Visibility 9-11 Welcomes Author of The Shell Game Steve Alten



This week Visibility 9-11 welcomes New York Times best selling author of The Shell Game, Steve Alten. 

Steve Alten is a best selling author and gifted story teller and The Shell Game is Steve Alten at his best.  Exciting and entertaining, and yet so informative, The Shell Game has the potential to bring 9-11 Truth to a much wider audience.  Please consider purchasing your copy today at your local bookstore, online bookstore, or directly through The Shell Game website.

The Shell Game is "...a fictional thriller that deals with very real life and death issues that affect all of us.  These include PEAK OIL (are we running out?) and the events of 9/11 that led us into a war in Iraq.  The plot of the book extrapolates from both of these issues (and others) in order to show the reader what a dangerous path the world has been placed upon."

Intermission music by Contents Under Pressure.
Ending music by Kevin Boyle.

Get this episode here.

Quote from Steve Alten

“….but here’s the thing. You can attack people like that who have written a non fiction book like Michael C. Ruppert’s Crossing the Rubicon and some of these other books that are out there; they can attack [David] Ray Griffin and people within the movement. But when you attack a novel, what you just did was tell the world that there’s something in the novel that you fear because why would you be attacking a book of fiction? You just authenticated everything in The Shell Game because you’re attacking the author. And so instead of stamping on our fire, they just poured gasoline on it; and believe me, we’ll use that.”

Steven Alten on Visibility 9-11
1-20-08

I'm agnostic about the "Shell Game" as a Truth asset, but

..the points you bring up are good and make me lean towards supporting the effort. It's not just the attacks but the virulent aggressiveness of them from the "seagull" quarter--and, as you say, all over a work of fiction?

Mind, Mr. Douglas' "enthusiastic" promotion was a bit off-putting IMO. That by itself made me pull WAY back and take a "wait and see" tack.
______________________________________
http://coljennysparks.blogspot.com/
http://truthaction.org/forum/
http://www.911blacklist.org/

Another quote:

“My objective is to . . . stay above the fray of the 9/11 Truth Movement because the 9/11 Truth Movement, for the terrific work it’s done, is fragmented, and that doesn’t help anybody.
“The Shell Game” is a tool that everyone in the 9/11 Truth Movement can rally around because it can do one thing, it could get information that needs to be out there to the people who don’t want to look at the information. I don’t want to preach to the choir, I want to bring more people into the choir. . . I want to bring the masses in who would never go to a 9/11 Truth site. . . or never be associated with anything that has to do with the 9/11 Truth Movement; I want to bring those people in, and you can’t bring those people in if you start taking sides on an argument that splits hairs. . .
Let’s put it this way: a crime happened; the biggest crime in the history of the world, and the perpetrators got away with it . . . so far. If you want to bring them to trial, if you want to investigate what really happened, if you want to make it public and hold people accountable . . . then read the book, and support the book, and get the masses involved so that at the next march . . September 11, 2008, instead of having a thousand people there you’ll have two million people there . . . that’s how you get things done.”

Steven Alten on Visibility 9-11
1-20-08

I urge anyone who doubts

I urge anyone who doubts Steve Altens' motivations for writing "The Shell Game" to listen to this interview.
This is one smart cat.

Micheal Rivero on Steve

Now then, with regard to "The Shell Game." Be careful of this one. I interviewed the author, Steve Alten, on last week's radio show, and I asked him why, when he had so much accurate information about 9-11, there was no mention of the Israelis arrested on 9-11, or the revelation in Carl Cameron's four-part FOX News story that there was evidence linking the Mossad to 9-11, but that our own government had classified it. Steve dismissed it all saying that he was convinced that Israel had nothing to do with 9-11.

I had only read the first half of the book when I had Steve on the show, and having now finished the book, I must report that I regret allowing Steve onto my show. The book goes out of its way to portray the Saudis as "bad guys" unworthy of sympathy, and in a way this book is very reminiscent of "Fahrenheit 9-11" which used real facts about 9-11 to point the finger of blame at the Saudis and away from Israel.

