Transcript 9/11: A Closer Look at the Official Conspiracy Theory

A 9/11 Whistleblower Examines
the Official Conspiracy Theory
Kevin Ryan,
Member of Scholars for 911 Truth
Scholars For 911 Truth
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A non-partisan association of faculty,
students, and scholars, in fields as diverse
as history, science, military affairs,
psychology, and philosophy, dedicated to
exposing falsehoods and to revealing
truths behind 9/11.
Founded By…
James H. Fetzer, University of Minnesota
Steven Jones, Brigham Young University
Understanding the Official Conspiracy
Theory (OCT) is important because…
1. It is being used to redefine our
futures
2. It is false
These two facts taken together should be very
important to all Americans
How is the OCT Redefining our Futures?
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Cost of 9/11 Wars – So far in just Afghanistan
and Iraq
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Over 2600 Americans killed and approximately
17,000 wounded
Over 30,000 civilians (including children) killed and
uncounted thousands of other military dead
$300 billion and counting
Redefining our values
• Indefinite imprisonment without charges
• Torture
• The Patriot Act and spying on Americans
How is the OCT redefining our future?
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All federal programs outside of Defense and
Homeland Security have become low priorities
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Public perception affected on every level
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Skyrocketing national debt
• $5.7 trillion and falling in September 2000
• $8.3 trillion now and rising rapidly
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The next terrorist attack and the next war
• Suspension of the Constitution?
• Iran?
Meanwhile we’re wasting precious time and
resources that could be used to pursue…

New solutions for the end of cheap oil
• Global oil production has peaked
• US natural gas production has peaked
• Oil and gas are so important that the peaks will have vast implications
for world politics, lifestyles, agriculture and economic stability

New ways of dealing with money
• Our industrial societies and our financial systems were built on the
assumption of continual growth – growth based on ever more readily
available cheap fossil fuels – www.energybulletin.net
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New solutions for environmental problems
• [Global warming] has accelerated in the past two decades. There is
new and stronger evidence that most of the warming over the last 50
years is attributable to human activities – National Academy of
Sciences
• Higher temperatures threaten dangerous consequences: drought,
disease, floods, lost eco-systems – National Resource Defense Council
The Official Conspiracy Theory
( = The War on Terror)
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The 9/11 Commission Report
• Mission: To provide the fullest possible
account of the events surrounding 9/11
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The NIST World Trade Center Report
• Mission: To explain why and how three World
Trade Center skyscrapers (WTC1, WTC2 and
WTC7) collapsed
Which story carries more weight?
Afghanistan War and Iraq War
20,000 Americans killed or wounded
30,000 civilians killed, how many wounded?
Torture
Skyrocketing national debt
Loss of rights and Constitution threatened
Lost opportunity to pursue real problems
The 9/11 Commission Report
The NIST WTC Report
The OCT as presented by
the 9/11 Commission Report (911CR)
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Nineteen fanatically religious Arab Muslims totally outfoxed
and overpowered the entire US military and intelligence
apparatus, as well as the security systems of several
airports, and then performing expert aerial maneuvers, flew
several hijacked aircraft into buildings and crashed another
in Pennsylvania.
These terrorists were acting on the behalf of Osama Bin
Laden, and no other foreign or domestic agencies, because
they “hate America”.
They were able to accomplish this because of “deep
institutional failings” within the US government.
Nineteen fanatically religious Muslims?
• At least six of them were reported to be
alive after 9/11/01
• Some of them were anything but devout
Muslims as they were known to enjoy
alcohol, drugs, gambling and lap dances
• They left some suspicious clues
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Seymour Hersh in the New Yorker -- “A former highlevel intelligence official told me whatever trail was
left was left deliberately”
Still Alive?
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Waleed al-Shehri was interviewed by a London newspaper
then, as reported by AP, spoke on 9/22/01 to US embassy
in Morocco
Ahmed al-Nami told British newspaper Telegraph that “I
have never even heard of Pennsylvania”
Saaed al-Ghandi was interviewed by several newspapers
and reported by the BBC to have been in Tunis for 10
months including 9/11
Mohan al-Shehri, Salem al-Hazmi and Abdulaziz al-Omari
were all reported alive and well in Saudi Arabia by the
Saudi embassy in Washington. Al-Omari visited the US
Consulate in Jeddah to demand an explanation
…totally outfoxed and overpowered the entire
US military and intelligence apparatus?
