9/11 Conspiracy Theories Rattle On

Meyssan

You can blame French author Thierry Meyssan for the continued and absurd claims about the real "truth" of 9/11.  His book, The Big Lie, insists that the U.S. military attacked the World Trade Center and the Pentagon in 2001, a baseless argument that continues to feed conspiracy theorists, who have also accused Zionists and everyone else except the small band of Arab terrorists who actually hijacked the planes and used them as missiles.

Meyssan’s arguments have been thoroughly debunked by independent researchers, including Popular Mechanics magazine, which teamed together researchers and reporters, talked to more than 70 professionals and carefully examined every aviation, engineering and military aspect of the terrorist attacks. 

Here are some of the main findings of the various investigations.

Pentagon aftermath

Conspiracy theorists argue that the holes in the Pentagon walls were too small to be have been made by a Boeing 757.  The answer is that this wasn’t a cartoon.  A plane doesn’t punch a neat hole in a building. In fact, the wing sheared off, according to Mete Sozen, a professor of structural engineering at Purdue University and a specialist in the behavior of concrete buildings. “What was left of the plane flowed into the structure in a state closer to a liquid than a solid mass,” he said.

The Pentagon windows were not destroyed because they did their job:  they are designed to be blast-resistant.

As for photos supposedly showing no plane, blast expert Allyn E. Kilsheimer has an answer.  "It was absolutely a plane, and I'll tell you why," says Kilsheimer, chief executive officer of KCE Structural Engineers PC, Washington, D.C. "I saw the marks of the plane wing on the face of the building. I picked up parts of the plane with the airline markings on them. I held in my hand the tail section of the plane, and I found the black box." Kilsheimer added: "I held parts of uniforms from crew members in my hands, including body parts. Okay?"

Before impact

Supposedly, film of the plane that hit the South Tower of the World Trade Center seemed to show an object under the fuselage, an object not standard on a Boeing 767. That must be a bomb, conspirators claim, “proving” the President George W. Bush ordered the attacks.  Actually, Ronald Greeley, director of the Space Photography Laboratory at Arizona State University, discovered that it was just the Boeing’s regulation right fairing, which has a pronounced bulge caused by the landing gear.

How about the failure of U.S. fighter jets to attack the hijacked planes?  Good reason.  There were only 14 fighter jets on alert in the contiguous 48 states.  Besides, no system exists to provide alerts in cases of commercial hijackings.  Civilian Air Traffic Control has to contact the North American Air Defense Command.  Calls were recorded, but there wasn’t enough time for the five jets eventually sent to investigate to do anything.

On top of that, commercial flights originating in this country are not automatically designated threats and aren’t usually tracked anyway.  Nor is it routine for the jets to “immediately intercept off-course planes,” as conspiratorial theorists claim.  Jets actually chased only one plane in the previous decade, the one with the doomed golfer Payne Stewart on it, and no procedure to intercept commercial flights even existed prior to 9/11.

Collapsing another favorite conspiratorial theory, there were no extra explosives in the World Trade Center.  The jet fuel from the planes and the structure damage were more than enough to bring down the buildings, according to extensive research.  The heat was sufficient to cause the steel to lose strength, which starts to happen at around 1100 degrees.  After all, a lot more burned than jet fuel, explained Forman Williams, a professor of engineering at the University of California, San Diego, a structural engineers and fire expert.

Collapsing tower

He point out, “The jet fuel burned for maybe 10 minutes, and [the towers] were still standing in 10 minutes. It was the rest of the stuff burning afterward that was responsible for the heat transfer that eventually brought them down."  That’s because the temperature in the buildings eventually hit 1832 degrees.

The list could go on.  The ejected dust, supposedly the result of explosives, was actually caused by the “pancaking” of the floors dropping one by one on top of each other.

"When you have a significant portion of a floor collapsing, it's going to shoot air and concrete dust out the window," reported Shyam Sunder of the National Institute of Standards and Testing. 

Pennsylvania crash

Cockpit recordings prove that heroic passengers on United Airlines Flight 93 battled hijackers and forced down the plane near Shanksville, in southwestern Pennsylvania. The plane seen near the hijacked jet was asked to investigate the crash by the FAA.  It didn’t “fire a missile” as conspiracy theorists claim.