So, be appropriately cautious.

http://www.whatreallyhappened.com/

Omissions

This is interesting in light of Altens' stated objective: to open the 9/11 Truth story up to the millions who would otherwise remain closed to it. I find it hard to believe, having read the book and listened to this interview, that Alten is not aware of the Mossad connections to 9/11. My guess is that he is aware and consciously chose to leave it out, just like he left out any mention whatsoever of the prima facie case for controlled demolition of the twin towers and building 7.
There are a multitude of legitimate criticisms of the Official Conspiracy Theory, but none of them are going to be considered by anyone who can't get their foot in the door, so to speak.
I think it is important that we keep his stated purpose in mind before accusing him of letting anyone or any facet off the hook.

Regarding Nelson's critique of Alten's writing, no, I don't think that "The Shell Game" is a twenty-first century "1984." I don't think it is great literature by any means.
I think it is a compellingly-told story with the capacity for attracting millions of "non-9/11 Truth Choir" members, and that is precisely what he set out to write.

It seems all too easy for the 9/11 Truth movement to allow itself to be divided and conquered.

very nice find! i agree

Very nice find! I agree completely with Rivero's assessment of the novel.

--------------------------------------------
WTC 9-11-2001 was a Neocon-Zionist conspiracy,
but Jews DID NOT do 9-11 -
http://www.911blogger.com/node/8914#comment-174921
The WTC was destroyed by controlled demo-
'http://www.ae911truth.org

I'm fascinated by 911 Truth as well as Peak Oil, but...

'The Shell Game' is a formulaic story construction of trashy popular fiction. The tone of the writing is not very high-calibre. The story is an instantly forgettable, typically pulpish one of no real importance either to the 911 Truth Movement or to Peak Oil whose main ideas are not explored well and, in my opinion, are often misunderstood by Alten.

Each "chapter" is no more than about 2-3 pages. Chapters are broken up into widely seperated scenes of no more than several paragraphs each. This is a story-telling technique that Alten has abused to extremes. He creates a kaleidoscopic scattering of storyline that does not serve to illuminate the murk of the 911 conspiracy we all have sought to penetrate these last 6 years. Rather, it serves to bury details in vagueness - something the 911 Truth Movement needs like a hold in the head.

It is touted as a "political thriller" but it just does not possess great political intelligence, wit, credibility or superior background knowledge of how a shadow government MIGHT have believably conducted a false-flag psyop. It DOES have excellent cover art. That's about the best thing one can say about Alten's book.

Before reading it, I wrote an email to George Kenney of ElectricPolitics.com suggesting that he contact Steve Alten to do an interview. Kenney has done shows covering both 911 and Peak Oil in the past. However, Kenney wrote back saying essentially the same thing - that he had bought a copy of "The Shell Game" and found the writing style "not his cup of tea". So I hardly think that I am alone in my criticism.

At one point in the story, the protagonist, Ace Futrell, has taken a plane to Riyadh, SA in order to enter a large bank. He plans to surreptiously insert a CD-ROM containing Promis software into any ordinary desk computer found on the the bank's main customer service floor.

This Promis software on the CD-ROM will infiltrate the bank's money centers around the world (and those of other banks too), stealing billions (even trillions) of dollars (from only the bad guys' accounts) for the express purpose of funding clean energy alternatives to fossil fuels thereby defeating the evil US political establishment , American oil cartels and other bad actors.

When Ace gets into the bank in Riyadh, he is greeted by a Saudi bank manager who queries Ace about his business objectives in the country. Ace says that he is engaged ina $2 billion/yr sports memorabilia business and produces one of his company's latest products - a piece of gum "that will give you the freshest breath in the bank". He urges the bank manager to try a piece.

