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National Defense Panel predicted WTC-style attack in 1997. Also contains link to report. Haven't read it yet (it's pretty long), so I don't know what it suggests. But apparently the Administration is paying attention now. "Unanticipated asymmetries," indeed.
posted by aflakete at 11:24 PM PST - 3 comments

CNN: Taleban claims unmanned US spy plane shot down The UAE also withdrew diplomatic recognition for the Taleban.
posted by owillis at 11:18 PM PST - 19 comments

Ron Fineman's On The Record is a well-done critical look at TV news. It's centered on the LA market and most of the discussion relates to LA stations, but networks and cable channels are covered too and (for a TV news geek like me at least) it's all interesting. The letters section is usually a pretty lively discussion, and the "Broadcasteze Citation of the Week" highlights stuff that anchors and reporters say that no one else ever would.
posted by Vidiot at 11:00 PM PST - 1 comments

It isn't just "freedom" they hate. "Those who rained terror upon the U.S. may have had real grievances -- and we shouldn't feel guilty about discussing them."
posted by RJ Reynolds at 10:38 PM PST - 85 comments

Text of Osama's Fatwah: "The ruling to kill the Americans and their allies--civilian and military--is an individual duty for every Muslim who can do it in any country in which it is possible to do it, in order to liberate the al-Aqsa Mosque and the holy mosque from their grip, and in order for their armies to move out of all the lands of Islam..."
posted by semmi at 10:37 PM PST - 0 comments - Post a Comment

Americans threatened to attack Afghanistan two months ago. Was the terrorist attack a pre-emptive strike?
posted by liam at 9:39 PM PST - 25 comments

What Happens Next? Six options beyond war and peace. Which is best?
posted by ericost at 9:37 PM PST - 7 comments

George, W. Bush, print model. I especially like the one of his fingers on the desk. Who's his image consultant, I wonder?
posted by mirla at 9:16 PM PST - 25 comments

America the beautiful Note the lines, please, to mend thine every flaw...But still, well, you know what I am saying. I am old enough to have been in the army when blacks were in separate outfits; and I served later, again, when they were integrated. And I knew Yale had a quota for Jess (a friend made it!) and now they have a Jewish president. It ain't perfect but it beats the place my grandparents fled years ago to find a new life.
posted by Postroad at 9:04 PM PST - 2 comments

An e-mail exchange with a World Trade Center architect was published in my local alternative weekly. The architect talks about the buildings' construction and gives some interesting info regarding the staircases.
posted by jenwells at 7:54 PM PST - 2 comments

The media comes through.. networks actually working together, along with cable companies, as well as Hollywood. Muhammad Ali and Billy Joel just floored me. You can also donate at foodstores and dozens of other easy to get to places, so there are no excuses. I'm still waiting for them to need for physical labor volunteers.
posted by rich at 7:38 PM PST - 87 comments

At least 17 killed, hundreds injured, in France. Today, Toulouse was brought to a standstill, as a chemical explosion rocked the town. Initially thought, by many in the area, to be linked to the recent NY attacks, but thankfully not. (Or see the BBC version with more pics)
posted by wackybrit at 7:15 PM PST - 3 comments

Let Me Get Flamed for a Day Poor Ramon Stoppelenburg. All he does is say that CNN is an American propaganda device and he gets flamed (“you freeloading little wimp,” “the freeloading adventures of the bald-headed little Ramon,” &c). Response from the Dutch vagabond? “Maybe [he] should just change his wallpaper? Too bad he isn’t visiting this Web site anymore. He might learn from others' opinions.”
posted by joeclark at 6:42 PM PST - 40 comments

Yumm... not WTC related. Like Penny Arcade? Wish for something a little more 'fresh and in your face'? Then start eating some butter covered bacon and check it. Bonus points for constant Mac references.
posted by jcterminal at 5:46 PM PST - 6 comments

Fault Lines This piece counters the arguements of the self-laceration folks who blame the attack upon America as the result of our foreign policy, as though there can be no other explanation for Jihad. An apt title, since we are now seeing the split between far Right, Middle and far Left. Readers will, no doubt believe or argue with this relative to their perspective.
posted by Postroad at 4:18 PM PST - 63 comments

The Rapture Ready index is a numerical assessment of signs that indicate the end times are here. Maintained by USAF supply sergeant Todd Strandberg, he says the Index isn't meant to show when the Rapture will come, but how quickly we are moving towards it. It's a speedometer; not a clock. (More inside.)
posted by waxpancake at 3:43 PM PST - 12 comments

"Terror Sex"? Geez..."next on Oprah!", or maybe somewhere on cable.
posted by BarneyFifesBullet at 3:43 PM PST - 7 comments

