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The corruption of Everything -- For quite a while now I have been happily reading and enjoying the entries in Everything2 As Metafilter has seen a number of references to user contributed guides I thought it might be a good time to discuss a common phenomenon that seems to be now finding it's way into Everything... more in the thread ->
posted by soulhuntre at 7:19 PM PST - 16 comments

Anyone else remember Wired's theory of The Long Boom from 1997? I guess they were wrong.
posted by endquote at 6:57 PM PST - 20 comments

Remember Zork, Planetfall, and the other creations of late game company Infocom? Well, "interactive fiction," as the format is called, is still alive and well. Every year the IF community -- which is known for releasing work of quality far surpassing even Infocom's masterpieces -- holds a competition for short works, and this year's contestants have been released! Read this post's comments for more info...
posted by tweebiscuit at 6:56 PM PST - 13 comments

Contentville goes Splitsville. Steven Brill's online newsstand -- originally funded with $130 million from CBS, NBC and Primedia in February 2000 -- closed their doors today. In a memo to his staff, Brill wrote, "My idea for Contentville just didn't work." I'm guessing that heavy competition from other online retailers and an abundance of freely available online content did them in.
posted by waxpancake at 6:29 PM PST - 9 comments

De La Guarda (Flash-only, navigate through to 'Shows' section) This Argentinian collective mixes dance, music, climbing and circus skills in their show 'Villa Villa', which has played in London, Las Vegas and (currently) in New York. They've managed to sum up the whole tribal, visceral experience (think rave rather than Cirque de Soleil) via this site's interactive elements.
posted by skylar at 3:18 PM PST - 7 comments

The next step in paperless offices? "Augmented Surfaces" is a research project at Sony. They've developed continuous workspaces that use wall and table surfaces as an extension of the computer desktop. Amazing stuff, though I can't think of a use for it besides exchanging info during meetings.
posted by mathowie at 1:47 PM PST - 17 comments

W3C and Fee-based Standards for the Web The last call review period is over today. If you have an opinion that needs to be heard by the W3C, get it to them now. At last check, they had received 396 comments. What's your take on the proposed policy change? Will the W3C survive?
posted by bragadocchio at 12:42 PM PST - 1 comment

Headache and hiccup remedies form Health 911. Do you have a remedy? Got a new one at work last night..
posted by bjgeiger at 12:20 PM PST - 11 comments

An FSU coed wandered around topless at Mardi Gras, and was videotaped without her knowledge. She was included in a commercial tape called "Girls Gone Wild" and is now suing. Do you think she has a case?
posted by Steven Den Beste at 11:33 AM PST - 63 comments

Track Records Don't Count in a Town that Likes Pretty Faces --Comment #: 427 In a thread from Defense In The National Interest’s Fourth Generation Warfare page Also interesting is the Federation of American Scientists ' Intelligence Resource Program , where there's a long list of Para-State Entities
posted by y2karl at 11:00 AM PST - 6 comments

80's plan to lock up Arab Americans. I thought that all of that crap stopped after WWII.
posted by Atom Heart Mother at 10:08 AM PST - 14 comments

This is definately a fine cocktail. Although not one that I would drink.
posted by Wet Wednesday at 9:53 AM PST - 17 comments

Kansas state senator decries women's suffrage in a shocking speech given at a League of Women Voters luncheon. "We have a society that does tear families apart," Sen. Kay O'Connor said. "I think the 19th Amendment, while it's not an evil in and of itself, is a symptom of something I don't approve of."
posted by MegoSteve at 9:11 AM PST - 45 comments

Justice O'Connor foresees cutbacks in personal liberties. Sandra Day O'Connor, during remarks given at the groundbreaking ceremonies for a Law School Building at NYU, cautions Americans that we may face restrictions in our personal freedoms. No real specifics in the remarks, but intriguing in that she would be among those having the final say as to the constitutionality of any laws that arise out of the "War on Terrorism". She poses some interesting questions in her remarks. And she is considered to be one of the moderate Justices.
posted by MAYORBOB at 8:19 AM PST - 13 comments

Top tunes. Get down and boogie with your Mullah.
posted by Wet Wednesday at 8:12 AM PST - 5 comments

Defense of Freedom Medal: Civilians on government business who were injured or died in the course of 9/11 to be awarded a new Defense of Freedom medal. Interesting, but this will mean little for the thousands of civilians who were in private employment. Link via the online version of Stars and Stripes.
posted by DBAPaul at 8:01 AM PST - 4 comments

Crackpot Sunday Brunch: Would You Like a Canadian Club to Go With That Bloody Mary, Sir? No, not from The Onion. Much better. A real-life, in-all-sincerity, 100% Canadian solution to all the U.S.'s current problems. (More inside)
posted by MiguelCardoso at 3:08 AM PST - 65 comments

From the essay by Ziauddin Sardar: Scroll 2/3 of the way down--it's from I.S.I.S. The Institute For Islamic Secularization A Call for Caution and Prudence * We need free inquiry of the religious premises of the growing conflagration. * We need rational debate of the questionable premises of a "holy war" or jihad. * We need a rational debate of the biblical call for retribution. * We call upon the United States not to act unilaterally and to petition the United Nations to establish a peace-keeping force. * All terrorists when apprehended should be brought to the World Court at the Hague and put on trial. * The basic constitutional civil liberties of America should not be abrogated. --Perhaps we're all best off with the godless making the rules?
posted by y2karl at 12:03 AM PST - 8 comments

Taliban leader's ex-bodyguard says "We laughed when we heard the Americans asking Mullah Omar to hand over Osama bin Laden," he said. "The Americans are crazy. It is Osama bin Laden who can hand over Mullah Omar - not the other way round." Take a look at this insider's personal account of the Taliban that some are so eager to apologize for in the name of cultural relativism.
posted by rushmc at 6:17 PM PST - 27 comments

Robert Johnson is the first black billionaire, and ranks #172 on the list of richest Americans after he sold BET to Viacom. Does he have a social responsibilty to show more than T&A and comedy on BET, or is he being unfairly singled out?
posted by owillis at 1:10 PM PST - 31 comments

Wikipedia is a free on-line encyclopedia that allows users to write entries about nearly any topic. MSNBC's take on it can be found here.
posted by ttrendel at 12:58 PM PST - 8 comments

Real's Last Hoorah? A beta version of their next-generation player, "RealOne", is now available to download: it's pretty, and does all the media library/ripper/encoder things we're now accustomed to seeing. But the with Microsoft aggressively marketing Windows Media Player as part of XP, with much the same features, is Real set to go the way of Netscape, or will its streaming format keep it in business?
posted by holgate at 12:51 PM PST - 36 comments

You Gotta Love Those New York Firemen Or "How Cartman's Fireman Suddenly Took On A Whole New Meaning". Just to show there is always an upside to everything, it seems some Manhattan girls are doing their bit for their country and enjoying themselves into the bargain. Hey, is this the spirit or what?
posted by MiguelCardoso at 12:42 PM PST - 27 comments

Did the earth move for you? Encouraging to see good things coming from bad. Suddenly bickering with a partner doesn't seem so clever. Hugging and - yes - sex might just be the right response. Relationships stronger after 9.11? How's yours?
posted by grahamwell at 12:06 PM PST - 15 comments

Speaking of famous people and religion, Jet Li talks about religion, and his views on them.

"...upon closer inspection, the underlying heart and central principle in every religion is the same. Every religion boils down to love, to a respect for all living things, to choosing peace over violence as a means of resolving a conflict."

posted by jcterminal at 11:36 AM PST - 11 comments

Yusuf Islam (the artist formerly known as Cat Stevens) is donating a hefty chunk of the royalties from his forthcoming US 4-CD Box Set (spanning 1965-1997 and due out 30 Oct 01) to the September 11th Fund, with the remainder going to homeless charities in underdeveloped countries. He's issued two statements on the WTC tragedy; a brief initial comment from September 12th and a more considered message on September 18th. (more inside)
posted by RavinDave at 11:28 AM PST - 8 comments

Terrorists should be tried in front of military tribunals instead in civilian courts in front of juries.
posted by Steven Den Beste at 11:26 AM PST - 19 comments

After al-Qaeda? Since the "battle against terrorism will be fought worldwide", is it going to target, among others, the groups in Northern Ireland, ETA, Kach and Kahane Chai(!)? Also, it's notable there has been no mention of the long history of financing and arms for the IRA and such that emanates from the US.
posted by mmarcos at 10:21 AM PST - 10 comments

Full-Text Of Terrorist's "Last Night" Document. The document found among Mohammed Atta's effects, and also among the wreckage.
posted by tpoh.org at 9:26 AM PST - 12 comments

Food For Thought? A beautifully-done site that's both a catalogue and compendium of information on plants with legendary powers. (Mandrake root, anyone?) But is this kind of ethnobotany a useful discipline? Should we be cultivating exotic species just for their trippiness?
posted by holgate at 8:06 AM PST - 16 comments

Considering marriage? Now, with the RPG You Stupid Bitch! you can experience the bliss of marriage (or, as the author of the game puts it, "the struggles between two manipulative vipers") with only your imagination and some old D&D dice. In a more literary mood? Try the Wuthering Heights RPG. [Original link via Portal of Evil.]
posted by arco at 7:00 AM PST - 1 comment

"Hout! Such a mean contrary beast!" Auchh! Who's in the mewd for some good Scottish folk tales, laddies and lasses? Deep in the Highlands, in a bitty crofter's cottage, there lived a wee wee mannie, his kind auld mither and their Big, big coo... (More from The Royal Stuarts.)
posted by brownpau at 6:32 AM PST - 2 comments

Stop motion animation using LEGO bricks. "Some of these movies will be quick childish animations, some will be well thought out, lovingly crafted works of intelligence and creativity."
posted by tranquileye at 5:16 AM PST - 4 comments

21st Century Warfare I've been waiting for the new issue of G2mil The Magazine of Future Warfare to be posted to get Carlton Meyers' line on all things post September 11th and it's an all-you-can-eat buffet chock full o'links from a former Marine Corps officer--an anti-imperialist, anti-military/industrialist contrarian extraordinaire. Check out the special war supplement and assess the military options in Afghanistan before you launch into a by jingo paean to what he refers to as Tom Clancy fantasies about the Rangers. Do some extensive research in the magazine's back issues to read articles like Demobilize The US Army, 21st Century Battleships - the U.S. Navy's greatest need, why China can't invade Taiwan--not to mention the $$$ saving concepts like the B-747 bomber...& his line on National Missile Defense? The irony is that, if a workable NMD system is ever fielded, it only guarantees that a better method of delivery would be used, like a civilian airplane, ship, or truck. Tons of drugs are smuggled into the USA each year, can NMD stop that dangerous cargo? Almost two million people illegally cross America's borders each year with un-inspected luggage, can NMD stop them? Why spend billions of dollars each year on NMD while ignoring the real dangers? That was from July...
posted by y2karl at 12:41 AM PST - 16 comments

Find A Grave is a searchable database of 2.8 million grave records. Many records include photos, especially the famous graves. They include the good, the bad, and the ugly. The award for most famous graves in one photo might be this one.
posted by stevis at 12:19 AM PST - 13 comments

MSNBC reporting 5 Americans arrested in Afghanistan near Iran border and that they are part of a special ops team.
posted by slowlightning at 12:16 AM PST - 2 comments

Praystation 3 - The latest from Joshua Davis I'm sure many of you are familiar with praystation.com and its stunning use of flash and/or imagery. Check out his new release.
posted by wklang at 11:05 PM PST - 26 comments

My Mom just got back from the Ionesco festival in New York. It sounds cool - it's usually hard to find stagings of even Ionesco's most famous plays, but these people seem to be doing everything.
posted by crunchburger at 9:29 PM PST - 2 comments

Oysterhead is Primus bassist Les Claypool, Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio, and Police drummer Stewart Copeland. Having listened to sample cuts from their forthcoming debut album, all I can say is: omigod! What would be your musical dream team?
posted by scottandrew at 5:57 PM PST - 55 comments

You know Jakob Nielsen's old saying "users don't scroll?" Maybe it's because you'd be violating his patent if you did. You got mail? Nope, that's also Jakob's patent. When was the last time this site updated? Again, don't ask or you could owe Jakob. Did I misspell anything in this post? Don't hit the spellcheck button, or it's violation time again. And that's just the tip of the scary patent iceberg. Is it a good idea for Jakob to have all these patents on basic internet application functions?
posted by mathowie at 4:46 PM PST - 23 comments

Never post another Onion link again! Because now you can be certain we've all seen it, and others like it. Gagpipe is a satire and humor headline aggregator. Includes American, British, Australian, Canadian and French sites. Link stolen from Need To Know.
posted by Mo Nickels at 12:54 PM PST - 11 comments

Interested in taming your man? Upon first review of the advice given, I was guffawing, and thinking man what kind of milksop would this be effective on. After thinking some more about it, I started to wonder if I would be affected by it. I mean would my Pavlovian response to sex, in effect, allow my wife to train me, and would I mind?
posted by patrickje at 12:35 PM PST - 10 comments

Sometime during the 19th century, a fat woman died and her body changed almost entirely into soap. So it seems that people can turn into a soap-like substance after they die, in a process in which fatty tissues turn into adipocere, aka "grave wax" or "corpse cheese". I wonder what else can happen to my body chemically after death.
posted by meep at 11:31 AM PST - 39 comments

London pilot taught hijackers I found this on MSN, and since no one mentioned it here on MetaFilter today, and it was dated for today, I decided to post it. How many people were involved in this???
posted by Katy Action at 11:26 AM PST - 13 comments

A large & unknown group of the WTC missing: temp workers. (more inside) (via not my desk)
posted by epersonae at 11:07 AM PST - 10 comments

Dear Muslims: Please Respect Women So That We Can Respect You Islam is a noble religion but it does have a massive problem with women. Who, at the last count, actually represent over 50% of human beings. Yes, they are that -perhaps even more than men; but, at least, just as much. Psyche and rev up your agenda with a great(and unusually short!)article by great historian David Landes and another not-less-worthy member of the Landes tribe. P.S. It's good to be back. Thank you warmly!
posted by MiguelCardoso at 10:03 AM PST - 50 comments

Osama talks to Bush over AIM. I'm kind of embarassed that I found this so funny.
posted by ookamaka at 10:02 AM PST - 26 comments

I was watching "The Craft" last night, and noticed that they censored the image of Robin Tunney's parents' plane going down (actually a Glamour, but you know that), and later Nieve Campbell's character says "you know the [silence]", they actually cut out the words "plane crash". Has anybody else noticed this kind of censorship? Would anybody have been really shocked to hear Nieve say "plane crash"? Do you think the WB would've been swamped with calls? It's bad enough what they did to homer or what the geniuses at clear channel are doing. Good movie, though.
posted by signal at 9:42 AM PST - 15 comments

My favorite art site After going to the Smithsonian's Scenes Of American Life when it came through Seattle--about the first time I'd gone to an art exhibition in years, to show you what a scenester I'm not--I went looking for online works by George Tooker after seeing In The Summer House there. I came across The Tigertail Virtual Museum--for quality, this is the best site I've yet to see, even if it lacks the breadth of my previous favorite; Carol Gerten-Jackson's CGFA--no Bouguerau's, for instance. But beau coup works by 20th century American artists--now you can send spam or Three Stooges Wallpaper and it'll be aht... Cool or what? And your favorites?
posted by y2karl at 9:42 AM PST - 1 comment

Cats always know. Great photo of a kitten + current events. I'll probably have this forwarded to me via email at least 47 times by next week.
posted by jragon at 9:26 AM PST - 5 comments

Osama's Place... "In a town full of soldiers, on the edge of Fort Bragg, there could be worse names for a restaurant these days than Osama's Place, but it is hard to think of any."
posted by stchang at 8:46 AM PST - 13 comments

Tool played in Philly last night, and I was lucky enough to go. Always wanted to see them, but for certain reasons, never have till now. Any bands out there you've been wanting to see live, or wanted to see live before a split-up ruined your chances?
posted by mich9139 at 7:28 AM PST - 92 comments

...the Terrorist Deportation Plan can't wait. There will be two fail-safes: (1) Muslim immigrants who agree to spy on the millions of Muslim citizens unaffected by the deportation order can stay; and (2) any Muslim immigrant who gets a U.S. senator to waive his deportation -- by name -- gets to stay......Ann Coulter, expanding on the whole 'Love thy neighbor' thing
posted by thewittyname at 7:25 AM PST - 28 comments

1998 essay by Peggy Noonan predicts a "big terrible thing" for New York and D.C. Poetic and eerie. (found at: Follow Me Here).
posted by xowie at 6:37 AM PST - 15 comments

Subscription-based web tools: another nail in the coffin of free web services? Yahoo is apparently testing the waters for a subscription-based web Office app. I use their (free) email, notepad, bookmark and briefcase tools on occasion. Nice to have, but you have to wonder how long they can remain free. Don't know if I would pay for them, depends on what service level guarantees they would offer in return. How would people would react if they suddenly started charging for these things? Is it still too unrealistic to wonder how long till our operating system needs a local drive only to boot up?
posted by mmarcos at 6:32 AM PST - 8 comments

Women Fear attacks more than Men More Women fear terrorism are the men afraid to say so
posted by timetostepback at 6:01 AM PST - 9 comments

Sex no longer interesting. "All the major search engines reported that the word 'sex' had fallen out of their top ten search terms for the first time in the web's young history, replaced with the likes of 'BBC' and 'CNN'." (Scroll down to "SARAH LEFT ON INTERNET NEWS".)
posted by pracowity at 5:12 AM PST - 12 comments

A sign of Global recession? For the first time I can remember, it's cheaper to buy a console in the UK than it is the States. Over here, we're used to seeing straight dollar to pound conversions ($299 = £299), so this is a first. Do you think it's sign of recession or just Sony developing a conscience?
posted by jiroczech at 2:49 AM PST - 10 comments

The worlds heaviest people. And by god they are heavy.
posted by Wet Wednesday at 10:44 PM PST - 44 comments

Leaking troop movement? This new report says the U.S. has had special forces troops inside Afghanistan for two weeks now. I understand "everything" is leaked in Washington, but shouldn't there be something sacred about the locations of troops?
posted by owillis at 10:16 PM PST - 30 comments

Jeff Koons , Damien Hirst, David Salle, and Eric Fischl are some contemporary, living artists who have caught my attention. Who are some of your favorite living artists?
posted by crog at 10:02 PM PST - 20 comments

dependent films has made a lot of interesting, quirky, and humourous short movies. the newest is - how to sprain your wrist: without even trying.

be sure to check out the video section for more downloadable short films.

i love how the web allows people to exercise creativity. any other film artists out there?
posted by bwg at 9:29 PM PST - 7 comments

The Froggy Page was the Cool Site of the Day from August 8, 1994. It's the oldest site archived there without the disclaimer, "site no longer live". The page sure looks like it was built in '94 -- not even a single table! (Can anyone who was coding back then confirm if the code is really that old?) Does anyone have a favorite site from those good old days?
posted by mattpfeff at 7:10 PM PST - 36 comments

polish posters not only does poland have the best cinematographers, but their movie posters are really awesome, too. inflammatory, erotic, surreal, and cute... well, not cute :) truly art as advertisement and good for decoration!
posted by kliuless at 5:53 PM PST - 26 comments

Whomever's hosted on Exodus, raise your hand. Yeah, me too. So... where do we go if they shut down? Anyone?
(5 points for me for not saying something about a 'mass exodus'.)
posted by jcterminal at 3:59 PM PST - 13 comments

Are you smarter than Miss America? She got 6 out of 8 right. How'd you do?
posted by me3dia at 2:42 PM PST - 73 comments

The Few, The Proud, the Geeky "U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) has called for the creation of the technology equivalent of the National Guard: 'That's what I'd like to propose. What this country needs is essentially a technology equivalent of the National Guard: a National Emergency Technology Guard - NET Guard - that in times of crisis would be in a position to mobilize our nation's information technology, or IT, community to action quickly, just as the National Guard is ready to move during emergencies.'" Akk! Volunteer geeks on patrol!
posted by bclark at 1:43 PM PST - 18 comments

Disturbing Search Requests is redirecting all traffic from search engine results to this page as a statement about America's response to the terrorist attacks. (To see how this works, click the first result in this search.) Is this really the right message to put in the minds of newbies looking for Britney naked?
posted by me3dia at 12:59 PM PST - 24 comments

I'll show you mine... "DeskSwap is a multi-user screensaver that swaps images of the user's desktop with others using the screensaver."
posted by o2b at 12:12 PM PST - 6 comments

Anna Nicole Smith is going to get the $474 million after all a federal court ruled that the former Playmate of the Year should receive the huge sum. despite the fact that she was J. Howard Marshall's wife for only 14 months (the last 14 months of his life), never lived with him, and was never in his will. [more...]
posted by tsarfan at 11:30 AM PST - 22 comments

comment of "the superiority of Western civilisation" have provoked outrage in Arab countries not such a smart or nice thing to say right now.
posted by m2bcubed at 11:04 AM PST - 43 comments

Air Force One wasn't a target, and administration officials now doubt there was a threatening phone call. And radar data indicates that the plane that hit the Pentagon was not headed for the White House.
posted by kirkaracha at 11:00 AM PST - 37 comments

Turn off the TV because it's Banned Books Week once again in the US. Personally, I've only read about 15% of the top 100 most challenged books from the past decade, though many of my favorites are there. In the midst of our freedoms being curtailed during the Current Situation, enjoy your freedom to read while you can.
posted by mathowie at 9:44 AM PST - 52 comments

Star Trek-Enterprise Yes, last night was the debut of the latest Star Trek Saga.. the tale of the first shape..the first Enterprise. Rather then sitting through the fan boy never ever seen a woman necked that was in 2D opinions over at slashdot, I decided to sort through some (sic) intelligent statements. So what did you think.. more inside.
posted by crackheadmatt at 9:21 AM PST - 94 comments

Taliban miraculously finds bin Laden! Afghan authorities have delivered a message to Osama bin Laden advising him of a decision by the country's clerics recommending that he leave Afghanistan voluntarily, the Taliban ambassador to Pakistan said Thursday.
posted by madreblu at 9:01 AM PST - 14 comments

NaNoWriMo... Yes, boys and girls, it's time to prepare for the National Novel Writing Month! 50,000 words in 30 days. Are you up to the challenge? I'm taking the plunge... [Via Caterina.net]
posted by silusGROK at 8:04 AM PST - 26 comments

The Liberty Alliance Project has been formed. What a marvelously patriotic name. I bet you can't guess what it's about without reading the link. Come on, I betcha can't. Just try.
posted by Steven Den Beste at 8:03 AM PST - 19 comments

Mommy Liberty and Eliza Gauger a younger American lets us old folks know what she thinks with some art
posted by Kami at 7:37 AM PST - 4 comments

Um...you might want to reconsider that American Airlines flight... The Federal Aviation Administration has given American Airlines special permission to allow passengers to board its flights before the airline determines whether they are on the FBI's watch list, according to an FAA security directive obtained by USA TODAY.
posted by tpoh.org at 7:08 AM PST - 6 comments

Sen. John McCain’s eulogy for Mark Bingham, one of the passengers who apparently caused Flight 93 to crash in a field in Pennsylvania. Whether or not you support him politically, McCain is a good man. (via Kausfiles)
posted by luser at 6:58 AM PST - 24 comments

In the wake of the 11th, I've heard from people I haven't spoken to in months or even years. Are you reconnecting with old friends? It's easier than you think.
posted by tranquileye at 5:07 AM PST - 6 comments

SNL Producer declares Bush "off limits," despite what it says in the link. In the wake of the Bill Maher crucifixion, Lorne Michaels has decided to play it safe, according to the paragon of journalism. Does this mean no airport metal detector skit?
posted by curiousg at 4:11 AM PST - 28 comments

All this talk of US retaliation is stirring even more waters in Pakistan's religious instutions: "Now listen, American, and listen well," says Hussain Zaeef, 21. He reads from Page 12 of the manual: " 'Bomb their embassies and vital economic centers.' That's what I will do to you and your country. I will get your children. I will get their playgrounds. I will get their schools, too. I will get all of you."
posted by agnok47 at 2:46 AM PST - 14 comments

Family fude.. to fly, or not to fly? That is the question.. mother and daughter have debate over flying the American flag.. sad sad sad world it is today.. well.. at least her daughter has good sense..
posted by KimmishKim at 1:19 AM PST - 31 comments

