AE911Truth Activists Enlighten Civil Liberties Conference

Top NDAA Critics Learn About WTC Evidence

Written by Wayne Coste, P.E.

Cheryl Curtis, host of 9/11 Wake Up Call, AE911Truth Congressional Outreach Team Leader Wayne Coste, PE, and AE911Truth volunteers Lynn Bradbury and Carl Seeger Henry educate conferees about the truth behind the catalyst for the NDAA – the 9/11 catastrophe

AE911Truth made its presence known to all attendees on December 8 at a significant regional conference at Central Connecticut State University. It dealt with a subject near and dear to all Americans including AE911Truth supporters – civil liberties – with a focus on the indefinite detention provisions in the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Such provisions are one of many appalling outcomes of the destruction of the of the World Trade Center skyscrapers on September 11, 2001.

The conference, entitled “An Injustice to One is an Injustice to All,” was well attended by well over 200 participants. The speakers and workshop leaders included many media professionals and civil liberties leaders, such as Glen Greenwald, a columnist on civil liberties and US national security issues at the UK Guardian; Sahar Aziz, Professor of Constitutional Law; Shahid Buttar, Executive Director of the Bill of Rights Defense Committee; Steve Downs, Executive Director of National Coalition to Protect Civil Freedoms; and Nancy Murray, Education Director of the Massachusetts Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union.

There were also two tables dedicated to 9/11 truth issues on opposite sides of the room. One booth was hosted by Boston 9/11 Truth, and I organized the other booth with fellow volunteers of Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth (AE911Truth).

Our table featured a silent video loop that had text slides introducing video clips, including Building 7 descending at free-fall, the NIST finite-element analysis simulations, the details of the dismemberment of the Twin Towers, and examples of intact buildings that survived attempts at controlled demolition.

Additionally, one segment outlined the forensic investigation techniques that should have been applied to the events of 9/11, but were not. Watch our compelling video now.

Shahid Buttar of the Bill of Rights Defense Committee speaks with passion at Connecticut Civil Liberties Conference. Tracy Molm of the Committee to Stop FBI Repression is second from left. (Fight Back! News/Staff)

Cheryl Curtis, the host of 9/11 Wake Up Call on WWUH, a local radio station, said, “By a large majority, the attendees were very open to receiving the information that we provided. Many were unaware of Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth and were impressed with the quality of information that has been developed.”

Lynn Bradbury, an activist who traveled from northern Maine to attend the conference and help out at the table, said, “One of the most popular handouts was the quarter-page flyer about our latest documentary, 9/11: Explosive Evidence - Experts Speak Out. It had the links to the film on the Colorado Public Television web site, CPT12.org. Almost everyone who received one was astonished by the news that it was the most viewed and most shared video on the national PBS.org website.”

The AE911Truth table also featured two books that attracted some attention. The main book was James Gourley’s newly published “The 9/11 Toronto Report”. This book is the final report of the International Hearings on the Events of September 11, 2001, held in Toronto in 2011. The other was more pertinent to the conference theme – Susan Lindauer’s book “Extreme Prejudice: the Terrifying Story of the Patriot Act and the Cover Ups of 9/11 and Iraq”, which describes her imprisonment and torture, without charges, under the Patriot Act – and her involvement with the pre-9/11 intelligence about the upcoming attacks.

9/11 Truth – The Elephant in the Room

As speaker after speaker referenced how the climate of individual and political freedom changed as a result of 9/11, none of the speakers challenged the fundamental official story that 19 Muslims destroyed the World Trade Center by flying planes into them. The primary concerns voiced from the podium were that, in the aftermath of 9/11, the Muslim community was targeted for surveillance and infiltration. Furthermore, the surveillance is being expanded to include other groups and individuals as well. Examples were given of Muslims being enticed to “talk about retaliation against the system.” These statements, on their own, were then used as proof of “terrorist intentions,” and in several cases were sufficient for an indictment and conviction.

