To say that the vast majority of people in the world did not expect the world to end last Friday would be a gross understatement. The 21st came and went with a whimper, not an explosion of super volcanoes, hidden rogue planets, or Pole shifting. The lesson to be learned here is best exemplified by a quote from the Bible repeated ad nauseam across social networks: “However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the Angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows,” Matthew 24:36.

It is an understandable reaction. No one can predict the future. Not anyone today, and surely not anyone 2,000 years ago. It is very hard to take seriously the idea that a race of people could predict the end of the world thousands of years ago, but could not see the trouble coming for them when Cortez and the Spanish showed up. Yes, the dismissive attitude many people had that day is infinitely understandable. It is also troubling.

A closer examination, whether it is Facebook comments, news articles, comments made in television interviews, etc., reveals not a dismal of the Mayan prophecy, but of the idea that the world will end at all. That is the underlying emotion. Nothing will end. Nothing bad will happen. The biggest lesson to be gleaned from December 21, 2012 is not that no can predict when the world will end. The jokes, the dismissal of preppers, end of the world parties, all point to the sad fact that if something bad happens, no one is prepared.

The victims of Hurricane Sandy and Katrina are living examples of this sad fact. Both had days of warning. Everyone in the areas hit by the storms knew they were coming. Yet after the storms hit, the degree to which those affected needed help from the federal government and charitable Americans country-wide demonstrated that the residents were unprepared. The response by the federal government, and days it took power companies to get electricity up and running to all their customers, shows our institutions were not ready.

Neither of these events is world ending. However, there is an old saying, “If you lose everything you own, then it’s the end of the world to you.” Can anyone dispute that to a family who lost their home and everything they own in Sandy, Katrina, or even the tornadoes of Joplin that their world has ended? If you are snowed in your home resulting from the current winter storm sweeping across America with little food and no heat, does it matter that the state of Florida is fine? No. You are in an emergency that might not end the world, but could end your life.

So why do the eyes of most people roll in their heads if you mention prepping for an emergency? Why do they act like no big event is ever going to happen in their lifetimes? The answer is probably no more complicated than that people do not expect bad things to happen to them. It may happen to someone else, some other city, state, or country, but not to me. This is a very dangerous thought to have. Eleven years ago three thousand people had that same thought process, and then the building they worked in was hit by a plane. Some were in areas that negated any hope of survival. Others allowed themselves to be led back into the building. Some of those people did not make it out.

Life threatening emergencies can occur at any moment. The Bible verse, “No one knows the day or the hour,” means something bad could happen right now. If it did are you ready to handle it? If you get a call from your child’s school what is your plan? If you get into a car accident and your wife is gushing blood, do you have a kit in the car to save her before the ambulance gets there? If you live in the mid-west or up north, what is your plan for when your pipes freeze and the power goes out? A national emergency occurs, and your cell phone does not work because the lines are slammed. Do you know how to contact your loved ones? Do they know how to reach you?

Does the world actually need to end in order for you see the value of being prepared for an emergency?

The Mayans were wrong. No real news flash there. But here is a prediction that is absolutely certain and does not take an elaborate calendar to see; there will be future catastrophes. Not earth shattering (though that will happen one day too) just local, or regional. There will be storms, hurricanes, terrorist attacks, freak storms, and earthquakes. These things will happen. Will you be ready when they do? Or are you going to just brush them off in hopes that it will happen to someone else in some other place? The response from the government to Sandy has shown that even if the federal, state, and local governments work hard to respond the response is always slower than needed. People will have to take these things seriously, and ready themselves to protect their families and help neighbors, If that is not done, then even a localized event can have more serious consequences than necessary.

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Washington, U.S.A. – Generation Opportunity President Paul T. Conway, former Chief of Staff of the U.S. Department of Labor, has issued the following statement:

“Today, in our prayers and in our hearts, we remember the thousands of innocent Americans and first responders who lost their lives during the cowardly terror attacks of September 11, 2001. We mourn their loss and pledge to their families and loved ones to always honor their memory and to never forget their bravery and sacrifice. We offer our full respect for the courage and selflessness demonstrated by those who answered this nation’s call to respond through the War on Terror, including those in the United States Armed Forces, committed federal civil servants, countless state and local police, and emergency responders whose ongoing vigilance continues to keep us safe here at home.

We also pay tribute to America’s next greatest generation, whose love of our country and unwavering commitment to their fellow citizens was forged by the events of that day. Through their patriotism, military service, and example of helping those in need here and overseas, young Americans have sent a powerful message to the world that our nation’s ideals are intact, that our exceptionalism remains, and that the memory of those who fell of September 11 will never fade.”

Mr. Conway served as the Chief of Staff of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management on September 11, 2001, and was involved in the legislative efforts to establish the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. He later served as an agency Chief of Staff at DHS and was awarded the Secretary’s Silver Medal, the second highest DHS civilian award, for his leadership and distinguished service over a significant time to the Department.

Image Courtesy of   Glynnis Jones / Shutterstock.com

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Pennsylvania, U.S.A. – Governor Tom Corbett joined officials on September 11 at the U.S. Army War College in Cumberland County to remember those who died in the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, as well as all those who have sacrificed their lives in war in the past 11 years.

“We have shown the world that there is no compromise in our determination to remain a nation of free people, safe in our homes, and entitled to the liberties inscribed by our founders,” Corbett said.

“Today, our men and women in uniform continue that tradition. We are here today to honor their sacrifice,” Corbett said. “Each of them, those who came home to us, those we lost, stood guard over the American Dream.”

The ceremony, led by U.S. Army War College Commandant Maj. General Anthony A. Cucolo III, honors military men and women, as well as police officers, firefighters, and civilians who were killed in the terrorist attacks, as well as all those who have since died in protection of our nation.

Among the nearly 3,000 people who died on Sept. 11, 2001, were three alumni of the U.S. Army War College. Three more alumni were killed in combat operations.

The war college is the Army’s most senior military educational institution, training officers in leadership, strategy and international operations.

“The best monument we can build to the brave men and women who stood sentinel is to protect the values and liberties for which they gave their last full measure,” Corbett said.

U.S. and state flags were flying at half-staff in observance of Patriot Day.

Image Courtesy of   Governor Tom Corbett

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New York, U.S.A. – For the eleventh anniversary of 9/11, AJC Executive Director David Harris issued the following statement:

“Eleven years ago, our city and nation suffered monstrous acts of terrorism. We were attacked by radical Islamist forces not for a specific policy, but for who we are — an open, democratic, pluralistic society.

“We remember the cherished lives of the nearly 3,000 people who were murdered on that fateful day, a day seared into our memory forever.

“We can only begin to imagine the enduring pain — and irretrievable loss — of the families, friends, and colleagues of those who were slain.

“And we recall the extraordinary courage of those who put their own lives on the line—and, in many cases, sacrificed their lives—so that others might live.

“Painful memories will always remain, as they should, but remembrance stirs us to reflect on both the evil and, yes, the good that emerged on that tragic day and in its aftermath.

“The good is rooted in the heart and soul of American society. Right after 9/11, as a country, we stood as one. We were all in this together—as proud, strong, determined Americans. We must never lose that sense of common destiny.

“Memories and reflections of 9/11, and what has transpired since, inspire us to recommit to the core values that form the bedrock of the United States of America. We must never falter in the defense of human freedom and human dignity.

