wMelissa's AP stories
Here are my stories whose links are no longer available. Only the ones with bylines are included here, for the non-bylined ones that I found more interesting, go to melswar.blogspot.com. Thanks! Let me know what you think!


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wFriday, February 07, 2003


February 6, 2003
Women plan trip to Iraq to prevent war
By MELISSA MANSFIELD
Associated Press Writer

NEW PALTZ, N.Y. (AP) _ Michele Riddell held up a photograph of two smiling Iraqi boys. "This is what we're going to be killing," she said, her voice strained. "And I feel like it's not OK."

Riddell, Lorna Tychostup and Manna Jo Greene plan to go to Iraq Saturday for 10 days on a mission of peace. Forming the Hudson Valley Peace Brigade, the women worked with Voices in the Wilderness, an international group that has brought hundreds of people in and out of Iraq since the Gulf War to challenge sanctions and American-led warfare.

Though many describe the women as part of a "human shield," to prevent the United States from attacking, Greene has pulled away from that term. "Our bodies won't stop the bullets or bombs," she said. Instead, she wants to bring a message of peace from the Hudson Valley to the Iraqi people. They leave Saturday.

To aid their mission, they will have a bilingual translator, other volunteers and a "minder" _ someone paid by the Iraqi government to make sure the visitors respect the nation's rules. The women will also bring a "Peace Pole" to plant in Baghdad, and art supplies for the children.

"We won't be talking politics," the 57-year-old Greene said. The Cottekill resident said the delegation hopes to visit hospitals and may dig ditches for alternative water in case of an attack on the supply.

"We'll be keeping our ear to the ground," Tychostup said. "We are not martyrs. We don't plan on dying." Some believe an American attack may happen while the women are abroad.

Greene acknowledged she was scared, but "one of the pieces of comfort we have is the U.S. inspectors are there. We don't know what's going to happen, but we are prepared."

To finance this voyage, the three woman paid from their own pockets, but also received many donations to cover the total $12,000 needed. This includes evacuation insurance.

"We are three mothers. We have six kids between us. We want to come home," the 46-year-old Tychostup said. She has a 22-year-old son and an 18-year-old daughter. She is an editor for Chronogram, a monthly magazine in Ulster County, and has been photographing the peace movement since seeing a demonstration in Brooklyn days after the World Trade Center attacks.

Greene's two sons, ages 29 and 32, do not want her to go, but she said they understand why she must. She works for the environmental organization Clearwater as a director.

Tara Riddell, 24, offered, to no avail, to accompany her 52-year-old mother. Riddell also has a 14-year old son and teaches special needs children. While preparing for the trip, she asked another volunteer what to expect. "He said it's more than one person can bear," she said.

While abroad, the support team for the Hudson Valley Peace Brigade will post text and photos to Tychostup's web site, www.LornaTychostup.com.

Tychostup said she has not run into one person who thinks the trip is wrong or a negative thing while traveling throughout New York state. Many people have thanked her for going. She said many have said they want to, but can't.

"I feel a tremendous responsibility," she said. "We're bringing the face of America to Iraq."
___
On the Net:
www.iraqpeaceteam.org

posted by Melissa at 10:46 AM


w


January 30, 2003 (second to go national this year! woo hoo!)
State museum opens second phase of World Trade Center exhibit
By MELISSA MANSFIELD
Associated Press Writer

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) _ Gerry Forino and Anthony Basic examined panoramic photos of the Fresh Kills landfill, trying to point out where they sifted through debris taken from the World Trade Center site for 11 months.

"This was out front yard," Forino, an FBI agent, said, pointing to a large pile of burned and crushed cars.

The photos, which document the debris sorting effort on Staten Island, are part of the New York State Museum's second phase of "World Trade Center: Rescue Recovery Response." The exhibit, which focuses on the recovery and response part of the Sept. 11, 2001, attack on Manhattan, opens Friday.

Forino and Basic, a police officer for the Port Authority, were part of the team that sorted 1.8 million tons of rubble. Recovery workers and agency officials previewed the exhibit Thursday.

Museum Director Dr. Clifford Siegfried helped collect some of those items recovered, "to tell the story of New York state ... to complete the story of Sept. 11."

Three large airplane fragments _ a piece of metal used in airplane flooring wedged into a burned and bent steel beam, landing gear for a Boeing 767 and part of a wing _ were on display.

The exhibit not only includes recovered objects _ a chipped yellow thimble that was sold at the observation deck and charred metal floor numbers _ but also contains a protective suit worn by a worker at Fresh Kills and a plastic bucket used to collect findings.

Detectives Gregory Maeder and Irene Merola of the New York Police Department also worked on the site for 11 months. "They filled the room with enough detail," Maeder said.

Merola said, "To get the feel of what went on..."

Maeder added, "without the dirt and dust."

Other objects on display include part of the fence that once lined the nearby streets of ground zero; entwined rosary beads, dried flowers, red, white and blue paper swans and laminated poems hung above a collection of teddy bears and candles; cards that children from across the nation made for firefighters.

The exhibit also has interactive computer stations, where visitors can listen to recorded memories of the World Trade Center. The bittersweet accounts include commuters enjoying the sunset framed between the two towers, a rock climber scaling the south tower in 1977 before being arrested, and "Vanessa and John's Wedding on Top of the World."

State Education Director Rick Mills hopes that children and future generations use the exhibit to learn about the terrorist attack. "There are things in this room that will help us tell the story," he said.
___
On the Net: http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/

posted by Melissa at 10:43 AM