OpEdNews » Dr. Moffett Smears ‘Active Thermitic’ Paper by Association- Again
Original Content at http://www.opednews.com/populum/diarypage.php?did=13504
June 16, 2009Dr. Moffett Smears ‘Active Thermitic’ Paper by Association- Again
By Better World Order
In another headlined article at OpEdNews.com, Sr. Editor Dr. Moffett has again smeared the peer-reviewed paper, Active Thermitic Material Discovered in Dust from the 9/11 World Trade Center Catastrophe published in The Open Chemical Physics Journal, published by Bentham.org.
::::::::
In another headlined article at OpEdNews.com, Sr. Editor Dr. Moffett has again smeared the peer-reviewed paper, Active Thermitic Material Discovered in Dust from the 9/11 World Trade Center Catastrophe published in The Open Chemical Physics Journal, published by Bentham.org. A different Bentham.org journal, The Open Information Science Journal, recently published a hoax paper, and 2 editors resigned: Open Access Publisher Accepts Nonsense Manuscript for Dollars. See Dr. Moffett’s previous smear job rebutted by Dr. Michael Green, here: Pardon Our Dust, or, Why the World Trade Center Dust Matters. See Dr. Moffett’s current smear job here: 911 NanoTech Thermite Publisher Accepts Fake Paper, Editors quit
I find some areas of agreement with Dr. Moffet; for instance, he says: “The only way to find out what really happened [on 9/11] is to have a large panel of independent researchers reopen the case, with access to the classified documents that would be needed to make a valid assessment of all the data.”
However, Dr. Moffet’s article is mainly devoted to attacking the Active Thermitic paper, in ways that are unjustified. For instance, Dr. Moffett says: “The subgroup of 911 Truthers who are advocating this particular [nanothermite] theory of the WTC collapse have declared victory over those advocating the controlled demolition theory, or the missiles disguised as planes theory, or the directed energy weapons theory, or even the secret nuclear reactors in the WTC basements theory, because they now have a “scientific paper published in a peer reviewed journal” to buttress their claims.”
The Active Thermitic paper simply documents nanothermite in the WTC dust; it doesn’t present a theory of how the towers were demolished (although the findings obviously support theories), and the presence of the red-gray thermitic chips doesn’t preclude the use of other types of explosives as well.
Regarding the holograms, mini-nukes and energy beams Moffett mentions; these are ideas for which no, or extremely flimsy evidence exists, and hardly any real people claim to believe them. It may be these ideas were invented in order to discredit the Truth Movement by association- in addition to pushing these bogus claims, some of their main proponents have also engaged in disruptive, divisive behavior and have subsequently been shunned by a large number of truth movement activists and orgs. Similarly, Dr. Moffett has tried to discredit the Active Thermitic paper by associating it with the now-discredited Open Information Science Journal.
Dr. Moffet also says: “It is not surprising that the public is not aware of the fact that the so-called Bentham Open Science publishing group is basically a vanity publication where anyone can publish a “peer reviewed scientific journal article” which is not actually peer reviewed.”
Actually, as Dr. Moffet knows, if he’s looked into the hoax paper incident at all- the authors of the hoax paper also acknowledged; ”From this one case, we cannot conclude that Bentham Science journals practice no peer review, only that it is inconsistently applied. Earlier this year, I reported on a case in which a nonsensical article submitted to another Bentham Science journal was rejected after going through peer review [1].” Open Access Publisher Accepts Nonsense Manuscript for Dollars
If Dr. Moffet were objective, he would have acknowledged that himself. And contrary to Dr. Moffet’s claim that it’s a “fact that the so-called Bentham Open Science publishing group is basically a vanity publication where anyone can publish a “peer reviewed scientific journal article” which is not actually peer reviewed.”
The Open Chemical Physics Journal and 154 other Bentham journals are listed in the Directory of Open Access Journals operated by Lund University Libraries. Open Access is a fast growing model for peer-reviewed publication. Open Access generally means there are no fees to subscribe to the journals and papers are published online, so the entire world can read the papers. This vastly increases access, public knowledge and scrutiny of published findings. As there are no fees to subscribe, the financial support for journals’ existence comes from subsidies, the paper’s authors, or the Universities they’re associated with- as was the case with the Active Thermitic paper. Those responsible at these universities- Copenhagen U and BYU- also reviewed the paper.
There have been complaints about Bentham spamming people to submit papers and join Bentham journal editorial boards, but so far there have been no other claims that Bentham journals didn’t perform adequate peer-review of published papers. However, as a result of the hoax incident, there will be increased scrutiny on Bentham, and more examples may come to light.
The 2 editors at The Open Information Science Journal who accepted the hoax paper were right to resign, as the hoax paper was published on their watch. How can an “editor” have no control over what’s being published? Did they not even know they didn’t know what was going on at their own journal?
