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World Trade Towers and Pentagon Attacked

The World Trade Towers in new york were crashed into by 2 planes, one on each tower, 18 minutes apart. Nobody really knows who did it, but the planes were big ones. Normally I wouldn't consider posting this on Slashdot, but I'm making an exception this time because I can't get news through any of the conventional websites, and I assume I'm not alone. Update We're having server problems. Sorry. Updated info, both towers havecollapsed, pentagon hit by 3rd plane. Part of it has collapsed.

72 of 1,215 comments (clear)

  1. cnn report by schmack · · Score: 5, Informative

    apologies to cnn for ripping this off their site:

    NEW YORK (CNN) -- What appeared to be two passenger planes crashed into the World Trade Center towers in Manhattan on Tuesday, leaving both towers in flames.

    About 18 minutes after the first plane hit the northern tower, a second plane slammed into the southern tower, erupting into a huge fireball. The harrowing images were caught in live video.

    Live pictures showed a gaping hole on the side of the northern building, several stories down from the top. Black smoke was billowing from at least two sides.

    The second crash hit the second tower several stories lower than the first in a huge burst of flame.

    Sean Murtagh, a CNN vice president, was in an office near the World Trade Center towers at the time of the first crash. He witnessed the crash.

    "It was a jet, looked like a two-engine jet," Murtagh said. "It looked like maybe a 737."

    Murtagh said he saw the plane "teetering back and forth, wingtip to wingtip" before the plane smashed into the side of the building.

    Jeanne Yurman witnessed the explosion that followed the crash.

    "At first it was like leaflets," she said, describing the debris that fell to the ground. "There was tons of debris and it continues to fall out."

    Yurman said she did not see the plane.

  2. ABC's down too by evenprime · · Score: 2, Informative

    I can't get to www.abcnews.com, either

    --

    "Weapons should be hardy rather than decorative" - Miyamoto Musashi
    I think that goes for OS's too
  3. Hijacked by J.C.B. · · Score: 2, Informative

    MSNBC has been saying that the FBI thinks one or both of the planes were hijacked.

  4. News so far by Mondrames · · Score: 5, Informative

    Ok this is what I know:
    8:55 one Plane or missile hits tower
    9:05 secone 727 Passanger plane hits tower

    Eye witnessess are pretty sure the first one was a plane, but some believe they saw a missile.

    2nd crash caught on tape because news crews came to cover 1st crash.

    Not sure if it is navigational error or deliberate attacks.

    All I know, and could be erronous - everything is the first hour into an event like this

  5. photo by Staciebeth · · Score: 4, Informative

    the washington post has a photo

  6. Today Show by Erasei · · Score: 3, Informative

    Well, take it for what it is worth, but the Today Show is claiming that both planes were hijacked. Like Taco said, the only size of the planes being reported is 'big'. But if they really were hijacked, that usually implies they were pretty good sized planes.

    --
    visit my free wallpaper collection, wp.erasei.com
  7. Apparently... by !ramirez · · Score: 2, Informative

    It was 2 737-800's, possibly Delta Express. No word on hijacking, etc.

  8. BBC Coverage by GrEp · · Score: 4, Informative

    This is the story at BBC.

    I hope you all enjoy. The BBC ususaly is better at reporting anyway.

    --

    bash-2.04$
    bash-2.04$yes "Don't you hate dialup connections?"| write USERNAME
  9. Re:i only hope by og_sh0x · · Score: 2, Informative

    It looks like a kamikaze terrorist attack to me. I was watching it on TV, and two planes hit, one on each tower, about 18 minutes apart, in crystal clear visbility. This was not an accident.

  10. I saw it... by EEEthan · · Score: 4, Informative

    I was going over the Williamsburg bridge this morning...at that time, I saw that the first tower was on fire. I saw the clock at the Essex/Delancey station, it was about 3 of 9.
    When I got to work in DUMBO, I saw that the other tower was on fire.

    This is insanity.

  11. url by magoo · · Score: 4, Informative

    see http://www.canoe.ca to see the hole in the WTA!

  12. The Running Man by gughunter · · Score: 2, Informative

    Damn... now Stephen King is going to have to deal with ANOTHER round of people blaming popular culture for inspiration to perform violent acts.

  13. PHOTOS AT BBC ONLINE!!! by Trinity-Infinity · · Score: 3, Informative

    They've got some footage at the BBC... Its the only thing I can access so far

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/americas/ne wsid_1537000/1537469.stm">http://news.bbc.co.uk /hi/english/world/americas/newsid_1537000/1537469. stm

  14. Sites by Runt-Abu · · Score: 2, Informative

    BBC is being slow but does load with
    http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/americas/ ne wsid_1537000/1537469.stm

    The fastest loading thus far is http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_395669.html

    Woah.

    --

    GCM d+ s+:+ a- c++ U? P! L E-- W++ NM+ V PS- PE+ Y+ PGP- t 5+ X?+ R+++$ tv+ b+ DI++++ D---- G e
  15. Working link & photos by nmg196 · · Score: 2, Informative

    Sky news has an article with pictures:

    http://www.sky.com/skynews/storytemplate/storytopp ic/0,,30000-1029102,00.html

    ..until I post this that is!

    Nick...

  16. Another site... by dylan_- · · Score: 2, Informative


    Since so many appear to be slashdotted This is London also has it.

    Avoiding the filter, etc, etc

    --
    Igor Presnyakov stole my hat
  17. Latest from ABC News: by RasputinAXP · · Score: 4, Informative
    First of all, all NYC news stations cannot broadcast locally, their antennae are on the WTC.

    The second plane was shown crashing in. From the outline of the plane in the video, it was a Boeing 737 or 727. Midsized twin-engine jet, full of fuel.

    Reports are confirmed of one hijacking; they are also sure that they were both planes.

    I'm thanking God that my father didn't have any business in NY today. I'm also praying that none of my family were around there.

  18. MIRROR by macdaddy · · Score: 5, Informative
    Here's a mirror of the Washington Post picture before it gets /.ed. It shows a big hole in one tower ad billowing black smoke from both. Also, here's a rip off of the Washington Post story. (sorry WP):

    Planes Crash Into World Trade Center

    NEW YORK - An aircraft crashed into the upper floors of one of the World Trade Center towers Tuesday morning, and black smoke poured out of two gaping holes, witnesses said. Shortly afterward a second explosion rocked the other tower.

    There was no immediate word on injuries or fatalities in the disaster, which happened shortly before 9 a.m.

    The plane was coming in low and ... it looked like it hit at a slight angle," said Sean Murtagh, a CNN vice president, the network reported.

    Large holes were visible in two sides of the 110-story building, one of landmark twin towers.

    There was no immediate word on injuries or fatalities in the twin disasters, which happened shortly before 9 a.m. and then right around 9 a.m.

    The towers were struck by bombers in February 1993.

    "The plane was coming in low and ... it looked like it hit at a slight angle," said Sean Murtagh, a CNN vice president, the network reported.

    Large holes were visible in sides of the 110-story buildings, landmark twin towers.

    The tops of the twin towers were obscured by the smoke.