[Quote]
"Al-Kuwaiz unwraps it. Hesitates, then pops the yellow rectangle into his mouth. The gum is laced with Burrundanga, a soluble powder better known in Columbia as Zombie Dust. Made from the Borrachera plant, Burrundanga has been called the world's most dangerous drug as it leaves its victims in a virtual coma, preventing the brain from recording any and all memory until it wears off hours later.
[Unquote]

Make no mistake, there had been no previous reference to Burrundanga poison or Ace's ability to obtain such a substance. Ace is just somehow able to produce it right there in the story! It's like Looney Toons cartoons, where Dawg has the uncanny ability to suddenly produce a shotgun from behind his back to blow ol' Foghorn Leghorn's face off. This is just one irksome example.

Quote:
Ace removes the CD-ROM from the John Lennon's Greatest Hits case, along with the Yankee's yearbook. Sliding his chair next to Al-Kuwaiz, he feigns reading the yearbook to the comatose manager as his eyes dart to the monitor. Casually, he leans under the desk, opening the computer hard drive's CD tray. He quickly positions the CD-ROM containing the Promis worm inside, then closes the drawer.

A command pops up in Arabic, Using the mouse, he double-clicks on the prompter, his heart pounding as the timer bar pops up, signalling that the worm is downloading.

Ace checks his watch: 10:38 a.m. Referring again to the yearbookas if it is the Koran, Ace pretends to point out passages to his Saudi Arabian zombie, silentlyurging the downloading bar to move faster--

--unaware that above his head, mounted in the ceiling behind a mirrored decoration, the bank's security camera is recording everything.
[Unquote]

Later in the story, millions and billions of dollars start disappearing from huge bank accounts all over the world because of the Promis worm that Ace loaded onto the bank manager's desktop PC - to benefit clean energy industries, notably E85 corn ethanol!

One thing is for sure: with authors like Alten around, we'll never run short of corn!

E85 corn ethanol is perfectly horrible solution to our energy problems!!!

Sorry people, "The Shell Game" sucks, even in it's formulaic way. Maybe someday a more inspired writer will step up and produce a more worthy piece of historical fiction.

The shell game blames the Saudis

Some revelations about Steve Altens Shell Game....

Michael Rivero has the following:
'Now then, with regard to "The Shell Game." Be careful of this one. I interviewed the author, Steve Alten, on last week's radio show, and I asked him why, when he had so much accurate information about 9-11, there was no mention of the Israelis arrested on 9-11, or the revelation in Carl Cameron's four-part FOX News story that there was evidence linking the Mossad to 9-11, but that our own government had classified it. Steve dismissed it all saying that he was convinced that Israel had nothing to do with 9-11.
I had only read the first half of the book when I had Steve on the show, and having now finished the book, I must report that I regret allowing Steve onto my show. The book goes out of its way to portray the Saudis as "bad guys" unworthy of sympathy, and in a way this book is very reminiscent of "Fahrenheit 9-11" which used real facts about 9-11 to point the finger of blame at the Saudis and away from Israel.

So, be appropriately cautious.

http://www.whatreallyhappened.com/

Check his background

Obvious misdirection ploy to keep your eye off the real culprits... Israel. Don't worry "Altenstein" we know who really orchestrated 9/11. There is too much evidence implicating Israel and it's filthy agents to ignore. Notice how quickly this shill shifts blame away from Israel and is ABSOLUTELY SURE Israel had nothing to do with 9/11. How the hell does he know? He has limited knowledge at best, most of his work is fiction as he states himself. But he's so sure who wasn't involved? Yeah right. You can throw this book in the trash.

