General Commentary
Marie Cirile-Spagnuolo
Retired NYC Police Detective (most highly decorated female detective)
With
the impending one year anniversary approaching, the important thing is
to see that nothing like this ever happens to this country. We must
restore "respect" for Amercia in every corner of the world!! Every
"cop" and firefighter feels that this incident should never be
forgotten.
Kimberly M. Ashley
Partner Secretary, Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP
New York, NY
Like
many people, I was horrified to witness the events of September 11th. I
work 2 blocks from where the Twin Towers once stood in now what is the
tallest building downtown (One Chase Manhattan Plaza) on the 56th
Floor. With the utmost respect to those who lost their lives and the
families they left behind, it is becoming more and more obvious to me
that the majority of people would like to see the Twin Towers and its
surroundings rebuilt exactly the way they were. I am definitely one of
those people!! Those buildings were and are a part of my life. I woke
up in the morning looking at them through the window of my Staten
Island apartment. I enjoyed the incoming and outgoing view of them and
the rest of lower Manhattan as I took the Staten Island Ferry to work
and home. I took the M6 bus every morning and got off right in front of
the buildings. I glanced over at them throughout the work day,
everyday. They were such a part of my life and I'm missing them more
than I want to admit. I have beautiful pictures of them in my house
(pictures that I had before 9/11), but pictures are not enough anymore.
I want to see them rebuilt!! I was told about your website from a woman
who wrote a story in the NY Post about bringing back the Twin Towers. I
want to thank you. I am very happy that there is a movement out there
to get our beloved Twin Towers rebuilt. If there is anything that I can
do to contribute to this movement, please let me know. I hope to be
able to contribute to restoring the most beautiful skyline of the
greatest city in the World!!
Wilbert E. Clark III
Johnstown, PA
I'd
like to say that rebuilding the WTC to what it was before the attacks
is the all true American way to go. America was built on rebuilding and
improving. My hometown (Johnstown, PA) was rebuilt three times due to
natural flooding. In 1889, a dam broke which cost the city 2,209 lives
alone and 99 families were wiped out during that terrible day on May
31, 1889. Then Johnstown was struck again by flooding in 1936 and again
in 1977, we have our motto, and it should be America's motto, as well
as New York's:
"WE WILL REBUILD"
Sandra Pearson
New York, NY
Like
all New Yorkers, I grieve for the loss on 9/11 but I do not know why we
are being held hostage by the wishes of the family members. Tragic
death is a blow to anyone at any time, whether they lose their loved
one in a 2-seater or a jumbo jet. We can not erect a memorial on the
Atlantic Ocean near Moriches, off the coast of Martha's Vineyard or
everywhere else our loved ones have perished (Those other grieving
families have never been given the esteem and assistance offered to the
families of the victims of 9/11.). The grave we bury them in or the
memorial we create is a way of honoring them. The Towers are a part of
all of New York. They are not now owned by the families (and all the
way to the bedrock?????), no matter how painful the memory is. Their
blood spilled, did not purchase the ground. For fear of looking to be
insensitive, we are being controlled by a group that has their own
interest at heart, not the city that embraced them. We must rebuild.
The land is not owned by a few.
George F. Meierhofer
New York, NY
Do
any of our elected officials understand the economic and symbolic
necessity of rebuilding the WTC? Does anyone speak for all New Yorkers
rather than those few who insist on making downtown a necropolis?
The
"soaring memorial" on the future WTC cemetery will no doubt be some
uninspiring post-modern eyesore of a sculpture. While other nations
rebuilt from scratch their landmarks after war or tragedy, only we have
chosen to accept the destruction of ours. Meanwhile, cities like
Shanghai which aspire to be financial centers are still building
towering skyscrapers. Donít be surprised that the NYSE and others are
moving operations out of the city, since our ìleadersî wonít restore
downtownís buildings and vitality.
History will view the failure
to reconstruct the towers as the key event in the decline of New York
from the worldís most dynamic and resilient metropolis to one which,
like ancient Rome, became increasingly irrelevant.
JP Fereday
Aliso Viejo, CA
The
reason the twin towers were destroyed in the first place was because of
their symbol of representing freedom and democracy to the world (and)
to the enemies from the Arab/Islamic world with their infinite hatred
of America and its Judeo-Christian roots. The world's tallest twin
towers in Indonesia (an Islamic country), were not attacked because
these do not represent the same symbols to the world, but were only
constructed to out-build the United States.
To entertain any
other ideas that do not include restoring those majestic buildings, and
going even further and producing additional "wolrd class" 21st Century
architectural masterpieces, must be rejected by all New Yorkers and all
Americans alike. For the cost of not rebuilding (or rebuilding in a
timid/minimalist way), will be the continuation of the Islamic world's
quest to tear down our country.
Mark Masterman
Media Executive
Providence, RI
I
completely agree with the aim of Team Twin Towers. It heartening to
know that others in this country like me also want to see the towers go
back up. Time is on our side with this issue I believe. I feel that
support for the replacement of the towers should be able to generate
enough political will among Americans to actually come to pass. The
large scale rejection of the LMDC proposals are an early indicator of
this sentiment. Let's see what happens when the LMDC releases proposals
which include rebuilt towers.
Doreen Havlicek
Mt. Laurel, NJ
I
am writing in support of rebuilding the World Trade Center. I also
believe that not rebuilding shows we are afraid. I also believe the
survivors are being selfish in expecting so much property be donated to
a memorial. How can they expect a prime location in New York City not
be used to generate revenue.
