Monday, September 8th, listen 10 pm – 12 am (CST) to Questioning War- Organizing Resistance on the WeThePeopleRadioNetwork.com and to our guests in the first hour- Janice Matthews and Mike Berger and to our guests in the second hour- Erik Lawyer and Richard Gage, AIA
Richard Gage Firefighters for 9-11 Truth
Richard Gage, AIA receiving a 2007 Heroic Citizen for 9/11 Truth award
Janice Matthews is the Executive Director of 911Truth.org . Janice was their outreach coordinator until September, 2005 when she became executive director. She is also co-founder of the now-archived 9/11 Visibility Project , and focuses on facilitating activism and encouraging ordinary people to become participants and leaders in their own lives and communities. She has a B.A. from the University of Kansas, half a masters in social welfare and extensive training in direct-entry midwifery. She is a mother of six, a Kansas City native and radical Christian, and is working now to create a more self-sufficient/interdependent lifestyle. Janice is outraged about issues facing military troops and veterans– abuse/rape, ‘depleted’ uranium, ‘immunizations,’ lack of care and support received–resulting in suicides and hundreds of thousands of homeless veterans, the horrifying ‘non-lethal’ weaponry used by the US, and our current mainstream media (please, “become the media”!)and believes decentralized people’s movements are our hope for successful, nonviolent change in America, as has so often been the case around the world.
Mike Berger is the Media Coordinator for 911Truth.org . Mike earned a degree in Sociology with a focus on human motivation, currently calls St. Louis home, is married, and owns a plastic recycling company and video production company. Born and raised in New York about 20 minutes from Manhattan, he enjoyed visiting Manhattan to watch the building of the World Trade Center complex. On September 11th, with family living and working in lower Manhattan, his cousin actually saw the first plane fly over his head while walking his dog. More than 14 months passed before Mike began to question the official story. Denial turned into curiosity after reading about significant purchases of put options on American and United airlines and several companies that occupied large portions of the WTC Towers, implying that identifiable parties may have profited from foreknowledge of the attacks. He began researching the critical issues surrounding the failure of government officials to perform their sworn duties and defend us from attack. After all, according to George Tenet, “the system was blinking red.” What went wrong? Why were we so unprepared for the attacks in light of numerous, documented, specific warnings? Why have we not held a single person accountable at any level, considering the magnitude of these failures? More than two years of investigation resulted in a series of documentaries currently in production. The first, Improbable Collapse: The Demolition of Our Republic , examines how three steel-framed buildings collapsed on 9/11 when no steel framed building had ever collapsed from fire previously. Ever.
Erik Lawyer is the founding member of FirefightersFor911Truth.org . He is currently a full time firefighter, assigned to 3 Truck in the City of Seattle for the last 12 years. Before that he was with the City of Sacramento as a Firefighter Paramedic. He first began working in Emergency Services in 1988 in the Sacramento area with a 911 private paramedic ambulance company. He has 20 years experience in Emergency Services. He earned my pilot’s license in 1987, and have been recreationally flying since. He graduated with a Bachelor’s of Science in Mathematics from the University of California at Davis in 1993, with 2 years of elective Engineering courses, and a Minor in Psychology.
Erik wrote a moving account of his own shift in consciousness regarding 9/11 which prompted him to start Fire Fighters For 9/11 Truth entitled MAYDAY…MAYDAY…MAYDAY . Here’s an excerpt:
I, like most Americans, remember exactly where I was when I saw the attacks and had the overwhelming urge to take action. I was shocked, outraged, scared and confused. I called my Battalion Chief and asked if Seattle would be sending any teams to help. I was a member of the MMST, and figured we would be needed and I wanted to know where to report. Due to the nature of the incident we were not called up, and instead USAR teams, including Seattle’s, were sent.
