The Freedom Tower

In Cuba the press, including the Washington Post, report that a former driver for Osama bin Laden was sentenced by a military jury Thursday to 5 1/2 years in prison for supporting terrorism, a far shorter term than demanded by government prosecutors. The judge gave Salim Ahmed Hamdan credit for five years and one month of his pretrial incarceration at Guantanamo Bay, making him eligible for release from custody in five months, the Post reports.

“The sentence was a stunning rebuke to prosecutors who had insisted on a prison term of at least 30 years and portrayed Hamdan throughout the trial as a hardened al-Qaeda warrior. The jury of six military officers convicted him Wednesday of supporting al-Qaeda by driving and guarding bin Laden and ferrying weapons for the terror group, but he was acquitted of terror conspiracy.”

The world first became fully aware of Osama bin Laden 10 years ago today, The National Reports. On August 7, 1998 simultaneous car bombs exploded at the US embassies in Tanzania and Kenya killing hundreds, a report in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) newspaper says. “Responsibility for the atrocities was claimed by bin Laden and his al Qa’eda organization. The attacks were supposedly a protest against the presence of US troops in Saudi Arabia following the first Gulf War, and Israel’s suppression of Palestinians with American collusion. It was precisely the type of notoriety bin Laden was looking for, having declared war on the US two years prior.
Al Qa’eda had been responsible for several other attacks meant to punish or terrorise the US, including the 1993 lorry bombing of the World Trade Center, and two attacks on American targets in Saudi Arabia in 1995 and 1996. But the death toll and the spectacular nature of the embassy bombings put bin Laden on the front page of every newspaper in the world.

The group’s efforts continued with several more spectacles of carnage. In 2000 the USS Cole, a US destroyer, was targeted off the coast of Yemen. Seventeen soldiers and sailors were killed. And on September 11, 2001 the world was again rocked when three passenger airliners were flown into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, killing thousands. The next day George Bush appeared before the US Congress and declared war on terror — the war that bin Laden had been looking for.
Much has happened in the first 10 years of this war, so much so that it can be hard now to recall the sense of security that prevailed in the mid-1990s, the Cold War having ended at the beginning of the decade. Real wars have taken place in Afghanistan and Iraq. The Taliban and Saddam Hussein have both been overthrown. Terrorist bombs have killed hundreds in Bali, Madrid and London – and even more in Iraq.”
Read the entire story by going to www.thenational.ae

Kevin M. Delano, a firefighter who worked to find survivors of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center, has died of leukemia, according to Zachary Dowdy newsday.com.

The Long Island, New York newspaper says the “former Howard Beach, Queens, resident was 54 and died July 30. As a member of Ladder 142 in Ozone Park, Queens, Delano was one of the first people to arrive at the rubble of Ground Zero after the skyscrapers crumbled.

He worked at the site for more than 40 hours straight. He had hoped to find any survivors, but especially sought his close friend, Ray York, of Howard Beach, who was killed.

Delano was retired from the Fire Department of New York and had served as chief of the West Hamilton Beach Volunteer Fire Department in Queens. He also had worked as a transit police officer and a member of the Coast Guard.

In 1980, he married Roseann Pannhorst in Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church in Howard Beach. Four years later, the couple had a son, Kevin. All the while, Delano balanced his duties as a firefighter, husband and father, often referred to by relatives as the rock of the family.

After retiring from the fire department in 2003 because of health conditions, Delano moved to Blakeslee, Pa., in the Poconos, where he played golf regularly, took up fishing and relaxed. He was later diagnosed with leukemia. His cancer was in remission for some time, then the disease reappeared and he received a bone-marrow transplant.

His doctor said he likely got leukemia because of burning benzene at the World Trade Center site, his wife said yesterday.”

One of the things learned from the Twin Towers disaster was giving first responders communications systems that do not fail.

Verizon Business has introduced a new service designed to enable police, fire and other public safety personnel to communicate directly with one another by radio, phone or e-mail during an emergency — even if they are using incompatible communications systems.