“And never again should we underestimate our enemies or suffer from a failure of imagination. 9/11 was a sobering reminder that those who despise what we stand for—liberty, diversity, religious freedom, and women’s equality—will stop at nothing in the name of their demented political and religious ideology.

“We and our allies—the family of democratic countries and common values—must remain ever vigilant and ever united.”

Image Courtesy of  swedennewyork

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New York, U.S.A. – The Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation’s major annual fundraiser, the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Run, will be replicated in communities throughout the nation and to different international locations on its 11th anniversary this September.

The Foundation has expanded its reach into communities throughout the United States, including Hawaii and Alaska as well as an inaugural run in London. So far, close to 70 communities have signed up to hold Tunnel to Towers runs and 25 motorcycle rides, 34.3 miles in length, are also scheduled with the “Bikers for America’s Bravest” program.

Since 2002, the New York City Tunnel to Towers Run has been held annually to honor the 343 firefighters and first responders who lost their lives on 9/11 and recreates the final footsteps of firefighter Stephen Siller who was last seen running through the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel with 60 pounds of gear strapped to his back en route to the World Trade Center after the attacks. Last year, more than 30,000 people attended and took part in the NY event, while an additional 12,000 participated in runs throughout the world, a tradition that started in 2011.

“The New York City event began as a way to honor Stephen and his firefighter brothers,” said Frank Siller, one of Stephen’s siblings and the chairman of the Foundation. “Over the years, through an influx of volunteers, donations and interest, it has continued to grow and evolve nationwide and worldwide. We are grateful now to have the opportunity to include the entire United States, and even countries around the world, in this moving and meaningful event.”

For more information on race locations, registration or fundraising – please visit T2Trun.org.

Image Courtesy of  PaulSteinJC

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New York, U.S.A. – Am I making the right decisions in my life? … I wish I could have known you better; I wish you could know me now, dad … Why did you go to work that day? …  Who will be my mother now? … When I see you in me, I feel proud, so proud … You are not forgotten … Most important, I am happy … You can’t kill love.

From heartbreaking to inspirational, teens who lost a loved one to an act of terrorism or in global conflict deliver these very personal messages to the ones they lost in a compelling new video called “My Love is Alive.” Released by Tuesday’s Children and produced by Alexander Libby, who worked closely with director Stephen Daldry on the critically acclaimed film ‘Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close’, the two-minute video is bringing attention to the impact of terrorism and world conflict on teenagers all around the world.

Featured in the video are 10 teenage participants from Project Common Bond, an international conflict resolution and peace-building project organized by Tuesday’s Children, the premiere nonprofit organization serving the needs of 9/11 family members, 9/11 responders and others affected by terrorism worldwide.

The video features:  Victoria (U.S.) who lost her grandmother on 9/11; Juliette (U.S.) who lost her father on 9/11; Jessica (U.S.) who lost her father on 9/11; Yousseff (Morocco) whose father was murdered in the Casablanca suicide bombings in 2003; Mercy (Nigeria) who lost her mother and two sisters in the Dogon Nahawa Massacre in 2010; Astrid and Mijal (Argentina) who lost their fathers in the AMIA bombing in 1994; Dubhaltach (Ireland) who lost his Uncle in the sectarian violence that has plagued Ireland and Northern Ireland; Aiden (Northern Ireland) who lost his Aunt in the Omagh Bombing in 1998; and Or (Israel) who lost his brother in a bombing.

My Love is Alive opens with each teen facing the screen, asking their loved one simple questions.  One by one, the questions become more poignant as the teens share their sense of loss, while also showing that they are moving forward positively with their lives.

“When I was working on ‘Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close’, I began reading The Legacy Letters, a compilation of letters from 9/11 family members published by Tuesday’s Children,” said Alexander Libby. “One particular letter stood out. In it, an 18 year old girl wanted to ask her dad questions she’d never have the chance to.  While it broke my heart, it inspired me to make this video with the teens from Project Common Bond. We hope My Love is Alive will inspire others and let them know they are not alone.”

Terry Sears, Executive Director of Tuesday’s Children, said, “Project Common Bond shows our teens that their past can change the future in a very positive way. We hope that with this video we can reach even more young people around the world who share similar experiences and encourage them to become tomorrow’s peacemakers and world leaders. We are deeply grateful to Alex for his compassion and vision.”

Tuesday’s Children created Project Common Bond in 2008 in response to a request from 9/11 teens who wanted an opportunity to “give back” through a larger, global initiative. Since the program began more than 300 teens from 16 nations including the United States, Argentina, England, Ireland, Israel, Liberia, Northern Ireland, Palestine, Russia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Algeria, France, Morocco, Nigeria and Pakistan have participated.

The Project Common Bond Curriculum is adapted from the Dignity Model for Conflict Resolution, developed by Dr. Donna Hicks of the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard University. The Harvard University Law School Negotiation and Mediation Clinical Program has also contributed to the program’s success.

Follow on Twitter @TuesdaysChldrn or #CommonBond.

For more information visit on Tuesday’s Children or Project Common Bond visit: www.tuesdayschildren.org

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A man was in the kitchen on what promised to be another relaxing night at home. He washed up and plopped on the living room couch next to his wife who wore a smile, perhaps glad to have her husband around after another hectic day at work; a typical scene repeated in households worldwide. In most stories, what follows next is another night’s sleep. Not many end with armed forces bursting through your door and dragging your husband away.

In our post 9/11 world, the word ‘torture’ has been overused up to the point that the shock factor at the mention of its happenings is almost non-existent. ‘Waterboarding’ is now a household term and, just like the Mexican drug wars, the proverbial starving children of Africa and what’s now a disturbingly all too common Middle Eastern civilian deaths, there is an information overload regarding government tortures that we are now numb to it.

Amnesty International’s new video titled Hooded lets us see what it’s like to be tortured. The viewer is given a first person view on the terrifying ordeals of being abducted and having your face covered with a hood, but the worse is yet to come. Coupled with the abductee’s growing sense of disorientation, he became subject to electro-shock and water boarding. The torture is portrayed so powerfully in this video with the intention of depicting the ordeal exactly the way the detainee would see it. Blinded, except for streams of light that penetrates through small holes in the hood, perhaps the only thing worse than the actual torture is not knowing what will happen next.

Amnesty International provided a description to accompany the video stating its purpose:

“Hooded is an exploration of visual and auditory senses to convey the horrific nature of torture. It combines extensive sound design with abstracted visuals to provide a disturbing experience. It is a powerful reminder that torture is barbaric and never justifiable.

This film has been made as part of Amnesty International’s Security with Human Rights campaign, which aims to end abuses of human rights which take place in the context of terrorism, countering terrorism and national security.”

Though many countries have prohibited torture in the past century, what is now labeled ‘enhanced interrogation techniques’ has brought the issue back into the public eye, with some nations even practicing it openly. Amnesty International reported that torture is more prevalent in G-20 nations. Torturers are trained and most wouldn’t exist without government backings. The acceptance of using cruel treatment on anyone signifies a serious erosion to fundamental human rights, and though some argue that it’s a necessary tool in the ongoing war against terror, a four-decade study by the US Intelligence Science Board reported torture as being ineffective in obtaining reliable intelligence.

CIA Veteran, Bob Baer, admitted, “To be honest, in those situations (of interrogation) I really had no idea what I was doing.”

In plenty of cases, the victims who are subjected to these interrogation techniques are merely suspects with little to no evidences regarding their involvement in the crimes they were accused of. Such is the case with Maher Arar, a Canadian who was held for a year and tortured in Syria after the US authorities had relied on accurate information to detain him. Although Arar received compensations and a formal apology, no amount of either can compensate for the trauma and emotional scarring suffered by such torture victims.

