California to New York - Firefighters Cycle to 9/11 Anniversary

Kent native Adam Loeser, left, now a firefighter in California, is part of the "Ride for 9-11" group of firefighters who are cycling cross-country to New York City to honor the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Ten firefighters are riding from the southern California area to honor the 343 firefighters killed in the attacks at Ground Zero. The riders left July 24 and plan to arrive in New York City on Sept. 9 — with stops along the way across the country, including in Loeser's hometown of Kent, OH. Courtesy Adam Loeser Photos (1)
Among the firefighters riding 3,300 miles cross country under the "Ride for 9-11" banner is 1992 Theodore Roosevelt High School graduate Adam Loeser, who has been coordinating his hometown stop with Kent firefighter Brock Murphy.

"They were originally talking about staying in Akron, but since Adam is a Roosevelt grad from Kent he was instrumental in getting them to stay the night in Kent," Murphy said. "So we talked to our fire chief, and he OK’d us to have them spend the night at the station.”

Loeser, who now works as a firefighter at station one in Fullerton, CA, said six of the firefighters are on the road full-time. He rode the first 500 miles the first week and will join the team to ride the last 1,100 miles into New York City.

"The biggest point … is just that it’s a group of firefighters that are honoring the 343 firefighters that died during 9-11, and to remember the people that have supported us and kind of taken up the torch of service personnel that are around the world and protect us on a day-to-day basis," Loeser said. "I’m excited that we’re able to go through Kent."

Loeser said two firefighters in Los Angeles County came up with the idea to ride to Ground Zero in New York a few years ago to honor the firefighters killed in the attacks. He joined the ride to represent firefighters from Orange County and south of Los Angeles County.

A support team is driving along — at a slow crawl — in a motorhome behind the cyclists, and a two-man film crew is shooting the trip for a documentary. All 10 riders from the southern California area serve as financiers, ride organizers, marketers, cooks, drivers and bicycle mechanics.

"It was a lot of different hats that all 10 of us have had to wear to learn a little bit about how to make the whole ride work," Loeser said. "It’s working great. It’s been well received in every city and town that we’ve gone through."

The riders hit St. Louis, MO, Monday. Days earlier they were greeted by firefighters in Oklahoma City, OK.

Loeser will join the group either in Indiana or Toledo. They will then ride into Akron before traveling through Cuyahoga Falls and Stow on their way into Kent. The route can be traced here.

Murphy said they plan to have a police and fire escort guide the riders from the Stow-Kent border east on S.R. 59 to downtown Kent, where the Kent Jaycees will welcome the riders with a meal in Home Savings Plaza. Information on their stop in Kent is available here.

Murphy said he encourages Kent-area residents to line the route and cheer on the firefighters as they ride into Kent next Tuesday. They're expected to arrive in Kent between 3 and 4:30 p.m. Aug. 30.

"It’s hard to say that far out," Murphy said.

They will leave Kent for Pittsburgh the next day.

The riders left California July 24 with the goal of hitting New York in 45 days with stops in Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C., along the way. They plan to arrive in New York City on Sept. 9 and finish the ride at the FDNY Firefighters Wall.

The ride is raising money for The Leary Firefighters Foundation and the Wounded Warrior Project.

Loeser, a long-time athlete, said the riders trained on 100-mile marathon rides for the memorial trip. One of the toughest parts was stringing together 100-mile bike rides day after day.

But he said it's not about the length of the trip, the lightning, hail storms and other obstacles the riders have run across.

"It's not so much about me or the individual guys," he said. "It's just a group of guys who are trying to make a little bit of a difference."

http://kent.patch.com/articles/911-tribute-ride-will-bring-firefighters-through-kent

Al-Qaeda down but not out

By David Ignatius, Published: August 23
Government officials refer to it blandly as the “SSE,” or Sensitive Site Exploitation. That’s their oblique term for the extraordinary cache of evidence that was carried away from Osama bin Laden’s compound the night the al-Qaeda leader was killed.