The 9/11 Truth booths set up at the NDAA conference featured colorful displays that illustrate the evidence surrounding the controlled demolition of the WTC skyscrapers

Several speakers described the surveillance of Americans that is being gathered in government databases called Fusion Centers. Furthermore, local police departments that have been brought into Fusion Center activities are prohibited from disclosing any of their police functions because all of their functions are then, at some level, connected to the Fusion Centers.

Because of the large 9/11 Truth presence at the conference and because of 9/11-related questions in the workshops, one prominent speaker felt the need to explicitly state that the Muslim community was under attack prior to 9/11; that violence and repression against segments of the population go back to the first encounters with Native Americans; that there was nothing particularly unique, in the spectrum of history of state-sponsored abuse, about either 9/11 itself or its aftermath; that 9/11 was a simply a continuation of a corrupt system that was “destroying the people.” In his view, 9/11 was part of the continuum that, as I interpreted his words, includes the massacre at Wounded Knee, the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, Kent State, and many other atrocities.

Michael Figa, an AE911Truth volunteer from Boston, said, “I talked to three speakers who happened to be Muslim. Two were 100-percent supportive of Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth’s position that the official story about 9/11 cannot be true, but would not speak about it from the podium. The third also supported this position. I think that a significant number of speakers were in fact ‘truthers’.”

Reasons Given for Denying Evidence of Controlled Demolition

A variety of compelling materials on 9/11 were available at our table, including DVDs, brochures, books and newspapers

There were private discussions with some young student leaders who did not accept the AE911Truth evidence, apparently as a result of their world view that America’s imperialistic and militaristic power was evil and destructive of the right of other people to have their freedom. Therefore, as one of these leaders said, “… for someone like Osama Bin Laden to retaliate was not only to be expected, it was the right of those suffering from America’s imperialism to fight back.” A significant addendum to that position was later expressed as “… to see the attacks as not being done by the Muslims, who have suffered so much from our imperialism, would be denying the ability of an oppressed people to fight back. This would be a slap in the face of Muslims who ‘weren’t clever enough, or organized enough, to strike a blow’ against America’s war machine.”

However, Muslims at the conference spoke of Islam as a religion of peace where violence does not have any place.

Massachusetts ACLU

Nancy Murray, the Education Director of the Massachusetts Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, was a panelist as well as a leader for the workshop entitled “The New Surveillance State” that delved into an overview of legislation, legal rulings, technology, and expanded surveillance powers of the state and federal government since 9/11. During the workshop, many questions addressed the reasons for increasing surveillance. The events of 9/11 were always identified as a spark for surges in surveillance and for the new laws restricting civil liberties.

It doesn’t take much effort to educate the public! The artwork (for vinyl banners) is free and can be downloaded and printed locally. Other printed resources are available in the online store at near cost!

However, when the question came up, time and time again, about whether the official story of 9/11 was accurate, in light of the evidence presented by AE911Truth and others, Murray became exasperated and claimed that she believed the official story. Furthermore she added, her husband is an architect and does not agree with the AE911Truth evidence and conclusions. After the workshop was over, she was offered a copy of Experts Speak Out. She declined, saying that she has seen it before. When asked if her husband would provide a critique of the documentary, she said he most likely would not. We doubt that she has really seen it, because almost everyone who has seen it ends up agreeing with our position and joins our call for a new investigation.

Conclusion

This conference was a great place to reach out to many activists and let them know about our information resources. Listening closely to those who refuse to look at the 9/11 evidence is also a very revealing part of doing outreach. The arguments to avoid looking at 9/11 Truth information, while not usually articulated very clearly, echo the concepts heard at the conference and the observations of psychologists featured in Experts Speak Out. Understanding these underlying world views is necessary for us in order to develop effective outreach to as many segments of the public as possible.

All in all, it was a very productive day for AE911Truth. Many people who were introduced to our evidence may exert pressure on the leadership of their various organizations to begin seriously reviewing the explosive evidence and supporting our efforts – or at least allow others who wish to discuss the 9/11 evidence to let their voice be heard.

If you wish to “table” at conferences that are even remotely related to our cause of 9/11 Truth, we recommend that you email us for support – and also secure brochures, newspapers, and DVDs from our online store. Go out and take action!