MetaFilter posts tagged with 911

No Military Commission For You

bearwife — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 10:53:35 -0800

Guantanamo Bay detainee Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, along with four others, now faces trial in federal court in New York. The United States is seeking he death penalty. "This is definitely a seismic shift in how we're approaching the war on al-Qaida," said Glenn Sulmasy, a law professor at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. Mohammed was water boarded over 180 times: it is unclear if his confession will be admissible.

The Other Architect of 9/11

Doktor Zed — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 20:59:10 -0800

While newly released images of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed have brought "the principal architect of the 9/11 attacks" back into the public eye just before their anniversary, it was his skyscraper-hating lieutenant Mohamed Atta who had trained to be an architect before becoming an airborne suicide terrorist. Slate's Daniel Brook goes on a three-part expedition in search of Atta's architectural education, from despised tourist projects in Cairo's dilapidated Islamic Quarter to utopian urban planning for an idealized "Islamic-Oriental City" like Aleppo. The piece is also accompanied by a slideshow displaying examples of the tension between modern and traditional building that helped inflame Atta's malevolent worldview. Bonus: Although Osama Bin Laden would later claim that he chose the Twin Towers as targets after watching the destruction of Beirut high-rises during the 1982 invasion of Lebanon, the World Trade Center's combination of traditional Islamic architecture and Modernism may have offended his fundamentalist sensibilities (even though the Islamic influence is not uncommon in American architecture)(previously).

Advertising in the public interest

Rhaomi — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 09:54:54 -0800

"What if America wasn't America?" That was the question posed by a series of ads broadcast in the wake of the September 11th attacks, ads which depicted a dystopian America bereft of liberty: Library - Diner - Church. Together with more positive ads like Remember Freedom and I Am an American, they encouraged frightened viewers to cherish their freedoms and defend against division and prejudice in the face of terrorism (seven years previously). The campaign was the work of the Ad Council, a non-profit agency that employs the creative muscle of volunteer advertisers to raise awareness for social issues of national importance. Founded during WWII as the War Advertising Council, the organization has been behind some of the most memorable public service campaigns in American history, including Rosie the Riveter, Smokey the Bear, McGruff the Crime Dog, and the Crash Test Dummies. And the Council is still at it today, producing striking, funny, and above all effective PSAs on everything from student invention to global warming to arts education to community service.

Additional resources: A-to-Z index of Ad Council campaigns - Campaigns organized by category - Award-winning campaigns - PSA Central: A free download directory of TV, radio, and print PSAs (registration req'd) - An exhaustive history of the Ad Council [46-page PDF] - YouTube channel - Vimeo channel - Twitter feed

Controversial WWF September 11 Advertisment Causes Outrage, Goes Viral

Effigy2000 — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 16:20:49 -0800

Brazil-based agency DDB BRASIL, contracted by the WWF to make an ad which would drive a "Respect the Planet" theme home, thought that making a 9/11 themed ad would be a good idea. After the video somehow makes it to the internet (some say it was leaked by the agency itself to win an award at Cannes), outrage predictably ensues. DDB Brasil insists the commercial was nothing but a rough draft and the WWF has not endorsed the ad made in their name, although evidence exists suggesting WWF Brazil endorsed a similar print ad a while back. Stupid, bad ad and a comedy of errors? Or the latest viral ad strategy?

9/11 Commission ordered torture

Joe Beese — Thu, 14 May 2009 09:37:22 -0800

The 9/11 Commission suspected that critical information it used in its landmark report was the product of harsh interrogations of al-Qaida operatives - interrogations that many critics have labeled torture. Yet, commission staffers never questioned the agency about the interrogation techniques and in fact ordered a second round of interrogations specifically to ask additional questions of the same operative... More than one-quarter of all footnotes in the 9/11 Report refer to CIA interrogations of al Qaeda operatives subjected to the now-controversial interrogation techniques.