'Buy American' Signs Sending Mixed Messages. This is admittedly a very small story, dealing with a fairly small town. But this happening just about thirteen miles north of where I live, in a town I shop and buy lottery tickets at. (I wrote briefly about it in my own blog four days ago, alongside a photo of the "No Camel Jockeys Here" sign mentioned in the newspaper piece.)
posted by tpoh.org at 3:42 PM PST - 6 comments

Entertainment Weekly's current (September 28, 2001) edition begins its story on the Internet in the wake of the recent terrorist attacks in the United States with a paragraph stating that:

By 9:15 Tuesday morning, a link to a live webcam atop the Empire State Building with a clear view of lower Manhattan was posted on Dave Winer's Scripting News Weblog (scripting.com). And dozens of other daily log writers, including the all-encompasing Metafilter.com, compiled the highlights from U.S. and foreign news sources.

The article goes on to mention many other links to relevant online sites including kottke.org, thefineline.org/tflblog, and camworld.com. Apologies if this is a repost. I couldn't find it in recent days listings or search results.
posted by MarkBakalor at 3:07 PM PST - 10 comments

The Al-Qaeda manual on "Military Studies in the Jihad Against the Tyrants," including especially instructions on how to infiltrate "godless areas" and not stand out. There's also an "assassinations" section with instructions on how to kill with a knife.
posted by Steven Den Beste at 2:51 PM PST - 8 comments

online reality games go straight to the gutter first survivorer, then survivorblog, then survivorblog 2, then survivorcam, then survivorer 2, then puppetmaster... now another incarnation of survivorcam. how much more can we take? flame me now. kthx.
posted by notoriousbhc at 1:59 PM PST - 140 comments

Fundamentalism Reaches Fever Point on U.S. Soil. Extremism is spreading and is now affecting our very own. Or as Greta Garbo's famously didn't say "I vont to be alone!". The question is: do you?
posted by MiguelCardoso at 12:53 PM PST - 31 comments

The director, actor and self proclaimed messiah, Vincent Gallo, has released an album. As The Guardian describes: "It's proggy, inept, embarrassing and pretentious. In fact, it's terrible." Can anyone else think of actors and musicians, writers and artists who shouldn't give up their day job. Extra points available for any who shouldn't even be doing their day job.
posted by feelinglistless at 12:44 PM PST - 44 comments

Will the rich be nicer to the poor? The way the stockmarket keeps plunging the rich might be asking the rest of us how to survive.
posted by jbou at 12:34 PM PST - 22 comments

Salon suspends "Bushed". Citing the need to "marshal our editorial forces to cover the global terrorism story," Salon EIC David Talbot has suspended "Bushed" a daily feature that takes a close, often critical, look at the Bush Administration. Does anyone buy his rationale? This reeks of journalistic cowardice...
posted by mattpusateri at 12:16 PM PST - 21 comments

Gartner Group recommends that IIS users look elsewhere for a better web server.
posted by vowe at 12:16 PM PST - 8 comments

Cafe Con Pelvis Wow. Coffee hookers hostesses give you that ‘extra’ attention.
posted by kd at 11:46 AM PST - 13 comments

So while Bush has looked like a small rodent caught on a dual carriageway, Tony Blair has addressed the nation, met with the French and German prime ministers, attended a memorial service, met with both Clinton and Bush, been namechecked in the latters big speech, initiatied negotiations with Iran and, last but not least, been pictured looking photogenically concerned and statesman-like in a well-cut black suit. I don't think anybody does crisis as well as Blair. He's turning into Thatcher. Pity he doesn't have the support of his own party.
posted by Summer at 11:38 AM PST - 27 comments

Powell vs. The Pentagon. According to CNN, Colin Powell is "pushing for a limited military component," and wants to place more emphasis on financial, legal, political and diplomatic tools. But (as you might expect), the Pentagon wouldn't mind taking down Saddam Hussein while we're in the neighborhood. In other CNN news, the US appears sensitive to the need to support its decisions, and will be making the case for bin Laden's guilt to the Pakistanis. I find both of these items somewhat encouraging. How about you?
posted by pardonyou? at 11:23 AM PST - 21 comments

Who Coughs to be a Millionaire? UK Army Major accused of using coughing code to win a Million quid. Lucky no one had a cold.
posted by oddity at 11:09 AM PST - 5 comments

Politcally Incorrect was taken off the air by Sinclair Broadcasting I called their corparate headquarters and of course was directed to some fools voice mail. Has anyone seen a story about this anywhere?
posted by jbou at 11:05 AM PST - 52 comments

light relief NOT from the bbc...
posted by blackbeltjones at 10:14 AM PST - 8 comments

