred on my birthday. As I woke on the morning I witnessed the second plane colliding with the tower in an explosion I first thought was going to kill many, many, many people. I thought about 25,000 people who worked in the first tower, another 25,000 that worked in the second tower that was already hit, and, to be blunt, felt the sh** of hopelessness fall out. Petrified, I said a silent prayer for all those that I was sure would perish. It took me many days to ask myself “What did I really see, and what happened?” I called my boss and told him I was not coming in to work that day. He was angry that I took my birthday off that day and I thought: scru him.
It took me many days to ask myself “What did I really see, and what happened?” Some reporters hinted that the attacks were from a Muslim group the next day and how they put that together confused me-after all, Timothy McVey etc.
Murders by any group need to be followed up by the authorities. I did not see the investigation I wanted. Instead the media was quick to indict the Arabs and as we heard later send the Bin Ladens back to Saudi Arabia on the private jets. I thought: Something’s fishy here. Every day for weeks I watched the plane hit the tower, and saw Building #7 come down like #1 and #2. Let me tell you, there was something fishy here.
So I began think about the motive of the crime. Why would Bin Laden, with his whole family sucking up to George Bush, crash planes into the WTC? This bothered me. What would be the benefit of crashing planes into the WTC? Could they be toppled? Not even the space shuttle could knock those guys down. They were the pillars of capitalism and the strength of the free world. Therein lies the problem. What is the motive? Umh? Israeli-Palestine “conflict”? And no one was asking the Israelis anything, as a matter of fact, no one ever asks the Israelis anything about the greatest secret service in the world and what they have to do with anything.
So I begin to suspect that the real motive is to point the finger at the Arabs. What do I mean? Well the motive is to cause the biggest disaster in American history and wipe out buildings that were thought to be indestructible and poison Americans forever by pointing the finger at a simpleton who became the dupe of the greatest secret service in world history. If the American intelligence did not know what Osama was going to do, the Israelis did. They always know.
Let’s take care of the 25,000 people who will die because of the lack of health insurance. The deaths of 25,000-plus people because of a lack of “health insurance” our health care [system] is a crime also.-Bill Smiley