With the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks a few weeks away, it’s possible to use this evidence to sketch a vivid portrait of al-Qaeda, drawing on material contained in more than 100 computer storage devices, including thumb drives, DVDs and CDs, and more than a dozen computers or hard drives — all collected during the May 2 raid.

U.S. officials say three strong themes emerge from their reading of the files, most of which were communications between bin Laden and his top deputy Atiyah Abd al-Rahman. Indeed, because the Libyan-born Atiyah (who’s known to analysts by his first name) was the boss’s key link with the outside, officials see him as more important than bin Laden’s nominal successor, Ayman al-Zawahiri.

Here are the highlights:

●Bin Laden retained until his death a passion to launch a significant attack against the United States, ideally linked to the 10th anniversary of 9/11. He and Atiyah communicated often about who might carry out such a strike, with Atiyah proposing names and bin Laden rejecting them. Bin Laden was still looking for a history-changing attack on big, economically important targets — one that would match, if not outdo, the impact of 9/11. Zawahiri, by contrast, favored an opportunistic strategy of smaller strikes.

●Bin Laden was a hands-on chief executive, with a role in operations planning and personnel decisions, rather than the detached senior leader that U.S. analysts had hypothesized. Zawahiri, whom the analysts had imagined as the day-to-day leader, was actually quite isolated — and remains so, despite a dozen communications this year. Zawahiri suffers from mistrust between his Egyptian faction of al-Qaeda and other operatives, such as Atiyah.

●Bin Laden was suffering badly from drone attacks on al-Qaeda’s base in the tribal areas of Pakistan. He called this the “intelligence war,” and said it was “the only weapon that’s hurting us.” His cadres complained that they couldn’t train in the tribal areas, couldn’t communicate, couldn’t travel easily and couldn’t draw new recruits to what amounted to a free-fire zone. Bin Laden discussed moving al-Qaeda’s base to another location, but he never took action.

Analysts did not find in the material any smoking gun to suggest Pakistani government complicity in bin Laden’s presence in Abbottabad. And it’s clear he was paranoid about being found and killed: He ordered his subordinates to restrict movements to help preserve what remained of al-Qaeda in Pakistan. Fear of being discovered was a subject of regular conversation between bin Laden, Atiyah, Zawahiri and others.

Bin Laden also worried that al-
Qaeda’s status among Muslims was dwindling, and that the West had at least partially succeeded in distancing al-Qaeda’s message from core Islamic values. Concerned about this eroding base, bin Laden counseled affiliates in North Africa and Yemen to hold back on their efforts to develop a local Islamic extremist state in favor of attacking the United States and its interests.

This fear that al-Qaeda’s extreme tactics were burning too hot and alienating Muslims was also the theme of a remarkable message that Atiyah sent in 2005 to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the murderous chief of al-Qaeda in Iraq. In this document, made public five years ago by the United States, Atiyah warned that fomenting Sunni-Shiite violence (which was Zarqawi’s trademark) was potentially ruinous.

The al-Qaeda that emerges from these documents is a badly battered and disoriented group. The June 3 death of Ilyas Kashmiri in a drone attack illustrates the organization’s continuing vulnerability. Kashmiri was a ruthless operator who planned the 2008 Mumbai attacks that killed 166 people and was plotting deadly attacks on Europe last winter that were stopped only because of aggressive counterterrorism work. (Security services from Europe and Turkey arrested about 20 of Kashmiri’s operatives before they could carry out the attacks.)

When top U.S. officials summarize their view of al-Qaeda now, in the run-up to the 9/11 anniversary, they describe an organization that is down but certainly not out. They don’t know of any specific plots targeting the United States, 10 years on. But they’re looking, pulsing every channel they know. They recognize that it’s what we still don’t know about al-Qaeda that’s most dangerous.

davidignatius@washpost.com

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/10-years-after-911-al-qaeda-is-down-but-not-out/2011/08/23/gIQARQ3tZJ_story.html

USS New York "Never Forget" to visit for 9/11 anniversayr

Associated Press
NEW YORK — A Navy ship built with steel from the World Trade Center will anchor off lower Manhattan for ceremonies marking the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks.

