Not sure if it's the longest, but it certainly was entertaining.
Appreciate the research- it's helpful to have these things confirmed.
I do what I can ;)
here's a compilation of the whole shebang, free for use anywhere... the [img] and [i] stuff is to keep the post size down on this page, and will need to be replaced by "img src" and italics HTML coding for strict HTML posts:
http://politicalities.typepad.com/politicalities/
read the article
[img]http://home.mchsi.com/%7Eidkfa/crescentmecca.jpg[/img]
here are the facts concerning features of the memorial design proposal:
[img]http://us.news3.yimg.com/us.i2.yimg.com/p/ap/20050907/capt.wx11809072212.flight_93_memorial_wx118.jpg?x=285&y=345&sig=qMCJe6lG2xKYAM8sOXk3vA--[/img]
[i]This illustration released by Paul Murdoch Architects shows a crescent of maple trees, one aspect of the winning design of the Flight 93 memorial. The 'Crescent of Embrace' memorial was chosen Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2005, by the Flight 93 Advisory Commission. The aim of the one-year competition was to honor the 40 passengers and crew who died after their plane was hijacked and crashed on Sept. 11, 2001, in a field in rural Pennsylvania. (AP Photo/Paul Murdoch Architects) [/i]
Now, some analysis:
1. the crescent is an islamic symbol - only the totally ignorant do not know this. the commission on this project was well aware of the religious connection.
2. the design is not simply a crescent, but a crescent with a cluster between its horns, in precisely the configuration used in Islam
3. the entrance building is a "tower of voices" analogous to an islamic minaret ("tower of calling" of a mosque) with a color scheme similar to those favored by mesopotamian and other mosques
4. that the memorial is geometrically aligned so as to face Mecca is mathematically demonstrable. Given the wide range of other directions the architect could have chosen, many with traditional Western symbolic values, this cannot be an accident.
It is always wise to independently verify what one can, so here is proof of the alignment:
using the ground at the crash site as my notional flat cardinal direction basis, and using independently researched cartesian coordinates for Mecca and the crash site, here is the spherical geometry derived independently in AutoCAD2000
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v209/kingprout/greatcircleangle_flt93-Mecca.jpg[/img]
this is the angle (from due north) of the Great Circle from the crash site to Mecca, as well as the chord of that arc.
the author of this article is correct in his calculations.
considering what a PITA it was to get this data, the odds against this alignment being "innocent/accidental" seem rather miniscule.