Finally, an apology from the National Geographic Channel
by Kevin Ryan
August 22, 2009

Six days after September 11th, National Geographic Today (NGT) published one of the very first descriptions of the official myth for what happened to the World Trade Center (WTC) towers.[1] This article exaggerated the little known facts about the fires in the towers, equated gas temperatures with steel temperatures, and detailed the long-surviving but incorrect Pancake Theory of “collapse.” Since that time, millions of people have been killed or injured in the 9/11 Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that originated from the official myth about 9/11.[2,3] Fortunately, this week it was announced that the NGT’s parent, the National Geographic Channel (NG Channel), is scheduled to broadcast a new television special covering the science behind the events of 9/11. We can only assume that this new show is meant to correct the record and apologize for the company’s false statements that contributed to the ongoing wars.

Some of the false statements made in that NGT article had to do with an early version of the Pancake Theory for destruction of the buildings. One claim was : “As the steel columns at the core of the Twin Towers collapsed, the floors they supported fell on each other like two stacks of pancakes.” Another statement was more authoritative, saying: “Once the structural support of the upper floors is removed, a few falling floors can bring down an entire building.” The Pancake Theory did not make sense to many people but was tested by my former employer, Underwriters Laboratories (UL), in August 2004. The tests showed that the floors in the WTC buildings could not have pancaked, even when exposed to higher temperatures for longer periods of time than was actually the case. Two years later, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) finally made clear that its “findings do not support the ‘pancake theory’ of collapse.”[4]

To date, there have been no apologies from any of the media sources that, oftentimes arrogantly, promoted the Pancake Theory as a means to prevent further questioning of the WTC events. But we all know that “National Geographic” is different, right? Actually, some people are unaware that the NG Channel is majority controlled (67%) by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation.[5] The National Geographic Society, publisher of the well-known magazine, was a minority partner in creation of the NG Channel, but does not have editorial control over what is produced there. Instead, the News Corporation controls the programming much like it controls Fox News.

In the early article promoting the WTC myth, NGT described how “Jet fuel fires burn unusually hot, and engineers believe the fire may have led to temperatures as high as 1,600 degrees Celsius (2,900 degrees Fahrenheit).” But the truth is that the jet fuel fires at the WTC, which lasted a total of 79 seconds by one expert estimate, and lasted only a few minutes according to NIST, would have been cooler than the later fires fed by office furnishings alone.[6] It has since been admitted by NIST that gas temperatures reached only “as high as 1,000 degrees Celsius.”[7]

Read the rest of this entry »

By John-Michael P. Talboo

Based upon 13 eyewitness accounts Citizen Investigation Team (CIT) asserts that no plane hit the Pentagon on 9/11. These witnesses testify that the flight path of American Airlines Flight 77 was slightly different than that of the official story and the testimony of many other witnesses. CIT sees this as proof, that in a massive slight of hand, the jet flew over the building while explosives were detonated. Ignoring the contradicting testimony and the massive amount of witnesses who actually saw the plane hit the building, let’s examine the many problems with basing a case solely on eyewitness testimony.

Want to hear about a mass case of faulty memory at an air show that directly correlates to the type of eyewitness testimony CIT has gathered? Even better, want to experience your own false memory? Grab a pen and paper and hit play!

“Eyewitness identification evidence is the leading cause of wrongful conviction in the United States. Of the more than 200 people exonerated by way of DNA evidence in the US, over 75% were wrongfully convicted on the basis of erroneous eyewitness identification evidence. In England, the Criminal Law Review Committee, writing in 1971, stated that cases of mistaken identification “constitute by far the greatest cause of actual or possible wrong convictions”. Yet despite substantial anecdotal and scientific support for the proposition that eyewitness testimony is often unreliable, it is held in high regard by jurors in criminal trials, even when ‘far outweighed by evidence of innocence.’ In the words of former US Supreme Court Justice William J. Brennan, there is “nothing more convincing [to a jury] than a live human being who takes the stand, points a finger at the defendant, and says ‘That’s the one!’” – Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eyewitness_identification http://innocenceproject.org/understand/Eyewitness-Misidentification.php
Criminal Law Review Committee Eleventh Report, Cmnd 4991
Elizabeth Loftus, Eyewitness Evidence 9 (1979).
Watkins v. Souders, 449 U.S. 341, 352 (1982) (Brennan, J. dissenting).