The ever catty Michael Musto (of The Village Voice) first gives us a sad look at Windows on the World's Executive Chef Michael Lomonaco and the great loss he sufferred. But what makes this column linkable, I think, is Musto's defense of preserving irony in the face of those who declare it dead: "I'm also going borderline thanks to all the columnists, editors, and talk show hosts declaring the end of irony (excuse me, but a wry, mocking sense of perspective is the hallmark of a free society), and saying that what they do is now trivial and irrelevant and they're having trouble continuing. Funny, they did their trivial s**t all through the AIDS crisis and other globe-threatening horrors, but now they're thinking twice? Well, I've always thought my subject matter was smallish and specialized, but I approach it with utter seriousness, because it matters to me and aims to provide relief, entertainment, and sometimes even information to others. If I could cure cancer or reattach limbs, I would, but this is what I do, and in the face of threats to our liberty, it's crucial to seize back the chance to do what we do! Besides, there are enough people beating their chests, waving the flag, and screaming, 'Get the bastards!'"
posted by adrober at 10:46 PM PST - 12 comments

Is Mars the answer? The healing process will take years. The moon landing was a peaceful demonstation of America's technological leadership in the 20th century. Could a Mars landing do the same for the 21st?
posted by Loudmax at 10:34 PM PST - 28 comments

Jesse Jackson invited to visit the Taliban. They've asked him to lead a peace delegation to come talk to them; he's thinking it over. My question is this: How far does he have to go before he's providing "aid and comfort" to our enemies (i.e. before he's committing treason)? I hope he'll do the right thing (stay home and shut up) but I doubt it.
posted by Steven Den Beste at 10:00 PM PST - 24 comments

Breast-feeding increases babies' IQ by 3-5 points, compared to the babies fed with formula. This is probably for two reasons: better nutrition and maternal bonding. Premature babies receive the greatest benefits.
posted by antimarx at 9:01 PM PST - 17 comments

On the O'Reilly Factor, Phil Donahue leads a compelling argument for why bombing Afghanistan may NOT be the best course of action. It's obvious how the conservative O'Reilly feels about this and although the transcript hardly does the interview justice, Bill O'Reilly finally gets out-interrupted and is verbally handled by his own guest. (more)
posted by edwardko at 8:36 PM PST - 9 comments

An Exhibit on Campus Celebrates Grisly Deed. The exhibit at Al Najah University, the largest in the West Bank, has outraged Israelis since it opened on Sunday. The most contentious section is a mock-up of the Sbarro restaurant in Jerusalem where 15 people were killed in a suicide attack in August including not only gnawed pizza crusts but bloody plastic body parts suspended from the ceiling as if they were blasting through the air. (Registration Required)
posted by tpoh.org at 8:16 PM PST - 1 comment

Who is a "terrorist"? Is the US, in an effort to build a coalition all too willing to break bread with states that sponsor it? I scoffed at the notion that "terrorism" is a subjective word until this article pointed out that one of our prospective coalition partners is attempting to define the "separatists" in Taiwan and Tibet as such. "Are you willing to look the other way while Iran funds Hezbollah?"
posted by phatboy at 6:13 PM PST - 16 comments

No More AOL CDs! I was going to post this on September 11th. (This was before I realized we weren't simply dealing with a single errant airplane.) Send this guy your AOL coasters. When he gets a million, he's going to dump them on AOL's doorstep.
posted by tpoh.org at 5:04 PM PST - 20 comments

In the case of airport security, the free market has failed to provide for the public good.
posted by Ty Webb at 4:29 PM PST - 16 comments

So you read the "Madman and the Professor" and thought it interesting. Edward Ruloff is another murdering philologist with the extra cachet that his 1871 trial for killing a dry-goods clerk was one of the first to test the admissability of photographs as evidence. The Supreme Court agreed with lower rulings that they could be allowed; Ruloff was hanged. In 1845, he had been accused of murdering his wife and child and was imprisoned for ten years for the abduction of his wife, but without a corpus delecti, he could not be convicted for the murder of his child. This man is writing a biography of Ruloff; a publisher could do a lot worse.
posted by Mo Nickels at 3:06 PM PST - 3 comments

Infinite Justice is out, Enduring Freedom is in. "The change was made after the initial name -- 'Operation Infinite Justice' -- last week ran into objections from some Islamic scholars on grounds that only God, or Allah, could mete out infinite justice in their view."
posted by swerve at 2:49 PM PST - 24 comments

The eXile's take on the rush to war.
posted by GriffX at 2:44 PM PST - 6 comments

Any hotline users out there? I haven't seen any comment on this. Personally, I use Morpheus now, but I'm still sorry to see Hotline go.
posted by signal at 2:34 PM PST - 15 comments

Love Bomb! Finally, a creative idea for the "New War." Granted, it wouldn't solve the whole mess, but it might be a step in the right direction. It sure wouldn't make us any new enemies. "A panel of four Williams College professors urged restraint in the so-called war on terrorism Monday, with one of them calling upon America to bomb Afghanistan not with explosives but with food and medical supplies. Anthropology professor David Edwards, speaking during a public forum at Chapin Hall, said airlifts similar to those provided to West Berlin by the United States and Britain in 1948 and 1949 could prove a public relations coup and an unexpected blow to terrorist Osama bin Ladin, in a country wracked by starvation, civil war and oppression. "Bin Laden expects us to strike with military force. It's what he's prepared for. In dealing with terrorism, you have to do the unexpected," said Edwards, an expert on Afghanistan who was joined on the panel by political science professors Marc Lynch, Gary Jacobsohn and James McAllister."
posted by martk at 1:54 PM PST - 31 comments

White House Reprimands Bill Maher... Remarking on Bill Maher's recent (and ill-timed) comments, White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said "Americans ... need to watch what they say, watch what they do, and this is not a time for remarks like that; there never is.''

Mr Fleischer: there's never a time for a comment like that from the White House.
posted by silusGROK at 1:40 PM PST - 68 comments

A University of Michigan study has concluded that terrorists were not using hidden messages embedded in eBay auction images to plan the attacks. However, speculation that Ritz cracker advertisements were used has not yet been refuted.
posted by jjg at 1:07 PM PST - 5 comments

To buy a gas mask, or not to buy a gas mask. That is the question. I found this pretend discussion, that includes real quotes from a number of intelligence official, particularly disturbing. What is the reality on this? I don't wish to be ignorant any longer.
posted by Atom Heart Mother at 12:47 PM PST - 16 comments

you have one new message
posted by bitcrank at 12:24 PM PST - 7 comments

Grootnik P. Bargelights' Golden Shower of Hits! For those of you still mourning the loss of GoGaGa Brand radio, Grootnik spins the eclectica like noone's business. Grootnik is a member of the Evolution Control Committee (of Rocked by Rape fame) and you can find show archives on their sounds page.

PS - You can also get a little GoGaGa fix at ropeadope. They have a very nice set by John Schaefer, who is now trying to start a new life at a little joint called airbubble.
posted by badstone at 10:46 AM PST - 4 comments

Further Flag Folderol Teacher gets suspended for allegedly burning the American flag in front of his class. Will this wave of disrespect continue its unflagging pace? I wonder what the rest of the staff thinks. And you, of course.
posted by gazingus at 10:45 AM PST - 43 comments

From safety to where. This article provides a great, in-depth look at the World Trade Center from an architectural standpoint. Beginning with its lead architect, a Japanese man who suffered himself from the racism of the WW2 era, it goes over the structure of the buildings and reasons why the center withstood the 1993 bombing -- and, for a while, the impacts of the two hijacked planes -- and what the future for New York and the businesses affected may hold. (Thanks to overmorgen for the link.)
posted by moz at 10:19 AM PST - 5 comments

Whoa! Amazon.com's added a new tab to it's menubar. And it's got MY name on it!
posted by Taken Outtacontext at 9:51 AM PST - 46 comments

Jihad vs. McWorld I read this in college, and it was recently talked about on NPR. (I did a search on MeFi and couldn't find it linked). Interesting article written 9 years ago but significant today, addressing the "brutal realities of Jihad and the dull realities of McWorld". Thoughts? (warning, loooong read)
posted by adampsyche at 8:53 AM PST - 8 comments

Teddy is the best character to come out of movies in years. Shame about the movie. Seen it?
posted by Frasermoo at 8:38 AM PST - 10 comments

Who needs Burning Man? Austin [well, Round Rock, actually] has the Hairy Man Festival! "One highlight of the Festival is 'the Hairiest Man Contest.' This year's Grand Prize is a 4-night cruise for 2 from Galveston to Cozumel!!" And don't miss the Legend of the Hairy Man!
posted by tippiedog at 7:59 AM PST - 4 comments

The upcoming war in Afghanistan and how the U.S. will fight it. I know we have linked to Stratfor in the past but these seem to be very well reasoned approaches that I haven't seen elsewhere. If this is what the U.S. is planning, doesn't it (pleasantly) surprise you that we have taken the option least likely to involve civilian casualties? Do you agree with their analysis? Is anyone else happy that we didn't just blow up an aspirin factory again?
posted by revbrian at 7:50 AM PST - 16 comments

Make World event in October, Germany - about borderless digital culture, no doubt curated long before The Current Situation, but I'm sure will be rendered far more relevant as a result.
posted by blackbeltjones at 6:37 AM PST - 0 comments - Post a Comment

The Jordan Effect. The more important question regarding MJ's return is if he will be good for the economy. Remember back in '98 when Fortune reported that the overall value of the Jordan Effect was around $10 billion and counting. Could he be the answer for our sagging economy? Not likely. But then again remember that What's Good for Michael Jordan is Good for America. (At least, that was Salon's take back in the day.) So whether we're Wizards' fans or not maybe rooting for Jordan should be our American duty.
posted by jacknose at 6:10 AM PST - 3 comments

Evolution on PBS - this is going to upset those who think the earth is only 6000 years old
posted by scotty at 5:02 AM PST - 21 comments

Starbucks charged rescuers for water. This is the kind of thing that makes me really sick, even if they appologized after.
posted by HoldenCaulfield at 3:40 AM PST - 57 comments

Ketchup.
posted by blackbeltjones at 1:29 AM PST - 20 comments

A few WTC things to start the day: 1) If you have a desire to move "off the grid" or just simply disappear, has the City of New York got a new program for you! Now you can get yourself declared dead with nothing more than a copy of Acrobat Reader and an ability to lie through your teeth. 2) The arguments over what to replace the WTC with are starting to gather steam. 3) That last piece standing of the WTC has been removed for probable use in a memorial. God please save us from another huge OKC-style Memorial From Hell.
posted by aaron at 12:48 AM PST - 16 comments

SomethingAwful.com closes its doors... temporarily or otherwise. A similar traffic-induced fate befell our own James Lileks, resulting in a sorrowful, pared down site. Is this developing a trend? Could the Internet be getting too big for its ad-free, humorous britches?
posted by Dane at 10:58 PM PST - 21 comments

"Placing The Blame For Attacks On Muslims Is Wrong" This editorial appeared yesterday in the Ventura County Star, it was written by Roufeda Ebrahim of Ventura, a Muslim. The 18-year-old graduate of St. Bonaventure High School is a freshman at Ventura College, where she is studying journalism and English.
posted by tpoh.org at 9:10 PM PST - 18 comments

Operation Infinite Mercy : Emergency relief for Afghan refugees fleeing Taliban rule and/or threats of American attack. Amid the scores of funds, accounts, websites, banner ads, and buttons that have popped up advertising ways to 'help the victims', it's been near-impossible to find somewhere online to make a donation to assist some of the other people affected by the aftermath of September 11th...
posted by SenshiNeko at 7:52 PM PST - 18 comments

CBS posts 'Survivor: Africa' cast profiles If reality TV is even marginally relevant to anyone anymore, the bios of the latest Survivor contestants have been posted. My questions are: 1. are these people representative of the American population at large? Almost all of the women list In Style magazine as their favorite and one picks "shopping and ads" as her favorite section of the newspaper... and 2. will more or less people be watching Survivor post-WTC tragedy?
posted by popvulture at 7:42 PM PST - 26 comments

the ONION to the rescue! America's most trusted insightful ironists seem to have risen to the challenge. Dinty Moore beef stew condemns terrorism.
posted by Zurishaddai at 7:07 PM PST - 87 comments

WalkingTom getting back on the road Tom is a guy who started to walk across the US in 1997, and who started to log his journey on the Web in 98. In 2000, he took a year's break to get married, but in a few days he's finally getting back to finishing his journey. What travelogues have you been addicted to? Are there any good current ones?
posted by wackybrit at 6:48 PM PST - 8 comments

Americans like to pretend that we live in a classless society but we don't, not by a long shot. I caught this PBS documentary a few days ago called People Like Us (the link is to the companion site) which focusses on class in the US (what it means, how it works) in a refreshing way. I'm sure they'll be replaying it soon. I didn't much care for the companion site, but it did provide a link to this creepy marketing service that tells you what sorts of people live in your neighborhood (based on your zip code) and what products they're likely to buy.
posted by wheat at 5:59 PM PST - 21 comments

Another interview with bin Laden, with a twist, just to show everyone what a pacifist I really am. Slightly slow-loading, completely interactive. Fun and games for a Tuesday night.
posted by mirla at 5:43 PM PST - 4 comments

Hackers face life imprisonment under 'Anti-Terrorism' Act
Hackers, virus-writers and web site defacers would face life imprisonment without the possibility of parole under legislation proposed by the Bush Administration that would classify most computer crimes as acts of terrorism.
posted by venegas at 5:14 PM PST - 38 comments

Remember the scary-sounding Hailstorm that was set to prove how evil Microsoft's system is? Well worry no longer, because it's now called .NET My Services. How could something with such a cute, gentle name like that be bad for users?
posted by mathowie at 3:39 PM PST - 15 comments

Lasoo, location-based search engine. Really slick. They've improved it a lot since I last visited.
posted by SilentSalamander at 3:10 PM PST - 12 comments

Movie Review Query Engine Encompassing old-hat IMDB data and scores more sources, the Movie Review Query Engine is estimable. Like ISBN.nu, its scope is vast and it seems to be a single-person operation (here, Stewart Clamen).
posted by joeclark at 2:53 PM PST - 6 comments

Silicon Valley backs Senate bill that would allow companies to report computer network attacks to the government without having to worry about the public finding out. The reasoning: it would encourage more companies to report the problems and help the government track down the culprits. A similar bill is in the House.
posted by thescoop at 2:22 PM PST - 2 comments

Jordan is back. Officially. The question is: does he still have what it takes to reach the top?
posted by kchristidis at 1:43 PM PST - 30 comments

Just crazy enough to be true. How about that 1 mill a minute??
posted by johnny7 at 1:02 PM PST - 17 comments

Always use protection - the Aluminum Foil Deflector Beanie protects your brain from most electromagnetic psychotronic mind-control carriers.
posted by kd at 12:19 PM PST - 9 comments

Bush wants military aid for Syria and Iran So what if both nations on the American terrorist list (previous to recent attack on us). I just returned my army (old) uniform back to the closet. I won't go.
posted by Postroad at 12:19 PM PST - 14 comments

What's the worst that could happen? Discuss. [from The Guardian]
posted by feelinglistless at 11:50 AM PST - 10 comments

Deepend.com calls it quits. U.K. web design firm Deepend has decided to fire all 90 employees and liquidate assests, due to the ripple effect of the 9/11 attack. That's their excuse anyway. If most or all of their clients were air or travel related I could believe their reasoning. What do you think?
posted by catscape at 11:24 AM PST - 11 comments

Are the airlines pulling a Chrystler? "The President and Congress agree the airlines should get $5 billion in cash grants right away -- more than Federal spending this year on worker training, or food and nutrition assistance programs. Help with new security spending boosts the down payment on a rescue to $8 billion. This is close to the combined market value of American, United, Delta, US Airways, Northwest, America West, and Continental."
posted by theMargin at 10:42 AM PST - 25 comments

Princeton's Global Consciousness Project Readings Spiked on September 11. Was there, as The Boundary Institute believes, a "disturbance in the force" recorded by Princeton's GCP? Seems crazy to me, but the "princeton.edu" in the URL and the complicated-looking graphs must mean something.
posted by vraxoin at 10:29 AM PST - 17 comments

A heartening story about the increased patronage of an Afghan restaurant in the San Francisco Bay Area. Have you heard/seen/been a part of reaching out to Afghans and Muslims who are as shocked and against the terrorist attacks? "Ahmad and Rahimi say they are living in an extraordinary moment. When they expected suspicion, they found trust. When they worried about rejection, they found the embrace of friends and customers."
posted by msacheson at 10:27 AM PST - 9 comments

Rodents will swim for fresh tuna? "Wrecked Taiwanese tuna vessel. Still had tons of tuna on board. Thousands of rats had taken over ship with relatively unlimited food supply." The boat is in open water. Maybe the rats sent out a reconnaisance team first? Do they really swim that well or could it be the tide goes down and they run for it? If they do swim that well, how did they get on to the boat?
posted by mmarcos at 10:07 AM PST - 16 comments

Did you subscribe to the Industry Standard? Expect to start seeing AOL CDs in the mail, thanks to them buying up the subscriber lists at the Standard's firesale yesterday.
posted by mathowie at 9:53 AM PST - 11 comments

National identification cards The pros and the cons are given here. Do you have a preference after considering these arguments? What would we do with the 11 million illegals said to be here now?Send them to New Jersey?
posted by Postroad at 8:52 AM PST - 51 comments

Gartner's opinion proliferates into the mainstream Internet news sources. any further thoughts?
posted by tatochip at 8:24 AM PST - 9 comments

Bookmark Sync to start charging users. From an e-mail this morning: "Starting November 1, 2001, BookmarkSync will be available for a one-time fee of $50. Paid customers will receive the software and unlimited, ad-free access to our web services for life."
posted by mrbula at 7:17 AM PST - 24 comments

Bush a posible Nobel Peace Prize winner?
That is, if he avoids war....so what do reckon?
posted by tomcosgrave at 6:51 AM PST - 33 comments

On the art of Propaganda Propaganda is a vital part of warfare and we're about to see a lot of it. This site analyzes the techniques of propaganda and discusses specific examples from history.
posted by Steven Den Beste at 6:43 AM PST - 3 comments

Virtual Carp fishing - Strangely compelling. Wait for the screens to refresh.
posted by kramer_101 at 5:30 AM PST - 3 comments

CLICK to see hot, TRIPLE XXX chair-on-chair action! !!!!!!NOW!!!! The HOTTEST site on the Web for HARDCORE furniture action! If you're ready to see some HOT, HORNY home furnishings get their freak on then CLICK!! You wont beleive what our furniture will do! ----> SEE THE BONDAGE SEAT! <---- This raven recliner likes it all wrapped up! Grab your cushions and CHECK THIS OUT!!!
posted by tranquileye at 5:07 AM PST - 13 comments

Notes for new students by Gwyn Alf Williams. Good advice for those of us just starting college courses. Or making contributions to community weblogs.
posted by ceiriog at 4:30 AM PST - 3 comments

Journal of a guy recovering from schizophrenia. Interesting, he includes some stuff from his madness on the site.
posted by paladin at 12:36 AM PST - 5 comments

Blogging behind bars. "Before he sent me to the hole, the administrator looked at me and said, "You should have thought about this before you started playing games." I didn't start this journal to play any games, but now that we're playing, I'm determined to win."
posted by obiwanwasabi at 11:49 PM PST - 8 comments

Bush and bin's brother linked - Toronto Sun Headline: Bin Laden's Brother was Bush's Biz Partner, Pair started texas oil firm. There is no story online however, just the front page. Anybody else hear about this? Field's Dangerous places says in its bio of bin Laden that a brother, Salim, was killed in a hang glider accident in Texas in 1989.
posted by PMcCann at 9:54 PM PST - 23 comments

James Woods Reported Suspicious Passengers to FBI "On a flight from Boston to Los Angeles about a month ago, Woods observed four men of apparent Middle Eastern origin acting so oddly that he reported them to the flight attendants and authorities on the ground when he landed."
posted by saturn5 at 9:33 PM PST - 10 comments

Air pistols cause security alert. "TWO Norwegian schoolchildren caused a security alert at a Scottish airport after boarding a flight home with an air pistol in their luggage, police said. Passengers on board the Norwegian-based Braathens Airways flight were evacuated from the aircraft minutes before take off, an airport spokesman said." I remember getting a simple plastic water pistol (one of the hollow-squeeze things) at a carnival in the UK when I went there on holiday and I had to unpack my hand luggage after it showed up as a six-shooter on the Xray. I don't recall that event making it to the international news feeds.
posted by krisjohn at 8:18 PM PST - 5 comments

More tragicomic WTC news. Apparently, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey had a pending trademark patent on the official logo for the WTC commercial district. The logo was Published for Opposition, in which third parties could oppose the patent filing. If gone unopposed, the logo would then be granted the patent. ...Note the status date.
posted by Down10 at 7:24 PM PST - 9 comments

Taliban Magic Trick: $43m...now you see it, now you don't! "Afghan farmers are ready to swamp world markets with heroin amid signs that the Taleban has dropped its ban on opium growing."

Okay...can we please end the War on Plants now?
posted by tpoh.org at 6:57 PM PST - 11 comments

The Clash of Civilizations? An extraordinarily prescient and compelling 1993 essay, with some chilling predictions that in the last two weeks begin to seem dead on target. [more inside]
posted by dhartung at 5:08 PM PST - 28 comments

Describing disaster ¶ Gregory Rosmaita posts links to a couple of pages of described photographs of the WTC attack (by Stephen Cope and Lisa Seeman). Could have used the longdesc tag, but there you go. (Hat tip: Jesse the K)
posted by joeclark at 4:34 PM PST - 0 comments - Post a Comment

Little Osama Check out the Brady Family photo of young Osama Bin Laden and his 22 brothers and sisters, published in The Sun... Full story here.
posted by crunchybird at 4:16 PM PST - 30 comments

W32/Vote@MM - -is being called "low risk" according to McAfee
posted by scotty at 3:20 PM PST - 7 comments

Local radio commentary on WTC I know we have heard it all so many times in so many different ways, but I like this one.
posted by Oxydude at 2:19 PM PST - 6 comments

Publishers of this excellent book (+film) on electronica were trying to raise awareness of afghanistan's problems before WTC. Their subsequent statement impressed me and I'm planning to buy some music. Buying from decent people is a painless way to change the world - where else for more slightly-more-ethical-than-normal retail therapy? (clunky frames site, but you can suffer a little)
posted by andrew cooke at 1:29 PM PST - 7 comments

Simple pleasures. The beginning of fall means pumpkin carving to me. Try something new. Pull a prank. Roast some seeds. Visit the Mecca of pumpkins. Carve a pumpkin underwater. But for god's sake, please don't forward me this picture again in email. Be a kid again and share your favorite jack o' lantern story.
posted by machaus at 12:33 PM PST - 20 comments

Tiny windows games are diversions designed specifically to meet the needs of today's bored office worker. Check out the actual-size screenshots to see how easy it would be to conceal these on the desktop (try saying "it's a server monitor" if you get caught). [via fark]
posted by mathowie at 12:11 PM PST - 20 comments

Maybe people will finally see "Glitter" after all. More than 200 movie theatre companies will donate all ticket sales and concession revenues to the United Way and the Red Cross for all films shown Tuesday. After two weeks of dreadful box-office grosses and sour moods, maybe this will prime the pump.
posted by tsarfan at 12:05 PM PST - 9 comments

Variety reports (subscription temporarily not required due to the attacks) on changes in upcoming television programming due to perceived (and probably real) audience sensitivity. While we've seen some of this before (like concern over the plane exploding in the premiere of "24"), I see at least one change I'd feared: "The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson," (episode 4F22, originally aired four years ago today as the season premiere) where Homer's car is booted at One World Trade Plaza and Homer climbs both towers looking for a bathroom, has been pulled from syndication and, unless Twentieth Television changes its mind, will not be aired again.