The service, Verizon Communications Interoperability Solution, is an Internet protocol (IP)-based platform that integrates radio as well as voice, data and wireless networks so that they can operate as a single network, thus enabling better communications among diverse federal, state and local public safety organizations.

This service helps remedy a long-standing problem that public safety and federal regulatory officials have been attempting to resolve. The issue was highlighted during the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center, when New York City’s police and fire departments could not communicate with each other during the rescue efforts because their radios operated on different frequencies.

[Note: An audio podcast discussing Verizon Communications Interoperability Solution is available at http://www.podtech.net/home/5315/verizon-business-leverages-ip-to-link-first- responders-during-times-of-crisis (Due to length of URL, please copy and paste into web browser).]

“The ability to effectively communicate during crisis situations is critical, especially given today’s legacy patchwork of first-responder communications systems,” said Nancy Gofus, senior vice president and chief marketing officer, Verizon Business. “Verizon Communications Interoperability Solution is a powerful tool that underscores how Verizon Business continues to bring innovation through IP.”

The state of West Virginia has signed up to use the new service, which is now available throughout the U.S. and is also well-suited for business customers with large campuses or widespread facilities, such as universities and manufacturing plants.

“Under the leadership of Gov. Joe Manchin, West Virginia has made emergency communications a top priority,” said Jimmy Gianato, director of the West Virginia Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. “Verizon Communications Interoperability Solution solves a long-standing critical need and will be instrumental in enabling our agencies to better communicate with other critical first responders during times of crisis and, in the process, help save lives and protect property.”

The Verizon Business interoperability service works this way:

Police and fire departments, emergency medical services and other public safety organizations identified by a government entity as primary points of contact during a crisis each set aside a channel on their radio systems. When activated, the service — using routers, interfaces and other equipment placed at the customer’s premises — links up all of the set-aside channels and converts them into IP. This enables all of the participating public safety organizations to communicate directly with one another, regardless of radio frequencies or other communications platforms.

The service can also link wireline and wireless voice calls and e-mail and text messages to the interoperable communications system. In addition, the service can be programmed to use prearranged phone numbers and radio frequencies to automatically alert public safety organizations when there is a crisis. Additional numbers can also be added easily during times of crisis.

Verizon Business’ Private IP service is the ideal foundation for this solution as it supports the required features — quality of service (QoS) and IP multicasting. QoS enables customers to prioritize traffic, and IP multicasting is a network-based service that helps conserve bandwidth by replicating data and sending it to pre-determined users. In addition, the Verizon Communication Interoperability Solution can be deployed over any IP network as long as minimum technical requirements are met.

Before the interoperability platform is deployed, Verizon Business professional services experts work with the customer and conduct an IP network readiness assessment to determine the ability of existing infrastructure to support the new service. The offering is cost effective because it leverages existing infrastructure.

Verizon Communications Interoperability Solution, the latest addition to Verizon Business’ emergency communications portfolio, is a customer premises equipment-based service that employs Cisco’s IP Interoperability and Communications System portfolio of devices and applications. Verizon Business is the first North American service provider to offer this Cisco-based platform.

In 2009, Verizon Business plans to introduce managed and hosted versions of this solution, which will offer public safety agencies greater choice and flexibility.

“Utilizing the transformative power of IP, Cisco and Verizon Business are changing the way first responders communicate and share information during times of crisis,” said Bill Stuntz, vice president and general manager of Cisco’s physical security business unit. “Using IP as the foundation to deliver truly interoperable communications, Verizon Communications Interoperability Solution combines the strength of Verizon Business’ IP network and professional services capabilities with the flexibility and scalability of Cisco IP Interoperability and Communication System.”

Serving the unique requirements of federal, state and local government public safety agencies, Verizon Business offers a comprehensive portfolio of specialized networking, call center, and data storage and processing capabilities to help homeland security, fire, police and medical response teams effectively respond to emergencies.

