Okay, Havoc.
I'm totally not trying to argue or prove you wrong or anything - if I didn't think you were so cool, I might get into a huge argument. But seeing as how I think you rock, and that I agree that something was wrong about the attacks (even if I'm not 100% about who did it), I feel fine making this post.
The other day I found a link to a page full of
"The 10 Wackiest Conspiracy Theories." 9/11 is, naturally, on the list.
Now, the definition of a conspiracy theory, according to dictionary.com, is "A theory seeking to explain a disputed case or matter as a plot by a secret group or alliance rather than an individual or isolated act." So, whether or not there is a ton of evidence proving you right, I think it's still called a conspiracy theory.
And yes, news sucks, not just FOX, but all news. And I don't doubt for a second that FOX News was a big factor in Bush getting elected.
I'd like to state my political stance right now:
I'm not pro-Bush. I'm not anti-Bush. I'm anti-extremists.
No one has the right to try and force their beliefs on other people (I suspect this statement might raise discussion, but I'm not trying to prove anything. Ask me how I feel about something in politics and I'll tell you).
Just so we all know where I stand. I'm not on the fence, to the left, or to the right. I'm across the street, watching people yelling at each other from either side of the fence.
EDIT SUMMARY: The video did not convice me that the government did it. BUT, it did make me
really wonder. I'm shocked and ashamed to say that I'm a United States citizen who more or less believed it was terrorists. But until the government comes out and says "Yeah, guys, it was just us, tee hee," I don't know.
Also, on a only-sort-of-related-note, wanna know what I recently discovered upsets me? That everyone calls United States "America." Technically speaking, the US is a country in North America. If you want to get technical-er, North America and South America are AMERICA. The United States is not two continents.
EDIT 1: I'd like to point out some things that may or may not be true about some of the quotes at the beginning of the movie you posted, Havoc. Since they are taken out of context, they are questionable...
"There were lots of warnings." That could mean there were signs of
an attack, but not that someone sent Bush a letter saying "Guess what? We're gonna crash some planes into the World Trade Center on September 11. Get ready!"
"No warnings." This could mean that there were no specific warnings about where/when any attacks would be.
I also noticed that in the clips of web articles, they all say "before September 11," or "before the attack" in some way. To me, it seems that since these articles say this, it means they were written afterwards, and could potentially be rumors.
It also says that Bin Laden was recieving medical support the day before, accompanied by US government people. Or, if you read the article it shows when the narrator says this, it says that CBS news was told that this may have happened, not that it did happen, and could still be a rumor.
I sort of laughed at the description on the side: "It's the duty of every American to watch this video." Sorry, but no it isn't.
Finding no trace of the plane in the Pentagon and finding trace amounts of human remains don't seem comparable. So to say "How come they could ID victims but not find the plane?" sort of confuses me, and hits me as a senseless question. And saying it would be the first time in aviation history is stupid, too. Of
course it would be. I doubt that they test how their planes would react if they blew them up. And just because something never happened before doesn't mean it can't happen.
But, while I'm not convinced it was the government's doing at the Pentagon, I'm am suspicious about what happened. Just because someone says it's true and the government is lying, that doesn't mean they're right.
The two planes allowed in the air when every other plane had to land could have been Bush trying to go somewhere, or something.
The five released frames ... Planes fly fast. Could be that the camera didn't pick up the plane in those 5 frames because it was flying too fast.
Isn't a B-52 Bomber smaller than a commercial airline plane? By like, a lot? So if one crashed into the Empire State Building, could you expect it to have similar results?
These towers that had fires and didn't collapse ... they didn't have a plane crash into them, potentially messing with the building's structure and causing the top few stories to collapse on top of them.
The comparison to detonated buildings is sketchy. To me, the video footage of the towers looked like the top section, above the impact, had fallen onto the lower part, and it collapsed from there. The other images of detonated buildings show whole building caving in at once.
I almost LOLed at this: "According to Wikipedia, one of the world's largest gold depositories was stored under the World Trade Center." Since when was Wikipedia the undeniable truth? Anyone can edit it. Then: "Rumor has it that over $160 billion in gold was stored in the World Trade Center. So where did all the gold go?" Then I realized that that was an unclear statement. Which part was the rumor, that it was there, or the amount of gold?
EDIT 2: I went and looked at the facts on that conspiracy theory page, and I have some questions for anyone who can answer. Note that I'm not trying to prove these statements wrong, I'd just like more info. My questions may come off as sarcastic, but I mean them in the most serious way.
The U.S., Israel or Iraq government orchestrated the attacks themselves.
-Why the Iraq government? If it was when this happened, wouldn't that have been
not the US's doing? Because it would make no sense to say the current Iraq gov't did it, because it didn't exist in 2001. Please clarify.
The Twin Towers fell straight down, at close to free-fall speed. This is a similar characteristic of a controlled demolition. The dust cloud and its make up are considered un-characteristic of a gravity-driven collapse.
-Then again, the plane may have exploded in the building and caused it to collapse this way. I don't know, I'm not a professional. The planes didn't crash into the top floor. But they might have done enough damage for the floors above it to simply fall down and crush the building below it.
It is often pointed out that no steel building before or since the 9-11 attack has collapsed as the result of fire.
-Okay, but what about an explosion? Like, an airplane exploding? Could that do the trick?
The rubble of the Twin Towers smoldered for weeks after the collapse. This claim is meant to point out that steel could only have smoldered as a result of pre-placed explosives.
-Again, what if the plane had exploded?
Some consider photographic evidence of the plane lying on the grounds of the Pentagon to be ambiguous and unconvincing, citing a visual lack of burnt metal, human remains, passenger's luggage or seats.
-Don't know about that one.
The Pentagon was struck in a newly renovated, reinforced section. Some speculate this location, the west side of the complex, to be indicative of government involvement, noting it as an attempt to reduce casualties.
-No idea on this one, either. Though I think that at one point I had heard some hero on that plane had managed to divert it last minute. But then, things like this spawn lots of rumors.
Flight 77 was able to fly in the direction of the DC and Pentagon area for approximately 40 minutes without interception. This is thought to be unusual given the Pentagon's close proximity to Andrews Air Force Base.
-It is unusual. But I'm sure that the planes didn't hang around for 40 minutes around DC and the Pentagon. They probably had to redirect the planes, and it took 40 minutes to realize where they were headed. At least, it could have been like that.
There are claims that anti-missile batteries at the Pentagon should have intercepted Flight 77.
-Yeah, they probably should have. But they didn't. That can mean that they knew about it and let it happen, but it's also a point for them not having any clue that something was wrong.
The FBI confiscated a video, which may have captured the impact, from a nearby gas station attended by Jose Velasquez. This video has not yet been released.
Okay. But there's a shot of the impact in that video havoc posted.