Also, Showtime has indefinitely postponed its airing of the well-received indie film "The Believer," about a "self-hating Jew who becomes an anti-semitic skinhead." Overly-senstive reactions or justified changes for a mourning nation?
posted by mdeatherage at 11:33 AM PST - 29 comments

Al Qaeda to cut at least 5,000 jobs -- Citing worldwide reaction to last week's terrorist attacks, multi-national terror network Al Qaeda announced Thursday that it would lay off 5,000 or more holy warriors.
posted by andrewraff at 10:13 AM PST - 16 comments

The Greens and Social Democrats in Germany just lost big in local elections in Hamburg this weekend. Is this the first political fallout from the "War on Terror"? (Here's an English link too, from the Sydney Morning Herald. Couldn't find anything in the U.S. press--thank heaven for Australians.)
posted by gimonca at 9:47 AM PST - 13 comments

Bush or Chimp closes shop. Another stalwart anti-Bush site has folded in light of recent events. The irreverent bushorchimp.com, dedicated to visual comparisons of the President and various look-alike primates has closed down. I understand that we're in the midst of a crisis, but is Bush now beyond criticism? Ok, maybe pictures that compare Bush to monkeys aren't exactly thoughtful criticism... Still, NOW where am I going to get novelty t-shirts for friends and family this Xmas?
posted by mattpusateri at 9:36 AM PST - 45 comments

Thanks to FoodTV and online recipe sources, it seems like more of us are cooking (and more of those who do cook are even cooking well)...
Inspired by that (and the popularity of the beer and liquor threads) I thought we ought to move on to food:
What's your favorite recipe?
(My ceviche inside)
posted by Jako at 9:30 AM PST - 73 comments

Daily comic strips have started to react to the attacks. The only two I noticed in today's paper were Fox Trot and The Boondocks. Their tones are, predictably, somber. The one comic I'd expect to have something to say, Doonesbury, is still stuck on an older storyline. Have other strips referenced September 11?
posted by sandor at 8:05 AM PST - 25 comments

Sources say that Giuliani will seek to extend his term. It was unclear whether the mayor would try to amend those laws so voters could elect him for a third term or whether he would try to extend his current term. Do these circumstances warrant a term extension? Or should Giuliani retire at the end of the year and head up the clean-up efforts?
posted by phooey at 6:53 AM PST - 21 comments

A Hermaphrodite Moose was just shot by a hunter. Hermaphrodite animal rights activists around the world feel its pain.
posted by kingmissile at 6:08 AM PST - 18 comments

Isolationist information and international ignorance -- Whenever I visited my sister in Hong Kong over the past five years, I was always impressed with how much I didn't know about what was going on in the world. This link is a commentary on the feedback to an interview with a CNN Afganistan correspondent who said something similar, and got lambasted for it. Maybe if something good comes out of 9/11, it'll be a shift from celebrity news to real news. Ignorance can be dangerous.
posted by fpatrick at 5:38 AM PST - 12 comments

Spaced Penguin! Looking for something fun and distracting? This rivals Electrotank's Minigolf on the cute and addictive scales.
posted by JParker at 11:21 PM PST - 18 comments

Extraordinary violinist Isaac Stern dead at age 81 An abridged biography can be found here. As a casual listener, I mourn his death and hope that the gap this has left in music education can be filled.
posted by ttrendel at 9:48 PM PST - 2 comments

Human flag. 72,000 San Diegans came out this past weekend to make a human stars and stripes. Apparently the FAA wouldn't give clearance for a helicopter to take aerial photos. How ironic.
posted by afx114 at 9:27 PM PST - 7 comments

smooth motion graphics featuring 4-D sweater porn. definately check out exp untitled: infinity under "work." more here.
posted by kliuless at 7:51 PM PST - 16 comments

Bid Now! Six more days left if you're looking for someone to beat the living crap out of you. C'mon. You know you want to.
posted by jcterminal at 7:39 PM PST - 11 comments

The Angry Flag Vendor. From Jeffrey Zeldman's glamorous life. The latest entry makes for a very interesting read.
posted by arrowhead at 6:20 PM PST - 34 comments

What did we know? And what are we doing now? The best background summary I've yet seen, and the concrete info on the difficulties the intelligence agencies are facing is sobering.
posted by rushmc at 4:20 PM PST - 3 comments

You wanna fight? One title, many songs. Pick one. An open invitation songfight. (more...)
posted by smt at 2:53 PM PST - 2 comments

Military Codename Generator After Essential Harvest and Infinite Justice the pentagon will need some more names for sure. Here's a little helper.
posted by ronsens at 2:30 PM PST - 15 comments

Fark.Ru has officially begun operations.
posted by HoldenCaulfield at 2:29 PM PST - 16 comments

Ebert's movie answer man features this pretty sharp and dead-on letter from Derek Muller from Royal Oak, Michigan: "Here's an idea for a movie to be made in the year 2060: An epic about the attacks against the Twin Towers. Only let the three-hour film focus mainly on a love triangle stemming from a pair of friends as stock traders in New York and a young receptionist. When one of them is on a plane from Boston to L.A. and another is busy with a client in the Twin Towers, the men are suddenly thrust in the middle of a terrible plot where there is chaos and tragedy, but we completely disregard the 5,000 citizens dead and instead concern ourselves with the love lives of three whining yuppies. Or, we could just look at ''Pearl Harbor'' and think about how horrible it is to trivialize such a tragedy on the screen."
posted by adrober at 1:36 PM PST - 14 comments

"How to deal with an Islamic fundamentalist uprising" by Hafez Al-Assad. Mr. Assad, the late President of Syria, was a Muslim himself. In his rule, he had to deal with some bombwielders who even tried to assasinate him. Certainly his experience in these matters bears scrutiny. What lessons can we learn? P.S. Syria doesn't like our foreign policy either.
posted by quercus at 11:41 AM PST - 4 comments

Coltrane at 75: the Man and the Myths. The evolution of the view of John Coltrane as a spiritual figure. Is this a process that happens to any great musician dying at the height of their powers? (NYT link, registration required, blah, blah) Link via the AJList.
posted by pascal at 11:07 AM PST - 4 comments

"What has America done wrong? In the days since September 11, its president and people have done nothing but demonstrate dignity and restraint. Bush will lash out, the chatterers said. But he hasn't yet. Bush is a bumbling hick, they sneered. But he isn't."
posted by Steven Den Beste at 11:02 AM PST - 35 comments

Blacklist! Bush is expected to issue an executive order labeling certain people as "terrorists", which will lock up their assets and generally make life miserable. Who needs checks and balances or due process?
posted by jgilliam at 10:48 AM PST - 20 comments

What is the status of Civics subjects in schools these days? I found this rather old data on the ACLU website, but I'm having trouble finding out the current status of what I call "national pride" activities in schools these days. When I was a kid in the 70's, we always said the Pledge of Allegience every morning as well as had a prayer. I remember when the prayer was turned into a "moment of silence" (early 80's?) but I don't remember when/if the Pledge was discontinued due to ACLU activities like the one above. I've not thought much about this until now, but realizing that many, many kids don't know the Pledge or our anthem disturbs me greatly.
Could anyone enlighten me, please?
posted by misangela at 10:45 AM PST - 31 comments

Used (unwashed) lingerie auction, proceeds to the Red Cross! Come on, now; let's get some bidding going here! (I want the Martian Dildo or the stars-and-stripes thong bikini! [No, I ain't gonna model it for you.])
posted by Steven Den Beste at 9:50 AM PST - 11 comments

Sketchy reports that British special forces are already on the ground (and possibly shooting) in Afghanistan.
posted by Mid at 9:44 AM PST - 17 comments

I know it's early for the story of the Grinch, but I thought everyone should re-read it. It is a wonderful diversion from and a good fable about the 9/11 attacks. Granted, he won't be carving our roast beast, but in some pithy, corny way, Bin Laden may realize that our spirit -- our livelihood "doesn't come from a store."
posted by edwardko at 9:19 AM PST - 11 comments

From many voices, onevapproach via NY Times (reg req'd). Facts now coming out indcate that there are many cells, worldwide, that have been set in place over the years and are (or were) to be activated in a continupous terror assault. What our leaders are saying, then, about the length of time requried may in fact be in recognition of the huge job ahead in rooting these cells out.
posted by Postroad at 7:19 AM PST - 5 comments

The Volvo Ocean Race, formerly known as Whitbread Round the World, starts today. After years of preparation for the crews, boat builders and designers, 1500 BST this afternoon will see the eight participating boats cross the Cowes start line on the first leg to Cape Town. The website is more advanced than ever, with virtual racing available, as well as WAP/SMS services and brand new virtual spectator software. Will you be following the teams as they sail round the world, or is sailing simply no spectator sport?
posted by dagny at 6:27 AM PST - 3 comments

A survey of the political climate surrounding President Clinton's strike against bin Laden. Warning: ancient history (1998). Was he really "wagging the dog", or did he have a valid objective after all?
posted by Jack Torrance at 2:48 AM PST - 6 comments

Is Terrorists For Nukes the 2001 version of Arms For Hostages? President Bush has lifted the sanctions on India and Pakistan imposed by the U.S. in 1998 to protest their "tit-for-tat" nuclear tests. In a memorandum just released by the White House, he states that keeping those sanctions in place "would not be in the national security interests of the United States". Is this an acceptable exchange? Just how far should the U.S. go in appeasing Pakistan, not to mention further fuelling its already explosive confrontation with India?
posted by MiguelCardoso at 12:57 AM PST - 8 comments

Huh? This article swings from sort of equating the WTC attack with AIDS, to something about fundamentalism in music composition. I think. This is NOT for WTC discussion. Rather, I'm curious what people think of the analogy and whether you even follow his argument and/or think it's appropriate.
posted by Su at 12:51 AM PST - 7 comments

Okay, you are now officially allowed to be scared. Larry Ellison is not only calling for a national ID card, he wants it to be Oracle-based.
posted by aaron at 10:25 PM PST - 29 comments

just plain wrong
posted by tsarfan at 9:12 PM PST - 18 comments

Potential missile defense system stronger or weaker? In different days the creation of a cabinet post called "Director of the Office of Homeland Security" would make a lot of people nervous. The choice of Tom Ridge (former Governor of Pennsylvania) could be worse. He served in Vietnam and is known as being "tough on crime". An interesting note is that while in Congress he "led repeated fights against the anti-missile system nicknamed Star Wars." Meanwhile, would you want this guys job?
posted by jeremias at 8:38 PM PST - 5 comments

A Congressional Research Services report on Near East terrorist groups and state sponsors, published on Sept. 10, 2001. A laundry list of targets for a war on terrorism, published with uncanny timing.
posted by damn yankee at 8:31 PM PST - 1 comment

Is there really legitimate cause for alarm that small towns in the US are unprepared for terrorist attacks? Smacks of yet another excuse for more pointless, ineffective bureuacracy, if you ask me. Which you didn't.
posted by saladin at 5:08 PM PST - 10 comments

Did Osama leave Afghanistan? Is he in Somalia? Does anyone really know?
posted by raaka at 5:05 PM PST - 67 comments

Slightly less downbeat stories about race relations, for a change. Hopefully a harbinger of a backlash backlash?
posted by donkeyschlong at 4:43 PM PST - 2 comments

URI terminology demystified Quasi-Socratic Q&A on what the hell URIs are. “Q: What a mess! Are you serious? For a technology so architecturally core to RDF and the Web, that’s quite a kludge-tower! A: What can I say? That's the state of the art as I understand it”
posted by joeclark at 3:18 PM PST - 4 comments

Who wants to be a Princess? Remember "Who wants to marry a Multimillionaire?" Remember how it turned into a big scandal? Remember how Fox promised they wouldn't do it again? Well, they're doing it again this coming Monday.
posted by Steven Den Beste at 3:14 PM PST - 34 comments

Microsoft Delays X-Box Release Sure it's only by a week, but the article also hints at anticipated availability problems. Why does this seem so familiar?
posted by ttrendel at 2:25 PM PST - 21 comments

the passengers on our planes should have the right to bear arms Is this guy, a former pilot, suggesting that we have a constitutional right to carry weapons aboard planes so we can defend ourselves? Is an uzzi ok or a bayonet?
posted by Postroad at 2:10 PM PST - 27 comments

More non-Americans than Americans were killed on Sept. 11th, according to cryptome. Should this change the way we feel about the attack? Should it change the way other countries feel about the attack?
posted by jaek at 1:49 PM PST - 24 comments

Behind the scenes of the "war council." The New York Times has a fascinating, behind-the-scenes story about the administration's struggle to develop a plan of attack. The story quotes highly-placed sources around Cheney, Rumsfeld, Powell, Rice, et al. The most interesting revelation? GWB himself may actually be calling the shots.
posted by pardonyou? at 1:34 PM PST - 9 comments

Almost twenty years later, William T. Vollmann returns to Afghanistan (where he once tried to fight alongside the mujahideen) and shares his perspective and observations of life under the Taliban.
posted by Big Fat Tycoon at 12:29 PM PST - 13 comments

Bruce Campbell, the man, the myth, the shemp. Quicky article about an appearance during his book-signing tour, I can vouch that everything the writer says about Mr. Campbell is true. I saw him at his SLC appearance and the man is both witty, approachable, and he knows how to work a crowd. And his book is well written! Surprise surprise.
posted by jcterminal at 11:28 AM PST - 8 comments

CEOs Slash Jobs, but Not Their Pay Too many cheifs and not enough indians. An article I found interesting.
posted by bjgeiger at 11:02 AM PST - 11 comments

Here's a New Republic article that provides some background on Afghani politics and an interesting argument on the Taliban's weakness. Here's a provocative quote: In 1999, when the United States devastated Belgrade and humiliated Milosevic, the Serbs eventually ousted him. In 1991, when the United States devastated Baghdad and humiliated Saddam, the Kurds and Shiites rose up, and might have toppled the regime had the United States not abandoned them. Historical parallels, of course, are never perfect. But the Taliban are no stronger than those two previous U.S. foes; in fact, they are probably weaker. Comments?
posted by estopped at 9:46 AM PST - 18 comments

A safe getaway If the excrement REALLY hits the oscillator What's your thoughts on a safe haven??
posted by johnny7 at 6:30 AM PST - 24 comments

9/11 Conspirators Stole Identities of Murdered Students: "HAD FBI agents bothered to ask college lecturers in South Wales about the terrorist bomber they supposedly taught over a decade ago, then security chiefs would have realised how Osama bin Laden had carefully created a generation of impostors . . . his agents stole the identities and life histories of at least a dozen Western-educated young men who were all murdered in 1990, according to a former head of the CIA."
posted by ryanshepard at 6:18 AM PST - 15 comments

Avenging the Dead: National Public Radio Commentator Crispin Sartwell makes his case for avenging the dead of last week's attack. What do you think of his words? (Link is Real Audio)
posted by Taken Outtacontext at 6:00 AM PST - 4 comments

Joshua Marshall, a liberal pundit who publishes the Talking Points weblog, makes a spirited attempt in the New York Post to defend President Bush's statement that "our terrorist enemies attacked because they hate freedom and democracy."
posted by rcade at 5:56 AM PST - 21 comments

Cassini's just outside the orbit of Jupiter. Where is the space program in all of this? Have mundane zealots hobbled humanity's greatest feats to come? Should we be plotting ourselves to the stars now?
posted by crasspastor at 4:24 AM PST - 4 comments

Word Perhect (sic) is what happens when internet art takes on the mighty word processor... and kicks it into submission! e-2.org contains some other impressive and ambitious stuff, if you like all that arty malarkey...
posted by creeky at 4:19 AM PST - 11 comments

thak you speaks for itself
posted by Postroad at 3:07 AM PST - 18 comments

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 - 18 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 comment

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 - 84 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 - 24 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 - 24 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 - 39 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 - 58 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 - 11 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 - 30 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 - 42 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 - 7 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 - 50 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 - 66 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 - 24 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 - 20 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

Homeland defense is a concept that is too vague. Is it another tactic for promoting a missle defense? I am interested in finding out what the tasks involved will be.
posted by Sqwerty at 11:59 PM PST - 1 comment

Just think of what could be if Bin Laden gets his hands on this stuff. Makes you wonder what he has in the tool shed.
posted by KevinSkomsvold at 11:55 PM PST - 5 comments

The Dead Zone all over again? Lucich said the boy approached his teacher on the afternoon of Sept. 10 and casually told her: "Tomorrow, World War III will begin. It will begin in the United States, and the United States will lose." eerie little story about a 5th grader in Dallas
posted by LeLiLo at 11:43 PM PST - 14 comments

Woody Allen isn't surprised. As the country goes Bananas fearing Bullets Over Broadway, we...okay, I'll stop :)
posted by adrober at 11:40 PM PST - 0 comments - Post a Comment

We may end up not needing to attack Afghanistan at all. The Taliban seem to be doing a marvelous job of destroying themselves just worrying about what we might do.
posted by aaron at 10:56 PM PST - 5 comments

So where does the US stand with the Irish after tonight's speech? I mean, we're going to go after all terrorists and all countries that harbor them, right?
posted by dopamine at 10:44 PM PST - 27 comments

Massoud's Last Words The last interview with the leader of the Afghani opposition, who was killed right before this whole mess. Somewhat relevant as the US may ally with these rebels in the coming months.
posted by owillis at 9:10 PM PST - 3 comments

God bless Jon Stewart and The Daily Show, back for their first show after the attack. It's not completely new, but God knows I needed to see it. New York may be OK after all. (Comedy Central will repeat the show several times before Monday, so don't despair if you thought it would be a rerun and missed it.)
posted by mdeatherage at 8:33 PM PST - 20 comments

Yeah, I know... another artist, but come on! He kicks ass. I'm not much for Flash or background music, but really, this place is shiny, and all 'new media' like, and it's pretty... and it's umm.... oh! and it's easy to navigate dammit.... and shiny...
posted by jcterminal at 7:57 PM PST - 12 comments

Bravo, President Bush! He hit the mark with this speech, correctly identifying the stakes, the principles, and the risks. More: he was passionate, feeling, and genuine. Did he win over any critics?
posted by davidmsc at 6:44 PM PST - 196 comments

A Little Light Relief - and Brush Up Your English While You're At It. In the spirit of poking fun at one's own flesh and blood - and respecting all those who aren't - I offer the most appalling tribute to Shakespeare's and Emerson's language since time itself began. I give you, ladies and gentlemen, the great Portuguese scholar Pedro Carolino, whose "English As She Is Spoke" Mark Twain considered to be the funniest book ever written. Start with "Familiar Dialogues 1" and, if you've still been able to keep a straight face, try "Idiotisms and Proverbs" for the full effect... (Thanks to Ganz's Humor Page)
posted by MiguelCardoso at 5:37 PM PST - 19 comments

Hundreds of workers evacuated the Sears Tower in Chicago due to a rumor that another plane had been hijacked in Milwaukee.
posted by andre_111 at 5:31 PM PST - 5 comments

This smells of opportunism? Is the Iraqi government using our recent war fervor to lift their economic bans? We now have a new enemy, so the old ones are now our friends? Saddam's comment on humanitariasm simply makes me cringe.
posted by Benway at 5:09 PM PST - 4 comments

Will America's Most Wanted win us the fight for justice? Or will our large population of ignorant Americans use this as their motivation to be even more suspicious and intolerant of those with brown skin?
posted by adrober at 5:08 PM PST - 3 comments

What on earth does this company do? I've been staring at this sentence for hours and still can't figure it out. "Descartes powers the next generation of collaborative logistics management on a global scale, providing customers with Internet-based capabilities to optimally manage nChain processes." More business babble inside!
posted by tweebiscuit at 5:08 PM PST - 27 comments

This popular mechanics article on E-bombs will keep you from sleeping tonight. For as little as $400 and some 1940's era technology, you could wipe out much of western civilization's infrastructure in an instant. We're about to enter a terrifying new world of combat.
posted by mathowie at 5:04 PM PST - 14 comments

FBI suspects posted. The face of terror revealed!
posted by geronimo_rex at 4:48 PM PST - 20 comments

Prescient poetry by W. H. Auden, circa 1939. Round and round and round we go. (thanks to like an orb for the link.)
posted by damn yankee at 4:30 PM PST - 7 comments

While the current email forward-of-the-day, Bomb them with Butter! sounds promising, I don't think food, DVDs, and newspapers are going to convert anyone.
posted by mathowie at 4:20 PM PST - 27 comments

Biggest Opprotunist Gasbag Award goes to... Was anyone else turned off by faux-Detroiter Michael Moore's attempt to convert last weeks events into yet another opportunity to rant about his pet causes? Thousands of innocent people have been killed, and his next to initial response is that we need to reform minimum wage laws?!?
posted by justkurt at 4:18 PM PST - 23 comments

A four part tale(1993) of deception, covert operations and secret revelations, which covers :
How The Blind Sheikh Came To USA
CIA's Friends Against Soviet Union
Was Mossad Behind WTC 1993
How The CIA Won It's Jehad

Search These Terms
"Mossad World Trade Center", CIA, Hekmatyar, Hekmatyar Heroine, The Blind Shiekh, ISI, The Village Voice, Robert I. Friedman, Victor Ostrovsky
posted by adnanbwp at 4:02 PM PST - 2 comments

Chinese sweatshops working overtime producing American flags. Just so we can show each other how much we value freedom and democracy.
posted by electro at 3:40 PM PST - 16 comments

Saturday Night, R.I.P. Canada's best magazine is no more, victim to cuts at the National Post. Saturday Night was also Canada's oldest mag and had been affiliated with some great writers and editors (like Mordecai Richler, Paul Tough of This American Life and Open Letters, and the snarky crew at Fametracker). Terrific front-of-the-book section and great NYT Mag-style features; have fun in the archives.
posted by crabwalk at 3:23 PM PST - 4 comments

Jason does it again , this is written by the best of the news harvesters, high praise indeed.
posted by johnny novak at 2:16 PM PST - 10 comments

Now is probably a poor time to start making bomb jokes at the airport.
posted by BoatMeme at 1:27 PM PST - 10 comments

This is cool...and fun...and bizarre!!!
I stumbled across this on ScriptingNews -- so take a look here first. It's weird -- to say the least-- but it's very cool too... like playing and chatting while you browse (sorta). Anyway, you have to be running msie 5.5 for it to work... and there's a limit of only 15 concurrent users [just beta].

So if you get in, don't hog it! =) And if you can't get in, go dig the demo instead.
posted by blackholebrain at 1:19 PM PST - 13 comments

NYC subways might flood. Apparently, the WTC collapse may allow the Hudson River to flood into subway tunnels. eek!
posted by panopticon at 1:09 PM PST - 11 comments

Striking back at hackers
"LaBrea" is a free, open-source tool that deters worms and other hack attacks by transforming unused network resources into decoy-computers that appear and act just like normal machines on a network. But when malicious hackers or mindless worms such as Nimda or Code Red attempt to connect with a LaBrea-equipped system, they get sucked into a virtual tarpit that grabs their computer's connection -- and doesn't release it.
Is this an ethical use of network resources, or just vigilante justice? What other methods have you used to strike back at hostile software?
posted by TheChump at 12:45 PM PST - 8 comments

Indian school children being harrased. Does anyone have info on taking legal action against someone that threatens you, harasses you or harms you?
posted by m2bcubed at 12:43 PM PST - 12 comments

American Taliban
posted by SilentSalamander at 12:27 PM PST - 7 comments

What's your favorite type of liquor? After the success of the beer thread, I figured some people might want to talk about their favorite scotches, bourbons, rums, tequilas, vodkas, and gins.
posted by rorycberger at 12:18 PM PST - 134 comments

Sorry, more from Pat Robertson. It seems Pat had a really in-depth discussion on his show with a "reformed Muslim" about what the Muslim faith really entails...
posted by conquistador at 11:55 AM PST - 33 comments

The emotional toll of last week's tragedy may be greater than the physical losses. This certainly raises a case for distraction.
posted by ttrendel at 11:44 AM PST - 5 comments

Is the music industry headed in a new direction after the events of last week? And I'm not talking about the release of the new Jay-Z album.
posted by saladin at 11:37 AM PST - 27 comments

Ed Roland announced earlier today on 99x that Ross Childress was no longer with Collective Soul. [more...]
posted by riffola at 11:16 AM PST - 14 comments

Ever wonder what would happen to your CPU if you took the heat sink off? The downloadable video of the tests speak louder than html.
posted by linux at 11:14 AM PST - 8 comments

World Domination (the Microsoft way) Included in the Front Page 2002 licensing: "You may not use the Software in connection with any site that disparages Microsoft, MSN, MSNBC, Expedia, or their products or services ... " [link via slashdot]
posted by kd at 10:40 AM PST - 18 comments

Muslims in Peshawar eat the flag in protest. That'll show us.
posted by Ty Webb at 10:20 AM PST - 32 comments

The Show Must Go On. Is it appropriate for Broadway shows to be up and running again? True, the Mayor prescribed it as a way to show how unaffected we are by terrorism, yet I couldn't imagine sitting in the audience at The Producers, laughing at "Springtime for Hitler," mocking the foolishness of that regime of hatred when the product of another regime of hatred lays smouldering just a few miles to the south.
posted by adrober at 9:43 AM PST - 16 comments

Saintly blood makes scheduled liquid-form appearance. The blood of Saint Gennaro usually turns to liquid twice a year — on September 19, the saint's feast day, and on the first Saturday in May. In the past, disaster has struck when the blood has remained dry.
posted by o2b at 9:21 AM PST - 3 comments

Are we blaming the victim? William Saleten argues that talk about what the USA has done to provoke terrorist attack is like a battered wife wondering what she's done to deserve a beating. It risks legitimizing these indefensible acts, and gives us a false sense of control: i.e. that we could prevent such attacks if we'd only behave.
posted by straight at 8:36 AM PST - 102 comments

The American Friends Service Committee is a quaker-based, multi-faith national group advocating for peace & social justice on a variety of fronts. They have a sample letter urging peaceful government responses to terrorism which you can send or email to your representatives and Sheriff W. Better yet, use their email contact system and write your own letter.
posted by 40 Watt at 8:28 AM PST - 0 comments - Post a Comment

Missing, presumed dead in NYC. Dead at the Pentagon. While we talk about understanding the terrorist's reasons for the attack, please remember that each number we see scroll across tv is associated with a human being - who's only crime on September 11, 2001 was having the nerve to go to work or visit an international landmark.
posted by owillis at 7:34 AM PST - 20 comments

Israel had warned the U.S. in August a of major assault Mossad (Intelligence agency) had warned the U.S. of many known terrorists slipping into America. Nothing done.
posted by Postroad at 7:14 AM PST - 15 comments

Do you love beer? Do you really love beer? What’s your favorite beer? Have you ever made your own beer? The 168th Oktoberfest starts Saturday in Munich Germany. Six million visitors = six million liters of delicious, nutritious beer. I wish I were there instead of here.
posted by UncleFes at 6:55 AM PST - 138 comments

"Islam must rule the world and until Islam does rule the world we will continue to sacrifice our lives." There isn't any way to compromise with that; no way to "live and let live".
posted by Steven Den Beste at 6:31 AM PST - 43 comments

'AMERICA and Britain are producing secret plans to launch a ten-year “war on terrorism”..' declares this (otherwise fairly generic) article without citing its sources. Be prepared for the possible oxymoron of a line that is 'the whole focus of the long-term American approach was being driven by Richard Cheney..' Oh yeah -- hate to promote Murdoch media but also noteworthy in this mornings edition of the London Times are the revelations that whilst 200 British 'are certain to have perished', a further 800 are missing following the disaster and a piece warning of a 'nightmare scenario' in which Pakistan could lose control of its nuclear weapons to none other than THE TALIBAN.
posted by Kino at 5:34 AM PST - 8 comments

Nail. Head. Hit it. He did. "Despite almost universal condemnation of the attacks, many argue that a misguided US foreign policy in the Middle East is at least partly to blame. The BBC's Tehran Correspondent Jim Muir, who has spent decades covering conflicts in the region explains the forces at work."
posted by Jofus at 4:19 AM PST - 81 comments

Firefighters refuse to ride on truck with American flag saying Old Glory was offensive. Are they Arab-Americans? No, they're African Americans who believe that "the flag [is] offensive and said it represented oppression." Valid complaint, or jumping on the bandwagon?
posted by stevis at 3:37 AM PST - 43 comments

Taliban clerics meet to discuss bin Laden and then they kindly ask him to leave.
posted by bargle at 3:12 AM PST - 22 comments

Discovery Channel's Show on Terror Anyone see this show? I thought it was informative but rather over dramatic....
posted by ericdano at 12:12 AM PST - 6 comments

weekend alert as FBI warns of new attack *
oh swell.

make sure everyone you love knows what's going on.

