Slashdot Mirror
One Year After September 11
One year ago today, at 9:12 eastern, we posted
World Trade Towers and Pentagon Attacked amidst the events of that day. Since Slashdot is really just a discussion site, I felt the most appropriate way to handle this anniversary is to simply do just that. I hadn't read those stories since the day it happened, and I really am at a loss for words. But I'm sure many of you won't be. And thanks to OSDN for turning banner ads off for the day.
i guess that a moment of silence is best...
for the wtc victims
for the pentagon victims
for the future iraq victims
for everyone that has ever died through the hands of injustice, opression, agression and that old capitalist tool: imperialism.
of being reminded of 9/11. Yes it was horrible. Yes lets hope it never happens again. But let's not remind every single person of it every single day. I don't think a day has gone by in the last year where someone or something hasn't mentioned 9/11. Even those days where I almsot got by somebody would say something like "in this post 9/11 world..."
I just want everyone to give it up already. You don't see me talking about the holocaust every day. Because everythign is so different in "this post holocaust world"
The GeekNights podcast is going strong. Listen!
are there pink, fluffy clouds in your world, too?
Anonymous Cowards suck.
You better be interested in finding forgiveness for yourself in the hearts of citzens of Serbia, Somalia, Vietnam, Iraq, and any other place you carry your napalm to.
One of the world's most respected statesmen, Nelson Mandela, has condemned United States intervention in the Middle East as "a threat to world peace".
World Peace is a myth. There has always been war somewhere in the world. If it wasn't for the USA's help, the world would be a much worse place. I'm tired of seeing many people hate the USA for whatever reason(s) they have and yet I look at their clothes and see Levis, Nike, etc. I look at their music and I see them trying to imitate the american style. It disgusts me to say that I have met people (of middle eastern descent) in France who were proud of 9/11 (so I was told after meeting them). Hypocracy is rampant in our world. People only believe what they are spoonfed by the media or their religious leaders. I wish people would learn to analyze the information they are fed.
I seem to remember that we
-- Intervened in Serbia to prevent another European genocide
-- Intervened in Somalia to relieve a self-inflicted famine
-- Intervened in Vietnam to stop the spread of Communism
-- Intervened in Iraq to stop a local Hitler
You know what? I'm not too terribly interested in finding forgiveness for myself in hearts that object to these interventions.
668: Neighbour of the Beast
That's true, but many liberals are using security as a camoflauge to reduce out liberties. A selfish and heinous crime indeed.
Moon Macrosystems. Sun's biggest competitor.
Yes, 9/11 was horrific. But the only reason that it is special to the US is because it was on home soil and that just brings home the point that -anyone- is susceptible to terrorist attacks if their foreign or internal policies make them targets.
Look to the future, get your warmongering President out of office or it will happen again, be sure of it. Consider the stupid Irish/UK policies and how much grief they have brought.
Goodbye Karma!
-- Azaroth
for the future iraq victims
This is the coolest thing I'we ever seen. "We're going to attack your country to control your oil exports, some of you will get killed in the process, so we'l have a moment of silence rigth now.".
Poor Iraqi people,. hihi .. Don't mess With Uncle Sam !
echo '[q]sa[ln0=aln80~Psnlbx]16isb572CCB9AE9DB03273snlbxq' |dc
Go ahead, tell me.
668: Neighbour of the Beast
I've heard that slander.
Another fact-free moron heard from.
668: Neighbour of the Beast
a so-called "war" on Afghanistan, despite no real proof's ever coming out that Afghanistan was really involved in the Sept. 11th attacks;
a looming "war" with Iraq, for no apparent reason other than that GWB doesn't like Saddam Hussein;
a $50B increase in military spending in the US, an increase which by itself alone is more than the military budget of any other country in the world;
a steady erosion of US civil liberties and rights, including the imprisonment without due process of two American citizens on spurious charges (Lindh and Padilla) as "enemy combatants";
an extraterritorial concentration camp for unfortunate POWs in Guantanamo Bay;
the odious phrase "regime change" and a resurgence in the belief that the US has the right to effect such changes worldwide by dictatorial fiat, military force, or covert operations;
a steadily worsening situation in the Middle East, particularly involving Israel, Palestine, Syria, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq, possibly because of the eschatological beliefs of the US government's three major players;
a "perpetual war for perpetual peace" bred out of (as far as I can see) a revenge mentality and a refusal to accept the last death. (As Martin Luther King said, "An eye for an eye leaves everyone blind.");
the US's disregard for international criminal courts (such as the ICC, to which the US is opposed) and the rule of law shifting from tacit assumption to formal policy, making explicit the seeming belief of US policy-makers that there are two sets of rules: one for the US and one for everyone else.