The Problem with Eyewitness Testimony

a talk by

Barbara Tversky, Professor of Psychology

and George Fisher, Professor of Law

Laura Engelhardt

“Courts, lawyers and police officers are now aware of the ability of third parties to introduce false memories to witnesses. For this reason, lawyers closely question witnesses regarding the accuracy of their memories and about any possible “assistance” from others in the formation of their present memories.” – Sources: http://agora.stanford.edu/sjls/Issue%20One/fisher&tversky.htm
http://agora.stanford.edu/sjls/Issue%20One/f&tfootnotes.htm#5

Eyewitnesses who recalled explosions in the Twin Towers and Building 7 are supported by peer-reviewed scientific research. Nano-thermite is the murder weapon!

Related Info:

Debunking the Citizen Investigation Team Hoax

CIT WITNESS VERIFICATION, PART 1: THE PREVIOUSLY SUSPICIOUS FATHER MCGRAW REDUX: THE MASTER OPUS

CIT WITNESS VERIFICATION PART II: THE LADIES OF 13th AND POE (summary)

CIT WITNESS VERIFICATION PART III: ROUGHSHOD OVER THE SUSPICIOUS ONES

Exclusive Interview with FBI Whistleblower Sibel Edmonds
By Khatchig Mouradian
The Armenian Weekly
August 21, 2009

On April 23, 2007, I sat down in Washington, D.C. with FBI whistleblower Sibel Edmonds for an extensive interview, which was published in the Armenian Weekly and on ZNet and widely circulated. On Aug. 18, 2009, I conducted a follow-up phone interview with Edmonds, who was visiting New Zealand. The interview is an overview of what has transpired in her case since 2007, with emphasis on her deposition in the Schmidt vs. Krikorian case in Ohio earlier this month.

Edmonds, an FBI language specialist, was fired from her job with the FBI’s Washington Field Office in March 2002. Her crime was reporting security breaches, cover-ups, blocking of intelligence, and the bribery of U.S. individuals including high-ranking officials. The “state secrets privilege” has often been invoked to block court proceedings on her case, and the U.S. Congress has even been gagged to prevent further discussion.Edmonds uncovered, for example, a covert relationship between Turkish groups and former Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.), who reportedly received tens of thousands of dollars in bribes in return for withdrawing the Armenian Genocide Resolution from the House floor in 2000.

Born in Iran in 1970, Edmonds received her BA in criminal justice and psychology from George Washington University, and her MA in public policy and international commerce from George Mason University. She is the founder and director of the National Security Whistleblowers Coalition (NSWBC) and in 2006 received the PEN/Newman’s Own First Amendment Award. She speaks Turkish, Farsi, and Azerbaijani.

Below is the full transcript of the follow-up interview.

***

Khatchig Mouradian—I asked you in 2007 what had changed during the five years since 2002, when you first contacted the Senate Judiciary Committee to reveal the story on Turkish bribery of high-level U.S. officials. You said, “There has been no hearing and nobody has been held accountable. We are basically where we started…” Two more years have passed, we have a new president, and I have to ask the same question again. Has there been any change?

Sibel Edmonds—Nothing has changed. As far as the Congress is concerned, the Democrats have been the majority since November 2006 and I have had zero interest from Congress on having hearings—any hearings—on this issue, whether it’s the states secrets privilege portion of it or the involved corruption cases. The current majority has been at least as bad as the previous one. At least the Republicans were gutsy enough to come and say, We’re not going to touch this. But the new majority is not saying anything!

