User:Cs32en/911/Articles/AE911Truth/2009-05-27

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Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth
Founded2006
FounderRichard Gage
TypePolitical advocacy
Focus9/11 Truth movement
Area served
United States
Websitehttp://www.ae911truth.org

Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth is an organization of architectural and engineering professionals[1] that advocates September 11 conspiracy theories.[2] The group demands of the United States Congress "a truly independent investigation" into the September 11 attacks and claims that the investigations into the collapse of the World Trade Center conducted by government agencies have not addressed what it sees as "massive evidence for explosive demolition". The scientific community generally rejects controlled demolition as an explanation for the collapse of the World Trade Center buildings.

Activities[edit]

Two people holding a banner of Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth.

Richard Gage, a San Francisco Bay area based architect,[3] founded Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth in 2006.[4][5] According to a BBC news report, Gage had been convinced of the need to bring together architects and engineers when he heard an an independent radio station interviewing the theologian David Ray Griffin.[4]

The organization is collecting signatures for a petition to the United States Congress that demands "a truly independent investigation with subpoena power" of the September 11 attacks, and in particular "a full inquiry into the possible use of explosives that might have been the actual cause of the destruction" of the World Trade Center buildings.[6][7] According to its website, more than 600 professionals and 3.500 other supporters have signed the petition.[7] Supporters of the organization who make a monthly donation receive The Blueprint, the periodic e-mail newsletter of Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth.[8]

Gage has given speeches at conferences organized by supporters of the 9/11 Truth movement in various locations in the United States.[9] His presentations, which are focused on the sequence of events leading to the collapse of the World Trade Center buildings,[10][11] include videos of the collapse of the World Trade Center buildings and footage of other high-rise fires.[9] He went on a tour of European countries in 2008.[6] In 2009, Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth had a booth at the annual convention of the American Institute of Architects.[10]

The controversial two-hour movie 9/11 Blueprint for Truth, which is popular among supporters of the 9/11 Truth movement, is based on a presentation given by Richard Gage in Canada.[3] When the movie was played on cable-access Groton Channel, it sparked anger among its viewers such as Groton resident Alan Hoch who said "I think the piece was absolute drivel, and I would be embarrassed if I were the one who foisted this nonsense on the viewing community".[3] Gage was also interviewed for an episode of the documentary The Conspiracy Files that the BBC produced in co-operation with the German television channel ZDF.[12][13]

Advocacy[edit]

See also: World Trade Center controlled demolition conspiracy theories

Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth argues that the buildings of the World Trade Center could not have collapsed only because of the impact of the planes,[1][14] but does not blame any particular individuals or organizations for the September 11 attacks.[15] Investigations by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have concluded that the buildings collapsed as a result of the impacts of the planes and of the fires that resulted from them.[16][17] The mainstream of the scientific community has rejected the position taken by the group, and many mainstream scientists do not want to debate proponents of 9/11 conspiracy theories, saying they don't want to lend them unwarranted credibility.[18]

World Trade Center towers[edit]

In 2006, NIST released a fact sheet based on a detailed report it had published in 2005, in order to respond to conspiracy theories.[16] Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense Paul McHale said about the investigation: "The events of September 11 have been reconstructed in meticulous detail. Every reasonable person can only agree on the basic mechanisms of the attacks. There may be still unanswered questions, but the theories about a conspiracy of the government are absolutely baseless."[19]

Gage critizised NIST for not having investigated the complete sequence of the collapse of the World Trade Center towers[20] and claims that "the official explanation of the total destruction of the World Trade Center skyscrapers has explicitly failed to address the massive evidence for explosive demolition."[21] To support its position, the group Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth points to the "free fall" pace of the collapse of the buildings, the "lateral ejection of steel", and to the "mid-air pulverization of concrete".[1]

In a paper written to examine whether allegations of controlled demolition might be scientifically justifiable, Zdeněk P. Bažant, Professor of Civil Engineering and Materials Science at Northwestern University, and three other scholars, found that the available video records are not consistent with the free fall hypothesis, that the size of the concrete particles is consistent with comminution caused by impact, and that the high velocity of compressed air explains why material from the towers were ejected to a distance of several hundred meters form the tower. The authors conclude that the allegations do not have any scientific merit.[22]

