First Responders – Like Veterans – Are Hypocritically Used and Abused to Promote the War Agenda of the Super Elite

Politicians constantly urge us to never forget the victims of 9/11.

Yet the EPA lied to the heroic first responders and told them that the dust at Ground Zero was safe, when it was actually laced with a witches brew of cancer-causing chemicals which are now crippling or killing them off.

And now Congress is slashing medical care to the first responders. As Michael McAuliff notes:

Lawmakers [turned their backs on the first responders] in the budget sequester legislation Congress passed last summer to try and cut the deficit.

The sequester set up automatic budget cuts of some $1.2 trillion over 10 years, and legislators were careful to spare veterans from most of those, recognizing their sacrifices in the war on terror. But apparently no one remembered to also exempt 9/11 responders and others who first answered the call after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks that started that war.

And now the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act that President Barack Obama signed on Jan. 2, 2011, faces $38-million worth of cuts in 2013 alone if the sequester is not avoided, and could lose something approaching $300 million over the current planned life of the program.

On this episode of Breaking the Set, Abby talks about yet another "apparent suicide" in Guantanamo prison, dryboarding, and how the only way to ever leave is in a body-bag. Abby interviews former CIA Officer Ray McGovern about CIA intelligence failures leading up to 9/11, the presidential daily briefings, and the PNAC neocon strategy for war. Abby Martin then talks to Afghan journalist and author of "Opium Wars" Fariba Nawa about the opium trade, opium brides, and the heroin black market. 11 years after the 9/11. Finally, Abby breaks down the systematic erosion of our civil liberties through legislation passed in a post 9/11 America.

LIKE Breaking The Set @ http://fb.me/BreakingTheSet

FOLLOW Abby Martin @ http://twitter.com/AbbyMartin

By Susan Edelman - New York Post - March 11th, 2012

You’re dumped!

The law firm that reaped more than $200 million in fees and expenses in the city’s court settlement with 10,000 Ground Zero workers now says it won’t represent those filing compensation claims under the federal Zadroga Act because rules forbid them to further bill the same clients, The Post has learned.

“By preventing us to be paid for our overhead and services, it essentially precludes us from representing the interests of our litigation clients” in the new Victim Compensation Fund, says a letter from Worby Groner Edelman & Napoli Bern.

John Feal, an advocate for 9/11 responders, called it “disturbing and appalling” that the firm had repeatedly led clients to believe it would represent them.

“This firm made over $200 million from the mass tort — you would think there would be a moral obligation to represent those sick and dying under Zadroga pro bono,” he said.

Nothing in the Zadroga law prevents the firm from keeping the clients. But lawyers who already collected a 25 percent fee in the $680 million city settlement cannot charge the same clients any more. Other lawyers can charge a 10 percent fee.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/25/tj-gilmartin-denied-parad_n_123...

TJ Gilmartin Denied Parade Honoring 9/11 First Responders

First Posted: 01/25/2012 5:04 pm Updated: 01/25/2012 5:04 pm

The city has denied a request from a disabled Ground Zero worker to organize a ticker-tape parade honoring 9/11 first responders.

51-year old TJ Gilmartin from Queens said that despite filing all the necessary paperwork and receiving support from community members, the city's lack of financial resources ultimately killed his chance at a permit.

Gilmartin went even further to say that first responders have never been properly thanked:

When everybody 10 years ago were running out of Manhattan, including probably most of the politicians, we went in and nobody has ever said thank you. I don't know what kind of game is being played, I'm sure police want the parade. It's called the 'Canyon of Heroes;' they've called us all heroes, so why can't we walk down that 'Canyon' just like the Giants are going to do.

Project Censored hosts a tenth anniversary 9/11 show on KPFA. The segment features news & analysis by Abby Martin of Media Roots and guest interviews by Professor of Globalization Studies Anthony Hall and Kathy McGrade, Engineer from Architects and Engineers of 9/11 Truth.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_SEPT_11_HEALTH?SITE=AP&SECTION...