Read the rest of this entry »

Video by John-Michael Talboo,
http://911debunkers.blogspot.com

Visibility 9-11 Welcomes Researcher Jim Hoffman…

http://visibility911.com/blog/?p=1351

Core Of Corruption Volume 1: In The Shadows {Full Film}…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9uB64…

Core Of Corruption: Echoes of Treason – Teaser Trailer, 2nd film in series…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thdA1M…

http://coreofcorruption.com

“Bandwagon effect, invented by Conal Sherry, also known as “cromo effect” and closely related to opportunism, is the observation that people often do and believe things because many other people do and believe the same things. The effect is often called herd instinct. People tend to follow the crowd without examining the merits of a particular thing. The bandwagon effect is the reason for the bandwagon fallacy’s success.” – SOURCE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bandwago…

“The name “bandwagon fallacy” comes from the phrase “jump on the bandwagon” or “climb on the bandwagon”, a bandwagon being a wagon big enough to hold a band of musicians. In past political campaigns, candidates would ride a bandwagon through town, and people would show support for the candidate by climbing aboard the wagon. The phrase has come to refer to joining a cause because of its popularity.” – SOURCE: http://www.fallacyfiles.org/bandwagn….

“Eyewitness identification evidence is the leading cause of wrongful conviction in the United States. Of the more than 200 people exonerated by way of DNA evidence in the US, over 75% were wrongfully convicted on the basis of erroneous eyewitness identification evidence. In England, the Criminal Law Review Committee, writing in 1971, stated that cases of mistaken identification “constitute by far the greatest cause of actual or possible wrong convictions”. Yet despite substantial anecdotal and scientific support for the proposition that eyewitness testimony is often unreliable, it is held in high regard by jurors in criminal trials, even when “far outweighed by evidence of innocence.” In the words of former US Supreme Court Justice William J. Brennan, there is “nothing more convincing [to a jury] than a live human being who takes the stand, points a finger at the defendant, and says ‘That’s the one!’” – SOURCES: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eyewitne…
http://innocenceproject.org/understan…
Criminal Law Review Committee Eleventh Report, Cmnd 4991
Elizabeth Loftus, Eyewitness Evidence 9 (1979).
Watkins v. Souders, 449 U.S. 341, 352 (1982) (Brennan, J. dissenting).

The Problem with Eyewitness Testimony
a talk by
Barbara Tversky, Professor of Psychology
and
George Fisher, Professor of Law
Laura Engelhardt

“Courts, lawyers and police officers are now aware of the ability of third parties to introduce false memories to witnesses. For this reason, lawyers closely question witnesses regarding the accuracy of their memories and about any possible “assistance” from others in the formation of their present memories.” – SOURCES: http://agora.stanford.edu/sjls/Issue%…
http://agora.stanford.edu/sjls/Issue%…

Magician Brian Brushwood…

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Br…

(5of14) False Memory and Eyewitness Testimony…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfhIua…

CIT’s Deceptive Flight Path Argument: “North” or “South”? What about “Hit the Pentagon”?…

http://arabesque911.blogspot.com/2009…

Eyewitness Accounts – Eyewitnesses Recalled Explosions, No Alarms or Sprinklers…
http://911research.wtc7.net/wtc/evidence/eyewitnesses.html

Visibility 9-11 Welcomes Kevin Ryan and Dr. Steven E. Jones…

http://www.911blogger.com/node/19762

Fair Use Notice

This video contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.

This episode of Words of Freedom welcomes to the program Shari Bernson, Membership Director and Executive Producer at KBDI-TV, Channel 12 in Denver Colorado.  KBDI has taken bold steps in recent months with historic airings of 9-11 Press for Truth on June 3 as well as the August 15th, 2009 airing of 9-11 Blueprint for Truth.  These fund raisers for the Denver PBS television station included a screening of these excellent documentaries along with in studio interviews with Kyle Hence, Ray Nowosielski, 9-11 family member Bob McIlvaine, and Richard Gage, AIA with members of Colorado 9-11 Visibility who were on hand answering phones.

Shari is a nationally recognized producer with over 20 years-combined experience in the television, entertainment and media.  She has been a leader in her field and has raised over $17 million dollars for public television.  Shari is also an on-air talent for KBDI and serves as the main host during these historic airings.