Anyone who lives in the New York
area will never forget what happened on 9/11 nor the feelings
experienced on that awful day, but we need to go on. Not rebuilding the
towers will leave a hole in the skyline and will be a constant reminder
to what happened to the East Coast of the United States. I grew up in
NJ about 15 minutes outside the city, I have since moved and have no
desire to drive the past the Meadowlands since I can't see the Towers
in their majestic beauty. Having a memorial or a plaque on a new
building will have the same effect on anyone who stops at the site.
Well, I have said my piece and hope the majority of the people feel as I do.
Chaz Depaul
13 years old
Pennsylvnia
My
name is Chaz Depaul! I am 13 years old! i have always wanted to go on
the World trade Centers! My dad would never take me on them! I have
only been on the empire state building which is pretty small compared
to the WTC! Anyway i think that to keep peace in america and restore
the WTC the same size! but stonger so nothing else happens! I hate what
Afganistan did. Anyway, I hope for all of those who have suffered a
horrible death be in peace and I hope everything was the way it was
where the Twin Towers stood and all of the shops are built again
because Ii love NYC even though i live in boring Pennslvania! I like to
go down to New York with my family and have a great time!
Fred Warner
Insurance Sales
New York, NY
The
Dodgers left my hometown of Brooklyn in 1957 and I would eventually
leave as well in 1960. I never did forgive the Dodgers for leaving but
I knew deep down there were good reasons as they were attempting to
improve their ball club. As with me, I moved to Long Island to make a
better life for my family. An instrumental part of this better life was
focusing on my career in the stock market where I would work for 20
years. I worked all over lower Manhattan, 63 Wall Street, 61 Broadway,
2 Broadway; these addresses are commonly known to the industry. I
capped off my career in the stock market by working at a more famous
address, 5 World Trade Center.
I was very excited to be working
at the World Trade Center. What an incredible environment it was. I
spent a lot of time in the concourse, a concourse that was facilitated
like no other. I took many meetings and lunches in the restaurants and
coffee shops. I spent so much time in the concourse that I began to
recognize the same faces, "Joe" who ran the stationery store, "Max" at
the coffee shop, "Sam" at the newsstand. It was our own community. When
we ventured outside the complex for lunch, there were many watering
holes that were fixtures in the area. I remember this placed called
Kansas where they made hamburgers with red onion sauce that tasted like
no other hamburger I tasted. The Italian place, I can't remember the
name but the atmosphere was like family in the country in the midst of
the craziness of the stock market.
Obviously, there was one site
at the WTC that was unmatched, the Twin Towers. What an awesome sight.
You could see them from everywhere. When I first went to the
observation deck, it felt like I was on top of the world. The lobby of
2 WTC was a standard meeting point for me when I was getting together
with people. And what an amazing lobby it was. It gave me the
impression that this was the meeting place for the entire world with
all the nation's flags proudly hanging. While working there I often
thought to myself, what amazing buildings these are. Now I have my
memories and think what amazing buildings they were. They were such an
enormous symbol of New York and America. When they left us, a part of
me left as well. I'm hoping that one day I can look where the Twin
Towers stood and be as proud as I was when I was working there.
Joseph Carmona
Atlas Fitness Center; Owner
Ciales, Puerto Rico
I
don't understand how a country (USA) that is so technologically
advanced as we are and is still able to allow aircraft to get within a
dangerous distance to the island of Manhattan. If we are going to build
structures that become world landmarks and have our citizens working in
them, then I think we should equip ourselves to adequately protect them.
Marla Warner
Music Industry
Long Beach, NY
At
all times in my life, the World Trade Center and the Twin Towers has
always been there in one way or another. As children, my brother Randy
and I used to play our "Twin Towers game". Our parents would drive us
to visit our Grandparents in Queens. While on the Long Island
Expressway, we would look out and see the Twin Towers and guess which
side of the expressway they were really standing? Over and over again
we were fooled. At times I visited my Father as he worked on Wall
Street and myself, I worked at 20 Broad Street in the 80's. I often
walked the area with amazement. As I watched the Twin Towers burn, I
couldn't help but think back of the memorable times I had playing the
Twin Towers game with my brother and visiting my father's office. I
feel that rebuilding the Twin Towers would be an honor to those who
were murdered as we proudly show the terrorists what we stand for!
19.03.05
OLYMPIC TOWER (category: TWIN TOWERS TALK)
LOOKING UP TO AN OLYMPIC TOWER – AND REBUILT TWIN TOWERS
By Michael Koy
New York, the vertical city of soaring skyscrapers, known around the world for its magnificent skyline, is currently bidding for the 2012 Olympic Games. There are plans to build a stadium on the West Side as well as housing, hotels, and sporting venues in and around Manhattan. However, what the plans lack for this city of icons is a recognizable structure that would instantly associate New York and the Olympics, and there would be no more obvious icon than a new skyscraper--perhaps even the "tallest building in the world."
Ironically, there is such a structure in the offing, but it’s set to be built far from the center of proposed Olympic activity, in a place most deem inappropriate. If rebuilding officials have their way, the Freedom Tower will eventually preside over the World Trade Center site as an unpopular replacement for the Twin Towers that once rose majestically there.
The Freedom Tower, which some claim would be the tallest building in the world, will have 70 stories of occupiable space that would be quite suitable for housing Olympic athletes, hotel space, offices, retail stores, etc. Relocating it near the West Side stadium and changing its name to the Olympic Tower makes perfect sense, and it would free up the World Trade Center site for what really should be built there.
Here is an opportunity to restore the Twin Towers in a compromise solution that all parties can embrace. It's a win-win situation in which Gov. George Pataki can save face and still have his Freedom Tower, New Yorkers can get their Twin Towers back, and the city would have not one but two grand additions to its skyline. And if New York loses its Olympics bid, it would still have the "world's tallest building."