Well, if these are the results of a reasoned, intelligent, and graceful response, I'd hate to see the results if they just decided to act out of nationalistic fury...
I'm not a geek, I'm just a clever script.
It's great to say that considering what happened one year ago. But realize that the US has been responsible for a huge amount of innocent civilian death.
Quick reminder: 1945 the American government was directly responsible for destroying TWO WHOLE CITIES. Millions of innocent people became vapor in a millisecond.
Who deserves to die now?
sin(6cos(r)+5A)
I find it very irritating that the "wtc" incident takes up all the TV airtime... even on Norwegian channels. I'm sorry, but I think the Americans only reaped what they "sow." Of course, it is a tragedy when human life is lost. I feel for the families and friends that has lost their loved ones. But USA must pipe their god damn voice down. I feel that the Americans has a tendency to play a little too much World Police. If an airplane crashed into a building in eastern Tokyo, it would maybe be on the evening news. But when it is America, it is a historical marking, and the whole world "MUST" respect USA, and join them in their "war". Ok ok. Terrorism is bad, so on and so forth, but the Americans has a tendecy to blow it waaay out of porportions. [ Sorry for my poor english :]
Liberty is second to life but above all others. What kind of liberty does a dead-man enjoy?
Happiness is third. I can't be that happy if I have to worry about terrorism killing a loved one and I'm not free (liberated).
Each of these rights are inalienable rights. How can one inalienable right be more important than another?
Declaring that any one of these rights is higher than another is a dangerous game, as it introduces the concept that the other two can be marginalized for the sake of bolstering the one. It doesn't work that way.
You (and I) each have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Actually being happy is the sole responsability of the individual. That you lose happiness over worrying about terrorist attacks is not the government's fault; what could the government do to actually make every American happy?
What am I willing to die for?
Not much as I'm a coward (though not anonymous).
Then, sadly, you will always be subject to the will of those who are willing to die for greater causes. The sheep do not guide the shepard, nor do they eat the wolf.
Obliteracy: Words with explosions
Yeah Michael, better barricade the door, the thought police are certainly on their way.
Dude, even the most ignorant 13-year-old on Slashdot knows you're an idiot. Think about it.
If it ain't broke, you need more software.
To the people who lost loved ones: all the best and I hope you'll find the strength to move on.
That aside, the whole thing is getting on my nerves. I'm living in The Netherlands, Europe and our press tends to show us different news than what's just on CNN. And there is a lot more to tell than the 'We are the best' stuff, aired on CNN and other patriotic channels.
- Widows of foreign workers who died in the massacre on 9/11/2001, will be deported out of the country. Because they were allowed to stay in the USA due to their husbands job, because that husband is dead now, the widows have to leave... pronto. Excuse me?
- Remember all the innocent people still in jail, ONE YEAR after the disaster, without a trial. At least 500 men are still held in custody without a trial or accusation that they committed a crime and that they will be trialed at a later date. Nothing, they are just held into custody. No offence, but isn't that the same system 3rd world dictators use to keep the people doing what they want? It's definitely NOT part of any reasonable definition of 'democracy' and 'freedom'.
- The CIA hasn't found any evidence against Saddam Hussein concerning Al Quayda. Remember: the laws the USA government pushed through congress after Sept. 11th, were for the war on terror (which is understandable). However, using these same laws, the current USA government is trying to use sept.11th and the results of that horrible crime to go after Saddam. You might think: "I don't care what reason they use", but that's the beginning of the end: if a certain government with a lot of guns (the USA) starts to dislike another government, it shouldn't result in instant war, there should be a certain control in place. That's now gone, due to the US PATRIOT act and other shabby laws.