Torture is the most widespread human rights crime in the world and we find ourselves in yet another situation where we are left to ponder: how can something so horrific be so prevalent? As a civilization that aims to move forward, this is one barbaric act that we can do without because as the video stresses: Nothing justifies this. Nothing makes it right.

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New York, U.S.A. - New evidence shows that the September 11th activities of former President George W. Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld were falsely reported by official sources.

The 20-member 9/11 Consensus Panel analyzed evidence from press reports, FOIA requests, and archived 9/11 Commission files documents to produce eight new studies.

The international Panel also discovered that four massive aerial practice exercises traditionally held in October were in full operation on 9/11. The largest, Global Guardian, held annually by NORAD and the U.S. Strategic and Space Commands, had originally been scheduled for October 22-31 but was moved, along with Vigilant Guardian, to early September.

Although senior officials claimed  no one could have predicted using hijacked planes as weapons, the military had been practicing similar exercises on 9/11 itself — and for years before it.

The Panel, discovering widespread reports of confusion and delays in the defense response, looked into who was overseeing the air defenses after the second Tower was hit at 9:03 A.M.

Official sources claimed neither Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Joint Chiefs of Staff Acting Chairman General Richard Myers (filling in for General Hugh Shelton), nor  war-room chief General Montague Winfield were available to take command until well after the Pentagon was struck about 9:37.

Yet emerging documents and memoirs show that top leaders were engaged earlier — and later discussed a shoot down of the “let’s roll” Flight 93 before debris was scattered widely around its alleged Shanksville, Pennsylvania crash site.

Most intriguing is the mystery of who was running the Pentagon’s war-room during the critical early hours.

These findings follow hard on the Kuala Lumpur Tribunal’s May 15th verdict that Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld were guilty of torture and war crimes.

The Consensus Panel has completed 25 educational studies (using a medical consensus model) offering the “best evidence” regarding specific official claims about 9/11.

Its goal is to “provide a ready source of evidence-based research to any investigation that may be undertaken by the public, the media, academia, or any other investigative body or institution.”

Image Courtesy of   PaulSteinJC

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Out of the ashes of the Twin Towers emerged a group of survivors. They had all been through hell and back, but one survivor in particular stood out as inspirational: Tania Head.

Tania’s devastating story of narrowly escaping death from the 78th floor of the South Tower, badly burned and crawling through carnage and chaos, is one of true courage and a fighting will to survive. But while she made it out alive of one building, her life was essentially taken away by the other. Her fiance had perished in the North Tower.

Tania’s remarkable tale of recovery and loss catapulted her to being the face of the tragedy, earning her the respect of victims’ families, public officials like Mayor Rudy Giuliani, and Americans everywhere.

Her story quickly traveled through the survivor community and in 2004 she became president of the World Trade Center Survivors’ Network, tirelessly working to give the survivors support and a place of prominence in a post 9/11 landscape. But there was one problem with Tania’s story that wouldn’t emerge until September 2007, when a New York Times article blew the lid off of her seemingly miraculous tale: absolutely none of it was true.

An ID Films presentation of a film directed by Angelo J. Guglielmo, Jr. and produced by Meredith Vieira Productions and 4235 Productions, The Woman Who Wasn’t There exposes the truth behind 9/11 “survivor” Tania Head.

With exclusive footage from interviews with Tania shot before her story crumbled, the documentary divulges the full circle of deception from before the truth and after the lies. The special Investigation Discovery presentation of The Woman Who Wasn’t There makes its world premiere on April 17, 2012.

“Despite the traumatic impact, those who lived through 9/11 have a yearning to feel connected, even in some small way. In an extreme example, Tania Head crafted her story in order to belong, making herself both a victim and a hero on that tragic day,” said Henry Schleiff, president and general manager, Investigation Discovery.

The Woman Who Wasn’t There is a chilling and enthralling look at how one person’s desire to be a part of America’s inspiring recovery can go to such deceptive lengths, and will likely leave viewers with more questions than answers.”

The Woman Who Wasn’t There began as a small advocacy film after Tania approached filmmaker Angelo J. Guglielmo, Jr. in 2006, wanting to tell the resiliency of the 9/11 survivors. She was eager to film the issues they face and their painstaking road to recovery. Guglielmo not only filmed hours of exclusive interview footage with Tania, but he also became her friend and confidant. When it came to light that the facts of her astounding tale were completely fabricated, Guglielmo kept the cameras rolling.

With complete access and participation from The World Trade Center Survivors’ Network, the documentary is told from a unique inside perspective that has yet to be seen by audiences, allowing viewers to unravel the psychological mystery of Tania’s tale as her closest friends did in real time.

The Woman Who Wasn’t There follows the rise of Tania, the telling her story of survival and the eventual revelation of its fabrication as well as the reactions and repercussions from her closest colleagues, all in search of an answer to the biggest question of all: who is Tania Head?

The Woman Who Wasn’t There: The True Story of an Incredible Deception by New York Times bestselling author Robin Gaby Fisher and filmmaker Angelo J. Guglielmo, Jr. will be published on April 3 by Touchstone Books.

Image Courtesy of   Ken Tannenbaum / Shutterstock.com

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In a transparent attempt to win favor with the powerful tourism industry, President Obama announced that his administration will waive consular interview requirements for people renewing U.S. Visas. He also directed his administration to expand the number of countries participating in the Visa Waiver Program.

Citizens of VWP nations can enter the U.S. without obtaining a Visa in advance.  The net result of both changes – counterintuitive in a post-9/11 world – is that millions of additional people will enter the U.S. with less scrutiny.

“The changes the President is making to the Visa issuance process, without Congressional approval, weaken important safeguards against terrorism and increase the potential for more Visa over-stayers,” stated Dan Stein, president of Federation for American Immigration Reform. “The longstanding requirement for an in-person interview allows trained consular officers to identify people who might pose a threat to national security or who are likely to remain in the United States illegally.”

The proposal to significantly expand the VWP program ignores explicit warnings made by the 9/11 Commission which cited the VWP as a weakness that can be easily manipulated by terrorists. “It is exceedingly reckless to operate a Visa waiver system, much less expand it, in an age where terrorists carry many different passports.

Moreover, the U.S. still has no comprehensive system that matches the entry and exit of foreign travelers to ensure we are alerted when Visa holders stay in the country illegally,” Stein cautioned. This move by the Obama administration is the latest in a two-year campaign of unilateral policy changes designed to minimize immigration enforcement.

It is also a clear effort to appeal to business interests in an election year. The timing and location of the announcement is designed to boost the President’s sagging popularity in Florida, a state he believes he must win in November.

“President Obama claims his new initiatives will create jobs. If the President really wants to change immigration policy to expand jobs, he’d restore credibility to our immigration system by securing our border, stepping up interior enforcement, supporting mandatory E-Verify, and substantially reducing legal immigration.

That would reduce foreign competition for scarce jobs that Americans need.  And in the process, not one of those things would jeopardize national security,” Stein concluded.

9438733474 / Shutterstock.com

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TLC’s groundbreaking series, “All-American Muslim”, explores the lasting impact the tragedy of 9/11 has had on the cast and their community, as they also experience a backlash by some of their fellow Americans because of their faith. This revealing installment is arguably the most nuanced and complex view about the terror attacks from the American Muslim perspective ever seen on television.