It is up to the mayoral candidates to set this process in motion with their individual or collective endorsement of: a) Rebuilding the Twin Towers; and b) building the world’s greatest Olympic Village. More importantly, it is up to the people of New York who want their Twin Towers back to set the candidates in motion, so I hereby call on all of you to bury these candidates in letters, faxes, phone calls and emails that make it crystal clear:
a) you WILL SUPPORT the mayoral candidate who calls for rebuilding the Twin Towers and moving their replacement to the Olympic Village; and
b) you absolutely positively WILL NOT SUPPORT the mayoral candidate who does not.
Send your letters, faxes, phone calls and emails to:
Mr. Charles Barron
250 Broadway
18th Floor
New York, NY 10007
Phone: 212-788-6957
Fax: 212-676-8595
Email: Email: barron@council.nyc.ny.us
Mr. Fernando Ferrer
14 East 38th Street
11th Floor
New York, NY 10016
Phone: 212-684-2005
Fax: 212-481-9505
Email: Info@Ferrer2005.com
Ms. C. Virginia Fields
Manhattan Borough President's Office
Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. State Office Building
163 West 125th Street, 5th Floor
New York, NY 10027
Phone: 212-531-1609
Phone: 212-678-4954
Fax: 212-678-4286
Email: bp@manhattanbp.org
Mr. Gifford Miller
132 Nassau Street
Suite 711
New York, NY 10038
Phone: 212-587-8087
Fax: 212-937-2230
Email: info@millerfornewyork.com
Mr. Thomas Ognibene 135 22nd Street, Room 906
New York, NY 10010 Phone: 212-802-2917 Fax: 212-802-5903 Email: thomas-ognibene@baruch.cuny.edu
Mr. Steve Shaw
320 7th Avenue #131
Brooklyn, NY 11215
Phone: 718-309-7429
Mr. Anthony Wiener
PO Box 1132
New York, NY 10159
Phone: 212-777-7755
Fax: 212-777-0810
Email: aweiner@anthonyweiner.com
It’s also important that key people know what you’re doing, so be sure to cc: the following individuals:
Governor George Pataki
State Capitol
Albany, NY 12224
Phone: 518-474-8390
Fax: 518-474-1513
Email: http://www.state.ny.us/governor/
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
14 Wall Street
New York, NY 10005
Phone: 212-298-9300
Fax: 212-298-9500
Email: mailto:somnewyork@som.com
Mr. Lawrence Silverstein
Silverstein Properties, Inc.
530 Fifth Ave., 18th Floor
New York, NY 10036
Phone: 212-490-0666
Fax: 212-302-6801
Email: http://www.silversteinproperties.com/
Mr. Anthony Coscia, Chairman
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
225 Park Ave. South, 15th Floor
New York, NY 10003
Phone: 212-435-4173
Fax: 212-435-4172
Email: http://www.panynj.gov/index.html
The Honorable Hillary Rodham Clinton
780 Third Avenue
Suite 2601
New York, NY 10017
Phone: 212-688-6262
Fax: 212-688-7444
Email: http://clinton.senate.gov/email_form.html
Now let’s get started!
Michael Koy
posted by Randy @ 11:38:33
27.02.05
Retired NYC Police Captain says it in a poem (category: TWIN TOWERS TALK)
LEST WE FORGET
THIS PLACE
This place, this graveyard, this holy ground
Where thousands of our beloved still linger.
Where echoes of the courageous deeds of oh so many
Fill the ether in silent applause Where hurried electromagnetic goodbyes Still dance on magnetic airwaves.
Where desperate leapers fell to earth
As their final prayers sped skyward to God.
This Place, This Place Where weeping mothers breathe deeply to absorb the ashes Returning the essence of lost sons and daughters to their bosoms.
Where cops and firefighters rushed up stairwells
While escaping survivors noticed only the beautiful blue and brown eyes Of these soon to be lost heroes.
Where good folks of all colors, of all religions, from countries near and far, all gave their full measure and prematurely found the light of eternity.
This Place, This Place So filled with anguish, with hurt, with holy ashes Where the cumulative love for all those lost that September morning demands that these evil acts, This naked wickedness has not, cannot and will Never be forgotten.
This Place.
posted by Randy @ 03:54:41
Dear President Bush... (category: TWIN TOWERS TALK)
Dear President Bush:
I know that you have so much on your mind, trying to
successfully prosecute the war against terrorism and bringing peace to the Middle East (THANK YOU for instinctively understanding Israel's need to defend itself and NOT trying to force them into suicidal concessions to the terrorists, and keep our economy's recovery going.
However, could you PLEASE URGENTLY advise Governor Pataki here in New York -- tell him privately, if you do not wish to embarrass the Governor -- that proceeding with the plans for the so-called "Freedom
Tower" to be built on the site of the destroyed World Trade Center is a DESECRATION of the memory of the 3,000 innocent Americans butchered there, at the Pentagon and in Pennsylvania on 9/11, since it represents a SURRENDER to Osama bin Laden. Groundbreaking for this weak, wimpish so-called "replacement" project is set for July 4 here in New York, so TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE!
Unless the Twin Towers are REBUILT AS THEY WERE (although obviously not on the exact footprints, which would be part of a memorial to our murdered martyrs), we will have let an Islamo Nazi terrorist
dictate to us what the skyline of America's greatest city will look like for the next century or so -- something we DID NOT let Adolph Hitler do,
nor Josef Stalin! Absolutely incredible -- and nauseating! It is obvious that this twisted monster LOATHED the Towers -- in an October, 2001 interview with Al Jazeera, he GLOATED and BOASTED that ""Those
awesome symbolic towers that speak of liberty, human rights, and humanity have been destroyed. They have gone up in smoke." Just as Al Quaeda presumed (successfully, as it turned out) to dictate to the
people of Spain what kind of government they would elect, by the "3/11" terrorist atrocity in Madrid, they have presumed to dictate to us "arrogant infidels" here in America, heart of the "Dar al Harb", what THEY THINK our city should look like.