7 World Trade Center[edit]

According to Richard Gage, 7 World Trade Center (7 WTC), a 47-story high-rise building that was part of the World Trade Center complex and collapsed in the afternoon on September 11, 2001, is the "smoking gun of September 11,"[23] and would provide the most compelling evidence that something was "wrong" with the building that had not been told to the public.[24][25] Gage also described 7 WTC as "the most obvious example of controlled demolition."[26] Scott Grainger, a fire protection engineer and member of the group, told the BBC that the fires that were observed in 7 WTC were scattered about on the floors, would have moved on as they would have found no more combustibles, and thus could not have developed enough heat to cause the collapse of the building.[26] According to Richard Gage, skyscrapers that suffered "hotter, longer lasting and larger fires" have not collapsed.[23] "Buildings that fall in natural processes fall to the path of least resistance", says Gage, "they don't go straight down through themselves."[27]

After the publication of the results of NIST's inquiry into the collapse of 7 WTC, Richard Gage called a news conference[28] and leaders of Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth dismissed NIST's investigation as flawed. "How much longer do we have to endure the coverup of how Building 7 was destroyed?" said Richard Gage, the leader of the group.[17] Gage maintains that the "sudden and spontaneous" collapse of the towers would have been impossible without a controlled demolition and that traces of a high-tech thermitic incendiary had been found in samples of the dust produced by the collapse of the World Trade Center.[6][29] When told of the claims, Shyam Sunder, the lead investigator from NIST, responded: "I am really not a psychologist. Our job was to come up with the best science."[17]

The community of specialists in structural mechanics and structural engineering generally supports the explanation of the collapse of the World Trade Center buildings provided by the investigation conducted by NIST.[30] The appearance of a controlled demolition can be explained by an interior failure of the building, which is suggested by the sequence of the collapse of 7 WTC that shows roof elements sinking into the building while the façade remains intact.[31]

