Posted on 05/19/2004 8:53:36 AM PDT by Pikamax
Protesters overshadow Giuliani's testimony Angry protesters interrupt former mayor
SARA KUGLER ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK - The simmering anger of the relatives of those killed on Sept. 11 bubbled into the open today as audience members interrupted former mayor Rudolph Giuliani’s testimony with shouted insults. Giuliani, his testimony over, abruptly left the auditorium after the brother of a New York fireman who was not killed in the attack interrupted a paean to the former mayor’s leadership by yelling, ``Three thousand people are dead! They were not killed because he was a great leader!’’
It was the second time today’s hearing by the federal Sept. 11 commission was halted by the outcry of audience members, some of whom grew angrier as one commission member after another offered Giuliani long appreciations of his performance on Sept. 11 and gentle questioning about the attack and the months leading up to it.
Rosaleen Tallon, whose firefighter brother died in the towers, started shouting “Talk about the radios!” as Giuliani was echoing commissioner Slade Gorton’s praise of the performance of rescuers on Sept. 11.
Families and colleagues of fallen firefighters have expressed anger about what they feel was the city’s failure to address long-standing complaints about radios that proved insufficient in the twin towers.
Many had said they felt it was Giuliani’s responsibility to address issues evaded or ignored on Tuesday, the first day of the hearings.
They came away bitterly disappointed by his testimony.
“A lot of these questions that the public has may die with this commission,” said Patricia Casazza, whose husband died as his Cantor Fitzgerald offices filled with smoke.
On Tuesday, the commission began the two-day hearing with a minute-by-minute reconstruction of the catastrophe’s first 100 minutes, including video of the planes’ impact with the towers and the skyscrapers’ collapse.
Victims’ relatives held hands and reached across rows to comfort each other. The footage contained images the world has seen countless times, but that most families regularly avoid.
This time, they watched, but cried, flinched or buried their faces in their hands. Many winced at one especially gruesome image — a body plummeting to the ground.
Protestors do not "overshadow" Guiliani. He doesn't overshadow that easily.
Overshadowed? Were they even watching?
What is it with liberals? Why don't they focus their grief on those who actually caused their grief, not simply blame conservatives in government just because they are conservative?
The outbursts were a disgrace, but Rudy maintained his cool.
I'm sure that a central point in Al-Qaeda's thinking was, "what will the Mayor of New York think about this?"
Does anyone on earth hold the Mayor of Washington DC responsible for the 9/11 attack on the Pentagon? Why is that?
AP is really stretching for that one. Overshadowed? Yeh, right.
Probably the most disgusting display I witnessed so far by these partisan hacks. Rudy lost personal friends in this attack...as these fighfighters risked...and lost, their lives to try and save these ungrateful family members. Where's my refund?
Leaving Rudy aside for the moment, I don't know what these families were expecting. Did they ever think that their concerns, reasonable or otherwise, were really going to be considered by these commissioners? The fix is in. This commission was never going to be about anything but covering Bubba's behind and getting Pres. Bush out of office. I'm sad for these families, but they should've spoken up when this commission was selected.
What I dont get is that being a firefighter in the first place is a risky job.
That's right....it's also not because he wasn't a great leader.
It wasn't about Rudy.
It was about hate.
It was about killing as many Americans as possible.
And, they are still out there, wanting to kill more.
That's the most frightening thought, isn't it: liberals refuse to accept it.
Idiotic ranting didn't overshadow Giuliani's dignity, it pushes the protesters further into irrelevance.
There, more accurate without the AP slant. Other family members yelled back that they were proud of their deceased heros and the Giuliani did a great job.
Prairie
....because they are liberal Democrats and they hate us and will do anything they can to destroy us. Simple.
They think the government should solve their problems, and is also the source of all human unhappiness. The state is the central fixture of their worldview.
Stalin would have been proud of this media manipulation circus put on by Hillary.
The 9/11 commission has outlived its usefulness, and they're learning absolutely nothing new or important at this point. It's time for them to wrap it up and come out with their final report.
I await their explaination of how great leadership at the mayoral level should have prevented the 3000 deaths.
their anger is mis-directed.
they oughta be angry at the arabs.
they oughta read "the third terrorist" and understand that this was brewing on clinton's watch.
nada.
but these stupid bastards will vote for hillary.
"My brother was a fireman who died in the attack and I think Rudy did a great job, so sit down and shut up!"
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