Steve Alten is not a friend of the truth movement

I think this email exchange between Wendy Campbell and Steve Alten reveals why his book can be promoted by NYTimes and not others by real truthers such as DRG, etc.

http://www.radicalpress.com/?p=624

“The Shell Game” Just Another Zionist Scam to Stop 9/11 Investigation of Israel
Hi All,

What follows is an e-mail exchange between myself and Steven Alten, author of “The Shell Game” which has been touted and promoted by some people in the 9/11 Truth Movement. I became suspicious that this book was just another misleading Arab-bashing, Israel-pleasing work which only points fingers at the Zionist-approved list of “usual subjects” including the puppet king Bush. Many of us have come to the realization that Israel has played a major role in 9-11 (PNAC, dancing Israeli spies, Odigo, Wolfowitz Doctrine, The Clean Break, Netanyahu and Silverstein phone buddies, Israeli security in charge of US airports, Marvin Bush in charge of security of WTC at time of attacks, implosions, explosions, Silverstein said on video “they decided to pull it” with regards to WTC building 7 which was not even hit by a jet, and it takes weeks to set up an implosion, the resulting “war on terror” based on false info provided by Israel’s Mossad, and so on and so forth— see the DVDs and research on the internet using google). Therefore any book, DVD, film or article which does not point to or even allude to the role of Israel in 9-11 is obfuscating and hiding the Truth about 9-11.

Read on…

Wendy

*****

Hi Steven,

With regards to your book “The Shell Game” and my question “Why is it that you do not mention the Israeli connection to 9-11 and oil?”,
these are my guesses for your possible answer(s):

#1) In order to get your book published and distributed in the US, you realize you have to avoid offending Jewish interests and anything that might offend Jews— which of course would be the obvious Jewish-American/Israeli connection to 9-11 (see: http://www.whatreallyhappened.com/9-11neocon.php )and also the Jewish-American/Israeli ambition to dominate the oil resources (see: http://www.marwenmedia.com/articles_images/SecretRelationship.html ) in the Middle East.

#2) Somehow, you have been unaware of such information.

#3) You are aware of such information but you simply don’t believe it, and prefer to believe the Zionist-approved propagandistic version that it was just big bad corporations, politicians such as Bush & Cheney and Saudi Arabia that is behind the false flag INSIDE JOB operation of the 9-11 attacks.

#4) You believe it is an “anti-Semitic canard” to believe in such “conspiracy theories” which involve any Jewish Americans or Israeli-Americans or Israelis in the 9-11 attacks.

I am eagerly awaiting your response.

Sincerely,

Wendy Campbell
Director of the following documentaries:
“Truth: Exposing Israeli Apartheid”
“Rosa Remembers Palestine”
“Neturei Karta: Jews Against Zionism”
“Syria: Land of Friendly People and Hidden Treasure”

****

Steven Alten, author of “The Shell Game” replies to Wendy:

on 12/28/07 9:01 PM, Meg82159@aol.com at Meg82159@aol.com wrote:

Hi, Wendy

Wow. Actually, the Israeli situation, detailed in Crossing the Rubicon, did not play into my plot. Do I believe agents were following hijackers before 9/11? Yes. I also believe Israel is one of our most important allies, the one true democracy in the Middle East, and that they did warn Bush in the beginning.

Please remember, I couldn’t toss in every aspect of the 9/11 truth movement investigations and still expect the mainstream reader to accept the book’s truths. You have to pick and choose. The objective was to show how Bush and Cheney committed treason and where their acts can lead. I detailed an awful lot, but I still needed to keep the plot moving in a thriller matter or lose the audience.

The success of the book can crack open the door. Then you can kick it in!

Sincerely

Steve Alten

****

Wendy replies to Steve:

Hi Steve,

Thanks for getting back to me. I appreciate your response and the fact that you didn’t get offended by my message to you. I shall have to check out “Crossing the Rubicon”.

