With humor and heart, the internationally renowned historian and peace researcher Daniele Ganser inspired a sold-out hall for two days in a row. The spectrum of topics of the almost two-hour lecture was broad and ranged from the events of September 11th to repression of dissidents, disinformation and omissions in mass media to the Corona crisis and the Ukraine war. The message is the same everywhere: build bridges, think for yourself!
By Florian Machl
The “We-EMUs association – for the promotion of society and well-being” asked the historian and peace researcher Daniele Ganser, who was legendary primarily in the resistance against corona measures but also against state repression and lies of all kinds in the media, to come to Upper Austria. His entertaining lecture inspired around 1,200 people over two days in the Zirbenschlössl in Sippbachzell – who were once again able to that they are not alone in the resistance, but can draw strength and confidence from the large community.
What really happened on September 11th
The Swiss always tells complex but also tragic facts in a lively manner and with a gentle sense of humor, which makes it easy to follow his words and, on the other hand, not immediately despair of the drama and scope. He reported how he fell out of favor at his university in Switzerland because he questioned the official narrative of the skyscraper collapses in New York. His curiosity was piqued when he realized that not just two but three high-rise buildings were collapsing with the precision of a blast.
He gives the example of how an English presenter reported live about the collapse of the 3rd high-rise building while it was still intact in the picture behind her. The construction of the WTC7 with a solid steel frame made it completely impossible for it to collapse upright without external influence. He also has 2019 for that published a detailed article in Rubicon.
This example is also a good way to show how mass media deal with non-conforming stories – instead of participating intensively and, above all, investigatively in the clarification. Ganser says he was given the chance to leave the subject alone in order to save his reputation as a scientist – but also decided to research the background with the support of his wife. On the one hand he saw the evidence as clear, on the other hand it is of great relevance for a historian to determine which event triggered later wars with at least 500,000 deaths.
9/11 served as the occasion for numerous media and manipulation campaigns. So the alleged Islamist attack on the World Trade Center was intertwined with the person of Saddam Husseion, who had absolutely nothing to do with what was happening. An overwhelming majority of the soldiers later deployed in Iraq were then of the opinion that it was a matter of retaliation for the alleged WTC attacks – a completely erroneous assumption caused by the media.
“Putin understander”? No, peacemaker.
With compact background information on the Ukraine crisis, Ganser informed that there is a lot of important information that is not considered or forgotten in the mainstream. While he always insisted that Russia’s attack on Ukraine was illegal by UN rules, the bloody coup of 2014 was also illegal. In addition, one would have to proceed with the same measure for all – and there are numerous other military conflicts where the West has not exactly covered itself in glory.
The military alliance NATO lost its only real enemy after 1990 – but it did not dissolve, but changed from a defensive to an offensive alliance. In doing so, they have repeatedly violated their own rules without leading to a broad discussion. Not only with regard to Ukraine, Ganser notes that major problems usually arise when you exclude part of humanity. A peace process must include both Ukrainians and Russians as “parts of the human family” in the Ukraine crisis, similar to the way it includes the vaccinated and unvaccinated on the Corona issue. Then peace and reconciliation are possible.
Patent solution for media literacy and against disinformation?
The scientist went into the mechanisms behind falling for the fear and panic propaganda of the media, so to speak, becoming dependent on it. It becomes clear that there does not always have to be a big conspiracy behind it when the media or individual editors report one-sidedly and misinformation – it can also be about financial interests and existential necessities. Basically, Ganser recommends what many great philosophers recommend as a solution: walking in the forest. You should consciously take it easy, reduce media consumption and, if possible, spend hours, days or weeks in nature. When you come back, you should be a little more conscious about your media consumption.
event and venue
For the sake of completeness, it should be noted that the organizers attached great importance to inviting the entire alternative media landscape in Austria and also enabling a direct conversation and questions to Daniele Ganser. It turned out that the scientist in front of and behind the camera is an extremely likeable person and a credible ambassador of peace, without slipping into any platitudes and standing sentences. His analyzes are precise and rock solid – but he never loses sight of the goal of promoting peace through dialogue. The organizing association “EMUs” created a great event here, which was well received by the audience. The composition of the guests, who represented a broad average of society, similar to demonstrations of measures, was also exciting. The event location, the Zirbenschlössl, certainly unknown to many beforehand, proved to be a recommendable location for events of this magnitude – and also a gastronomic highlight.
During the introduction, the club officials insisted on pointing out that the SPÖ mayor of Leonding, Sabine Naderer-Jelinek, had ruled out the Kürnberghalle as a venue. Because events there have to correspond to the values of the city. Peace research is obviously not one of these values in days like these, because the mainstream narrative is focused on world war. One more reason to refrain from looking for alternatives and articulating them clearly. Because war is something that people in no country in the world strive for – it is always only the “elites” who expect financial advantages or more power from it.
A few selected videos by Daniele Ganser – interested parties are expressly recommended to search for more on the well-known video platforms.
