September 11, 2006

[gumboot]

It has ticked over to September 11 down here at the bottom of the world.

Over the next 48 hours, the nations of the world will, one by one, pass through this important day.

I just want to take a moment to reflect on the fundamental importance of this day. Nearly 3,000 people died, in a matter of a few hours. At 8am, they were all going about their daily lives. By 1003 their lives had been extinguished.

Truth has become a flexible and subjective thing in this modern age of sound-byte news and "alternative thinking". We owe it to the victims of this day to ensure that a more substantial and unyielding understanding of "truth" is restored. In ancient times, a poor understanding of the world around us understandably produced mythological versions of events. There is no excuse in this day and age.

The truth is there, hidden amongst the detrius of conspiracy theories and bad journalism. Your mission, JREF Ninjas, is to continue to assemble the evidence and the facts, and to spread this knowledge.

Why?

1) The victims of this day deserve to have their story told truthfully, for all time.
2) The perpetrators of these crimes, and their supporters, must never be allowed to asway or deny guilt for what they did based on myth and false truth.

My heart goes out to my American friends.



May we never forget.

-Andrew

 

[Arkan_Wolfshade]

It has ticked over to September 11 down here at the bottom of the world.

Over the next 48 hours, the nations of the world will, one by one, pass through this important day.

I just want to take a moment to reflect on the fundamental importance of this day. Nearly 3,000 people died, in a matter of a few hours. At 8am, they were all going about their daily lives. By 1003 their lives had been extinguished.

Truth has become a flexible and subjective thing in this modern age of sound-byte news and "alternative thinking". We owe it to the victims of this day to ensure that a more substantial and unyielding understanding of "truth" is restored. In ancient times, a poor understanding of the world around us understandably produced mythological versions of events. There is no excuse in this day and age.

The truth is there, hidden amongst the detrius of conspiracy theories and bad journalism. Your mission, JREF Ninjas, is to continue to assemble the evidence and the facts, and to spread this knowledge.

Why?

1) The victims of this day deserve to have their story told truthfully, for all time.
2) The perpetrators of these crimes, and their supporters, must never be allowed to asway or deny guilt for what they did based on myth and false truth.

My heart goes out to my American friends.



May we never forget.

-Andrew

I can only speak for myself, but I say thank you Andrew. That day affected a lot of people, across the globe. Though most of the lives lost were American, it was truly an international tragedy. JREF is an international community, and our combined efforts on this forum contribute, at least in some small part, to making the world a less divided, but still individual place.

 

[Graham2001]

At the time I sent messages to various webgroups that I was a part of offering my sympathy.

That sympathy goes out again.

It's now September 11 2006 in Western Australia.

May those who were truly responsible for what happened five years get the punisment that they deserved. May those who deny that responsibility also get shown up for what they are.

 

[60hzxtl]

Why we Fight

2) The perpetrators of these crimes, and their supporters, must never be allowed to asway or deny guilt for what they did based on myth and false truth.

My heart goes out to my American friends.



May we never forget.

-Andrew

Thank you my friend.

As the denizens of Guantanamo have been afforded the rights of civilization and will be coming before trial or tribunal, it is vital that the CT nonsense never be used or legitimized; it might cause a weak minded juror to have reasonable doubt, allowing genuine evil to prosper.

 

[The_Fire]

memories

It just turned 9-11-2006 over here (8 minutes ago according to my watch as I start this post).

I can still acutely remember trying to figure out how many of my american and canadian friends, few as they were, whom might have been in Manhattan. I still remember when I realised that it was not an accident, but a deliberate attack. I remember trying to focus on keep working because I knew there was nothing I could do. I remember. Probably always will.

I remember the relief when one by one my friends mailed me back and told me that they were ok. I remember the small laugh I had amidst the horror when I realised that I had managed to write a guy in LA and one in Vancouver as well as my friends in New York.

I remember the determination of not allowing the terrorists to wreck my first holiday in years. I remember the relief I felt when I arrived at Vancouver Airport on 9/20 2001 and saw machingun armed RCMPs in the arrival terminal, having just landed with the first flight from Denmark to Canada after the attack.

I remember the rising fears though these past 5 years. I remember governments cashing in on that fear in regards to their politics and to staying in power.

But most freshly I remember the outrage when I realised that certain ******** were trying to profit off the tragedy by belittling the victims and twisting facts so much out of proportions that it was no longer fun nor truthfull. I remember how I saw people rise to the challenge and take them on.

These memories will also stay with me for life. And so will the determination of not allowing the real truth, the evidence based truth, to be forgotten in favour of mediahype.

 

[GlennB]

Truth has become a flexible and subjective thing in this modern age of sound-byte news and "alternative thinking". We owe it to the victims of this day to ensure that a more substantial and unyielding understanding of "truth" is restored. In ancient times, a poor understanding of the world around us understandably produced mythological versions of events. There is no excuse in this day and age.