The episode, The Day the World Changed, centers on the 10th anniversary of 9/11. Whether it is Deputy Chief Mike Jaafar focusing on the safety of his officers, while reflecting on the loss of first responders a decade ago; or Lila Amen participating in a city-wide public memorial service, but without her children who refuse to go; or Bilal and Shadia Amen making a visit to Ground Zero to see “the place that changed his life” – there is a wide array of reactions and responses to the tragic events brought on by Osama bin Laden.

“When I first heard it was a Muslim extremist that had done this, immediately, my thought like every other Muslim’s thought was these people are not Muslim. Who are these people? Where did they come from? I’ve never heard of the Taliban. I’ve never heard of Osama bin Laden,” says Nina Bazzy in the episode. “They’ve labeled themselves as Muslim. But they are not Muslim. A real Muslim would never do anything like that.”

This powerhouse installment of the series is receiving advance praise from a diverse range of influential voices.

“All-American Muslim” offers us a unique opportunity to step into the shoes of our Muslim neighbors and experience the pain and suffering they have endured, not just once, but twice, ” said Reverend Dr. Katharine Henderson , President of Auburn Seminary in New York. “The first time because terrorists attacked their country on 9/11, and the second time because some fellow Americans turned on them, simply because of their religion, which is absolutely unacceptable.”

“At a time when perceptions of Muslims are at an all-time low, “All-American Muslim” has managed to flip the switch and help many Americans see the commonalities we share with one another,” said Eboo Patel, president of Interfaith Youth Core and a member of the White House Office of Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships advisory council.  ”By showing the gray areas, not just the black and the white, the series has laid bare the complex and valid range of emotions that these families have experienced over the past ten years. And, instead of sound bites, this nuance adds value by showing very real, very human responses to the events that changed our world.”

Another hot-button subject is touched upon as Bilal and Shadia go to NYC to visit tattoo artist Ami James, of NY Ink fame. Bilal worries that Ami’s past in the Israeli military may become a source of friction between them.

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Thoughts of remembrance and sadness resonated throughout the United States on September 11. Marking the 10^th anniversary of 9/11 and the terrorist attacks on America brought family members, friends, and different figures together to commemorated those who lost their lives just 10 years ago.

Even with talk of a potential threat by Al Qaeda for the 10^th anniversary of September 11^th, people gathered unfazed by the possibility and focused on the tribute to their loved ones. The day of commemoration started early Sunday morning, with New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg leading the ceremony with a moment of silence.

The moment was at 8:46AM, which represented the time in which the first plane flew into the North Tower. President Obama and the first lady were in New York at the world trade center as well, along with former president Bush and wife Laura Bush. The President led the country with a reading from Psalms 46, following a reading by Bush.

One tribute during the ceremony included a reading of the 2,983 names of those lost in the towers by family members. Children, wives, and friends gave speeches to commemorate their loved ones. In other parts of the country, people gathered as well to show their respects.

The president left New York to visit Shanksville Pennsylvania later in the day, the area that Flight 93 crashed on the day of September 11. The plane was en route to Washington D.C, but crashed by heroes on board that sacrificed their lives to save thousands of potential victims.

Mrs. Obama laid a wreath among the marble wall, which contained etched names of the victims on board Flight 93, and the President greeted guests. The site in Pennsylvania contains a boulder at the actual spot where the plane crashed. Saturday the 10^th, former president Bill Clinton and George Bush visited Shanksville as well along with Vice President Joe Biden.

There they made speeches about the acts of heroism that the members on board portrayed on the day of 9/11. Bush said during his speech that the members on board Flight 93 committed “one of the most courageous acts in American history.” A bell rang for each of the 40 names of the passengers and their names were read as well.

At the memorial at Shanksville, Bill Clinton also announced he would start fundraising to complete the memorial being built at the site, which includes almost 10$ million dollars. John Boehner also agreed to help in the efforts to complete the memorial. The third place of attack on September 11^th, the Pentagon also held events during the day Sunday, including a speech by Vice President Joe Biden.

President Obama also visited the Pentagon later in the day, and was planning on going to the Kennedy Center to attend the “concert for hope.” At the Pentagon, an American flag hung over the place where flight 77 hit the building and at 9:37AM when the plane hit there was a moment of silence followed by Amazing grace.

Each memorial represented the patriotism and remembrance that Americans have which has only grown stronger over the past 10 years.  The day was filled with tears and sorrow, but also represented that America will never forget the heroism, acts of bravery, and the innocent lives that were stolen away.

SeanPavonePhoto / Shutterstock.com

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I have waited a few days out of respect for 9/11 to say my piece. Although like everyone else, the images and memories of 9/11 are forever with me, I don’t have the same feeling about it as most others. Celebrating the ten year anniversary does not make me particular proud to be an American.

All over Facebook and in the media, people use the anniversary as a way to celebrate the fact that our country survived the worst terrorist attack on American soil. But, did we survive? To me, it seemed like our nation’s complete mentality changed on that day. Instead of hope and optimism, we became scared. No longer wanting to help others or welcome immigrants, we became paranoid.

Every day, it becomes increasingly difficult to find a reason to be proud to be an American. Yes, we like to say that phrase, especially on anniversaries of horrific tragedies and holidays, but are we really proud? The income gap continues to grow in our country, as we become a banana republic where only the wealthy one percent has any power.

More than 45,000 uninsured Americans are uninsured and with no healthcare, children die of treatable diseases. We execute poor men who have been railroaded because they cannot afford lawyers while letting rich men off scot-free even though their greed caused the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.

We start two wars to fight against an idea and a small sect of radical fundamentalists. We are restricting voting rights to millions of Americans because suddenly Jim Crow laws are back in vogue. We hate a particular religious group because men who perverted their religion were responsible for 9/11 while our own “Christian” religion has become an instrument of hate.

In 2008, it almost seemed like maybe we were letting go of the 9/11 post apocalyptical period. Maybe we could have hope and change and move forward from that day. We elected our first black president, even though he is only 50 percent black. But, the last three years, things have become even worse.

Instead of focusing on the growing unemployment and recession, we worry about a pretend Mosque in New York City or where the President was born. Nothing is accomplished because the focus remains on the negative. The last decade has been bleak. My twenties were spent in a country that seemed comparable to communist Russia.

The media controls the message and the message has been on asinine stuff for ten years, so that the simpletons won’t become enraged at the direction of our country. Let’s focus on Angelina Jolie and Kim Kardishan so no one will notice how many rights we have lost. Pay attention to gay marriage, abortion and those damn welfare mothers who are taking your money so you don’t notice billionaires like the Koch Brothers who are controlling politics and court decisions while raping your mother.

I can only hope that the color will return to our country now that we have survived the first decade after the terrorists shot down our hope and dreams. However, I don’t really see it. Yes, we survived. But, we aren’t any better for it. We did not get any stronger after this tragedy.

We became scared little kids and I am not proud to be an American in 2011. Not even a little bit. I know our country can do so much better. We can help out neighbors and preach love instead of hate. I know we have the ability to do it, but we are so far away from that vision of America. I don’t know if I will see it in my lifetime.

 
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This action packed game came down to the wire. The game started with a special tribute for the 10 year anniversary of 9/11 and was followed up by chants of “USA”. The Jets had the honor of starting this home game in remembrance of 9/11 over the Giants so the pressure was on for gang green.