Ever wonder about your NPR correspondents? If you're like me, you've been listening to NPR every time you get in the car lately. Over time, it's only natural to wonder what Nina Totenberg and Snigdha Prakash actually look like. Oh, Mara Liasson, will you be mine?
posted by vraxoin at 10:04 AM PST - 25 comments

Honda has released their 2002 and 2003 motorcycles and upcoming models. For those of us into that type of thing. I think Honda should have some strong sellers here, hopefully regaining some market share in naked bike and sport tourers as well as the large cruiser segment.
posted by mich9139 at 9:59 AM PST - 11 comments

Isreal suggests two other "masterminds" behind the bombing in NY. Its about time someone printed this. As I posted this last week.
posted by redhead at 7:04 AM PST - 6 comments

Violent Clashes in Pakistan. This is bad news. Previous BBC reports dramatically highlight the folly of having a leader who is not well read enough to recognize the historical connotations of the word "crusade". For background context the Economist has a good article on Pakistan's dilemma.
posted by talos at 6:29 AM PST - 17 comments

Arab-Americans kicked off NWA flight. Three Arab-Americans from Utah have been kicked off a flight from Minneapolis because the other passengers refused to fly with them.
posted by kittyb at 6:16 AM PST - 73 comments

How to combat hijackers. "If someone were to stand up,brandish something such as a plastic knife and say 'This is a hijacking' or words to that effect here is what you should do: Every one of you should stand up and immediately throw things at that person — pillows, books, magazines, eyeglasses, shoes —anything that will throw him off balance and distract his attention. If he has a confederate or two, do the same with them. Most important: get a blanket over him, then wrestle him to floor and keep him there. We'll land the plane at the nearest airport and the authorities will take it from there."
posted by knutmo at 5:38 AM PST - 25 comments

Hockey, Schmockey, let's just shake hands. I'm not a hockey fan, but I do appreciate the fact that our country seems to be re-examining what is truly important in life at every turn, both in groups and on a personal level.
posted by machaus at 5:21 AM PST - 6 comments

Islamic militants are like Medieval Christians: The religion to which [modern-day Christians] pay lip service is a thin, watered-down version their distant predecessors would denounce as wicked. The Islamic Faith, by contrast, never had an Aquinas and thus never experienced a renaissance; it was never neutered. [...] Those we are at war with are consistent advocates of faith and self-sacrifice. We cannot defeat them by "getting back to God" -- that is, by clamoring to become earnest practitioners of a slightly different version of the same evil we're fighting. Instead we must selfishly, unequivocally and proudly stand for the worldly values that ended the "dark and doleful night of Christian rule" and ushered in the prosperous way of life Westerns enjoy [today]. (Via fkrn)
posted by dagny at 5:08 AM PST - 15 comments

There's mummies coming from Afghanistan said yesterday's Horizon on the BBC. This is the story of a supposedly 2600 year old mummified Persian princess. It was put up for sale for $11 million, but turned out to be a fraud and possibly contains the remains of a woman murdered in 1996. The mummy was probably manufactured somewhere in the Pakistan-Afghanistan border region, well known these days....
posted by knutmo at 4:44 AM PST - 2 comments

Uptalking: not Californian or Australian after all but, like, Irish? And, er, exclusively female? Well, whatever it is, it should be stamped out NOW.
posted by Summer at 4:08 AM PST - 26 comments

Taliban to U.S.: Go ahead, make my day. The Taliban has refused, as Bush demanded in his speech, to turn over bin Laden without evidence of wrongdoing. Unclear whether he's still "uninvited" to remain in Afghanistan. I thought Bush's refusal to consider a deal with Afghanistan was rash -- we can't afford to create martyrs in this war.
posted by mattpfeff at 1:52 AM PST - 21 comments

"How Bush should spend his windfall of political capital." Many links have been posted in the past 10 days to cheap political opportunism in the wake of 0.81- but this takes the cake: an op-ed calling for Bush to explicitly exploit this tragedy to pass bigger tax cuts, ANWR drilling, etc. Yep, another sickening WSJ effort; I'm sure the families of the victims will take heart in knowing their loved ones are, in fact, a "windfall of political capital" for Bush. (sorry for the two-front-page-posts-in-a-row, btw)
posted by hincandenza at 1:36 AM PST - 13 comments

CBS's Big Brother 2 is now over and it looks like a Snake v. Rat redux a la Survivor 1. This finale depressed me for its bleak depiction of humanity...
<< more inside, Spoilers >>
posted by hincandenza at 12:26 AM PST - 9 comments

Insurance companies - what are they good for? Absolutely nothing. Now that a war might be on its way "underwriters had given notice they would cancel cover for war liabilities from midnight Monday". Tell me again why airlines were paying for cover for losses due to war during peace time?
posted by krisjohn at 12:06 AM PST - 6 comments