External links[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Beam, Christopher (April 8, 2009). "Heated Controversy". Slate. Retrieved May 23, 2009.
  2. ^ Sutcliffe, Thomas (July 7, 2008). "Yet more tall stories with no foundation". Independent Extra. Retrieved May 24, 2009.
  3. ^ a b c Moskowitz, Eric (November 29, 2007). "Airing of 9/11 film ignites debate". The Boston Globe. Retrieved May 23, 2009.
  4. ^ a b Rudin, Mike (July 4, 2008). "The evolution of a conspiracy theory". BBC. Retrieved May 23, 2009.
  5. ^ Barber, Peter (June 7, 2008). "The truth is out there". Financial Times. Retrieved May 23, 2009.
  6. ^ a b c "Un arquitecto estadounidense presenta en Madrid su versión alternativa al 11-S". Telecinco. November 8, 2008. Retrieved May 23, 2009.
  7. ^ a b "Welcome to Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth!". Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth. Retrieved May 24, 2009.
  8. ^ Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth. "Become a Sustaining Member". Retrieved May 26, 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  9. ^ a b Abel, Jennifer (Jan. 29, 2008). "Theories of 9/11". Hartford Advocate. Retrieved May 25, 2009. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  10. ^ a b Kay, Jonathan (April 25, 2009). "Richard Gage: 9/11 truther extraordinaire". National Post. Retrieved May 25, 2009.
  11. ^ Handler, Richard (May 7, 2009). "Don't read this, I've been abducted by aliens". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation News. Retrieved May 25, 2009.
  12. ^ Rudin, Mike (June 27, 2008). "Controversy and conspiracies II". BBC. Retrieved May 25, 2009.
  13. ^ Röckerath, Christoph. "Das Geheimnis des dritten Turms". Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen. Retrieved May 25, 2009. Gemeinsam mit der BBC, ist das ZDF Hunderten von Spuren nachgegangen. (Translation: "Together with the BBC, ZDF has evaluated hundreds of clues.")
  14. ^ Reuters (Nov. 8, 2008). "Arquitectos estadounidenses piden a Obama que reabra la investigación sobre el 11-S". Retrieved May 27, 2009. Aseguran que las Torres Gemelas no fueron derribadas por el choque de los aviones. {{cite news}}: |author= has generic name (help); Check date values in: |date= (help) (Press agency report. Translation: "They argue that the Twin Towers were not destroyed by the impact of the planes."}}
  15. ^ "Corrections". National Post. April 28, 2009. Retrieved May 25, 2009.
  16. ^ a b Dwyer, Jim (September 2, 2006). "2 U.S. Reports Seek to Counter Conspiracy Theories About 9/11". New York Times. Retrieved April 30, 2009.
  17. ^ a b c Lipton, Eric (August 22, 2008). "Fire, Not Explosives, Felled 3rd Tower on 9/11, Report Says". New York Times. Retrieved May 23, 2009. Cite error: The named reference "Lipton" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  18. ^ Pope, Justin (August 6, 2006). "9/11 Conspiracy Theorists Thriving". CBS. Retrieved May 23, 2009.
  19. ^ Agenzia Nazionale Stampa Associata (September 9, 2006). "La seduzione delle teorie alternative". Retrieved May 26, 2009. Gli eventi del'11 settembre 2001 sono stati ricostruiti in modo meticoloso: ogni persona di buon senso può solo essere d'accordo con i meccanismi fondamentali degli attacchi - ha affermato ieri il sottosegretario alla difesa per la sicurezza nazionale Paul McHale - Ci possono essere ancora domande senza risposta ma le teorie del complotto governativo sono assolutamente prive di fondamento
  20. ^ Potocki, P. Joseph (August 27, 2008). "Down the 9-11 Rabbit Hole". Bohemian. Retrieved May 25, 2009.
  21. ^ Beam, Alex (Jan. 14, 2008). "The truth is out there . . . Isn't it?". The Boston Globe. Retrieved May 23, 2009. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  22. ^ Bažant, Zdeněk P.; Le, Jia-Liang; Greening, Frank R.; Benson, David B. (2008). "What Did and Did Not Cause Collapse of WTC Twin Towers in New York" (PDF). Journal of Engineering Mechanics. 134 (10): pp. 892—906. {{cite journal}}: |pages= has extra text (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  23. ^ a b Bowden, Rich (August 21, 2008). "Twin towers mystery resolved, fire brought down WTC7". The Tech Herald. Retrieved May 25, 2009.
  24. ^ Röckerath, Christoph. "Das Geheimnis des dritten Turms". Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen. Retrieved May 25, 2009. Ist World Trade Center 7 wirklich die "Smoking Gun" des 11. September, der Beweis, das etwas "faul" ist, wie es der prominente Architekt Richard Gage [...] formulierte? (Translation: "Is World Trade Center 7 really the "smoking gun" of September 11, as Richard Gage, the prominent architect [...] says?")
  25. ^ Molinari, Maurizio (July 6, 2009). "Il crollo della Torre Sette? «Fu solo colpa delle fiamme»". La Stampa. Retrieved May 26, 2009. La teoria di Gage è che il video del crollo è «la pistola fumante dell'11 settembre» ovvero la prova incontrovertibile che qualcosa è stato nascosto al pubblico. (Translation: "Gage's theory is that video of the collapse is "the smoking gun of September 11" and offers compelling evidence that something is being hidden from the public.")
  26. ^ a b "Q&A: The Collapse of Tower 7". BBC. July 4, 2008. Retrieved May 23, 2009.
  27. ^ Rudin, Mike (July 4, 2008). "9/11 third tower mystery 'solved'". BBC. Retrieved May 26, 2009.
  28. ^ Trembath, Brendan (August 22, 2008). "Sept 11 building downed by fire, not explosives: inquiry". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved May 25, 2009.
  29. ^ Rogenau, Olivier (September 5, 2008). "11 Septembre, le mystère de la 3e tour". Le Vif. Retrieved May 25, 2009. On aurait, selon 430 architectes et ingénieurs regroupés au sein de l'association AE911 Truth, retrouvé des résidus d'explosifs militaires de type thermate dans les débris de Ground Zero [...]. (Translations: "According to 430 architects and engineers belonging to the group AE911 Truth, residues of the military explosive themate would have been found in the debris of Ground Zero [...].")
  30. ^ Bažant, Zdeněk P.; Verdure, Mathieu (2007). "Mechanics of Progressive Collapse: Learning from World Trade Center and Building Demolitions" (PDF). Journal of Engineering Mechanics. 133 (3): pp. 308–319. Retrieved 2007-08-22. {{cite journal}}: |pages= has extra text (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  31. ^ Gilsanz, Ramon; Ng, Willa (2007). "Single Point of Failure" (PDF). Structure magazine: pp. 42—45. Retrieved May 26, 2009. {{cite journal}}: |pages= has extra text (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
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