9/11 Conspiracy
Mark Jacobson’s compelling article on 9/11 is to be commended for including Jim Hoffman’s Websites, which are among the most sane and informed in the conspiracy-theory universe [“The Ground Zero Grassy Knoll,” March 27]. However, no coverage of this issue is complete without a mention of Michael Ruppert’s Crossing the Rubicon, one of the three best-selling books on 9/11 after the commission’s report. In addition to providing a detailed exploration of the war games being conducted on 9/11 and of the role of Dave Frasca in the Radical Fundamentalist Unit of the FBI, it discusses the precedents for the U.S. government’s attacking its own people to justify a war (Pearl Harbor, Project Northwoods in Cuba).
—Jenna Orkin, Brooklyn
Your otherwise interesting comparison between the official story and the alternative theories for 9/11 provided some tantalizing evidence that would have been far more powerful had you followed up and corroborated some of these claims. For example, William Rodriguez claims there was an explosion in the basement, after which a burned man came up the stairs, before a second explosion high above indicated the Boeing 767 crashing into the North Tower. Have any of these other witnesses been identified? If so, have they corroborated his story? How could anyone know what was going on that morning and what specific sounds and events were at any given time?
—Alan Miles, Manhattan
Ground Zero
As someone who lives close to the site and has watched the political theater firsthand, I have to say that what may make people dislike Larry Silverstein is precisely why he is so valuable at the site [“The Power Grid: Poker at Ground Zero,” by John Heilemann, March 27]. We have endured endless rhetoric from politicians but have seen none of the determination needed to actually do something. As depicted by Heilemann, Silverstein emerges as exactly the kind of person I’d want to put my money behind, even if he is 74. Silverstein’s voice has been the only one connected to reality. If he gets an extra $100 million on a $7 billion project, he has earned it.
—Dave Stanke, Manhattan
Wall Street Groper
Regarding your selection for best “Place to Meet a Wall Street Guy”: I’m a Wall Street guy, but as I’m married, I would not be going to Fizz to pick up ladies [“Best of New York: Nights,” March 13–20]. I do have one question, after seeing the peculiar photograph that accompanies the item: If my wife went, would she be groped by a floating, dismembered hand, too?
—Keith Guerrini, Brooklyn
Gael Greene’s Men of Mystery
Gael Greene needs to get her terminology straight [“Men and the Menu,” by Gael Greene, March 6]. She may have been “friends” with Gilbert Le Coze, but a few hours of rolling around in a one-off does not make them “lovers.” It’s referred to as a booty call. And as for why she could not remember the essential details of her sexual encounters? A writer would always have notes.
—D. Shimko, Milford, Conn.
Law & Order
I don’t agree with all of Michael Moriarty’s bloviating, but kudos to New York for publishing it [“Letters: Revolutionary Law & Order,” March 27]. I remember his ungraceful exit from Law & Order because of tough personal circumstances, and admire his recovery and reentry into mainstream society (and media) through his blog. Most hysterical in its absurdity was the letter’s juxtaposition with the correction printed directly below that read, “the shirt by Prada should have been described as having mother-of-pearl buttons.”
—Angelica Compagno, Manhattan
Corrections: In “The Name of the Father,” by Jennifer Senior (March 27), the amount of money Andrew Cuomo has on hand should have been described as nearly three times that of any other candidate. Also, regarding the results of Cuomo’s efforts at the Department of Housing and Urban Development, it should have been noted that two of HUD’s programs remain on the GAO’s “High Risk” list.
In “Craze: The Draper Effect,” by Wendy Goodman (March 27), In the Pink, by Carleton Varney (Pointed Leaf), should have been listed as being set to publish in May.
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