As a conservative, I am normally reluctant to see the federal government step in to supersede local judgment and I am sure that you are as well. But in this case, this is more than just a local New York issue. The Towers were a graceful and powerful symbol of America as well, and their deliberate
destruction was bin Laden's sneering attack against all America -- and by extension, the whole Free World -- as well.
Despite public opinion surveys which have consistently shown that at least a majority of those polled, both here in New York and nationwide, would want to see those mighty towers restored, as a
POWERFUL message to bin Laden that WE WILL NOT ALLOW A MAN WHO WANTS TO DRAG THE WORLD BACK INTO THE 12TH CENTURY TO TELL US WHAT OUR CITY WILL LOOK LIKE, we were NEVER given this as an option in the two phony,
rigged "referendums" on proposed designs, each one worse than the next. We are trying to build democracy in Afghanistan and Iraq -- but were
denied it RIGHT HERE IN NEW YORK! The smug, arrogant elitists from the architecture and urban planning communities who foisted these monstrosities on us felt that THEY KNEW BETTER than we ignorant
plebeians what New York, America, and the world needs to be built on that site. The eventual "winning" design is a JOKE -- like a set from a
bad science-fiction movie. Despite the grand boasts from its supporters of this being "the tallest building in the world," in actuality, the top
40 stories will be a grotesque, skeletal empty shell!
Mr. President, when you came to New York after 9/11, you stood at Ground Zero and promised that "the people who knocked these buildings down would soon hear from us," the American people, and you have kept that promise by waging war on terrorism in Afghanistan and Iraq. But now, we risk sending the WRONG MESSAGE -- that we will allow ourselves
to be intimidated -- by NOT REBUILDING THE TOWERS AS THEY WERE!
I and many New Yorkers feel this way (attached to this e-mail please find the text of my recent letter to Governor Pataki on this, signed also by my wife and a neighbor), but our voices have so far BEEN
IGNORED. Your voice WOULD NOT BE IGNORED if you were to speak to the Governor, and to Mayor Bloomberg. Please be our champion on this important issue and urge the Governor and the Mayor to DO THE RIGHT
THING FOR NEW YORK, AMERICA AND THE FREE WORLD!
Respectfully yours,
Paul A. Deckelman
posted by Randy @ 03:50:33
Regan Macbannon on Democracy (category: TWIN TOWERS TALK)
It was once said, quite often that those who don't vote should not be heard, (probably because they had their chance at the voter's booth.
After 9/11 I am convinced that those who did not vote should be heard--to learn why we stayed home.
Before 9/11 I believed George Bush and Gorge Pataki cared about what people thought, Freedom, for all not just them, strength, courage, peace, the very essence the Twin Towers stood for. I have realized
otherwise. I have come to know them as the Twin Georges. When the North Tower was hit first Mr. Bush sat down and continued reading a children's story. Those seven minutes could have been used to save her
sister. Those seven minutes could have been used to summon help from as close as New Jersey. George Bush said that he "doesn't think about Osama Bin Laden."
How much is his family paying him not to think about
him? How much of that money is being shared with George Pataki who raises a lot of money for the Republican Party?
I have had quite enough of victims families using the election as a contest to announce themselves or their relation as "dying in the World Trade Center." as Ms. Faulkner did for one of George Bush's campaign commercials.
All the Twins wanted was the same thing we all want--to heal, to stand tall, and touch the face of God again. They were living symbols of peace, not a salute to terror, defeat, fear, and failure, and dirty politics.
I have had more than enough of people saying "those towers killed my son, daughter, husband, wife..." TERRORISTS killed them. The Twin Towers did not fail ANYONE. HUMANITY failed them. Humanity will fail
them again--if we let it. I am ashamed of this country because of people's complacency, as though we will let the Twins die once more. I will never let them go.
Liebeskind is no Yamasaki. Everything he is he owes to Minoru Yamasaki and the Twin Towers. September 11th was his coming out and Christmas Day. He celebrated 9/11.
Bombard Pataki's office, the media and anyone who will listen to you. DON'T LET THE TWINS DIE TWICE. It is time to move on. George Bush can build Iraq but he can't rebuild what an old family friend took away.
What does that say about us?
posted by Randy @ 03:45:25
Michael Koy on Berzon (category: TWIN TOWERS TALK)
Michael Koy, someone who was in New York on 9/11.
January 11, 2005
A Shocking and Disturbing Expose.
This book is an excellent, objective piece of journalism and will leave the reader shocked and disturbed at how thoroughly corrupt the World
Trade Center rebuilding process has been from day one. This is must reading for anyone who wants to understand why we are not getting our
magnificent Twin Towers back. Berzon meticulously covers all the developments leading up to the bizarre 'Freedom Tower' and the mediocre
memorial in a way that will touch and anger. For example, he discusses how the Ground Zero ashes have been left at the Fresh Kills Landfill, exposing how disgraceful and self-serving the rebuilding officials have been. After reading this book, one will never be able to look at the WTC site again without thinking about--in a state of disgust--what should be standing there instead.
posted by Randy @ 03:37:32
"But I Won't" (category: TWIN TOWERS TALK)
"But I Won't"
-Steven Eiselen
There is nothing I can say that was not already said.
I can spend an hour on the wrongs of Freedom Tower, but I won’t.
I can spend an hour talking about everything from its corrupt, unfair birth to its faults to its problems, but I wont.
I can spend an hour talking about the lawsuits and "genius fees", but I won’t.
I can spend an hour arguing about how it will not equal the greatness of the original Twins, and how it will never stand up to them, or properly replace them, but I won’t.