    Thousands of pieces of what appeared to be office paper came drifting over Brooklyn, about three miles from the tower, one witness said.

    The center bombingon Feb. 26, 1993, killing six people and injured more than 1,000 others.

    In 1945, an Army Air Corps B-25, a twin-engine bomber, crashed into the 79th floor of the Empire State Building in dense fog.

  19. More pictures by gimbo · · Score: 3, Informative

    Here are some more pictures, obtained from Sky News - scary stuff...

  20. www.boston.com has a picture and a one page story. by slugwater · · Score: 2, Informative

    The site is loading relatively fast. www.boston.com has a picture and a one page story.

  21. hijacking by jamesbrown1000 · · Score: 2, Informative

    the FBI is reporting at least one of the two planes was hijacked -- an american airlines flight from boston to los angeles. nobody knows yet where the plane was in its travels when it was hijacked.

    --
    Mindy: "Well...desserts aren't always right." Homer: "But they're so sweet!"
  22. USAtoday has coverage by ZeroVerteX · · Score: 2, Informative

    Check USA Today's site. It still seems to be up.

    --
    If it can go wrong it wnetscape: Segmentation Fault, Core dumped
  23. Explosion at Capitol Building by waldoj · · Score: 2, Informative

    ABC News just said that there's been "an explosion of some kind" at the Capitol Building. No more information available now.

  24. BREAKING NEWS! by Surak · · Score: 3, Informative

    According to CNN, The Pentagon and the Washington Mall were also hit!

    This is definitely a carefully planned deliberate attack by some large terrorist organization!

  25. News Mirrors by BMonger · · Score: 2, Informative

    Although I'm *quite* wary of posting this here... I've mirrored a few of the news stories at http://www.helmetboy.com

  26. FL Today Story #1 by JCMay · · Score: 3, Informative

    N.Y., D.C. attacked

    Associated Press

    NEW YORK (AP) - Two planes crashed into the upper floors of both World
    Trade Center towers minutes apart Tuesday in what the President Bush said
    was an apparent terrorist attack, blasting fiery, gaping holes in the 110-story
    buildings. There was no immediate word on deaths or injuries.

    Within the hour, an aircraft crashed on a helicopter landing pad near the
    Pentagon, and the West Wing of the White House was evacuated amid threats
    of terrorism.

    The president ordered a full-scale investigation to "hunt down the folks who
    committed this act."

    One of the planes that crashed into the World Trade Center had been hijacked
    after takeoff from Boston, a U.S. official said, citing a transmission from the
    plane.

    All planes were grounded across the country by the Federal Aviation
    Administration. All bridges and tunnels into Manhattan were closed down.

    The twin disaster at the World Trade Center happened shortly before 9 a.m.
    and then right around 9 a.m.

    Heavy black smoke billowed into the sky above the gaping holes in the side of
    the 110-story twin towers, one of New York City's most famous landmarks, and
    debris rained down upon the street, one of the city's busiest work areas. When
    the second plane hit, a fireball of flame and smoke erupted, leaving a huge
    hole in the glass and steel tower.

    People ran down the stairs in panic and fled the building. Thousands of pieces
    of what appeared to be office paper came drifting over Brooklyn, about three
    miles away.

    "Today we've had a national tragedy," Bush said in Sarasota, Fla. "Two
    airplanes have crashed into the World Trade Center in an apparent terrorist
    attack on our country." He said he would be returning immediately to
    Washington.

    Ira Furber, former National Transportation Safety Board spokesman,
    discounted the likelihood of accident.

    "I don't think this is an accident," he said on CNN. "You've got incredibly good
    visibility. No pilot is going to be relying on navigational equipment."

    "It's just not possible in the daytime," he added. "A second occurrence is just
    beyond belief."

    Terrorist bombers struck the World Trade Center in February 1993, killing six
    people and injuring more than 1,000 others.

    Several subway lines were immediately shut down Tuesday. Trading on Wall
    Street was suspended.

    "The plane was coming in low and ... it looked like it hit at a slight angle," said
    Sean Murtagh, a CNN vice president, the network reported.

    "I was watching TV and heard a sonic boom," Jeanne Yurman told CNN. "The
    side of the World Trade Center exploded. Debris is falling like leaflets. I hear
    ambulances. The northern tower seems to be on fire."

    A senior government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the
    agency is pursuing reports that one or both of the planes were hijacked and
    that the crashes may have been the result of a suicide mission.

    "It certainly doesn't look like an accident," said a second government official,
    also speaking on condition of anonymity.

    In 1945, an Army Air Corps B-25, a twin-engine bomber, crashed into the 79th
    floor of the Empire State Building in dense fog.

    In Florida, Bush was reading to children in a classroom at 9:05 a.m. when his
    chief of staff, Andrew Card, whispered into his ear. The president briefly turned
    somber before he resumed reading. He addressed the tragedy about a
    half-hour later.

  27. page copied from abcnews by suckass · · Score: 2, Informative

    Sept. 11 -- In a horrific sequence of destruction, two hijacked planes crashed into both towers of the World Trade center in New York City within minutes of each other today, causing both to collapse within an hour of the attack. A witness also reported seeing a plane crash into the Pentagon. Terrorism is suspected.

    Jordan Hints at Return to Court
    Elizabeth Dole to Announce Senate Bid
    'Hijacking' Online Advertisements

    President Bush called the events a "national tragedy" as an emergency government crisis team rallied in Washington D.C.
    Shortly after the planes crashed into the World Trade Center towers, the southern tower, 2 World Trade Center collapsed in what witnesses described as a demolition crew operation. At 10:30 a.m. ET, the northernmost tower, One World Trade Center, also collapsed.

    There were no immediate details available on casualties, but thousands of people work in the buildings affected.

    The West Wing of the White House and the Capitol have both been evacuated, and the Federal Aviation Administration issued an order that no plane was allowed to take off anywhere in the country. All military bases were put on Threatcon Alpha, the highest level of alert, after the attacks, which came without any warning.

    At least one military fighter jet patrolled the skies above Manhattan this morning in the wake of the tragedy.

    "Today we've had a national tragedy. Two airplanes have crashed into the World Trade Center in an apparent terrorist attack on this country," President Bush said.

    Police in Washington blocked off a two-block perimeter around the White House.

    Agents with automatic weapons, machine guns were trying to move tourists out of the area, locking down entire buildings around the White House.

    Cell phones may have been deliberately turned off because of fear that cell phones could be used to detonate a bomb.

    There were no immediate reports of how many were injured or the extent of damages at the twin towers, or at the Pentagon.

    A government source requesting anonymity told ABCNEWS that the FBI was investigating reports of three plane hijackings. One of the flights was American Airlines flight 11, which departed from Boston's Logan International Airport at 8 a.m. bound or Los Angeles.

    ?It?s simply a jetliner, it?s extremely reliable flown by two [people], could have been three in the cockpit," ABC aviation expert John Nance said of the Boeing 767, the plane hijacked from Boston. "The door is flimsy anyone who wants to get through that door can get through that door.?