Never once mentions the word asbestos. A very cleanly worded article about a very dirty subject. Winston Smith (1984) could not have performed better.

But have a look at this map dated 9/24/01 showing asbestos exceedence.

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

NPR reports that the official death toll from 9/11 has been raised by 1, bringing the number to 2,753. The addition to the number of people who were murdered without a proper investigation on 9/11 came from a Manhattan worker, who inhaled the initial dust cloud (like thousands of other people) of the destroyed World Trade Center.

Last year, it was reported that upwards of 900 people had already died from 9/11 related illnesses. NY 1 reported last year:

Rodriguez, of Lindenhurst, L.I., the mother of two young boys, is among nearly 900 first responders to have died from an array of ailments traced to their service at the smoldering World Trade Center.

The clean-up of the WTC site was a disaster in many ways: From hasty removal of crime scene evidence to lies from the EPA and other agencies. Here is a clip from a report at World for 9/11 Truth:

Nearly 100,000 first responders have been exposed to toxic elements such as Asbestos and were not instructed to wear any special equipment to avoid medical problems. In fact, as demonstrated in the shocking documentary Dust to Dust: the Health Effects of 9/11, the EPA and the U.S. Government told them the air was safe to breathe.

Here is the full story from NPR:

On this week's "9/11 In Context" show, which airs Thursday, February 17, at 3pm ET, Prof. Graeme MacQueen will return to continue the discussion of his superb research. Topics on this week's show will include the eyewitness testimony of first responders about explosions in the Twin Towers and WTC7 before the buildings disintegrated, foreknowledge of the destruction of WTC7, the seismic signals associated with the building disintegrations, and the importance of 9/11 truth for the antiwar movement. Prof. MacQueen is founder of the Centre for Peace Studies at McMaster University in Canada.

Listen live at:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/resistanceradio

or listen to the mp3 which is available at the same link right after the broadcast.

Click "Play" or click on "Download" under the show title ("Graeme MacQueen ...").

A page of links to videos of presentations and key articles by Graeme MacQueen is posted at the Resistance Radio forum show page, at http://www.resistradio.com/forum/4-show-links/299-graeme-macqueen-on-for...

Don't miss the show! It is sure to be worthwhile.

"This is a time for reflection, not retribution." - Barack Obama, 2009

Obama is no hero. Only after so many wrongs could the recently passed 9/11 Health legislation seem right.

The following is from Think Progress:

Last night, the Daily Show’s Jon Stewart skewered Republicans for killing deficit neutral legislation to provide health care to the 9/11 first responders and emergency workers who suffered illnesses from working at Ground Zero. He also mocked the celebrity-obsessed media that has completely ignored the story. Republicans, like Sen. John Thune (R-SD), filibustered the bill because they said tax cuts for the richest 2 percent were a higher priority for Congress. While Republicans quietly snuffed out efforts to compensate 9/11 heroes, they were aided by a quiet lobbying campaign by the powerful lobbying front — the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/12/chamber-commerce-lobbied-kill-911-res...

By Nathan Diebenow
Saturday, December 18th, 2010

The US Chamber of Commerce lobbied to kill a bill that would have helped cover medical expenses and compensation for first responders and survivors of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, according to documents available online.

The Chamber's aim was to keep open a tax loophole benefiting foreign corporations that the $7.4 billion bill would have closed to provide funding for the American emergency workers.

In a letter opposing the 9/11 bill, R. Bruce Josten, the Chamber's executive vice president for Government Affairs, cautioned that closing the tax loophole would harm US trade relationships and financial markets.

Daily Show: 9/11 First Responders React to the Senate Filibuster - Thursday December 16, 2010
9/11 first responders watch as Mitch McConnell cries over a friend's retirement, and Jon Kyl explains why the Senate can't work the week after Christmas.

http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-december-16-2010/9-11-first-respon...

