WeAreChange.org

Former C.I.A., F.B.I., members of the House and Senate, a State Governor, Parliament Member, and others converge; with the people, with you, to discuss the fallacies of the official 9/11 report, and the post 9/11 world.

This year in NYC, whistle blowers from all levels of government agencies, politicians, filmmakers, activists & journalists will unite with hundreds of others to raise awareness to the plight of the 9/11 First Responders by holding a Charity conference over the course of 4 day.

The events of 9/11 changed all of our lives. From foreign and domestic policy to new security measures, America has not been the same since that fateful day. “Our Lives Post 9/11” is a four day conference where people will come together to share ideas, raise money and awareness and work toward a better future.

“Our Lives Post 9/11” will feature a lineup of speakers spanning from government officials, whistle blowers, political scholars, 9/11 family members, and more to discuss the criminal negligence of the American Government leading up to and following 9/11.

Speakers include Ray McGovern -former CIA analyst, George Galloway – British politician, Richard Gage – AE 9/11 Truth, Cindy Sheehan – Peace Activist, Cynthia McKinney – former U.S. Congresswoman, Annie Machon – former MI5 agent, Mike Gravel – former U.S Senator, and so many more!

Events start at 4pm on Thursday 9/9/2010 and continue through Sunday 9/12/2010.Everyday there will be street actions, speakers, networking and amazing moments shared by individuals who truly care for one another.

This is always a very emotional event for all those who attend. We hope you can join us to commemorate those who lost their lives on 9/11/01 and aid those who continue to suffer.

Tickets are $20 and can be purchased online. All profits from the conference will be donated to 911 Health Now, an official 501c3 organization dedicated to helping sick and dying 911 First Responders. This year’s fundraiser will be one of  the largest 9/11 anniversary fund drives to date – if you can’t make it to New York, we ask that you please donate online.

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 Michael McAuliff | NYDailyNews.com
 

President Obama’s budget office has withheld the money required to finish a pair of 9/11 studies on the health of people who responded to the terror attacks, the Daily News has learned.

The money was expected to be part of a funding package released last week by the Office of Management and Budget to keep 9/11 treatment programs going — cash that came just seven weeks before funding ran out, with providers fearing they might have to interrupt services.

But not included was support for a survey of responders on the Sept. 11 health registry, including thousands of people from all over the country, according to a letter obtained by the News.

Also missing is cash for a study to learn how severely exposure to the toxins of Ground Zero raised the risk of getting cancer — a question grimly highlighted Saturday by the cancer death of 42-year-old city Police Officer Robert Oswain. His relatives blame his 9/11 service.

In a letter to OMB head Peter Orszag, Reps. Carolyn Maloney and Jerry Nadler are demanding to know what’s causing the holdup.

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MARILYNN MARCHIONE | AP|Yahoo.com

Law enforcement officers who worked near ground zero after the World Trade Center attacks seem to show early signs of heart problems at a higher rate than would be expected for their age, a new study suggests.
Nearly half of about 1,200 law enforcement workers who went to Mount Sinai Medical Center’s program in New York to monitor medical effects from the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack showed some impaired heart function on ultrasound tests. The study was released Saturday at an American College of Cardiology conference.

“This is the first study to suggest a potential link between exposure to ground zero and early preclinical heart abnormalities,” said Dr. Lori Croft, who led the work. Inhaling dust particles that can cause lung and heart disease may be to blame, she said.

The finding has many caveats. Researchers did not verify workers’ presence at the site, and they do not know how many may have had pre-existing heart problems. Nor is there any comparison to other New Yorkers, or to police in other urban areas exposed to pollution and similar job stress.
“This could be an occupational find, or I might even have this problem because I live in New York City,” Croft said.