The Cowboys came down and scored a touchdown on the first drive of the game. Dallas QB Tony Romo threw a three yard touchdown pass to Dez Bryant for the score. After that touchdown, the next touchdown wouldn’t come until the last drive of the first half when Mark Sanchez got hot for the Jets and found TE Dustin Keller with a four yard touchdown pass. Dallas led at halftime with the score 10-7.

The Cowboys looked like they were going to take over the game when Tony Romo threw up a jump ball to WR Miles Austin and he came up with it over CB Antonio Cromarite for the score, making it 17-10. The 3^rd quarter would end when Mark Sanchez threw an interception to Cowboys linebacker Sean Lee. He took the ball all the way down to the one yard line.

Felix Jones punched in the ball from the one yard line and made the score 24-10 to start the 4^th quarter. Never in Cowboys history have they lost a game in where they led by 14 or more points in the 4^th quarter. They were 241-0-1 all time.

Jets started gaining some momentum as Mark Sanchez was finding WR Plaxico Burress late. Burress capped a 7 play, 84 yard drive with a 26 yard back shoulder touchdown pass from Mark Sanchez to cut the lead to 24-17. Tony Romo would come right back with a 64 yard pass to TE Jason Witten setting up first and goal at the Jets three. Although that wasn’t the big play, the big play was Jets SS Jim Leonard stopping Witten from getting into the end zone as he caught up to him and knocked him out of bounds before he was able to score the touchdown.

Three plays later, on third and goal, DE Mike DeVito sacked and forced a fumble on Romo and the Jets would recover. No touchdown, no field goal, and no score for the Cowboys. With 5:08 left and Dallas’ ball and 4^th and 22, they would bring on the punting unit. With MetLife Stadium rocking, Isaiah Trufant returned a block punt 18 yards for the game tying score.

The defenses would not be forgotten as LB Anthony Spencer sacked Mark Sanchez and gave the Cowboys a chance to win it. With less than a minute to go and Dallas’ ball, Tony Romo gets intercepted by Darelle Revis. Four plays and two yards later it would set up a game winning 50 yard field goal by Nick Folk. The Jets would go on to win 27-24.

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President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama landed close to Wall Street at 8AM EDT where the couple and the former presidential couple George W. Bush and his wife Laura greeted victims families at Ground Zero’s North Memorial Pool. At 8.40AM, the American National Anthem was sung as the US flag was raised on the main stage.

The reading of the names of those who died continued all through the service. The Telegraph reports how pairs of relatives of the victims took turns to read out around ten names each and finishing with their deceased relative to whom they addressed a personal message.

To mark the moments when each plane hit the towers, moments of silence was held during the ceremony. A third silence was held to mark the attack on the Pentagon while the fourth marked the fall of the South Tower. At around 10AM EST, the fifth silence of the day marked Flight 93, the United Airlines plane whose passengers managed to overcome the hijackers, as it crashed in a Pennsylvanian field, killing all onboard. The final moment came at 10.28AM EST and marked the collapse of the second tower.

At the Pentagon ceremony, US Defense Security Leon Panetta said: “We will never forget the human cost paid by this generation – the more than 6,200 soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines lost in the line of duty. Like those taken from us on 9/11, we feel their absence every day. Today we think of their families who have suffered tragedy and heartbreak, but shown extraordinary resilience and strength. We think of the thousands of veterans who carry the seen and unseen wounds of war with them every day.”

Bill Clinton released a statement in honor and remembrance of the victims and their loved ones. He thanked those left behind who had the courage and strength to help others in need: “Because we live in the most interdependent age in history, it is difficult to be open to the positive forces sweeping the world while closing our borders to the negative ones. So we also honor the service of those who have worked so hard for the last decade to keep America safe, free, and still open to people of every race, culture, and faith.”

According to The Telegraph, 422.000 New Yorkers suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder as a direct result of the events during September 11, 2001.

The air quality around Ground Zero took nine months to return to pre-9/11 levels and it is estimated that over 2.500 contaminant were released by the fallen buildings. The Telegraph reported that many rescue workers and survivors fell ill from exposure to the toxic air and 75 of the recovery personal has since been diagnosed with blood cell cancers.

At 9.15AM GMT, a morning service of ‘remembrance and reconciliation’ was held today at Grosvenor Chapel in London, UK for the families of British 9/11 victims. Deputy US ambassador to Britain, Barbara Stephenson was attending. Later at around 11AM GMT, the memorial service at London’s St. Paul’s Cathedral began.

Outside the US Embassy in London, extremists were burning the American flag in protest. British Muslim extremist Anjem Choudary encouraged all followers of Islam to join, according to British The Daily Mail, as a response to plans of one church to stage an ‘International Burn-A-Koran day’. The leader of a Protestant church in Gainesville, Florida, Pastor Terry Jones is the man behind the idea of public burning of Islam’s holy book but his plan has faced criticism in the US.

Nonetheless, Mr. Choudary said to The Daily Mail “We have called for the people to burn the American flag so that instead of being humiliated or being intimidated they can make this day a day to remember the atrocities being committed in Muslim lands and to expose the aggressor.”

Violent clashed broke out between Osama bin Laden-supporters and London police in the streets outside the American embassy this morning, local time, as protesters were trying to storm the embassy. The Daily Mail reported that the protest comes amid heightened security in London in anticipation of a possible al-Qaeda attack — and only a few days after the British capital was singled out as a major recruiting ground for the terrorist organization.

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The 9/11 Restoration tour is a mission to rebuild the flag that hung nearly destroyed after the attack on the world trade center. “The National 9/11 Flag” has been traveling across the country, making stops in all 50 states. The flag represents the tragic events of September 11^th, but essentially the freedom, liberty, and patriotism demonstrated throughout the country since the attack.

The flag was taken down during the clean up process after 9/11, and was stored away for seven years. It was then moved by a volunteer firefighter of the “New York Says Thank You Foundation” and brought to a town in Kansas that had been damaged by a tornado.

After rebuilding the town, residents decided to repair the flag that had been brought to them.  This event sparked a restoration movement to have every state repair the tattered flag to its full 13 stripes and 50 stars to be presented at the 10-year anniversary of 9/11.

Throughout the last year, the flag has taken trips throughout the country gaining stories of courage and memories along the way. Local service heroes along with veterans, first responders, volunteers, and those who lost loved ones in the attack were invited to stitch a thread on the flag, in the end making it whole again.

Many monumental figures have also contributed to rebuilding the flag. Martin Luther King’s family added a stitch, along with members of congress, and veterans on the USS Missouri during Pearl Harbor.

The flag has taken breaks at many well-known locations such as Mount Rushmore, Kennedy Space Center, and various other sites.

The additional flags that were added to “The National 9/11 Flag” to help complete it, include monumental ones from all over the country and dating back in history.  The piece of flag that Lincoln was placed upon after he was shot was stitched onto the Restoration Flag. Another flag was taken from Mount Rushmore where it stood tall on the day of 9/11.

Jeff Pareness, the chairperson of the “New York Says Thank You Foundation” said, “The National 9/11 Flag is a living testament to the resilience and compassion of the American people,” he continues to say, “It is the modern day version of ‘The Star Spangled Banner.”

After its finished, “The National 9/11 Flag” will be placed in the National September 11 Memorial Museum, which opens next week  and stands where the WTC once did.

This Sunday, on the 10^th anniversary of 9/11, the country will remember thoughts of sadness, grief, and a torn flag that hung almost in pieces 10 years ago. But this time America can remember that same flag, looking more vibrant then ever, and think of the country’s strength and unity it demonstrated in the aftermath of 9/11.