This interview contains excerpts from a longer interview and was broadcast on KRFC 88.9 FM in Fort Collins Colorado on August 3rd and again on August 17th, 2009.  We think this program provides a valuable tool for 9-11 activists to take to the PBS stations in their area to better demonstrate the positive experiences of KBDI after making the decision to air programming with September 11th content.  This interview features a behind the scenes look at some of the decision making processes which went into selecting these documentaries for airing, how 9-11 Press for Truth was received by the public, the role of the local 9-11 group, and the groundswell of support from the Colorado community and indeed from around the world.

Direct download: WOF_bernson_kbdi.mp3

Attorney: FBI trained NJ blogger to incite others
By Katie Nelson
Aug 18, 2009
Associated Press Writer

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) – A New Jersey blogger facing charges in two states for allegedly making threats against lawmakers and judges was trained by the FBI on how to be deliberately provocative, his attorney said Tuesday.

Hal Turner worked for the FBI from 2002 to 2007 as an “agent provocateur” and was taught by the agency “what he could say that wouldn’t be crossing the line,” defense attorney Michael Orozco said.

“His job was basically to publish information which would cause other parties to act in a manner which would lead to their arrest,” Orozco said.

Prosecutors have acknowledged that Turner was an informant who spied on radical right-wing organizations, but the defense has said Turner was not working for the FBI when he allegedly made threats against Connecticut legislators and wrote that three federal judges in Illinois deserved to die.

“But if you compare anything that he did say when he was operating, there was no difference. No difference whatsoever,” Orozco said.

Special Agent Ross Rice, a spokesman for the FBI in Chicago, said he would not comment on or even confirm Turner’s relationship with the FBI.

Orozco spoke to reporters after a court hearing in Hartford on Tuesday. Turner, 47, of North Bergen, N.J., did not appear, because he is in federal custody in Illinois. His arraignment on the Connecticut charges was rescheduled to Oct. 19.

In June, Turner urged his readers to “take up arms” against Connecticut lawmakers and suggested government officials should “obey the Constitution or die,” because he was angry over legislation—later withdrawn—that would have given lay members of Roman Catholic churches more control over their parish’s finances.

He wrote in Internet postings the same month that the Illinois federal appeals judges “deserve to be killed” because they issued a ruling that upheld ordinances in Chicago and suburban Oak Park banning handguns. He included their photos and the room numbers of their chambers at the courthouse.

Orozco officially joined Turner’s defense team in the Connecticut case on Tuesday, with approval from Superior Court Judge David Gold. Orozco said his Newark, N.J.-based firm has been representing Turner for the past five years, including during his FBI informant years.

Turner’s Connecticut attorney, Matthew R. Potter, said it’s too early to tell which trial will move forward first. Orozco said he plans First Amendment defenses in both cases.

Randall Samborn, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office in Chicago, said the office would not comment on Orozco’s statements.

Original article here.

KBDI pushes limits on controversial pledge tie-ins
by Joanne Ostrow
The Denver Post

KBDI-Channel 12 has a reputation for broadcasting bold, distinctive documentaries. Just where to draw the line between bold/distinctive and kooky/irresponsible is a matter of opinion.

Last weekend, during a pledge drive, Channel 12 aired controversial documentaries promoting conspiracy theories surrounding 9/11 and claiming taxes are unlawful. Answering the phones during the pledge drive were conspiracy believers who reportedly encouraged callers to believe.

The station received complaints over “America: Freedom to Fascism” along with ” 9/11: Press for Truth” and ” 9/11: Blueprint for Truth.” It also fielded requests for more.

The claims made in “Freedom to Fascism,” namely that the country is evolving into a police state ruled by a powerful elite that has tricked Americans into paying taxes, have been refuted by facts, notably in a lengthy New York Times piece last month.

I’m with the viewer who cancelled his KBDI membership and wrote, “What’s next on the KBDI hit list, films about President Obama being a citizen of Kenya or about how health-care reform wants to kill your grandmother?”

