PERSONAL NEWS #105
Back on August 16th I attended the annual E&Y FSO division one-day outing at Travers Island in eastern Westchester County. This was actually my first time in attending one of E&Ys summer outings. Since the company was providing free transportation I figured why not check it out. The weather that day was really nice, sunny and warm. Arrived at E&Y office in Times Square at 8:30am to take the bus up to Pelham and along the ride I chatted with Heather & Kathy. Discussion was mostly about fashion, celebrities and sites to visit in Washington DC. After arriving at the country club, which I remembered visiting in 1998 with another company [ie: CBRE], we partook of breakfast. Another bus load of employees showed up and throughout the day I hung out with Barbara, Stephanie, Michelle and Theresa. After noshing on Danish the assorted “games & events” commenced, which if one wanted to participate in you could and accumulate “raffle” tix. I only participated in one game, which had to do with golf, as I had some health issues regarding my neck/shoulder. I received a raffle tix for my brief participation and came damn close later on during the raffling for prizes. If Kurt had said 48 instead of 45, I’d now be the proud owner of a digital camera. Sadly, that wasn’t the case. Sigh! Barbara, Stephanie and I spent some time lounging under trees near the swimming pool. It’s nice to lounge and people watch for a spell. The food provided at lunch time was nicely done and such a good variety. Watching ones co-workers participate in such fun games as “chicken toss”, “tug-o-war”, “hoola hoops” and “egg toss” was so amusing. Everyone had lots of fun and laughs. Before heading off to the buses, those of us who didn’t win prizes received big yellow beach towels with the E&Y logo on it. Took a nap on the bus ride back to Manhattan, as all that sunshine and fresh air knocked me out.

Next day, August 17th, was the monthly NYC-DoP core team meeting. Those in attendance for this meeting were Joe, Dawn, Kevin, Liz, Carol, Karen, Priscilla and Eileen. The majority of discussion was on the steering/fundraising committees, upcoming dates for strategy meetings, further work on “100 Years of Nonviolence” project and new business. This group/organization/campaign is really terrific and made up of many talented individuals. Spreading the word of peace and truth is important to us. Having more join and contribute to our campaign here in NYC would be most wonderful. A peaceful world, not fear, is were it’s at and taking those first baby steps in the right direction by visiting our website at http://www.nyc-dop.com And as Gandhi said ... “be the change”.

On Saturday, August 19th, I headed up to Yonkers to do volunteer work at the ferret shelter. It has been 2 ½ months since my last visit to help Joanne’s shelter. This time around there was many new furkids at the shelter, which meant extra work in ferret hygiene. Many people just don’t realize how involved one must be in keeping a ferret, so they bring them to ferret shelters. So many wee ones need loving, forever homes to go to. If you’re interested in adopting a ferret or two, and you live in the NY/CT/NJ area, please contact Joanne via email at toomanyferrets@aol.com

Next day, August 20th, I went to see a new documentary called “THE TOXIC CLOUDS OF 9/11” A Johnson/Startzman film: Produced and Directed by Alison Johnson, (60min, 2006)

SPECIAL GUEST: Alison Johnson of the Chemical Sensitivity Foundation and affected New Yorkers interviewed in the film will be present for a post-screening discussion.

Brief Summary of the Film - Those of us who were living or working in and around the World Trade Center on 9/11 have a special reason to check out this important film and meet its producer and director. Deadly illnesses and other health problems that have arisen from the toxic aftermath of 9/11 are the focus of this powerful and disturbing new documentary film. Workers and residents exposed to the toxic fumes of 9/11 share their stories and associated health problems. Also interviewed are legal and health experts who claim the air in and around Ground Zero contained chemicals such as dioxin, mercury, asbestos, lead etc. causing otherwise healthy people to develop asthma, cancer and heart and lung problems. The film addresses the stakes involved and the roles played by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, politicians and commercial interests in misleading the public on the air quality in Lower Manhattan following the WTC attacks.

Duchess Comments on Film - The documentary was very powerful and moving, plus some of the people in the film spoke with the group afterwards. We were told that samples taken on or near the Twin Towers yielded huge amounts of contaminants; such as asbestos, fiberglass, mercury, lead, etc. Congressman Nadler was there and said that many of the buildings and apartments down there were never cleaned properly. They are still contaminated and will be for decades to come. The cost to have ones apartment properly inspected is $1,200 and to get it properly cleaned is $10,000+. Yep, you heard me, it’s that much. So what did the friggin city and government do? They brought in undocumented poorly paid workers to do the cleaning and didn't even provide them with proper gear. Thousands are ill today because of this, along with "first responders" to Twin Towers et al. We learned that the press and government are working to keep all this from New Yorkers and Americans. Doesn’t this sound familiar in regards Katrina victims?!? Bush & Co is the worst regime in modern history and quite frankly they are the biggest terrorist.