I can spend an hour discussing that it is not a proper memorial for 9/11, and how it will not bring closure to any victim of that day, especially the deceased Twin Towers, but I won’t.
I can list in the thousands those who hate it, but I won’t.
But I will say this; placing Freedom Tower in New York City will murder a New York legacy, more than the destruction of the original Twin Towers ever did. It will erase a once epic landmark. It will kill the World Trade Center site and its future. It will forever scar downtown, and forever place an imprint of inadequacy and embarrassment upon Manhattan. It will be an eyesore.
It is the duty of mankind to rebuild the Twin Towers. All they stood for, and all that happened as a result of their fall... No man or woman will ever deny someone their death-wish, especially if it is accomplishable. Tower One and Tower Two never got their dying wish, to appear again as reborn and reincarnated Twin Towers. For shame, New York... For shame! They stood up on that horrible day for as long as they could, and all they wanted was for us to stand up for them. Did we???
Here we have a chance. Upon the hallowed grounds of Ground Hero we can construct and set a decades-long precedent for the future of American and global skyscrapers / urban planning, just like the originals did in the 1970's. Upon this broken site we can repair, rebuild, and continue the legacy and grandeur of the Twins. The legacy, you ask?
They birthed new growth downtown (the World Financial Center stands on the foundation dirt of the Twins). They watched over their new downtown, like a Father and Mother their child. They greeted us with a warm hello each morning, watched over us each day, and lit up with the light of promise of a new tomorrow each night. They became a world symbol, with nearly every nation and human on the Earth knowing what it looked like and where it was. They were among the tallest and most prestigious buildings in the world. They asked nothing from us, and even took a beating in 1993. Now, all they want is for us to give them a new home, to remake them. Did we???
I can see the New Twin Towers. Their super-block plaza filled with gardens and parks; their crystal transit terminal building / substructure greeting the guests and workers; their underground facilities and entertainment no less popular than the whole of Times Square. I can see heroic statues of Firemen and Police, office workers turned good Samaritans and heroes, lining the parks and gardens. And yes, I can see the Towers. The undisputed tallest in the world, glowing with light each night, reflecting the sun each day, just like they used to. With a grand lobby and atrium, and a feeling of magic, wonder, power, strength, and inspiration inside. I can see a person driving along the Brooklyn Bridge look to the west and see two massive sentinels, keeping an eternal post over America. Can you?
I also see a few men and women, and myself, working hard to make that dream come true. We don't have much but a hope and a desire to see the Twin Towers rebuilt. We know the opposition is fierce, and that time is running up. But we keep on; we want our beloved WTC Twin Towers back; and we know the people of New York, the United States, and the world want them back as well.
...I can easily give up and "accept" Freedom Tower and "Limitations," but I won’t.
posted by Randy @ 03:29:43
07.09.04
OPEN LETTER TO THE PEOPLE OF NEW YORK (category: TWIN TOWERS TALK)
Three years have now passed since the Twin Towers fell, and while the pain that came with their fall still lingers, it’s time for New Yorkers to move beyond grief, recriminations, and provincial politics to face – and then act on – a simple reality: Rebuilding the Twins is the best way to a better world because 911 wasn’t about New York, or even America; it’s about the future of humanity and whether that future is bright or dark, and whether our children live free or die bloody.
What went down in dust and death must rise again in steel and hope because the Twin Towers were created and destroyed and should be rebuilt again for exactly the same reason: World trade means world peace and the Twins even in death are a towering symbol of man’s dedication to world peace through the freedom, cooperation and tolerance created by world trade.(1) The quicker they rise again, the better off the world will be.
Rebuild the Twins and we not only reaffirm our dedication to world peace, we commit the most profound possible act of counter-terrorism through peace not war. There are millions of people worldwide who know civilization must resist and prevail over barbarism, but they don't want to do it by being barbarians themselves – or supporting barbarian action like war. (New Yorkers are at the forefront of this group, by the way: witness the demonstrations during the Republican National Convention).
These millions of energized people right now have no constructive productive outlet for the civilized counter-terrorism they wish to practice; rebuilding the Twin Towers becomes for them – and the world – the civilized side of counter-terrorism that's tactically equal and strategically superior to shooting and bombing and killing; achieving world peace through world trade rather than worldwide slaughter.
Rebuilding the Twin Towers also underscores the difference between counter-and anti-terrorism. In a nutshell:
Counter-terrorism is what you do to prevent terrorists from even starting their attacks: On the barbarian side, you hunt down their leaders, you bomb their training camps, you invade countries that support them; on the civilized side, you build wells, schools and hospitals and create economic development and greater cooperation and understanding between cultures and peoples so that you eliminate the breeding grounds for terror, thus drying up the recruits even as you exterminate the ones already in action. Rebuilding the World Trade Center restores and reopens the world's pre-eminent symbol of peace, freedom, and human rights through trade and cooperation.
Anti-terrorism is what you do when the genie's already out of the bottle: You try to search every airline passenger, fortify all government buildings, search every shipping container that enters the country, spy on citizens, do wiretaps, etc etc… and have jet fighters to shoot down hijacked airliners if all else fails.
The principal difference? Counter-terrorism is way cheaper than anti-terrorism - it's the equivalent of the old saying "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." Another old saying is the political campaign saw that "a dollar early is worth ten dollars late." In this case, a million dollars of counter-terror action is worth a billion dollars of anti-terrorism. Or to put it another way: The estimated $15 billion it would take to rebuild, restore and reopen the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center is less than half of the Department of Homeland Security's 2004 budget - the vast majority of which is spent on anti-terrorism, not counter-terrorism.