It’s nothing new for KBDI to staff the phone banks during pledge drives with supporters of whatever is on the air. Conservationists have been recruited to answer phones during nature broadcasts. Still, the arrangement raises questions about whether the station is making deals with interest groups to carry programming in exchange for pledge support.

A KBDI spokeswoman said, “Phone bank people are instructed not to get into debates whatever the issue. We can find people to staff our phone banks without making deals.”

Shari Bernson, Channel 12′s membership director, selects documentaries for airing. Her goal, she said, is to provide a forum for expression of different points of view and to air things the other stations won’t. “It hasn’t been easy with this content,” she said.

” 9/11: Pressed for Truth” was one of KBDI’s top five fundraisers in the past year. The station plans encores of the 9/11 docs in September.

“I am not a 9/11 truther,” Bernson volunteered. But her research found 43 percent of Americans have questions about what actually happened on 9/11. As far as fundraising goes, “Our mission is airing programming outside the mainstream.”

The station knows controversy fuels fundraising. Fully 32 percent of the station’s budget comes from pledges.

Original article here.

Scoop Independent News
See also… Kevin R. Ryan: Demolition access to the WTC Towers

Who could have placed explosives in the World Trade Center (WTC) towers? This is the second essay in a series that attempts to answer that question. The first installment began by considering the tenants that occupied the impact zones and the other floors that might have played a useful role in the demolition of the WTC towers. ^[1] The result was a picture of connections to organizations that had access to explosive materials and to the expertise required to use explosives. Additionally it was seen that, in the years preceding 9/11, the impact zone tenants had all made structural modifications to the areas where the airliners struck the buildings.

The management representatives of these tenant companies were seen to be secretive and powerful. Through these powerful people, the tenants were connected to organizations that benefited greatly from the 9/11 attacks, including the defense contractors Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, General Dynamics, Halliburton, and Science Applications International Corp (SAIC). The tenants also had strong connections to the Bush family and their corporate network, including Dresser Industries (now Halliburton) and UBS, and to Deutsche Bank and its subsidiaries, reported to have brokered the insider trading deals. There were also links between these tenant companies and the terrorist-financing Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI).

Throughout this review we should keep in mind that, according to 2009 estimates, the membership of Al Qaeda’s conspiracy network is estimated to be “as low as 200 or 300.” ^[2] Other reports suggest the group numbers in several thousands, and that Al Qaeda maintains a presence in at least forty different countries, not including the western countries that fear it the most. Including those western countries, however, it was reported in 1996 that Al Qaeda had an economic and financial establishment spanning more than thirteen countries. ^[3] It is clear, therefore, that Al Qaeda is typically described as a “vast conspiracy”. , ^[4,5]

Given the considerable evidence in support of the WTC demolition theory , , , , , , , ^{[6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13]}, it is reasonable to ask if Al Qaeda’s reach allowed it to have unlimited and secretive access to the three WTC skyscrapers that were destroyed that day, which were among the most well-secured facilities in the world at the time. If Al Qaeda did not have such a reach, we must wonder if other powerful people within the US or other western countries, specifically those who did have unlimited access to the WTC buildings, were involved in the attacks.

Article continues here.

Peter Dale Scott Does Not Endorse the Pentagon Flyover Theory (and Neither Do I)
by Erik Larson
911 Reports

Dr. Peter Dale Scott, researcher, author and UC Berkeley Professor Emeritus, recently praised the latest video from CIT, ‘National Security Alert’. However, due to receiving many emails critical of CIT’s work, he issued a qualifying statement, which I asked for and received permission to post publicly. CIT’s film presents witnesses whose statements indicate, or seem to indicate, that American Airlines Flight 77 did not fly the path that we have been told knocked down light poles and caused the damage at the Pentagon, as well as the testimony of an apparent eyewitness to a plane that flew over the building. The film also contends that it is “conclusive” that AA 77 did not hit the Pentagon, that instead it flew over the building. However, in his qualifying statement, Dr. Scott says, “I do not personally believe it.” He explains, “All I endorsed was their assemblage of witnesses…. I do not draw the conclusions from their testimony that CIT does.”

