MetaFilter posts tagged with 911

"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.