| 9:00 -- 9:30 Moderators: Opening Remarks 9:30 -- 9:45 James Gourley: Introduction to the Hearings and the Panel 9:45 -- 10:15 Lorie Van Auken (Video): Statement by a Jersey Widow The Toronto Hearings were held at Ryerson University in Toronto, Canada, during the 10th anniversary weekend of 9/11. September 11, 2011 marks the 10th anniversary of the events in New York and Washington that have played a dramatic role in modern history. These events have provided a pretext for a War on Terror that has replaced the Cold War as a global conflict framework within which military invasions and occupations have taken place, as well as violations of international law and human rights and a widespread assault on the civil rights crucial to democracies. Global military spending, which began a rapid downswing after the end of the Cold War, has, with the help of the official account of the 9/11 attacks, risen to Cold War levels and continues to rise. The focus on military solutions to complex human problems has sidetracked humanity at the very moment when international cooperation is most required to address genuine challenges that humanity faces. In the meantime, the credibility of the official reports on the 9/11 attacks (by the 9/11 Commission, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other government or government-appointed agencies) has been questioned by millions of citizens in the United ... |
