(Thanks Ken, for sending this in.)

Local group pushes 9/11 conspiracy theory

October 24, 2006

Film to be screened at Crater High says someone is lying

By paul fattig
Mail Tribune

Ken Becker is a bright, educated and progressive fellow who normally scoffs at conspiracy theories.

But the Talent resident isn't scoffing at those who believe the truth has yet to be told about the Sept. 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.

Becker, 52, is the founder of "9/11 Truth Now," an independent grassroots group demanding an independent criminal investigation into 9/11.

"I'm open-minded but I'm also skeptical — I'm not a conspiracy theorist," said the married father of two. "I have a family. I have my own business. I'm an Eagle Scout.

"But 9/11 raised so many questions that have never been answered by our government," he added. "I don't know what happened. But I do know we need to find out."

The group is sponsoring the Oregon premiere of "9/11: The Myth and The Reality," a documentary film that will be shown Saturday evening in the performing arts center at Crater High School in Central Point.

Featuring David Ray Griffin, an author and professor emeritus of philosophy, religion and theology at Claremont School of Theology in California, it raises nine points which question the government's explanation of the incident. Following the screening, Ken Jenkins, the film's producer and director, will respond to questions from the audience.

The program begins at 6:30 p.m. The film lasts one hour and 40 minutes.

Tickets are $10 but are offered on a sliding scale based on ability to pay. They are available at the door as well as Bad Ass Coffee in Medford, Listen Here in Grants Pass and Music Coop, SoundPeace and Northwest Nature Shop in Ashland.

During the film, Griffin explains in detail why he doubts the Bush administration's explanations that it was surprised by the attack, and why the hijacked airliners were not intercepted. He also questions how the steel-framed buildings could have imploded the way they did and the "proof" the attacks were carried out by al-Qaeda under the direction of Osama bin Laden.

He also doubts the story of the attack on the Pentagon, and the Bush administration claims that the pilot was an amateur and an al-Qaeda hijacker. Moreover, he doesn't agree with those who believe the nation's political and military leaders would have no motive for orchestrating the attacks.

Film director Ken Jenkins, 59, of San Rafael, Calif., has made several 9/11 films, all of which question the official story of the attack.

"This was not a casual issue to take on," he said in a telephone interview. "At first, we were called nuts, crazy. People said we hated our country.

"It felt early on that we were putting our lives on the line for even taking about it," he added. "These questions are now accepted by an increasing number of people. We're a long ways from total acceptance. But people are having their doubts now (about the official explanation)."

Becker said the local group has about a dozen people in its core with roughly 150 on its e-mail list. He said those who question the official 9/11 explanation can no longer be written off as so many conspiracy kooks.

"Only 16 percent of Americans think the Bush administration is telling the truth about 9/11," Becker said, citing a recent New York Times-CBS poll. "That's huge."

There is also a growing disenchantment with mainstream media's exploration of the issues, he said,

"I've always thought we live in a democracy and that news is news," he said, noting he no longer feels that way.

"There is a whole lot of information our press doesn't cover," he added. "So we are becoming our own media. For-profit journalism has come at the expense of truth."

Becker, who has a bachelor's degree in design and industry and operates his own import business, wonders why there was such a delay in scrambling fighter jets to intercept the airliners, a point that Griffin and others make as well.

"Who was responsible for that?" he asked, then added, "Who gave the order to stand down? Something must have taken place for an event of this magnitude to be ignored."

He wonders why no heads rolled if the military did react unusually slowly to a threat on the Pentagon, which he notes would be one of the most heavily guarded facilities in the world.

"Human beings make mistakes," he said. "I'm a father, a businessman. I'm alive. I make mistakes. Yet nothing happened to those who made mistakes if it happened the way the administration explained. That is a big red flag to me."

Becker, whose birthday is Sept. 11, also agrees with Griffin that there is no proven connection between al-Qaeda and 9/11.

"The 'facts' don't support the evidence," he said of the administration's explanation.

For additional information, see www.911truthnow.org

Reach reporter Paul Fattig at 776-4496 or e-mail him at pfattig@mailtribune.com