“The National 9/11 Flag’s” motto is “Rebuilding America, One stitch at a Time,” and has been a message to thank American’s for their heroism and generosity.

Image courtesy: http://www.flickr.com/photos/usnationalarchives/6124109199/

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Sunday marks the 10th anniversary of the most devastating terrorist attack on American soil in modern times. Countless ceremonies, gatherings and events will take place around the U.S. and world to honor approximately 3,000 people who lost their lives on September 11, 2001.

On Sunday, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and other city officials, will dedicate the newly built 9/11 Memorial at the site where the World Trade Center (WTC) towers once stood, according to American City & Country. “We had to design a memorial that would stand the test of time — and design the space that our city would need to grow and prosper,” Bloomberg said Tuesday at breakfast in Lower Manhattan sponsored by the Association for a Better New York. “I believe that history will record that we accomplished both.”

Bloomberg’s words are evidence of the perseverance that U.S. leaders and citizens have demonstrated in the years which followed the deadly events of 9/11.

On September 11, 2001, at 8:46 a.m., a hijacked American Airlines (AA) Flight 11 crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center. A mere 17 minutes later, at 9:03 a.m., hijacked United Airlines (UA) Flight 175 crashed into the South Tower of the WTC.  At 9:37 a.m., hijacked AA Flight 77 flew into the west wall of the Pentagon. At 10 a.m., the hijacked UA Flight 93 crashed into a field in Shaksville, Pennsylvania. The passengers and crew attempted to retake control of the plane which was believed to be traveling toward the White House.

According to The District of Columbia Website, a candlelight service will take place at the First Baptist Church in Washington, D.C. to honor the lives lost in the plane crash at the Pentagon.

President Obama and Vice President Biden will visit the crash site in Shaksville Sunday. Biden will later attend the dedication in New York. Obama will attend ceremonies in D.C., according to the New York Daily News.

Many will take a moment Sunday to remember the servicemen and servicewomen who lost their lives while responding to the terrorist attacks.

Police and firefighters in New York, and all around the U.S., are expected to observe a national Moment of Remembrance of the 9/11 attacks by sounding their police and firefighters sirens and bells, according to the Jackson County Times-Journal. At precisely 1 p.m EDT, bells will sound for a minute. Frank Lautenberg, U.S. Senator of New Jersey, encouraged the public to participate. “’This Moment of Remembrance’” will be a symbol of solidarity throughout the county and across the country. We must never forget what happened on that tragic day,” Lautenberg said.

Other individuals are sharing their perspectives and memories of 9/11 through a quieter, solitary activity – writing.

In post on the Foundry website, a Conservative policy news blog from the Heritage Foundation, Jessica Zuckerman reflects on how the events of 9/11 shaped the world for many young Americans. “I was barely a teenager on 9/11, but these memories will stay with me forever,” Zuckerman said. “For many in my generation, the events of September 11, 2001 shattered our naiveté and changed our perspective of the world. Coming of age in the War on Terror, we were defined by it.” Zuckerman said that after 9/11 her dreams of becoming a doctor or a teacher were replaced with an interest in the hot topic of homeland security and counterterrorism.

In an opinion piece written for the Washington Times, Gayle Lynn Falkenthal, of San Deigo, expressed outrage that the memorial for Flight 93, in Pennsylvania, has not been completed due to a lack of funding. “Flight 93 is an afterthought in the narrative of 9/11 and it shouldn’t be,” Falkenthal said.

Linda Paul, a guest columist for OregonLive, recalls her experience being inside the Pentagon when the airplane struck the building. “When the plane struck us, there was a single loud boom, more like a solid but muffled thud and the office shuddered, identical to the shudder of an earthquake,” Paul said. “I looked back to see the giant black cloud of smoke hovering over the building. I thought, ‘They’re killing us with our own damn airplanes.’ I may have said this aloud.”

Storytelling is a tool that many organizations are encouraging people to use in an effort to unite Americans and to honor the lives lost on 9/11.

The Washington Informer is inviting people to submit their stories of 9/11 along with photos to be added to the “Informer’s 9/11 Anniversary section.” One person who contributed to the Informer said, “That evening, I did nothing but watch television news and read the special edition of the Post. I knew that America would never be the same from then on.”

According to the Huffington Post, even the cooking community has come together to share their 9/11 experiences. The Food Republic interviewed 8 New York Chefs about that horrific morning. ”I remember while walking over the [Queensboro] Bridge, this one somber moment when someone, who clearly was from Ground Zero, covered in white dust, with a blank stare, was walking on the bridge,” said Bryan Voltaggio, chef at VOLT restaurant.

Similarly, StoryCorps, a nonprofit organization, “whose mission is to provide Americans…with the opportunity to record, share, and preserve the stories of our lives,” dedicated space on their website for the oral telling of 9/11 stories. StoryCorps hopes to record one story for every life lost on 9/11.

“It was Christine’s first trip in an airplane,” Lee Hanson said during his recording for StoryCorp. He and his wife, Eunice Hanson, lost three family members on 9/11 – they were passengers on UA Flight 175.

According to Kirsti A. Dyer MD, a fellow of the American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress, our stories can strengthen us. “Storytelling can be regarded as one of the oldest healing arts; it has been used for centuries as a universal, useful way for the grieving person to cope with loss” Dyer said. “Telling the story can provide the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of one’s experiences.”

Codi Schneider, a 7 year-old at the time of 9/11, remembers the towers crumbling on TV and his father predicting the Air Force would send him to war soon, the Associated Press said. Codi’s father, an Air Force Chief Master, served in Iraq and was responsible for disarming enemy booby traps. Now a teenager, Codi said the years since 9/11 have been full of nightmares. He often wakes up screaming in the middle of the night.

According to the AP, Codi said he doesn’t want to be in the Air Force like his father. He wants to be a filmmaker or maybe a journalist when he grows up. “Whatever I do when I’m older,” Codi said “I want to tell people my story.”

While ceremonies to remember 9/11 will be the focus of Sunday for many Americans, the U.S. Homeland Security Department will be on alert in light of recent terrorist threats.

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The US Homeland Security Department has acknowledged a ‘credible and specific’ report that al Qaeda is planning to blow up infrastructure in New York on the anniversary of the national tragedy that struck the United States 10 years ago on September 11.

New York’s mayor Michael Bloomberg told the press that the intelligence of the threat was uncorroborated but because of the nature of the situation, nobody was willing to take chances. “We know the terrorists regard the anniversary as an opportunity to strike again. We do live in a world where we must take these threats seriously,” Bloomberg said according to British newspaper The Guardian.

Intelligence agencies are behind the warning. To the Huffington Post, a US intelligence official said, “US counterterrorism entities have been alert for any leads, and for the first time we’ve received specific and credible – but unconfirmed – threat information linked to the 9/11 anniversary.

Any and all leads related to possible plots are of course being run to ground, and the US will bring every resource to bear to ensure the security of the American people.” The assistant director of the FBI in New York, Janice Fedarcyk, told The Guardian that initial suspicion was raised during the raid at Abbottabad, Pakistan that killed Osama Bin Laden.

The obtained intelligence showed that al-Qaida had an interest in several important dates – including 9/11. President Barack Obama has requested redoubled effort from the counter-terrorism forces in order to clarify the nature of the threat and Fedarcyk was sure to stress that “sometimes this reporting is credible and warrants intense focus, other times it lacks credibility and is highly unlikely to relate to real plots that are underway.”

