Images and Words
by Reprehensor

Anthony Hall is like many other 9/11 skeptics. At some point, after examining the events of 9/11 and the international consequences of that foul deed, (particularly the consequences that befell countries with a predominantly Arab/Muslim population), Mr. Hall decided to speak out. The difference between Hall and most 9/11 skeptics, is that Mr. Hall is a sitting academic at a university in Lethbridge, Alberta, in Canada.

Hall joined a growing list of Canadian academics who have chosen to speak out publicly; John McMurtry, Graeme MacQueen, Michael Keefer, and of course, Michel Chossudovsky, a pioneer in 9/11 skepticism.

He made his debut as a skeptic of the 9/11 Official Conspiracy Theory (OCT) on September 6, 2008 in Edmonton, Alberta, with a reading of his paper, The Lies and Crimes of 911. The paper is an excellent introduction to a series of complex, related studies, that encompass globalization, US imperial tendencies, and false-flag terrorism. Hall is well-versed in these issues, and won an Alberta Book Award for his volume, The American Empire and the Fourth World;

The cover features provocative imagery; Apache-like helicopters in place of stars on the American flag, giving no doubt as to Hall’s intent. The image is a very un-subtle, ironic reinterpretation of one of the prime symbols of the American dream; the very banner of Liberty itself is subverted to shock the viewer into a reevaluation of the iconic Red, White and Blue. Just as effectively, the book’s publisher could have used an eagle… while once the American eagle flew with arrows in one taloned claw, and an olive branch in the other, increasingly, the olive branch has been discarded for the “smart” bomb, especially under the last eight years of Bush rule.

So, if Hall’s critics had a beef with him, his conscious decision to be weighed down so heavily with such an intentionally provocative design like the radically redesigned American flag would be fair game. It would be a slippery slope for the critics in light of the never-ending wave of revelations concerning torture, and the body count in Iraq, but I’m sure some idiot would step up for a public flogging, all the same.

When in Doubt, Play the Anti-Semitism Card!

Shortly after the web publication of Hall’s “Lies and Crimes” speech, it was picked up by a number of websites, including the “Facts not Fairies” blogspot, which Hall publicly distanced himself from, after reading some of the content on the site. (That particular blogspot also promotes the film “9/11 Missing Links”, a Trojan horse documentary laden with misinformation, disinformation, and racist rhetoric.) Hall very clearly segregated his message from those who use ethnicity as a base point for 9/11 investigation, and specifically, from those eager to scapegoat people of Jewish heritage, merely because of their ancestry.

A couple of weeks later, Hall on one hand criticized the Canadian Jewish Congress for their part in the firing of Canadian politician Lesley Hughes from the Liberal Party, and re-emphasized the importance of clarity, careful language, and avoiding the pitfalls of scapegoating entire ethnic groups through myths like The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. In part, Hall said;

“There can be no honest escape for our civic duty to confront the substance of conspiracy and as well as layer upon layer of public mythology adhering to the real or imagined causes of 911. The stakes are immense in determining the outcome in this clash of conspiracy theories. Both extremes in this clash of conspiracy theories divert our attention away from rational debate on the events that have plunged the world into the weird nether zone of privatized espionage, torture and militarization that goes by the name of the War on Terror. What are the economics of this conflict? To extend basic questions presently being pressed on politicians during this period of worsening financial crisis, who is reaping the economic rewards of the new terror economy and who is being asked to pay the price? These are the kinds of questions that do not get posed, much less addressed, as long as public perceptions of the meaning of 911 are confined within the framework of competing conspiracy theories emphasizing religion and ethnicity.”

However, despite all of these caveats, yellow-journalist smear-blog, “The Black Rod” coughed up a hit-piece on Hall, in reprisal for Hall’s defense of Lesley Hughes. This is the same blog that initiated and inspired the series of attacks on Lesley Hughes that led to her sacking.

“The Black Rod” displays a knee-jerk reaction to any notion that there was any Israeli foreknowledge of the 9/11 attacks, let alone the possibility that Israeli intelligence assets played any sort of operational role on 9/11, writing, “Those sneaky Jews with their advance knowledge of everything is an integral part of the 911 Truth movement.”

Please note: it is “The Black Rod” which injects this venomous rhetoric into the equation, not Anthony Hall, and not 911blogger.com. By immediately reaching for the emotional reaction that a charge of bigotry will inspire in his/her readers, “The Black Rod” reaches for what retired CIA man Michael Scheuer recently called, “The Excalibur of American politics,” at the Doha Debates episode, filmed at Georgetown University. He is referring to the accusation of bigotry, to stifle fair debate.

In this manner, “The Black Rod” fails anyone who reads the blog.

Read the rest of this article here.