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Thread: A Fallen Hero - Video Inside

  1. #411
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    9/11 Responders Protest ME's Stand on Ground Zero Deaths

    http://gothamist.com/2007/12/03/911_responders.php

    12/3/2007

    2007_12_gzair.jpgFirst responders gathered in front of the NYC Medical Examiner's office to protest how the ME has classified deaths seemingly related to Ground Zero illnesses. State Senator Eric Adams said he would introduce legislation making sure first responders who worked at Ground Zero will "get the same line-of-duty benefits" as September 11 victims.

    Recently, the ME's office has not named two rescuers, who worked at the World Trade Center site after September 11 and later died from complications of illnesses (seemingly caused by the toxic dust), as victims of the September 11 attacks. In fact, a letter ME Dr. Charles Hirsch sent to one of the families narrowed the definition of a 9/11 death: "All persons killed at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, and others who died later from complications of injury or exposure directly caused by the collapse of the twin towers on that day are homicide victims."

    Adams said, "We still hear the voices and pain of those that did not die on 9/11, but died after and will die in the future. My bill would allow the medical examiner to list those who worked on Ground Zero on 9/12 and after as victims of 9/11." Lawyer Norman Siegel of the ACLU added the responders are "American heroes...we must do everything we can help them and their families."

    And the wife of one NYPD detective who is suffering the aftereffects of working 400 hours at Ground Zero said, "People who are ill are vilified rather than granted mercy."
    No One Knows Everything. Only Together May We Find The Truth JG


  2. #412
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    Protests continue over classification of 9/11 deaths

    http://action3news.com/Global/story.asp?S=7440886

    Associated Press - December 3, 2007 2:43 AM ET

    NEW YORK (AP) - Just who should be considered a victim of the World Trade Center attacks? The answer to that question is generating no small controversy.

    Some Ground Zero workers who took ill because they worked in the aftermath of the attacks say they should be considered attack victims, just as those who died when the planes hit and the towers collapsed.

    A protest in New York City over the weekend stressed that point. Families of workers took issue with a decision by New York's chief mMedical examiner to narrow the definition of who is considered a 9/11 victim.

    An attorney for families of workers affected by the dust and debris says the deaths of those workers can "by no stretch of the imagination" be called natural.
    No One Knows Everything. Only Together May We Find The Truth JG


  3. #413
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    Pols Push Bill To Clarify Classification Of 9/11-Related Deaths

    http://www.ny1.com/ny1/content/index...id=6&aid=76145

    December 03, 2007

    Lawmakers joined World Trade Center site recovery workers and victims families for a protest outside of the city medical examiner's office Sunday to announce that they will push for legislation that would clarify the city's position regarding the deaths of September 11th first responders. NY1’s Lindley Pless filed the following report.

    "Shame on them. Shame on them,” said Norman Siegel, an attorney who was among those protesting outside the city medical examiner’s office Sunday.

    Siegel’s outrage was re-ignited last week when the medical examiner refused to review the death of a city police officer who worked at the World Trade Center site because his efforts began on September 13th, less than 48 hours after the towers came down.

    Those of us who are here today – and you will hear from various speakers, object to the medical examiner's analysis – his reasoning, and conclusion, which we submit is arbitrary, illogical, inhumane, and not consistent with the principles and values of New York City,” said Seigel, who, along with a handful of local politicians and family members affected by 9/11, gathered outside the M.E.’s office Sunday afternoon.

    In June, Dr. Charles Hirsch sent a letter to the family of 44-year-old Officer James Godbee saying his cause of death would remain classified "natural."

    Godbee worked hundreds of hours at the WTC site. He died of a heart attack in 2004 due to an inflammatory disease that causes scarring of the lungs and other organs.

    Some lawmakers feel the M.E.'s office may be labeling deaths similar to Godbee's incorrectly because of a logistical issue. They're proposing a bill that will allow the cause of death for first responders to be redefined so their families will receive the medical and financial help they deserve from the city.

    "The M.E. must change his decision,” said Brooklyn State Senator Eric Adams. “My bill will be introduced next week, and I am asking all of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle – if the law is in the way, my bill will remove the impediment and allow the medical examiner to indicate clearly how these heroes died."

    For family members like Jimmy Richards, a firefighter who lost his son on 9/11 and who is also experiencing respiratory problems from working at the site after the attacks, the message is clear.

    We went down there and all we heard was, ‘Never forget. America is never going to forget 9/11.’ Well, they've got a short memory,” he says.

    The medical examiner's office declined to comment on Sunday's protest.
    No One Knows Everything. Only Together May We Find The Truth JG


  4. #414
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    Legislation requiring details of 9/11 rescue worker deaths to be introduced

    http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2007...f_911_res.html

    BY TAMER EL-GHOBASHY
    DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
    Monday, December 3rd 2007, 4:00 AM

    A state lawmaker will introduce legislation this week that will require the city medical examiner to provide a detailed description of the causes of death of rescuers who worked at Ground Zero after 9/11.