This is Dr. Scott’s statement at CIT’s website:

Citizen Investigation Team has produced an important documentary video that, using numerous independent witness accounts, successfully rebuts the official account of Flight 77’s flight path on 9/11 as it approached the Pentagon. It constitutes a further compelling reason for this country to investigate properly, for the first time, the full story of what happened on that day.

- Dr. Peter Dale Scott

citizeninvestigationteam.com/praise.html

At the above url, there is a link to the film, National Security Alert.

This is Dr. Scott’s statement of qualification, in full:

This is a form letter in response to the flood of letters that has been showered on me by those who do not like CIT.

I have not endorsed the flyover theory for Flight 77, and I do not personally believe it. All I endorsed was their assemblage of witnesses who said that Flight 77 approached the Pentagon on the north side of the Pike. I do not draw the conclusions from their testimony that CIT does. But I believe that the testimony needs to be seriously considered by those trying to find out what actually happened.

I must say that I am disappointed by number of ad hominem attacks I have received. I do not believe one incoming letter so far has dealt with the substance of what the Turnpike witnesses claimed and I endorsed.

In his famous American University speech of June 1963, John F. Kennedy famously said, “And we are all mortal.” I would add, “And we are all fallible.” For this reason I would ask everyone in the 9/11 truth movement to focus their energies on the substance of what happened on 9/11, and not discredit the truth movement by wanton attacks on each other.

Sincerely,

Peter Dale Scott

In his message giving me permission to post, Dr. Scott also said, “I am now aware of [CIT’s] ad hominem attacks on good people, which is a big reason why I am giving you this permission.” In my email to him, I had included a link to the CIT forum thread titled “Face to the Name”, where they post names and photos, and insult and attack those who question their methods, conclusions and behavior:

z3.invisionfree.com/CIT/index.php?showtopic=508

My name and photo are on page 4; CIT co-founder Aldo ‘Investigangsta’ Marquis claims I have made “accusations of being disinfo” against CIT. This is not correct; I have criticized CIT’s evidence, claims and behavior, but I have not accused them of ‘disinformation’, i.e. intentionally misleading the public.

Read the rest of this entry »

Visibility 9-11 Welcomes Researcher Jim Hoffman

This episode of Visibility 9-11 welcomes back to the program long time 9-11 researcher Jim Hoffman.  Jim is a software engineer who has specialized in developing new algorithms, applications is computational geometry, and scientific visualization.   His work has been instrumental in significant new scientific discoveries and has been featured in articles in Nature, Scientific American, Science Digest and Science News.

Jim’s work on 9-11 has laid an early foundations for the 9-11 truth movement and his work is often cited by important figures in the 9-11 movement such as Dr. David Ray Griffin, Richard Gage and Dr. Steven Jones.  Focusing on what happened at the World Trade Center, Jim was one of the first people to point out facts surrounding the 3 building “collapses” on 9-11 including an extensive analysis of the Twin Towers and Building 7.  His excellent website, wtc7.net, was one of the first websites to seriously ask if explosives were used at the World Trade Center on 9-11.  wtc7.net has proved to be a timeless and valuable resource and, to this day, is waking up visitors to the site for the first time.  Jim also currently maintains and regularly updates 911review.com and 911research.com.

Jim has also co-authored a book called Waking Up from Our Nightmare: The 9/11 Crimes in New York City with fellow 9-11 truth activist Don Paul.  These two gentlemen also produced a video together called 9/11 Guilt: The Proof is in Your Hands.  Both of these works focus on the mountain of evidence that all three high rises on 9-11 were brought down with the aid of pre-planted explosives.

Jim’s work is ongoing and he continues to publish valuable essays on the destruction of the Twin Towers and Building 7.  His latest articles include Thermitic Pyrotechnics in the WTC Made Simple: Three Points of Active Thermitic Material Discovered in Dust from the 9/11 World Trade Center Catastrophe that Anyone Can Understand, and Explosives Found in World Trade Center Dust: Scientists Discover Both Residues And Un-ignited Fragments Of Nano-Engineered Thermitic Pyrotechnics In Debris From the Twin Towers.

