From: Andrew Johnson
Date: 2007-02-05 12:01:05
CBS PULLS “HATCHET JOB” ON SCHOLARS FOR 9/11 TRUTH A stellar example of irresponsible reporting, founder claims Madison, WI February 1, 2007 – Members of Scholars for 9/11 Truth, a non-partisan organization of students, experts and scholars dedicated to exposing falsehoods and revealing truths about 9/11, have some bones to pick with CBS NEWS for an article entitled, “Dangerous World Fuels Conspiracy Theories” (30 January 2007). According to James H. Fetzer, the society’s founder, “It is chock full of false assertions, even including misidentification of Steven Jones, my former co-chair, as the society’s founder.” “That is rather rich,” Fetzer said. “Steve and I have had a parting of the ways over differences in our attitude and approach toward the science and the politics of 9/11 research. But if he had been ‘the founder’, he should have been conducting a ‘house cleaning’, not abandoning ship.” The split between them, Fetzer added, has had a beneficial effect. “A cult-like atmosphere had developed around him, which I considered to be bad for scientific research on 9/11.” The CBS report focuses on Gary Welz, an adjunct lecturer at John Jay Criminal College and Lafayette University, who told a CBS reporter, Alfonso Serrano, that he had left Scholars in December following Jones “after other prominent members of Scholars began promoting wacky explanations for the fall of the twin towers.” Fetzer replied, “That’s wrong on several accounts, including that the Twin Towers did not ‘fall’ but disintegrated from massive sources of energy.” “Which theories are ‘wacky’ appears to depend upon how much you know about a subject,” observed Judy Wood, a prominent member of Scholars. “When you consider the extent of the devastation of the World Trade Center, the very modest damage to its foundation, and as many as 1,400 ‘toasted’ cars as much as a mile from ground zero, for example, any explanation that is based upon conventional explosives, including Steve Jones’ own hypothesis, is going to look ‘wacky’ to those who know enough about the evidence in this case.” Although Jones has suggested that thermite and thermate could have brought down the Twin Towers, in a recent chapter in a new book edited by David Ray Griffin and Peter Dale Scott, 9/11 and American Empire (2007), Jones expresses astonishment that the top thirty floors of the South Tower started to fall but “turned mostly to powder in mid-air,” an effect that his hypothesis cannot explain. “Indeed,” Fetzer said, “other recognized scholars, such as Webster Griffin Tarpley, 9/11: Synthetic Terror (2005), have observed that an adequate explanation of the devastation to the WTC will almost certainly require the use of high-tech, directed energy weapons.” Among the claims CBS reported that are inaccurate or outdated, the statistics for skepticism from a Scripps Howard/Ohio University poll have been superseded by a New York Times/CBS poll conducted last October, which showed that 53% of Americans doubt The 9/11 Report and 28% reject it completely, which means that 81% of the American people don’t believe what the government has told them. “I don’t quite understand how a CBS NEWS report could overlook the results of a poll in which CBS participated,” Fetzer observed. Wood pointed out that Jones’ hypothesis is based on three primary sources of evidence: studies of dust samples, a waterfall-like flow of molten metal from the South Tower, and photographs that show workmen peering into a cavern glowing with molten metal. “I think Steve needs to think more about his own evidence,” she said. “The dust samples were non-random and, if these photographs were authentic, the heat should have melted the skin from their faces.” Other questions have arisen about Jones’ evidence, which concern the waterfall-like flow. “Even setting aside serious questions about the authenticity of the footage,” Fetzer said, “another student of the case, Frank Greening, discovered a possible alternative explanation for the waterfall-like flow of molten metal, which Jones had insisted had to be molten iron caused by thermite or thermate. “Apparently, Fuji Bank had installed a massive assemblage of server-sized lead batteries around the 80th floor. Since lead melts at a much lower temperature than steel,” Fetzer added, “that might explain this peculiar phenomenon, which was distinctive to this location.” Fetzer, a former Marine Corps officer, observed, “It is ironic that this report from CBS NEWS appears in the same week our efforts are being covered by publications as diverse as HUSTLER (March 2007) and The Nation (5 February 2007). A set of seven letters to the editor of The Nation, including one of mine, lays out over fifteen reasons why the official account cannot be sustained,” adding, “What we have been told violates laws of physics and engineering related to the weakening point of steel, the temperature of jet-fuel based fires, and the speed of the destruction of the Twin Towers.” “What we have been told is just fine,” Fetzer said, “as long as you are willing to believe impossible things.” A nice demonstration of the problems with the official account are the times in which the government claims the buildings “collapsed” under the influence of gravitational attraction. “As Judy Wood has shown,” he added, “the official times, which average ten seconds each, are faster than free fall though air and are inexplicable without the use of explosives.” “The situation is even more awkward for the government than that,” said Wood. “The buildings are actually turning to dust from the top down. It is as though two enormous trees were turning to sawdust before our eyes. The concrete floors, the desks, chairs, computers, even human beings and other living things, are being pulverized by some massive source of energy, which neither Jones’ hypothesis nor the official account can explain. We are attempting to determine how this was done, but it probably involved the use of weapons that are classified. There’s nothing ‘wacky’ about trying to figure it out.” Wood has degrees in civil engineering, engineering mechanics and materials engineering science. “If there is a better qualified student of 9/11 with respect to its physical dimensions, I don’t know who that would be,” Fetzer remarked. He said that, once he had become convinced that thermite/thermate could not explain the extent and character of the destruction, he began encouraging investigation of alternative hypotheses, including lasers, masers, and plasmoids. “I don’t know what’s going to pan out,” he said, “but we aren’t going to be able to figure it out if we don’t consider all the alternatives.” Fetzer said that CBS might have avoided some of these mistakes if it had made an effort to check its facts. “If this is the best CBS NEWS can do with its coverage of the 9/11 truth movement, then it is no wonder the American people can have the wool pulled over their eyes so often by Bush and Cheney. This report,” Fetzer said, “is disconnected from reality. If you want to know what we know about the official government account, forget CBS and read The Nation.” The adjunct math lecturer it cites, Gary Welz, told CBS NEWS that he is not a “conspiracy theorist” because he is not convinced there was a government conspiracy. “If that’s his position,” Fetzer replied, “that’s very peculiar. I can’t imagine a serious member of Scholars who wouldn’t be able to demonstrate that the government has been lying to the American people based upon studies at our web site, 911scholars.org. For CBS NEWS to put out a misleading and false report without consulting relevant experts,” he observed, “makes this a stellar example of irresponsible reporting. It’s a hatchet job!” “A phone call could have cleared up these misconceptions,” Fetzer said, “but Alfonso probably knew how he wanted to spin this. We have proven that the official account cannot possibly be true and are trying to figure out how it was done.” He smiled and said, “It is ironic that more accurate information about Scholars for 9/11 Truth can be found in HUSTLER than on CBS NEWS,” adding, “and they say that the standards of journalism in this country are slipping!” James H. Fetzer Founder Scholars for 9/11 Truth 911scholars.org