• AG John Ashcroft, SF mayor Willie Brown, and
several Pentagon officials were warned not to
fly on or about 9/11
• Attorney David Schippers attempted to share
exact details with John Ashcroft, as provided to
him by FBI agents, weeks before the attacks
• Profits from very unusual stock trades on AA,
UA and MDSW point to insider knowledge
• The Secret Service appeared to know that the
President was not a target
Other FBI Whistleblowers
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Coleen Rowley
• In August 2001, Rowley’s Minneapolis FBI Office
requested permission to search the computer of Zacarias
Moussaoui because they believed he might “fly
something into the WTC.” This request was not only
denied, but FBI HQ changed the evidence file,
downplaying Moussaoui’s connection to Al Queda.
• A congressional report later said FBI HQ’s new file on
Moussaoui was “patently false”
• Rowley wrote a memo blasting FBI HQ
• The 911 Commission did not interview her, and called
the dispute a simple “difference of opinion”
• Moussaoui is now the government’s only convict for the
crimes, and may be put to death for “failure to act”
Other FBI Whistleblowers
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Sibel Edmonds
• Accused FBI of intentionally failing to translate
documents relating to certain foreign governments
• Fired for writing a letter about this to the DOJ, and later
gagged by Ashcroft court order
• Has since stated she has considerable evidence of deep
wrongdoing within the US government and has
suggested they knew details of the 9/11 attacks
• None of her 3 and a half hour testimony to the 9/11
Commission was included in the 9/11 Commission report
War games?
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Apparently five war game drills were in
progress on 9/11/01
• Some involved hijacked airliners, insertion of fake radar
blips and pulling fighter jets away from the northeast US
• Some were “live-fly” exercises, where actual aircraft
were simulating hijacked airliners as the real attacks
occurred
• NORAD, FAA and others affected
…totally outfoxed and overpowered the entire
US military and intelligence apparatus?
• The military’s story changed several
times
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9/11 to 9/14/01 – no jets scrambled until
after buildings hit
9/18/01 – jets scrambled but too far away
July 2004 – jets scrambled late due to FAA
failures, but went in wrong direction and at
fraction of speed
…as well as the security systems of
several airports?
• Directors of the company Stratesec,
responsible for security at UA, Dulles
airport and the WTC, included Wirt
Walker (CEO) and Marvin Bush
• There were no Arabs on the flight
manifests that were released. Airlines
have since refused to release passenger
lists.
…then performing expert aerial maneuvers,
flew several hijacked planes into buildings?
• Hitting a specific building at 500 mph is not easy
• But “Aviation sources”, as reported by the
Washington Post, said the plane that hit the
Pentagon “was flown with extraordinary skill”
• The 911CR said Hani Hanjour, flying the Pentagon
plane, was a “terrible pilot” but was also “the
operations most experienced pilot”
• Hanjour’s pilot application was rejected several
times, and instructors refused to go up with him
again
No 757 wreckage at the Pentagon?
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No 757 wreckage in photos, inside or outside of
the building
Engine may have been from a missile
• Donald Rumsfeld said that a missile damaged the
building
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Damage to building is questionable
FBI refuses to release the videos they confiscated
from area cameras
…and crashed one in Pennsylvania?
Did it crash or was it shot down?
• Aircraft debris spread over 8 mile distance
• USA Today, Washington Post, ABC News and CBS News
all reported that shoot down order was given
approximately 20 minutes before crash
• Major Daniel Nash, one of the F15 pilots sent to NYC,
said he was told a military F16 had shot down an airliner
in Pennsylvania
• Reports from people on the ground suggested the plane
was brought down by a military missile
The OCT per the 911CR…
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These terrorists were acting on behalf of
Osama Bin Laden (OBL)?
• Video confession appears to be a fake
• OBL was known to be a CIA asset during the
Russian/Afghanistan war
• In July of 2001, OBL was treated in an
American hospital in Dubai (UAE) and visited
there by a CIA operative
…and no other foreign or domestic agencies?