I first visited Ground Zero in October of 2001 with several firefighters from Seattle. We went to pay our respect and show support. We raised money for our brother firehouses and attended the funerals of our fallen Brothers. I was deeply moved and humbled by the community support, the sheer enormity of the tragedy along with the courage and compassion of the FDNY “Brotherhood.” Even though I listened to their stories for days, I cannot even begin to imagine the pain and tragedy they suffered on that day and the years to come. I vividly remember the anger I felt, the intense desire for vengeance, and the feelings of helplessness. I was relieved when the government identified the terrorists and satisfied that we were going to have a swift deliverance of “justice.”
I’ve been a conservative my entire life; a registered Republican since I could vote. I am a self proclaimed Patriot with George Washington as one of my all time heroes. So when conspiracy theories quickly surfaced, and “Liberals” cried foul on the erosion of civil liberties, I chalked it up to their political beliefs and bitterness towards the Republican President. I read many debunking articles – including Popular Mechanics – and watched many debunking videos including, Farenhype 9/11. I was convinced that these “Liberals” were misinformed and were grasping at straws to discredit the “official” story. Like most people with strong opinions, instead of looking at all the facts, I was specifically looking for anything that supported my own beliefs. As soon as I discovered any inaccuracy in a conspiracy claim, I wrote it off. My father, a big city cop and Korean War veteran, loved to say, “don’t confuse me with the facts, I have my mind made up!” Well, I had my mind made up. I told conspiracy theorists like my own Truck Officer, Lt. Earl Emerson, that they were insane if they thought anyone other than the terrorists did this. Heck, we have ID cards, security camera videos, Bin Laden confession tapes – how much clearer did they need it? The years went on and I was satisfied in my beliefs. I even believed these “Wackos” that doubted the “official” story were distracting our country from focusing on the real threat of terrorism…
Fast forward to March of 2008. A great friend of mine with a Business degree from West Point, as conservative and non-conspiratorial as they get, came over one night to talk about what he saw happening in the economy. He provided some disconcerting evidence that we as a nation are at risk of entering into another depression; he pointed out historical parallels where other countries, such as Germany, suffered economic collapse. THAT was my eye opener. I became obsessed researching things such as economies, who is in control of currencies, what causes depressions, who profits during war, etc. So many things kept pointing to 9/11. Another one of my dad’s favorite quotes was, “believe half of what you see and none of what you hear.” So, I looked at both sides and quickly noticed a pattern. On one side, the general media ignores some of the most compelling evidence that contradicts the “official” story…
When I voiced my new opinion and concerns most of my friends listened. I think because they were shocked that a staunch Conservative could have such a major shift, or because they thought I had lost my mind and wanted to diagnose the cause. Curiously, some became angry at my new questions and actually thought I was supporting Terrorists with my concerns. Being a part of that same mindset myself only a few weeks ago, and then having a major shift in consciousness, really shook me to the core. What has happened to our collective consciousness that we believe anyone who doubts the “official” story or what the government tells us is an enemy? Anyone who asks for the Truth is labeled a “Wacko” or “Terrorist Sympathizer?” What has happened to us? Are we not founded on Freedom of Speech and taught to check our Government?…
To be honest, I was asleep at the wheel, and relied on what I was being told by mainstream media. The same media whose parent corporations, are some of the largest suppliers of weapons in this war. Before this “awakening” I had no idea the extent of our civil liberties that had been eroded in the name of Terrorism. I had never really wrapped my brain around what legalized torture means. I had always claimed America was noble. Just look at how we treated POW’s during WWII and Vietnam compared to our enemies. That separated us. We were setting the example of Human Rights to the rest of the world. Sure, you’ll always have individuals that will take things too far, but Government sponsored torture? What has happened to our country? What kind of example are we setting for our children, and the world? You would be interested to learn how many of our own rights have been stripped away recently. Look up the Military Commissions Act of 2006, John Warner Defense Authorization Act, Homegrown Terrorism Act, Presidential Directive 51. It is amazing the rights we have all lost in the past couple of years and very little is covered by the U.S. media.