    State Sen. Eric Adams hopes the new law will compel the medical examiner to link the deadly illnesses suffered by first responders to breathing in World Trade Center dust, clearing the path for them to be listed as official victims of 9/11.

    The move comes a week after the Daily News demanded that Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Charles Hirsch examine the deaths of cops, firefighters and paramedics who arrived at the disaster site in the days after the terror attacks.

    "We still hear the voices and pain of those that did not die on 9/11, but died after and will die in the future," said Adams (D-Brooklyn) at a rally yesterday in front of the city medical examiner's office.

    "My bill would allow the medical examiner to list those who worked on Ground Zero on 9/12 and after as victims of 9/11."

    In his review of the death of Police Officer James Godbee, who began working at the Trade Center site on Sept. 13, 2001, Hirsch concluded that the cop died of sarcoidosis, a lung-scarring disease.

    An attorney for Godbee's wife, Michelle Haskett-Godbee, asked Hirsch to rule the cop's death an accident or homicide due to 9/11 and add his name to the official roster.

    Hirsch refused, writing in a letter that only people who died on Sept. 11, 2001, could be considered victims of the attacks.

    Critics charge that the medical examiner's opinion diminishes the sacrifices and lives of those who have fallen ill and died years after 9/11 from diseases related to working at the site - and deprives them of benefits afforded to civil servants who died that day.

    "People who are ill are vilified rather than granted mercy," said a tearful Donna Michaels, whose husband, NYPD Detective Thomas Michaels is on terminal leave, suffering from breathing and brain disfunction after she said he logged more than 400 hours of work at Ground Zero.

    "'This is murder in broad daylight,'" she said, quoting her ailing husband.
    No One Knows Everything. Only Together May We Find The Truth JG


  5. #415
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    Feds target overseer of $1B 9/11 insurance fund fighting claims

    http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2007...insurance.html

    BY LEO STANDORA
    DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
    Tuesday, December 4th 2007, 4:00 AM

    WASHINGTON - Federal officials want to know why the overseer of a $1 billion Sept. 11 insurance fund created to cover claims of sick Ground Zero workers is fighting every case rather than giving money to those who clearly deserve it.

    They said Monday they'll investigate the World Trade Center Captive Insurance Co., which has taken roughly 8,000 claims into the federal courts

    Homeland Security Department inspector general Richard Skinner said his probe will determine why the company "has chosen to litigate all claims instead of settling whenever possible."

    Documents sent to Congress and due to be released later this week say the review also will determine "what procedures have been established to receive, review and pay medical, hospital, surgical and disability benefits to injured persons," as well as benefits to the relatives of those killed.

    The insurance company has also been challenged by Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), the chairman of and ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee.

    The controversy has put lawyers for New York City on the defensive, because the city and some construction contractors are protected by the program.

    City Corporation Counsel Michael Cardozo has defended the company as "an insurance company, not a compensation fund," and argued that as such, it is obliged to defend legal claims.

    Meanwhile, Mayor Bloomberg is urging Congress to redirect the insurance company money to create a new compensation fund for workers sickened by dust, fumes and debris at Ground Zero and give the city and the contractors immunity from such lawsuits.

    A spokeswoman for the city's Law Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday.

    The company issued a statement saying it was cooperating with the inquiry and welcomes the review.
    No One Knows Everything. Only Together May We Find The Truth JG


  6. #416
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    9/11 toxins tied to NYPD sergeant Michael Ryan's death

    http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/...t_michael.html

    BY ALISON GENDAR
    DAILY NEWS POLICE BUREAU CHIEF
    Thursday, December 6th 2007, 4:00 AM

    Two doctors who treated an NYPD sergeant said the fatal cancers that riddled his body were likely caused by his exposure to toxins at the Fresh Kills landfill.

    Sgt. Michael Ryan, 41, died Nov. 5 from three different forms of aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma - the kinds of blood cancers that independent doctors monitoring Sept. 11 responders warned could be the "third wave" of sickness caused by exposure at Ground Zero and the landfill.

    The 20-year NYPD veteran and father of four had thought nothing of working 80-plus-hour weeks at the landfill in the aftermath of the Sept.11 attacks.

    He was diagnosed with his first cancer in May 2006. His doctors at North Shore Long Island Jewish and the University Hospital said they believed the prolonged exposure to volatile organic compounds cataloged at Ground Zero caused the cancer.

    A medical panel will rule on whether Ryan's death was 9/11-related.

    Though in intense pain, Ryan continued to follow his football passion of football by agreeing to help coach 9-year-olds in the Hauppauge Youth Organization when no other coach was available.