• Foreign agents celebrating near WTC
• Evidence of Saudi funding
• Evidence of involvement by Pakistan’s ISI
• PNAC (Cheney, Lehman, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz,
etc.) called for a “New Pearl Harbor” in 2000
• US had plans to invade both Afghanistan
(reported by BBC) and Iraq (per Paul O’Neill)
before 9/11
The OCT per the 911CR…
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They were able to accomplish this because of
“deep institutional failings” within the US
government?
• No one was held accountable
• Many were promoted
• We had no clue, yet full story was available within days
(all hijackers identified in detail by 9/14)
• Recommendations were not implemented
The Official Conspiracy Theory, as presented by
the 9/11 Commission report, is…
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…false because the report does not, by a long
shot, provide the fullest possible account of the
events surrounding 9/11
…false because it omits or distorts many of the
most important facts, apparently in an attempt to
support pre-determined conclusions
…false because the recommendations have not
been taken seriously
Interested in why this story is false?

Ask Lee Hamilton, Vice Chairman of the
9/11 Commission
• In this room on March 27th
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Ask your government representatives or
your local media
Visit www.st911.org and sign petition
Now which one weighs more?
Afghanistan War and Iraq War
20,000 Americans killed or wounded
30,000 civilians killed, how many
wounded?
Torture
Skyrocketing national debt
Loss of rights and Constitution
threatened
Lost opportunity to pursue real problems
The NIST WTC Report
The OCT part II –
Collapse of the WTC buildings
Three “investigations”
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ASCE - led by Gene Corley
• No access to samples or blueprints
• Not allowed to solicit help from public
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FEMA - report released May 2002
• Some good information, but no answers
(e.g. 4,000 gallons of jet fuel gone in 5 minutes)
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NIST - report released September 2005
•
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8 media/public meetings – info trickled out
10,000 pages, 42 companion reports
$20 million
WTC7 not included
Important preliminary considerations
• No tall steel-frame buildings have ever collapsed
from fire, but on 9/11, we’re told there were three
• Steel evidence destroyed despite outraged cries
from public and fire experts
• Like the 911CR, a full investigation was not
considered until 9/11 families demanded it
• Apparent conflicts of interest on NIST Team
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Charles Thornton – Tomasetti’s partner
SOM – Larry Silverstein insisted they design the new
WTC7 building and Freedom Tower
Most, if not all, contractors involved depended on
good government relations
Important preliminary considerations
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January 2002
• Bill Manning, editor of Fire Engineering magazine, said
the “official investigation…is a half-baked farce that may
already have been commandeered by political forces
whose primary interests, to put it mildly, lie far afield of
full disclosure.”
• Dick Cheney called Senate leader Tom Daschle and
asked him to “limit the scope and overall review of what
happened [on 9/11]”, claiming resources would be
pulled from the War on Terrorism. President Bush met
with Daschle privately and asked him to limit the
investigation.
The NIST’s WTC team
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Started with pre-determined conclusions
• Shankar Nair -- "Already there is near-consensus as to the
sequence of events that led to the collapse of the World Trade
Center.”-- Chicago Tribune September 19, 2001
• Charles Thornton -- "Karl, we all know what caused the
collapse." -- talking to Karl Koch shortly after the attacks.
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And worked toward “leading hypotheses”
Progression of theories
supporting fire-based failure
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Towering Inferno
• Nuclear meltdown temperatures, everything melted
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Column failure
• Columns buckled outward
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Pancake Theory
• Floors collapsed like records on a spindle
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NIST’s new theory
• Sagging floors pulled exterior columns inward
(column failure)
Early theories – Towering Inferno
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Melting steel ?
• Henry Koffman, USC –”The bottom line, in my opinion,
is that the intense heat from the jet fuel fires melted the
steel infrastructure.”
• Hyman Brown of Colorado -- ”Steel melts, and 24,000
gallons of aviation fluid melted the steel. Nothing is
designed or will be designed to withstand that fire.''
• James Glanz of NY Times – the steel turned to “licorice”
• Chris Wise, “structural engineer”, as reported by BBC –
“the columns would have melted, the floors would have
melted..”
Early theories – Towering Inferno
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Exaggeration of fires, temperatures and column
damage
• Eduardo Kausel, in 2001 Scientific American article –
“No building has or will resist this kind of fire.”