Since the genie’s out of the bottle, we need both counter- and anti-terrorism to prevail over barbarism – and within counter-terrorism we need to employ both civilized and barbarian means. Right now, we have the barbarian part down, but we need more work on the civilized part. Rebuilding the Twins is a monumental step in the right direction.
Contrast all that with the tortured, Twisted Sister to the Statue of Liberty that celebrates confusion, chaos and cowardice. It’s built on fraud and lies and its cornerstone is a countertop with a typo that underscores how clueless New York’s leaders are about why the Twin Towers were attacked and why they must without delay be rebuilt the way they were only better.(2)
If New York’s leaders had even the most basic understanding of geopolitical reality, they would rebuild the Twins. Instead, Governor Pataki, Mayor Bloomberg, and their fellow provincials try to scam the world with a self-absorbed salute to America that’s so internationally ignorant and politically tone deaf they unveiled their countertop “cornerstone” on the 4th of July, no less!
The only redeeming feature of the Twisted Sister is how its still-phantom existence emphatically shows why rebuilding the Twin Towers is too important to be left to New Yorkers; they’re obviously not up to the job.
I’ll say it again. Rebuilding the Twins isn’t about New York: it’s not even about America; it’s about the future of the world and whether that future is dark or bright. The Twisted Sister doesn’t rise to that level and neither do those who oppose rebuilding the Twin Towers.
On an even more fundamental level, landmarks and symbols are rebuilt when they are destroyed because they transcend the physical materials of which they’re made. Just ask yourself what we would do if the Statue of Liberty were destroyed. Would we design something different and say it was the same thing? Would we make it a cemetery? Would we rush to make it a cargo ship terminal now that the space had been cleared? Or would we rebuild her and restore her?
And make no mistake: The Twin Towers were destroyed not because they were convenient tall buildings but precisely because they were the ultimate landmark symbols of world peace through world trade.
What’s most odd about this is how, when you look and listen around the city, the Twins remain everpresent in both heart and mind – and everybody seems to get it except Governor Pataki and Mayor Bloomberg that the Twin Towers should be rebuilt. Sure, some among the deified Families Of The Victims don’t want to be reminded of where their loved ones died, but they need to get past their grief and get out of the way.
Think about it. When al-Qaeda blew up the trains in Spain, the families of the dead didn’t demand that the tracks be re-routed around the blast sites and the “Railroad Tracks Site” turned into a memorial park so they wouldn’t be reminded of the place where their loved ones died. Almost everybody else wants the Twins to rise again – yet New York’s so-called leaders ignore not only the will of the People but geopolitical reality and common sense too.
I wonder why Rudolf Giuliani stood the other day on Ellis Island and said: “We ... can't stand here without looking behind us at and seeing the skyline of the greatest city in the world missing something that meant so much for us, those two towers” – but doesn’t seek to rebuild them. How can he stand silently by as the Twins are ignored and the Twisted Sister foisted upon us? Mr. Giuliani was a great leader on 911 but he has so far failed the ultimate test of 911 leadership; he did not and still does not insist, demand, and guarantee that the Twins will rise again.(3)
I also wonder why Mayor Bloomberg could demand that the Statue of Liberty must be reopened because it’s “a symbol of America. C'mon, let's stand up and have some guts… You can't let terrorists win” – yet he remains utterly clueless to the reality that rebuilding the Twin Towers would be somewhat more transcendent than letting kids walk up the stairs to Lady Liberty’s torch.(4)
And I wonder how Governor Pataki can try to convince the world that the Twisted Sister is really a legitimate successor to the Twins – and then keep a straight face when he said the other day alongside Mr. Giuliani: “If we look behind us, we see the magnificence of New York, but we remember what we don't see, those two towers that stood over the rest of this harbor.”(5)
And I really wonder why Peter Malkin and Donald Trump and the other big dogs aren’t pursuing the Art of the Deal in this most rarefied air of all: Whoever rebuilds the Twin Towers the way they were will go down in history as the greatest and most famous developer of all time. Period. Instead of David and Nelson, New Yorkers will call those towers Peter and Anthony or The Donalds and everybody knows it. So where are these guys? (Mr. Trump especially: It’s usually downright risky to get between Mr. Trump and a camera – and to his credit, he did in fact call the Twisted Sister “a monstrosity of garbled nonsense”(6) and “a skeleton…the last thing we need in New York.”(7) But then he does nothing about it, even though he’s one of the few people in the world who could actually make it happen. Whazzupwiddat?)
I wonder why Senator Kerry spoke so eloquently and correctly September 12, 2001, on the Senate floor of the need to immediately rebuild the Twins – but said no word about them since. Has he flip-flopped again or does he have some “nuanced” reason for not acting on his lofty rhetoric?(8)
I also wonder why President Bush stood so resolutely that day on the rubble of the Twins and said all the right things about going after the bad guys but not one word then or since about rebuilding the symbol the bad guys destroyed. Like Mr. Giuliani, President Bush has so far failed the ultimate test of 911 leadership; he did not and still does not insist, demand, and guarantee that the Twins will rise again, despite their tactical, strategic and unifying importance.
And finally, I wonder why the media remain silent about it all - and why they worry more about how the presidential candidates acted in a war 35 years past but not about how they’re acting on a pivotal issue of the war we're in now?
Every time I see images of the Twins, it reminds me of the way they were and why what went down in dust and death must go back up in steel and life – and it motivates me to say it over and over and over: It’s still not too late to change course and do the right thing because the Twin Towers are the ultimate symbol of world peace through world trade and a piece of our souls will be missing until they rise again.
– Robin Heid, executive coordinator, Team Twin Towers
Notes.