Jim Hoffman has also had a great impact on the 9-11 truth movement as a whole with his well-reasoned and documented critiques of popularly held myths within the movement itself.  Through extensive fact checking and analysis, Jim has been able to identify the weakest claims in the 9-11 truth movement and expose them as likely misinformation.  Misinformation takes many forms but is generally information which has not been substantially proven and can be patently ridiculous on its surface, which is spread by well meaning people who don’t take the time to do the research.  Over the years, a pattern has emerged by personalities who insist on promoting some of the worst information about 9-11 that one can find.  “No Planes” were used on 9-11, beams from space brought down the World Trade Center, or holograms and/or “TV fakery” was used instead of real planes at the WTC have all in one way or another been promoted by “Big Tent” advocates like Kevin Barrett, Jim Fetzer, Morgan Reynolds and others.  Interestingly enough, these weakest of links in the pool of 9-11 information have been the same “straw man” arguments that have been used time and again by the mainstream media to attack our movement and discredit us.  We at Visibility 9-11 think there are valuable clues to be found in these established patterns that would indicate a possible coordinated effort between disinformation specialists and the media to discredit our legitimate arguments and evidence.

This episode begins with an audio clip from a speech by Dr. William Pepper from June 2006.  At the conference in Chicago, 9-11 Revealing the Truth, Reclaiming our Future, Dr. Pepper clearly warns the 9-11 truth movement about infiltration by specialists in disinformation and even gives an example of how he was duped during his research into the assassination of MLK.  I was present during this speech and Dr. Pepper’s words had a great impact on me, which inspired the production of my Visibility 9-11 COINTELPRO Special Report in early 2007, where I interviewed both Jim Hoffman and Dr. Pepper on this topic.  Visibility 9-11 also produced a newsletter entirely devoted to this topic, it’s history and manifestations in October of that same year.  This is must reading if you are to understand how disinformation is being used to discredit YOU.

One of the main goals we have at Visibility 9-11 is to educate our listeners and ourselves about all aspects of the September 11th tragedy.  To this end, we are taking on a more active role in addressing this important issue.  In fact, we believe the issue of disinformation to be the most important issue that each of us face as 9-11 activists. As blogger Arabesque has pointed out many times, the “Official Story” is itself disinformation and must be regarded as such.  Ultimately, we are the ones in the street and on the blogs and forums who will have to face the ridicule if our facts are not straight and if we are to be successful, we must learn to identify the disinformation and insert caution into your activism.

As pointed out by my guest on this program, it is agreed that central to the various themes of disinformation are the “no jetliner” claims, especially the “no 757? claims for the attack on the Pentagon.  In spite of substantial resources being poured into books and videos which claim that there was no airliner crash at the Pentagon on 9-11, Jim Hoffman has published extensive work which would bring these claims into question.  Careful examination of Jim’s work reveals a different picture of the Pentagon attack than the “no jetliner” advocates.  We at Visibility 9-11 acknowledge that there are many valid reasons for us to believe the “no jetliner” claims.  However, a closer look reveals the real possibility that the event at the Pentagon has been manipulated from the start through the use of “official” and un-offical sources.

This program takes a closer look at “Citizen Investigation Team” (CIT) and it’s biggest promoter Pilots for 9-11 Truth and their latest effort to advance the “no jetliner” theory. Their new video, National Security Alert, which is being aggressively promoted on the internet and at public events, alleges that not only did the Boeing jet not strike the Pentagon, but flew over it at the last minute in an elaborate deception that not a single witness has claimed to see, and, contradicts the testimony of hundreds of eyewitnesses in the area.

