9/11 - 10 years on

Joy wrote:

I think that one good thing that came out of the whole thing is that, thanks
to the courageous passengers and crew on the Pennsylvania plane, no American
airplane can be hijacked again. Planes were hijacked occasionally in the
past, usually by felons who wanted to leave the country. Most people
cooperated because they didn't want to be killed. However, we had seen, and
those on the Pennsylvania plane had heard by cell phone, that cooperating
didn't save the lives of those on board the two planes that hit the twin
towers.

Hmm. I'm not so sure about this. I think it will just get the criminals
to consider that possibility and plan for it. Also, in future hijackings,
people will be forced to give up their cell phones, since that's what
foiled Flight 93.

Joyce

--
A black cat crossing your path signifies that the animal is going
somewhere. -- Groucho Marx

wrote in message
...
Joy wrote:

I think that one good thing that came out of the whole thing is that,
thanks
to the courageous passengers and crew on the Pennsylvania plane, no
American
airplane can be hijacked again. Planes were hijacked occasionally in
the
past, usually by felons who wanted to leave the country. Most people
cooperated because they didn't want to be killed. However, we had seen,
and
those on the Pennsylvania plane had heard by cell phone, that
cooperating
didn't save the lives of those on board the two planes that hit the twin
towers.

Hmm. I'm not so sure about this. I think it will just get the criminals
to consider that possibility and plan for it. Also, in future hijackings,
people will be forced to give up their cell phones, since that's what
foiled Flight 93.

Joyce

Cell phones were only part of what foiled Flight 93. Cell phones did mean
the passengers were alerted to what was really happening. However, it was
the actions of the passengers and crew that foiled that flight. Similar
actions, with no cell phones involved, foiled the shoe bomber and various
others who have behaved in a suspicious or threatening manner on airline
flights. Those people who aren't too afraid to fly since 9-11 are
courageous enough to make sure that the same thing can't happen again.
Anyone who tries to hijack a plane will be swarmed and taken down.

Joy

I live in California and I'm also a night person, so I didn't get up
until about noon that day (3PM New York time). Tuesday was one of my
work-at-home days (and yes, I *did* work, just on my own schedule). I
got up, made some tea and sat down at the computer to log in to my work
account and read email. At the same time, I saw that I had a message
on my voice mail, so I was also dialing in to retrieve that. I heard
a friend of mine calling to make sure I was OK "on this most bizarre
of days", which didn't make much sense, but at the same time, my
Outlook inbox was filling up with new messages, all with the subject
line of "Tragedy in New York", including a message from the CEO telling
everyone to go home and be with their families.

So I went to CNN.com, got the bare bones story, and then raced to
my living room TV, where I spent the remainder of the day. I remember
having a flash of humiliation with the thought, "They got us *good*."
The TV kept showing a video someone had made as he ran from the rushing
cloud of smoke and debris, as one of the buildings collapsed. I remember
him saying, "Here it comes" and ducking behind a car in the hope of
protecting himself from the onslaught. (He didn't get hurt, and continued
to report on his surroundings.)

Since the entire event had taken place six hours before I found out
about it, I was spared the terror of experiencing it in real time,
seeing the second plane hit and realizing this was a deliberate act,
and not knowing what *else* was going to happen. By the time I got
the news, the attack itself was long over. As others have said, they
just kept showing the same scenes over and over. I couldn't look away
from it - I forgot to eat, I forgot to pee, I didn't call anyone, I
just sat there on my couch, glued to the TV for hours and hours, having
one long anxiety attack.

Late in the day, the President gave a statement. (Actually, I don't
know exactly when he gave the statement, but I saw it late in the day.)
When I heard him say, "They hate us, for our prosperity and our freedoms,"
my heart sank. Here was one of the worst terrorist attacks in history,
and this was the only explanation our president could give us for it?
Like we're supposed to buy the idea that someone's going to organize
this huge, complex attack, which took years of preparation, just because
they envied us? How stupid did he think we were?

That's when I knew that nobody was going to give any serious thought
to why this might have happened. Most people wouldn't hear of it -
to them, the difference between trying to understand something and
"making excuses" for it is just too subtle. This was going to be dealt
with in a knee-jerk manner, we were going to declare war (on whom??),
when the people who had perpetrated this devastation were *criminals*,
and should have been dealt with as such. They might have had political
motivations, but the act itself was a *crime*. We should have dispatched
our best law enforcement people to go and find the planners (who were
safely in their hiding places after having sent the fanatics to their
deaths in suicide missions), and deal with them as the scumbag criminals
they were, instead of invading two countries and killing thousands of
innocent people. How does that honor the 3000 people who died in New
York and DC?