It seems likely this is the case with Marie-Paule Pileni, who resigned after she discovered the Active Thermitic paper had been published in The Open Chemical Physics Journal, of which she was Editor-in-Chief. She discredits herself in the statement that Dr. Moffet quoted; “I cannot accept that this topic is published in my journal. The article has nothing to do with physical chemistry or chemical physics, and I could well believe that there is a political viewpoint behind its publication. If anyone had asked me, I would say that the article should never have been published in this journal. Period.”
As Dr. Moffet says, “Despite supposedly being the chief editor, she had not been informed that the thermite article was going to be published in her journal.”
Pileni says “if anyone had asked me” - how can the “editor-in-chief” be unaware? Was she simply trading her name for a title and a paycheck, and paying no attention to what was being published at her journal?
In addition, she discredits herself with the claim that “the article has nothing to do with physical chemistry or chemical physics”; nanothermite has everything to do with physical chemistry and chemical physics, and the Active Thermitic paper documented various experiments with the physical and chemical properties of the red-gray chips.
And as Dr. Moffet should know, Pileni is reported by videnskab.dk to have said, “because the topic lies outside her field of expertise, she cannot judge whether the article in itself is good or bad.”
However, as documented at the above link, Pileni has an extensive background in chemical physics and physical chemistry- as well as with explosives- and she also has extensive connections to the defense industry. This may have more to do with her resignation- in any case, despite her insinuation, the quality of the paper has nothing to do with her resignation, as Pileni did not point out ANY flaws in it; and if Videnskab is correct, she claimed she “cannot judge whether the article in itself is good or bad.”
Likewise, Dr. Moffet has not legitimately debunked the Active Thermitic paper- he has only attempted an appearance of doing so; smearing it by association with the other discredited journal. Again, see this rebuttal of his previous smear job, by Dr. Michael Green: Pardon Our Dust, or, Why the World Trade Center Dust Matters
This hoax incident will no doubt bring even greater scrutiny on the Active Thermitic paper. If there are flaws, let them be pointed out. If there are none, let that be known as well. In any case, independent scientists should be confirming the presence of the red-gray chips in World Trade Center dust, and performing their own experiments on them. If the findings are confirmed, full criminal, congressional and international investigations, with public oversight, are called for- as people have been calling for, in increasing numbers, since the crimes of 9/11 happened.
Dr. Moffett supports a new 9/11 investigation, saying, “I don’t believe the official story of the 911 commission report, and in fact, neither do many members of the 911 commission” and “The only way to find out what really happened is to have a large panel of independent researchers reopen the case, with access to the classified documents that would be needed to make a valid assessment of all the data. In order to facilitate that happening, the 911 Truth Movement should stop squabbling over pet theories, and concentrate on getting a new investigation with subpoena power and the authorization to view classified documents started. This will take some serious Congressional lobbying by those interested parties. So leave your favorite theories at home, and press Congress for a new investigation.”
I agree with Dr. Moffett on the need for independent review of still classified documents- and Congressional authorization of a Citizen’s commission with subpoena power and public oversight would be a good way to have this review. There may well be hard evidence of criminal foreknowledge, negligence and complicity hidden in classified files. The official version of events is already contradicted by thousands of pieces of evidence already in the public record, in the form of government documents and reports, statements by principals, and reporting done by the MSM: see The Complete 9/11 Timeline hosted by HistoryCommons.org. However, the way WTC 1, 2 and 7 collapsed is indicative of controlled demolition. The findings of NIST and FEMA actually support the controlled demolition hypothesis, as documented in a still not debunked or discredited letter published April 2008 in Bentham’s Open Civil Engineering Journal: Fourteen Points of Agreement with Official Government Reports on the World Trade Center Destruction. Furthermore, the EPA’s own data supports the theory that energetic materials were involved in the destruction of the Twin Towers; the paper Environmental anomalies at the World Trade Center: evidence for energetic materials was published August 2008 in The Environmentalist, a journal not associated with Bentham. And also see James Gourley’s October 2008 response to the paper of Dr. Bazant (one of the few vocal proponents of NIST’s collapse theory) published in the Journal of Engineering Mechanics; Discussion of “Mechanics of Progressive Collapse: Learning from World Trade Center and Building Demolitions” by Zdene k P. Bazant and Mathieu Verdure (915). Evidence of mass murder on 9/11 by controlled demolition demands investigation.
Author’s Website: www.911Reports.com
Author’s Bio: Erik Larson, Human Being and concerned Citizen. I only advocate and practice non-violent methods of social and political activism & change. Disclaimer: Opinions expressed here by me in my articles and diaries are my own. I do my best to only reference reliable facts and credible sources in my writing. I submit Quicklinks for posterity, information, feedback and debunking; they may or may not represent my views. I welcome all feedback on my writing and submitted links.
OpEdNews » Dr. Moffett Smears ‘Active Thermitic’ Paper by Association- Again.
