9/11: tribunals, patsies, martyrs, mccain & more

judge critical of gitmo trials is dismissed
from thinkprogress: Army Col. Peter Brownback III, a judge who was hearing a war crimes case at Guantanamo Bay and “publicly expressed frustration with military prosecutors’ refusal to give evidence to the defense,” has been dismissed. Brownback had threatened to suspend the proceedings against Omar Khadr “unless prosecutors handed over Khadr’s medical and interrogation records since his July 2002 capture in Afghanistan.” Pentagon prosecutors have also rushed to schedule high-profile detainee trials during the height of the presidential campaign season.

9/11 suspects to appear on 2,973 murder charges
from ottawa citizen: Five leading al-Qaeda suspects will face a military judge tomorrow to enter a plea to 2,973 charges of murder - one for every person killed in the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the United States. It is the first time that alleged ring-leaders of the attacks will appear in public since they were detained in separate locations in 2002 and 2003.

ksm: go ahead, make me a martyr
from guardian: The alleged mastermind of the September 11 terrorist attacks has disposed of the US military lawyer allocated to defend him and told a Guantánamo tribunal that he would welcome being put to death. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four alleged al-Qaida co-conspirators faced a US military judge for the first time today.

az legislator karen johnson asks mccain to meet on 9/11
from op-ed news: Arizona state senator Karen Johnson (R-18) today delivered a letter to the office of U.S. Senator John McCain asking him to meet with a group of professionals to discuss the events of 9/11... Johnson recently announced her support for a new, independent investigation of 9/11. "Even the chairman of the commission has announced his dissatisfaction with the report," said Johnson. "Anyone who reads the report can see that much was left out and that there are many discrepancies," she said.

US doesn't invite 9/11 families to trials
from dpa: The US military expressed regret over failing to include the families of the victims of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks to the tribunals of five key suspects set to get underway Thursday. "That was a mistake. We'll make sure that doesn't happen again," said Brigadier General Thomas Hartmann, the top legal adviser to the military commissions at the US naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

after failing to protect 9/11 first responders from toxic threats, thompson awarded contract to treat them
from thinkprogress: Tommy Thompson served as President Bush’s Secretary of Health and Human Services from January 2001 to 2005. It was during his tenure, after the 9/11 attacks, that the Bush administration largely ignored the health risks facing first responders at the World Trade Center site... Yet apparently, the Bush administration believes Thompson did a hecukva job dealing with the aftermath of 9/11. The Centers for Disease Control has awarded Thompson an $11 million contract to treat some of those very same workers who became sick on Thompson’s watch.

9/11 vs global warming: 2 climbers scale nyt tower
from ap: Hours after the arrest of a French skyscraper climber who scaled The New York Times' tower, a second person can be seen climbing the building's exterior... Earlier today, Alain Robert (ROH'-behr), nicknamed "Spiderman," made his way to the top of the midtown Manhattan skyscraper. He unfurled a banner as he climbed that said, "Global warming kills more people than a 9/11 every week." Hundreds of people craned their necks to watch Robert climb up the exterior of the new tower. Workers cheered from a construction site across the street, and Robert pumped his fist. Police took him into custody at the top. Charges against the 45-year-old Robert are pending.