Most 9/11 responders settle suit over toxic dust: More than 10,000 ground zero workers involved in legal deal

NEW YORK — More than 10,000 workers exposed to the tons of toxic dust that blanketed ground zero after the World Trade Center fell have ended their bruising legal fight with New York City and joined a settlement worth at least $625 million, officials said Friday.

The deal will resolve an overwhelming majority of the lawsuits over the city's failure to provide protective equipment to the army of construction workers, police officers and firefighters who spent months clearing and sifting rubble after Sept. 11.

Among the thousands who sued, claiming that soot at the site got into their lungs and made them sick, more than 95 percent eligible for the settlement agreed to take the offer. Only 520 said no or failed to respond.

City officials and lawyers for the workers said they welcomed a resolution to a case that had pitted New York and a long list of demolition companies against the very men and women who helped lower Manhattan recover.

"This settlement is a fair and just resolution of these claims, protecting those who came to the aid of this City when we needed it most," Mayor Michael Bloomberg said in a statement.

Source: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2010/11/16/2010-11-16_nypd_lays_to_r...

NYPD lays to rest one of its 9/11 heroes; PBA head Lynch says we must help first responders

By Phil Corso and Corky Siemaszko
Daily News Writers

Farriella for NewsCops carry the casket of fellow officer David Mahmound into St Francis De Sales
Church in Patchogue, Long Island Tuesday. He died from a vicious form of cancer after helping at Ground Zero.

from the NY DAILY NEWS today, Nov 11, 2010
________________________________________________________________

As death toll of 9/11 responders nears 1,000, pols want autopsy standards to pinpoint causes

WASHINGTON - The staggering death toll for Ground Zero responders has soared past 916 - and still no one knows what really killed them.

Now, nine years after the terror attacks, doctors and some New York lawmakers are urging the federal Department of Health and Human Services to draft autopsy protocols to pinpoint 9/11-related fatalities, the Daily News has learned.

Astonishingly, there are no written standards to help doctors diagnose post-9/11 deaths, leaving a void that's wreaked enormous emotional pain and conflict on survivors.

"It was heart-wrenching," said Joe Zadroga, who watched his NYPD officer son, James, slowly deteriorate from scarred lungs until he died in 2007.

By Agence France-Presse
Sunday, November 7th, 2010
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/11/911-rescue-workers-vote-800-million-s...

Thousands of rescue workers sickened after the September 11 attacks in New York have until the end of Monday to accept a settlement that could near 800 million dollars.

A settlement on Friday saw a subgroup of workers compensated 28 million dollars for exposure to debris removed and transferred from Ground Zero to Staten Island by marine transportation company Weeks Marine.

But US District Court Judge Alvin Hellerstein said in a related order that the plaintiffs could only claim compensation for it if they backed the larger agreement for up to 712.5 million dollars.

That settlement with New York City was reached in June and requires approval from 95 percent of the plaintiffs by 11:59 pm (0459 GMT) on Monday in order to be validated.

The proposed funds would be used for payments to the roughly 10,000 firefighters, health workers, police and other emergency responders who sought legal remedy after falling ill from toxic dust and debris emanating from the destroyed World Trade Center nine years ago.

http://dprogram.net/911/video-911-wtc-lobby-analysis-video.html#more-46858

Video: 9/11 WTC Lobby Analysis Video

Posted by sakerfa on August 29th, 2010

Obama comes out in favor of 9/11 health bill

By Samuel Goldsmith and Richard Sisk
DAILY NEWS

WASHINGTON — In a breakthrough for first responders, President Obama broke his silence on the Zadroga bill Wednesday and backed the uphill drive to get the legislation through Congress.

DEADLINE: 9/11 First Responders Urged To Register For Compensations

by World911Truth.org

Weeks after its defeat in the House of Representatives, members of Congress are still vowing to bring the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act up for another vote this fall.