Osama bin Elvis

goodnewsfortheinsane — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 12:45:19 -0800

What is the logical consequence of noting the fact that the terrorist groups that make a difference on planet Earth—such as Hamas and Hezbollah, the PLO, Colombia's FARC—are extensions of, respectively, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, and Venezuela? It is the negation of the U.S. government's favorite axiom. It means that when George W. Bush spoke, and when Barack Obama speaks, of America being "at war" against "extremism" or "extremists" they are either being stupid or acting stupid to avoid dealing with the nasty fact that many governments wage indirect warfare.

International relations professor Angelo M. Codevilla argues that Osama bin Laden is not quite influential, not quite relevant, and probably dead. (multipage version)

We've Seen This Before

mattbucher — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 08:40:11 -0800

Just Like The Movies. Michal Kosakowski reconstructs the morning of 9/11/01 completely through clips from Hollywood movies released before 9/11. More of Kosakowski's short films are available here. David Foster Wallace articulates this rather well: "Any really felt sense of a larger world — is televisual. New York's skyline, for instance, is as recognizable here as anyplace else, but what it's recognizable from is TV."

"I'd like the Department of Missing Babies..."

Mayor Curley — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 11:10:54 -0800

An 81-year-old man walked out of his house in suburban Boston yesterday and found a baby left on his doorstep. John Tuckerman was going outside to check the temperature before running an errand, and discovered a very newborn baby in a tote bag with a note. It's standard local news stuff, but I'm sharing it with you because the Newton, MA police released the 911 call that Tuckerman made and it's worth a listen.

Uncle Sam & 911

Surfin' Bird — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 01:48:01 -0800

Uncle Sam & 911: "Listen man, I think I have to move on…" (cartoon)

Disaster Capitalism

Blazecock Pileon — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 05:35:26 -0800

"Like the dotcom bubble, the disaster bubble is inflating in an ad-hoc and chaotic fashion." Journalist Naomi Klein discusses how corporations and governments are working together more closely than ever, using the mandate of catastrophe — whether natural or man-made — to further concentrate power in fewer hands, with less oversight: from illegal sales of American police technology to China to avert hypothetical tragedies during the Beijing Olympics, to the privatization of water supplies in post-tsunami Sri Lanka.

I feel safer.

gman — Fri, 30 May 2008 16:25:45 -0800

Not only will SAFEE ensure 9/11 never happens again, but it will also catch unruly passengers.

Tu es Petrus

resurrexit — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 10:28:36 -0800

After breaking the ice with his video message to all Americans, His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI arrives in Washington, D.C. this afternoon for the initial part of his first Papal visit to the United States of America. Watch it all live. Popes traveling abroad rely largely on planning by the local dioceses they visit, which has proven unworkable at times for Pope Benedict's new Master of Ceremonies. (Because you just never know what the locals have planned for you to wear.) His visit to Washington includes plans for a visit to the White House; an interfaith gathering; a meeting with the bishops of the United States; an address to the presidents of Catholic colleges and universities at the Pope's own university, Catholic U., in what some are heralding as the key moment during B16's visit; and Mass at the new Washington Nationals baseball stadium. (There seems to be a fairly long tradition of popes--each pope is "Sovereign Ruler of the Vatican City State," after all--meeting with presidents.) His New York schedule includes plans to address the United Nations; meet with Jewish leaders at a NY synagogue; celebrate Mass with local priests, deacons and religious; meet with children with disabilities (video); participate in a rally with youth--who've designed a skate board for the pope--and seminarians; visit Ground Zero, where he will read a prayer for all the souls who perished on 9/11; and celebrate Mass at Yankee Stadium. Oh, and Papa Ratzinger will also be turning a spry 81 tomorrow. He returns to the Vatican on April 20, presumably to play with his cats.