*via little green footballs.
posted by bwg at 11:53 PM PST - 16 comments

American Flag Display Quiz and the answers for all the ignorant folks out there. When the American Flag is displayed on a wall, the canton (the blue field and stars) should be on the left as you face the wall. Am I the only one in America who knows this?
posted by canoeguide at 11:38 PM PST - 8 comments

I know this much is true... For years, I have said that the greatest thing about the modern state of the US is that we hold nothing as "True". I was wrong. Apparently our "Truths" were just sleeping; now everyone seems to have some, and they're proving to be as divisive and factionalist here as elsewhere. So - apart from any particular issue - are there "Truths", or are there just perceptions of an issue? And, just to keep some edges sharp, in answering, are you at all religious?
posted by Perigee at 10:59 PM PST - 65 comments

Way of life ending for NASCAR fans as coolers banned from racetracks. Is this an example of increased security or overt paranoia? "Right now you don't know who you can trust, you don't know who the guy sitting next to you is and you don't know if his cooler could be a bomb."
posted by mb01 at 8:04 PM PST - 32 comments

For the rest of us, here's an up-and-coming artist who manages to blend the visual impact of graphitti with the frenetic energy of comic book art, creating a neat style all his own, but shared by others. It's like an american version of anime.
...please god... no more wtc links...
posted by jcterminal at 7:48 PM PST - 13 comments

Uhm, Is Everything All Right? "Everything is under control. Situation normal. We're all fine here, now, thank you. How are you?" That can't be right, can it?
posted by yerfatma at 6:11 PM PST - 12 comments

How life changed from the view of several photographers. The first link, about the injured David Handschuh is the most powerful story. The experiences of fellow photographers Richard Drew and Shannon Stapleton are made evident just by the giant shift in their subject matter (seen sequentially via Yahoo News) from Sep. 10th to Sep. 11th. Drew was covering the US Open on one day, falling people the next. Shannon went quickly from Spring Fashion 2002 to ground zero.
posted by kokogiak at 4:47 PM PST - 10 comments

Hellooooo internment camps!! "The Bush administration today announced a major expansion of its power to detain immigrants suspected of crimes, including new rules prompted by last week's terrorist attacks that would allow legal immigrants to be detained indefinitely during a national emergency."
posted by fooljay at 4:01 PM PST - 47 comments

Holt Magazine is featuring an interview and some background on Tamin Ansary, the person who penned the Letter from an Afghani American. Isn't it incredible how the internet can empower a lowly school book writer's voice and broadcast it to the world?
posted by mathowie at 3:21 PM PST - 15 comments

I'm somewhat surprised that no one has yet posted anything about this (see also here and here, etc). My heart leapt last night when I heard this on NPR. All I could think of was that perhaps the five to six thousand seemingly-senseless deaths in our country will eventually, somehow, some way, end up saving at least that many Israeli and Palestinian lives - perhaps even pave the road to permanent peace. Perhaps some good can come of this, amidst all the pain. Am I a hopeless optimist?
posted by anastasiav at 2:10 PM PST - 12 comments

How To Launder Money If the "terrorism can't be overpowered, it can only be undermined" train of thought holds true, then the money funding terrorist activities needs to be cutoff, especially considering they may directly profit from it (and theoretically at least, it's easier to choke off funds than grass roots ideology). From what I've read Osama bin Laden's money comes from wealthy fundamentalist sympathizers, "rogue" governments and the heroin racket. Governments create, maintain and oversee the money apparatus, but if money laundering can't be stopped I don’t see how terrorism can either, um short of eradicating poverty, "the petri-dish for the culture of suicide bombing."
posted by kliuless at 1:59 PM PST - 11 comments

Egyptian plane crashes and U.S. says pilot a suicide Egypt denies suicide as cause of plane that crashed just off our coast. Any connection to WTC?
posted by Postroad at 1:16 PM PST - 5 comments

Interesting News Out of Pakistan: Whales Lived on Land Whales evolved from strange wolf-sized creatures that lived on land in modern-day India and Pakistan more than 50 million years ago, and their closest relatives today are cows, camels and giraffes, experts say.
posted by cell divide at 1:06 PM PST - 21 comments

Gay, lesbian troops can serve openly -- for now "First, gays and lesbians would be allowed to serve during any war, just as they do now, as long as they remain in compliance with the homosexual conduct policy," said Maj. James P. Cassella of the assistant secretary of defense for public affairs' office."

Sorry we've treated you so crappy, but, uh, we need you to serve now. Of course, when we don't need you any more, you'll be discharged because you're gay.
posted by 4midori at 12:56 PM PST - 80 comments

America: A Tribute To Heroes Special/telethon airing across all four networks to raise money for 9.11 this Friday from 9pm to 11pm. Tom Cruise, Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, Deniro, Jim Carrey and more celebs than you can shake a stick at.
posted by owillis at 12:42 PM PST - 21 comments

Israel is not the real issue the piece speaks for itself. Many have blamed our foreign policy, our support of Israel, our bombing of Iraq. This view sees a different issue and confrontation.
posted by Postroad at 11:22 AM PST - 46 comments

From the "not clear on the concept dep't.": Mom Dashes 900 Miles to Deliver Forgotten GameBoy to 11-year-old son bound for the isolated island of Iona to learn about life without modern amenities.
posted by msacheson at 11:08 AM PST - 24 comments

Internet audio for providing the background noise for your web surfing. Radio Paradise offers up peacenik rock and international music. Support American cornfed Middle Eastern music by listening to Salaam (more Middle East artists from mp3.com.) Or just get your fill of 70s, 80s, or 90s pop rock. Any other good music out there for surfing with your ears?
posted by KirkJobSluder at 10:47 AM PST - 7 comments

Bill Maher calls U.S. cowardly; FedEx pulls ads from show It looks like that "Freedom of Speech" thing is too much for some people to handle. What do expect from a show like this? If you can't handle it, don't watch it.
posted by BarneyFifesBullet at 10:42 AM PST - 82 comments

Internet Domain Names May Have Warned of Attacks “Internet domain names like 'attackontwintowers.com' and 'worldtradetowerattack.com' were registered more than a year ago. It's not known at this time who registered the suspicious names or what their purpose was.” Hmm. Just (un)lucky guesses, or inside information?
posted by kd at 10:33 AM PST - 26 comments

Why America would lose a ground war.
Or not.
Thoughts?
posted by TiggleTaggleTiger at 10:22 AM PST - 21 comments

Highlights of President Musharraf of Pakistan's Speech To The Nation.
Glossary: Hikmat = Wisdom
Summary = Godspeed USA
posted by adnanbwp at 10:16 AM PST - 8 comments

Interesting intelligence report points possible responsibility to terrorists other than bin Laden... Israel’s military intelligence service, Aman, suspects that Iraq is the state that sponsored the suicide attacks on the New York Trade Center and the Pentagon in Washington. Directing the mission, Aman officers believe, were two of the world’s foremost terrorist masterminds: the Lebanese Imad Mughniyeh, head of the special overseas operations for Hizbullah, and the Egyptian Dr Ayman Al Zawahiri, senior member of Al-Qaeda and possible successor of the ailing Osama Bin Laden.

Includes information about connections and previous activities... check it out...
posted by adamholz at 9:40 AM PST - 12 comments

Patriotic Voting?
Granted, this is in Seattle, not New York, but here's the bit I found interesting: Voter participation is expected to jump all the way up to almost 35% because of what this article calls "patriotic fervor." Call me a cynic, but I can't help but think that when it comes to citizenship, most of us would still rather just chant 'USA! USA!' at a ball game. Comments?
posted by Gilbert at 9:30 AM PST - 22 comments

Northeast could face energy chaos, MIT expert warns "The existing transmission grids were designed to serve regional needs. Power transfers from one grid to another were meant for emergencies only. Computer simulations performed at MIT show that heavy use of grid interconnections to tap cheaper power sources can have unintended effects. Trades between two regional grids can adversely affect operations in a third regional grid, potentially leading to frequency and voltage disturbances." But don't panic, MIT's Competitive Power Systems Group (funded "from a variety of industrial sources") has a solution. FUD or useful idea?
posted by Allen Varney at 9:25 AM PST - 0 comments - Post a Comment

What is art? A German composer describes the WTC bombings as "the greatest work of art one can imagine." (Then he apologized after four concerts were cancelled.) Perhaps he should have lunch with Jerry Falwell -- they'll have a lot to talk about.
posted by Steven Den Beste at 9:16 AM PST - 27 comments

Doing what I can. Cities across the nation are sold out of United States flags. This is my meager attempt to give anyone interested an American Flag in their cubicle. Distribute freely.
posted by ooklah at 8:44 AM PST - 19 comments

An Archived New Yorker Article about the capabilities and limitations of the American intelligence apparatus. This seems very prescient, since it was published in 1999.
posted by Danf at 7:45 AM PST - 1 comment

The only "war" I can think of in U.S. history anything like the present situation is the U.S. Navy's war on Caribbean piracy (1814-1825). Stateless, decentralized foe, no defined fields of battle, no "high-value targets"...Again, 1814-1825: eleven years. Any U.S. history majors out there?
posted by luser at 6:19 AM PST - 19 comments

And the award for the dumbass of the year goes to.... Constantinos Carpis - an Australian who "told ticket-counter employees he had a nuclear bomb during routine questioning as he checked in."
posted by viama at 6:09 AM PST - 18 comments

The Washington Post calls it "An Attack on the World." In addition, the London Times has a graphic of a world map that shows the number of people killed in last week's attacks from other countries.
posted by Taken Outtacontext at 5:50 AM PST - 5 comments

Guardsman Charged in Five Bomb Threats. A Tennessee Army National Guard sergeant from Smyrna was arrested yesterday on charges he made five threats of terrorist bombings against two National Guard facilities in Nashville in the past week.

(What was someone saying about "friends like these"?)
posted by tpoh.org at 5:13 AM PST - 6 comments

The Christian Guide to Small Arms helpfully seeks to inform theists which gun best suits their needs. "The most useful arm to the Christian warrior is probably the rifle or the carbine." With citizens like these, who needs terrorists? Link via Mike's Weblog
posted by johnnyace at 4:18 AM PST - 30 comments

YA Guardian Opinion Piece It's a worrying day for me when I agree with Martin Amis. I particularly like the reference at the end to "species-conciousness". Do you have "species-consciousness"?
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 12:21 AM PST - 9 comments

Strangely Uplifting Flash Animation Did you ever wish you could have a giggling baby attached as though via a cable to your mouse. Twirl him around the screen, make him laugh, strangely compelling (via The Screen Savers)
posted by willnot at 10:23 PM PST - 18 comments

So I had a big fight in the car tonight with my friend Lisa over an issue I brought up on an earlier MeFi thread--(that issue being those Titanic-radio-remixes of news soundbites with popular songs). See, her dad works on the radio and she was saying that putting those things together was a way for the radio community to acknowledge last week's tragedy. "It comforts people," she argued. I argued back that packaging it like that minimalizes it and makes it too easy to digest. I conceded, though, that if someone were to write a song about what went on---a tasteful, appropriate song---I'd be all for them playing that on the radio. And then there was the Magi with his gift---the completely cringe-worthy Crosby, Stills & Nash song that they performed tonight on Jay Leno. What was that? Did anyone hear it? Did anyone like it? WHY?
posted by adrober at 10:17 PM PST - 21 comments

Come To New York And Learn About Life Are New Yorkers really superior? It seems so. Where else, in a supposedly fuck-you culture, would volunteers be turned away for being too numerous and too willing to help? A friend of mine returned today and was utterly transformed by the new spirit there. I urge foreigners like me not to stop visiting and can recommend a hotel tailor-made for MeFi members: the brand-new Library Hotel. My friend stayed there and can't shut up about it. Each room is classified according to the Dewey system and has a library of 60 essential books in any given field. The great, typically New York thing, is that they've apparently slashed their prices. The ultra-comfortable rooms cost $300 just a week ago. Now they have a "compassion rate" of $150 per room. Is it exploitation or solidarity? Who knows? Only traitors need keep away. (Click on "Concept" for the full megillah)
posted by MiguelCardoso at 9:37 PM PST - 23 comments

Boeing lays off approx 30,000. Wow...in my neck of the woods, this is a big deal. Combined with yesterday's stock losses, and potential airlines bailout.... (more inside)
posted by epersonae at 9:04 PM PST - 32 comments

Major League Baseball returned to the field last night and tonight with the American flag on the back of team uniforms, below the neck and on the batting helmets. But MLB players come from nations all over the world. Is there a problem with these players being required to wear an American flag when they would not be permitted to wear their own?
posted by whoshotwho at 8:38 PM PST - 20 comments

Were more planes ready to be taken over? This doesn't appear to have been posted yet, so here it is. "The [Chicago] Tribune reported that one source said the FBI was "very interested" in passengers whose names appeared on the manifests of several other flights that were already in the air when the first attacks occurred. None of the passengers in which investigators have expressed interest reappeared when flights resumed late last week, the Tribune reported."
posted by krisjohn at 8:32 PM PST - 6 comments

Dennis Rodman charged with speeding his boat through Newport Harbor What was that about stuff returning to normal? Isn't this guy out of money yet? BTW, he gets points for the boat-naming.
posted by BarneyFifesBullet at 7:33 PM PST - 9 comments

You have 1 minute to dig up a candle... if your BS detector isn't set on high like mine. While this is a nice idea... candles from space, c'mon. Anyone think this is for real. Just got another invite to do this in email form as well. Any other WTC related hoaxes out there?
posted by jasonshellen at 7:30 PM PST - 21 comments

WWJD: What Would Jello (Biafra) Do? Well, he's not sure, but the former Dead Kennedy's front man and all-round cool guy has a little blurb with his take on the terrorist attacks and what the repercussions might be.
posted by Fat Elvis at 7:17 PM PST - 23 comments

Gov. Pataki offers free college to family members of the WTC attack. "Education, tuition, room, board, fees, whatever the costs are." Altruism or fiscal irresponsibility?
posted by moses at 7:11 PM PST - 16 comments

The positive impact of America can be overlooked in the chatter of how bin Laden is the bastard offspring of our malicious foreign policy, so the flip side should be highlighted. How about a Nobel peace prize winner who has saved literally millions of lives worldwide, but even 99% of Americans would fail to recognize? What will we reap from his sowing?
posted by quercus at 6:46 PM PST - 22 comments

Afghan Cabby Beaten Into Paralysis in London: This after two white men pounced on a 19-year-old Asian woman in Swindon on Friday and repeatedly hit her in the head with a bat.
posted by ryanshepard at 6:43 PM PST - 12 comments

Rush Limbaugh says "Robertson and Falwell Were Wrong". I never thought I'd see the day where I'd actually think about sending a thank you note to Rush, but it may be time. Limbaugh derides the fundamentalists' recent comments, stating "Suggestions of this kind are one of the reasons why all conservatives get tarred and feathered with this extremist, bigoted, racist, sexist, homophobic label or image that isn't true. The words of Robertson and Falwell are not the words of all conservatives - they are the words of Robertson and Falwell." Is this the beginning of a kindler, gentler Limbaugh?
posted by mattee at 5:51 PM PST - 40 comments

MIT re:constructions has been doing an excellent job of analyzing the world media after the tragedy. If you're in the MIT area, check out the scheduled and ongoing events.
posted by jakd at 5:38 PM PST - 2 comments

Robert Fisk about his meetings with Bin Laden in the French newspaper Le Monde. Two interesting quotes (in a poor translation by me):
"A few years later [after 1994] I met in Moscow an old Soviet intelligence officer, who had been a few months in Afghanistan to try to organize the liquidation of Bin Laden, just like the Americans try to do today. According to him, he didn't succeed because the men of Bin Laden couldn't be bribed. Nobody wanted to betray him."
"The Arabs are so mad about the injustices that have come to them from the Americans, that they don't need orders from Afghanistan. Inspiration could be enough. I have asked myself, when I saw last week the images from New York, if Bin Laden wasn't as amazed to see them as I was. If he has television, that is..."
posted by tsja at 5:33 PM PST - 12 comments

My internet provider has, for once, provided me with something that I was actually interested in. A nice little bunch of stories about people's experiences on the day of the "Attack on America." Apparently, some people don't have their own websites to post these things on!
posted by Jart at 5:07 PM PST - 0 comments - Post a Comment

War on Civil Liberties Watch: Usable encryption is in deep doo-doo. A new poll finds 72% of Americans now supporting a ban on unbreakable encryption. (Apparantly breakable, and thus useless, encryption is just fine.) Besides the obvious fact that this stuff is already out there and cannot be taken back, particularly from non-US citizens who don't give a damn about our laws (such as, say, the exact people we're trying to defeat), is there any hope that the courts will find any such new laws unconstitutional?
posted by aaron at 4:46 PM PST - 33 comments

don't know what's scarier about this CNN "Fact Sheet," the fact that the FBI may have known about this plot six years ago and didn't prepare for it, or that CNN thinks readers need a "who's who" section that helpfully identifies "George W. Bush" as "U.S. president."
posted by moth at 4:40 PM PST - 9 comments

Gephardt wants Congress to consider a national ID card. As far as I can see, no bills have been introduced yet. The following quote from Gephardt makes it sound as though he has this in mind for everyone, not just foreigners in the US on Visas: "What kind of identity cards would we make citizens and others carry? Would they carry more information?"
posted by Potsy at 3:42 PM PST - 28 comments

Bush never said he wanted Bin Laden "Dead or Alive" All Dubya did was recollect about how in "the old west" there were wanted signs that said that - pretending that he lived in such a day. And when a reporter followed up with the point-blank question, "So are you saying that you want Bin Laden 'Dead or Alive,'" Bush pulled off one of those ridiculous sneers and re-iterated that in the Old Days there were such wanted posters. So my question is, how can so many newspapers and national tv networks make the leap with headlines that scream "Bush Wants Bin Laden Dead or Alive"? Isn't that irresponsible - and inaccurate reporting?
posted by tsarfan at 3:27 PM PST - 27 comments

An invasion now could be more costly than Vietnam Another article by the Independents Robert Fisk, this one showing how any infantry in Afghanistan would be a baaad idea - 10 million mines?? Thats more than 1 mine per Afghan, isn't it? The Russians got busy..
posted by Mossy at 2:18 PM PST - 28 comments

Philippines has highest number of people missing at WTC According to this graphic from Reuters, there were 428 Filipinos unaccounted for at the WTC site as of Sept. 17. Anyone know what office was there to account for such a large reported number?
posted by crunchybird at 2:15 PM PST - 18 comments

Not In My Name "This is a website by and for Jews who—precisely because we are Jews—can no longer tolerate and will no longer remain silent about Israeli Government brutality against Palestinians."
posted by 40 Watt at 2:12 PM PST - 7 comments

The Rizzo Method is not an alternative to Tantric sex; it is a guideline for negotiating the lowest price possible on a new car. Happy big-ticket purchasing!
posted by msacheson at 1:32 PM PST - 5 comments

"I don't support military action: 12%" Online CNN poll asks, "For how long would you be willing to support U.S. military action against terrorism?" There are a lot more pacifists then I would have expected, given the circumstances. Of course, "As long as it takes" sits at 76%, which is also not surprising. We'll see what that number is in six months...
posted by tranquileye at 1:13 PM PST - 23 comments

Was a US attack on the Taliban been in the works since July? According to this BBC article, the US had been planning a "military action", for the end of October, since mid July. The plan was to invade Afghanistan,oust the Taliban, and install a moderate government, possibly under former king Zahir Shah. Are the attacks last week simply going to legitimize this pre-existing plan? Or am I simply being too paranoid?
posted by bshort at 12:11 PM PST - 32 comments

Is this Saddam's work? CBS News: "United States has received an intelligence report that Mohammed Atta, the hijacker who is named as the pilot of the first plane to strike the World Trade Centers, met early this year somewhere in Europe with the head of the Iraqi intelligence service." CNN is reporting it too.
posted by owillis at 12:01 PM PST - 30 comments

Libertyunites.com is a crisis relief site where you can donate directly to the charity of your choice, with no fees or costs...
posted by zerotype at 11:59 AM PST - 0 comments - Post a Comment

What a cool dog. One of the rescue pooches is being lifted out of the debris zone. In case you wanted to see one of matt's rescue dogs in action.
posted by moz at 11:41 AM PST - 4 comments

'Special forces' may be crucial... "They are a hammer in the kisser," said Andy Messing, a retired major from the Army special forces. "They're directed like light coming out of the magnifying glass. The beam of light fries the ant."
posted by kd at 10:49 AM PST - 24 comments

The Global Toll A nicely done graphic from the Times outlining just how widespread the losses are. This really lends more perspective to the arguments that this was "an attack on humanity" rather than solely the U.S. [Found on Nixlog]
posted by kokogiak at 10:43 AM PST - 15 comments

A meme tracker (blogdex-like) for LiveJournal.
posted by jakd at 10:42 AM PST - 1 comment

9-11peace.org
Working for peace in the wake of September 11.
For those who have wondered just what exactly they can do besides flying the US flag or posting on MeFi (myself included in the latter).
This comprehensive site offers all sorts of concrete actions for those who believe that war is not the answer. You can email your elected officials; sign petitions; browse a list of suggested actions (from donating supplies for rescue dogs to flying the UN flag); and find out about upcoming events.
posted by mapalm at 10:10 AM PST - 48 comments

Scientologists accused of misrepresenting themselves during the terror attack crisis This cult filled with terrible people (at the top) and saps below. Note the service they claim to provide during the crisis. The problem is that in America (unlike German, say) any one claiming to be religious gets away with whatever madness or evil they want.
posted by Postroad at 10:04 AM PST - 21 comments

Michigan family finds giant mushroom. |Bullemic woman arrested for dumping vomit. |Food poison used as painkiller | and Neanderthal Medicare. The universe still moves on in its wacky way.
posted by KirkJobSluder at 9:18 AM PST - 8 comments

Chechen Chat Arabic websites are quickly going 404, but this Islamic Russian chat room in Chechnya is still active. A fair site for general information too; it has an abridged translation of Mullah Omar's Appeal for Jihad.
posted by username at 9:13 AM PST - 4 comments

New worm doing the rounds. Great.
posted by nico at 9:01 AM PST - 21 comments

New Yorker profile of bin Laden from Jan '00 Interesting background information on bin Laden from over a year ago.

