I was living in Houston at the time. We had no doubt we would see the weekend. (I was actually ironing a shirt for work as it all went down and it came on tv).
However terrible 11th of September was, it was not a potential world-ending crisis like the Cuban Missile Crisis by a country mile.
However, we did fear it would be a freedom ending crisis once the dust had settled and shock had receeded.
This is going to end up nasty; revenge is in the offing, but I hope the wrong
people aren't killed in this mess.
and this one by our vey own Nick Humprhies
It all rests on Bush. And I wouldn't trust him enough to buy a car from.
and then there is Burt
What I don't understand is that what kinda security network allows to have 4
airplanes hijacked all in one day 2 from American and 2 from United airlines...
BIG JOKE !
I remember sitting in my car at around 1:45PM, listening to the radio for a few minutes before I had to go into work when they interrupted the song that was playing to announce. It was very shocking hearing it and even more watching the footage of the plane hitting the towers on the TV when I got home that evening.
Apart from the event itself I remember a few specific internet things on that day.
The first was some dick appearing in a "condolence" thread to explain that he (I assume it was a he) supported the attacks and then tried to justify his support for mass-murder by going "ah, but America dropped some bombs so they basically deserve it". I'm pleased to say I recall he was pulled to pieces.
Another thing I recall is people making-up conspiracy theories off the top of their heads on the day long before Wearechange and CornishDavey and all the rest of them started their long war of attrition against what actually happened. One I recall quite well was a post on an internet forum regarding the fate of the missing airliner in which someone claimed something along the lines of "the airliner was landed, probably in the desert. The passengers will have been taken off and shot or something similar". What struck me at the time was the certainty of the tone, the statement as fact something which they were simply making up. It was an interesting look into that sort of mindset.
However terrible 11th of September was, it was not a potential world-ending crisis like the Cuban Missile Crisis by a country mile.
I agree. There's really been nothing before or since that was quite as "all or nothing" as the Cuban Missile Crisis. Having said that, a lot of people assumed that some sort of huge, world-spanning war was going to kick off with atomic weapons and the lot because of a deep-seated fear of the United States which (I think) came out of a mixture of hyperbole about US military capabilities and a long line of popular culture which portrays the US as a cod-democracy run by shadowy organisations.
I remember sitting in my car at around 1:45PM, listening to the radio for a few minutes before I had to go into work when they interrupted the song that was playing to announce. It was very shocking hearing it and even more watching the footage of the plane hitting the towers on the TV when I got home that evening.
I was listening to Mark & Lard on Radio One at the time in my lunch break at work. I remember that there was a sketch involving chipmunks just before the news and the news, obviously, lead with that story. My first thought, like a lot of people, was that it must be an accident.
I remember going home and listening to the news on the radio on the bus and it saying both towers were destroyed and thinking "how the hell did that happen?" I'm not surprised some people got sucked-into some of the conspiracy stuff at the time (even if they had no excuses later on) since the towers being destroyed seemed utterly bizarre.
Unlike most people, I was more concerned about what the terrorists were going to do next rather than what the Americans were going to do. I though the 9/11 attacks were the first of a general "wave" of attacks against the West and I assumed Europe would be next.
My friend phoned me up and said "what you doing in bed you loon, get up", I was like "No I have a hangover!", and he says "Somebodies flown a plane into the world trade centre".
I actually didn't believe him at first, but I got up had a wash and went over to his house, we watched the carnage unfold via a live feed on the news channel.
It was pretty unnerving especially when the second plane hit, I think me and him started drinking early that day. They kept showing the footage of the planes hitting over and over. It actually felt like it wasn't really happening tbh.
I knew from that moment on the world was going to be a different place, and I was right, although I can't score myself points for that, given the size of the catastrophy it's a bit of a no brainer.
September 11, 2001 was spectacle. Many more people have been killed in the subsequent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but a few villagers killed by a cluster bomb doesn't have the same visual impact as people leaping to their deaths from one of the tallest buildings in the world because it is preferable to burning alive.
And I certainly agree. I have no fear of the terrorists or where they will target next; the direct threat they pose is utterly pathetic. Lightning poses a greater threat to me, and I live somewhere that gets a good thunderstorm once every two years.
I have a far greater concern about what our government is doing. Our knee-jerking government is far more threatening to my freedom than any terrorist. Already, information stored in my brain is technically illegal to write down in this country ("information that could be of aid to terrorists"). Already, if someone in government was determined to shut me up, they could easily put me away just by looking at the contents of my parts bin ("oooh, you have electronic TIMERS in there!") and the contents of my shed (I have some generic weedkiller that could also be used as bomb ingredients).
The threat of terrorism is massively overblown. But people seem to welcome our freedoms being eroded, nonetheless, which is far more disturbing.
I was at work when it hapenned and no idea what had hapenned until it flashed up on our screens 'Number for World Trade Centre Diasaster' (i worked for Directory enquires then). No one had any idea what this was about. Then a while later another message flashed up on our screens 'Number for Pentagon Diasaster..'. Then huge numbers of people starting phoning in wanting the number for Heathrow as it apparently shut down. It wasn't until i got home i found out exactly what was going on. It was awful, seeing people jumping out of the burning towers to a certain death. My brother lost an old schoolfriend in that attack.