Citizens of New York will have to deal with tightened security around the city. Sky News reports that extra police will carry out checks on cars around tunnels and bridges while there will be more bag inspections on the subway and more resources put into radiation and bomb monitoring.

Mayor Bloomberg said that while the authorities are taking additional measures to protect the city in anticipation of the weekend, he would like New Yorkers to go about their business as usual. “The best thing we can do to fight terror is to refuse to be intimidated by it.

For the past 10 years we have not allowed terrorists to intimidate us, we have lived out lives without fear and we will continue to do so,” said Bloomberg.
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The 9/11 Memorial, which will open on the 10th anniversary of the American national tragedy, has already attracted a lot of interest by the public, eager to book tickets for the opening.

But one of the pieces included in the Ground Zero memorial have caused such an offense to non-Christians that a US-based atheist group has filed a lawsuit against the museum administration to remove the cross-shaped steel beam on the grounds that other religions and nonreligious views should be equally represented.

The cross was blessed by Reverend Brian Jordan, a key force behind the preservation of symbols from the wreckage, and he was quoted by the Guardian for saying that no matter their religion, the beam had provided comfort to hundreds of suffering people and continues to do so.

The construction worker who found the symbolic beam in the rubbles after the devastating attack called it ‘a miracle’ — the beam is due to become part of the 9/11 museum collection that opens next year.

The president of American Atheist, Dave Silverman, who is behind the lawsuit for removal of the suggestive beam, said that 9/11 was a tragedy, “but the Christian community has secured sole representation in the memorial for itself at the exclusion of other religions and philosophies,” according to the Guardian.

Mr. Silverman explained that American Atheists had offered to pay for a more neutral arrangement; “a remedy that honors everyone equally, with a religion-neutral display, or display of equal size and prominence.” The group have suggested a firefighter carrying out a victim.

Museum officials have denied that there is any religious value connected to the beam but emphasize the role it played in the aftermath. Overall, the opening of the Ground Zero site has been a struggle for agreement since both victims’ families and interest groups have tried to affect the construction.

The Memorial is expected to accommodate a big crowd so any delays, such as a lawsuit, could seriously impede the conclusion of this painful chapter in American history.

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The scandal shaking Rupert Murdoch’s media empire in the United Kingdom has crossed the waters to the United States.

U.S. authorities have acknowledged that they are looking into a report by Britain’s Daily Mirror newspaper that reporters with The News of the World offered to pay a New York police officer for private phone records of some 9/11 victims.

U.S. officials explained that News Corp. employees sought to hack into the phones of victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, and tried to bribe law enforcement officers for information.

The Daily Mirror‘s report, citing an unidentified source, has yet to be independently verified but has already fueled U.S. emotions over the phone hacking scandal that has taken over Britain and shaken Murdoch’s company.

Legal experts say the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) is ordinarily used against companies accused of paying bribes to win contracts. But some U.S. lawmakers and experts have suggested it could be used against News Corp. because News of the World journalists allegedly bribed police officers to gain information.

New York attorney, Normal Siegel, who represents Sept. 11 family members in three legal cases, sent letters on Monday, July 11 requesting meetings with FBI Director Robert Mueller, Attorney General Eric Holder and Representative John Conyers, the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee.

“We will, of course, provide an appropriate response to any letter from representatives from the 9/11 victims,” said Bill Carter of the FBI’s national press office.

It was not immediately clear whether federal prosecutors in Manhattan were involved in the case. They would most likely have jurisdiction over any prosecution because the 9/11 victims and their cellphones were in Manhattan when they died.

Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV, democrat of West Virginia, was the first to issue a statement on the matter, saying on Tuesday, July 12 that the U.S. government should hold investigations to “ensure that Americans have not had their privacy violated.”

He was also joined by the two New Jersey senators, Robert Menendez and Frank R. Lautenberg. Sen. Menendez asked the Justice Department to investigate the claims involving 9/11 victims, saying in his letter that the “large scope” of the hacking in Britain made it “imperative to investigate whether victims in the United States have been affected as well.”

It appears that it is not enough that U.S. citizens remain scarred over what took place on that dark day of Sept. 11 since, overseas, the tragic phone calls are being taken without permission, violating the rights of those families.

These revelations have critically damaged Murdoch’s British operations, leading to the withdrawal of his $12 billion offer for the country’s largest satellite television operator, British Sky Broadcasting. They have also created a major political test for British Prime Minister David Cameron over his close personal ties to News Corp. executives.

Media analyst, Claire Enders said News Corp. might be tempted to sell its other British newspapers — The Sun, The Times and the Sunday Times. This is an outcome favored by some analysts and shareholders.

“The politicians want the Murdoch’s role in public life to be greatly diminished,” Enders said. “They would like them to move to New York and stay there.”

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The most recent review of the link between cancer in veterans of the September 11 attack and cleanup has postponed hopes of the illness being included among those eligible for government help. The review has disappointed advocates for 9/11 cancer victims but there is still believed to be hope — the first review on the connection between exposure to chemicals following the collapse of the towers and development of cancer has concluded that more study is needed to determine the exact correlation.

John Feal of the FeelGood Foundation told the Huffington Post “They couldn’t find the evidence, but we have the evidence and we have the statistics.” He is relying on future studies to confirm the foundation’s observations, “I’m confident that when the new study comes out, the link will be established.”

The reason behind the new study’s measured result is, according to Dr. John Howard, leader of the WTC Health Program, that evidence is still lacking to justify including cancer as a government responsibility under the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act.

However, the Doctor added: “It is important to point out that the current absence of published scientific and medical findings [...] does not indicate evidence of the absence of casual association.”

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand has demanded that the review process be sped up for the sake of the families who suffer the physical and financial burden of illness. “The longer they have to wait on a cancer determination, the longer our 9/11 heroes will continue to suffer without proper treatment or compensation,” the New York Democrat said in a letter to the administrators. Another review will not be available until early to mid-2012.

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Macbeth, at his darkest, described life as “a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing”. I can reveal, however, that because he was a timeless genius, Shakespeare was really describing Barack Obama’s June 22 speech on Afghanistan.

From the very first sentence, the aim of the President’s oratory was deception. “Nearly 10 years ago” he began, “America suffered the worst attack on our shores since Pearl Harbor”. First line, first mistake. The 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor – a historical event entangled in emotion, intended to invoke the myth of a golden age of United States military power saving the world from evil – was not an attack on US “shores”. Pearl Harbor was a military base in a foreign country (Hawaii) that the United States had annexed in 1897.

“We forget that in the crossroads of the ancient world, the graveyard of empires, it is not just “1500 [Americans] who have given their lives in Afghanistan”, but at least twenty times as many Afghans.”

“Our nation was united as we struck at al Qaeda and routed the Taliban in Afghanistan Obama continued. Following the awful crime of September 11 2001 it was not “Al Qaeda” that the US struck, but the men, women and children of Afghanistan. During the first couple of months of the bombing campaign that began on October 7, Professor Mark Herold of the University of New Hampshire concludes, NATO’s air force murdered 3000-3400 innocent civilians. Alone this exceeds the death toll of the 9/11 high-jackers.

President Obama proceeded to quote an unnamed soldier on the (illegal) assassination of Osama Bin-Laden: “the message is we don’t forget”. The ten years of war in Afghanistan, the deaths of thousands of civilians, and a state ordered killing were, so the President said, “a victory for all who have served since 9/11”. Like an Ancient Greek revenge hero, the president admitted that the motivation had been retribution, not justice.