No F-16 was in the area to fire a missile either, despite contrary claims.  The passenger on the nearest F-16, Ed Jacoby Jr., the director of the New York State Emergency Management Office, responded angrily to that idea. 

F-16 fighter jet

“It disgusts me to see this because the public is being misled. More than anything else it disgusts me because it brings up fears,” Jacoby said. “It brings up hopes -- it brings up all sorts of feelings, not only to the victims' families but to all the individuals throughout the country, and the world for that matter. I get angry at the misinformation out there."

That’s the way everyone else should feel about the sickening attempts to divert blame away from the true Arab terrorists who committed this horrendous act.    The real question is why anyone persists.

For Meyssan, it’s obvious.  He’s made a lot of money through his deliberate distortions.  For others, such nonsense fuels their anti-government sentiments not to mention anti-Semitism and the other irrational hatreds that bedevil mankind.

Nevertheless, those who continually perpetuate obvious lies place themselves in the same sewer with the terrorists who actually attacked this country almost 14 years ago.

Long-time religious historian Bill Lazarus regularly writes about religion and religious history.  He also speaks at various religious organizations throughout Florida.  You can reach him at www.williamplazarus.net.  He is the author of the famed Unauthorized Biography of Nostradamus; The Last Testament of Simon Peter; The Gospel Truth: Where Did the Gospel Writers Get Their Information; Noel: The Lore and Tradition of Christmas Carols; and Dummies Guide to Comparative Religion.  His books are available on Amazon.com, Kindle, bookstores and via various publishers.  He can also be followed on Twitter.

You can enroll in his on-line class, Comparative Religion for Dummies, at http://www.udemy.com/comparative-religion-for-dummies/?promote=1

Getting to the Bottom of Zionism

Back in the 1880s, when Zionism started, it was nothing more than an idea to create a homeland for beleaguered Jews.  In that way, it paralleled efforts through the years by Armenians, Serbs, Slovaks and other ethnic groups to find a refuge from the attacks of their neighbors.  The Czech Republic and Slovakia grew out of such a commitment.  The breakup of Yugoslavia led to the rebirth of several ethnic countries, including Croatia, Slovenia and Serbia.

In the same way, Zionism eventually led to the creation of Israel.

None of the other nationalistic efforts, however, have resulted in the kinds of verbal abuse heaped on Zionism, which is accused of fomenting genocide against Palestinians to trying to control the world.  I read one website which lambasted Zionists for working with anti-Semites in Nazi Germany, as if both sides didn’t have the same objective: to get Jews out of Europe.

Such claims often arise from widespread anti-Semitism, something that Croatians, Serbians etc. have never had to deal with.  Jews, who are outside the Christian culture, have been easy targets of hate, abuse and outright murder since Christianity became the sole religion of the dying Roman Empire in the late 4^th century.   

Holocaust victims

A Stanford University study of anti-Semitism placed the blame squarely on churches for using that hatred to bolster their own positions.  Even today, after the Holocaust that killed around 6 million Jews during World War II, anti-Semitism remains alive and well, especially in Europe, the Arab world and this country.

A 2014 study by the Anti-Defamation League found that about one in four adults worldwide are “deeply infected with anti-Semitic attitudes.”  The survey of 53,100 adults in 102 countries revealed that almost half had never heard of the Holocaust.  Of those who had, most don’t believe that the accounts are accurate.

I have Arab friends who say they are not anti-Semitic, but dislike Israel.  Unfortunately, their countries often won’t admit anyone whose passport identifies the holder as Jewish.  That’s anti-Semitism, not anti-Israeli.

Herzl

It’s also why Zionism started in the first place.

In the 1890s, Jewish Austro-Hungarian journalist Theodor Herzl saw evidence of widespread anti-Semitism in France and in Austria.  Although having only limited involvement with Judaism, Herzl wrote a play and several papers in which he said anti-Semitism “could not be defeated or cured.”  To him, then, the only solution was the creation of a Jewish homeland where Jews would not suffer from such hatred. 