I was at work that day as well and remember we all stopped and listened to the radio and staggered at the audacity of the attack.
I remember the enormous shock value the attack created and was stunned that they attacked the heart of America and destroyed a USA icon in such a devastating manner.
Yes, in hindsight it was no more than show of strength and a message saying "We can do this when we want and how we want to and you can't do anything about it" but it definitely changed the way people view terrorists and terrorism itself.
I remember a few things. Hopping between US news and BBC news channels on the telly.
The BBC news seemed clearer on what was happening (the reverse was true with the London bus bombings). Wondering, briefly, if a war had started. Going on the Rage Against the Machine board that I used to hang out on, and seeing a thread entitled "burn motherfucker, burn"
Going to chiefly U.S board I posted on, and feeling the group fears there.
Then I went out to the shop, and en route bumped into my dumb neighbour who hadn't heard. I explained that I thought that world war 3 might have just kicked off, and what I'd seen on telly, he said "my god,... my legs still bad you know, I went to the doctor again". Twat
Within 12 hours, the board I was running (an alternative to the RATM board) was flooded with conspiracy theories posted by some anarchists, and it was about the same time, I ended my no censorship post what you want policy on boards I run.
I came home early from school that day, I waitched it on TV with my mum. It was awful... We were all sure that Westminster Palace (Houses of Parliament for those of you who don't know its real name) and Buckingham Palace were gonna be next.
I find it an odd coincidence that on that day, the US air force had cut down the number of its patrols. Food for thought, anyone?
I find it an odd coincidence that on that day, the US air force had cut down the number of its patrols. Food for thought, anyone?
No, not really. Patrols go up and down every day, it's highly likely that $BADSTUFF will just happen to occur on a day where patrols are lower.
Saying "I find it an odd coincidence [...] Food for thought, anyone?" is pretty much functionally equivalent to saying, "I find it an odd coincidence that I flipped a 50p coin and it landed tails up that day. Food for thought, anyone?"
What the conspiracy theorists don't seem to understand is that the US government is far too incompetent to keep a lid on anything for very long. They can't even keep nuclear secrets from China. Most governments are certainly far too incompetent to keep the lid on genuine conspiracies for any measurable length of time, especially when you consider the number of people who would have to have been involved.
I remember that day well. A couple of friends had come over to my bachelor pad and since I didn't have TV back then, we were chilling out to some music and chatting away when another friend casually walked in and said, "You guys heard about the terrorist attack on WTC?". All of scampered to watch TV at the local TV shop. There was a huge crowd outside with people standing mutely watching the attack replay over and over again. We finally found a bit of space in a clothes retail shop and saw the attacks for ourselves for a good 1 hour.
What I distinctly remember is the total silence in the shops as people watched the events on TV. There were some moist eyes too. I know mine was. And anger - not against anyone specific (for it wasn't clear who was behind it at that time) - but just slow quiet anger that anyone could perpetuate this kind of crime against innocents. Even today when I see the reports on TV I find it surreal to watch the events on the screen.
Speaking of which, there's a really great book that debunks the myth that no-one ever landed on the moon, exposing all of the faulty thinking behind that particular conspiracy theory. Now if only I could remember the name of it.
For the ultimate consipiracy theory watch a documentry called 'Loose Change' about the 9/11 attacks. My brother has it on DVD. It states that the whole thing was a massive Goverment cover up. I think it's sale has been banned in America. I watched it with an open mind, and by the end it did get me thinking - i just don't know what to think. A cover up on that scale would have been impossible to keep secret for long as Winston previously said as so many people were involved.
Comments
Whenever I read comments made on that day and feel the fear from those posts I always remind myself to look at this site:
http://www.werenotafraid.com/images/755/index.html#
The world showing two fingers to that scum.
However terrible 11th of September was, it was not a potential world-ending crisis like the Cuban Missile Crisis by a country mile.
However, we did fear it would be a freedom ending crisis once the dust had settled and shock had receeded.
and this one by our vey own Nick Humprhies
and then there is Burt
Edit:
The first was some dick appearing in a "condolence" thread to explain that he (I assume it was a he) supported the attacks and then tried to justify his support for mass-murder by going "ah, but America dropped some bombs so they basically deserve it". I'm pleased to say I recall he was pulled to pieces.
Another thing I recall is people making-up conspiracy theories off the top of their heads on the day long before Wearechange and CornishDavey and all the rest of them started their long war of attrition against what actually happened. One I recall quite well was a post on an internet forum regarding the fate of the missing airliner in which someone claimed something along the lines of "the airliner was landed, probably in the desert. The passengers will have been taken off and shot or something similar". What struck me at the time was the certainty of the tone, the statement as fact something which they were simply making up. It was an interesting look into that sort of mindset.