• 2002 A&E / History Channel video “Anatomy of
September 11th” reported temperatures of 2500 F
• 2002 NOVA video “How the Towers Fell” said two-thirds
of WTC1 columns severed, and temperatures at 2000 F
• US News and World Report – “weakened by the nearly
2000 degree heat, the remaining columns buckle.”
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But later, NIST tests indicated much lower steel
temperatures (500 F)
Where’s the fire?
Windsor building, Madrid, February 2005
Twin towers shortly after WTC2 hit
Who would design a building for plane
crashes but forget the jet fuel fires?
• Eduardo Kausel of MIT – The WTC buildings were
designed to withstand Boeing 707 impacts but
were “never designed for the massive explosions
nor the intense jet fuel fires that came next – a key
design omission.”
• Loring Knoblauch, CEO of UL agreed, writing to me
– the jet fuel fires were not “reasonably
foreseeable.”
• But would real structural engineers do this?
Not this guy.
John Skilling, the engineer responsible for
designing the WTC towers, had this to
say in 1993 when asked if he considered
plane crashes in his design.
“Our analysis indicated the biggest problem
would be the fact that all the fuel would dump
into the building. [But] the building structure
would still be there.”
Early theories – Pancake Theory
• Karl Koch -- “I could see it in my mind’s eye:
The fire burned until the steel was weakened
and the floors above collapsed, starting a chain
reaction of gravity, floor falling upon floor upon
floor, clunk – clunk – clunk, the load gaining
weight and momentum by the nanosecond,
unstoppable. Once enough floors collapsed,
the exterior walls and the core columns were
no longer laterally supported and folded in.”
• FEMA report – “a pancake-type of collapse of
successive floors”
Pancake theory collapsed
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August 2004 floor model tests by
Underwriters Laboratories
No floor collapse = no pancaking
“The results established that this type of assembly was
capable of sustaining a large gravity load, without
collapsing, for a substantial period of time relative to the
duration of the fires in any given location on September
11th.” NIST report
Original design claims
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“The World Trade Center towers would have an inherent
capacity to resist unforeseen calamities.”
For the perimeter columns (83% of total columns), “live
loads on these columns can be increased more than
2,000% before failure occurs.”
One “could cut away all the first story columns on one side
of the building, and partway from the corners of the
perpendicular sides, and the building could still withstand
design live loads and a 100 mph wind from any direction.”
All quotes from Engineering News-Record, 1964
NIST’s explanation of Why and How
the WTC towers collapsed
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
The aircraft severed “a number of columns”
Loads were redistributed (from -20% to +25%)
Insulation (fireproofing) was damaged
Some floors began to sag
Sagging floors pulled exterior columns inward
causing them to buckle
6. Instability spread around entire building
7. “Global collapse ensued”
1. How many columns were severed?
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NIST now admits only a small percentage
of columns were severed
• 14% in WTC1
• 15% in WTC2
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But since one “could cut away all the first story columns on
one side of the building, and partway from the corners of
the perpendicular sides, and the building could still
withstand design live loads and a 100 mph wind from any
direction”, we know the buildings could withstand > 25%
column loss without a problem.
2. How much load was re-distributed?
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NIST says loads on some columns were
decreased (as much as 20%) and on others loads
were increased (up to 25%).
But again, since the original design claims were
that, “live loads on these [perimeter] columns
can be increased more than 2,000% before
failure occurs”, these columns should have
supported the extra load and much, much more.
3. Insulation (fireproofing) damaged?
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NIST reports “The towers would not have
collapsed under the combined effects of aircraft
impact and the subsequent multi-floor fires if the
insulation had not been widely dislodged or had
been only minimally dislodged by aircraft impact.”
NIST then goes on to say “dislodgement of
thermal insulation from structural members could
have occurred.”
3. Was the insulation (fireproofing)
“widely dislodged”?
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How?
• NIST devotes one sentence to the testing that
was done to prove insulation loss, saying “an
array of 0.3 inch diameter pellets moving at
350 mph” was able to strip insulation from
some truss bars.
• Forget the floors, what about the columns?
3. Was the insulation (fireproofing)
“widely dislodged”?
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Exactly how did a Boeing 767 transform into an
array of 0.3 inch pellets that could widely
dislodge so much fireproofing from so many steel
columns?
NIST estimates accelerations required to dislodge
insulation would be 20 to 730 g, and that the
aircraft impacted at about 100 g.