His writings attracted widespread attention in Jewish communities.  Naturally, early proponents focused on creating a homeland in what was then called Southern Syria, but, in the Bible, had been “given” to the descendants of Abraham.  “On the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying: ‘To your descendants I have given this land...’” (Genesis 15:18)

There are actually several similar promises in the Bible: they don’t agree on boundaries or even how the Jews are supposed to assume control of the land.  Nevertheless, Jews have claimed the land even when not living there. 

Homeland proponents chose the name Zionism, which had been coined two decades earlier and was derived from the old name of the mountain in Jerusalem, Mt. Zion. Ironically, Herzl was ousted from the World Zionist Organization for accepting Uganda after England proposed that country as a substitute for Israel.

Jewish financiers like Rothschild and Belmont helped fund the purchase of land in Israel and to create collective farms there.  Still, by the 1920s, there were only five such kibbutzim and a few thousands Jews.   That number increased, of course, as anti-Semitism took hold in Europe.

After World War II, however, shocked by the mass murder of Jews, the United Nations agreed with the Zionistic aims and voted to create Israel as a Jewish homeland while creating a separate Palestinian homeland for Arab residents.

Churchill

English statesman Winston Churchill called the creation of Israel “an event in world history to be viewed in the perspective not of a generation or a century, but in the perspective of a thousand, two thousand or even three thousand years.”  He added that it is “one of the most hopeful and encouraging adventures of the 20th century.”

Not everyone agreed with him then or now. 

Today, Zionism is demonized.  It is still linked to the fraudulent Protocol of the Elders of Zion, which supposedly outlined a policy of Jewish world domination even though it was based on French farcical essays that predated the term Zionism by 30 years and had nothing to with Zionism, Judaism or Israel.  It was revised in the early 1900s to poke fun at Herzl and then adopted by American anti-Semites like Henry Ford (who later apologized) and German leader Adolf Hitler (who insisted schoolchildren study it).

In addition, Zionism is accused today of such absurdities as fostering an apartheid policy in Israel, of helping fund the Arab terrorists of 9/11 and so on.

Jews against Zionism

Zionism remains nothing more than a philosophy behind the successful creation of a Jewish homeland.  That’s it.  Not all Jews are Zionists.  In fact, many Jews continue to oppose imposition of a Jewish state on the land, which has often been to the detriment of non-Jewish residents.

Not all Zionists are Jews.  Many ultra-conservative Christians believe that Jews must return to Israel to rebuild the Temple to hasten Jesus’ return and the end of the world.  Evangelicals actually have been some of the strongest supporters of Zionism.

Nevertheless, Zionism continues to be the focus of intense hatred, which only supports the Zionistic belief that Jews need a homeland to be safe from such misguided abuse.

Long-time religious historian Bill Lazarus regularly writes about religion and religious history.  He also speaks at various religious organizations throughout Florida.  You can reach him at www.williamplazarus.net.  He is the author of the famed Unauthorized Biography of Nostradamus; The Last Testament of Simon Peter; The Gospel Truth: Where Did the Gospel Writers Get Their Information; Noel: The Lore and Tradition of Christmas Carols; and Dummies Guide to Comparative Religion.  His books are available on Amazon.com, Kindle, bookstores and via various publishers.  He can also be followed on Twitter.

You can enroll in his on-line class, Comparative Religion for Dummies, at http://www.udemy.com/comparative-religion-for-dummies/?promote=1

Smacking Judas for Easter

Judas "betraying" Jesus with a kiss

Since Easter is on the horizon, it must be time to wallop Judas Iscariot again.  He gets lambasted every spring.  Most recently, in some kind of survey, he was labeled “the greatest sinner of all time” for betraying Jesus.  According to the biblical account, he identified Jesus to the Romans for 30 pieces of silver.

Too bad he never lived.

Paul, who is the earliest known writer about Jesus, knows nothing about Judas or any betrayal.  The omission is telling, since he knew everyone in the early movement and even kowtowed to the original disciples.  As a result, to many biblical scholars, Judas is a later addition to the Jesus story.

Judah Maccabeus in art

There are also problems with Judas’ name.  His last name has no known source and may be related to a town (Kerioth) or to the Sicarii, brigands known for using knives against Jewish and Roman opponents. Neither explanation works well in the original, implying that the name was probably invented.

