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Tom Bernstein's Ground Zero

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Tom Bernstein's Ground Zero
The sprawling mess of flesh and steel recombinant that was created on the morning of September 11, 2001 left thousands dead. The scene of Ground Zero would go on to haunt survivors and the general public alike. The terrorist attacks which were wrought that day destroyed a landmark, a large and populated piece of a city, and most tragically the lives of thousands of innocent people. Yet with death there is also rebirth, and this example is no different. However, over the past years we have witnessed the controversy and chaos which has surrounded the precarious nature of how and what to rebuild over the incredibly sacred land that now makes up Ground Zero.

Attempting to cover every aspect of the rebuild would require much more in-depth …show more content…
Led by Mr. Bernstein, the group of individuals heading the project had made repeated claims of torture at Guantanamo Bay, and generally undermined the efforts the United States. The political biases of these men were profound and apparent in their careers and interests.

Tom Bernstein founded the Chelsea Piers Sports and Entertainment Complex, making a fortune financing Hollywood movies. More notably, he is an active lawyer in the Human Rights First organization. It is with this money and political influence that many allege Mr. Bernstein bought his seat as the chairman of the IFC. Bernstein's organization, along with the ACLU, has filed suit against Donald Rumsfeld on behalf of terrorists held in Iraq and Afghanistan, filed briefs on behalf of Jose Padilla (the dirty bomber), and also requested a commission to investigate the alleged torture of detainees by U.S. troops at various locations. (Hauser) Fastidiously liberal, his views on American policy are anything but …show more content…
Many relatives of 9/11 victims considered the International Freedom Center plan a disgrace to the 2,749 people who died at the World Trade Center. It would portray them as a nothing more than a small footnote with regards to the world's journey toward freedom. As such, a non-profit organization known as "Take Back the Memorial" was started by blogger Robert Shurbert. Their goal was to block the construction of the IFC on Ground Zero, "protesting any linkage between previous historical events with what occurred September 11th" . (Schurbert) Thus there was now a home for the dissension towards the IFC and
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