    Nationwide Alert

    All New York City area airports were closed down shortly after the second WTC crash, and armed military aircraft imposed a no-fly zone around the city to prevent further attacks.

    In Chicago, the Sears Tower was evacuated and the police department went on heightened alert.

    "Usually the building is so full of activity, and now there's no one in the hallways. It's creepy," Cathy Grable, a 31-year-old interior designer, told the Associated Press.

    Witnesses speaking in the moments after the first crash told WABC that the first plane seemed to try to avoid the northern tower, One World Trade Center, but could not, plowing into the top floors of the north side of the northernmost tower at about 8:48 a.m. ET.

    As television camera crews filmed the billowing black smoke, a second plane, which appeared to be a Boeing 737, flew toward the towers from the west and crashed into the southern tower, 2 World Trade Center, about 20 to 25 floors from the top.

    The witnesses described the first plane as a small twin-engine passenger jet. The witnesses said it appeared that most of the jet stuck inside the building.

    "Papers were billowing down and it looked like the wing crashed down to the street causing a panic on the highway and cars hit each other. People were in a panic. Things look in better control now," a witness from the Dow Jones offices in the neighboring World Financial Center said.

    There was no immediate word on injuries or fatalities in the twin disasters, which happened shortly before 9 a.m. and then right around 9 a.m.

    Police, fire and emergency personnel were already on the scene attempting to deal with the first disaster when the second plane struck.

    Jennifer Tammi, 33, a doctoral student taking an elevated subway train from her home in Brooklyn to Columbia University in upper Manhattan, was watching the smoke from the first explosion when she saw the second plane hit the other tower.

    "I was looking at the smoke and saw a plane heading low over lower Manhattan," she said. "It banked and headed straight for the middle of the other tower. It looked like it flew right through the building."

    Large holes were visible in sides of the 110-story buildings, landmark twin towers, which were struck by terrorist bombers in February 1993.

    The tops of the twin towers were obscured by the smoke.

    Thousands of pieces of what appeared to be office paper came drifting over Brooklyn, about three miles from the tower, one witness said.

    Commodity trading in the New York Board of Trade (NYBOT) shut down after the crashes.

    "They've evacuated the building," Mike McDougall, vice president of the Latin American desk at FIMAT USA Inc., told Reuters.

    Brokers said business in NYBOT, which is located in the WTC complex and trades raw sugar, coffee, cocoa, cotton and orange juice, has been suspended.

    The World Trade Center bombing on Feb. 26, 1993, left six people dead and injured more than 1,000 others.

    In 1945, an Army Air Corps B-25, a twin-engine bomber, crashed into the 79th floor of the Empire State Building in dense fog.

    --
    blah, blah, blah
  28. Car Bombing and Another Plane by tradez · · Score: 2, Informative

    There have now been reports of a car bomb being exploded outside of the state building in Washington D.C. Also, another large aircraft, of unknown origin, crashing somewhere in summerset, PA.

  29. Other news sources-- by ggreeneva · · Score: 2, Informative

    Other English-language news sites still responding quickly:
    -- The [Toronto] Globe and Mail
    -- The Sydney Morning Herald
    -- The [Hong Kong] South China Morning Post

  30. summary news report KFWB (AM, Los Angeles) by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

    From KFWB News (AM, Los Angeles)

    http://kfwb.com/news/nat/n091101.html

    Car bomb explodes near State Department building
    Unconfirmed report: part of Pentagon building collapses after explosion
    Large plane crashes in western Pennsylvania, unconfirmed report
    Unconfirmed reports: Another hijacked plane in the air in the East Coast
    New York: both World Trade Center towers collapsed after attacks
    All emergency operation centers activated in California
    All international flights headed to Washington and New York have been diverted to Canada
    All federal buildings in Washington D.C. are closed down -- Capitol Hill, Justice Department, State Department, White House, and other buildings
    Military planes patrolling airspace above Manhattan -- told to shoot down any planes that don't leave area, unconfirmed report
    Nationally, all takeoffs have been suspended
    LAPD on tactical alert
    Explosion at Old Executive Office Building next to White House
    George W. Bush: "An apparent terrorist attack."
    One of the planes was American Airlines Flight 11, 767 jetliner headed from Boston to Los Angeles, unconfirmed reports

    (KFWB) 9.11.01, 7:44a -- In what the federal government is considering a terrorist attack, a number of apparent terrorist attacks took place in Washington, D.C. and in New York.

    Two planes crashed into the upper floors of both World Trade Center towers in New York this morning at 6am Pacific time. Black smoke is pouring out of gaping holes which were blown into the two towers from the impact and subsequent explosions.

    One of the two towers at the World Trade Center collapsed about an hour after the attack. There were eyewitness reports of people jumping and falling out of the upper floors of the towers.

    Meantime in Washington D.C., the White House and the Pentagon, Capitol Hill, and all other federal buildings have been evacuated and closed down. There are reports that an aircraft crashed on a helicopter landing pad near the Pentagon within an hour after the first attack in New York. There is also a fire at the State Department building.

    The Federal Aviation Administration has shut down all aircraft takeoffs nationwide amid reports that at least one plane was hijacked for the attack.

    Military planes are patrolling a no-fly zone above Manhattan, where there are orders to divert or shoot down any plane above downtown New York.

    President George W. Bush said that the crashes were "an apparent terrorist attack on our country." The president has cleared his day's schedule and is heading back to Washington D.C. to meet with advisors. Bush says there will be a "full scale investigation to hunt down and find those folks who have committed this act."

    In New York, two planes crashed about 18 minutes apart -- one crashed around the 80th floor of one tower, the other crashed at around the 60th floor of another tower.

    The planes are described as jet airliners.

    CNN and the AP are reporting that one of the planes may have been a hijacked American Airlines flight, a Boeing 767 jetliner, from Boston.

    A large amount of dark smoke is billowing out of the remaining tower. Debris is falling out of the upper floors of the tower and onto the streets below.

    There are major evacuations in the area. KFWB's Erin Kotecki reports that a friend in one of the towers told her by phone that the World Trade Center is being evacuated, and described the scene as "chaos."

    "Flood of folks escaping downtown Manhattan," an eyewitness reports. Emergency crews are having trouble reaching the disaster area.

    The New York stock exchange was evacuated and trading is not expected to take place. A number of financial businesses are located in the towers.

    "The plane was coming in low and ... it looked like it hit at a slight angle," said Sean Murtagh, a CNN vice president, the network reported.

    More to come on this breaking story.

  31. Re:video mirror? by beardcz · · Score: 2, Informative

    Link to the video of plane #2 crashing. Pretty scary, just like in the movies except it isn't.

    http://a188.g.akamaitech.net/f/188/920/15m/www.w as hingtonpost.com/wp-srv/mmedia/msnbc/ms091101-2v.ht m

    --
    No sig for me - too lazy to fill one in...
  32. I am looking at the Pentagon by kryzx · · Score: 4, Informative

    Can see it billowing smoke from the office
    windows. We heard a second large explosion around 10:30. Don't know what it was yet.
    One guy here was outside when the plane hit
    the Pentagon, he heard the plane's engine, saw
    the fireball. We had debris coming down in the
    courtyard here from the explosion. Have a couple
    people from the company over at the Pentagon, but
    everyone's accounted for now.