Joyce

--
A black cat crossing your path signifies that the animal is going
somewhere. -- Groucho Marx

Joy wrote:

wrote in message

Joy wrote:

I think that one good thing that came out of the whole thing is that,
thanks
to the courageous passengers and crew on the Pennsylvania plane, no
American
airplane can be hijacked again. Planes were hijacked occasionally in
the
past, usually by felons who wanted to leave the country. Most people
cooperated because they didn't want to be killed. However, we had seen,
and
those on the Pennsylvania plane had heard by cell phone, that
cooperating
didn't save the lives of those on board the two planes that hit the twin
towers.

Hmm. I'm not so sure about this. I think it will just get the criminals
to consider that possibility and plan for it. Also, in future hijackings,
people will be forced to give up their cell phones, since that's what
foiled Flight 93.

Joyce

Cell phones were only part of what foiled Flight 93. Cell phones did mean
the passengers were alerted to what was really happening. However, it was
the actions of the passengers and crew that foiled that flight. Similar
actions, with no cell phones involved, foiled the shoe bomber and various
others who have behaved in a suspicious or threatening manner on airline
flights. Those people who aren't too afraid to fly since 9-11 are
courageous enough to make sure that the same thing can't happen again.
Anyone who tries to hijack a plane will be swarmed and taken down.

Well, I certainly hope you're right! It's true, courage and action were
what really defeated that hijacking, but the passengers only knew to do
it because they had spoken to people on the ground. They also knew they
were doomed, so they had nothing to lose by going down fighting. On the
other hand, maybe we're all a little more wary and less passive, now that
this has happened.

Joyce

--
A black cat crossing your path signifies that the animal is going
somewhere. -- Groucho Marx

wrote in message
...
Joy wrote:

wrote in message

Joy wrote:

I think that one good thing that came out of the whole thing is that,
thanks
to the courageous passengers and crew on the Pennsylvania plane, no
American
airplane can be hijacked again. Planes were hijacked occasionally in
the
past, usually by felons who wanted to leave the country. Most people
cooperated because they didn't want to be killed. However, we had
seen,
and
those on the Pennsylvania plane had heard by cell phone, that
cooperating
didn't save the lives of those on board the two planes that hit the
twin
towers.

Hmm. I'm not so sure about this. I think it will just get the criminals
to consider that possibility and plan for it. Also, in future
hijackings,
people will be forced to give up their cell phones, since that's what
foiled Flight 93.

Joyce

Cell phones were only part of what foiled Flight 93. Cell phones did
mean
the passengers were alerted to what was really happening. However, it
was
the actions of the passengers and crew that foiled that flight. Similar
actions, with no cell phones involved, foiled the shoe bomber and
various
others who have behaved in a suspicious or threatening manner on airline
flights. Those people who aren't too afraid to fly since 9-11 are
courageous enough to make sure that the same thing can't happen again.
Anyone who tries to hijack a plane will be swarmed and taken down.

Well, I certainly hope you're right! It's true, courage and action were
what really defeated that hijacking, but the passengers only knew to do
it because they had spoken to people on the ground. They also knew they
were doomed, so they had nothing to lose by going down fighting. On the
other hand, maybe we're all a little more wary and less passive, now that
this has happened.

Joyce

Your last statement is what I strongly believe. As I said, there have been
other incidents since then that show how passengers will react to a threat,
or a perceived threat. I have a friend who was visiting friends in New York
State at the time of the attack. When he was finally allowed to fly home,
the passengers were all a bit edgy. At one point, he got up to go to the
end of the cabin, where some magazines were available. He said it's the
longest walk he's ever taken. Everybody's eyes followed him all the way.

Joy

"outsider" wrote

Someone in my office heard about the first plane on the radio as I
remember
and we all started listening to one thing or another. When the second
plane hit we knew what was going on. A few of the guys went up to our 14
story building and could see the towers burning. Meanwhile I adjusted my
Internet bandwidth thing to put all of our 1.5 megabits (no kidding)
toward
our campus email and AOL IM as well as our web page. I did not let
anything else have any of the BW or, at least, very little. I posted on
the web site that everyone on campus was fine and for parents and our 1100
residential students to PLEASE use IM or email to call each other and to
not use our phones and amazingly enough everything held up. As the day
went on I just watched out network but never went up the tall building and
I am not upset that the others saw the towers fall but I did not. By the
end of the day I waited for hours for the big bridge to open so I could go
home and it finally opened.

You didn't see the towers that were hit by planes come down, but did you see
later in the day the 47-story Salomon Brothers building, also known as WTC
7 - which was never hit by a plane - collapse? The building had been
evacuated by noon, and it fell at 5:20 PM - about 20 minutes after a BBC
reported announced (while standing in front of a window through which
glimpses of WTC 7 could clearly be seen when her head wasn't blocking it)
that it had already collapsed.

Here's a news clip from Geraldo Rivera about the event:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFPobKeSzKQ

And here's the BBC announcement:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mxFRigYD3s

wrote
When I heard him say, "They hate us, for our prosperity and our freedoms,"
my heart sank. Here was one of the worst terrorist attacks in history,
and this was the only explanation our president could give us for it?
Like we're supposed to buy the idea that someone's going to organize
this huge, complex attack, which took years of preparation, just because
they envied us? How stupid did he think we were?