"In a country that is obsessed with parentage, with who your great-grandfather was, Osama was almost a double outsider. His paternal roots are in Yemen, and, within the family, his mother was a double outsider as well—she was neither Saudi nor Yemeni but Syrian."

In his [bin Laden's] mind, the United States had become to Saudi Arabia what the Soviet Union had been to Afghanistan: an infidel occupation force propping up a corrupt, repressive, and un-Islamic government.

...that the more serious threat bin Laden poses to the interests of the United States lies in his ability to destabilize friendly Arab governments, such as Saudi Arabia's, whose support is geopolitically crucial to us.
posted by gen at 8:49 AM PST - 6 comments

Osama bin Laden and those managing his multimillion-dollar fortune are sophisticated enough to have possibly profited in the markets from last week's attacks, U.S. experts said Monday.
posted by preguicoso at 8:48 AM PST - 5 comments

Iran launches missile attack on Iraq Anyone seen this reported by other sources?
posted by dagny at 8:47 AM PST - 10 comments

The First Anglo-Afghan War has been mentioned a great deal recently but most links to previous Afghan wars seem to point to the Soviet efforts there.
posted by vbfg at 8:42 AM PST - 0 comments - Post a Comment

RIP, Mr. Dressup. For Canadians who were growing up in the 70s and 80s, the loss of this icon is a sad, sad happening. If only there were people to teach today's kids how to have fun with pipecleaners and cardboard instead of whining for $300 in video games. What became of old-fashioned imagination?
posted by Electric Jesus at 8:37 AM PST - 12 comments

Martin Amis writes: 'Our best destiny, as planetary cohabitants, is the development of what has been called "species consciousness" - something over and above nationalisms, blocs, religions, ethnicities.' Naively idealistic or something to hope for?
posted by normy at 7:56 AM PST - 12 comments

Interviewing Chomsky Linguist and left-wing icon Noam Chomsky makes some amazing points in this interview by Belgrade Radio B92. Chomsky presents a very plausible summary of Osama's point of view. And his thoughts about who might end up owning Pakistan's nuclear weapons are very sobering indeed.
posted by xowie at 6:32 AM PST - 54 comments

These personal computer security tips could prove very useful to anyone looking to secure their data.
posted by phunkone at 5:44 AM PST - 2 comments

World's indifference to the Afghan tragedy
If you read my article in full, It will take about an hour of your time. In this hour, 14 more people will have died in Afghanistan of war and hunger and 60 others will have become refugees in other countries.

A few months old, but well worth a read in current context ...
posted by walrus at 4:41 AM PST - 12 comments

Erward Said article about the attack, in the Observer. Reposted on Znet: No cause, no God, no abstract idea can justify the mass slaughter of innocents, most particularly when only a small group of people are in charge of such actions and feel themselves to represent the cause without having a real mandate to do so.
posted by talos at 4:03 AM PST - 14 comments

Some thought-provoking journalism from the Australian online journal Crikey, including a piece from the "DEBKA-net-newsletter, an expensive intelligence newsletter out of Israel" and an analysis of the Gordon Sinclair "Good Neighbour" editorial.
posted by chrisgregory at 2:49 AM PST - 2 comments

Fake Hate Crime This doesn't help things. What was he thinking? (from fark)
posted by curiousg at 12:28 AM PST - 24 comments

Afghanistan declares holy war....
posted by outsider at 12:15 AM PST - 51 comments

Praise be to David Letterman for tonight's Late Show. Questioning himself the appropriateness of returning to the air, there he was--the man famed for his sarcasm and goofy antics--addressing his audience like a wounded child, completely bewildered, emotional, fighting back tears. And then the sight of Dan Rather sobbing despite himself and then apologzing---it was enough to ravage any audience. Perhaps, for the first time in a while, television didn't appeal to our lowest common demoninator but, instead, sought to raise us up and appeal to our humanity. Thanks Dave.
posted by adrober at 10:29 PM PST - 59 comments

$1 billion bounty on bin Laden "'Now it's time to wipe out the wasp nests of terrorism,' says Edward Lozzi, a West Coast PR agent lined up to handle the fund." It's a free-market justice crusade in the name of the Amurrican People!
posted by Sapphireblue at 9:31 PM PST - 27 comments

Boy Killed in Gun Accident; Father Wanted Weapon for Protection After Terrorist Attacks Hmmm, would this be filed under Darwin? I think we have a nominee here.
posted by BarneyFifesBullet at 8:35 PM PST - 33 comments

Not trying to be alarmist or anything but this article frightens me. It was from July and they explicitly name Bin Laden as trying to aquire nuclear materials. It is possibly nothing, but made me wonder.
posted by Benway at 8:33 PM PST - 5 comments

Apologies from the Left. Journalist Matt Welch compiles a few and opines: "Which "dictator" were we supporting when bombing Yugoslavia? Oh yeah, none. In fact, last I remember, Yugoslavia's dictator is now facing a trial for War Crimes, and tentative democracy is gaining a foothold in Belgrade and Zagreb." (via Ken Layne)
posted by owillis at 8:04 PM PST - 29 comments

Jerry apologizes again! It's not the first time that Falwell has gone off and made himself look like an idiot.
posted by Lynsey at 8:01 PM PST - 30 comments

During a severe Air Defence Emergency in the US a regulatory scheme known as 'SCATANA' is automatically invoked to deal with the situation and minimise threats. The central provision of the plan is to 'disable navigation aids which the attackers might be relying on'. This didn't happen last Tuesday (FAA confirmed, NORAD refused comment). Could it have prevented the planes reaching their targets? Are there now serious grounds for concern regarding the implementation procedure of military provisions essential for preserving American airspace security? The Register appears to think so.
posted by Kino at 7:57 PM PST - 7 comments

Hey, you got Madonna's input, so you might as well get Charlie Daniels'.
posted by BarneyFifesBullet at 7:55 PM PST - 16 comments

Who else thinks we could use some of these now.
Seems a shame they're not quite ready to help with this disaster.
"...like crawling through earthquake rubble to search for victims..."
posted by TiggleTaggleTiger at 7:37 PM PST - 11 comments

Comstock offering free flag images "If you need an image of the American flag for your website or a print piece, please accept this gesture as our admittedly tiny effort to somehow help. You may use any of these images without charge. With all best wishes..."
posted by johnjreeve at 7:14 PM PST - 3 comments

Who benefits from the bombings? A rather controversial piece. I'm not saying I agree with it, but I thought it would be interesting to throw into the discussion. The author's assertion definitely a possibility (since anything is possible), but I'm leaning towards the 'this is quite a nutter' assessment. Thoughts?
(I did a search and couldn't find a reference to it on this site, maybe for good reason.)
posted by jetgrrl at 7:00 PM PST - 17 comments

Crime or War? Dianne Durante: "If it was a crime by an individual, like the Oklahoma City bombing, then we would gather the evidence and bring the perpetrator to trial. If it was a crime by individuals sponsored and abetted by a foreign government, then it was an act of war, and is a matter for military action: immediate and decisive. If the attack was in fact government-sponsored, then capturing and punishing individual killers is less crucial than preventing further attacks by the foreign government."
posted by mw at 6:34 PM PST - 0 comments - Post a Comment

Media Literacy & Choosing Sides. But whatever role we historically played, and however ineffectual our strategy, what we have been aiming to support over the past couple of centuries is creativity and free will. All of the relativistic angst and political critique expressed by we highly educated internet-literate computer users has been made possible by the Western system, born in the French and US revolutions.
posted by rushmc at 5:56 PM PST - 3 comments

Troops Massing on Afghanistan/Pakistan Border: 20,000+ Taliban troops and an unreported number of Pakistani reinforcements have been deployed in anticipation of a Pakistan-based U.S. strike.
posted by ryanshepard at 5:26 PM PST - 11 comments

"Islam is Peace" Says President - the text of his remarks at the Islamic Center of Washington today. Frankly, speaking as a critic of the man, he rose to the occasion.
posted by dhartung at 5:14 PM PST - 33 comments

Baseball player Curt Schilling's letter to America. I think this is a great way to say we're shocked, we're grieving, and we're going back to work with the victims and their families in mind. Play ball!
posted by msacheson at 4:56 PM PST - 6 comments

Where were you when "America was attacked"®?
posted by incubus at 4:52 PM PST - 34 comments

Very interesting Israel related story I do not have enough background knowledge to comment.
posted by adnanbwp at 4:51 PM PST - 13 comments

World At War A map, list of current and past conflicts with detailed insight.
posted by adnanbwp at 4:14 PM PST - 6 comments

Linguistic competency Do you speak Arabic or Farsi? If you meet certain other qualifications, you can now spy for the FBI, whose homepage takes more care than news reports did and specifically lists Pashto, spoken in Afghanistan, as one of the desired language proficiencies.
posted by joeclark at 4:12 PM PST - 1 comment

Okay, so I am a little biased against the Democratic Underground. Occasionally I may even laugh at some of their insults of dubya. I am sure this page was placed on their website early in the day of the attack without thinking. Maybe I am being just a little too sensitive about the tragedy, but I really think they should at LEAST change the date of this letter to santa.
posted by Oxydude at 3:55 PM PST - 4 comments

Mr. Dressup (Ernie Coombs) gravely ill. "The man known to generations of Canadians as "Mr. Dressup" is in a Toronto hospital following a stroke."
posted by nprigoda at 3:50 PM PST - 19 comments

blogstalker's posting some well-written perspectives from new york. paints a deeply painful picture of the emotional aftermath.
posted by patricking at 3:24 PM PST - 3 comments

Yes, the nation's in mourning, but does that mean Apple's going to postpone its OSX Update? I mean they said September, and that was like two months ago. I wannnnnnnnnnnnt it.
posted by adrober at 3:23 PM PST - 10 comments

The Independent runs this story by Robert Fisk: Bush is walking into a trap
posted by vowe at 3:15 PM PST - 26 comments

NCCI reverses its position. President & CEO Bill Schrempf said he was meeting with employees this morning to explain the company's change and apologize for not permitting them to display the American flag on Friday during the National Day of Prayer and Remembrance. Don't remember if the related story was posted here or not, but at first, they were forcing employees to take down any displays of flags.
posted by da5id at 3:05 PM PST - 2 comments

Notifications to Congress of Pending U.S. Arms Transfers 1992-2001
Check out Egypt and Israel.
Database at this site.
posted by adnanbwp at 3:01 PM PST - 14 comments

If terrorism is real, then a clear-eyed view would suggest nuclear power is done for.
posted by sudama at 2:52 PM PST - 9 comments

Bush gave orders to shoot down any planes that didn't turn away from Washington, meaning flight 93 would have been shot down had it not crashed. Both Cheney and Bush have acknowledged they gave the authorization to shoot. Quote from Cheney: "If we ... had the opportunity to take out the two aircraft that hit the World Trade Center, would we have been justified in doing it? I think absolutely we would have."
posted by Potsy at 2:17 PM PST - 28 comments

Browsing the results of Time's "Worst Ideas of the 20th Century" poll (Daryl Hall's solo career, Ugandan Space Program) made me wonder whether we've got a candidate for the next one already: (more...)
posted by luser at 2:02 PM PST - 23 comments

Clear Channel bans Bruce Springsteen's "I'm On Fire", The Beatles' "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds," John Lennon's "Imagine," and "all Rage Against The Machine songs" (which I am sure they have wanted to do for awhile), but not The Cure's "Killing An Arab" or anything by Twisted Sister. Sounds a bit fishy to me. Clear Channel owns over 1,170 radio stations. [from FuckedCompany.com]
posted by tranquileye at 1:58 PM PST - 65 comments

WTC Replacement... This would be sweet, imagine a 2000ft version of this puppy
posted by zeoslap at 1:57 PM PST - 14 comments

Billy Graham is supposed to be passe, a relic of whitebread protestant America, but his sermon at National Cathedral on Friday moved me. He is unsophisticated, plainspoken, sincere, and scandal-free. We will miss him when he’s gone.
posted by luser at 1:37 PM PST - 7 comments

Wait wait wait, "The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island will be closed indefinitely"?? Thats what it says, in big red letters, anyone have news on this?
posted by tomplus2 at 1:31 PM PST - 11 comments

Filling the Void Phantom Towers, a memorial by Paul Myoda and Julian LaVerdiere. "They imagined two powerful beams rising from a reflecting pool, refilling the void left by the twin towers with incandescence."
posted by Nick Finck at 1:20 PM PST - 23 comments

Is the GPL a binding legal contract? If so, who would be able to (and could afford to) bring necessary legal action against groups who choose to ignore the terms?
posted by milnak at 1:11 PM PST - 2 comments

Admiral Yamamoto never said "I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve" (or something like that) after Pearl Harbor. That line came from Tora! Tora! Tora! Worth noting because an innumerable number of newspaper columnists have been "quoting" Yamamoto in light of the WTC attack.
posted by mcwetboy at 12:52 PM PST - 12 comments

Natural Traveler quotes David Hubler of Potomac Tech Journal talking about the media. Sorry I couldn't find the article in the original magazine. He says he's peturbed media labeling the WTC event. On Tuesday, from a friend's lower east side apartment, admittedly in shock, I thought the media took the title America Attacked with naked clarity. The media, in its job of broadcasting uses devices as titles and eye witnesses and all obvious whatnot and often does so with bad taste. Not to over praise the media, but that morning I couldn't have thought of a better title. In another difference of opinion, David Huber thought the sunshine was a symbol of New York going on. Triumphant, if you will. And it was some of the most beautiful weather we ever get here. But I thought it was vulgur. The scenery for the wrong show. Perhaps again something naked, exposed. I'm finding that my response to this event is symbolism exploding everywhere.
posted by Laurable at 12:50 PM PST - 7 comments

I apologize for posting such mainstream links, but I'm finding that Time Magazine's coverage to be uniformly thoughtful and moving. Two articles in particular - one of Vignettes of victims and near victims, and another about Digging Out - have touched me in ways I never expected Time Magazine to do. Have you found comfort or eloquence in an unexpected place?
posted by anastasiav at 12:44 PM PST - 2 comments

An endangered bat returns to the Isle of Wright after disappearing for the century. And in other animal news, declassified CIA documents reveal that cats were used as experimental platforms for easdropping devices.
posted by KirkJobSluder at 12:13 PM PST - 8 comments

Why White Guilt is wrong and harmful. (Written by Shelby Steele.)
posted by Steven Den Beste at 11:52 AM PST - 37 comments

Understanding your enemy A Khilafah document on the mujahadeed viewpoint. Also the assam.com site posting bin Laden's 1996 bayan declaring war on America went 404 since it was posted here yesterday. The document was indeed authentic and quite informative on bin Laudin's history and goals. Please relink if you find another copy.
posted by username at 11:24 AM PST - 6 comments

Bradbury Software donates money earned from TopStyle Every dollar we earn from TopStyle during the months of September and October will be donated to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund.
posted by Nick Finck at 11:02 AM PST - 7 comments

Via to donate $100M to WTC? Um, seems like it was a bad typo. Taipei Times' article now reads "$1M". Seemed too good to be true.
posted by milnak at 10:55 AM PST - 5 comments

Help create a historical record of web sites about the attacks. The Library of Congress and others want to create "a solid historical record of this time". They particularly want to find sites and blogs belonging to individuals. They're asking you to put a little "note this" linklet in your browser toolbar (like blogger's "blog this!") and click it when you see a blog or other site that has anything to do with the attacks. They'll archive it. I think this is a great idea and I know they'll need a lot of help from people like us to carry it through.
posted by jill at 10:42 AM PST - 3 comments

These new satellite photos give yet another perspective to the damage done in Tuesday's attack.
posted by tdstone at 9:59 AM PST - 1 comment

Here's an interesting take on the whole western ideals v eastern ideals idea. The collapse of the Soviet Union as harbinger of the collapse of the west? Well, maybe not from the perspective of your average neo-libertarian. From the perspective of someone who didn't buy into the Enlightenment, from where springs both liberal democracy and marxism, then it may just look like one process. Interesting article from the 'Other Side of the Hill'.
posted by vbfg at 9:57 AM PST - 4 comments

The Chaser - satirical magazine from Australia. Warning: may be offensive to some, specifically with regard to the WTC tragedy. This is posted in response to the link below talking about how the Onion has ceased satire for the time being. I think the anti-Bush and Adam Sandler gags have merit, some others are quite tasteless. What do you think?
posted by skylar at 9:54 AM PST - 23 comments

'Suicide hijacker' is an airline pilot alive and well in Jedda - "A man named by the US Department of Justice as a suicide hijacker of American Airlines flight 11 - the first airliner to smash into the World Trade Centre - is very much alive and living in Jeddah." Amateurs or spin doctors at work?
posted by arf at 9:40 AM PST - 20 comments

Re-opened American stock markets tumble 5%, stabilize. As of 11:06 AM, Dow down 481, NASDAQ down 75.
posted by tranquileye at 8:15 AM PST - 16 comments

Onion saving new jokes for another day The Onion's on hold for a bit. An interesting quote from one of the writers- "'The age of irony is over." Does anyone agree?
posted by ice_cream_motor at 7:53 AM PST - 45 comments

"Bioterrorism: An Even More Devastating Threat" Here's a link to an article that appears in today's Washington Post. It details an "easier" way to eliminate "80 percent of people infected by inhaled spores". The print version includes a map with the best flight plan and release point to effect the best results. Is this Responsible Journalism? Is it necessary to publish this sort of weakness in America's country's defenses? I don't disagree that Bioterrorism is a threat to be concerned about, just the presentation & the flip attitude of how easy it will be to pull this off. Or do we need this kind of "the-sky-is-going-to-fall" reporting to shock us into action?
posted by bhmwks at 7:40 AM PST - 24 comments

Is Paypal making money? I read this on thier main Red Cross Page: PayPal will donate 100% of the proceeds to the National Disaster Relief Fund of the American Red Cross.

All donations are tax deductible. Include your address (for a tax receipt) in the "Shipping Address" field when making your donation.

PayPal will realize no profits from money donated to this fund.

Yet, I play Utopia and they have a donation account setup through paypal which states this: All funds raised through this campaign -- minus a commission of $0.30+2.9% which PayPal takes on all payments -- will be forwarded directly to the Red Cross.

So does Paypal give 100% of donations directly donated to its page, and take a commission on accounts set up through secondary pages such as Amazon? If so, with almost $6 Million dollars, that is almost $2 Million dollars!!! (if I did my math right, please correct me if I am wrong.)
posted by da5id at 7:13 AM PST - 14 comments

Have you seen the Kooks Museum yet?
posted by redhead at 7:09 AM PST - 1 comment

Pakistan Envoy Meets Mulla Umer I think there is an increasing sense of interest building in the world about the proof that USA has against bin laden for the recent attacks. The US should atleast come out with some proof, if not for public, then for the states helping her out. Uptill now, Bin Laden has been touted only as a Prime Suspect. Is the US going to prosecute Bin Laden before being proven guilty. Remember that, Bin Laden has only been a Prime Suspect for any other terrorism blamed on him. The Muslim world is very important if any mission against terrorism has to be completed successfully. The Muslim world needs solid proof. I am not saying that Do-It-And-Blame-The-Muslims mentality is at work here. All I am saying is, US does not have solid footings to prosecute Bin Laden.
posted by adnanbwp at 6:59 AM PST - 28 comments

Flashbulp memories "When emotionally powerful events take place in a person's life a mental 'flashbulb' will preserve this scene along with completely mundane and unremarkable details." Other than the attack on WTC, which events has coursed a flashbulb effect in you?
posted by Armarius at 6:35 AM PST - 8 comments

Saving a Life and a Bride. Amid all the negative stories and news, there has been few positive stories about the heros of the day and week since the tradgedy. Just thought I would post this one. If anyone else knows of others, please post them as well.
posted by da5id at 6:30 AM PST - 4 comments

Here's a take on the ways in which American society might change. Interesting in itself but it adds little to what's already been posted here before. The purpose is not more of the same arrrgghh, history just chaaaaanged guff. The purpose of linking is for any anti-post-modernists to gloat at the author, Francis Fukuyama, who has at least once before proclaimed the end of history.
posted by vbfg at 5:59 AM PST - 3 comments

Tonight is the first night of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, and tomorrow the one-week anniversary of the attack. Am I the only one nervous about a knockout punch tomorrow morning?
posted by Sinner at 4:50 AM PST - 12 comments

An open directory of resources pertaining to the terrorist attack, the world's reaction, the upcoming military response, and all the various issues surrounding recent events. I think it's important that we maintain a library of sorts -- keeping track of all the news, all the opinion, the personal accounts, the photos -- so that we can learn from these events, so that we can find patterns, so that we can remember. So, post your good links to the directory!
posted by benbrown at 4:02 AM PST - 8 comments

A letter from an Afghani American which makes the most sense out of anything I've seen to date regarding retaliation. "You see where I'm going. We're flirting with a world war between Islam and the West. And guess what: that's Bin Laden's program. That's exactly what he wants. That's why he did this. Read his speeches and statements. It's all right there." Go. Read. Now.
posted by canoeguide at 12:54 AM PST - 31 comments

Well, here we go. Macau authorities have arrested five Pakistanis of (officially) overstaying their visas. They also may be (again, speaking officially here) robbery suspects. But about halfway down the page, we find this little three-liner: ''According to preliminary investigations, the documents seized [in the arrest] appear to contain instructions to attack American targets in the SAR and Macau in the case of an American attack on Afghanistan,'' the [government] source said.
posted by Bixby23 at 12:51 AM PST - 7 comments

Promise a man death is not the end and he will slam himself into a skyscraper. Evolutionary biologist and arch-skeptic Richard Dawkins writes about religion in the Guardian.
posted by dydecker at 12:14 AM PST - 28 comments

It's not just Islamic fundamentalist terrorists that are scared. Sinn Fein publishes an attack on US antiterrorism policy. Perhaps they fear they might be up against the wall eventually themselves, especially since they have steadfastly refused to even pretend to start decommissioning as per the peace agreement?
posted by aaron at 11:52 PM PST - 18 comments

We Are the World War III "Michael Jackson is leading a fund raising effort to help raise $50 million to benefit survivors and families of victims of September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks."
posted by kirkaracha at 11:35 PM PST - 6 comments

Even if you're not a Dave Barry fan you might appreciate reading his thoughts on the 9/11 disaster. For me, this piece was evidence that one of America's most prolific humorists has talent that goes beyond just being funny.
posted by Bixby23 at 11:34 PM PST - 10 comments

The Tech Effect. I'm curious what you all think about how this attack will affect the world of technology, and business. Will office applications become more decentralized and will we see more workers and small businesses become "free agents" or work at home? And will cell phones become even more ubiquitous (even cell-luddites like myself may be reconsidering)?
posted by owillis at 11:12 PM PST - 9 comments

Bioterror? Nukes? Don't bet on it. Buried in this Washington Post article about the possibility of further terrorist attacks is a piece of information that I had been thinking was probably true myself: The fact that they went to all this trouble to hijack planes and use them as giant bombs is "enormously illustrative" that they probably do not have anything worse to use on us, like biological, chemical or nuclear weapons.
posted by aaron at 10:19 PM PST - 35 comments

Iraq's Kurds OK with sanctions? (and from the Washington Post here) The Kurds in the no-fly zone recieve a fraction of the oil money under the sanctions and seem to be doing pretty well; there's food and medicine enough to go around, to say nothing of free elections and an abundance of political parties. Is there something I'm missing? It doesn't feel like it's being spun; nobody's making a big deal about it. But it does go against the conventional wisdom on sanctions...
posted by dreamless at 9:59 PM PST - 16 comments

The Cost of an Afghan 'Victory' an article from 1999 asks Did the founders of US policy in Afghanistan during the Carter Administration (1977-1981) realize that in spawning Islamic militancy with the primary aim of defeating the Soviet Union they were risking sowing the seeds of a phenomenon that was likely to acquire a life of its own, spread throughout the Muslim world and threaten US interests?
posted by LeLiLo at 9:51 PM PST - 3 comments

A Terrorist Profile Emerges That Confounds the Experts. The prototype for Muslim suicide bombers has been young, single, caught up in religious fervor and, often, desperate. They are usually promised financial security for their parents and told that they will be greeted by 70 black-eyed virgins in heaven. Though suicide is prohibited by Islamic law, some leaders have said there is an exception for soldiers in what they see as a holy war.
posted by semmi at 9:33 PM PST - 12 comments

Americans have little to fear (ny times link) - In an opinion piece by Larry Johnson, a former State Department counterterrorism specialist published July 10th, Americans are bedeviled by fantasies about terrorism. They seem to believe that terrorism is the greatest threat to the United States and that it is becoming more widespread and lethal. They are likely to think that the United States is the most popular target of terrorists. And they almost certainly have the impression that extremist Islamic groups cause most terrorism.