    --
    "I don't know half of you half as well as I should like, and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve."
  33. MOD this Up- eyewitness account by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    i work in NJ about 4 miles from the world trade center. we just watched the towers collapse from the roof. theres just a bunch of smoke now. a few f-14s just flew by too. ill get back with more info if i get it...

  34. London Times article by slinkygirl · · Score: 3, Informative

    http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0,,3-2001314412, 00.html TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 11 2001 AP An aircraft about to fly into the World Trade Center in New York America hit by terrorists In a horrific sequence of destruction, terrorists crashed two aircraft into the World Trade Center and knocked down the twin 110-story towers this morning. Explosions have also reportedly rocked the US Defense Department and the State Department, spreading fear across the nation. Another hijacked aircraft is on its way to Washington, DC. A fifth aircraft has also reportedly crashed just south of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. US fighter pilots are patrolling the skies over Washington. President George W. Bush has ordered a full-scale investigation to "hunt down the folks who committed this act". One of the planes that crashed into the Trade Center was American Airlines Flight 11, hijacked after take-off from Boston en route to Los Angeles, American Airlines said. It is believed that another hijacked airplane is still on its way to Washington, DC. The planes blasted fiery, gaping holes in the upper floors of the twin towers. The southern tower collapsed with a roar about an hour later. "This is perhaps the most audacious terrorist attack that's ever taken place in the world," said Chris Yates, an aviation expert at Jane's Transport in London. "It takes a logistics operation from the terror group involved that is second to none. Only a very small handful of terror groups is on that list. ... I would name at the top of the list Osama bin Laden." All airplanes were grounded across the country by the Federal Aviation Administration. All bridges and tunnels into Manhattan were closed down. The twin disaster at the World Trade Center happened shortly before 9 a.m. (1300 GMT) and then right around 9 a.m. Heavy black smoke billowed into the sky above the gaping holes in the side of the twin towers, one of New York City's most famous landmarks, and debris rained down upon the street, one of the city's busiest work areas. When the second plane hit, a fireball of flame and smoke erupted, leaving a huge hole in the glass and steel tower. John Axisa, who was getting off a commuter train to the World Trade Center, said he saw "bodies falling out" of the building. He said he ran outside, and watched people jump out of the first building, and then there was a second explosion, and he felt heat on the back of neck. Within the hour of the New York attacks, an aircraft crashed on a helicopter landing pad near the Pentagon and a car bomb exploded outside the State Department. The White House and all government buildings have been evacuated amid threats of terrorism. "Today we've had a national tragedy," Mr Bush said in Florida. "Two airplanes have crashed into the World Trade Center in an apparent terrorist attack on our country." He said he would be returning immediately to Washington. Terrorist bombers struck the World Trade Center in February 1993, killing six people and injuring more than 1,000 others. The Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) was initially reported as claiming responsibility for the attacks. But a DFLP spokesman has denied these reports. All flights in America have been grounded and flights are being diverted to Canada. The London Stock Exchange and Canary Wharf have been evacuated. Tony Blair, speaking at the TUC conference in Brighton, said: "I know that you would join with me in sending the deepest condolences to President Bush and the American people on behalf of the British people after these terrible events. "This mass terrorism is the new evil in our world today it is perpetrated by fanatics. We, the democratic societies of the world are going to have to come together to fight it together."

  35. Latest from Sky news by Ian@FI · · Score: 5, Informative

    Two planes have smashed into the World Trade Centre towers in New York and a third into the Pentagon in what is being described as the worst terrorist attack in history.

    Both the 1,360-ft towers have now collapsed. More than 50,000 people work in the complex.

    There are also reports of an explosion at Capitol Hill and of a fourth hijacked aircraft heading towards Washington.

    A separate fire forced the evacuation of the White House.

    Reports are coming in that another large plane has crashed south of Pittsburgh.

    Hijack

    It is reported two United Airlines passenger planes were hijacked shortly before the first plane struck the Trade Centre in Manhattan.

    One was thought to be a 737 capable of carrying more than 100 passengers. The other was confirmed as an American flight 11 from Boston to Los Angeles. A Boeing 767 can carry up to 269 people.

    A third plane has slammed into the Pentagon just outside Washington DC parts of the complex collapsed after fire engulfed the building. Much of the complex is in flames.

    Gaping hole

    The first plane smashed into the top stories of one of the Trade Centre's towers, leaving two gaping holes in the side.

    Minutes later another aircraft approached, turned in the air and crashed into the lower storeys of the second tower - the footage was seen live on TV stations around the world.

    The second explosion engulfed several floors.

    A person who answered the phone on the trading floor at interdealer-broker Cantor Fitzgerald, located near the top of the World Trade Center, said: "We're f***ing dying," then hung up. There was screaming and yelling in the background. A follow up call was not answered.

    "This has got to be one of the most horrendous terrorist attacks perhaps ever perpetrated," terrorism expert Chris Yates told Sky News.

    Flights grounded

    At least 1,000 people have been reported injured. The 110-storey towers are in lower Manhattan.

    All flights to the US have been diverted to Canada. All flights in the US have been grounded. Telephone lines to New York are all down.

    President Bush was in Florida at the time of the attacks but is now returning to Washington.

    More follows .

    Last Modified: 15:44 UK, Tuesday September 11, 2001

  36. LibertyNews is Available by libertynews · · Score: 2, Informative

    If people want an alternative site to post at feel free to hop over to www.libertynews.org. I've got lots of BW to spare, especially today. Please try to limit it to factual updates from around the country, limit the rampant speculation for now please.

    Brian

    --
    Remember Lexington Green!
  37. From CNN by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    Sorry for the AC, but circumstances being what they are...

    NEW YORK (CNN) -- Terrorists struck the United States Tuesday morning in harrowing, widespread attacks that included at least three commercial jet crashes into significant buildings.

    ? In the first attack, a plane smashed into the north tower of the World Trade Center in Manhattan shortly before 9 a.m., followed by another plane into the second tower about 20 minutes later. Both towers later collapsed. Sources told CNN that one of the planes was an American Airlines Boeing 767 that had been hijacked after take-off from Boston.

    ? About an hour later, a plane crashed into the Pentagon in Washington, part of which later collapsed.

    ? Sources say a second plane was heading toward the Pentagon; F-16 jets were in the air monitoring it.

    ? The Pentagon, the White House, the State Department, the Justice Department, the Capitol and all other government buildings in Washington evacuated.

    ? The FAA shut down all airports in the country, and all international flights heading into D.C. and New York airports were diverted to Canada.

    ? Israel has evacuated all its missions around the world.

    ? President Bush cancelled an appearance in Florida to return to Washington, calling the crashes "apparent terrorist attacks" and "a national tragedy."

    ? In Chicago, the Sears Tower was evacuated; United Nations in New York evacuated.

    ? The New York Port Authority said it had closed all bridges and tunnels into the city.