    He is survived by his wife, Eileen, a retired NYPD officer, and their four children - William, 12; Erin, 10; Casey, 6, and Aidan, 4.

    Donations can be made to the Michael Ryan Children's College Fund, PO Box 5041, Hauppauge, NY, 11788.
    No One Knows Everything. Only Together May We Find The Truth JG


  7. #417
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    Millstone businessman supports 9/11 workers
    Peter Grandich urges community to help sick, dying responders

    http://examiner.gmnews.com/news/2007..._Page/018.html

    12/6/2007

    MILLSTONE - Around the holidays, it's not unusual for people to get the urge to give to a worthy cause.

    When Millstone's Peter Grandich took a few moments this holiday season to reflect on all he has been blessed with, he, too, felt the desire to help others who are less fortunate.

    During his search to find a cause he could dedicate himself to, Grandich came across a group of people who gave of themselves to help others only to face sickness and death as a result - the Sept. 11, 2001, World Trade Center first responders. Grandich learned of their plight from the Long Island-based FealGood Foundation, and immediately wanted to help.

    "It's an American tragedy that has gripped my heart," Grandich said. "Of the 40,000 people who responded to Ground Zero after the attacks, 70 percent, or 33,000, are sick or dying as a result of their service."

    He continued, "We are talking about thousands of EMTs [Emergency Medical Technicians], EMS [Emergency Medical Service] workers, police, fire, military, construction workers and volunteers from all over the country who now suffer from breathing and lung ailments, post-traumatic stress disorder, organ failure and other horrific physical and mental illnesses."

    Grandich pointed out that many of these first responders can no longer work, cannot pay medical bills, and are at risk of losing everything at a time when their primary concern should be staying alive.

    John Feal, founder of the FealGood Foundation, said, "These people risked their lives without prejudice. There is no money in the world that is going to save their lives, but we can give them a little compassion and respect. We give them a safety and support system and give them hope."

    Feal is a 9/11 first responder. He is one of the many injured at what he calls "The Pile." Feal has had to have his foot amputated and underwent months and months of therapy to recover from the ordeal. Like many 9/11 responders, he also suffers from breathing ailments as a result of his work at the site and can no longer work. Yet, in 2005, he started the FealGood Foundation to help those who are so much worse off than he is.

    Although he may no longer be able to work a job, Feal has made it his daily duty to help other survivors and advocate on their behalf. He even donated a kidney to another first responder - a man he had never met - whose kidneys failed because of his 9/11 service.

    "In 2001, on Sept. 11, everybody was patriotic and everybody wanted to help," Feal said. "You don't need a plane to hit a building to be compassionate."

    Grandich, the founder of Trinity Financial, Sports and Entertainment Management in Wall Township, has committed to putting his efforts and resources behind Feal's group.

    "As an American and a native New Yorker, I'm extremely upset that the true heroes of America's greatest single tragedy are being totally discarded and left to literally die," Grandich said. "And, despite this truly appalling occurrence, not one of them has been known to say if they had to do it all over again, they wouldn't. That's beyond any call of duty and deserving of every American's immediate attention and help."

    Grandich has made a donation to the organization and has also spent the past several weeks recruiting friends and business associates to join him, including several bigname athletes who are on his company's advisory board.

    "Trinity Financial has two separate divisions - one that assists the average American and one to serve the unique needs of professional athletes," he said. "So, we have been blessed to have many athletes associated with the firm, and each of those men is happy to help the FealGood Foundation in whatever ways they can."

    Joe Klecko, a former New York Jet, fourtime member of the "New York Sack Exchange," and only defensive National Football League player to go to the Pro Bowl in three different positions, said that people usually look up to football players and call them heroes.

    "We're not heroes," he said. "The real heroes are the men and women who spent months sifting through the rubble to find survivors and victims. The real heroes are the police and fire and military who put their lives on the line for our safety every day. We owe them a debt of gratitude and I am happy to lend my name to the effort."

    Another member of Grandich's advisory board who has pledged to support FealGood is two-time Super Bowl winning New York Giant Lee Rouson.

    "Helping others was a major focus from day one at Trinity Financial," said Rouson, who co-founded the company with Grandich.

    He continued, "The Bible tells us in John 15:13-14 'Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.' The 9/11 responders have done so and are deserving of our government and its people to help them now for helping us in our time of need."

    Grandich said he hopes stirring up support for Feal's nonprofit will convince more people to step forward for the 9/11 responders with donations of money, Christmas toys, pro bono services, and organ donations.

    "They helped America without even questioning if it was in their best interest," Grandich said. "Now it's time for America to help them."

    Those who would like to help the Feal- Good Foundation can send donations to FealGood Foundation, 144 Shenandoah Blvd., Nesconset, NY 11767.

