On a day when Russian President Vladimir V. Putin told Bush in a phone call that “there are things we cannot forget, we must not forget,” 53% of 2,803 respondents to an instant poll by the Echo of Moscow radio station said the United States “deserved” last year’s attacks.
I didn’t want to deal with this yesterday to pay at least some respect to those who died, but I was very disheartened to read this story in yesterday’s LA Times. Almost on cue, a complete stranger instant messaged me on AIM, wanting to talk about our present situation in Iraq, and how America’s insistence on being Global Asshole was feeding the fire for this sentiment.
After all, while thousands perished that morning, it’s nothing compared to the innocents who have died around the world because of U.S. aggression.
Am I missing something? When did Osama bin Ladin become the spokesperson for those around the world with grievances towards the U.S.? When the did rest of the world want to even insinuate that the mass murder of thousands of civilians was a legitimate negotiating tool.
Let’s keep things in perspective. I’m all for dealing with what’s wrong with U.S. foreign policy, but if we’re going to validate fanaticism, why did we ever execute that “freedom fighter” Timothy McVeigh?
Just flipping the channels and then I saw this, to air on PBS tonight:
NOVA Online | Why the Towers Fell | Deconstructing the Towers’ Collapse | PBS
Deconstructing the Towers’ Collapse
by Brad Kloza
To many who witnessed the horrific attacks on the World Trade Center last September, it might appear obvious why the Twin Towers fell: They were struck at blinding speed by two massive aircraft carrying thousands of gallons of jet fuel, whose ignition generated a fire so searing that it weakened steel beams to the point of collapse.
Got a call from my deviant friend Kevin today. I was out walking Rudy, getting a gatorade from the liquor store, and he was telling me about a girl he’d seen in KoreAm journal who died in the 9/11 attacks.
I’d seen the article myself and hadn’t thought twice about it. And then I checked, and found out it was her.
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NOV 21, 2001 13:37 – U2 frontman, Bono, has compared Osama bin Laden to the IRA, according to reports.
The singer told a British tabloid that bin Laden is nothing more than a middle-class brat:
“He’s just a rich kid, as often were the members of the Provisional IRA.”
“They were political science students. We grew up in their environs and got to despise them, these people who see ideas as more valuable than human life.”
Five Firefighters Rescued From WTC Rubble – CNN
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Five firefighters were pulled alive from the smoldering rubble of the World Trade Center on Thursday, two days after hijackers crashed planes into its twin towers, leaving thousands feared dead.
Hundreds of emergency workers using heavy equipment and their bare hands have been digging through the collapsed 110-story buildings steel and concrete wreckage but had previously only rescued a handful of survivors.
Tuesdays strike, in which hijackers also slammed a plane into the Pentagon (news – web sites) and commandeered a fourth plane that crashed in a field in Pennsylvania, was the worst attack on U.S. soil since Pearl Harbor.