On Tuesday, August 22nd, I participated with other Tasini campaign volunteers outside Penn Station on 7th Avenue. Over the course of 75 minutes Chris, Al, Jeremy and I handed out 300+ flyers. It was a tough crowd, but we persevered and smiled through it all.


On Wednesday, August 23rd, I participated in another NYDoP Marketing/PR meeting at Norma's office. Those who attended the last meeting were also at this one. We are slowly making progress on setting up the Gandhi/Sept 11th event. I've been given the assignment of faxing the press release and media alert to a large list of contacts. This will take awhile to fax out all of them at work. Whew!



On Saturday, August 26th, I met up with Carol around 10am to distribute and post flyers around the Union Square area for the upcoming Gandhi/Sept 11th event at the Regal Cinema. The weather wasn't the greatest, but we made good progress amongst the smaller shops in the area. Many were very receptive and let us tape the flyers/posters on windows/doors. At the Farmers Market we ran into Democrat candidates Jonathan Tasini and Mark Green, who were both working the crowds. Carol, MaryJo [she joined us around 12 noon] and I engaged them in brief conversation on peace. Since I've been doing volunteer work for the Tasini campaign, I already knew Jonathan and introduced him to Carol & MaryJo. Back at my apartment I got things ready for my dinner/movie guests. Jackie and Becca came over around 5:30pm to dine and watch the extended version of LOTRs "Return of the King". I was wearing my new black LOTRs long sleeved t-shirt with the map of Middle Earth on the back. Showed them the 6 inch high Boromir figurine I had recently purchased online, as well as some of the goodies from the July ELF Convention. While noshing on quiche, salad and wine we watched the movie. Making our usual comments and observations. For dessert I served homemade chocolate chip cookies topped with ice cream and fudge sauce. A nice way to round out an enjoyable evening.

Tuesday, August 29th, was another NYDoP Marketing/PR meeting at Norma’s office. Those who attended the first were also at this meeting, plus we made further progress on the “100 Years of Nonviolence” event set for Sept 11th. We were informed that actresses from “Law & Order” and “Sopranos” would be attending as guests. That evening [6:30pm outside of Grand Central Station] I met up with Chris, Al, Jeremy and Timmy to hand out Tasini flyers for an hour. We did okay, tho this crowd was abit tougher than those outside of Penn Station the week before. The weather didn't help, as it was very cool and looked like it would rain soon.

BUMPER STICKER QUOTE OF THE DAY … DEMOCRATS ARE SEXY! WHOEVER HEARD OF A GOOD PIECE OF ELEPHANT?

IT'S PERSONAL
by Cindy Sheehan
http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0912-23.htm

LETTER FROM A FELLOW NYC KUCITIZEN [Linda in TX] SENT ON SEPT 11TH TO THE EDITOR AT OpEdNews

Dear Citizens of Planet Earth:

I am writing to you about the lack of investigative reporting concerning the 9-11 attacks. I would like to see the mainstream press contact the 9-11 Scholars for Truth at http://www.st911.org/

I would like to see the mainstream press ask questions about the physics of the 9-11 attacks on The World Trade Center. The PR surrounding jet fuel melting the steel of the WTC doesn't stand up to what we know about fire damage to other high rises. Look at the pictures of the tragic circumstances that Lebanon faces. Downtown Beirut has been bombed and yet the shelled out buildings still stand. The fires that burned at the WTC after the airplanes crashed on 9-11 emitted black smoke, indicating that the heat was not extreme enough to melt steel and certainly not the core of both of those buildings. What does the 9-11 Commission say about the physics of the core destruction of The World Trade Centers?

Being that the buildings were hit in two different areas, why did the buildings come down the exact same way and almost the exact same amount of collapse time? Why did the buildings begin to pulverize and eject pieces from the very top, when the airplanes did not crash into the very top of the buildings? American citizens have seen these photos and videos over and over and many American citizens are smart enough to ask these same questions. With intelligence, technology, multi agencies in charge of airliner security, how did FOUR airplanes loose control on 9-11? Why wasn't at least one of these airplanes shot down?

Over 100,000 people have died from U.S. weapons of Mass Destruction since 9-11. Al Qaeda threatens the well-being of "infidels". The Christian Right threatens that non-believers will burn in hell. The rhetoric of those we deem to be terrorists do not appear to be different from that of our own government, which maintains that we must kill and destroy every "terrorist" "over there".

Who benefits from the 9-11 attacks? If Osama designed the 9-11 attacks because of his grievances against the U.S. government, why are U.S. oil and defense contractors getting richer and richer since the "new Pearl Harbor"? None of these thoughts are my original thoughts alone. That is why the 9-11 Scholars for Truth came together to educate people who simply want to know the truth about 9-11. The truth is the people who have had the most to gain from the 9-11 attacks are some U.S. citizens running multinational oil and defense and security companies.
Thank you for considering my questions about the truth about what happened on 9-11.