'Voice' Spreading Paranoia Every Which Way

Is Giuliani the kind of man we'd want to be our president one day? Another liar as a president who cares more about money than people's health.
Marcia Raff
Manhattan

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Kristen Lombardi's article is seriously misleading. Many health programs have been set up to assist those who worked at ground zero. Over 30,000 WTC workers have been examined for any medical conditions possibly related to their work. In the five years since 9-11, the NYPD and FDNY have not seen any increase in the number of cancers among their members. The FDNY has conducted, and continues to conduct, an exhaustive medical investigation of 12,000 of the most highly exposed ground zero workers. None of the medical programs that have been examining WTC workers' health since 9-11 have reported any increase in cancers. However, because of the unprecedented nature of this disaster, the city has continued to push for further federal funding to monitor WTC workers—so that we can continue to monitor for any possible emerging issues and provide prompt and appropriate care whenever needed. The WTC Disability Law also allows city employees who worked on the cleanup and recovery efforts to qualify for disability retirement—in the event that they develop an illness later on—without having to prove a link between their illness and their exposure to WTC dust. The article bases much of its analysis on an interview with, and facts provided by, David Worby, the lead plaintiffs' attorney in the WTC litigation. However, the article failed to disclose that Mr. Worby and his colleagues could receive more than $300 million in attorney's fees if they prevail in the lawsuits.

Moreover, Lombardi never contacted defense counsel for comment. Those who courageously served this city and their country deserve to be presented with accurate information, and not unverified data disseminated by a private attorney with a multimillion-dollar interest in distorting the evidence.
Kenneth Becker
NYC Law Department
Chief, WTC Unit

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Kristen Lombardi replies: I made several attempts to get comment from both the FDNY and NYPD. As the story noted, the fire department declined to comment. A police spokesperson failed to respond to several requests for an interview.

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The article blames the U.S. and New York governments for the disease related to 9-11 exposure and quotes an attorney as saying, "Our officials might be responsible for more deaths than Osama bin Laden on 9-11."

I would say that the deaths and injuries, both immediate and lingering, that resulted from the 9-11 attacks are completely the responsibility of the terrorists. They chose to attack civilian targets without warning, in an effort to create the maximum suffering and death possible. To whatever extent they were successful, I want them to have the full blame.

Shifting the blame to our government is just a way for this lawyer and others to have someone to sue for a large settlement.
Mark Harrington
Greenville, North Carolina

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No Cannes do
Can you please fire J. Hoberman? Would that be possible? We need smart movie reviews, not reviews of the director's personal life. Apocalypto is a great film, amazingly directed. Sorry to disagree with Hoberman's personal views.
Leila C.
Manhattan

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Making a list. Tracking you twice.
Re "Spying on Big Brother"[December 6–12]: Nat Hentoff's latest article on our government's tracking of everything and anything remotely having to do with anyone is terrific! Thank you for having such a fine journalist onboard. Nat is the best, and so is the Voice!
Frances Lynch
Duxbury, Massachusetts

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I think one of the companies that will develop the microchip that will track our every move is trading on the AMEX under the symbol ATA and is being forced to be delisted—it's trading for less than a dollar. It specializes in nanotechnology. Please confirm before publishing anything.
Santa Claus
North Pole, Alaska

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Editor's note: The company you're referring to is Apogee Technology, and it did indeed receive a delisting notice in November from the American Stock Exchange. Satisfied, Santa? Now how about that red wagon?

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Corrections
In Nathan Lee's review of the film Home of the Brave ["O Say Can You . . . What?," December 13–19], a character and the actor who plays him were misidentified. Brian Presley, not Chad Michael Murray, plays the National Guard soldier who returns home, only to re-enlist. His character's name is Tommy.