U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer announced Tuesday that the Navy has agreed to bring the USS New York to the state it was named after.

Schumer said the Navy's decision came after weeks of negotiations.

Schumer said in a letter to Navy Secretary Ray Mabus that it would be fitting for those who lost loved ones at the twin towers to be joined by the ship forged with steel from those towers.

The USS New York is an amphibious transport ship built with 7.5 tons of steel salvaged from the trade center. The ship's motto is "Never Forget." It was commissioned in 2009.

—Copyright 2011 Associated Press
http://online.wsj.com/article/APd24ef5b9994c400f9be44c6da4be2319.html

72 POLICE OFFICERS KILLED ON 9/11 TO BE REMEMBERED ON 10TH ANNIVERSARY

It remains the deadliest day in U.S. law enforcement history: 72 peace officers killed in the line of duty during the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, according to the director of Washington, D.C.'s Law Enforcement Officers Memorial.

Ten years after that tragic day, these heroic men and women will be remembered during a ceremony at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C.

On Friday, September 9, at 10 AM (et), U.S. Attorney General Eric H. Holder, Jr. will join Board members, supporters and staff of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, as well as dignitaries from law enforcement agencies that lost (an) officer(s) on 9/11, at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C. for a special ceremony.

The names of the 72 officers are engraved together on Line 23 of Panels 9 through 22 of the Memorial's west wall. Following brief remarks, the officers' names will be read aloud, and a wreath will be laid in their honor.

"Over the past 10 years, the horrific events of September 11, 2001 seem to have faded a bit from our collective consciousness. But the service and sacrifice of the 72 courageous law enforcement heroes who laid down their own lives that day for the safety and protection of others will always be remembered here at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial," said Craig Floyd, CEO of the Memorial.

Among the law enforcement officers who died on 9/11 were 71 killed at the World Trade Center, plus one officer — Richard Guadagno, a sworn refuge manager with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service — who was among the passengers who died in Pennsylvania while fighting to regain control of Flight 93 from the terrorists.

Thirty-seven members of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police Force, including its Superintendent, Fred Morrone, died on 9/11; that represents the most fatalities suffered by a single law enforcement agency in one day in U.S. history.

Also killed at the World Trade Center that day were 23 members of the New York City Police Department; five members of the New York State Department of Taxation & Finance; three members of the New York State Office of Court Administration; a special agent with the FBI; a master special officer with the U.S. Secret Service; and a New York City fire marshal who had sworn law enforcement powers.

The names of all 72 officers killed on 9/11 can be found on the Memorial Fund's web site at www.LawMemorial.org/911RollCall. The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial contains the names of 19,298 officers who have died in the line of duty throughout U.S. history.

http://www.thecypresstimes.com/article/News/National_News/72_POLICE_OFFICERS_KILLED_ON_911_TO_BE_REMEMBERED_ON_10TH_ANNIVERSARY/49496

2,500 Motorcycles Commemorate 9/11

The 10th annual ride, organized by America’s 911 Foundation Inc., began Thursday in Shanksville, Pa., and went past the Pentagon in Arlington, Va., on Friday. The riders are set to reach their destination at Ground Zero in Manhattan on Sunday morning — touching all three sites where planes crashed on Sept. 11, 2001.
The ride is tentatively scheduled to enter New Jersey from the Delaware Memorial Bridge shortly before 2 p.m. and arrive in the southern part of Middlesex County via Route 130 by mid-afternoon.
The ride will pass by Cranbury, South Brunswick and North Brunswick on Route 130 North before accessing Route 1 North. It will pass by New Brunswick, Highland Park, Edison, Woodbridge and Rahway before arriving in Linden about 4:30 to 5 p.m.
Police from several Central Jersey towns affected by the ride said their departments plan to have officers help with the traffic situation, which will require numerous intersections to be blocked off as the procession passes.
The ride also has its own official police escorts, who are conducting their own continual, rolling block-offs of intersections.
“We expect them to come here (in Woodbridge) between 3:30 and 4 p.m., and they said they would call our front desk and give us like a 15-minute heads-up,” Woodbridge Police Capt. Roy Hoppock said. “But that’s tentative. Anything could happen and they could be delayed. It’s not a big operation for us. We plan to have as many auxiliary officers out there as we can to monitor it until they get through.”
Linden Sgt. Don Geisheimer said Linden police will temporarily block off intersections along Route 1 as the motorcyclists arrive and travel into the parking lot at Aviation Plaza along Route 1 North, where there will be refreshments and a ceremony at the Applebee’s restaurant. Police also will close intersections as the caravan of riders leaves the city along Route 1, heading toward Elizabeth.
Geisheimer said the motorcycle run is well-organized, and the temporary closing of intersections shouldn’t be a major issue. While the riders are in the Aviation Plaza parking lot, he said, the intersections will be open.
“Local roads won’t be affected,” said Geisheimer who anticipates that it will take about 15 minutes to get all the riders into the lot, which will be closed off by the Applebee’s.
“It won’t be that long,” said Geisheimer, adding that the riders will travel at the 40 mph speed limit.
Rob Brining, 55, of Burlington is one of the volunteer road captains riding in the Sept. 11 event. It’s his sixth. “This is the biggest turnout we’ve had,” he said