    To learn more about the organization, visit www.FealGoodFoundation.com.

    For more information, contact Peter Grandich at (732) 642-3992 or e-mail him through his Web site at www.TrinityFSEM. com.
    No One Knows Everything. Only Together May We Find The Truth JG


  8. #418
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    Businessman set to walk length of Cape Cod for 9/11 charity fund

    http://www.bostonherald.com/news/reg...icleid=1049808



    By Eva Wolchover
    Monday, December 10, 2007 - Updated 1h ago

    Snowstorms and icy blasts won’t keep one big-hearted businessman from completing his “Winter Walk for Charity.”

    On Dec. 18 and 19, Jeffrey Liskov, 37, of Plymouth, a vice president at Fidelity Investments, will walk 100 miles, from Provincetown to Plymouth Rock, in hopes of raising at least $2,500 for the Feal Good Foundation - a nonprofit charity founded in 2005 to aid sick or injured 9/11 rescue workers.

    “I’m doing the charity walk to raise awareness of a situation that is happening to 9/11 first-responders,” Liskov said.

    The foundation “sends out checks to them to help put food on the table, to pay rent if need be, and pays medical bills,” he said.

    This year the organization has made 91 donations to 9/11 rescuers.

    He may be joined by the Feal Good Foundation founder. John Feal, 41, of New York, was the supervisor of a demolition company when he responded to Ground Zero on Sept. 12, 2001. He was hospitalized for 11 weeks after a beam weighing several tons fell on his feet.

    Realizing that thousands like him also suffer from illnesses and injuries as a result of their 9/11 rescue work, Feal founded his organization to help supplement governement aid to the nearly 40,000 rescue workers.
    No One Knows Everything. Only Together May We Find The Truth JG


  9. #419
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    Ex-Giant George Martin takes 9/11 walk

    http://www.nydailynews.com/news/us_w..._911_walk.html

    BY OWEN MORITZ
    DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
    Monday, December 10th 2007, 4:00 AM

    Former Giant George Martin at the beginning of his 3,200-mile 'Journey for 9/11' on the George Washington Bridge last September. Albans/News

    Former Giant George Martin at the beginning of his 3,200-mile 'Journey for 9/11' on the George Washington Bridge last September.

    Ex-Giant lineman George Martin is tackling some unexpected danger in the back hills of Virginia and Tennessee on his coast-to-coast walk to raise millions for ailing 9/11 first responders: Dogs - and lots of them.

    The Giants' retired co-captain said he came across "an inherent canine danger" as he approached the Tennessee border.

    "Dogs are everywhere, and apparently leash laws here are as scarce as dental coverage," he joked.

    No number of vicious dogs will deter him from his goal of raising $10 million for 9/11 heroic first responders, however.

    "There are thousands of true national heroes of 9/11 who are now suffering medically," he said. "And I believe we owe them our support for helping our nation survive and heal after such a horrific tragedy."

    Martin, 54, is walking up to 30 miles a day on his 3,200-mile journey. The trip began in September at the George Washington Bridge and will end at the Golden Gate Bridge by early March.

    And while Martin says most of the locals along the way treat him kindly, some at first look at the 6-foot-5, 260-pound former defensive end with suspicion.

    "Despite the pleasant warnings that we might be viewed as an oddity in this region of the country," Martin said, "we have actually grown accustomed to being stared at by the locals as though we were escapees from Roswell's Area 51."

    He estimates his walk has raised $1.5 million so far. The figures are promised to be matched by medical institutions and corporate supporters.

    Martin's route can be tracked online at www.ajourneyfor911.info.
    No One Knows Everything. Only Together May We Find The Truth JG


  10. #420
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    Congress seeks more treatment for 9/11 workers in spending bill

    http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wi...0,318599.story

    By DEVLIN BARRETT | Associated Press Writer
    1:49 PM EST, December 10, 2007

    WASHINGTON - Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and New York area lawmakers have added $109 million in health care for sick ground zero workers as part of a massive spending bill that faces an uncertain future in a budget standoff between Democrats and the White House.

    The money for treatment of ground zero workers _ double the amount provided in an earlier emergency spending bill _ was wrapped into a $500-billion-plus spending bill being finalized by the Democratic Congress, one that the White House has already threatened to veto.

    As a senator, Clinton has pushed for years for the government to provide a long-term health care program for those sickened from their work at the toxic World Trade Center debris pile following the 2001 terrorist attacks. As a presidential candidate, she has highlighted her work on the issue.

    "Today's announcement marks another step toward addressing those enduring wounds," Clinton said in a statement.

    The new spending was pushed by lawmakers from New York and New Jersey.
    No One Knows Everything. Only Together May We Find The Truth JG


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