May I point out some facts to you which you may have missed or have not taken into consideration with regards to your conclusions? Here we go:

I am glad that you believe Israeli agents were following the hijackers before 9-11, but I am surprised that you don’t seem to be aware of the Israeli spies high-fiving it while taping the attacks themselves (google “dancing Israeli spies”) which pretty much proves they had foreknowledge and were actually probably taping the results of their own efforts while working for the Mossad— as in it is very likely that they planted the explosives themselves in the World Trade Center buildings 1, 2 and 7 (which was not even hit by a jet)– all buildings owned by Larry Silverstein, who is best friends with super Zionist hawk Netanyahu— one of the writers of PNAC (Project for New American Century— the blueprint for 9-11 and rolling out the war on the Middle East, starting with Iraq and Afghanistan as called for in this document which was based on “A Clean Break” which was based on “The Wolfowitz Doctrine”). As you can probably see by now, I firmly believe that the Israelis and Israeli-Americans, such as Silverstein, such as Netanyahu, such as Wolfowitz, such as Perle, and their colleagues actually orchestrated 9-11. In their PNAC doctrine, they stated that they needed a “Pearl Harbor-style event” to happen to start on the empire building, and so that was 9-11.

But even if the Israeli agents were just “following” the hijackers as you believe, then doesn’t that make them complicit collaborators? Or at the very least, why didn’t they directly tell authorities which could have prevented 9-11 from happening? Please don’t tell me they wanted not to reveal that they were Israeli spies! Surely there could be a way around that! At the very least, like for instance when the Israeli company Odigo (actually a front for the Mossad) headquartered in WTC got the warnings that there was going to be a hit— couldn’t any of the Mossad agents who knew what was about to happen have at least anonymously called into the building authorities and the NYC police and NY fire dept to warn people of a bomb or something (instead of just calling their own pals at Odigo)?

With “allies” like Israel, who needs enemies? Israel did not in any serious way “warn” Bush. The Mossad just sent their usual torrent of information with no specifics. Again, why couldn’t they even have at the very least anonymously tipped off the authorities in NY and the WTC with regards to a bomb scare? I believe it’s because they not only wanted it to happen the way it did, but they orchestrated it, to benefit Israel’s ambitions, as in enlisting to US to fight Israel’s wars— everyone who participated got to keep their jobs and line their pockets with the war-time profiteering.

And how can you possibly believe that the Jewish state of Israel is the “one true democracy in the Middle East” when obviously it is a Jewish supremacist state which has been systematically and continually embarking on a campaign of ethnic cleansing against non-Jews since day one of Israel’s creation in 1948? Israel is actually a theocracy, which has apartheid policies and an on-going campaign of ethnic-cleansing against non-Jews, and provides equal rights for Jews ONLY. Israel is a Jewish supremacist, nationalistic, socialistic country. Sound familiar? Zionism is actually the twin to Nazism, if Truth be known. Perhaps you might want to read Joel Kovel’s new book “Overcoming Zionism” and also get some history about “The Origin of the Palestine-Israel Conflict” written by Jews for Justice in the Middle East which can be found at: http://www.cactus48.com .

Israel is not even a true democracy for Jews since marriage between Jews and non-Jews is not allowed to happen legally in Israel.

As far as I am concerned, any book or report that overlooks the Israeli connection to 9-11 is pure misinformation/disinformation and I simply do not have time for that. I care ONLY for the Truth and the usual Arab-bashing and pointing fingers at the puppets without looking at the underlying cause (which is Zionism and greed for money, oil and power amongst all the collaborators behind 9-11, Jewish and non-Jewish ) is simply non-productive, misleading and irresponsible.

The root cause must be examined and dealt with or else endless war will continue.

By the way, just out of curiosity— are you Jewish ? In case you are interested, I am not.

Sincerely,

Wendy Campbell

PS Here are a couple links to help you understand the Truth about 911:

http://www.whatreallyhappened.com/9-11neocon.php

http://www.realnews247.com/stranger_than_fiction.htm

http://incogman.wordpress.com/2007/12/16/coming-out-all-over-911-was-an-...