After discovering this, I applied the “common sense” test that my Grandfather always said wasn’t so common. Why would a government so aggressively suppress truth and blatantly destroy evidence if there was nothing to hide? Why has every testimony from sworn government and military officials that points to “prior knowledge” been stricken from the 9/11 Commission Report? How did paper business cards, cloth bandanas, and plastic ID’s that implicate the terrorists survive so neatly through jet fueled fireballs hot enough to destroy titanium and steel? I’ve seen bodies burned beyond recognition, yet I have never found one that was wearing unburned clothing. These questions alone are enough to make me risk everything for a real investigation and accounting…
When I truly realized the enormity of the effect 9/11 has had on our Rights, our Economy, our Beliefs, our Fears, our Intolerances and our Government – I felt fear, then anger, then the need to take action. Bill Chickering said it best, “Anger is a very appropriate and necessary response to an injustice. But stand back now; the truth, clearly spoken, is always your best weapon. Calmly spoken, it can burn a hole through the hardest heart.” When I realized the extent of the force and attitudes working to silence those who peacefully ask questions, demand answers, and seek truth, it became clear to me that our Country is in serious trouble and I must now stand alongside those Patriots who seek Truth and Constitutional Restoration.
Richard Gage, AIA is the founding member of Architects and Engineers for 9/11 Truth ( ae911Truth.org ). He has been a practicing Architect for 20 years and has worked on most types of building construction including numerous fire-proofed steel-framed buildings. He is employed with a San Francisco Bay Area architecture firm and has most recently performed Construction Administration services for a new $120M High School campus including a $10M steel-framed Gymnasium. Currently he is working on the Design Development for a very large mixed use urban project with 1.2M sq.ft. of retail and 320K sq.ft. of mid-rise office space — altogether about 1,200 tons of steel framing.
He has been one of the most tireless speakers on the issue of 9/11 truth, and more specifically on challenging the official narrative of the disintegration of the 3 major skyscrapers in the World Trade Center complex that took place on September 11th. He has been lecturing widely across the US and in Canada. Those who see his presentation rarely walk away still thinking that fires alone could have brought down the buildings.
When NIST came out with a report recently that fires were responsible for the destruction of WTC7, Richard and Architects and Engineers were quick to challenge that report. (See NY Times quotes Richard Gage on WTC7 “collapse” ). Gage will be speaking at the 7th Annual 9/11 Truth Rally/March in San Francisco, September 6th and at the 4th Annual 9/11 Film Festival in Oakland, September 11th and at the Now or Never 2008 9/11 First Responders Benefit in NYC September 12th .
We will be discussing the 9/11 Truth Movement, the Media, the current organizing that they are doing, and upcoming events on the 7th anniversary of the attacks. Pleases post your 9/11 Truth events on the 911Truth.org calendar or your actions at the TruthAction.org forum. Call in, if you have exciting news to report about your local organizing efforts at- 512-646-1984.
Questioning War- Organizing Resistance is a weekly radio show hosted by Carol Brouillet is a longtime activist who organized three conferences on Strategies to Transform the Global Economy and (the first) marches on her Senators and Congresswoman in January 2002 to Demand a Congressional Investigation of 9-11. She publishes the Deception Dollars, and Co-Founded the 9-11 Truth Alliance, and the Northern California 9-11 Truth Alliance . She organized premieres of films, educational events, marches, rallies for 9-11 Truth, the San Francisco International Inquiry into 9-11, and produced the film Behind Every Terrorist- There is a Bush. She is also a mother of three boys and held a weekly Listening Project in downtown Palo Alto from October 2001 to October 2007, now she holds it once a month on the 11th, in solidarity with other 9/11 Truth activists worldwide. She ran for Congress in 2006 on the Green Party ticket on a 9-11 Truth, Peace, Impeachment platform and will be on the ballot again in 2008.
Past radio shows are archived online at 2008 Shows and 2007 Shows .
Source URL: Carol Brouillet’s blog