During the seven years since 9/11 there hasn’t been a successful terrorist attack within the United States, the Christian Science Monitor reports.
And Al Qaeda, the terrorist organization responsible for the downing of the World Trade Center, has been pushed back in Iraq where it continues to lose support,” The newspaper reports
“But the core of Al Qaeda continues to thrive, according to security analysts, who note it has increased the number of attacks worldwide since 9/11 as well as its geographic reach.
Those facts have led to two starkly different assessments of where the United States stands in its fight against terror – as well as sharp disagreement on the strategy needed as the country goes forward.
Last week the RAND Corp. sparked renewed debate about the nation’s strategy when it released a report done for the Defense Department that concluded that the so-called “war on terror” has so far failed to significantly undermine Al Qaeda’s capabilities. It suggested it was time for “fundamentally rethinking post-Sept. 11 US counterterrorism strategy.”
A top recommendation is to replace the phrase “war on terror” with the more low-key term counterterrorism.
“Terrorists should be p erceived and described as criminals, not holy warriors, and our analysis suggests that there is no battlefield solution to terrorism,” says Seth Jones, the study’s lead author. “With the growing number of attacks and an expansive reach, one could argue [Al Qaeda] is even growing stronger.”
That assessment prompted derision among some conservative security analysts who contend the “war on terror” is being waged successfully and should continue as is.”

Sept. 11 victims’ families will be allowed to return to the site of the World Trade Center to mourn their loved ones on the seventh anniversary of the terrorist attacks, officials told the AP and other media.

The AP said decision was a relief for family members who had been told last year they could not go back to the site while rebuilding continued. Many tearfully touched the ground at the base of the destroyed towers last Sept. 11, believing it would be their last chance for years to visit the ground where their loved ones died.

But officials with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which owns the site, told victims’ relatives at a meeting Friday that they could pay their respects at the site this September. The Port Authority said last month that every construction project at the site was behind schedule, and the agency is revising rebuilding estimates.

“They are going to open it to bedrock, which is great,” said Monica Iken, whose husband, Michael, was killed at the trade center. “We need a place to go. People need to grieve.”

The city, which organizes the anniversary ceremony, confirmed it would allow family members to go back to the site. Once again, the main ceremony will be held at a park just southeast of ground zero.

“Like last year, we’ll lead the nation in a day of remembrance that includes a ceremony at Zuccotti Park and access to the lower level for family members,” said Stu Loeser, spokesman for Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Midwest Airlines pilot Gerald Earwood was flying about 100 miles west of New York when he first noticed what seemed like wisps of smoke coming off the World Trade Center, according to a story in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinal.
“Roughly 15 minutes later, Earwood and co-pilot Eric Fjelstad were frantically maneuvering their DC-9 jet to avoid colliding with United Airlines Flight 175, the second airplane to hit the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. Their work, following orders from air traffic controllers, saved the lives of about 30 passengers and five crew members of Midwest Flight 7.

A minute or so later, United 175 - which also came close to colliding with other planes that morning - struck the south tower of the World Trade Center.

A collision between United 175, flying out of Boston, and the Midwest jet, flying from Milwaukee to New York’s LaGuardia Airport, “would have changed history,” Earwood said in an interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, his first newspaper interview about the incident.

“Yeah, I’ve thought about it numerous times,” Earwood said. “But I never knew, and to this day I still don’t know, how close we came.”

The near collision is among several stories told in the new book, “Touching History: The Untold Story of the Drama that Unfolded in the Skies Over America on 9/11,” by Lynn Spencer. The book, published by Simon & Schuster, tells how airline pilots, air traffic controllers and military pilots reacted to the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon.

Spencer, a commercial pilot and Milwaukee-area native, interviewed controllers, Federal Aviation Administration officials, military pilots and civilian pilots, including Earwood.

The story of Midwest Flight 7 is among the most compelling in the book, which also features one other story of a Midwest jet that was diverted from Newark, N.J., to Pittsburgh during the chaos of that morning.”