None of these beliefs are based in fact. . . .
posted by revbrian at 9:22 PM PST - 8 comments

Pakistan, Taliban forces take up positions: Tension mounts at border
This is what I feared the first time I heard of Taleban. People trained to be fighters in their teenage, do not know of any thing else to do. I was in Kuwait during the Iraqi invasion. I noticed the same fact. Teenagers, taught to fight and no other skill. Maybe Pakistan will have to use its own military in what is turning out to be very disturbing times for an already disturbed nation.
posted by adnanbwp at 9:22 PM PST - 1 comment

Was a missle already deployed, but missed by seconds to nail the second plane? Scroll to the middle and view the East Angle clip of the second plane hitting the tower. Here's the article from the Drudge Report. Personally looks like they edited the tape.
posted by HoldenCaulfield at 9:05 PM PST - 18 comments

A Sky Filled With Chaos, Uncertainty and True Heroism There's lots of fresh detail in this Washington Post story on flight 93, the only plane not to hit a target. "It was the hijackers' bad luck that they chose a plane with a number of large men on board. Beamer stood 6-foot-1 and weighed 200 pounds. Jeremy Glick, 31, another passenger involved in the apparent revolt, was a college rugby player and judo champion. Mark Bingham, 31, of San Francisco was a 6-foot-4 rugby player."
posted by NortonDC at 9:02 PM PST - 5 comments

I don't know if this is just Isreali Propaganda but i thought it was worth a look. Sorry if it is as double post. I did a search, nothing came up. I got it from this site.
posted by bas67 at 8:34 PM PST - 20 comments

I'm sorry, but this is just a little too creepy... I checked it out for myself. Totally coincidence, to be sure, but creepy nonetheless.
posted by tpoh.org at 7:24 PM PST - 24 comments

The Australian HMAS Manoora is taking hundreds of Afgan asylum seekers to the island of Nauru after they were rescued by a Norwegian freighter. Many Australian's supported the Government's move not to let them into the country but much of the rest of the world (and a few Australian do-gooders who took the Government to court and won) think we should let these people in.

Today on the radio I heard the mother of one of the sailors on the Manoora saying that the majority of these "refugees" cheered and celebrated when they heard the news of the WTC and Pentagon attacks. And these are the people that the do-gooders want in our free country???
posted by Jase_B at 7:06 PM PST - 16 comments

Having removed ten thousand tons of debri in the first four days, it will take close to a year to remove 1.25 million tons for the two 110-story buildings.
posted by HoldenCaulfield at 6:27 PM PST - 21 comments

And you thought your broker was slimy . . .
This keeps getting worse. How intricate can this whole thing be? Is there an international law against vertically-integrated terrorism monopolies?
posted by yerfatma at 4:48 PM PST - 14 comments

Some perspective on human tragedy.
posted by marknau at 4:41 PM PST - 63 comments

Florida company tells its 850 employees, there is no place for patriotism in our office Although the memo from its CEO Bill Schrempf called displaying American flags nationalism (not patriotism). Wouldn't it be great to see the 850 workers stage a patriotic "blue flu" sometime in the near future. Doesn't Mr. Schrempf realize the crisis that this country is going through?
posted by Oxydude at 4:10 PM PST - 38 comments

On September 11th 1994, a man crashed his plane into the White House. (Via Time)
posted by HoldenCaulfield at 4:01 PM PST - 11 comments

What America needs now is ... Rambo! Fighting off the Russians, shoulder to shoulder with the Mujahedeen in Afghanist...fighting the...against...oh hell.
posted by argybarg at 3:58 PM PST - 10 comments

European leaders trying to bring balance to American response. "...Prime Minister Tony Blair, who has offered Mr. Bush his full support, insisted on Friday that any retaliation "must and will be based on hard evidence," and his spokesman has said that the support does not amount to a 'blank check.' "
posted by Brilliantcrank at 3:47 PM PST - 11 comments

Religion Urgently Needed - Or Not? Pat Robertson, that 700 Club freak, proclaims the attack on Tuesday was all our fault. Our pursuit of non-religiously good stuff (i.e, money, sex, power... how ironic) has caused god to 'lift his protection from us'.

Anyone wanna guess when we had god's complete protection? I can't seem to figure it out. I think it was a Thursday back in September 1981.
posted by jcterminal at 3:40 PM PST - 147 comments

Realism Urgently Needed - Or Not? David Ignatius's column today in The Washington Post addresses the question of effectiveness in the war against terrorism. He tells the sobering story of the CIA's collaboration with the terrorist Ali Hassan Salameh. The downside: "The most obvious (lesson) is that collecting intelligence about terrorists is a truly dirty business. This world cannot be penetrated without help from members or friends of the terrorist network". The upside: "Paradoxically, these tragic days have probably been an ideal time for the CIA to be recruiting new sources of intelligence about terrorism. The barbaric attacks Tuesday aroused disgust around the world --- not least among civilized Muslims. Some of these disgusted Muslims will surely want to help the United States and its allies put the terrorists out of business." The crucial moral question: It's really a classic means/ends debate. Is it right - or just acceptably expedient - to collaborate with known terrorists in order to strike out at those we don't yet(or otherwise will never) know about?
posted by MiguelCardoso at 3:29 PM PST - 12 comments

Amateur newsies top the pros Blogs and other on-line sources are often doing a better job of getting news to us than professional organization, who are too often busy echoingUnite and Fight themes.
posted by Postroad at 2:49 PM PST - 15 comments

Kevin Phillips on the U.S. economy and the War Ahead. Sobering historical context for where we're at now (short article via SmirkingChimp).
posted by aflakete at 2:15 PM PST - 6 comments

Bin Laden's declaration of war on America From the Al Quida message board linked by tpoh.org.
posted by username at 1:58 PM PST - 7 comments

Jacques Chirac naked! Who would have thought! No hoax, major newspapers reporting. Photographs to be worth thousands of pounds.
posted by HoldenCaulfield at 1:40 PM PST - 9 comments

Todd Beamer; Rest in Peace.
posted by Oxydude at 12:51 PM PST - 33 comments

The Roundabout Theater postpones its Assassins revival. This was probably the right decision, though for those who know the show--and that might not be many--it happens to address better than most things all the issues our country is currently facing. Check out Sondheim.com where they've changed the page to simple text featuring perfectly fitting lyrics for the moment we're in.
posted by adrober at 12:29 PM PST - 8 comments

Actually, They DO Dare Call It Treason. Criticize Bush and be shouted down as a traitor: "The despicable traitors have made it their mission to undercut the authority of President Bush during America’s darkest hour, proving themselves even more cowardly than the terrorist murderers who are the only beneficiaries of such contemptible conduct." It's a good thing that MeFi would never sink to such levels.
posted by NortonDC at 12:12 PM PST - 39 comments

Bin Laden Denies attack was his. "I stress that I have not carried out this act, which appears to have been carried out by individuals with their own motivation." Maybe it was the guy on the grassy knoll again?
posted by mathowie at 11:40 AM PST - 47 comments

Border crossing monitor Driving from Ontario to the U.S.? The Ontario government joins the cluetrain and updates border delays online four times daily. No sign of similar services at, say, Quebec or New Brunswick sites.
posted by joeclark at 11:15 AM PST - 2 comments

One World Ribbon Project. This past week we have witnessed human destruction on a level never imagined. This is not just an American problem, it is a world problem. We are one species on one planet.

With this in mind, I have put together the "One World Ribbon Project" (please excuse this self-referring post) to emphasize that this is a human tragedy that affects each and every one of us on Earth.

I have created a ribbon icon that incorporates the colors of all nations on Earth. If you feel so inclined please display this ribbon on your web site as a reminder of the work that lays ahead for all of us.
posted by Taken Outtacontext at 10:53 AM PST - 43 comments

The Shadows Project In 1988, a group of artists painted shadow outlines of people in public places reminiscent of those created when people were disintegrated by the bomb in Hiroshima. Is it time to resurrect this project, to remind people of the price of nuclear weapons?
posted by christina at 10:52 AM PST - 5 comments

Kabul revisited (TOI photos by Siddharth Varadarajan) - The Times of India doesn't say more about this photo gallery.
posted by arf at 10:32 AM PST - 7 comments

I've seen several comments touting the futility of StarWars in light of WTC, however, isn't the flip side of this that drilling in ANWR is an imperative at this point?
posted by prodigal at 9:02 AM PST - 22 comments

The Pakistani government will ask the Taliban to hand over Osama bin Laden in three days. Why didn't the USA make such an obvious move?
posted by arf at 8:16 AM PST - 42 comments

Al Qaida Message Board - Yahoo/Geocities pulled down the page hosted on their site, but Google has it cached. Among the still-working links are this message board on Boardhost, which includes such discussion topics as "How do you determine when muslim can use violance[sic] against innocent people".

A curious note, there have been no posts on the board (save for one grammatically-challenged American) since September 9th.
posted by tpoh.org at 7:55 AM PST - 12 comments

Opportunistic post-disaster domain name registration? In the light of an international tragedy, why not secure yourself a relevant and potentially lucrative URL?
posted by skylar at 5:17 AM PST - 13 comments

the map of terrorism An Israeli commentator shows that there are many Arab states and not all are terrorist or so inclined. Regarding all is over simplification.
posted by Postroad at 4:17 AM PST - 1 comment

Suspects 'caught crashes on camera' Five men suspected of being involved in the attack on the World Trade Centre set up cameras to record the atrocity.
posted by mb01 at 4:06 AM PST - 10 comments

For All Those of Us Asking Why A Muslim activist presents "My explanation to the 'Attack' on the US from the Islamic perspective." Note the inverted commas around "Attack" and proceed to his contention that "It is not who did it! It is why it was done that really matters." Then take an industrial dose of anti-emetics and explore the "Jihad" section - including interviews with Osama Bin Laden under the "Heroes of Islam" menu - of the whole "IamMuslim.net" site. This is what we're all up against. Well, almost all of us, anyway.
posted by MiguelCardoso at 3:35 AM PST - 35 comments

Mesa Shooting Could be Racially Motivated. Uh oh.
posted by donkeyschlong at 3:18 AM PST - 12 comments

I need a policeman to come open my bottles of beer. Check out the link at the top about the things that people call 911 for and listen to the audio files. This is nearly a week old, but it gave me a good laugh, maybe it'll do the same for you.
posted by bargle at 3:00 AM PST - 2 comments

Opportunism in FUD? Once a term used only for Microsoft, it seems FUD is a common problem these days. The linked site is decidedly anti-MS and seems to be appropriating FUD for their own ends. When someone uses the WTC tragedy to try and discredit their opponent in a technical debate have they gone too far?
posted by soulhuntre at 2:08 AM PST - 5 comments

Afghan Opposition Chief Massood Dies "Since the Sept. 9 suicide attack . . . there have been conflicting reports about Massood's condition"
posted by sixdifferentways at 1:07 AM PST - 1 comment

Suspicious Trades? U.S. and British intelligence agencies are investigating if there were links between bin Laden and some trades in securities futures in the United States and Europe before and after the attacks. I haven't heard this mentioned before, but it's another horrible thought. Spotted on Japan Today.
posted by curiousg at 12:49 AM PST - 1 comment

The Case for Rage and Retribution. An essay by Lance Morrow from the special all-attack issue of TIME. "What’s needed is a unified, unifying, Pearl Harbor sort of purple American fury — a ruthless indignation that doesn’t leak away in a week or two."
posted by aaron at 12:29 AM PST - 49 comments

What Became of Tolerance in Islam? This is from a few days ago, but I don't think it has been posted here previously. An Islamic scholar reflects upon the ways in which Islamic culture, "that produced such tolerance, knowledge and beauty throughout its history," has recently been taken over by an "extreme form of puritanical Islam" that "does not represent most Muslims today."
posted by Rebis at 12:23 AM PST - 3 comments

I think this crap is so freakin' offensive. Have you heard this s**t on the radio? The Jerry Maguire/Titanic-remixes of thousands of people dying a senseless, barbaric death? Who decided this was a good idea?
posted by adrober at 12:08 AM PST - 27 comments

I feel represented. I live in the East Bay, and I cannot believe my feelings towards all this have been represented in congress. Does anyone else feel that petitioning their rep's may be a good idea? I understand the need for retribution, but, really, is it worth more innocent death? We have carried out search and destroy missions before with zero civilian casualty. I'm sorry to not understand "death to all", I just think that this is WAY more delicate.
posted by tenseone at 11:48 PM PST - 5 comments

Are we ready? Are we able? Is anyone else offended by this question? This article presents a fairly balanced view. My question would be, do we have any choice but to be ready militarily, politically and diplomatically? What is the alternative? Was this question asked so frequently in the days following Pearl Harbor?
posted by dewelch at 11:30 PM PST - 6 comments

Sorry, I don't have a link for this post, but in light of the tragedy, I was thinking of the Tower of Bable story from the Bible. As I understand the story, man was trying to build a tower to reach God, but God made sure man didn't succeed.

For those of you who do (or don't) believe in God, do you think there is a message in all this sadness?
posted by Rastafari at 11:27 PM PST - 15 comments

Can we at least agree to disagree that Multiculturism has gotten us somewhere? Many Arab Americans are safer because of it. Is it possible that age-old liberal propaganda has insured at least partially, a much more measured response from the US government, as even conservative leaders seek to include Muslim voice in their sermons of American togetherness? Are we growing up as a society as a result of this cataclysm? (Warning: Link to antithesis of my point--which is exactly the point as it were)
posted by crasspastor at 10:58 PM PST - 9 comments

The Taliban insists Bin Laden is innocent. Let's just pretend for a minute that Bin Laden is not the mastermind behind these most recent attacks. Do you think the U.S. should (try to) take him out anyways to safeguard against future aggression?
posted by catatonic at 10:30 PM PST - 22 comments

Quoted from cnn.com: U.S. intelligence had al-Midhar and Alhamzi under surveillance, and one source confirmed that Al-Midhar was seen on a surveillance tape in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Oh no ... as a Malaysian myself, the last thing i wana see is our very own Petronas Twin Towers being levelled into a memorial park! Frankly, we're much too small a country to even cause a ripple in the sea. Or...should I start packing up?
posted by arrowhead at 9:48 PM PST - 1 comment

So tragically wrong... Proof that the FBI didn't have a clue. From a year ago: "Even the American cells of violent Middle East political movements as Hamas and Hezbollah, [then FBI Director Louis] Freeh declared, are devoted exclusively to "fundraising and low-level intelligence gathering." Salon writer Bruce Shapiro even goes so far as to call the National Commission on Terrorism's finding that "The threat from terrorists is so high, the potential for massive casualties is so real, that an independent panel is pushing the government to take immediate, drastic action" as a con job.
posted by theNonsuch at 9:15 PM PST - 14 comments

Interactive map of New York City compliments of FoxNews. This is great for people like me who have no idea how NYC is laid out. Wow. Can't believe how much of the city doesn't have lights or phones.
posted by ColdChef at 8:27 PM PST - 3 comments

"What was really needed was a single, well-maintained database that everyone could agree to support. Unfortunately, things were destined to get worse, before they got better." A good piece on how and why the grass-roots rush to provide survivor details, though well-spirited, eventually led to confusion and false hopes. (There's a strange parallel with the problems of Napster and its file-sharing kindred.) Can we draw any lessons on how best to use the Web in situations like this?
posted by holgate at 8:00 PM PST - 4 comments

$200 million in gold and silver buried under WTC. Get there first and it's yours! No harm done in picking up a bar of gold. (Via Nando)
posted by HoldenCaulfield at 6:47 PM PST - 30 comments

Tough Times For Pakistan Please read all the articles. These articles explain in detail what has been going on in Pakistan since the attacks on Tuesday.
Once again my country is facing a tough time to make a decision. To succumb to international pressure and help the BIGGEST bully (US) and in return face the wrath of internal bullies. Last time Pakistan helped a US cause, we were left alienated to face the problems of Post-Afghan War era. God Bless Pakistan.
posted by adnanbwp at 6:02 PM PST - 31 comments

Zeldman's thoughtful writing is always touching in some way. This article and the previous one are especially so.
posted by jackiemcghee at 4:24 PM PST - 0 comments - Post a Comment

Appeasement. Chamberlain sat at a table with Hitler in 1938 signing a treaty and proclaiming "peace for our time". Shortly after, World War II began. Killing innocent people does not solve the problem, but sitting at a table with your enemy and proclaiming peace (when he just wants to kill more) does no good either.
posted by owillis at 4:22 PM PST - 36 comments

The Stranger does it right Seattle's weekly Stranger paper created a powerful and eloquent cover image for this week's edition. Weekly papers had the challenge of producing an issue on deadline which would not be published until days after Tuesday's events, behind the flood of daily newspaper and TV coverage. How have your independent weeklies handled the coverage?
posted by crunchybird at 4:03 PM PST - 11 comments

Networks, Movies Cutting Images of New York Skyline I don't get it. Sort of like going through your family albums and digitally editing out loved ones who passed away.
posted by kd at 3:58 PM PST - 30 comments

The best offense is a good defense? With all the halting of sporting events and the outspokenness of some athletes, Tuesday's tragedy certainly puts our pasttimes in perspective. But this column's perspective sort of irked me, just from statements like this: "When Monday morning comes, let our enemies know that we are coming after them the way the Baltimore Ravens go after a ball carrier." Come on. Should sports have continued this weekend?
posted by crunchybird at 3:57 PM PST - 11 comments

The perfect structure ‘Responding to his own call for “the perfect structure,” Matta-Clark wrote elliptically, “erase all the buildings for a clear horizon.” To illustrate this “perfect structure,” he sketched twinned skyscrapers... on a horizon line complete with the half-disc of the sun. But the perfect structure – or structures – was not so much the skyscrapers as the condition of their erasure, indicated by the two blunt Xs that violently mark the images of the buildings.’
posted by joeclark at 3:51 PM PST - 6 comments

Another heavy thinker weighs in! Next up: Mr. Ed.
posted by prodigal at 3:39 PM PST - 53 comments

Is this the AYBABTU of WTC? I think it strikes the right measure. What do you think?
posted by Real9 at 3:04 PM PST - 41 comments

A thoughtful and fascinating analysis of the historical backdrop to the current situation. Why did this happen, what circumstances got us into a de facto state of undeclared war with the Islamic world, and what can we realistically do to prevent those circumstances from ever recurring? --Charlie Stross
posted by rushmc at 2:11 PM PST - 15 comments

No escape at the movies. I made the mistake of going to see "Rush Hour 2" yesterday. Now, granted, I knew that there'd be violence, but I thought Jackie Chan violence would be stomachable. How wrong I was. In fact, the very first scene involves the top of a building exploding. And that's repeated throughout the movie. So, for those of you escaping at the movies, what have you been seeing?
posted by adrober at 1:41 PM PST - 56 comments

Missles hit Gaza. Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat called it here. "If Sharon goes ahead and cancels [the cease-fire talks], that means he has other plans and we know those other plans -- they involve tanks, shelling and assasinations."
posted by hipstertrash at 1:08 PM PST - 3 comments

The Guardian article from 'The Editor' section today which talks extensively about this thread. This is a hyperlinked version I've created because it hasn't been posted at The Guardian's own website yet. Hope I'm not breaking any laws.
posted by feelinglistless at 12:47 PM PST - 11 comments

Can someone establish a parallel between this and the recent tragedy? I don't know how many of you have already seen this, but to me it seemed pretty funny.
posted by HoldenCaulfield at 12:45 PM PST - 5 comments

I hope the intentions of the people publishing websites like this are honorable but I fear they may not be. In the last hour I have received three email messages soliciting money for 'disaster victims'. Here is one in its entirety (inside as a comment) Call me me crazy, but this sounds like a scam to me. I have no idea who any of these people are, but they have either questionable motives or questionable judgement or both. What causes people to prey on others generosity during such a terrible time?
posted by fbeach at 11:01 AM PST - 13 comments

Teacher beats up student for speaking out against Laden /bin/laden/ has followers everywhere, it seems. wonder when the world will accept the right to free speech. [link via TimepassTown]
posted by arnab at 10:41 AM PST - 21 comments

Keep Rudy on in NYC? Anyone heard of a serious effort to keep Rudy as Mayor in NYC? His performance during this crisis is the best argument for the elimination of term limits I've ever seen.
posted by justkurt at 10:37 AM PST - 18 comments

The Rocket Man says: "I know I wouldn't get on an American airline unless it had an armed guard." Despite everything, I think it's going to be a long long time before that happens---could airlines really afford that?
posted by adrober at 10:17 AM PST - 21 comments

Understanding Fundamentalism An anthropology professor explores the common threads of fundamentalism ranging from Native American revivalism, Christian fundamentalism, the Islamic Movement, Jewish Orthodoxy and Shinto and how they give rise to vigilante groups such as Operation Rescue, American militias, Hamas and Gush Emunim.
posted by kliuless at 8:58 AM PST - 5 comments

For now, enough volunteers and food This was reiterated in a press conference this morning: "Agencies that had requested new volunteers are now reporting they have sufficient numbers of volunteers to accomplish their work. Agencies that have requested in-kind donations of goods and supplies have likewise received as much material support as they can immediately manage."
posted by metrocake at 8:38 AM PST - 3 comments

Reactions. We won't be making war against our enemies because they are evil and we are good. We will be making war against these people because they are killing Americans and our allies, and we have to make them stop. --Orson Scott Card
posted by rushmc at 8:19 AM PST - 29 comments

Kent's "Remember 9.11," Tim's "Buy stocks on Monday", Peter's "Let us remember" I've never been in a position where I've seen so many spam/meme's born.... I always wondered where those things came from.
posted by christina at 8:11 AM PST - 11 comments

Russia not willing to help? Meanwhile, Nikolai Kovalyov, the former head of the Russian FSB security service, warned the US that an attack on Afghanistan would fail to capture Osama bin Laden, the alleged mastermind of the atrocities, and would backfire on the US. "In Afghanistan's mountainous terrain it takes a trainload of explosives to destroy three militants," he said. "The chance of hitting bin Laden is zero."
posted by rushmc at 7:52 AM PST - 17 comments

"Let's call this a hyperwar: a world where the ordinary, natural context of societies is no longer peace, but war." Having seen the photograph of Osama bin Laden on the front page of Salon yesterday, I couldn't help thinking of the Two Minutes' Hate from 1984 (Full text here.) With this essay from Libération, does another piece of the Orwellian jigsaw fit into place?
posted by holgate at 6:23 AM PST - 22 comments

They've finally reached an agreement that will allow China to become members of the World Trade Organization. I'm not sure I buy the idea that allowing them in will help "bring domestic political liberalization". Although this probably would have made big news a week ago, it was buried in the Reuters Business News today.
posted by elfgirl at 6:22 AM PST - 3 comments

Carnivore and other forms of snooping approved by congress there has been some references to what this articles deals with but this gives a slightly broader perspectve.
posted by Postroad at 6:15 AM PST - 0 comments - Post a Comment

Where's Uncle Dick? Unless I've missed something, Dick Cheney has not shown his face since the tragedy. All I've seen is a CNN scroll stating that he is at Camp David. (more inside)
posted by Optamystic at 5:30 AM PST - 30 comments

Have we entered a Neil Howe and William Strauss have written a series of books (really, the same book rehashed three times, but who's counting?) on generational cycles. Their theory is that we are due for a "fourth turning" in the first part of the 21st century: a catalyst event that causes an extreme change in public mood, causing us to go through a decade or two of crisis. For example, the 1929 stock market crash was a catalyst, and the Depression and WWII were the time of crisis. Was 9/11 such a catalyst?
posted by litlnemo at 5:25 AM PST - 15 comments

This is a very good article which does us the service of specifically addressing why it would be "okay" to (basically) assassinate Bin Laden. And you thought we'd just carpet-bomb.
posted by j.edwards at 4:01 AM PST - 10 comments