What were the forces involved, and how did these
change as the debris scattered? How about
angles of impact?
4. Some floors began to sag?
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Only very slight sagging is visible in NIST photos
from UL tests (and no collapse)
• How does sagging so dramatically change the
force applied to columns at floor connections?
• NIST says shear force was 14,000 psi in some
places, but the heat-treated perimeter columns
were rated at 100,000 psi and the welded plate
connections were rated at 90,000 psi
5. Sagging floors pulled exterior columns
inward causing them to buckle?
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Some experts have pointed out that “the core
columns cannot pull the exterior columns in via
the floor.” (Lane and Lamont, 2005)
How many columns buckled at first? Was it more
than the difference between the 15% from
aircraft impact and >25% that design claims said
would not be a problem? (i.e. was it more than
another 30 exterior columns?)
How did this happen?
Extreme steel temperatures
would be required to cause buckling
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Steel temperatures (not air temperatures)
• The temperature of protected steel, even in a
testing furnace brought and held above
1000 C, requires two hours to reach 600 C*
(remember WTC2 collapsed in 56 minutes)
• NIST’s test of paint deformation -- only 3 of
170 samples showed steel temps above 250 C
(500 F), despite pre-collapse exposure to fire.
A second, microstructure test indicated no
temperatures “above 600 C”.
*Structural Fire Protection, T.T. Lie editor, ASCE manuals and Reports on Eng. Practice, No. 78
Extreme steel temperatures
would be required to cause buckling
• People in the impact zones were clearly
not experiencing high temperatures,
and some escaped unharmed
• Firefighters worked in impact zones
right until moment of collapse
How hot could the steel have become?
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NIST now says 4,500 gallons of jet fuel were available
to feed fires. This would provide 590,000 MJ of
energy.
Typical office furnishings in the impact zone would
provide 490,000 MJ of energy.
Using masses and specific heats for materials heated,
a maximum temperature in the impact zone can be
calculated.
This is 310 degrees C (or 590 degrees F)
• Assuming fuel burnt with perfect efficiency, that no hot gases left the
impact zone, that no heat escaped by conduction, and that the steel
and concrete had an unlimited amount of time to absorb all the heat.
Steel temperatures Discussed
3000
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
Paint test
Calculated
Steel at half
strength
Steel Forged
ASTM E119
TV Program
Steel melts
Was the steel tested for fire resistance?
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NIST said they found no documents, either for
steel tests or for Skilling’s jet fuel analysis
Underwriters Laboratories’ CEO told me UL had
tested the steel to NYC code (3 hours for
columns)
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Now UL says there is “no evidence”
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IUSB student investigation
• Port Authority says no records exist
• Records came up “missing” from Chamber of Commerce in
New York
ASTM E119 Time-temperature curve
What did UL say about testing the WTC steel?
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“We tested the steel with all the required fireproofing on,
and it did beautifully.”
“As we do not do follow-up service on this kind of product,
we can give an opinion only on the test sample which was
indeed properly coated.”
“We test to the code requirements, and the steel clearly
met [the NYC code] requirements and exceeded them.”
NYC code required 3 hour fire resistance for columns
Now UL says there is “no evidence” that anyone tested the
steel
Me and Underwriters Laboratories (UL)
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September 2001
• Loring Knoblauch, UL’s CEO, told staff that UL had
certified the steel used in the WTC
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November 2003
• I asked Knoblauch in writing about UL’s involvement,
and he responded in December confirming details.
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August 2004
• UL performed tests of WTC floor models
• Loring Knoblauch resigned suddenly
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October 2004 – NIST report update
November 2004
• I sent NIST’s Frank Gayle a message asking for
clarification
Review
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To believe the story so far, we need a Boeing 767
to transform into an array of 0.3 inch diameter
pellets, that then widely dislodge the fireproofing
from at least 30 columns (without any test
results to support either contention).
We then need these same columns to be heated
more than a thousand degrees (F) above what
test results show were present.
Then, matching up precisely with some sagging
floors, these columns must all buckle inward at
once (in an unknown way).
6. Instability spread around entire
building perimeter ?
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In North Tower, transmission antenna fell first
Buildings fell at nearly free-fall speed. How quickly would
instability have to spread first? How much of the ~10 sec
fall time could be spared?