The connotations of the name Judas (which can also be read as Judah) also raise suspicions about its validity.  It comes from the tribal name Judah, from which the words Jew and Judaism also arise.  That, in turn, could mean the Judas of the Gospels represents the Jews, who supposedly “killed” Jesus.  They didn’t, of course.  Crucifixion is a Roman punishment, but the authors of the Gospels had no hesitancy in condemning Jews.  Inventing a Judas who “betrayed” Jesus fits perfectly into that scenario.

The name could also serve an insult directed at two different Jewish heroes.  Judah was the leader of the revolt against the Syrians in 167 BCE, which led to the redemption of the Temple and the holiday of Hanukkah.  As such, he was a great Jewish hero who, in the minds of Gospel writers, might be suitable for undermining.

Artist depiction of the Temple's destruction

A second Judas, who lived nearly 150 years after the Syrian revolt, co-founded the Zealots, the radical wing of Judaism who advocated open warfare against the Romans.  That Judas, unlike the disciple, is attested to in histories of the time period.  The Zealots, in turn, were condemned for causing the destruction of the Second Temple when they lead an anti-Roman rebellion from 67 to 73 CE.  Since the Gospels were all written after the Temple had been burned to rubble in 70 CE, the authors would not have minded blaming Judas for the catastrophe.

Even the money supposedly paid Judas by the Romans as a fee is suspect. The 30 pieces of silver in that time was a piddling amount, and the sum apparently was plucked from the Old Testament. 

30 pieces of silver

The Prophet Zechariah, who lived some 500 years before Jesus, wrote: “And I said unto them, if you think good, give me my hire; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my hire 30 pieces of silver. And Jehovah said unto me: cast it unto the potter, the goodly price that I was prized at by them. And I took the 30 pieces of silver and cast them unto the potter, in the house of Jehovah.” (Zechariah 11:12-13)

That has nothing to do with Jesus, despite exuberant claims to the contrary.  Zechariah was born in Babylon after leading Jews had been forced into exile there by their conquerors.  Allowed to return around 538 BCE by the Persians, Zechariah went along, calling for the rebuilding of the first Jewish Temple.  The 30 pieces of silver Zechariah refers to (assuming he actually wrote the lines attributed to him – there’s some doubt among historians) went to a potter helping reconstruct the Temple.

Artist's view of crowds with Jesus

Besides, the money was unnecessary. Jesus supposedly rode a colt into Jerusalem with great crowds around him. Luke noted:  “As he rode along, people kept spreading their cloaks on the road.  As he was now approaching the path down from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God …” (Luke 19: 36-37)

Matthew, who did not read Luke, but relied on Mark, wrote: “The crowds going ahead of Him, and those who followed, were shouting, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David; blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest!’ When He had entered Jerusalem, all the city was stirred, saying, ‘Who is this?’ And the crowds were saying, ‘This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee.’”

(Matt: 21: 9-11)

Great crowds?  A stirred city (wording plucked from the Book of Ruth)?  Why would the Romans have to pay anyone to identify Jesus?  

Regardless, Judas gets no respect.  In Dante’s Inferno, the lowest level of Hell, level 9, bears the name Judecca, named for Judas.  It’s inhabited only by traitors.  They are punished by being locked into permafrost.  Judas also gets gnawed on by Satan, who the poet describes as having three mouths: Cassius and Brutus, who killed Julius Caesar, are also perpetual dinner.

Dante’s image eventually helped Judas win the award as the worst person in history.

That’s appropriate.  Since religion is empty conjecture, its greatest villain might as well be imaginary, too.

Long-time religious historian Bill Lazarus regularly writes about religion and religious history.  He also speaks at various religious organizations throughout Florida.  You can reach him at www.williamplazarus.net.  He is the author of the famed Unauthorized Biography of Nostradamus; The Last Testament of Simon Peter; The Gospel Truth: Where Did the Gospel Writers Get Their Information; Noel: The Lore and Tradition of Christmas Carols; and Dummies Guide to Comparative Religion.  His books are available on Amazon.com, Kindle, bookstores and via various publishers.  He can also be followed on Twitter.

You can enroll in his on-line class, Comparative Religion for Dummies, at http://www.udemy.com/comparative-religion-for-dummies/?promote=1