A Very Mixed Bag - The Elephant In The Room Reviewed

Today saw the launch of "The Elephant In The Room" at the London Independent Film Festival at the National Film Theatre on the Southbank. Of the 85 documentaries submitted for inclusion in the festival, this film was one of only four selected to be shown - a considerable achievement.

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The first thing to say is this is a proper film, made by a team who clearly knew what they were doing. This is not some grainy truth movement snapshot destined for 5 minutes of fame on YouTube or Google video. Dean Puckett and his cohorts have produced what is in effect a film on two different subjects. The first is about the 9/11 'truth' movement's activists, and their actions. The second, very different film, is about the experiences of New York's "first responders" those who went into the Twin Towers and/or worked at Ground Zero in the following weeks. A health disaster of epic proportions now appears to be emerging.

Doing The Business
9/11 truth activists have sought to work outside the staid paradigm of traditional politics. This has included the use of direct action, and the film shows an imaginative action where an East Anglia activist, resplendent in a Tesco shirt bought on ebay, manages to sneak into his local superstore and announce over the PA system that 9/11 was an inside job. Imaginative yes, amusing most certainly - but how many people were actually influenced is another matter entirely. Direct action without a popular mandate can very easily be dismissed as the action of a few eccentrics, or worse still lead to a cycle of legal difficulties with little or no public solidarity.

Moving on from the shop floor of the truth movement, it was next time to wheel out one of its 'stars'. Step forward the former magicians assistant, William Rodriguez, who was both interviewed and shown proselytising for the cause. With Mr Rodriguez the devil is very much in the detail.
Good showman that he is, it is simply inaccurate to say that 9/11 has led to a "war against Islam" - after all if the US government merely wanted a war against Islam, it would have left Saddam Hussein in power in Iraq, where his boot had been firmly on the throat of Iraq's Islamists for a generation. Far from attacking Islam, the invasion of Iraq, the Provisional Authority and even the creation of Iraq's 'democratic' government have allowed its resurgence. Rodriguez's comments may play well to western Muslims, but they have little grounding in reality.

Rodriguez was also given a platform to complain that ABC News edited an interview as soon as he began to talk about hearing explosions before any planes had hit the Twin Towers. Whilst ABC may have pulled a fast one here, it is tempting to comment that if they really wanted to undermine Rodriguez, a cursory glance at some of the interviews he gave shortly after 9/11 would have proved very embarrassing, both to the man himself and some of his truth movement supporters.

A second former WTC employee, Scott Forbes, is also interviewed. Forbes presents the 'news' that there was a power down in the South Tower the weekend before 9/11, and the revelation that he saw many people wandering about the Towers at the time. Whilst many viewers will be tempted to shout out "And your point is caller?" during this interlude, for the devotee of 9/11 truth, no point is actually needed - the power down will have allowed explosives to be rigged inside the building, and the 'engineers' were no doubt the culprits. Case closed!

It Was Not Us, So It Must Have Been You
One of the areas where the 9/11 'truth' movement is dangerous, and its ginger headed stepson the 7/7 'truth' movement even more unpleasant, is the message it sends out towards Muslim communities, and indeed the wider Muslim world.
Put simply Islamist extremism is not a problem, because Islamist terrorism does not actually exist. In one of the films most depressing sections, a succession of British Muslims trot out to basically repeat this line. It is hard to think of anything more likely to encourage negative views of Islam than the wholesale adoption of such views by Muslim communities across the UK. For social cohesion alone, we should hope that any inroads the 'truth' movement has made into the mindset of British Muslims are not as deep as this film implies.

Getting Some Stick
Anti-truth movement views do get an occasional airing - as can be imagined, some New Yorkers object rather strongly to the 'truth' message. Street arguments aside, some have clearly paid a penalty for asking hard questions about 9/11. Former Rep. Cynthia McKinney is shown visiting the UK from her US base, and actually comes across as having greater gravitas than many would expect. Her core premise is arguably a strong one - how can a trillion dollar defence system that the US taxpayer has provided, have failed four times on 9/11?
The US military-industrial complex has been skilfully critiqued over the years by left leaning researchers (even though the term itself originates with President Eisenhower) it is hard to add Alex Jones to this list, and hearing Jones yelling to 9/11 truthers in New York, it is easy to conclude that the military-industrial complex itself is probably quite satisfied to see dozens of young activists addressed by this southern foghorn than by someone with the political perspective of Noam Chomsky or Christian Parenti.

A Strange Kind of Glory
Often with major events, the aftershocks are as significant as the initial impact. It is well known that the Vietnam War led to more casualties amongst traumatised soldiers returning to the US, than the number of US dead in Vietnam. It is not impossible that Britain's Vietnam, the war in Northern Ireland, had a similar effect, but British stiff upper lips have been more successful at closing down debate on the effect of war in the UK's last colony (Ally Renwick is one of the writers thus far to break through this wall of silence).
Given this, and what we now know about the medical effects of the first Gulf War on those serving, it is hardly the shock of the century to discover that many 9/11 first responders have suffered debilitating health effects from their service, whilst politicians deny any such problems exist. Whilst Rudy Giuliani swans the world stage as a 'hero of 9/11' the reality, for many of those who really did see action, is a world of medication, unemployment, lung disease and eventual early death.
This at least is a story that most be told, and The Elephant In The Room deserves considerable credit for the work done here. Let us hope that this part of its message at least is not lost.