Books to read include: “9-11 Evil” by Victor Thorne and Lisa Guiliani, and “9-11 Enigma: The Israeli Connection” by Justin Raimondo of http://www.antiwar.com and writings by Christopher Bollyn (see: http://www.bollyn.com)

****

Steve replies to Wendy:

—— Forwarded Message
From: Meg82159@aol.com
Date: Sat, 29 Dec 2007 13:03:06 EST
To: info@marwenmedia.com
Subject: Re: Why is it that you do not mention the Israeli connection to 9-11 and oil??

Wendy
I think your views are seriously warped. And flat out wrong. There are no LAWS in Israel preventing intermarriage. Religion and government are separate factions. Perhaps teh Orthodox Jews do not acceppt inter-marriage, but the reform do. regardless, it is NOT a law!

I seriously doubt Mossad agents allowed themselves to be filmed high fiving. And news footage from Israel showed the population WEEPING after the WTC went down…as opposed to high fiving Palestinians.

I would categorize your views as anti-semetic.

I would also say your views are what kills credibility in the 9/11 movement.

:38 A.M. Eastern Standard Time, info@marwenmedia.com writes:

“As far as I am concerned, any book or report that overlooks the Israeli connection to 9-11 is pure misinformation/disinformation and I simply do not have time for that.”

And I have no time for you.

SA

******

Wendy replies to Steve:

Steven,

I KNOW your views are seriously misinformed.

For instance, it is NOT possible for Jews to legally marry non-Jews in Israel. PERIOD. Do your research! A marriage between a Jew and a Non-Jews performed inside Israel is NOT considered legal in Israel.

And since Israel is a Jewish state by it’s own proclamation and ONLY allows completely equal rights amongst JEWS ONLY, then OBVIOUSLY Israel is a theocracy and NOT a true democracy.

And, no, the Mossad agents were not FILMED high-fiving, but witnesses SAW them high-fiving WHILE THEY were filming the 9-11 terrorist attacks and explosions happening in the WTC. These guys were then arrested and questioned and held for a while by US authorities, but Chertoff (an Israeli-American) let them go back to Israel.

These same high-fiver guys were later interviewed on an Israeli TV talk show, and this can be seen if you search for it on YouTube OR you can buy the DVD of the movie which includes the footage — the movie is by a Jewish American film-maker Marc Levin who was trying to disprove Israeli involvement in 9-11 HOWEVER he inadvertently made the case that Israel was involved in 9-11 even stronger and that is why he could not get wider distribution for his film whose title is ironically “Protocols of Zion”.

And aren’t you aware that the Zionized US mainstream media which almost never shows anything negative about Israel or the truth about it’s ethnic cleansing and racist, apartheid regime, showed the footage of dancing Palestinians, a clip that was taken completely out of context and not at all related to 911 as it was shot much earlier than that, did that to propagandize Americans further into hating Arabs and Palestinians? All the while the mainstream media downplayed the story of the “dancing Israelis” who were actually caught filming the attacks on the WTC on 9-11! Don’t tell me you haven’t heard of that!

I would categorize YOUR views as philo-Semitic and misinformed and biased.

I would also say that your views are what help to obfuscate the Truth in the 9/11 TRUTH movement. I see you omitted the word Truth in your sentence regarding “credibility in the 9/11 movement”…

I surmise it was an unconscious but TELLING omission.

Sincerely,

Wendy Campbell

NOTE FROM WENDY TO READERS: In short, Steve Alten’s book “The Shell Game” is nothing more “revealing” and “daring” than Zionist-controlled Michael Moore’s film “Fahrenheit 9/11”. If you thought that was a great film, then you will probably love “The Shell Game”. As Steve has said in his own words, he believes that “Israel is one of our most important allies, the one true democracy in the Middle East, and that they did warn Bush in the beginning.” I rest my case that this book is nothing but misinformation and a waste of any real 9-11 Truth-seekers’ time. — WC

Michael C. Ruppert's Review

The Most Frightening Book of the Decade - Genius!, January 24, 2008
By Michael C. Ruppert - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)
Steve Alten clearly states that many of the factual threads running throughout "The Shell Game" were based upon the extensive research found in my book, "Crossing the Rubicon: The Decline of the American Empire at the End of the Age of Oil". I actually didn't know about Shell Game until after it had been written, when Steve offered to send me a review copy. I am so glad he did.