It is hardly surprising that the policies announced along with this tale of sound of fury were just as disingenuous and divorced from reality. The US will withdraw 10000 troops from Afghanistan this year, and a further 20000 by next summer. It will also, so Obama says, complete a total withdrawal by 2014. Asking the Afghans when they would like foreign forces to withdraw is not even considered. The US, and the United Kingdom, will withdraw troops from Afghanistan, but there will not be a total withdrawal. Like Bahrain, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Libya, Egypt, Oman, Qatar, the UAE and Kuwait, Afghanistan will be home to Western military bases for many years to come.

It was these military bases that, along with propping up the Hosni Mubaraks (“not a dictator” – B. Obama 2011) of the Middle East, and support for Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, motivated the attacks of 9/11 in the first place. Nonetheless, journalists have largely greeted this “tale told by an idiot” with glee. Anne Penketh, a blogger for the UK’s leading left-liberal newspaper The Independent, ebulliently announced: “He’s back! President Obama’s speech on Afghanistan could well mark the moment he got his presidency back”. The speech contained the “boldness that has been lacking in his foreign policy choices” she observed. Given that President Obama has been conducting 4-6 wars consistently since he took office, one fear to ask just what constitutes “boldness” in Ms. Penketh’s book.

The war in Afghanistan is officially the longest in US history. It equals the lengths of the First and Second World Wars combined. So long has it been that we forget the Taliban’s offer to hand over Osama Bin Laden in 2001. We forget that the war has always been illegal. We forget that in the crossroads of the ancient world, the graveyard of empires, it is not just “1500 [Americans] who have given their lives in Afghanistan”, but at least twenty times as many Afghans. We forget that we don’t count the bodies of our victims. Out, out brief candle.

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A decade after the tragic events of 9/11, the backwash of US effort to prevent any future terrorist attacks keeps turning up new revelations about questionable practices and unpleasant realities. Recently, a former Guantanamo inmate gave an interview to the BBC, describing some of the things he endured during his captivity between early 2002 and 2008. Saad Iqbal Madni was known as an Islamic scholar and prize-winning reciter of the Quran when he, shortly after the 9/11 attacks, was bundled into a plane during a visit to Indonesia and flown to Egypt. In Cairo, Egyptian intelligence agents were allegedly waiting to extract information under the auspice of US agents. “The place they put me was smaller than a grave,” Mr Madni told the BBC, “They asked me questions about [shoe bomber] Richard Reid, and if I had any information about 9/11. When I denied it, they gave me electric shocks in my knees. A few times I passed out.”

After Cairo, Mr. Madni explains he was taken to Bagram Air base in Afghanistan where they deprived him of food and kept him in isolation for 10 months. By March 2003, he was transferred to Guantanamo as classified as an enemy combatant. The main accusation was connections to al-Qaeda and planning terrorist acts – charges he denies.

During an interview with BBC’s Pakistan correspondent Orla Guerin, Mr Madni gave a detailed description of some of the traumatizing experiences he was forced to make while carrying the number 746 in Guantanamo Bay. “Since they arrest me, up to today, every second night I wake up screaming, yelling and crying,” he confessed, breaking into tears. “I can’t forget what they did to me. No one can do that with the animals. I don’t know how they can do that with human beings.”

Among other things, Mr Madni was exposed to a practice called ‘frequent flier status’. “That means the detainee is not allowed to sleep,” he said. “Every 20 minutes, every half an hour, the guards come and wake up the detainee, they handcuff him, they leg shackle him, and move him from block to block, cell to cell. If we try to get a nap the guards come and kick the doors, yelling, screaming and cursing.” The BBC report acknowledges that much of Mr. Madni’s chronicle of imprisonment cannot be independently verified, but his account echoes those of other former detainees.

Within the first year at Guantanamo, Mr Madni attempted suicide but his actions were punished with increased torture and intimidation. When contracting an ear infection, he claims that he was refused treatment and told to cooperate with interrogators if he wanted medical help. He cites doctors for telling him that he was an enemy, not a patient.

Mr Madni denies having links with extremists groups in Pakistan, though admits having met members of a hardline Indonesian Islamic group – the Islamic Defenders Front – with a scholarly purpose. He claims not to have known the US considered them terrorists. When asking the interrogation personnel about his status during the five years in Guantanamo, he explained “they just said that Washington D.C. need to keep you in here. When they decide to let you free then all the charges will be dropped”. True to word, a US court ordered his release in August 2008 where he returned to Pakistan.

However, the government of Pakistan has placed him under house arrest, listing him under the country’s anti-terror watch. “I am suffering more that I was in Guantanamo Bay,” he says, “I can’t work. I can’t see my family members. I can’t leave the city.” Mr Madni says the situation has left him suicidal. “Over there is a small cage,” he told the BBC, “and Pakistan is the bigger cage. That’s it.”

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This year marks the ten year anniversary of the horrific events that have come to be known collectively as “9-11.”  On September 11, 2001- the worst terrorist attack on U.S. soil was carried out.  The official story, which emerged rather quickly, was that Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda were the masterminds behind the attacks.  It seemed to make sense and the explanation allowed Americans to have someone to blame.

In the months following the attacks, more questions about the official explanation began to appear.  The 9-11 “truthers,” as they are often called, range from those that believe the government knew about the impending attacks and chose to ignore it to those that believe the attacks were an inside job, with the U.S. government carrying out the attacks in order to justify a war in the Middle East.  The attacks also allowed the Bush administration to decrease civil liberties by passing legislation such as “The Patriot Act” and, more than likely, helped Bush win a second term.

Truthers point to a variety of different events on that day that they believe is reason to be skeptical about the official story.  They note that the Pentagon attack happened over an hour after the attack on New York City and point out that there was no response from Andrews Air Force Base, just 10 miles away.  Hani Hanjour, the supposed pilot of that plane, failed as a Cessna pilot on his first flight in a Boeing but was somehow able to execute a difficult aerobatic maneuver to strike the Pentagon.  The attack on the Pentagon hit the just-renovated side, which was largely empty and opposite from the high command. There is also considerable debate on the famed flight 93 that crashed in Pennsylvania.  Many family members and loved ones received last minute phone calls from passengers on that plane.  Did cell phones work on planes in 2001?  I tried to turn on my cell phone many years later on a plane and it did not work.  The scattering of debris found over the field has always suggested that the plane was shot down, not driven into the ground.  Truthers maintain that the buildings in New York City were brought down by controlled demolition and not by the planes that crashed into the buildings.  Even the staunchest believer in the official story questions why building #7 was destroyed, even though it was not hit by a plane that fateful day.

Although, there are plenty of other questions and inconsistencies that truthers point out when debating 9-11, those are the major arguments.  The government has attempted to define the 9-11 truthers as part of a fringe movement, but a large part of Americans have some doubt of the official story.  The truth movement has websites devoted to the conspiracy, books, and movies.  One famous documentary about 9-11, Loose Change , is highly critical of the official explanation and offers a thorough critique of the official explanation.  The movie, in its entirety, can be viewed on YouTube.

Whether you believe that bin Laden was responsible or not, questions surrounding the tragedy should not be dismissed or taken lightly.  Our country often attempts to vilify anyone who questions the government or official explanations.  But, it shouldn’t be that way.  We should not blindly follow any person or any explanation, because we are not sheep.  And if history has taught us anything, government is not infallible and has committed much more evil acts than what 9-11 truthers believer.

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