I agree. There's really been nothing before or since that was quite as "all or nothing" as the Cuban Missile Crisis. Having said that, a lot of people assumed that some sort of huge, world-spanning war was going to kick off with atomic weapons and the lot because of a deep-seated fear of the United States which (I think) came out of a mixture of hyperbole about US military capabilities and a long line of popular culture which portrays the US as a cod-democracy run by shadowy organisations.
I was listening to Mark & Lard on Radio One at the time in my lunch break at work. I remember that there was a sketch involving chipmunks just before the news and the news, obviously, lead with that story. My first thought, like a lot of people, was that it must be an accident.
I remember going home and listening to the news on the radio on the bus and it saying both towers were destroyed and thinking "how the hell did that happen?" I'm not surprised some people got sucked-into some of the conspiracy stuff at the time (even if they had no excuses later on) since the towers being destroyed seemed utterly bizarre.
Unlike most people, I was more concerned about what the terrorists were going to do next rather than what the Americans were going to do. I though the 9/11 attacks were the first of a general "wave" of attacks against the West and I assumed Europe would be next.
I actually didn't believe him at first, but I got up had a wash and went over to his house, we watched the carnage unfold via a live feed on the news channel.
It was pretty unnerving especially when the second plane hit, I think me and him started drinking early that day. They kept showing the footage of the planes hitting over and over. It actually felt like it wasn't really happening tbh.
I knew from that moment on the world was going to be a different place, and I was right, although I can't score myself points for that, given the size of the catastrophy it's a bit of a no brainer.
And I certainly agree. I have no fear of the terrorists or where they will target next; the direct threat they pose is utterly pathetic. Lightning poses a greater threat to me, and I live somewhere that gets a good thunderstorm once every two years.
I have a far greater concern about what our government is doing. Our knee-jerking government is far more threatening to my freedom than any terrorist. Already, information stored in my brain is technically illegal to write down in this country ("information that could be of aid to terrorists"). Already, if someone in government was determined to shut me up, they could easily put me away just by looking at the contents of my parts bin ("oooh, you have electronic TIMERS in there!") and the contents of my shed (I have some generic weedkiller that could also be used as bomb ingredients).
The threat of terrorism is massively overblown. But people seem to welcome our freedoms being eroded, nonetheless, which is far more disturbing.
I remember the enormous shock value the attack created and was stunned that they attacked the heart of America and destroyed a USA icon in such a devastating manner.
Yes, in hindsight it was no more than show of strength and a message saying "We can do this when we want and how we want to and you can't do anything about it" but it definitely changed the way people view terrorists and terrorism itself.
The BBC news seemed clearer on what was happening (the reverse was true with the London bus bombings). Wondering, briefly, if a war had started. Going on the Rage Against the Machine board that I used to hang out on, and seeing a thread entitled "burn motherfucker, burn"
Going to chiefly U.S board I posted on, and feeling the group fears there.
Then I went out to the shop, and en route bumped into my dumb neighbour who hadn't heard. I explained that I thought that world war 3 might have just kicked off, and what I'd seen on telly, he said "my god,... my legs still bad you know, I went to the doctor again". Twat
Within 12 hours, the board I was running (an alternative to the RATM board) was flooded with conspiracy theories posted by some anarchists, and it was about the same time, I ended my no censorship post what you want policy on boards I run.
*wanders off*
I find it an odd coincidence that on that day, the US air force had cut down the number of its patrols. Food for thought, anyone?
I didn't say it didn't bother me.
Let's keep the "Truther" content down to zero, shall we?
No, not really. Patrols go up and down every day, it's highly likely that $BADSTUFF will just happen to occur on a day where patrols are lower.
Saying "I find it an odd coincidence [...] Food for thought, anyone?" is pretty much functionally equivalent to saying, "I find it an odd coincidence that I flipped a 50p coin and it landed tails up that day. Food for thought, anyone?"
What the conspiracy theorists don't seem to understand is that the US government is far too incompetent to keep a lid on anything for very long. They can't even keep nuclear secrets from China. Most governments are certainly far too incompetent to keep the lid on genuine conspiracies for any measurable length of time, especially when you consider the number of people who would have to have been involved.
What I distinctly remember is the total silence in the shops as people watched the events on TV. There were some moist eyes too. I know mine was. And anger - not against anyone specific (for it wasn't clear who was behind it at that time) - but just slow quiet anger that anyone could perpetuate this kind of crime against innocents. Even today when I see the reports on TV I find it surreal to watch the events on the screen.
Bytes:Chuntey - Spectrum tech blog.
Traditional US enemies
1914-1920 Evil Germans
1940-1945 Evil Japs
1945-1990 Evil communists
1995 Evil extreme christians
1995 on - Evil Islam
What will they conjure up next.
1775-1783: Evil Brits
I reckon the next one will be "Evil Ruskies" considering what's going on right now...
I don't know the book, but out of the many "debunking" web pages out there, this is quite a good one:-
http://www.braeunig.us/space/hoax.htm
.
[gv]-3214024953129565561[/gv]
Large-screen-o-vision