Perimeter of building was 832 feet. If complete in 0.5
seconds, speed of “instability spread” would have been
>1100 mph (Mach 1.5)
“A steel structure, generally speaking, does not collapse
suddenly when attacked by fire. There are unmistakable
warning signs, namely, large deformations.”
Hart, Multi-Storey Buildings in Steel, Halsted Press
7. “Global collapse ensued?”
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How did the top of the South Tower turn to dust in
mid-air?
What about resistance of floors below? If these floors
each caused hesitation of only half a second, an extra
40 seconds would be needed.
What about the observed squibs?
What about the large pools of molten metal observed
in the basement areas of both Towers and WTC 7?
Note: Questions from SF911T Professors of Engineering and Physics
How could any of this happen?
…only in a computer model
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The parameters NIST originally considered
“realistic” were discarded because computer
results “did not compare to observed events.”
“More severe” parameters were substituted until
animations gave the desired result
NIST will not release 6,899 photographs and
6,977 segments of real video footage
NIST’s computer simulated
“animations”
Does your future depend on these cartoons?
The OCT per the
NIST WTC report is false because…
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They did not explain, by any stretch of the
imagination, why and how the Twin Towers (or
WTC 7) collapsed
They omitted or distorted many important facts
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Original design claims
John Skilling’s analysis of the fires
Resistance from floors
WTC 1 antenna moving first
Pools of molten metal lingering for weeks
Results of physical tests
Larry Silverstein’s admission of demolition
Pop Quiz: What should scientists do when reality
“does not compare to observed events?”
A. Ignore results of all physical tests and
calculations?
B. Cling to an argument that depends on a string of
vanishingly small probabilities?
C. Make animations to support pre-determined
conclusions?
D. Or reconsider the observations?
Scholars call for examination of the
demolition hypothesis
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Demolition squibs seen ejected from floors far
from impact zone
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Upper floors turned to powder in mid-air
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Molten metal found under rubble piles of all three
buildings for weeks
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Site cleaned up by “Controlled Demolition, Inc.”
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Many reports of explosions and flashes of light
The towers and WTC 7 all exhibited the
characteristics of controlled demolition
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Sudden onset
Straight down
Almost free-fall speed
Total collapse
Sliced steel
Pulverization of concrete
Dust clouds
Horizontal ejections (squibs)
Demolition rings
Sounds of explosions
Pools of molten steel
Reports of explosions
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Paramedic Daniel Rivera – “[Did] you ever see professional
demolition where they set the charges on certain floors and
then you hear ‘Pop, pop, pop, pop, pop?’…I thought it was
that.”
Witness Timothy Burke – “the building popped, lower than
the fire…I was going oh, my God, there is a secondary
device because the way the building popped. I thought it
was an explosion.”
Firefighter Edward Cachia – “It actually gave at a lower
floor, not the floor where the plane hit. We originally
thought there was like an internal detonation, explosives…”
Assistant Commissioner Stephen Gregory -- “I
thought…that I saw low-level flashes…[at] the lower level of
the building. You know like when they demolish a
building?”
Reports of explosives
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Firefighter Richard Banaciski – “It seemed like on television
[when] they blow up these buildings. It seemed like it was
going all around like a belt, all these explosions.”
Deputy Commissioner Thomas Fitzpatrick – “My initial
reaction was that this was exactly the way it looks when
they show you those implosions on TV.”
Battalion Chief Brian Dixon – “the lowest floor of the fire in
the south tower actually looked like someone had planted
explosives all around it because…everything blew out on
the one floor.”
Firefighter Kenneth Rogers – “there was an explosion in
the south tower…I kept watching. Floor after floor after
floor. [It] looked like a synchronized deliberate kind of
thing.”
WTC 7
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Would have been tallest building in 33 states
(Indiana has one slightly taller at 49 stories)
Collapsed in 6.6 seconds
Larry Silverstein, leaseholder for all three
buildings –- “I said…maybe the smartest thing to
do is pull it. And [the fire department
commander] made that decision to pull and we
watched the building collapse.” PBS, 2002
It takes weeks to plan and implement
a controlled demolition
It’s not too late
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We can end these wars and take back our
country
We just need to accept the fact that the
Official Conspiracy Theory is false and
demand real answers
But we need your help