Amen

 

[TobiasTheViking]

i'm 58 minutes late. My thought still goes out to all the families that were broken and all the lives that were wasted and spilled on the ground 5 years ago.

I wanna write something deep and all.. but... It was a tragedy and a travesty, and sadly, it doesn't look like we have even learned anything from it.

 

[stateofgrace]

It is now 911 in the UK. It is just after midnight.

Five years ago the most horrific terrorist attack ever took 3000 innocent lives away. The lives of men, women and children.

Today the vast majority will reflect in a somber and extremely respectful manner. Across the world people will remember where they were the moment they heard about this and saw for the first time the horrific images.

In five short years, a small vocal fringe movement has tried it’s hardest to hijack this dreadful event to further themselves. They have failed, they will never succeed, because sanity, rationality and above morality can never be defeated.

All the best on this most painful day, especially to those directly involved. To all those that have fought these stupid conspiracies over these years, you have my respect and best wishes for today.

To those that promote these theories, maybe today is a good day to reflect on your nonsense, grow up and finally show some respect for this day.


Best wishes America, on this sad day.

 

[Pardalis]

Very nice words Gumboot.

This crime was a crime against all of us, all of what is good and free.

Monday, we will all remember.

 

[NickUK]

September 11th has just started here in the UK.

I remember so vividly the events 5 years ago, sat at home on my day off from the hospital where I worked, watching with utter, stunned, silent horror at what was happening.

My country lost 67 of it's people that day. Like Portgual, New Zealand, Jamaica, Bangladesh, Korea and the other nations of the world who also lost citizens, you'll forgive us if we too share today's pain.

New York is, perhaps more than anywhere else on earth, is a true melting pot of humanity and I believe that this is one of the reasons that the fascists who fatuously ally themselves with Islam chose this place to murder and maim that day.

What sticks with me now are the victims: people who paid mortgages, brown, white and black people, straight and gay people, millionaire bankers and poor cleaners. Muslims and Jews. God, I find this so hard to deal with, but the chance aspect...just being on a plane, just being in an office...and you're gone. It's so hard to fathom, and it literally could be any of us. All those years saving, having kids, loving and being loved...and you're gone. It's so random, almost pathetically so. Maybe this is where the conspiracy theorists are coming from. Maybe it's the fact that, ultimately, we can control our lives only so much.

I don't post on here as often as I would like, because people I have a genuine admiration for - Abby, Gravy, Markyx et al - know more than I do and express it so well. But, I would say that I am proud to be a member here. Your dedication to rebutting the lies, rumour and innuendo and doing so with the respect and humour you do is inspiring.

Your glorious, dirty, loud and vivacious city will one day heal the wounds of that day, but today, 5 years on we are with you.

We're all New Yorkers. Be there for us at Ground Zero. All of us.

Very Sincerely,

Nick Draper
A Nurse, from Manchester, UK

 

[Class]

It has been 9/11 for 17 minutes here on the East Coast and 5 years later I can still remember the phone call from my dad telling me to turn on the news. I can still remember the images of the towers burning and collapsing. I still remember the fear, the anxiety, and the uncertainty of what was to come. I still remember the feeling I had when I remembered my mom was flying to Texas for business that morning and not knowing if she was alive or not. These memories will never be forgotten by me, nor anyone who witnessed the events of September 11, 2001.

My heart goes out to those who were affected in anyway by 9/11 and I hope to see you guys at Ground Zero tomorrow.

 

[DarkMagician]

Still 26 minutes until 9/11 here. My heart goes out to those affected, and may we punish the people responsible.

We will never forget.

 

[LashL]

Truth has become a flexible and subjective thing in this modern age of sound-byte news and "alternative thinking". We owe it to the victims of this day to ensure that a more substantial and unyielding understanding of "truth" is restored. In ancient times, a poor understanding of the world around us understandably produced mythological versions of events. There is no excuse in this day and age.

Indeed.

Your entire post is very touching and poignant, Andrew.

Let us not ever forget that the truth should not be a malleable plaything in the hands of people who mock the victims while unabashedly distorting the truth in order to fool the gullible and/or the grieving and gain celebrity for themselves.

The truth is there, hidden amongst the detrius of conspiracy theories and bad journalism. Your mission, JREF Ninjas, is to continue to assemble the evidence and the facts, and to spread this knowledge.

Mission accepted.