    ? New York's Bellevue Hospital was designated command central for handling the catastrophe. Several hospitals have already reported receiving victims with burns and head injuries.

    ? Large plane crashed 80 miles south of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, but it was unknown if this crash was connected to terrorist attacks.

    ---------------------

    There is also a photo of one of the towers missing part of its top, captioned "Flames and smoke erupt from the World Trade Center after a second plane crashes into the New York City landmark." Given one of the holes is 7 stories large, it looks like some 20-30 floors are missing from the other.

    Any word on the Pittsburg plane crash?

    Me.

  38. Plane crashes here near Pittsburgh by SilentReproach · · Score: 2, Informative

    I'm on business in Pittsburgh, and CNN just reported another 767 crashing southeast of Pittsburgh in Somerset County. The city is on alert, and of course, all airplanes are grounded. I can't reach my family to let them know all is well with me because "all circuits are busy".

    --
    Religion is the opium of the people. Evolution is the opium of scientists.
  39. View Capitol Area Footage Live by aykroyd · · Score: 2, Informative

    We're an online company broadcasting Congress online. They've evacuated the building, so we've set up a camera on the roof of our building and are streaming the Capitol and surrounding area live on the internet. Click here to see it.

  40. attack update by -ParadoX- · · Score: 2, Informative

    - Both world trade center towers collapsed
    - at least one of the planes was a 767 en route from Boston to LA.
    - a smaller plane has crashed into the Pentagon
    - a 767 is down in Somerset PA
    - a United Aircraft flight 93 is alleged by the FBI to have crashed at or near Camp David
    - today is the anniversery of the Camp David Accords
    - the state department denies a car bomb outside of a DC statebuilding contrary to early reports

  41. CBC coverage by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    CBC in Canada is reporting this:

    Both towers are now gone. Hit by hijacked commercial airplanes.

    Pentagon has been hit by a plane as well.

    Supsected 3rd plane cricling pentagon. F16 jets were scrambled.

    Another commercial plane confirmed crashed outside Somerset Airport, Pensylvania/Pitsberg.

    All international flights in air - diverted to Canada.

    Domestic flights ordered to land where ever possible.

    All flights cancelled indeffinately.

    Stock markets closed.

    All significant US buildings in Wash. and abroad have been evacuated.

    President en route from FL. to Wash.

    No words on casualties or anyone taking responsibility.

    Personally, I am losing faith in humankind as we speak.

  42. here is a link that is working right now by omoore · · Score: 4, Informative

    http://www.krmg.com/features/091101worldtradeattac k.html

  43. More reports by rabtech · · Score: 5, Informative

    All major downtown cities are being evacuated. All federal buildings across the country are also being cleared. The president is heading toward a secret destination with a squadron of fighter jets as an escort.

    Both Trade Center buildings have totally collapsed. A plan has hit the pentagon building.

    The FAA is reporting that SEVERAL planes are unaccounted for. No word on how many of those might be hijacked or their destination, although one Trans-atlantic flight is reportedly headed for Washington,DC. As a result, fighter jets are currently flying cover over the city as everyone evacuates.

    No other word so far.

    --
    Natural != (nontoxic || beneficial)
  44. Update - Plane crashes near Pittsburgh by crazydsp · · Score: 2, Informative

    I just heard that another plane has crashed near Pittsburgh.... I'm trying to get links but everything is down. Can somebody please post a copy?
    http://www.msnbc.com/news/627028.asp

  45. Try some Canadian news sources. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    www.globeandmail.com to start.

  46. For those of you without a radion nearby by Daikiki · · Score: 2, Informative

    The Realmedia feed of VOA is one of the only things I can currently reach at www.voa.gov. The stream itself can be reached directly at www.voa.gov/streams/live/newsnow.ram . It goes without saying that they're covering this full-time.

    --
    I want the fire back.
  47. More planes must land by UnBlinking · · Score: 5, Informative

    Although FAA has grounded all flights, many (**) are past the point of no return coming from Europe (Schiphol, DeGaulle, Heathrow, et al), South America, or Asia... while others (=) have turned back.

    Trackable here, with maps, direction, and air speed:

    http://www.flightexplorer.com/FastTrack.asp

    Track a random flight, or select one of particular interest.

    Reports just gathered on random flights:

    Continental express #4804 from GWB Intercon to Jackson Inter ETA 14:42 UTC
    ** American #14 from Brussels to JFK, ETA 18:28 UTC
    American Airlines #2401 Dallas to Phoenix ETA 14:40 UTC
    ** United #26 Schiphol to Newark ETA 18:22 UTC
    Delta #368 Seattle to Seattle ETA 14:34 UTC, turned back
    ** Air France #378 De Gaulle to Philadelphia ETA 16:17 UTC
    ** American #936 Simon Bolivar to Miami ETA 15:38 UTC
    Northwest #1019 George Bush to Memphis ETA 14:54 UTC
    Southwest airlines Kansas city to Will Rogers ETA 14:18 UTC
    Southwest airlines Indianapolis to Albuquerque ETA 14:44 UTC
    ** Telford Aviation #106 Heathrow to General Edward Lawrence ETA 17:42 UTC
    ** Continental #37 Dusseldorf to Newark ETA 18:08 UTC
    = Chataqua #4758 Gatwick to Orlando, has turned back
    ** Northwest Airlines #12 Tokyo Intl to Detroit ETA 19:14 UTC
    Northwest Airlines #1843 Buffalo to Minneapolis ETA 15:13 UTC
    ** American #83 Frankfurt to Chicago ETA 18:33
    = Delta #127 Barajas to JFK at 16:32 , has turned north
    ** Virgin Atlantic #27 Gatwick to Orlando ETA 18:32
    = Delta #11 Gatwick to Atlanta ETA 19:33 UTC, now turned west
    Flight International Jacksonville, Jacksonville circling.
    ** Delta #1852 Schiphol to GWBush ETA 18:14 UTC
    ** American Eagle #622 Frankfurt to Dallas ETA 19:53 UTC
    Air Canada #993 from Toronto, turned back to Toronto
    = Delta #1581 Heathrow to ? now turned north to Toronto ETA 14:17 UTC
    = Unknown #LU Gatwick to BWI at 19:33 UTC, now turned back Northeast
    = US Air #2296 Luis Munoz to Philadelphia ETA 16:06 UTC, now turned back south

    Note that some flights may not have sufficient fuel to turn back or divert -- perhaps those from the Far East, Africa, or the Middle East are the most likely to need to land in the US.

    Other options:
    http://www.trip.com/trs/trip/flighttracker/flight_ tracker_home.xsl

    GS http://www.unblinking.com/

  48. Group claims responsibility by InShadows · · Score: 2, Informative

    I found this on an Australian news agency.. (The only news agency I have been able to view so far)
    http://www.news.com.au

    below is the article from them stating who has owned up to the atrocity of the World Trade Center plane crashes.

    Group claims responsibility

    11sep01

    A PALESTINIAN group has claimed responsibility for the New York World Trade Center attacks.

    Abu Dhabi television reports it's received a call from the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine abroad claiming responsibility for crashing two planes into the World Trade Center buildings.