My book is 600 pages of non-fiction with a thousand footnotes. It is in the Harvard Business School Library.

Steve's book is a gripping, fire-breathing, page-turning novel that the great Robert Ludlum would envy. Both books convey exactly the same message: that the world is running out of oil fast; that human civilization hangs in the balance; and that the US government used this crisis as a rationale for perpetrating the attacks of 9-11 and (very likely) attacks yet to come.

Why? The American people would never allow their sons and daughters to be used and sacrificed as bloody oil conquistadors unless we could call ourselves victims.-- We are victims, but not that kind.

Steve's absolute genius is in his ability to make the unpalatable irresistible. It lies also in his ability to separate research "ice cream" from research "bs". "Children", hucksters and some with more sinister motives have hijacked the so-called 9-11 "truth movement." That clear thinking is what makes "The Shell Game" slice through consciousness and reach the soul like a hot scalpel through butter. Steve takes us into a terrifying future as though he were reading a military GPS locator.

"The Shell Game" is a novel and a ticking time bomb for the psyche. It is the red pill from "The Matrix". Steve has brilliantly created a masterpiece that is going to rock the planet while entertaining and teaching millions at the same time. I applaud both his genius and also what I see as his divine inspiration.

Crossing the Rubicon: The Decline of the American Empire at the End of the Age of Oil

-- Michael C. Ruppert

5 Stars
http://www.amazon.com/review/RCQPMXOH2PLAY/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm
_______________
Arabesque: 911 Truth

Huh?

Ruppert typed something?


Who Is? Archives

Yes.

This appears to be a genuine review by him, yes. I am not endorsing the book as I have not read it, but I respect Ruppert's opinion. His praise is likely enough for me to consider picking up a copy.

According to this radio interview, Ruppert personally visited the author for a few days after reading the book to warn him about the fake parts of the 9/11 truth movement and the agent provocateurs who would personally attack him for writing this book.

Alten makes a very interesting point on Michael Wolsey's radio show about the fabricated and destructive division that is frequently and intentionally forced upon the 9/11 truth movement.

Michael Wolsey:
"Do you personally believe that the attacks were allowed to succeed... or do you believe that there was participation... 'inside job'... and if the latter is the case, did you intentionally tone that down to invite other people in who might be hostile to that idea?"

Steve Alten:
"...My take on this is that if a real investigation were to happen--a real one, that the trail of evidence would lead directly back to the white house... they would be found guilty of treason. For me to say "let it happen" versus "made it happen"... my objective is to stay above the fray of the 9/11 truth movement.... the 9/11 truth movement, for the terrific work it has done is fragmented. That doesn't help anybody... We need to spread this information out to the masses... let's put it this way. A crime happened. The biggest crime in the history of the world. The perpetrators got away with it so far. The trap has been placed within the movement... I've had people email me and... I've been attacked on blogs... 'Alten doesn't believe in this and Alten doesn't believe in that, so how could we possibly support his book?'... That's a trap.

Michael Wolsey:
"If you don't agree with everything I say, you must be bad... I've been attacked ruthlessly for that, so I can relate."

Steve Alten:
...it doesn't solve anything to force your opinion on one group or another where you have to accept everyone's opinion... A crime happened. There was a reason for that crime.... http://cdn.libsyn.com/visibility911/visibility911_steve_alten.mp3

The 9/11 truth "it must be bad because you don't agree 100% with what I believe, therefore you are a shill" syndrome is very apparent in some quarters. See my discussion on these important issues here:

Disinformation and the False LIHOP/MIHOP Dichotomy

9/11 Truth and Division: Disinformation, Agent Provocateurs, and False Adversaries
_______________
Arabesque: 911 Truth

"A crime happened."

