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pece_annotation_1474835348

Andreas_Rebmann
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-          The article describes Dr. Astaneh-Asl, a Berkeley Professor sent by the ASCE to investigate and determine the structural causes of the collapse of the World Trade Center, and his search for answers. When he arrived in NYC, he finds his evidence he was hoping to investigate, the 310,000 tons of debris, had been sent by the city to be scrapped and recycled.

-          The article goes on to explain the challenges faced by the three organizations presiding over the investigation, FEMA, ASCE and NIST, not being permitted access to documentation, records, or witness testimonies. From these problems arose inter-agency conflict and dischord, as the three failed to work together cohesively with clear goals and purpose. There was a clear lack of leadership, made apparent when Rep. Anthony Weiner asked “Whoever is in charge of this investigation, please raise your hand,” which was met with three people claiming leadership.

-          Knowles goes on to state that these problems and conflicts in the wake of the attack were not unique to the World Trade Center attack. He goes through a number of national tragedies, comparing and contrasting the investigation process of each, explaining the hurdles faced by investigators. This drives home how, over centuries, this is a reoccurring issue.

pece_annotation_1481636058

michael.lee
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As part of the evidence in this article, the author cites Gerard R. and Hailey-Means who are two former inmates of Rikers' Island, Martin Horn who is a former NYC DOC commissioner, Mayor DeBlasio, John Boston of the Legal Aid Society, Kim Knowlton who is a senior scientist at the Natural Resources Defense Council, Susi Vassallo who is an associate professor of emergency medicine at the NYU School of Medicine, and a number of additional individuals and organizations.

pece_annotation_1481644018

michael.lee
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  • "In a place of tremendous economic desperation, people competed for work in the zone of exclusion, where salaries were relatively high and steadily paid. Prospective workers engaged in a troubling cost benefit assessment that went something like this: if I work in the zone, I lose my health. But I can send my son to law school."
  • "Opinions about how the state should address the fate of these Chemobyl victims also serve as a kind of barometer of the country's changing moral fabric."
  • "At stake in the Chernobyl aftermath is a distinctive postsocialist field of power-in-the-making that is using science and scientific categories to establish the state's reach. Scientists and victims are also establishing their own modes of knowledge related to injury as a means of negotiating public accountability, political power, and further state protections in the form of financial compensation and medical care."

pece_annotation_1481660786

michael.lee
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Dr. Miriam Ticktin is an associate professor of anthropology at the New School for Social Research in New York City. She earned her doctorate degree in anthropology in 2002 from Stanford University. She focuses her research efforts on gender, humanitarianism, and human rights.