"I have seen the freest among you wear their freedom as a yoke and a handcuff" , said Kahlil Gibran's Prophet, "and my heart bled within me; for you can only be free when even the desire of seeking freedom becomes a harness to you, and when you cease to speak of freedom as a goal and a fulfillment. You shall be free indeed when your days are not without a care nor your nights without a want and a grief."
posted by RichLyon at 1:42 AM PST - 8 comments

BUY WAR BONDS! An archive of vintage WWII posters, in case you've got a hankerin' for a little bit of that ol' timey propaganda.
posted by crunchland at 12:06 AM PST - 7 comments

"Meanwhile, at the Hall of Justice...." Our President has vowed to "rid the world of evil." Cool. I was hoping someone would get around to that.
posted by Optamystic at 11:09 PM PST - 9 comments

Has Rep. Barbara Lee just destroyed her political career? Lee (D-CA-9) was the only person in Congress to vote against House Joint Resolution 64/Senate Joint Resolution 23, the bill that authorizes use of military force. Her reason: She believes military action "will not prevent further acts of terrorism." On Dec. 8, 1941, Rep. Jeannette Rankin (R-MT) was the only member of Congress to vote against the declaration of war on Japan, and voter outrage ended her career. Interestingly, Rankin - the first woman ever elected to Congress - had ruined her political career once before, after voting against the declaration of war on Germany in 1917! So ... Whither Barbara Lee?
posted by aaron at 11:02 PM PST - 48 comments

Hello males! Is your address up to date? Have you even registered?
posted by @homer at 9:44 PM PST - 37 comments

Edible berry contains possible cancer-fighting agents. Elaeagnus umbellata, or the Autumn Olive, has been found to contain eighteen times the amount of lycopene that is found in tomatoes.
posted by bargle at 9:19 PM PST - 5 comments

Ask the Imam. Now that Mr. Blue has left Salon, send your questions to an authentic Islamic Mufti. He will analyze your problem in relation to Sharia and issue the appropriate fatwah or legal opinion. I've been stuck on this site for hours...check out the question at http://islam.tc/ask-imam/view.php?q=2476 Comments on your favorite fatwah, anybody?
posted by username at 8:57 PM PST - 12 comments

The War Prayer, by Mark Twain. I always like running across this kind of unpublished Twain gem. He's absolutely amazing at making his readers think. [via boingboing]
posted by swell at 8:36 PM PST - 5 comments

So what does the Koran say? After hearing the Imam Muzammil H. Siddiqi of the Islamic Society of North America read from the Koran and pray at this morning's prayer service at the National Cathedral, I was sincerely moved. I also realized just how little I knew about the teachings of Islam. I found this beautiful piece of free online Koran software tonight. I'm going to do some reading, and enlighten myself.
posted by tpoh.org at 8:20 PM PST - 15 comments

'U.S. bashing no longer a game' Do you think in light of these events the casual Anti-Americanism of countries like Canada will change? (more..)
posted by smt at 6:58 PM PST - 56 comments

First Amendment advocates fear erosion of rights in aftermath of attacks. In the aftermath of the worst terrorist attack in America, First Amendment proponents expect and fear that the nation's heightened national security concerns will soon overpower some of its basic freedoms.
posted by tpoh.org at 6:41 PM PST - 3 comments

A German newspaper, FAZ is reporting that the U.S. and Israeli intelligence agencies received warnings at least three months ago that Middle Eastern terrorists were planning to hijack commercial aircraft to use as weapons to destroy important symbols of American and Israeli culture.
posted by andre_111 at 6:21 PM PST - 10 comments

Don't condemn all muslims, says Muhammad Ali. Telegraph report - lets hope that these attacks that have flared up die out quickly - I find it sad that Indians and Sikhs are also being harassed.
posted by Mossy at 6:17 PM PST - 3 comments

NPR Commentator Jim Sleeper on recent events Links to Real Audio file. I spent some time today looking for a transcript but this is the best I could find. I heard this yesterday and it's the one of the most reasoned piece of commentary I've heard and places this incident in an appropriate historical context. "We'll have to be tougher and smarter than ever before but also wiser and, if possible, more noble."
posted by amanda at 6:13 PM PST - 0 comments - Post a Comment

"America's reaction and her next step" This was an excellent debate on BBCs Question Time show on Thursday at 9:20pm. Many interesting points were raised - some thought provoking material here..
posted by Mossy at 5:47 PM PST - 0 comments - Post a Comment

First arrest made. "The suspect was arrested because authorities have determined that the individual has information highly relevant to the investigation and is a high-flight risk". Also Richmond, VA and Atlanta, GA were revealed to be targets by the FBI.
posted by owillis at 5:40 PM PST - 6 comments

And when you think "the people of Afghanistan" think "the Jews in the concentration camps." Despite the barrage, I think this is worth posting. It's a post from the DaveNet mailing list, by an Afghan American writer (via Mark at boing boing) I don't know if I would trust the opinions on military actions in the second part - but the first part is well worth reading. I know many MeFiers are knowledgeable about world affairs, but this is a nice concise account for those who don't know about Afghanistan - or perhaps to pass along.
posted by sixdifferentways at 5:25 PM PST - 19 comments

Safe Mode for airplanes? Here is an interesting idea on one way to prevent Tuesday's disaster...it will not stop hijacking but could avert another WTC. "Install 'safe mode' panic buttons that put the plane on forced autopilot that cannot be overridden, except in special circumstances," Steve says. He'd have them mounted in the cockpit, one for each side, with additional optional buttons in crew areas on each side of the plane in both the forward and aft cabins. Once a plane is in safe mode, suggests Steve, it would randomly select one of the 10 nearest airports capable of accommodating that plane type, and automatically land the aircraft there. "
posted by Oxydude at 5:11 PM PST - 31 comments

A coalition of 13 nations declares war on those nations who are implicated in this attack. (There's nothing more dangerous than 300 angry teenagers.)
posted by Steven Den Beste at 4:32 PM PST - 21 comments

Palestinian leaders try to repair image includes threats to media. Palestinian Cabinet Secretary Ahmed Abdel Rahman called international news agencies and said the safety of their staff could not be guaranteed unless they withdrew the embarrassing footage of Palestinian celebration of the carnage in New York.
posted by semmi at 4:31 PM PST - 0 comments - Post a Comment

Moderated. Posts to message boards at the BBC are editorially filtered within broadcasting guidelines. In this 'talking point' in particular, there is a sense of deep foreboding...
posted by feelinglistless at 4:08 PM PST - 0 comments - Post a Comment

Arab-Americans lose rights as legitimate Americans. Not literally. However, the backlash against Arab-Americans has been astounding. In this time of grieving and mourning, there is no need for further hate towards a group of our fellow Americans who have caused no harm to others. If you as an American are going to take this day as a day of prayer and remembrance, then do so in the spirit of hope and healing that God intended prayer to serve.
posted by dkhong at 4:04 PM PST - 9 comments

Were the clues found by law enforcement officers planted to mislead the search for the perpetrators of 9.11? I've been wondering, and so does Stratfor.
posted by rebeccablood at 3:59 PM PST - 13 comments

The Tragedy in Cartoons. One of the more interesting effects of a national tragedy is that it always somehow causes the nation's editorial cartoonists to suffer massive, collective brain damage. Across the country, they rush to their easels and whip up cheesy, embarrassing caricatures of Uncle Sam crying. Or the Founding Fathers crying. Or - in this case - a comparison to Pearl Harbor. Or - if your local cartoonist is feeling particularly creative - the always crowd-pleasing weeping Statue of Liberty. As Cagle notes, "Fully half the nation's cartoonists drew the same cartoon on the same day." Including Cagle himself. A tragedy in cartoons indeed. Some psychiatrist really ought to study this phenomenon.
posted by aaron at 3:46 PM PST - 19 comments

Bush, Powell pushing Peres into Peace Talks “Bush urged the prime minister to make progress with the Palestinians on ending the violence in the Mideast, White House spokesman Sean McCormack said.” war : diplomacy :: problem : solution
posted by raaka at 3:13 PM PST - 3 comments

last week, 6 days prior to the attacks, an FBI raid shut down numerous arabic websites. what did they suspect? many were offended by the action, do they feel the same way still?
posted by quonsar at 2:59 PM PST - 2 comments

I opened a book and found Lorca: (a quick search online gave me the elecronic version -- first stanza included only)

"I have shut my balcony
because I do not want to hear the weeping,
but from behind the grey walls
nothing else is heard but the weeping. "

What give you comfort today? How are you coping?
posted by christina at 2:24 PM PST - 28 comments

Bush's bullhorn speech The most genuine public show of emotion I think I've seen from the president. There has been a lot of criticism of his cue-card reading, but to me this was a refreshing change!
posted by smt at 2:17 PM PST - 32 comments

Another probable victim of the attack was Angel, the winner of FOX's "Murder in Small Town X" reality show. He's a NY firefighter.
posted by sassone at 2:17 PM PST - 1 comment

What Does Osama Bin Laden Want? Slate's David Plotz says "Nothing we have." Read. Discuss.
posted by internal at 2:14 PM PST - 15 comments

Is it bin Laden or? I was watching CNN and they had a little bit on this other terrorist and how the intelligence community is more scared of him than Osama bin Laden. The last picture of him was from 20 years ago. He's responsible for a number of attacks, and is attributed as being responsible for killing more Americians. Anyone catch this guy's name? Got any info on him?
posted by ericdano at 1:35 PM PST - 8 comments

The FBI press release identifing the hijackers.
posted by username at 12:58 PM PST - 6 comments

Serj Tankian's (System of a Down) comments on the terrorist attacks. Aside from making a whole lot of sense, in this well formulated article, Serj also offers up the point-of-view of a middle-eastern living in America. It's a good read, and I would like to thank Qambient for tracking down this article.
posted by Dark Messiah at 12:56 PM PST - 36 comments

Where are these people's priorities? CBS has done it again. "Many people can't get enough news about the terrorist attacks in the United States, but a few are getting absolutely none: those locked up in ``Big Brother'' houses. " Apologies if this has already been posted, search didn't return anything useful.
posted by zerotype at 12:52 PM PST - 9 comments

GE pledges $10 million to a fund that will assist the families of the firefighters, police officers and emergency rescue personnel who perished while responding to the attack on the World Trade Center. Cisco Systems has made gifts to key relief and support organizations serving the New York City and Washington D.C. areas, including a $6 million donation. Microsoft is making a donation of $10 million in cash and technical services. Know of any other companies that are doing something similar?
posted by riffola at 12:48 PM PST - 23 comments

Airport Detainees Cleared At least 10 travelers of Middle Eastern descent who were detained at two New York airports have been cleared of any connection with Tuesday's terrorist attacks, Sen. Joseph Biden said Friday.

"Anyone with dark skin or who spoke with an accent was taken aside and searched," passenger Mike Glass of Seattle told the Times. "And then they went to any male with too much facial hair."

Isn't this going too far? >more<
posted by metrocake at 12:06 PM PST - 20 comments

Why Usama bin Ladin has little to fear from American intelligence Is this an example of an "intelligence leak?" (From Jul/Aug, '01 Atlantic)
posted by prozaction at 12:04 PM PST - 6 comments

Pictures of reactions from around the world. Seeing flags at half staff in other countries really gets to me. What do you think?
posted by campy at 11:56 AM PST - 10 comments

Now this is eerie. A discussion on Airliners.net from 2000, regarding a plane hitting the WTC. 'When the two towers that make up the World Trade Center were built, they were designed to withstand the impact of the largest airliner of the day, the Boeing 707 Intercontinental. The Empire State Building survived a B-25 medium bomber crashing into it on very foggy day. Anyone wanna bet that the World Trade Center could survive an 767-300 impact?'
posted by Atom Heart Mother at 11:43 AM PST - 19 comments

Astronomers claim a massive black hole orbits our galaxy sweeping from the outskirts to the core while cryptozoologists claim bigfoot was documented on a 1930s vegetable packing crate.
posted by KirkJobSluder at 11:36 AM PST - 8 comments

Bush readies military--calls up 50 thousand reserves Well that will take care of the job market. But just what is it they are to do? One suggestion is that they will stay in the U.S. to ensure our safety. Isn't that called a garrison state? And Carnivore now installed at Hotmail and just about all oter places. But Bush had warned us early on that sometimes you have to give up freedoms, even in a democracy.
posted by Postroad at 11:27 AM PST - 12 comments

FBI: The hijacker's names Murderers revealed?
posted by owillis at 11:23 AM PST - 4 comments

Reuters is publishing photos of those unaccounted for. I thought that this was a nice gesture on the part of Reuters, and of the AP if they're doing this as well. It's eerie to glance through yahoo's archive of the Reuters photos and to find random pictures submitted by families. They're not obvious, but if you look through enough pages, you'll find a few.
posted by moz at 11:21 AM PST - 0 comments - Post a Comment

9-11-01 was The International Day of Peace and this is the Culture of Peace Week. Here, take a meme: peace peace peace peace peace peace.
posted by xowie at 11:14 AM PST - 18 comments

Finally, a voice of reason. Glad it's all so simple.
posted by marknau at 11:07 AM PST - 14 comments

For the Mormons here at MeFi -- and, of course, anyone else -- the Church is broadcasting a Memorial Service nationwide, that is also being streamed (requires Windows Media Player). I'm sure other national religious organizations are doing the same... so if you know of others, post them here.
posted by silusGROK at 10:55 AM PST - 0 comments - Post a Comment

A quick break from all the WTC stuff... Considering the recent events, it's probably been overlooked. Canada is proposing a Consultation Paper on Digital Copyright Issues which is similar to the DMCA in the US. All comments on it have to be received by Sept. 15th. You can read the EFF Alert, for more information.
posted by Jairus at 10:25 AM PST - 2 comments

"May the spirit of peace, and the love of human beings for each other, be shown in our sympathy." More than 75,000 people streamed onto Canada's Parliament Hill in Ottawa today for a special service to remember the victims of Tuesday's attack in the U.S.
posted by tranquileye at 10:25 AM PST - 2 comments

University campus communities are a logical place to give and receive support. Blood drives, counseling, vigils are occurring almost universally. Many university departments are sponsoring programs and panel discussions for the public on terrorism: a sort of rough draft of history. (See Princeton, Yale, JHU, and some with whom I have personal connection: UCSD (no annoucement online yet), Penn.)
posted by rschram at 10:24 AM PST - 2 comments

The forgotten heros: dogs. Rescue dogs need booties for their feet (such as these) to protect them from the rubble and glass as the search for survivors continues. The National Disaster Search Dog Foundation is also asking for donations now.
posted by mathowie at 10:18 AM PST - 16 comments

Another thoughtful article
Open the Washington Post to it's editorial pages, and war talk dominates:
Henry Kissinger: Destroy the Network.
Robert Kagan: We Must Fight This War.
Charles Krauthammer: To War, Not to Court.
William S. Cohen: American Holy War.
There is no column by Colman McCarthy talking peace.
posted by mapalm at 10:16 AM PST - 18 comments

Hmmm....maybe while they're not looking, we can do some really bad things. Corporate lobbyists love distractions, especially a major crisis at the end of a legislative session. California is no exception. How has your state legislature been screwing you while this crisis has been going on?
posted by themikeb at 9:38 AM PST - 5 comments

Women's Groups Leaders Comment "There are many women's groups around the globe working for peace and against war, terrorism, and oppression. Women should be at the table along with men when decisions are made as to the future of our country and the world." Another quote, different woman: She added that in general, the more democratic a nation is, and the more women participate in public policy, the fewer the problems in these societies. What do you think? Israeli and Palestinian women seemingly often come together to speak out, since they're all losing sons and brothers. Russian mothers did the same in the '80s. With Congress currently bloodthirsty, would gender balance make a difference in the decisions they're about to make?
posted by fotzepolitic at 9:22 AM PST - 21 comments

$70mil in US aid to Afghanistan in 1997 Per the CIA's very informative world factbook web site, in 1997 the USA provided "about $70 million in humanitarian assistance in 1997". I have a feeling that $70mil is a drop in the ocean to what may be spent on Afghanistan in the near future, though perhaps not in a manner to their liking.
posted by daragh at 8:51 AM PST - 11 comments

"Levine frequently would say that 'if a fire breaks out above the 64th floor, that building will fall down.'" 70s-era asbestos concern/hysteria may have exacerbated the tragedy. If some of you can get past the fact that this is a Fox news link, the story raises interesting questions about our tendency to over-react to every perceived scare, without considering the consequences.
posted by pardonyou? at 8:49 AM PST - 15 comments

O Superman I went to the Laurie Anderson show last night in Toronto. I seriously didn't want to and was praying for a cancelled show. I ended up enjoying it fully. Art really can heal. She began the show by dedicating the music to "everyone who died Tuesday, freedom and sanity." Strangely, many of her songs make reference to airplanes and fire. Spookiest moment of the night: during her signature song "O Superman," the lines "Here come the planes. They're American planes, made by Americans." Read the lyrics - the song is loaded with eerie references.
posted by davebush at 8:40 AM PST - 10 comments

Since we're posting about memorials and the WTC site, here are some interesting words from Ebert.
posted by tomplus2 at 8:36 AM PST - 27 comments

bin Laden has a mentor?
posted by redhead at 8:21 AM PST - 5 comments

American Icons - 2 Pictures of Patriotism Hopefully, this picture will go over better then the Satan in the Smoke article I posted yesterday. Showing these 2 pictures side-by-side shows the patriotism of 2 very different generations, yet, both united in a common bond.
posted by da5id at 8:21 AM PST - 10 comments

Moby tells his side of the story. Moby lives in Lower Manhattan, and he has been keeping the world updated in his own online journal. He has some rather poignant things to say. Moby feels that paying taxes to security organizations who have failed to protect the US is stupid. I'm inclined to agree.
posted by wackybrit at 8:13 AM PST - 25 comments

Rebuild It, Bigger! America will find an appropriate way to mourn. But if we must have a shrine or monument for our remorse, let's put it on the 200th floor, right next to the antiaircraft guns.
posted by dagny at 8:10 AM PST - 13 comments

Meehan, Neal raise doubts on leadership of president - ``I don't buy the notion Air Force One was a target,'' said Meehan. ``That's just PR. That's just spin.''

Meehan office number... (202) 225-3411
posted by revbrian at 8:07 AM PST - 74 comments

An editorial by Canadian broadcaster Gordon Sinclair called "The Americans" is being circulated by email in the wake of this weeks events, but in somewhat altered form. The broadcast was actually made on June 5, 1973, and the original text can be found at the Ryerson University site. Sinclair died in 1984.
posted by tranquileye at 8:06 AM PST - 42 comments

Afghanistan has proven to be a "graveyard for the interests of great powers." One thing I haven't heard yet: What do Americans young enough to be drafted think about the U.S. going to war there as part of the president's pledge of "ending states who sponsor terrorism"?
posted by rcade at 7:43 AM PST - 26 comments

Is this Gary Condit's Wag the Dog? The heat is off.
posted by zanpo at 7:38 AM PST - 8 comments

Is it too soon to see the brighter side? I'm torn. The words of the tragedy have turned from "The horror" to "let's kill the gays" in less than three days. But at the same time, I know there's a brighter side. Crisis brings (generally) the best out of Americans (if not the world). We will rebuild, re-design, re-shape our world. After WWII, America had a huge upsing economically and socially. People remembered to be happy to be alive, had kids, made families, partied like Hugh Hefner, and created one of the most amazing periods in our history. The same will happen again: unimaginable horror, work, then prosperity. But this only happens is these idiots don't screw it up. Your thoughts?
posted by rev- at 7:35 AM PST - 6 comments

An idea to support the U.S economy. The suggestion is that everyone American should buy 10 or 20 shares in their favourite stock on Monday, and in doing so support their country in the time of crisis. It sounds like a good idea to me. (The story is at the bottom of the page)
posted by Atom Heart Mother at 7:16 AM PST - 32 comments

Senator Biden says that yesterday's arrests at NY airports were NOT connected to Tuesday's attacks, and those arrested were not carrying knives.
posted by ericost at 6:40 AM PST - 14 comments

You know things are serious when NakedNews anchors are keeping their clothes on.
posted by darren at 6:26 AM PST - 5 comments

Rev. Jerry Fallwell, Pat Robertson, f*cking lunatics.

'gays, feminists, "pagans," and a host of liberal advocacy groups have made "God mad" and must share the blame for the terrorist attacks'

posted by skwm at 5:02 AM PST - 78 comments

"The last effort of a uniquely extreme group sheltered by a uniquely obtuse and backward government" Not a new era of international terrorism but the last, spectacular gasp of an old one, says The Guardian.
posted by Summer at 4:20 AM PST - 6 comments

Nostradamus full of beans Yes. That guy again. But this shows how wrong the nonsense going around truly is.
posted by Postroad at 3:54 AM PST - 8 comments

Israeli forces move into Jericho. The Israeli Army said the raids were intended to "root out terror". Sounds like opportunism to me...of the nastiest kind. Or are they really trying to assist America in locking down the bad guys? (Link via Fark.com)
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 1:46 AM PST - 30 comments

The U.S. Embassy in Manila may have been the target of a simultaneous attack. (this is a rumor, NBC has stated that two men were found videotaping the embassy, and they were questioned, released, and then they fled to Thailand. Bomb-making materials were found in their home.)
posted by j.edwards at 1:44 AM PST - 3 comments

Does anyone know how to circulate an online petition? That is, to get one rolling? I think we need to urge President Bush to address the nation directly and as soon as possible, beseeching the American public to end the outbreak of violence against their fellow citizens of Arab (or perceived as such) extraction. The worst irony of the WTC terrorism is that angry Americans are now committing acts of terror against other Americans. Yes, Americans.