Sicker workers also are more likely to seek testing than others who feel fine, making the portion found to have heart problems seem bigger than it may really be. The study was funded by the Fraternal Order of Police, which has encouraged workers to get suspected health issues checked.
The exams were done from January 2008 through June 2009. The study was limited to workers 40 to 50 years old because heart problems become more common after 50, Croft said. Workers with high blood pressure or heart valve problems were not included.
Among the rest, 47 percent had some degree of diastolic dysfunction — meaning the main pumping chamber of the heart does not relax properly between beats, so the heart can’t fill with blood as it should. Only 7 percent of people in their 40s in the general population have this problem, Croft said.
“People that are 40 years old shouldn’t have diastolic dysfunction. It means something. I don’t know what it means,” she said.
Previous research tied exposure to dust at ground zero to lung problems, asthma and post-traumatic stress disorder.
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AP | WashingtonPost.com

– Here is a look at the 30 plaintiffs being considered for the first trials among the thousands who claim work at ground zero made them sick.

JOBS: 12 worked for the New York Police Department, eight for the Fire Department, three for Con Edison, two for the Port Authority police, one for the New York City Transit Authority, one for the Camden County Sheriff’s Department in New Jersey, one for the Cresskill Police Department in New Jersey and two in construction.

TIME AT GROUND ZERO: At least a dozen said they were there on 9/11. Others came later, spending between a day or two to many months at the site.

DEATHS: Firefighter Ray Hauber died of throat cancer in 2007 at age 47. Police Sgt. Michael O’Loughlin died of colon cancer in 2006 at 39. Con Ed worker Darren Mitchell, diagnosed with cancer, died in 2005 at 38.

BREATHING PROBLEMS: A majority complain of having symptoms similar to asthma, with recurrent wheezing, shortness of breath and sinus problems. Most didn’t report starting to feel sick until years after the attacks.

CANCER: Five say they got cancer from World Trade Center dust. Aside from Hauber, O’Loughlin and Mitchell, they include police officer Mindy Hersh, 49, diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005 and fellow NYPD officer Paul Gerasimczyk, age 50.

AGES: A majority are middle aged. Nearly half are over 50. Another third are in their 40s.

Michael McAuliff | NYDailyNews.com

Angry Sept. 11 responders say President Obama has offered sympathy but no support for their appeal to champion their cause in Congress.

A group of 9/11 widows and rescue workers recently wrote Obama, asking his help to pass a bill that would fund care for ailing responders over the next 30 years.

Obama wrote back Tuesday, the Daily News has learned, saying he understands their plight and values their heroism.

“The individuals suffering health ailments from Sept. 11 and its aftermath deserve proper medical attention,” the President wrote. “You served selflessly, and your concerns are of great importance to our country. I remain committed to supporting the heroes of Sept. 11.”

But he left out whether he’d get behind the bill.

“It’s a nice letter, and I will put it in my scrapbook,” said former construction worker John Feal, who lost half a foot at Ground Zero. “But it’s no more than a souvenir unless he supports that bill.”
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LooseChange911.com
theAveryFoundation.com

An FDNY veteran who worked tirelessly at Ground Zero and pushed for better health benefits for first responders died Sunday after a battle with cancer.

John McNamara, 44, spent 10 years with the FDNY and was diagnosed with colon cancer in the aftermath of his time at Ground Zero.

McNamara spent about 500 hours looking for his fallen brethren at the site where the World Trade Center once stood, and his plight was part of a documentary called “Save the Brave,” which chronicled the lives of ailing rescue workers.

McNamara, who was assigned to Ladder 123 in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, also joined the FDNY’s rescue mission to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.

He became ill in June 2006 and the cancer spread to his liver and stomach.

Though gravely ill, he spent his remaining years fighting for better testing and health benefits for firefighters who worked at Ground Zero.
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Karen Pallarito | CNN.com 

About 1 in 7, or 13.5 percent of adults who encountered intense dust clouds after the collapse of the World Trade Center on September 11 were later found to have asthma, compared with just 8.4 percent who had no dust cloud exposure, researchers in Atlanta and New York City reported on Tuesday.