A crime that Mr. Alten does not talk about. The destruction of the buildings is a separate criminal act, and the act that resulted in the vast majority of deaths.

How is crtiquing a book forcing one's opinion? Isn't it coercive to accuse people of not supporting truth if they don't support the book?

A lot of the criticism is a response to incessant calls to support the book, and insinuations of insincerity if you don't. If someone just said, hey, there's a new book, isn't this great, check it out, if you like it think about recommending it to people, then there would not have been nearly as much criticism.

Re-read my first sentence

"I am not endorsing the book as I have not read it."

I got the book yesterday and I will post my opinions when I have a chance.

I don't agree with how some have promoted the book, but that's their behavior. Ultimately, their behavior says nothing about the quality of the book.

I believe that there is a lot of bogus criticism in the 9/11 truth movement. If this book gets people researching the facts of 9/11 on their own, which I believe it will upon reading just the first few chapters, then why would you be opposed to it? Saying "don't read this" is different than saying "It has some good things and some bad". There are far too many saying "don't read this", which they should know better...

There is nothing wrong with criticism. This is healthy. If the book has short comings and has things which are good, then these should be highlighted. This in itself is valuable and an education for potential readers who can always do their own research on their own time.

As I said I'll post a review when I've finished it.
_______________
Arabesque: 911 Truth

Sorry, I should have acknowledged that

My concern is more general. Your view is valid. But I wanted more to balance all the fear mongering about Muslims. His book is more than descriptive, and doesn't question that, but reinforces it.

Definition of Novel & Fiction - In Regards To "The Shell Game"

Novel - a FICTITIOUS prose narrative of considerable length and complexity, portraying characters and usually presenting a sequential organization of action and scenes.

Fiction - 1. the class of literature comprising works of imaginative narration, esp. in prose form.
2. works of this class, as novels or short stories: detective fiction.
3. something feigned, invented, or imagined; A MADE-UP story.

Just reading some of the posts here and I am currently reading The Shell Game. I agree that there are many aspects of the "9-11 conspiracy" that may have been overlooked or "shot down" in the book, BUT keep in mind, this is not a reference book and no where does it claim to be FACT. It is a work of art by a fiction writer, who even though he definitely makes you think, he is not writing the gospel here. We all know, art often imitates life. Truthfully, I am more inclined to believe Steve Alten's take on the whole thing (or any of you as well) over what the government tries to feed us, but attacking him because he doesn't subscribe to a particular theory in his work of FICTION is a little...well...scary!

Please do not get me wrong, I am not trying to attack anyone here. I am so glad that sites like this exist because the whole world is sleeping and it's nice to see that there are people who don't have their heads up there a**es. Keep thinking, keep questioning, and whatever you do, don't become one of the mindless sheep out there. But, we have to keep some sort of clear perspective when it comes to this particular issue of what a fiction writer writes in his book. We all have one thing in common - we know we are being lied to and we know that the truth is out there somewhere. Let's work together to find it!

Just my 2 cents. I hope I didn't offend anyone. That was not my intention.

Not offensive at all

One of my biggest criticisms of the book is the suggestion that a real investigation would not occur because it would cause instability here and abroad. I criticize it because it is negative and demoralizing and seems to justify not doing an investigation. But this kind of thinking probably goes on, so from another perspective it's good and thought-provoking to raise this possibility.

I drove to Denver yesterday to view the showing of LOOSE CHANGE

For the Record:

I drove to Denver yesterday to view the showing of LOOSE CHANGE - FINAL CUT. I was able to talk with the three producers: Dylan Avery, Korey Rowe, and Jason Bermas. They are all three just great guys and nothing more than just, great, neat, ordinary guys. Anyway, I asked all three what their thoughts were regarding "The Shell game." ALL three used the word "AWESOME!" They said they push the book 'all the time' and they understand the importance of getting "The Shell Game" high up on the best seller lists. They also said Steve Alten is a good guy with whom they speak with often.