9/11 News

A summary of news and opinion on the current state of the 9/11 community.

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The ghosts of 9/11

New Yorkers fear mosque means Muslim extremists

Sun, July 11th, 2010 @ 9:37pm

STATEN ISLAND, New York — Afraid that radical Muslim extremists will not only take Manhattan, but the Bronx and Staten Island, too — not to mention Brooklyn and Queens — a hundred residents of the Borough of Parks are standing on the sidewalk on a steamy summer Sunday and chanting "No mosque! No sale! No mosque! No sale!"

Protest is fermenting in New York City's least-famous fifth borough. The people of Midland Beach, as this sandy, middle-class enclave is known, have more urgent concerns than a frolic on the nearby Atlantic Ocean strand; namely, the fate of a neglected little two-story brick dormitory with a crucifix in its brickwork.

A few weeks ago, the parish priest of the nearby St. Margaret Mary Roman Catholic Church, the Rev. Keith Fennessy, announced that a vacant and careworn building -- paint peeling, blinds twisted -- that once had been a convent for a small covey of nuns was going to be sold to the Muslim American Society (MAS) and converted into a house of Mohammedan prayer.

When a noisy community meeting was held to discuss the transfer, today's hyper-patriotic protesters tell me, a group of Muslims attending the powwow declined to stand up during the Pledge of Allegiance, their spokesman wouldn't renounce Hamas and Hezbollah, and things only got worse from there.

The "human civil rights director" of the MAS wrote a letter to the Staten Island Advance saying that "when stripped of all the propaganda, innuendo, and flat-out lies, the issue is simply one of religious bigotry and hatred." Chastened, Father Fennessy tried to retract the real estate deal, only to be told that the contract already had been signed and that only the parish trustees could overturn it.

The beleaguered trustees have scheduled a meeting for God knows when.

So the issue remains tense and unresolved and now we're out here sweating on the sidewalk and people are holding up placards that read SAVE OUR COMMUNITY and OUR FAITH IS NOT FOR SALE and my personal favorite:

STEREOTYPES ARE BASED ON SOME TRUTH
LIVE WITH IT
IT'S THE AMERICAN WAY

Read On…

Holder: Politics Delays 9/11 Trial

Sun, July 11th, 2010 @ 9:32pm

Attorney General Eric Holder said the Obama administration was still deciding whether to try self-described 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammed in a civil or military court, and blamed politics for the continued delay.

The venue has been up in the air for months, after Holder’s initial decision to try Mohammed in a New York City civilian court set off a bipartisan uproar earlier this year.

Holder, in an interview with CBS News’s “Face the Nation” that aired on Sunday, signaled that he still preferred a civilian trial.

“Why can’t we use a great criminal justice system that has proven effective in these kinds of cases over the years, that has proven effective in a wide range of cases over the past 200 years?” he said.

Republicans had charged that a civilian trial would afford Mohammed a public venue to glorify himself. Some New York officials worried that the spectacle and security concerns would disrupt Manhattan.

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Army journalist from Fort Campbell was first killed in combat since 9/11

Mon, July 5th, 2010 @ 12:10pm

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Military officials say a Fort Campbell soldier killed in Afghanistan who was dedicated to telling the soldier's story was the first Army journalist killed in combat since 9/11.

Staff Sgt. James P. Hunter died June 18 when a patrol he was with was struck by improvised explosive device in Kandahar. The 25-year-old from Ohio was assigned to the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division.

Kelly DeWitt, a spokeswoman for Fort Campbell, confirmed that his death was the first within the ranks of Army journalists since the wars began.

Those who worked with him said Hunter was passionate reporter and photographer who wanted to provide a glimpse into the lives of today's combat soldiers.

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Docs launch 9/11 cancer probe

Mon, July 5th, 2010 @ 12:03pm

Doctors have begun probing whether 9/11 rescue and recovery work at toxic Ground Zero triggered thyroid cancer – apparently the first tumor cancer to come under close scrutiny, The Post has learned.

The WTC Medical Monitoring and Treatment Program is contacting Ground Zero responders who came down with the disease. The thyroid is a gland at the base of the neck.

NYPD cop Reggie Hilaire, 39, and retired FDNY firefighter Kenny Specht, 41, both diagnosed with thyroid cancer, hailed the study, saying the cases among WTC workers are alarming.

"It's a small victory," Hilaire said.

Thyroid cancer is the seventh most common of cancers claimed by 10,000 cops, firefighters, hard hats and others suing the city, according to a court report in February 2009. It listed 51 cases.

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Group Donates Ground Zero Flag to 9/11 Museum

Sat, July 3rd, 2010 @ 2:01pm

NEW YORK -- A New York City foundation is donating a U.S. flag recovered from ground zero to the National September 11 Memorial and Museum.

The group's spokesman David Vermillion says the tattered, 20-foot-by-30-foot flag will first embark on a national tour. People from different areas of the country will help restore it to its original 13-stripe format, using pieces from retired flags.

After a two-year tour, the flag will become part of the September 11 museum's permanent collection.

It's being donated by the New York Says Thank You Foundation. It's a nonprofit group that was founded to repay the acts of kindness the city received after 9/11.

The group sends volunteers to help rebuild communities across the country affected by disasters.

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