RT filmed this emotional footage of 9/11 first responders pouring their hearts out at a speech just blocks away from where the twin towers fell. The rally was in response to Congress defeating a federal bill that would have provided billions of dollars in health care for those sickened by toxins released by the collapse of the World Trade Center towers Sept. 11, 2001.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eZCeEVzYG8

http://fealgoodfoundation.com/

Many of us remember how John Stewart took on the financial industry after a not so well thought out burst of opinion by CNBC's Rick Santelli on the floor of the CME. It lead to many discussions around the water cooler and the MSM elite had to send out a veteran cronie in Jim Cramer to try and smooth things out before some real truths about our financial system surfaced to the public conscienceness. With any luck, John Stewart's amdonishment of our pathetic and spineless congress in not passing the Zigroda 9/11 First Responder Health Care Bill will have the same effect. Here it is in case you missed it.

Source: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405274870427180457540568033485920...

AUGUST 3, 2010

Bid to Revive 9/11 Care Bill

Lawmakers Try to Resolve Standoff

By DEVLIN BARNETT

WASHINGTON—New York lawmakers have begun discussing ways of rescuing a bill to provide health care for ill Ground Zero workers following its defeat on the House floor last week after a bitter battle.

The bill was voted down late Thursday night amid angry partisan finger-pointing, and now Democratic Rep. Carolyn Maloney and others have begun weighing options to make the bill more tolerable to factions on the right and left.

The bill sparked a nasty public fight between two New York lawmakers—Rep. Peter King, a Long Island Republican, and Rep. Anthony Weiner, a Queens Democrat—over the use of a parliamentary procedure to vote on the bill without amendments, requiring a two-thirds vote rather than a simple majority.

As the bill headed for defeat, Messrs. King and Weiner engaged in a furious shouting match on the House floor—not uncommon among lawmakers, but rarely seen between two from the same state who voted together on the bill in question.

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2010/08/01/2010-08-01_sick_911_respo...

BY Lore Croghan
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Sunday, August 1st 2010

Xanthos/News

Sick 9/11 responders protested lawmakers who failed to pass the Zadroga health care bill.

Sickened 9/11 responders vented their fury Sunday against lawmakers who failed to pass the Zadroga health care bill - and vowed to stage a massive protest rally in Washington when Congress returns from a six-week vacation.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100730/ap_on_re_us/us_attacks_health

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2010/07/28/2010-07-28_911_bill_...
BY Michael Mcauliff
DAILY NEWS WASHINGTON BUREAU
Wednesday, July 28th 2010

 

WASHINGTON - The House votes Wednesday or Thursday for the first time ever on a bill to care for the heroes and victims of Sept. 11, 2001 - and it's likely to fail.

That's because Democratic House leaders decided Tuesday to push ahead with the Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act under a rule that requires two-thirds approval to pass.

Many Republicans are concerned about the $10.5 billion price tag, and many don't like the way it's paid for.

News of the scheme immediately alarmed 9/11 responders.

"Whoever votes 'No' tomorrow should go to jail for manslaughter," said John Feal, who lost half his foot at Ground Zero in the cleanup.

MONTGOMERY - Police, firefighters and others soon will be compensated for injuries suffered from the World Trade Center destruction - following settlements determined by a local firm experienced in complex, emotionally charged personal injury cases.

Garretson Firm Resolution Group has been named by a federal judge in New York to administer the $712.5 million that the government will pay to more than 10,000 workers injured in rescue, recovery and debris removal efforts following the 9/11 terrorist attack.

The settlements will come after years of lawsuits against New York City and contractors, brought by workers who fell ill in the months and years following cleanup at the site.

"We're dealing with some profoundly injured people and working to bring them closure," says Matthew Garretson, president and founder of the firm. Some emergency responders can no longer work, are forced to take 15 medications and use breathing machines for regular treatment.

New Ground Zero Deal Gives Plaintiffs $712.5 Million

By A. G. SULZBERGER and MIREYA NAVARRO

Lawyers for the city and some 10,000 rescue and cleanup workers at ground zero said Thursday that they had negotiated a new settlement that would give the workers more compensation for health damages and reduce the fees paid to their lawyers.