http://www.mycentraljersey.com/article/20110820/NJNEWS/308190031/9-11-motorcycle-ride-hits-Central-Jersey-today.

CBS News 9/11 Anniversary Coverage

CBS News Schedules 6 Hours of Special Coverage on 9/11 AnniversaryBy Sunday, September 11, Scott Pelley will anchor CBS News coverage of the national memorial ceremonies for the 9/11 attacks from Ground Zero. “Face the Nation” will originate from Ground Zero immediately following the conclusion of scheduled events.

Both “The Early Show” and the “CBS Evening News” will also be live from Ground Zero beginning Friday, September 9. “60 Minutes” will also be entirely dedicated to 9/11 coverage on Sunday night at 7 pmET/PT, with a feature presentation of “9/11: Ten Years Later,” an updated version of the award-winning film CBS aired on the first and fifth anniversaries of the attacks, to follow.

Visit FishbowlNY, where New York TV and radio personalities reflect on 9/11/01 in our series “9/11: New York Remembers.”


CBS News Will Provide Extensive Coverage Beginning Sept. 9 - Sept. 11 On “The Early Show,” “CBS Evening News,” “Face The Nation,” “60 Minutes” and Across All Platforms Including: CBS Radio News, CBSNews.com, CBS Newspath and CBS News’ Polling and Survey Unit

On Sunday, Sept. 11, CBS Will Dedicate Six Hours of Coverage to Mark the Day, Highlighted by a CBS News Special, “9/11: America Remembers,” Anchored By Scott Pelley from Ground Zero, Beginning at 8:00 AM, ET (Check Local Listings)

CBS News announces division-wide coverage plans to mark 10 years since the 9/11 terrorist attacks against the United States. CBS News will provide extensive coverage beginning Sept. 9 – Sept. 11 on THE EARLY SHOW, CBS EVENING NEWS, FACE THE NATION, 60 MINUTES and across all platforms, including CBS Radio News, CBSNews.com, CBS Newspath and CBS News’ Polling and Survey Unit.

Beginning Friday, Sept. 9, CBS News’ THE EARLY SHOW and the CBS EVENING NEWS will broadcast live from Ground Zero in New York City.



On Sunday, Sept. 11, six hours will be devoted to the coverage, beginning with a CBS News special 9/11: AMERICA REMEMBERS, anchored by Scott Pelley (8:00 AM, ET check local listings). Immediately following the coverage of the scheduled events, a special edition of FACE THE NATION will broadcast live from Ground Zero.



In addition, 60 MINUTES (7:00-8:00 PM, ET) will devote the entire broadcast to 9/11 coverage, which will be followed by CBS Television Network and filmmakers Jules and Gedeon Naudet and James Hanlon’s presentation of “9/11: 10 YEARS LATER,” an update of the critically acclaimed, multiple award-winning film, “9/11,” to be broadcast on CBS as a special presentation, Sunday, Sept. 11 (8:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT).