 

[Brainache]

On Sepember 11 2001 I was at home with a friend. She had come over to watch Voyager. The West Wing was on the telly and it was interrupted with a news break saying that the WTC had been hit by two planes.
WTF???
We watched the end of The West Wing and then the news coverage started.
We sat there transfixed as the live feed showed us unbelievable images one after another for hours on end. There was a lot of confusing stuff coming from reporters on the ground and commentators in the studio. We watched until about four in the morning. I kept thinking this was like a disaster movie, where was the hero? Why didn't the cavalry or Bruce Willis show up to save everyone at the last minute?
Guess what. There was no last minute. It kept going. It is still going.
While ever these CTs keep thinking the world is like Hollywood where all the bad guys are easy to catch with just a bit of good ol' American know how and apple pie there never will be an end to it.
Life is an ongoing process. If some new investigation happens and someone gets scapegoated it still won't be over.
Catch Osama? someone else will take his place.
Indict Bush? Proves nothing.
The world got scarier for me on 9/11, but that's because I didn't know it already was that scary.
I won't forget that night(Sydney time) and I hope we can find a way to one day stop fundamentalists from destroying the planet completely.

 

[R.Mackey]

Good thread. Let's keep it respectful.

I was in Seattle on the morning of September 11th, there to meet with folks in Boeing commercial aircraft division. My drive to the meeting coincided with the chaos in New York and other places. As the day unfolded, we felt terrible for people suffering, helpless to do anything, and at the same time in a small way responsible. Those were our aircraft. In a very (very) small way, my aircraft.

The chaos was palpable. At one point, a rumour was going around that Camp David had been hit. Another said the Space Needle was at risk. We even considered that the aircraft assembly areas at Everett might be a target. Thankfully, there were only four hijacked aircraft.

This all happened only one week after I returned from the longest backpacking trip I'd ever been on, a solid week in the Sierras with my now-wife and without any other significant contact with the world outside. I was bewildered, this time more than any other in my life wondering if, perhaps, civilization as we know it was actually a bad idea.

And my experience utterly pales in the face of those who saw it up close, still bear the scars, or perished.

Since then I've lost several friends to the wars that followed. I've watched Americans make some good choices, some bad ones, and some that are still too early to evaluate. I've written letters to my congressman, I've protested a few times, I've helped produce benefits for 9-11 victims and veterans returning from the front lines. I've conversed with many, many people over the 'Net. I've been able to educate a few, and learned much myself. I still feel I should do much, much more.

It's important to me to keep a brave outlook, and continue to better myself and my country. I believe the victims would have wanted that. Still, we must never forget.

All of you heading to Ground Zero, stay safe.

 

[Peephole]

Check the CNN site. They've got a guy walking around ground zero with a camera. It's pretty neat. So far see only two trooothers and no OMGF911INSIDEJOBWTFBBQ signs.

Edit: In a half hour they also start airing footage of their coverage of 9/11 on the day.

 

[Sword_Of_Truth]

Edit: In a half hour they also start airing footage of their coverage of 9/11 on the day.

I heard about CNN webcasting thier original coverage as it happened.

Expect thousands of loosers to stay at home today happily quote mining as though anything said within the first hours after the attacks were the proclamations of a god-like omniscience.

 

[NDBoston]

I was at 7WTC on the 43rd floor when the first plane hit.

There's not a day goes by that I don't think about what happened and saw and I mourn the loss of my friends.

I won't ever forget and won't rest until people like Dylan Avery and Alex Jones stop profiting from the death of my friends.

 

[Arkan_Wolfshade]

I was at work. Usual day of helping end lusers that couldn't remember the instructions on how to do something, even if they had been told 20 times before. It was busy enough I hadn't been on the web much that morning yet. The shop floor manager came in to the MIS room and said that someone had flown a plane into one of the WTC towers. My initial thought was that it was a small prop job, or some similar small 1 or 2 engine aircraft and I said something to the effect of "WTF? How damn stupid do you have to be to not see a big ass building in front of you?" But, my curiosity was piqued so I hit the 'net. Then I became the Dan Rather of the office as it sunk it that it had been an airliner and there was serious damage.

Everyone knows how the day progressed.

I can still remember the ******** that ran the company, not letting anyone go early, even given the magnitude of the events. I can also remember being the first person to suggest dropping the flag to half staff.

I'm too young for Challenger to be a big memory, I was only in 4th grade at the time, it's just a vague memory to me. Same for the attempt on President Reagan's life. Now, I have my own, "Where were you when..." memory. I wish I didn't, but I know that it is just a part of life.

I think I'll do like many of the others here on the forums and take a 24-hr break from dealing with the CTists.

 

[kevin]

5 years ago I was flying every monday to Denver Colorado and back to KC for an hour meeting. I took 9/11 off to get my house assessed to re-finance it. I slept in late, getting up at 8am central time. There was something on the radio about a bombing, at first I thought it was an Oklahoma City retrospective. Then the WTC came up and I thought it was a retrospective on the original WTC bombing. Finally it dawned on me that it was live. I turned on the TV just in time to see the 2nd airplane go into the tower.

I spent the rest of the day watching the news, trying to call my 2 brothers that live in NYC, and calling my dad to see if they had checked in. Eventually they were able to get through and were all OK.