There are a lot of countries where people suffer due to the crimes committed by the governments of these countries, however the USA doesn't do a damn thing about THAT, like a lot of countries in Africa. (except selling guns of course). Let sept.11 be a landmark of how bad foreign policy can turn out and let it be a starting point to work on a solid WORLD where people understand eachother, instead of just kill whatever isn't compatible to a certain christian-right-wing policy cooked up in the white-house.
Never underestimate the relief of true separation of Religion and State.
Hmm.
1. England didn't give a shit. Plus you try fighting a war on the moon with no political support, with the Chinese on the other side - that's pretty much the situation the English were in, logistically.
2. Oh, so it was America alone against the Japanese? No.
3. Iraq is lied to about America's desire to fight a war in the Middle East, and based on those lies invades a country they'd never have touched had they not been lied to.
4. America gets a bloody nose from 19 people armed with pocket knives. Half the world silently cheers.
Let me add some
5. America tries to assassinate Fidel Castro. For no good reason. Several times. And fails.
6. America installs puppet Government in [Nicaragua | Grenada | Afghanistan | etc]. America wonders why the world doesn't trust America.
7. 1960s-70s, America overestimates its own ability to win a war without political backing in Asia. North Vietnamese inflict humiliation
8. 2002, America invades Afghanistan. Thousands of innocent civilians are killed, hundreds of foreign nationals are tortured and held without trial or rights, the very freedoms Americans are so passionate about defending get reduced and removed.
9. 2002 America underestimates yet again how much the rest of the world hates their cultural imperialism and self-centred outlook.
10. 2002, America fails to invade Pakistan, India, South Africa, China, Russia, England, France and several other countries known to have weapons of mass destruction. Arab nations query why Iraq in particular are so special?
11. 2002, America continues to support Israel, despite many documented abuses of human rights, possession of weapons of mass destruction, continued oppression of their own people.
Please, stop telling that America is so great. America is every bit as stupid, selfish, jealous, paranoid and incompetant as any other country. And it's considerable more brutal, repressive and intolerant than many.
To stay on topic: I dont want to remember the 11th September 2001 attack on the world trade center especially. I don't appreciate the flood of tv and radio programs about it. I don't comply with the media attempts to engender a national feeling of mourning about it.
I would support someone suggesting 'Lets spend a few minutes remembering all the innocent people in Afghanistan that died, were injured and maimed, and have their lives ruined, by the pointless American activities in that region, and indeed lets spare a few thoughts for the unfortunates in Iraq who'll be next against the wall'.
One single terrorist attack on US soil. Many thousand in the rest of the world. Many of those thousands committed by or on behalf on America. Don't fucking tell me who's innocent.
~Cederic
If you are still shaken by the horrifying scenes of September 11, please observe 2 minutes of silence for the 5,000 civilian lives lost in the New York, Washington DC and Pennsylvania attacks.
While we're at it, let's have 13 minutes of silence for the 130,000 Iraqi civilians killed in 1991 by order of President Bush Sr. Take another moment to remember how Americans celebrated and cheered in the streets. Now another 20 minutes of silence for the 200,000 Iranians killed by Iraqi soldiers using weapons and money provided to young Saddam Hussein by the American government before the great eagle turned all its power against Iraq.
Another 15 minutes of silence for the Russians and 150,000 Afghans killed by the Talibaan troops who were supported and trained by the CIA. Plus 10 minutes of silence for 100,000 Japanese killed in Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the Atomic bombs dropped by the USA.
We've just kept quiet for one hour: two minute for the Americans killed in NY, DC, and Pennsylvania, 58 minutes for their victims throughout the world. If you are still in awe, let's have another hour of silence for all those killed in Vietnam, which is not something Americans like to admit. Or for the massacre in Panama in 1989, where Americans troops attacked poor villagers, leaving 20,000 Panamanians homeless and thousands more dead. Or for the millions of children who have died because of the USA embargo on Iraq and Cuba.
Or the hundreds of thousands brutally murdered throughout the world by USA-sponsored civil wars and coups d'etat (Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Bolivia, Guatemala, El Salvador to name a few).
Now, let's talk about terrorism, shall we?