1. Both the creator and destroyer of the Twin Towers said remarkably similar things about them:
Minoru Yamasaki: “World trade means world peace and consequently the World Trade Center... had a bigger purpose than just to provide room for tenants. The World Trade Center is a living symbol of man's dedication to world peace...beyond the compelling need to make this a monument to world peace, the World Trade Center should, because of its importance, become a representation of man's belief in humanity, his need for individual dignity, his beliefs in the cooperation of men, and through cooperation, his ability to find greatness.”
Osama bin Laden: “Those awesome symbolic towers that speak of liberty, human rights, and humanity have been destroyed. They have gone up in smoke.”
(Howard Kurtz, "Interview Sheds Light on Bin Laden's Views," Washington Post, 7 February 2002, A12. Bin Laden gave this interview to Tayseer Alouni of the Arabic-language satellite television network al-Jazeera in October 2001.)
2. Here’s just one lie for you: The Twisted Sister will never be the world’s tallest building – even if its full height is accepted as truly a building. Go to
http://skyscraperpage.com/diagrams/?2063133 and check out the Burj Dubai; 2100 feet, scheduled for 2008 completion, a year before the scheduled completion of the Twisted Sister. So every single New York official who says it will be the world’s tallest “building” is either criminally uniformed or flat out lying. There are other buildings in the works that will also surpass the Twisted Sister’s alleged 1776 feet, either before or shortly after it’s completed. As for the “cornerstone;” the company that provided it was about to cut it up for Home Depot countertops. No kidding. And they left the comma off “2001” in the inscription. No kidding.
3. Newsday, August 30, 2004. By Glenn Thrush.
4. “Bloomberg blasts Statue of Liberty closing,” CNN, April 6, 2004.
5. Newsday, August 30, 2004, by Glenn Thrush.
6. Bloomberg News, September 12, 2003.
7. CNN, “Larry King Live,” February 27, 2004.
8. “And I believe one of the first things we should commit to - with federal help that underscores our nation's purpose – is to rebuild the towers of the World Trade Center and show the world we are not afraid - we are defiant.
“To those who might say why create another target, the answer is simple: There is no shortage of targets in the United States: There is a White House - There is a Capital and countless other tall buildings. This is not a question of targets. It is a question of strength and our national resolve to stand up and show our strength. That is the best monument we could build to those who died yesterday.”
– Remarks delivered on the US Senate Floor on September 12, 2001. Excerpted from "Kerry: "We Must Build a New World Trade Center -- and Build American Resolve for A New War On Terrorism.”
About the author:
A lifelong westerner, Robin grew up in Colorado and was a US Army paratrooper before earning degrees in journalism and political science and starting a communications career. During the mid-1980s, he wrote counter-terrorism commentaries and CT-related book reviews for the Rand Corporation-based Terrorism, Violence and Insurgency Report. One of those review-commentaries focused on the world’s worst pre-911 terrorist attack: The June 1985 bombing of Air India Flight 182 by Sikh terrorists that killed 352 people. His key conclusion and recommendation: a) airline reservation network had enough information to prevent the attack had the system been only marginally "smarter;" and b) it wouldn't take much to make it smarter so "it would be crazy" not to do it.
But it didn’t get done and, 15 years later, Robin woke up to smoking rubble piles where once had stood the world’s pre-eminent symbol of peace and freedom. Since then he’s thought that what went down in dust and death must go back up in steel and hope, and he’s committed a large part of his time toward seeing the Twins rise again, principally because it would be a profound act of counter-terrorism through peace not war.
When not working on rebuilding the Twin Towers, Robin splits time between Colorado and California with his media and marketing company, Eagle Dancer Images, and adding to his total of 3,000+ parachute jumps, including several from Malaysia’s Petronas Twin Towers.
posted by Randy @ 21:49:57
25.08.04
Andy Martin letter to Steve Cuozzo (category: TWIN TOWERS TALK)
July 6, 2004
Steve-
I enjoy all of your columns immensely and I enjoyed your comments on Sunday ("Freedom Rising"). There is nothing wrong with your supporting the alternative vision to rebuilding.
But the Post's coverage of pro-rebuilders, calling them a lunatic fringe, was uncalled for. Maybe an apology is in order? From someone at the Post? (Not necessarily you.)
Rebuilding the Twin Towers has always tested well in impartial surveys. It is an option. And it is by no means clear that the dog-and-pony show we witnessed Sunday is anything more than a photo-op.
Many people abhor the current plan for the pseudo-Freedom Tower. It is better than an empty hole in the ground, but not by much.
In any event, why demonize people and link legitimate protesters with people advocating hate such as homophobia and the like?
The group which had official permission to be there was as legitimate as white bread (I was a speaker). We certainly did not demonize the opposition. Citing Bernard Goetz as though he was a leader was over the top.
It was a very shabby journalistic effort.
Keep up the good work in your own columns. I think we can always disagree--agreeably.
By the way, why hasn't anyone suggested--again as an alternative, and without being called a "lunatic" by the Post--a mixed use building, such as Time Warner, with offices and condos? This might alleviate the financial squeeze. Part of the investment would be taken out by selling the top floors.
It is simply not true that people won't live on high floors. Trump is building a whopper in Chicago. Making the WTC a mixed use, with officers, condos, etc., would satisfy a lot of conflicting constituencies (and could be done within the concept of the old Twin Towers, yes).
Andy Martin
New York, NY
posted by Randy @ 02:13:22
23.08.04
Thoughts on George & Mike (category: TWIN TOWERS TALK)
Apparently, neither the Governor of New York nor the Mayor of NYC get it;
no sane person wants that horrific abomination known as the "Freedom
Tower" to come to fruition, it's simply a perverted fantasy coming out of
the demented mind of Daniel Libeskind and his "fellow-travelers" at the
LMDC. When are they going to get serious about actually rebuilding the
Twin Towers; bigger and better I would hope for?