Likewise, among various groups of people connected to the Twin Tower collapse, rescue and recovery workers were more likely to have a diagnosis of asthma (12.2 percent) than passers-by (8.4 percent).

The results are from a survey, conducted from November 2006 through December 2007, to assess the health status of more than 46,000 adults five to six years after the disaster.

That such a horrific event left lasting physical and emotional scars is, perhaps, no great surprise. Among adults with no prior diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), 23.8 percent have reported symptoms after September 11, and the prevalence of symptoms has increased over time, researchers reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

The mental health effects, which can be debilitating and often chronic, “seem to be the largest health problem coming out of 9/11” says Lorna Thorpe, Ph.D., the deputy commissioner of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Division of Epidemiology and one of the coauthors of the study. “But immediately after the 9/11 event, I don’t think there was a clear understanding of what the physical impacts would be.”

People in the vicinity of the collapse had “the potential to inhale huge amounts of particulate matter,” observes Joan Reibman, M.D., an associate professor of medicine and environmental medicine at the New York University School of Medicine and the director of the school’s Bellevue Asthma Center, who was not involved in the study. “We think that could act as a real irritant to the airways.”

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R8NY.com

Representatives Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), and Michael McMahon (D-NY) today applauded the
House passage of $70,723,000 in funding for the World Trade Center Health
Programs for Fiscal Year 2010.  The funding was included in the FY2010
Labor and Health and Human Services Appropriations Bill, which passed the House
today.  The lawmakers, along with Rep. Peter
King (R-NY), are sponsors of the  9/11 Health and
Compensation Act (H.R. 847), which would provide long-term,
comprehensive health care and compensation for those sickened or injured in the
aftermath of 9/11.

“The heroes and heroines of 9/11 deserve a helping hand from the
federal government –it’s the least we can do as a grateful
nation.  This $70 million in federal funding will keep the doors of 9/11
health clinics open until we pass comprehensive 9/11 health legislation,
hopefully by the eighth anniversary of the attacks,” said Rep.
Maloney.  “I thank President Obama and my colleagues in the House
for their continued support of the men and women who came to the aid of the
country after 9/11.”

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Stephanie Gaskell | NYPost.com 

Nearly 2,000 sick 9/11 first responders could be left without medical care while a New Jersey hospital battles with the federal government for more money, the Daily News has learned.

The Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences Institute at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in ., says it expects to run out of federal funding next month.

It has requested more money, but the Office of Management and Budget in Washington has disputed the hospital is broke.

“The promise is that the check’s in the mail,” said Dr. James Melius, of the New York State Laborers’ Health and Safety Fund. “But it’s been in the mail now for two months.”

A hospital spokesman confirmed that they’re waiting for more funding but said he’s hopeful the money will come in time.

An OMB spokesman didn’t immediately return a call for comment.

But for Charles Giles, a former EMT worker who responded to the World Trade Center attacks, every day without knowing how he will get the medical care he needs is terrifying.

Giles, who takes 28 medications a day, has been treated at the institute for respiratory problems for the past two and a half years.

He said hospital officials told him they were no longer taking appointments past July. “If this place closes, I’m screwed,” Giles, 41, told The News.

Michael McAuliff | NYDailyNews.com

Two busloads of Sept. 11 workers made what’s become an annual pilgrimage to Washington Tuesday, pleading for Congress to help the thousands of rescuers and responders left to battle 9/11-induced illness on their own.

About 80 former rescue workers and family appealed at a hearing for lawmakers to reopen the Sept. 11 Victims’ Compensation Fund to aide some 11,000 people who have gotten ill since the fund closed in 2005 from their work at Ground Zero, and have since sued the city and contractors.

They got skepticism from some GOP lawmakers, but won support from the former boss of the expired compensation fund, Ken Feinberg, who said the massive effort should be restarted to end the expensive, time-consuming litigation.

