Best E-mails of the Week 9/13/01

What a tragic week!
Here are some important emails.

Since I was team leader for the structural inspection of the north tower 10 years ago, I start from an engineering prospective.

Structural Engineers Offer Insight On World Trade Center Collapse

September 11, 2001

According to one of the designers of the World Trade Center(WTC), the towers were originally designed to take the impact of a Boeing 707;and the impact of the aircraft this morning did not take the buildingsdown. In fact, WTC One stood for 1 hourand WTC Two stood for 1 3/4 hours after impact. Engineers familiar with the chain of events suspect that heatfrom the massive and extraordinary fires weakened the structures and initiatedthe progressive collapses.

John Hooper, a structural engineer from Skilling, Ward,Magnusson, Barkshire, the structural engineering firm that evolved fromSkilling, Helle, Christianson, Robertson, which was the structural engineeringfirm of record for the WTC, provided the following facts to NCSEA: WTC One was 1368’ tall, and WTC Two was1362’ tall. Each 110-story tower had afloor plate that was 208’ by 208’. Thecentral core of each was 86’ square. Around the perimeter of the buildings, columns were spaced at 3’-3” oncenter, with 48”- deep plate girders at each floor. At the third level, the columns transitioned in an arch-likeformation to a 10’-0” spacing for the lower story. Floors were supported by steel trusses spanning 60’, from thecore to the perimeter wall, on each side of the building. The buildings are also thought to have beenthe first buildings to use non-asbestos fireproofing. The fibers of the spray-on fireproofing product were reportedly ceramic rather than asbestos.

NCSEA has contacted FEMA and will coordinate and makeavailable structural engineers in the New York and Washington D.C. areas. NCSEAwill also coordinate and provide the services of Member Structural EngineeringAssociations throughout the U.S., as needed.

The National Council of Structural Engineers Associations isextremely saddened with the day’s news, including the collapse of the WorldTrade Center in New York City. Our hearts and prayers go out to all the victims and their families.

On WNBC TV last night, they noted that the direction of the first plane was in line to topple the first tower into the second tower. When it withstood the crash, the second plane hit it instead of another target. The distance between towers as I recall is about 130'. In July,1974, I saw Phillippe Petite tightrope walk from one tower to the next at 7AM on a windless morning. A UCal Berkeley civil engineering professor noted that the structure did hold up long enough for some evacuation unlike any other building.

Subject: NOSTRADAMUS
This was sent to me by a friend. This has to make you think. Nostradamus'
prediction on WW3:
"In the year of the new century and nine months, From the sky will come a
great King of terror...The sky will burn at forty-five degrees. Fire
approaches the great new city..."
"In the city of york there will be a great collapse, 2 twin brothers torn
apart by chaos While the fortress falls, the great leader will succumb.
Third big war will begin when the big city is burning" - NOSTRADAMUS

He said this will be bigger than the previous two wars. 2001 is the first
year of the new century and this is the 9th month. New York is located at
the 41st degree latitude.

In my opinion the best story to come out of this, and the focus of the first movie about it will be the three men who attacked the terrorists over Pennsylvania. The runner up may be the six firemen who survived under the rubble in an SUV for over two days.

Here is a piece from a few years ago I believe:
This, from a Canadian newspaper, is worth sharing.
America: The Good Neighbor.
Widespread but only partial news coverage was given
recently to a remarkable editorial broadcast from
Toronto by Gordon Sinclair, a Canadian television
commentator. What follows is the full text of his
trenchant remarks as printed in the Congressional Record:
"This Canadian thinks it is time to speak up for the
Americans as the most generous and possibly the least
appreciated people on all the earth.

Germany, Japan and, to a lesser extent, Britain and
Italy were lifted out of the debris of war by the
Americans who poured in billions of dollars and
forgave other billions in debts. None of these
countries is today paying even the interest on its
remaining debts to the United States.

When France was in danger of collapsing in 1956,
it was the Americans who propped it up, and their
reward was to be insulted and swindled on the streets
of Paris. I was there. I saw it.

When earthquakes hit distant cities, it is the
United States that hurries in to help. This spring, 59
American communities were flattened by tornadoes.
Nobody helped.

The Marshall Plan and the Truman Policy pumped
billions of dollars! into discouraged countries. Now
newspapers in those countries are writing about the
decadent, warmongering Americans.

I'd like to see just one of those countries that
is gloating over the erosion of the United States
dollar build its own airplane. Does any other country
in the world have a plane to equal the Boeing Jumbo
Jet, the Lockheed Tri-Star, or the Douglas DC10?
If so, why don't they fly them? Why do all the
International lines except Russia fly American Planes?

Why does no other land on earth even consider putting
a man or woman on the moon? You talk about Japanese
technocracy, and you get radios. You talk about German
technocracy, and you get automobiles.

You talk about American technocracy, and you find
men on the moon -! not once, but several times -
and safely home again.

You talk about scandals, and the Americans put theirs
right in the store window for everybody to look at.
Even their draft-dodgers are not pursued and hounded.
They are here on our streets, and most of them, unless
they are breaking Canadian laws, are getting American
dollars from ma and pa at home to spend here.

When the railways of France, Germany and India
were breaking down through age, it was the Americans
who rebuilt them. When the Pennsylvania Railroad and
the New York Central went broke, nobody loaned them an
old caboose. Both are still broke.

I can name you 5000 times when the Americans raced
to the help of other people in trouble. Can you name
me even one time when someone else raced to the
Americans in trouble? I don't think there was outside
help even during the San Francisco earthquake.

Our neighbors have faced it alone, and I'm one
Canadian who is damned tired of hearing them get
kicked around. They will come out of this thing with
their flag high. And when they do, they are entitled
to thumb their nose at the lands that are gloating
over their present troubles. I hope Canada is not one of
those."

Stand proud, America!

This is one of the best editorials that I have ever
read regarding the United States. It is nice that
one man realizes it. I only wish that the rest of the
world would realize it. We are always blamed for
everything and never even get a thank you for the
things we do.


Here's something from a few different sources including my brother Tom who is an Air Traffic Controller at Dulles Airport in Washington DC. Tom spoke to and cleared the pilot whose plane was later used to hit the Pentagon. The next day, Tom gave a statement to Authorities. He and fellow Controllers tracked its course and absence of a transponder, and alerted officials it was heading for DC.

I'm sure most people have seen this or at least heard about it already, but
for those that haven't...
Friday Night at 7:00 p.m. step out your door, stop your car, or step
out of your establishment and light a candle. We will show the world that
Americans are strong and united together against terrorism. Please pass this
to
everyone on your e-mail list. We need to reach everyone across the
United States quickly.
The message: WE STAND UNITED - WE WILL NOT TOLERATE TERRORISM.

We need press to cover this-- we need the world to see.

The following attached file: attack.pps is a photo gallery of sensational pictures. It might take a few minutes to download.(Not included on web site.)

Prayers go out to everyone victimized by this tragedy, and thanks for inquiries from Europe and elsewhere about our safety.
I'm off to display our American flag at half mast.

Pete