Burt R. Weissman
Bellflower, CA
posted by Randy @ 14:59:53
Joseph J. Pallante A.I.A. (category: TWIN TOWERS TALK)
I am an architect based in Hoboken, NJ and wanted to send my compliments to your team for your design. I have been saying since the attack happened, “We must rebuild them. If we do not, the terrorists will have succeeded in altering our skyline forever.” I am happy that some of my colleagues have designed what I have felt.
This should not have been turned into a re-planning and redesign event, but a way to improve the safety of the existing towers. Good luck and I hope that I see your design come to fruition.
Joseph J. Pallante A.I.A.
Pallante Design
Architecture & Interiors
posted by Randy @ 12:30:54
15.08.04
8/9/04 - NY Newsday (category: TWIN TOWERS TALK)
The decision by bureaucrats to deny access to the Statue of Liberty's crown shows the same cowardice that is being displayed on a grander scale at the World Trade Center site. The so-called Freedom Tower, a 70-story monument to fear, would proclaim to the world loudly and clearly--like Lady Liberty's roped-off spiral staircase--that our leaders are afraid to let us reach for heights we once took for granted.
We Americans should demand the freedom and liberty to boldly defy the terrorists by doing what we did before, whether it's working in twin 110-story office towers or climbing to the top of one of our most cherished symbols. There is no more peaceful way than that to show our strength.
Michael Koy
New Brunswick, NJ
posted by Randy @ 17:30:05
03.08.04
911 COMMISSION REPORTSUPPORTS REBUILDING LOGIC (category: TWIN TOWERS TALK)
The 911 Commission Report talks in detail about the twin needs to counter terrorism both on the battlefield and in the civilized world, which is what we've been saying all along - with the embodiment of that effort lying in the rebuilding of the Twin Towers as the most profound act of counterterrorism through peace not war. And while the 911 Commission does not come right out and say "We should rebuild the Twins," check out the following recommendation from the Report:
"Paragraph #1866 (on page 378)
“Recommendation: A comprehensive U.S. strategy to counter terrorism should include economic policies that encourage development, more open societies, and opportunities for people to improve the lives of their families and to enhance prospects for their children’s future. Turning a National Strategy into a Coalition Strategy Practically every aspect of U.S. counterterrorism strategy relies on international cooperation."
See what we mean? World trade will accomplish all of this because, as Minoru Yamasaki said when he built the Twins,”world trade means world peace and consequently the World Trade Center buildings in New York... had a bigger purpose than just to provide room for tenants. The World Trade Center is a living symbol of man's dedication to world peace...beyond the compelling need to make this a monument to world peace, the World Trade Center should, because of its importance, become a representation of man's belief in humanity, his need for individual dignity, his beliefs in the cooperation of men, and through cooperation, his ability to find greatness."
Thus does the 911 Commission tacitly recommend rebuilding the Twins, because rebuilding the Twin Towers will reinforce world trade and "world trade means world peace..." World trade means world peace and if we aren't smart enough to rebuild the pre-eminent symbol of world peace, then we deserve whatever we get.
The 911 families who pushed for the 911 Commission did the world a great service and we at Team Twin Towers thank and honor them for that effort. Now, however, it's time for the next step: The families need to now re-direct their energy and focus to the next logical step in the process: Rebuilding the Twin Towers.
Go Team!
-- Robin Heid and Randy Warner
posted by Randy @ 19:56:07
Twin Towers Talk (category: TWIN TOWERS TALK)
Hello Team!
Welcome to Twin Towers Talk. This feature was created to serve as a sounding off point for our Team. This will be a forum where we can post commentaries, respond to articles, announcements, events, phony ground breakings, etc. This forum will be led by our very own Robin Heid.
Robin is both a board member and the Executive Coordinator of Team Twin Towers, Inc. He has degrees in both journalism and political science. Robin is a Counter-Terrorism expert having written commentaries for various newspapers and magazines. He also wrote counter-terrorism book reviews for the Rand Corporation based "Terrorism, Violence and Insurgency Report." One of those review-commentaries focused on the world’s worst pre-9/11 terrorist attack: The June 1985 bombing of Air India Flight 182 by Sikh terrorists that killed 352 people. His key conclusion and recommendation: a) there was enough information in the airline reservation network to prevent the attack had the system been only marginally "smarter;" and b) it wouldn't take much to make it smarter and "it would be crazy" not to do it.
Precautions were not taken and some 15 years later, Robin woke up to smoking rubble piles where once had stood the world’s pre-eminent symbol of peace and freedom – the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center. Since then he’s thought that what went up in smoke must go back up in steel, and he’s committed a large part of his time toward rebuilding the World Trade Center, principally because it would be a profound act of counter-terrorism through peace not war. We look forward to Robin's commentaries.
If you didn’t hear it the first time, TTT along with the WTCRM & All One All Free, had successful press conference-rallies on July 4th in both New York City at the WTC site and in Los Angeles. The average person on the street showed a lot of support and enthusiasm. The press showed up and listened to our campaign. With the 3rd anniversary of 9/11 approaching, we’d like to announce it here first:
We will be in force again in New York City to speak out on the inability of New York’s leadership to do the right thing – rebuild the Twin Towers! Plans are under way to make this the biggest and most exciting event we’ve ever had. See you there!
It’s also appropriate to acknowledge all of our supporters over the past three years that we’ve been campaigning for rebuilt Towers. Our website is going through some exciting changes that we will soon see; which will include a tribute page to all the people who have ever supported our campaign for they are the life blood of the organization whether they know it or not. Words can never express how we appreciate their support.
So come on New York, America, and the World community! It’s time to get out there again and show the powers that be who are really in charge – the PEOPLE!
Randy Warner
President
posted by Randy @ 00:39:49