“The only reason they’re litigating is because the 9/11 fund compensated their brethren, but could not compensate them before it expired,” said Feinberg. “They would have met all the criteria and they would have been compensated.”

Legislation sponsored by Manhattan Reps. Carolyn Maloney and Jerrold Nadler, who chaired the Judiciary subcommittee hearing, would reopen the fund for 22 years, allowing people with slower developing ailments like cancer to be compensated for sacrificing themselves on Sept. 11, 2001.
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House.gov

Reps. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Peter King (R-NY), and Michael McMahon (D-NY) today hailed the House passage of the Fiscal Year 2009 Omnibus Appropriations Act (H.R. 1105), which contains $70 million in new funding for federal 9/11 health programs. The new funding, combined with $112 million carried over from previous years, will cover the World Trade Center Medical Monitoring and Treatment Program’s $182 million estimated cost for FY 2009.

“The $70 million in this bill will ensure that the heroes of 9/11 can get the care they need for another year,” Maloney said. “Once again, I thank Chairman David Obey for helping fulfill our nation’s moral responsibility to help those who are sick as a result of 9/11. With the support of President Obama and Speaker Pelosi, we hope to pass comprehensive legislation this year to provide long-term care and compensation to 9/11 responders, lower Manhattan residents, and others in need.”

“With $70 million now approved in the Appropriations bill, the WTC Centers of Excellence are guaranteed full funding for the rest of the year,” said Rep. Nadler. “$182 million in federal funding for the WTC health program will ensure that we can continue, without interruption, to monitor and treat first responders and community members living with 9/11-related illnesses. Thanks again to Congressman Obey for making sure this program will continue.”
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Don’t forget to call your Congressmen and tell them you support the James Zadroga Bill.

Fealgood Foundation President and Founder John Feal makes an appeal on behalf of 9/11 First Responders and Recovery Workers sick after toxic exposures at Ground Zero. He is joined byTheresa Quibell, widow of Responder Greg Quibell, and Glen Klein, NYPD Detective (retired).

9/11 Health Bill Reintroduced in Congress

See Draft Letter HERE.

See Draft Phone Conversation HERE.

Today, Reps. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Peter King (R-NY), and Michael McMahon (D-NY) reintroduced bipartisan legislation to address the health crisis caused by the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. H.R. 847, the 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, would provide medical monitoring and treatment for those exposed to toxins released by the collapse of the World Trade Center towers. The bill would also provide compensation for economic losses due to illnesses or injuries caused by the attacks.

The previous version of the bill was set to be considered by the House last fall but because of the financial crisis and other factors, it had to be delayed. The Members of Congress are hopeful that the bill will have strong bipartisan support when it is voted on by the House in the coming months. In addition, during his presidential campaign President Barack Obama signaled his strong support for helping the heroes and heroines of 9/11.

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Wisconsin State Journal   

Officials with Logistics Health Inc. on Monday blamed the federal government for delays in implementing a program to provide health care for responders to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
Company officials, including former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson, responded angrily Monday to a Wisconsin State Journal story that raised questions about Logistics Health’s performance on an $11 million one-year contract with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), an agency that Thompson once headed.

The story quoted critics as saying that reimbursement for health-care costs and regular medical monitoring for more than 4,000 people enrolled in the program had lagged for months after the La Crosse-based company began handling the contract in July. Thompson, who is president of LHI, and other company officials had declined to talk about the contract before the story was published. It calls for LHI to provide health care and regular health monitoring exams to ailing 9/11 responders who live outside the New York City area.
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A total auditorium capacity crowd of 42,000 at London’s Excel Centre listened to 9/11 Survivor, William Rodriguez, during the international two-day Global Peace & Unity Event , organized and sponsored by the Islam Channel. This was William Rodriguez’s third appearance at the GPU event . During his visit to UK he made appearances in National Media and held meetings for activists and celebrities.

William Rodriguez is currently in the UK, and is doing some media along the way. This was broadcast on Tuesday the 21st of October, 2008.