    Qatar-based al-Jazeera television reports FBI sources say one of the two aircraft had been hijacked.

    In another article they hint that a fourth plane was hijacked and heading towards Washington and jets have been scrambled to intercept the plane.

    IS

  49. FT - Suspicion centres on Mideast terror groups by nwetters · · Score: 3, Informative

    By FT.com staff - Sep 11 2001 15:35:23

    US President George W. Bush said on Tuesday that the full resources of the US would be used to "hunt down" the perpetrators of the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks.

    The immediate assumption was that a Middle Eastern group must be responsible for an attack of this magitude and complexity. Palestinian militants made an immediate claim of responsibility. The Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestinian, a militant splinter group, issued a statement of responsibility to a TV station in Abu Dhabai.

    Analysts said the claim should be treated with caution. The DFLP has no history of terrorist attacks outside Israel and the occupied territories. The group was founded in 1969 when it split from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and opposes the Middle East peace process.

    The group conducted numerous small bombings and minor assaults, and some more spectacular operations in Israel during the 1970s, concentrating on Israeli targets. Since 1988 it has been limited to border raids around Israel.

    Phil Butterworth-Hayes, the civil aviation editor with the Janes information group, said that aircraft attacks such as those on the WTC were very difficult to stop.

    "The whole civil aviation system works on trust. In America,security systems are the responsibility of the Federal Aviation Administration. The first thing the FAA are going to have to do is completely rethink some of the security systems they have in place at the moment," Mr Butterworth-Hayes said.

    "Terrorists are always one step ahead of the institutions that really need protection. Once you defeat one aspect of terrorism, you have to battle against something else," he said.

    © Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2001.

  50. Watching Pittsburgh local news by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    The news coming from Pittsburgh is as follows:

    The plane was either a 747 or a 757.

    If I remember correctly they say it was Cleveland to Chicago, which makes me wonder if Washington or NY was the target, since it was so off course.

    It really seems to have been hijacked. There was a 911 cellular call from the plane before it went down reporting as such.

    I think they said it may have been a United flight.

    And the kicker - There might be a _second_ hijacked plane from Pittsburgh!

    I'll post anything else that I hear.

  51. Fresh from FOX News (sorry, no DMCA right now!) by el_mex · · Score: 2, Informative

    The Twin Towers of New York's landmark World Trade Center came crashing to the ground Tuesday morning after terrorists crashed two airplanes into the buildings as part of an organized attack on America.

    An airplane crashed into the Pentagon, collapsing a portion of the five-sided building, and an explosion rocked the State Department.

    A large aircraft also went down outside Pittsburgh.

    CBS reported that intelligence sources told them that a total of eight planes have been hijacked, five are still in the air, and only three have carried out their mission so far -- the two at the World Trade Center and the one at the Pentagon

    There was no immediate word of the fate of those at the World Trade Center. Authorities had been trying to evacuate the 50,000 people who work in the Twin Towers, but many were thought to be trapped.

    President Bush ordered a full-scale investigation to "hunt down the folks who committed this act."

    Within an hour of the 9 a.m. twin crashes into the World Trade Center, an aircraft crashed on a helicopter landing pad near the Pentagon, a car bomb exploded outside the State Department, and the West Wing of the White House was evacuated amid threats of terrorism. And another explosion rocked New York about an hour after the crash.

    Authorities went on alert from coast to coast, halting all air traffic, evacuating high-profile buildings and tightening security at strategic installations.

    FNC
    Evacuations were ordered at the United Nations in New York and at the Sears Tower in Chicago. Los Angeles mobilized its anti-terrorism division, and security was intensified around the naval facilities in Hampton Roads, Va.

    One of the planes that crashed into the Trade Center was American Airlines Flight 11, hijacked after takeoff from Boston en route to Los Angeles, the airline said.

    The planes blasted fiery, gaping holes in the upper floors of the twin towers. A witness said he saw bodies falling and people jumping out. About an hour later, the southern tower collapsed with a roar and a huge cloud of smoke; the other tower fell about a half-hour after that.

    Firefighters trapped in the rubble radioed for help.

    "Today we've had a national tragedy," Bush said in Sarasota, Fla. "Two airplanes have crashed into the World Trade Center in an apparent terrorist attack on our country." He said he would be returning immediately to Washington.

    The crashes at the World Trade Center happened minutes apart, beginning just before 9 a.m.

    Heavy black smoke billowed into the sky above one of New York City's most famous landmarks, and debris rained down on the street, one of the city's busiest work areas. When the second plane hit, a fireball of flame and smoke erupted, leaving a huge hole in the glass and steel tower.

    John Axisa, who was getting off a commuter train to the World Trade Center, said he saw "bodies falling out" of the building. He said he ran outside, and watched people jump out of the first building. Then there was a second explosion, and he felt heat on the back of neck.

    FNC
    WCBS-TV, citing an FBI agent, said five or six people jumped out of the windows. Witnesses on the street screamed every time another person leaped.

    People ran down the stairs in panic and fled the building. Thousands of pieces of what appeared to be office paper drifted over Brooklyn, about three miles away.

    Several subway lines were immediately shut down. Trading on Wall Street was suspended. New York's mayoral primary election was postponed. All bridges and tunnels into Manhattan were closed down.

    David Reck was handing out literature for a candidate for public advocate a few blocks away when he saw a jet come in "very low, and then it made a slight twist and dove into the building."

    Terrorist bombers struck the World Trade Center in February 1993, killing six people and injuring more than 1,000 others.

    "A second occurrence is just beyond belief," said Ira Furber, former National Transportation Safety Board spokesman.

    "It's just sick. It just shows how vulnerable we really are," said Keith Meyers, 39, of Ohio. "It kind of makes you want to go home and spend time with your family. It puts everything in perspective," Meyers said. He said he called to check in with his wife. They have two young children.

    In New York, "we heard a large boom and then we saw all this debris just falling," said Harriet Grimm, who was inside a bookstore on the World Trade Center's first floor when the first explosion rocked the building.

    In Florida, Bush was reading to children in a classroom at 9:05 a.m. when his chief of staff, Andrew Card, whispered into his ear. The president briefly turned somber before he resumed reading. He addressed the tragedy about a half-hour later.

    The Associated Press contributed to this repor

  52. Houston Evacuated by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    Most of downtown Houston is now evacuated.

  53. United Airlines FLT 175 Missing by -Grover · · Score: 2, Informative

    Confirmed report from United Airlines officials stated that Flight 175, a Boeing 767 en route from Boston to LAX is still MIA flying around out there. Also, A flight from Newark to LAX from United is the one belived to have crashed in Penn.

    Trying to keep you all updated...

    this all courtesy of KCBS

  54. Update from Pittsburgh by therhyn · · Score: 3, Informative

    Pittsburgh flight is confirmed as United flight 93, 757 plane. 911 cellphone call from the plane points at hijacking.

    United's site just has a press release, but I think they said flight 93 was from Newark to San Fransisco.