The Chain of Command in Coercive Interrogations

digaman — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 07:53:05 -0800

“You could almost see their dicks getting hard as they got new ideas." A Vanity Fair reporter investigates the chain of command that tossed out the Geneva Conventions and instituted coercive interrogation techniques -- some might call them torture or even war crimes -- in Bush's Global War on Terror. UC Berkeley law professor John Yoo's now-obsolete 81-page memo to the Pentagon in 2003 [available as PDFs here and here] was crucial, offering a broad range of legal justifications and deniability for disregarding international law in the name of "self-defense." Others say that Yoo was just making "a clear point about the limits of Congress to intrude on the executive branch in its exercise of duties as Commander in Chief." [previously here and here.]

Let me through, I'm a nosy person

The corpse in the library — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 12:26:35 -0800

Curious why the power is out at your office or the fire engines are rushing past your home? If you live in Seattle, public911 might be able to tell you.

Shoot First, No Questions Asked?

grabbingsand — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 08:04:35 -0800

"I've got a shotgun. Do you want me to stop 'em?" On November 14, 61-year old Joe Horn saw two men breaking into his neighbor's home. He called 911, told the operator what he could see through his window. As Horn watched the men, he grew more and more agitated, saying he was going to go outside and shoot them. When the men left the neighbor's home, Horn went outside and did just that.

Now, Texas gets to argue over the hero or villain status of Joe Horn in the public square (a debate made more volatile by concerns that race was been a factor), while weighing the merits of that state's recent adoption of Castle Doctrine (aka "Stand Your Ground" Law). First adopted by Florida in 2005, Castle Doctrine is now law in 19 of 50 states. So what does this mean for Joe Horn? Public accusations of vigilantism aside, what Horn did is arguably legal under Texas law ... or, at least, it would be had he shot the two men after dark.

Preparing a turkey the MANLY way

spock — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 07:00:50 -0800

Preparing a turkey the MANLY way. Naturally, one of them involves a lot of bacon.

Last Man Out!

augustweed — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 18:13:48 -0800

William Rodriguez gave a captivating presentation in Seattle on 11/07/07. William is believed to be the "Last Man Out" of the north tower of the World Trade Center alive, but not before reentering three times with the master key after the first plane impacted the north tower to help rescue a countless number of people. Here is an interview with William after the presentation. His Ricky Ricardo impersonation at the end is pretty good.

Con vs. Con

brain_drain — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 21:00:51 -0800

But Is It War? A vigorous debate among three conservatives about the limits of post-9/11 executive power.

Conspiracy pr0n

homodigitalis — Sun, 02 Sep 2007 18:26:44 -0800

BBC - The Conspiracy Files 911. A look at the conspiracy culture, internet movie makers, many unresolved questions and some politics. Finally the truth? [Google Video]

"They wuz stupid..."

Effigy2000 — Thu, 14 Jun 2007 00:05:59 -0800

Australian TV show The Chaser recently went to New York and asked some American citizens what date the September 11 attacks occurred on. Here are some of their answers.

congressman dennis kucinich has submitted a resolution to impeach VP Dick Cheney on charges of "high crimes and misdemeanors."

quonsar — Thu, 26 Apr 2007 10:28:33 -0800

impeachy keen! learn why cleveland is the capital of polka, bowling and kielbasa.

The day before.

goodnewsfortheinsane — Sun, 22 Apr 2007 09:57:33 -0800

Powerful photo ads for the Cape Times.

confessions of an economic hitman

6am — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 04:07:55 -0800

if you've not heard of the book "confessions of an economic hitman", then these few videos are gonna put your chins on the floor. it is disturbing how much the guy looks like george the second.

S'ils savaient

pwedza — Wed, 18 Apr 2007 01:11:22 -0800

Word is that the DGSE - the French secret intelligence service - knew in January 2001 that al Queda was planning to hijack a US aircraft and may have given warning. (The original article that appeared in Le Monde 2 days ago)

"The second plane, by the time the second plane appears,” he said, “we’re all a little older and wiser.”

inoculatedcities — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 18:28:36 -0800

An excerpt from Don DeLillo's eagerly anticipated and much-hyped new novel Falling Man. It's been done before, at times more memorably [.pdf] than others, but early reviews suggest a return to form for the eerily prescient novelist.