Keep Them Down

http://wearechange.org/

Luke Rudkowski is your every-day, garden variety scapegoat.

The 22-year old is a slender and clean-cut figure who typically wears a business jacket and tie in public and keeps his hair short and his face clean-shaven. He is certainly not the visual you’d expect of a thug, a violent person or a criminal.

Yet, on March 28, 2009, Rudkowski – along with two of his fellow activists – was detained in a hotel lobby in Manhattan by security workers for New York City’s Mayor, Michael Bloomberg. The three were then arrested, held for several hours and charged with criminal trespass. This was even though Rudkowski asked security to allow him to leave the premises and was, instead, detained. Rudkowski was even told that he would be charged with ‘impersonating a member of the press’, even though he carried credentials on his person.

NYC Mayor Takes Heat Over 'Hero' Remark

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By SARA KUGLER Associated Press Writer

NEW YORK — City police unions and the family of a dead police detective who worked on Sept. 11 cleanup called Tuesday for Mayor Michael Bloomberg to apologize for saying the officer is "not a hero" because his death was ruled unrelated to the toxic debris.

Speaking Monday to students at Harvard University, Bloomberg was asked about the idea of applying hard science to public policy. In his answer, he brought up Chief Medical Examiner Charles Hirsch's recent conclusion that retired police detective James Zadroga's fatal lung disease was caused not by dust from the collapse of the World Trade Center but by self-administered injections of ground-up pills.

"Nobody wanted to hear that; we wanted to have a hero, and there are plenty of heroes,"
Bloomberg said. "It's just, in this case, science says this was not a hero."

This was sent in by George. My question is, where are the millions that were donated in the immediate aftermath of 9/11? Who pocketed that money?

The mayor was quoted as saying:

"They can say anything they want," Bloomberg said. "The Corporation Counsel is acting responsibly, protecting the interests of New York City. We're trying to make sure that we help those who really need the help."

Meanwhile, the 9/11 families are protesting Bloomberg's handling of the memorial. He refuses to list on the memorial rank and affiliation of first responders, preferring to arrange names in random order and with no identifying features.