    I know the area where it crashed, and it's just where the allegheny mountains begin, _nothing but trees_, so obviously they didn't acheive what they were aiming for.

    There are still planes unaccounted for by airlines.

    What a mess.

  55. Airplanes that hit the towers by JCMay · · Score: 4, Informative

    First plane had 81 passengers and 11 crewmembers. Second plane had 58 passengers and a crew of 6.

  56. A few sites that I can get into: by crashnbur · · Score: 3, Informative
    CNS News

    NewsMax

    World Net Daily

    Chicago Sun Times

    Druge Report

    I don't feel like making any comments... None are necessary. Here are the last few news sites I can find that aren't flooded offline.

  57. summary by abde · · Score: 3, Informative

    All news outlets on the Internet are shut down due to massive surge in traffic, so I am summarizing from reports collected via television, as well as friends in CNN , New York, and Boston. The best source for news is probably television broadcast, or your local city's newspaper website.

    Around 8:00 AM, two planes smashed into one each of the towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, not more than twenty minutes apart. One of the airplanes was confirmed to be an American Airlines flight 11 from Boston to Los Angeles, which was hijacked and diverted. The other was also a hijacked American Airlines flight, this has not been confirmed.

    Around 9:00 AM, the south tower of the WTC collapsed. People were seen jumping out of the 101-story building's topmost floors. At about 9:30, the second tower also collapsed. Both towers of the World Trade Center have been utterly destroyed.

    At about the same time, a plane also crashed into the Pentagon building in Washington DC. That plane was also a hijacked passenger airliner. Another passenger airliner (United Airlines flight 93, enroute to San Francisco) has crashed in Pennsylvania, which may also have been hijacked. Car bombs have been reported at the US Capitol and the State Department.

    The White House, State Department, Treasury, and Pentagon have all been evacuated. Manhattan island has been quarantined and Wall Street has suspended trading. Canary Wharf in London, The Sears Tower, Chicago Board of Trade, and John Hancock Center in Chicago, the John Hancock and Prudential Towers in Boston, and CNN Center in Atlanta have all been evacuated/locked down. Major downtown centers in cities across the United States are also being evacuated. The Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) has grounded *all* flights in the USA.

    --
    Don't blame me - I voted for Howard Dean. http://dean2004.blogspot.com
  58. Pray for USA by budman4 · · Score: 2, Informative

    News site: http://www.nwcn.com/ Video of second plane and buildings collapsing: http://mfile.akamai.com/1290/asf/norwest.download. akamai.com/1290/video/asf/80/terrorattacks.asx

  59. CNN.com by DarkEdgeX · · Score: 3, Informative

    CNN.com has dropped all of their advertising and replaced their main webpage with a short bulletted listing of the incidents and status so far under the headline "AMERICA UNDER ATTACK", and the single link on their main page takes you to another advertisement free page with the fully info so far (http://www.cnn.com/2001/US/09/11/worldtrade.crash /index.html).

    It's absolutely amazing that these attacks managed to get pulled off, and it really redefines the word "terrorism".

    --
    All I know about Bush is I had a good job when Clinton was president.
  60. survivors by Firehawk · · Score: 2, Informative

    I saw a woman who said she made it out from the 56th floor of the second tower (the 2nd to collapse, that is) by walking down the stairs along with everyone else.

    At least a decent number of people made it out.

    Hopefully.

  61. 3 hours in ... the current situation by benspionage · · Score: 2, Informative


    You can feel the terror and intensity, it's scary watching it on CNN.


    A snapshot of some of pieces and reports I've seen:

    A boeing 747 has crashed in Pittsbourgh, it is thought to be related.

    Helicopters are patrolling air space over the pentagon expecting another possible attack ... earlier breaking news reported another (FOURTH) hijacked plane headed for a second attack on the Pentagon (within a 3 minute time frame is was thought at one point), this did not eventuate ...

    One plane, United Flight 175, travelling from Boston to LA is now also thought to be hijacked, with another attack on the Pentagon possible.

    JUST IN: POSSIBLE BREACH OF SECURITY, APPARENTLY A SENIOR AMERICAN POLITICIAN MAY BE INVOLVED WITH THE TERRORIST GROUP

  62. Maps of World Trade Center by UnBlinking · · Score: 2, Informative

    If you are concerned that you may have friends in the area, unfortunately the Port Authority of NY and NJ site ( http://www.panynj.gov/ ) now reports:

    "All facilities are closed due to a state of emergency."

    However, see this inside page at the Port Authority:

    http://www.panynj.gov/wtc/wtcfram.HTM

    Directions appear here:

    http://www.panynj.gov/wtc/directions2.htm

    "The World Trade Center is located in lower Manhattan, stretching from Church Street on the east to West Street on the west, and from Liberty Street on the south to Vesey Street on the north."

    Best vicinity map:

    http://www.panynj.gov/wtc/wtcareamap7-00.gif

    Other interior maps:

    http://www.panynj.gov/wtc/mallmapframe.html

    GS http://www.unblinking.com/

  63. Donate Blood by MousePotato · · Score: 4, Informative

    We are turning our business into an emergency blood donation center for the red cross. I ask that anyone who has a business that has a large amount of free space to donate it as an emergency center for the ARC to setup at.

    If you cannot do that please just go and donate blood. It is desperately needed.

  64. Building failure by tomdarch · · Score: 2, Informative
    If it helps anyone, I suspect that the collapses of the World Trade Center buildings were a combination of the initial damage from the impacts followed by fire. The structures initially survived, but the fires from the crashes would then have heated the steel in the structures (wether steel columns/beams or reinforcing in concrete). These buildings are designed to withstand fire, but with the inital damage from the impacts, the resulting weakening of the steel from fire overwhelmed the ability of the remaining structure to hold up what was above it. I've just heard speculative reports on commercial television about secondary explosive devices causing the colapses - regardless of wether there were secondary bombs, they would not be necessary to cause these failures in this situation.

    For what it's worth, it would likely be prohibitively expensive to design tall buildings to withstand the impact of a large passenger jet.

  65. Evacuation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    Hi, just wanted to tell you that buildings in Canada, downtown montreal, are being evacuated. Streets are also blocked.

  66. Osama's threats and Palestinians celebrating(links by firewort · · Score: 3, Informative
    Haaretzdaily.com ( a newspaper in Israel, so you know)

    IS reporting that " The Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine initially took responsibility, but later an official from the organization denied any involvement. Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat condemned the attacks.

    A U.S. official said there had been no advance warning of an attack. "It's clear that this is terrorist-related, we're not sure who is responsible," the official said.

    Israel evacuated all its missions around the world. Defense Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer hinted that the attack was carried out by Islamic terrorists, saying that "the threat of radical Islam is the central threat to the free world because its goal is to destroy everything connected to the values of western democracies."

    Ben-Eliezer, who cancelled a scheduled trip to the U.S. which was to begin Wednesday, confirmed that an Israeli rescue team was being sent to the U.S. to help with the rescue operation.

    Three weeks ago, arch-terrorist Osama Ben Laden warned that he would carry out an unprecedented attack on American interests because of their support for Israel. "

    and that palestinians on the west bank are celebrating our tragedy: palestinians celebrate

    Palestinians in West Bank celebrate attacks on U.S.