Direct download this episode: visibility911_hoffman_cit.mp3

(either click link to open internet player or right click and choose “save link as”)

Extensive research has been done to expose this hoax and is highly recommended reading:

The Pentagon Strike: Mysteries Persist in Pentagon Attack by Jim Hoffman
To Con a Movement: Exposing CIT’s PentaCon ‘Magic Show’ by Victoria Ashley
Google Earth Exposes Pentagon Flyover Farce by Jim Hoffman
CIT, Craig Ranke, Aldo Marquis, and the PentaCon Flyover Theory: Origin, Debate, and the ‘Smoking-Gun’ Anti-Controversy by Arabesque
Breaking Down CIT’s Bill of Goods by Jim Hoffman
CIT Virus by John Michael Talboo and ScootleRoyale

More related reading:

Visibility 9-11 COINTELPRO Special Report
Visibility 9-11 October 2007 Newsletter
Twenty-Five Ways To Suppress Truth: The Rules of Disinformation by H. Michael Sweeney

“If you really care about 9-11 truth, you will do your homework and only present to the public that which is the best, most documented and scientifically validated information at your websites, conferences, public events, street actions and other related activism.” –Michael Wolsey  8/2009

To Con a Movement:  Exposing CIT’s PentaCon ‘Magic Show’
by Victoria Ashley
Version 1.1, Aug 1, 2009

Table of Contents

* The Opposite of Science
* History of the Flyover Theory
* One Fifth of a Theory at Best
* In Search of a Flyover Witness
* A Pattern of Disruption
* Pentaconned!
* Consequences
* Recommended Reading

INTRODUCTION

This essay examines the work of the Citizen Investigation Team (CIT), a team of two people who claim to prove that a complicated “magic show” occurred during the Pentagon attack on 9/11/01, fooling all of the witnesses and surviving victims of the event into believing that American Airlines Flight 77 (AA77) hit the Pentagon, when instead, it flew just over the building, obscured by a simultaneous explosion, and then somehow flew away, unnoticed by anyone in the area (the “flyover” theory). CIT took their camcorders and went to Washington, DC, where they interviewed a select group of Pentagon attack eye witnesses whom they believe, indicate a different flightpath from the accepted flightpath (the one described by a trail of damage leading up to the building). These interviews, it is claimed, provide the primary “evidence” for the flyover theory.

Or so we are led to believe.

The general conclusion that “no plane” or “no Boeing” could have hit the Pentagon — widely accepted by skeptics of the official version of events of the Pentagon attack, even as it is generally not carefully examined — is based on a series of erroneous physical evidence claims. The details of these common errors made by investigators of the Pentagon attack are not the purpose of this essay, but have already been described in What the Physical Evidence Shows.

The purpose of this essay is to critically examine the claims, methods and themes employed by CIT in their attempts to make the case for the flyover theory. This essay will show that CIT’s claims about what happened in the Pentagon attack on 9/11/01 are without a meaningful scientific process and are reliant on biased interpretations of broad statements made by less than 20 witnesses to the attack, 8 years after the event. The witness recordings made by CIT are sometimes muddled, are significantly edited, and at times appear to have almost nothing to do with what CIT interprets from them, leaving many video viewers and forum readers, told they would see “proofs”, frustrated and perplexed about what is going on.

At the heart of it, what CIT has really created from the witness accounts is an elaborate historical fictional drama focused around the narrow theme of witnesses appearing to describe a different flightpath for the plane that day. Without any viable corroborating evidence for the claim that the plane never hit, but instead flew over the building, the filmmakers instead offer up a fascinating premise:

“Everything was faked!”

So what began as an innocent sounding exploration of discrepancies in eye witness testimony, moves on to “proofs” of how the existing damage incurred during the attack could not have happened from the impact of a large Boeing. A summary of the many “it was faked” claims indicates a somewhat daunting if not entirely ridiculous premise for the “flyover”:

* Lamp posts downed by plane impact: faked* Generator damage by engine impact: faked
* Boeing parts on the ground and inside the building: faked
* Impact hole cutout in the Pentagon matching a 757-sized jetliner: faked
* Recovered DNA identifying Flight 77 passengers and crew: faked
* Recovered victim personal effects provided to family members: faked
* All witnesses to the plane impact: plants or confused about what they saw plane crash damage and debris

Read the rest of this entry »