An historic breakthrough in concrete production is taking hold at construction sites all over Manhattan.
The iCrete(TM) System offers record strength as well as dramatic environmental benefits and cost efficiencies when used in all major construction applications, including commercial, residential, and infrastructure projects.
Prestige high-rise projects.
The iCrete System has already been chosen for a variety of Manhattan’s most prestigious high-rise projects, including the Freedom Tower, designed by architects Daniel Libeskind and David Childs.

It still seems like yesterday. I worked the Local Desk for United Press International when the police wire announced there was a man walking across a wire between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center. It was a bulletin that was heard around the world. The man was Philippe Petit, a tight rope walker. A new film called ‘Man on Wire” about those days in the 1970s when Petit made his now famous walk is out and the New York Sun calls the film an “upside-down documentary. But, the newspaper says the film is so riveting in its setup and exposition that the climax arrives almost as an afterthought. The man of the title — the famed French tightrope walker Philippe Petit — is ultimately less interesting than the drama surrounding his wire, a tightrope strung between the newly completed World Trade Center towers in August 1974. And rather than tease the audience through to a rousing finale, the director, James Marsh (”Wisconsin Death Trip”), seems to embrace the pure drama of the concept — the methodical, grueling, and illegal preparations that went into making Mr. Petit’s artistic daydream a reality.

NO TURNING BACK Philippe Petit halfway between Tower I and Tower II on August 7, 1974.
Much like the documentary “The Gates,” which made its premiere at last year’s Tribeca Film Festival and captured not only the magic of an orange-clad Central Park but the daunting year-by-year fight that pitted artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude against their critics in a very public political brawl, “Man on Wire” matches the spectacle with the behind-the-scenes struggle. Just as New York City was initially hesitant to put up all those orange panels, so was the security at the World Trade Center unlikely to grant Mr. Petit approval to ascend the structures and walk between them without a safety net. So he tackled that problem in inspired fashion: He didn’t bother asking for permission.”
Those were the days. Petit was fined by a New York judge with a sense of humor and he sentenced the Frenchman to come back to the city a few months later and entertain New Yorkers with his dare-devil antics… so he walked his tightrope once again in Central Park to the thrill of thousands of cheering New Yorkers who, like me, had become Petit.

While there has been much ballyhooing over delays in the reconstruction of the World Trade Center, The Downtown Express says there has been progress.
“Far below street level, towering white arches form a tunnel that will one day shepherd commuters beneath the World Trade Center site,” the website says.

The arches mark a passage that will connect Santiago Calatrava’s W.T.C. PATH station to the World Financial Center. They are the first piece of his design to take shape inside the World Trade Center site, and they recall the white wings he designed to rise above the PATH station.

The steady progression of arches crossing the site from West St. toward Church St. is just one project of many on the 16-acres of construction. Nearly a month after the Port Authority announced that the new World Trade Center is millions over budget and years behind schedule, work pushes forward on many, but not all of the layered and interconnected projects that will eventually deliver five skyscrapers, a train station,a memorial, a museum and a performing arts center.

On Monday, the bathtub for Towers 3 and 4 was filled with Silverstein’s construction equipment, but while some work was going on at Tower 4, very little was happening at Tower 3. An official said he had seen almost no progress at Tower 3 over the past several months. Silverstein received a six-month extension on Tower 3 to redesign it for Merrill Lynch, but those talks reportedly fell through earlier this month. A Silverstein spokesperson declined to comment.

The biggest rush is in the northeast corner of the site, where Tower 2 will rise. The Port Authority is excavating that site and was supposed to turn it over to Silverstein Properties by July 1, but the Port missed the deadline. For 16 to 20 hours a day, giant jackhammers called “hoe rams” pound into the bedrock, breaking it into smaller chunks that bulldozers cart away, clearing space for the foundation of the tower.

The Port is paying Silverstein $300,000 for each day the site is late. By the end of July, the Port will owe Silverstein Properties $9.3 million. If the delay stretches to the end of August, that number will double to $18.6 million.”