What No Spooks?
There is of course something missing.
If you are going to present a film to the radically minded on issues like these, it is probably best not to feature two people whose career it was to spy on radicals. The MI5 officer David Shayler, who is probably Britain's best known 9/11 'truther' does not feature in the film at all, save for a thank you in the after film credits. Given Mr Shayler now claims to be the messiah, it is perhaps to avoid confusion, rather than secular leanings, that the producers do not thank God in those credits!
Whilst the hawk eyed will spot the other MI5 officer-cum truther, Annie Machon, in the background of one William Rodriguez interview, it is apt that Ms Machon remains, not for the first time, in the shadows. The films credits however, do list her as "Associate Producer". With the possible dissolution of the UK 9/11 Truth Movement - could a new career be beckoning?

Pick And Mix
As outlined above, The Elephant In The Room is two very different films. It is skilfully put together, lasts the right amount of time, and gives a partial sample of what the 'truth' movement is about. The issue of 9/11 and public health, with particular regards to first responders, has been flagged up with precision, and this is a cause that deserves to be shouted from the rooftops.

Lets hope it is clearly heard above the shouts of "9/11 was an inside job"............

Comments

[I know him]

I know Dean and he isn't very bright.

The inlfuence of Machon is somewhat under stated, she has him on a short leash.

[Eddie]

I actually know Dean, as the person above clearly doesn't - the idea that anyone could keep the guy on a leash, long or short, is an absurd notion to anyone whoes ever even met the guy.

He was fiercly independent in the making of this documentary and steadfastly refused to allow it to be lead in any direction other than that he saw fit. I think the result is an excellent film.

For an alternate view (not one biased by an unhealthy voaction of spending his life stalking the Truth Movement, and frankly a disturbed obsession with Annie Machon) there is a review here on Indymedia:

http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/04/396731.html

[Heidi Svenson]

Speaking of bias, while Dean Puckett is happy to spam all & sundry with the indymedia plug, and the fact his film won an 'award' from his mates at the recent luvvy festival, the above review by Paul he doesn't want to draw attention to. Oh dear!

[Eddie]

Oh come on Heidi - the London Independent Film festival are not Dean's "mates" - it's an established film festival. He didn't know anyone involved in it. It won an award because as Paul himself agrees - it's a very good film.

Paul's review is not unfair - but it is entirely based around what he wanted to see - IOW it is another screed on the Truth Movement, dressed up as a review.

Read it through objectively - would you expect to find a review like that in a newspaper or a magazine? Of course not - it's entirely internal to Paul's own pre-occupations. For that reason as well, I very much doubt he cares if attention is drawn to it - the response would be "that's a bit a wierd review"...

[Paul Stott]

Eddie this is the third time now that you have posted a comment on this blog implying that we at Notes From the Borderland and 9/11 Cultwatch have some form of preoccupation or obsession with Annie Machon. This nonsense should not go unchallenged.

I attended the Elephant in the Room film showing at the invitation of the film maker.
I have never spoken to Ms Machon, nor have I ever attempted to contact her. As an ex-MI5 officer, I think she is scum, and I tend to choose my friends a bit more carefully.

All Heidi Svenson, myself and Larry O'Hara have done regarding both Shayler and Machon, is ask hard political questions, both on-line and in a series of articles - one's that in the main are still unanswered.

Whilst the 'little Orphan Annie' act has clearly worked in your case, many others - including I note an increasing number in the truth movement - appear to have seen through Ms Machon. When it all ends in tears for you (as the 'truth' movement's relationship with David Shayler did) don't come crying to me.......

[Larry O'Hara]

I would like to support what Paul has said above about Machon. In addition to point out
1) outside the 2005 Anarchist bookfair ashe very calculatedly acted in such a way as to invite violence--an invitation we declined.
2) One pernicious things about naive 9/11 cultists consorting with spooks, like Machon, is that they are unable to tell when shady tricks are being perpetrated--in this case, it is quite evident Machon is regaling dupes with bogus tales about being 'stalked' or similar by NFB/911Cultwatch, quite possibly done in order to manufacture a pretext for genuine political dissidents like ourselves being targeted by her cop friends, in order to shut us up.

[Eddie]

You would probably win the ear of the truth movement better if you didn't continually insist that everyone but you is essentially stupid and has no faculties for judgement. It's very irritating.

I can judge for myself who and who not to trust and to which level.

Annie Machon, incidentally, has never mentioned either or you, or 911 cult watch. I found your website early on in my research on 9/11, before I'd even met Machon or anyone else and before I'd even decided for certain that 9/11 was an inside job. I found it frankly disturbing. Maybe you'd consider it "humourous" but it reads like a stalkers memoirs.

Just my opinion. And here's another one:

How exactly are you "genuine political dissidents"? You're internet gossip-mongers.

Anyway, best of luck with that.

[Paul Stott]

Eddie - Your ignorance is astounding.

My political background is in Class War, one of the groups David Shayler targetted for infiltration and disruption when he was in MI5.

In the media he spinned contradictory stories about this, sometimes using Annie's favourite paper, the Mail on Sunday, other times his regular column in Punch. Tony Gosling was recruited to pose as a Class War member on Indymedia, smearing the group.

Needless to say when challenged on the inconsistencies in his story, Shayler ended up backing down, only to produce entirely new stories later.

That in a way is why Annie and David are always interesting - another lie will always be along in a minute!

[Eddie]

I wasn't commenting on your background, I was commenting on your current incarnation - as the conspiracy theory world's equivalent of a tabloid gossip rag.

I have to admit though, I didn't know that they had personally infiltrated your groups in the past (I knew that was part of their job at MI5), so I can understand better why you dislike them and are a bit obsessed by them now. Fair enough.

It's a shame you've decided that means the whole truth movement should be damned alongside them.

"Collective Punishment" they call that don't they?