    By Amos Harel, Ha'aretz Correspondent and Agencies

    Palestinians across the West Bank on Tuesday celebrated the series of aircraft attacks on New York and Washington. There were scenes of celebration in the West Bank cities of Nablus, Tul Karm, Bethlehem and the Balata refugee camp.

    While Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat condemned the attacks which levelled the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City and struck the Pentagon in Washington, hundreds of Palestinians distributed sweets in Nablus.

    "I feel I am in a dream. I never believed that one day the United States would come to pay a price for its support to Israel," said Mustafa, a 24-year-old Palestinian gunman.

    Several dozen Palestinian youths gathered in East Jerusalem to celebrate as well, honking out wedding tunes on their car horns. "We are so happy that America was hit. America is against us in supporting Israel," Suleiman, one of the demonstrators, said.

    In Nablus, motorists honked their horns and gunmen fired into the air from assault rifles to cheer on the attacks which unfolded in the space of a few hours.

    --

  67. If you want to help, go give blood by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    There are a lot of injured people who will need blood. The state of New York can't handle the demand. Please help by going out and giving blood. Help others to do it too.

  68. Re:Government news blackout? by jjackson · · Score: 2, Informative

    The only DDoS going on right now is people like us using our Mass-Web-Browsers-Of-Destruction (tm).

  69. Photos by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative
  70. Witnessed the collapse by plimsoll · · Score: 3, Informative
    I saw both towers go down in person this morning.

    I live in Fort Greene, Brooklyn; just a few blocks from both the Manhattan and Brooklyn bridges. The lower Manhattan skyline is visible from the end of my block and most of the route to Manhattan.

    This morning a little after 9 am I heard a bang. I later learned that this was the second plane hitting the South tower.

    I got a call from my mother in Chicago who wanted to warn me that 'the World Trade Center is under attack by planes.' I turned on the radio as President Bush acknowledged an 'apparent terrorist attack.' Immediately, I got off the line, grabbed my camera and my girlfriend's Walkman, and hopped on my bicycle.

    The plume of smoke, an immense black ribbon stretching toward Manhattan, was visible the entire route down Flatbush Avenue, which terminates at the Manhattan Bridge. This same roadway then becomes Canal Street after reaching Manhattan.

    I tried to take the pedestrian walkway over the Manhattan Bridge, but it seemed at the time that the police weren't going to allow me to pass. So I went to the next best vantage point.

    So I rode into DUMBO; Down Underneath the Manhattan Bridge Overpass, to the park in between the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges. Buildings obstructed the World Trade Center itself until I reached that point.

    Link to map of my vantage point (my spot between the bridges marked with a red +):
    http://www.topozone.com/map.asp?lat=40.7042&lon=-7 3.9943&size=m&s=25

    As I came out from under the Manhattan Bridge, I was moved to revulsion at the sight of the gutted twin behemoths. Several floors of the buildings seemed to have been reduced to black girders, consumed by flame as gouts of black smoke spouted from their interiors. Still too large to fall, or so I thought.

    There were fewer than 50 people watching with me, similarly aghast. They opened their car doors and played their radios as loud as they could.

    I watched and shot video from this vantage point as the reports came in: Another plane hit the Pentagon. A plane was missing in Pennsylvania. Another DC Police plane was unaccounted for. I watched reviling at the horror as objects fell from the cracked and fuming edifice.

    The city seemed uncharacteristically quiet. Sirens could be heard over the East River in Manhattan, and occasionally an escorted emergency vehicle or two would cross the Bridges toward Manhattan.

    And then the South tower collapsed.

    It started at the break about 3/4 of the way up the building, the black smoke overcome by white, milky dust. I thought merely the top of the building would fall off, but the entire length of the building splintered open, shattering and unfolding like an explosion at a crystal chandelier factory.

    A solid, white pea-soup fog enveloped downtown. I could only see the very tip of the North Tower's antenna.

    Incredulously, I tried to imagine New York with only one World Trade Tower. Skylines would have to be revised. The remaining tower would be an icon of American resolve and determination over adversity. Musing this kept me from considering the real losses.

    And then the North tower vaporized, unfolding in a shattering parasol of black, then white dust.

    I felt growing dread about my proximity to a remaining landmark, the Brooklyn Bridge, so I unlocked my bike and started home. Nothing more to see.

    It was then I noticed the refugees- throngs of people pouring over the walkways of the bridges above me. Streams of pedestrians walking FDR Drive, the highway running along Manhattan's East side. I even spot a few police trucks headed North on FDR, trailing eddies of debris and dust behind them.

    F-16 fighter jets prowl the sky on high, while Police helicopters and boats trawl the lower strata. All powerless; unable to change the condition of the city; only manage the aftermath.

    I deftly ride my bicycle home, streets gridlocked in car traffic. The police on the streets in Brooklyn are evidently reserves; I spot several uniformed *school* policewomen standing on corners, directing traffic.

    The city is closed south of Canal street. The bridges and tunnels are closed. The subways are closed. Every payphone I can see is in use. Storefronts are shuttering. Now I am safe at home, but I fear for my girlfriend.

    She works in Times Square in a relatively high-profile building. I had several messages from her on my return. Amazingly, I am able to get through to her in the office and she informs me that her office has closed. She is walking to a coworker's apartment 29 blocks away. I don't know when we can... er, UPDATE: She's made it to her coworker's apartment without incident. No word yet on when she can cross over the East River to our home in Brooklyn, but she's safe for now. So friends and family- we're OK!

    I still don't know what to make of all this- it seems like a movie.

    --
    Snickersnee3: Build your own 3-watt Luxeon Star headlamp from scratch
  71. Re:We had it coming... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    Oh, please. There is no state of Palestine because zionist extremists cleaned it out in 45-48 and then said "it's ours, this land is called Israel", with the complicity of the US. Don't deny the Deir Yassin massacre on 9 April 1948 or the destruction of 531 Palestinian villages in 1948 ("Operation Unity" as it was called). Look at any old map, you'll see "Palestine" instead of "Israel" over that area.

    Palestinians are not >, they are a displaced people. They are not >, they exist.

    As for mis-reporting, again, you are lying through your teeth. CNN and other north-american media are perpetuating the lie that Israelis are innocent victims of mean arabs, that they never did anything wrong. If you want a dose of the truth, go at http://www.peacenow.org.il/English.asp.

    And don't say "we can't reason with them, they are a lost cause" (whatever), it reeks of racism and of downright nazism. What you are saying is like a nazi speech, except that "Jews" is replaced by "palestinian", or worse, "them".

    If palestinians have been dancing in the streets, its because they have been pushed into despair by the racists politics of fachists like Sharon, Nettanyahou (sp?) and even Barak. They only want to live normal lives, but the Israeli gov., along with the US gov, is denying them that very basic right.

    Ah, why am I even typing this, I'll be modded down as a troll or even censored. In the mean-time, zionists extremists will continue spilling their hate-filled crap and be modded up at 1 or more...