Interview With Penny Little, Director of 911: Dust and Deceit at the World Trade Center
Published March 27, 2007
I also believe that this film does not put Mayor Giuliani in a particularly good light, and rightly so. He was not the “hero” of 9/11 as portrayed in his public image. I wanted this film to have mainstream appeal; this is not a partisan issue. The website hopefully will become more of a hub for people seeking answers. Until these people get all the help they need, I want to keep the momentum for this issue going.
Do you feel you succeeded?
Yes, from the responses at showings, people are getting the information; not just facts, but with the emotional content of some of the victims. I’ve been on quite a few radio shows, and am pleased by the results.
My movie focuses solely on the problems caused by the misrepresentations of various individuals within agencies in New York City, New York state, and Washington D.C., who covered up the fact that the dust was toxic. There was little consideration for the collateral damage caused by the ongoing chemical attack on the people of New York in the form of this toxic dust. The citizens of New York were lied to and now thousands are sick and a number have died as a direct result.
I have noticed since the release of my film a lot more information coming out in the mainstream press. Coincidence or timeliness? There are activist groups that wish to take up my film in a big way – one wants to get a copy into the hand of every voter. However, that would require funding.
Is there anything you regret about the finished product?
I would have liked to have gotten interviews from the doctors at Mt Sinai Hospital. I tried on three different occasions. I tried to get an interview with Christine Whitman, but never got a response. I also would have liked to have spoken with Juan Gonzales, whose stories published in the NY Daily News met with the disapproval of Giuliani’s office, and other officials who were “worried that the report would frighten the public, delay recovery efforts, and endanger property values in the financial district” (from Fallout, p. 18). Gonzales then wrote the excellent book Fallout, about how ”George Bush, the EPA, Rudy Giuliani risked the health of thousands by opening up downtown too soon” (from the cover of the book).
- Interview With Penny Little, Director of 911: Dust and Deceit at the World Trade Center
- Published: March 27, 2007
- Type: Interview
- Section: Video
- Filed Under: Politics: U.S., Interviews, Politics: War and Terrorism, Video: Documentary, Video: News
- Writer: Scott Butki
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Comments on this articleComments
What a crying shame that people are still focusing on the "toxicity" of the dust instead of its most remarkable and revealing quality: the distribution of particle sizes.
The abundance of nanoparticles within the dust reveals that the dust could not have resulted from the use of (conventional/chemical) "explosives" any more than it could have resulted from any kind of "collapse".
Only some kind of exotic weaponry could have caused such widespread devastation on a (near-)molecular level.
So you are saying the dust contents prove some kind of 9/11 conspiracy?
I set out to make this movie to illustrate how the agencies and individuals within the Government lied to the people of New York, denied the ongoing toxicity of the atmosphere, and how their false reassurances have caused tens of thousands of people to get sick, and some to die.
This movie is not about about how the buildings failed, and related anomalies regarding their collapses. That is an entirely different subject, and demands an entire movie devoted to it, with new interviews, and impeccable research. However, if the government has lied to us about what was in the air, could they have lied to us about anything else?
There was testing and analysis done by Thomas Cahill which show the anomalous size of the particles, amongst other data. I found out about his studies *after* I had completed filming. Smaller particles are more toxic because they lodge deep in the lungs, in the body, and are not expelled. This was mentioned in my film by Marjorie Clarke. I am not aware of any studies which show exactly how the particles have affected people at the cellular level, or how their health will be affected in the future by these toxic particles which remain in their bodies. This is a study which I believe needs to happen, and this study may include the information about particle sizes, thus raising those questions. If anyone knows of any such studies, please respond.
Again, the focus of my movie is about people, especially the fact that people are being poisoned, and that the government knew and has not yet, even to this day, helped most of them.
I will not speculate about "exotic" weapons, firstly because I believe it doesn't serve the people who need help; secondly, because I have no evidence; and thirdly, because it's not on topic for *this* particular film.
I wonder if Michael Moore's latest stunt will breath more interest to this good movie.
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