That's when I knew that nobody was going to give any serious thought
to why this might have happened. Most people wouldn't hear of it -
to them, the difference between trying to understand something and
"making excuses" for it is just too subtle. This was going to be dealt
with in a knee-jerk manner, we were going to declare war (on whom??),

There was no declaration of war at all. It should have been handled with a
letter of marque and reprisal.

when the people who had perpetrated this devastation were *criminals*,
and should have been dealt with as such. They might have had political
motivations, but the act itself was a *crime*. We should have dispatched
our best law enforcement people to go and find the planners (who were
safely in their hiding places after having sent the fanatics to their
deaths in suicide missions), and deal with them as the scumbag criminals
they were, instead of invading two countries and killing thousands of
innocent people. How does that honor the 3000 people who died in New
York and DC?

It doesn't. Jack Hunter speaks directly to your concerns in this clip:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRfelv-IhTU

On Sep 9, 1:39*am, "Matthew" wrote:
"Yowie" wrote in message

...





Pat wrote:
"Yowie" wrote
Its already 9/11 here.

Wow, I knew you were almost a full day ahead of us in the USA, but I
didn't think it was *three* days!!

Rasfrassenfrassenrassen[1] stupid different date formats!

Today is the 9th of September. Not thinking, I here 9/11 and thing '9th of
the month'. I'm not paying any attention to the 11th part which would mean
November in my date format.

Rassenfrassenfrassenrassen.

Oh well, the sentiments are there, they're just early!

Yowie
[1] the sound Mutley makes when he's "cussing".

Every year I spend a few minutes in tears for all those lost that day
Every time I read this poem I shed more tears
I can't believe it has been 10 years

WELCOME AT RAINBOW BRIDGE
(Adapted from the original)

by Alexander Theodore, Bouvier, Fourth Year Resident

On the morning of September 11, 2001, there was an unprecedented amount of
activity at the Rainbow Bridge. Decisions had to be made. They had to be
made quickly. And, they were.

An issue, not often addressed here, is the fact that many residents really
have no loved one for whom to wait. And, the ones who were abused. Who are
they to wait for?

We don't talk about that much up here. We share ones as they arrive, happy
to do so. But we all know there is nothing like having your very own person
who thinks you are the most special kitten in the Heavens.

Last Tuesday morning a request rang out for kittens not waiting for specific
persons to volunteer for special assignment.. An eager, curious crowd surged
excitedly forward, each kitten wondering what the assignment would be.

They were told by a solemn voice that unexpectedly, all at once, thousands
of people died on Earth long before they were ready.

(respectful snip).

Cats who on Earth had never had a kind word or a pat on the head, stepped
forward and said, "I will love any human who needs love."

Then all the cats, wherever on Earth they originally came from, rushed to
the Rainbow Bridge and stood waiting, overflowing with love to share. .

My dear Matthew,

This says it all.

We are going to a memorial tomorrow. Whatever prayers are made, or
tears shed, I offer to the one with the fewest left to remember.

Blessed be,
Baha

"Pat" wrote in
:

"outsider" wrote

Someone in my office heard about the first plane on the radio as I
remember ... blah blah




You didn't see the towers that were hit by planes come down, but did
you see later in the day the 47-story Salomon Brothers building, also
known as WTC 7 - which was never hit by a plane - collapse? The
building had been evacuated by noon, and it fell at 5:20 PM - about 20
minutes after a BBC reported announced (while standing in front of a
window through which glimpses of WTC 7 could clearly be seen when her
head wasn't blocking it) that it had already collapsed.

Here's a news clip from Geraldo Rivera about the event:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFPobKeSzKQ

And here's the BBC announcement:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mxFRigYD3s


All I had at the time was a radio in my office so I saw none of this real
time.

wrote in message
...
Joy wrote:

I think that one good thing that came out of the whole thing is that,
thanks
to the courageous passengers and crew on the Pennsylvania plane, no
American
airplane can be hijacked again. Planes were hijacked occasionally in
the
past, usually by felons who wanted to leave the country. Most people
cooperated because they didn't want to be killed. However, we had seen,
and
those on the Pennsylvania plane had heard by cell phone, that
cooperating
didn't save the lives of those on board the two planes that hit the twin
towers.

Hmm. I'm not so sure about this. I think it will just get the criminals
to consider that possibility and plan for it. Also, in future hijackings,
people will be forced to give up their cell phones, since that's what
foiled Flight 93.

Joyce

Technically you aren't allowed to have computers, cell phones or other
electronic devices turned on once the plane leaves the departure gate. I
don't know if that was the rule prior to 9/11 but it's certainly the case
now. (They always mention interference with the plane's nav system when
they make the announcements to turn off all electronic devices.) Bless the
passengers of Flight 93 for having the courage to save even more lives.

Jill