CBS News’ coverage will include personal stories from survivors and family members of some of the victims, as well as reports from CBS News correspondents at the World Trade Center, Pentagon and in Shanksville, Pa.

CBS News’ division-wide programming highlights, beginning Sept. 9, will include the following:

Friday, September 9

• THE EARLY SHOW (7:00-9:00 AM, ET) will provide extensive coverage live from Ground Zero.

• Scott Pelley will anchor the CBS EVENING NEWS (6:30-7:00 PM, ET) from that location.

Saturday, September 10


• THE EARLY SHOW ON SATURDAY (Check Local Listings) will broadcast live from Ground Zero.

• CBS EVENING NEWS will broadcast live from Ground Zero (6:30-7:00 PM, ET).



Sunday, September 11



• Scott Pelley will anchor a CBS News special, 9/11: AMERICA REMEMBERS, live from Ground Zero, beginning at 8:00 AM, ET.



• Immediately following the coverage of the scheduled events, a special edition of FACE THE NATION will broadcast live from Ground Zero.
• 60 MINUTES (7:00-8:00 PM, ET) will devote the entire broadcast to 9/11 coverage.



• The CBS Television Network and filmmakers Jules and Gedeon Naudet and James Hanlon will present “9/11: 10 YEARS LATER,” an update of the critically acclaimed, multiple award-winning film, “9/11,” to be broadcast on CBS as a special presentation (8:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT). For more on this special go to: http://www.cbspressexpress.com/div.php/cbs_entertainment/release?id=28857
• CBS Radio News will offer expanded programming and feature reports, including a five-part series, “Justice In a Time of Terror.” CBS Radio News will also present special short-form reports and long-form weekend roundup: “9/11: America Remembers,” as well as live anchored coverage of the events in NY, DC and PA.



• In addition to a live webcast of Sept. 11 events, CBSNews.com will provide archival footage of CBS News coverage of Sept. 11 and the weeks after, as well as original reports looking forward and back at the impact of the attacks.



• CBS Newspath, the network’s 24-hour news service to its owned stations and affiliates in the U. S. and around the globe, will provide live reports from Ground Zero beginning Friday, Sept. 9 through Monday, Sept. 12. Additionally, CBS Newspath will have a correspondent live at Ground Zero beginning at 5:00 AM, ET on Sept. 11.



• CBS News’ Polling & Survey Unit will present exclusive poll results and statistical analysis.

On Eve Of 9/11 Anniversary, NYPD And FDNY Push For National Emergency Radio Network

The city's fire and police commissioners urged Congress Wednesday to approve a national emergency radio network in time for the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.

Our Cunningham and Gendar report:

Gathered at a Staten Island firehouse that lost five members in the attacks, Fire Commissioner Salvatore Cassano and Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said their crews couldn't talk to any federal agencies if another terror strike happened tomorrow.

"We've gone light years ahead of where everybody else has gone," Cassano said. "But to have a nationwide system would be even better."

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, a key proponent of the national radio network, noted, "Congress has yet to fulfill one of the key, outstanding recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Report....We needed to have interoperability between local, state and federal first responders."

The nation's police, fire and rescue operations use more than 55,000 separate radio networks.

The goal would be to create a single network on the radio spectrum so rescuers could talk across city, state and regional lines - and share crucial documents like building blueprints or arrest records.

"To reserve part of the spectrum for first responders is critically important to New York and nationally," Kelly said.

Money is not the primary congressional stumbling block.

A review by the Congressional Budget Office estimated a nationwide system would pay for itself through the auction of unused broadband - generating up to $6.5 billion in surplus that could go toward cutting the nation's debt.

The legislation has languished amid partisan squabbling over whether the government or private companies should own and run the network.

"We're going to go back [to Capitol Hill] in September," said Gillibrand, who joined Cassano and Kelly at the station housing Engine 160 and Rescue Company 5. "I think we'll have the support when we have the vote."

"The status quo is unacceptable," she added
http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/2011/08/on-eve-of-911-anniversary-nypd-and-fdny-push-for-national-emergency-radio-netw