Maybe it would fall on deaf ears, but it never hurts to try, right? We have to do something.
posted by donkeyschlong at 11:53 PM PST - 29 comments

Financial/NY people add your name If you were expected to be downtown in the area. Also, the FISD has set up this site to post questions about missing people and anything else.. that you're ok, if you need help.. if you can help... (one thing.. some places had decided to use the UBB to tout their wares.. how screwed in the head are you?.. I can understand people with a skill.. but a company trying to sell something...).. But use the sites responsibly, please.
posted by rich at 11:29 PM PST - 0 comments - Post a Comment

The charges of "lewd conduct against a child under 14" against Paula Poundstone have been DROPPED. She pleaded no contest to a couple other charges related to the fact that she had been driving drunk with her kids in the car. I'm posting this because child molestation charges ruin careers and entire lives. Since we covered the initial charges here quite a bit, it's only fair to note her apparent innocence just as prominently, especially during a time like this when any non-attack news is being largely ignored. (Indeed, this story itself is nearly two days old.)
posted by aaron at 11:11 PM PST - 14 comments

Leonard Pitts Jr. Says it all - You don't know my people. You don't know what we're capable of. You don't know what you just started. But you're about to learn...
posted by revbrian at 11:01 PM PST - 30 comments

First hand account by a muslim who worked in WTC 7 - showing, among other things, that muslims were among the victims and that NY residents truly are kind and helpful.
posted by Bernreuther at 10:59 PM PST - 11 comments

Islamabad yet to decide on use of its soil: Cooperation areas to be defined first: official
posted by adnanbwp at 10:09 PM PST - 3 comments

Clinton was here. And then, as if by magic he got here. How did he do it?
posted by szg8 at 10:07 PM PST - 43 comments

10 police officers found. I hope this isn't another mistake, but "A report just in says ten police officers missing since the collapse of the World Trade Centre buildings have been found alive under the rubble." Post details as you find them.
posted by krisjohn at 10:02 PM PST - 9 comments

People For the American Way Statement on Divisive Comments by Religious Right Leaders. "I am deeply saddened that in the wake of this week's devastating terrorist attacks, Religious Right political leaders Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell have chosen the path of division rather than unity. At a time when political leaders of both parties are urging bipartisanship and national unity, it is truly unfortunate that Americans who watched today's edition of Pat Robertson's 700 Club television program received a far different message from Robertson and Falwell."
posted by tpoh.org at 10:01 PM PST - 12 comments

Blame Canada! -- No, Wait, I Mean Clinton! I thought they would at least wait until the weekend.
posted by BarneyFifesBullet at 9:40 PM PST - 19 comments

Pentagon warns of sustained retaliation Sounds to me like a declaration of war.
posted by kd at 9:37 PM PST - 13 comments

CNN retracts names of suspects it's far down on the pages, so i quote: "We would like to correct a report that appeared on CNN. Based on information from multiple law enforcement sources, CNN reported that Adnan Bukhari and Ameer Bukhari of Vero Beach Florida, were suspected to be two of the pilots who crashed planes into the World Trade Center. CNN later learned that Adnan Bukhari is still in Florida, where he was questioned by the FBI. We are sorry for the misinformation. A federal law enforcement source now tells CNN that Bukhari passed an FBI polygraph and is not considered a suspect. Through his attorney, Bukhari says that he is helping authorities. Ameer Bukhari died in a small plane crash last year."
posted by moth at 9:25 PM PST - 12 comments

What are we saying and to whom? Several of the posts here at MeFi are starting to report fairly detailed information about reserve units who being called up for service and where, as well as movements (Link purposly omitted) of aircraft and tanks and other, potenially damaging information. Before this gets out of hand let me remind everyone that we need to remember that "the world" is watching and could be reading anything posted openly on the Internet. I won't censor my opinions but I am going to actively start reviewing the information in my messages before I hit "POST" I hope others will do the same.
posted by dewelch at 9:22 PM PST - 17 comments

Washington Post/ABC News Poll: Bush's approval rating at 87% - I wonder if that rating is going to go on a roller-coaster ride similar to his father's.
posted by mrbula at 8:56 PM PST - 17 comments

A glimpse into the "Ivory Tower" - The online community at Swarthmore College is abuzz with reflections, debates, insults and demands for revenge prompted by the recent tragedies. After being physically threatened by a member of my college community after commenting that I thought that the Netherlands was a more "free" nation than the US, I've stopped going to the site myself; however, a look at the forum may demonstrate that such reactionary thought isn't limited to "middle America" or the "unenlightened," as some intellectual snobs/idealists seem to think. (Swarthmore was tied with Amherst as the number one liberal arts college in the country according to U.S. World and News Report.)
posted by surblimity at 8:46 PM PST - 10 comments

US air space open again, sort of. But the FAA later revealed that all foreign carriers -- except for Canadian airlines and planes diverted during the crisis -- were barred from landing here. US airlines, meanwhile, were allowed to bring in flights from overseas airports if they met the new airline security rules, which were being hidden from the public.
posted by krisjohn at 8:42 PM PST - 2 comments

More heroes. Who will almost certainly be fired and probably arrested by clueless hypocrites.
posted by rushmc at 8:38 PM PST - 23 comments

Calling up reserves? The Pentagon is considering a call up of army reservists for the first time since the Gulf War. (The last call up was in January 1991 when more than 265,000 reservists were placed on stand-by for active duty.)
posted by krisjohn at 8:11 PM PST - 31 comments

Invert rugby player: Hero? Diversity is powerful: A passenger on the Pennsylvania plane who may have stormed the terrorists, Mark Bingham, was a 6'5" rugby player. A gay 6'5" rugby player. Hey, you never know who your friends are. Likely new contender for Toughest Sissy on the Planet status.
posted by joeclark at 8:09 PM PST - 14 comments

Amtrak ridership up 50 percent - Most long distance trains were sold out Wednesday and Thursday. Of course, that isn't surprising considering the current air travel situation, but one has to wonder how many of those riding the rails will just decide to stick on the ground for the time being.
posted by mrbula at 7:35 PM PST - 24 comments

A view from inside the rescue effort Found this one while following a link from a previous thread I'd started. It's an interesting perspective that I really hadn't seen before. (Sorry if this should be a comment in another thread.)
posted by dincognito at 7:34 PM PST - 5 comments

Take a deep breath, angry patriots ... and read another piece in vein of Seamus Milne's Guardian article. Think, breathe, think. (This one's from your fellow English-speakers in New Zealand).
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 7:16 PM PST - 32 comments

Building a Fitting Monument to the Dead and the Living Anyone who has visited the Vietnam Memorial in Washington knows that the most powerful way to celebrate those who died for their country is a simple list of names inscribed in everlasting marble. So how do we go about remembering the many who were killed - and are still dying - by the enemies of freedom? I suggest rebuilding the twin towers as a monument - same height, same dimensions - thereby restoring the Manhattan skyline and defying those who think they destroyed it. It could be a holograph or actually built in stone or bronze. The names of those who died there, in Washington and Pennsylvania, would forever be engraved there. I hate to think of the site being rebuilt as something else and profits being made. What happened should be forever remembered and regretted. The cost would probably not be more than $20 per citizen. What are your ideas about a fitting monument to the fallen?
posted by MiguelCardoso at 6:48 PM PST - 56 comments

MSNBC taking advantage of high site traffic; FORCING ads. Personally I'm speechless. I think every other major site out there (no doubt the crippled Yahoo also) is doing this oor will be in the upcoming hours.
posted by HoldenCaulfield at 6:33 PM PST - 23 comments

Investigators Detain 10 at NY Airports; Bin Laden Focus Grows Authorities took 10 people into custody from New York City's two major airports after finding they had false identifications and knives, law enforcement officials told ABCNEWS.com.
posted by bjgeiger at 6:31 PM PST - 10 comments

Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.
posted by obiwanwasabi at 5:58 PM PST - 14 comments

Is the Missle Defense System dead? The rules have changed, they say, but many of us have used this argument against SDI all along. What happened on Sept. 11 demonstrated irrefutably that any enemy determined to inflict mass destruction upon America can do so without ballistic missiles.
posted by BarneyFifesBullet at 5:47 PM PST - 14 comments

More info leaked on the reasoning behind the claims that the President was specifically targeted on Tuesday. Seems to raise a lot more questions than it answers, to me.
posted by rushmc at 5:41 PM PST - 20 comments

Flags and guns 'selling out as patriotism sweeps US' "Reports show many are first-time buyers as a wave of patriotism sweeps the country since the tragedy." - is this how you celebrate patroitism, buying guns? Well, maybe not: "American Muslims have also been buying guns, fearful of vigilante attacks."
posted by hotdoughnutsnow at 5:16 PM PST - 8 comments

Tributes bordering on art... I stumbled across this when I was looking for a zine I used to read back in college... Hasn't moved me like the piece from testpilotcollective has but it's definitely both shocking and beautiful.
posted by dincognito at 5:13 PM PST - 3 comments

Creepy Animation from CNN shows the disasters in 3d... its real food for thought to think about some dude in an SGI shirt tweaking colors on the explosion plugin while a project manager asks if the more pizazz can be added... For a neat trick, notice you can watch from below as the building sinks underground (use all your mouse buttons)
posted by mantid at 4:41 PM PST - 7 comments

Can you go to "War" against an individual? Laws may limit exactly what the US can do, and whether or not an assasination attempt will be possible.
posted by mathowie at 4:35 PM PST - 23 comments

Recently I was made aware of a response to the terrorist attacks of Tuesday, by Serj Tankian, vocalist for the politically-themed band, System of a Down. The response was well written, highly articulated and, yet, it is now MISSING from the band's official website.

I have been unable to find a cached copy of the post, and I am wondering if this article was removed due to it's less-than 100% agreement with the current mindset of the media propaganda machine, or whether it is related to something else.

If anyone can dig up a cached copy, or shed some light on this matter, it would be much appreciated.
posted by Dark Messiah at 4:33 PM PST - 12 comments

Thank you, Mister Rogers The man in the sweater puts it all in perspective for us : One of the most important messages we can give our children is, "It's okay to be angry, but it's not okay to hurt." Anger is a natural and normal feeling, in families and among friends. Besides allowing children the right to their anger, we can also help them find constructive things to do with their angry feelings -- things that don't hurt others or themselves or damage things. By showing children how to deal with their angry feelings in healthy ways, we are giving them useful tools that will serve them all life long and helping them to be the world's future peacemakers.
posted by likorish at 4:14 PM PST - 7 comments

why they hate us Attack on freedom? On liberty? How about retaliation against the biggest bully on the planet? It's our turn to learn how the other half lives. excuse this if it is a double post; I didn't find it in search and it's an important article thanks meg
posted by christina at 4:00 PM PST - 81 comments

This is a list of airports currently meeting FAA security standards. Possibly of some benefit to those needing to use air travel for business, to reunite with loved ones, etc. I discovered this link while visiting Flightview, which has been down most of the day, presumably due to traffic. Flightview is a flight tracking system which runs on standard PCs.
posted by bargle at 3:37 PM PST - 1 comment

Ok. American Fundamentalists at work here. More muslim mosques, businesses, individuals attacked.
posted by adnanbwp at 3:25 PM PST - 17 comments

The entertainment industry reacts. Fox's "24" delayed. "Spider-Man" twin towers scene removed. Ah-nold's "Collateral Damaged" and Tim Allen's "Big Trouble" postponed indefinitely, TV skyline shots being re-edited, televised action movies being replaced with more humor and upbeat programming. How long will it last? And having been probed for so long, will the gaming industry do anything in turn?
posted by teradome at 3:22 PM PST - 32 comments

Good to know. (Sincere apologies if this is a double, triple, quadruple post. The MeFi search keeps timing out.)
posted by donkeyschlong at 3:20 PM PST - 4 comments

China Strengthens Ties With Taleban by Signing Economic Deal
posted by dagny at 3:11 PM PST - 17 comments

Oh no, not again. U.S. Capitol being evacuated; New York airports shut down. Breaking news from CNN.
posted by waxpancake at 3:03 PM PST - 23 comments

Flight Data Recorder found for United Airlines flight 93 in Pennsylvania. They've also found the signal for at least one of the data recorders on the Pentagon flight, as well. Assuming it's still readable, the flight recorder for UA 93 could give new insight into why the plane went down, and why they're now finding debris 6 miles from the crash site. (The information for flight 93 came from CNN broadcast, but hasn't made it online yet.)
posted by elfgirl at 2:22 PM PST - 13 comments

http://www.taleban.com keeps looping back to our own machines at work. At home, it comes up non-existant yet it's showed up in my server logs. network solutions has a listing for it. Anyone else getting bizarre results with this domain?
posted by Zebulun at 2:03 PM PST - 14 comments

Satan shows his face in WTC attack. Verified as original and unedited, this photo is scary to view. But, people see what they want to see, how else to you explain Jesus' Face practically everywhere.
posted by da5id at 1:33 PM PST - 53 comments

CNN's "palestinians celebrating in the streets" footage may be from 1991. While this is one person's opinion, it'd be nice if there was some verification from CNN either way on this.
posted by mathowie at 1:32 PM PST - 29 comments

Ananova reports bodies of hijacker and stewardess found in the WTC wreckage. Does it seem that foreign news outlets are reporting stuff earlier than domestic ones to anyone else? And how could there be bodies still intact, so close to the point of impact?
posted by sugarfish at 12:57 PM PST - 25 comments

Sample letter intended for businesses who advertise in a Honolulu newspaper. Found here via the always informative Media News.
posted by zedzebedia at 12:53 PM PST - 16 comments

Cancer, and Carcinogens "This event is not an isolated instance of violence. This is not an 'act of war.' It is one symptom of a cancer that threatens to metastasize."
posted by fold_and_mutilate at 12:22 PM PST - 2 comments

Manhattan and Brooklyn photos. Ultradio photos of the scene. Too much mental fantasy today. I can't cover up my fear and terror with anger anymore. Back to reality. I'm going to try to not follow any more political topics and threads for a while.
posted by username at 12:17 PM PST - 3 comments

Ur-Editorial about the attacks, (from adequacy.org- I'm not familiar with them- linked via a plastic.com comment). Shades of the Metafilter self-parody; I found it a handy template for every editorial opportunist from Michael Moore to Ann Coulter- perhaps we can just reference this instead of linking yet more lame, shameful editorials from all parts of the political spectrum?
posted by hincandenza at 12:16 PM PST - 4 comments

Pictures from inside and near the WTC during evacuation Found on ananova (here). The main link is quite slow fyi.
posted by kokogiak at 12:11 PM PST - 16 comments

Bush speaks out on misplaced anger - "...our nation must be mindful that there are thousands of Arab-Americans who live in New York City, who love their flag just as much as the three of us do, and we must be mindful that as we seek to win the war that we treat Arab-Americans and Muslims with the respect they deserve. "
posted by revbrian at 12:10 PM PST - 9 comments

Bunny Love. Because we could all use a little more love right now. I know I could.
posted by TiggleTaggleTiger at 12:00 PM PST - 8 comments

Stupid racist shit. I'm sorry about the language, but I am already sick of this sort of idiot xenophobia.
posted by johnnydark at 11:56 AM PST - 17 comments

New Yorker online has checked in with their lead story and an image of their next cover. I have to say I'm seeing accounts that are equally compelling from regular people writing on the Internet.
posted by luser at 11:42 AM PST - 6 comments

Bush Gave $43 Million to Taliban Last May - "The gift, announced last Thursday by Secretary of State Colin Powell, in addition to other recent aid, makes the U.S. the main sponsor of the Taliban..." - pulled out of a thread, originally posted by mrgrimm.
posted by Zettai at 11:36 AM PST - 4 comments

Poll results are starting to come in. Bush haters will not be pleased with the results. Neither will ultrapacifists.
posted by aaron at 11:35 AM PST - 45 comments

Footage of Celebrating Palestinians Racially Biased Here's a "voice in the wilderness." The writer argues that the media running this footage is reminiscent of how the media ran footage of African Americans looting in L.A. in 1992, calling them hoodlums and vandals, without thinking about or providing the context of the Rodney King verdict. PROTECT YOUR FELLOW AMERICANS OF COLOR.
posted by prozaction at 11:22 AM PST - 38 comments

BBC Reports... When the missiles fall, for better or worse, here's why they will fall in Afghanistan
posted by szg8 at 11:22 AM PST - 1 comment

List to help. I'm on a number of mailing lists ranging from techy ones to skating and have decided to try to bring all those together so that we can have messages for volunteering and rebuilding go over more quickly. I think there would be a network effect in terms of providing news and info to people in New York.
posted by TNLNYC at 11:00 AM PST - 2 comments

Five Firefighters found alive Amazing. 48 hours after the collapse. "Five firefighters were found alive in New York on Thursday, trapped in an SUV buried in rubble from the World Trade Center. Two of the firefighters were able to leave the vehicle unassisted; all five were transported to the hospital."
posted by warhol at 10:34 AM PST - 7 comments

Sorry but it's a little too late to muzzle this beast. The Palestinian Authority tries to stop press coverage of post-bombing celebrations (sorry if this has already been posted).
posted by estopped at 10:25 AM PST - 19 comments

Art Bell continues to sell crazy in a world that's all stocked up. Here's a link to a page of photograph submitted for last night's show. Scroll down a few, and you'll see one with a very insensitive implication about the WTC attack. Apparently, comical cartoon devils were involved.
posted by Hildago at 10:24 AM PST - 3 comments

Osama bin Laden is the Taliban military commander-in-chief!? Can anyone find alternate sources for this? From a comment by schlyer.
posted by NortonDC at 10:23 AM PST - 6 comments

www.worldtradecenterbombing.com, .net, .org have been registered. For what purposes, I don't know. I've been wondering if anti-arabic domains, other similar WTC-style domains and if register.com, namezero, etc. have the capability to deny or register for themselves such sites. Whether for hatred purposes or, as vile as it sounds, for $ purposes. I guessing no. And I hope the site above was registered to keep it out of the hands of someone with less than virtuous ideals.
posted by Tacodog at 10:08 AM PST - 10 comments

Bomb threats at Grand Central and La Guardia today... Couldn't find any links yet but just spoke to a friend who was told to leave his office near Grand Central... Apparently a number of people were running through the streets but none of them seemed to really know much about why... Any info?
posted by adamholz at 10:08 AM PST - 3 comments

Thoughtful pieces like these are becoming fewer and fewer.
Danny Schecter of Media Channel gives his take on the unfolding events. I fear the path the US is on, marching headlong into what could very well be a protracted, horrific spiral of war and carnage.
posted by mapalm at 9:48 AM PST - 6 comments

How low can we go? Spammers are soliciting funds for bogus charities to help the victims of the disaster.
posted by Steven Den Beste at 9:44 AM PST - 5 comments

What does Wille Brown's staff know that we don't? Apparently, Mayor Brown got a warning 8 hours before the attack, and is still in SF because he heeded their advice. What did they know and how did they know it?
posted by mathowie at 9:31 AM PST - 19 comments

UK pays its respects For the first time in history, the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace was changed. The US national anthem was played, followed by a two-minute silence.
posted by keith at 9:31 AM PST - 24 comments

"We should invade their countries, kill their leaders and convert them to Christianity." Ann Coulter, as always an island of calm reflection.
posted by rcade at 8:21 AM PST - 96 comments

NY Times: Taliban Plead for Mercy to the Miserable in a Land of Nothing Perhaps they should have thought of this when they sheltered so many "un-Islamic" murderers such as bin Laden. The perpetrators, co-conspirators, and accomplices of this massacre will receive no quarter from the U.S. whether they are Afghani, Iraqi, Saudi, or even American.
posted by lenticular at 7:55 AM PST - 54 comments

Anti-Arab violence going in Australia: It's not just in the US - In Brisbane, a schoolbus packed with Islamic children was damaged by stones and bottles and there had been abusive calls to mosques. In Perth a mosque was defiled with human faeces and obscenities were shouted from a car doing wheelies in its carpark. The Australian Arabic Council today said a hotline for people to report racist attacks had been swamped by calls. Unconfirmed attacks included children being physically harmed and racially vilified at school. Muslum women being spat on and had their veils pulled off.
posted by Jase_B at 7:39 AM PST - 22 comments

"We're in an age where we don't want to deal with serious issues, we want to deal with little boys pitching baseballs who might be 14 instead of 12." Hart says he just shook his head when he saw a former Clinton administration Cabinet official on TV Tuesday calling for the formation of a commission to study the best way to combat terrorism. "If a former Cabinet officer didn't know, how could the average man on the street? I do hope the American people understand that somebody was paying attention."
posted by rathikd at 7:15 AM PST - 4 comments

Another site with first-hand stories Just FYI... Here's another site with a small OK list and first hand accounts of the tragic events of the past couple of days.
posted by TNLNYC at 7:15 AM PST - 0 comments - Post a Comment

Passenger train collision in Utah. Reports from the US say two trains have collided in the state of Utah. I hope this has nothing to do with Tuesday...
posted by talos at 7:10 AM PST - 5 comments

NY Red Cross needs tech help - by donating computers, equipment, and services. They're looking for certified Citrix engineers and Microsoft-certified consultants, as well as a long list of computers, network parts, etc.
posted by bkdelong at 6:21 AM PST - 4 comments

Anti-Arab Violence Growing in U.S.: A repulsive article via Salon concerning protests and at a mosque outside of Chicago today. Thousands of rubes seem poised to act of their narrow conception of what an "American" looks and acts like.
posted by ryanshepard at 6:21 AM PST - 28 comments

Pretty strong stuff from the Glasgow Herald about the causes of the attacks. I'd like to point out I don't necessarily endorse anything said here.
posted by Summer at 6:17 AM PST - 30 comments

$5 million reward.
posted by dfowler at 6:14 AM PST - 5 comments

A former CIA operative explains why the terrorist Usama bin Ladin has little to fear from American intelligence. From the Atlantic an inside look at the non-existence of US intelligence in the Afghanistan region: Unless one of bin Ladin's foot soldiers walks through the door of a U.S. consulate or embassy, the odds that a CIA counterterrorist officer will ever see one are extremely poor.
posted by talos at 5:33 AM PST - 15 comments

A "World Response Matrix" showing the various responses from different countries. A follow-up to this post, so to speak.
posted by bkdelong at 5:16 AM PST - 3 comments

Well-written, well-informed article from the Indepent on the political background to all this.
posted by Summer at 3:51 AM PST - 16 comments

Plane crashes in Mexico, killing 19. Despite a few early misleading reports, foul play is NOT suspected.
posted by bargle at 1:33 AM PST - 2 comments

The next person who quotes Nostradamus at me today is going to get yelled at.
posted by brownpau at 1:26 AM PST - 14 comments

The Examiner spells it out. As a newspaper page designer (for a much smaller, tamer paper), I wonder what you all think of the San Francisco Examiner's semi-profane but heartfelt front-page headline. On one hand, it's editorializing, but on the other, it expresses what an awful lot of people are thinking. I think I like it, but I also know it'd never get printed in a lot of papers, including my own.
posted by diddlegnome at 1:05 AM PST - 23 comments

Infoshare is a syndicated information block which can be added your page in a few seconds. It includes links to up-to-date news and other useful numbers and links to help all affected.
posted by nico at 12:55 AM PST - 13 comments

extremely good photographs non graphic, but so excellant in showing many facets of this disaster.
posted by JackthaStripper at 12:06 AM PST - 12 comments

Guns selling briskly. (NYTimes link, registration required -- scroll down to last subheading.) "They sold me out of ammo by 10 in the morning," said the owner of one Colorado gun store. Apparently some people want personal protection, and others want to "vent" on the firing range. "I had people who said, yeah, they would like to put up a picture of Osama bin Laden and go to work."
posted by precipice at 11:42 PM PST - 4 comments

US rallies the west for attack on Afghanistan, while NATO draws up plans for invasion. (And maybe, just maybe, Iraq! Note that tiny detail in the 4th graf.) Could we be going in? Is there really that much in Afghanistan to go into in the first place?
posted by aaron at 11:33 PM PST - 12 comments

World wide "lock-down" of major parts of major cities. The Malaysian government has detained without trial several Islamic extremists, checkpoints were set up outside the Citibank Tower and Asian-Pacific Financial Tower in Hong Kong, the CN Tower in Toronto was shut, Downing Street was evacuated because a suspect package had been found inside No 10. (The alert was called off within minutes.) Etc, etc, etc.
posted by krisjohn at 11:21 PM PST - 2 comments

Planes over London will be shot down, warns government. The UK government warned that any plane venturing into airspace over central London was likely to be shot down. All aircraft movements over the heart of the capital are banned until further notice. The flight path into London-Heathrow airport passes close to the Canary Wharf skyscraper in the east of the city and along the River Thames over the House of Parliament, the Guardian newspaper reports. (Down the page a ways.)
posted by krisjohn at 11:16 PM PST - 3 comments

Pakistan faces strategic decision Pakistan has assumed a lot of importance once again, ironicaly, when the US of A needs its help. The geographic nature of the country along with love hate relationship with Bin Laden, and Taleban, also past very close ties between Pakistan Intelligence ISI and CIA has suddenly brought Pakistan to the verge of another very important decision. How much should Pakistan help USA ? Is the US of A trustable after what happened when they left it alienated when their mission of breaking up of the Soviet Union was achieved ? What is to make sure that USA will not use it and dispose of, just like it has done before ? Should Pakistan allow its air and land resources to be used for a possible attack on Afghanistan ? These are decisons - for a keen observer of Pak-US ties - that can change how historians will write about a Fundamentalist America's reply to an attack on its fundamentals.
posted by adnanbwp at 10:59 PM PST - 5 comments

Ways to heal. I'm a long, long way from being OK, as are most others here in NYC, many of whom have lost far more than me. The one thing that has helped more than anything has been the people who have crawled out of the woodwork of my life. From the friends currently housing me, to a phone call from an expat friend living in China, to hearing an ex-girlfriend say "I love you," a month after it hit me that we would probably never speak again.

As a distraction, how about you? Who have you heard from that you never thought you'd see again? Old lovers? Former best friends? Long-lost cousins?
posted by Sinner at 10:15 PM PST - 3 comments

FBI Identifies Team of 50 Attackers "Authorities searching nationwide for terrorists behind the deadly airliner attacks on the Pentagon and the World Trade Center have identified a team of as many as 50 infiltrators who supported or carried out the strikes, a source familiar with the investigation said Wednesday. The source said about 40 of the men have been accounted for, including those killed in the suicide attacks, but that 10 remain at large. In the hours immediately after the assaults, he said, agents searching cars and apartments up and down the East Coast found suicide notes in New York that some of the hijackers wrote for their parents."
posted by owillis at 10:00 PM PST - 5 comments

Do you think that CNN has the best coverage so far? I've appreciated that they've tried not to be too inflammatory. BBC has been much more graphic (honest) but I think evoking anti-Arab sentiment is a serious fear of the American networks when they choose not to show Arabs celebrating. MSNBC seems to be doing a pretty fair job. I'm not paranoid but is anyone else wondering what else is being withheld. (Sorry for the boring post but I really wonder who people have been impressed or disappointed with so far.)
posted by wsfinkel at 9:15 PM PST - 61 comments

Fantasy becomes reality. If any of you have ever played this popular game, load it up and watch the beginning movies that were part of the story line and shown as "News" clips.

Eerily familiar, the clips of a plane deliberately crashing into the World Trade Center, and a bomb (not a plane, but that is what the plane was; a flying bomb) set off on the Pentagon... The connection didn't hit until I was playing one of the sequels, Red Alert 2 and the mission was to capture the World Trade Center.

If anyone has these clips for download, I would like to know... I don't have the capabilities to rip them off the game CD.
posted by da5id at 8:58 PM PST - 8 comments

And the Grammy Award for most unfortunate album cover art goes to... The Coup! (Thankfully this rap group has already announced that they will change the cover to this CD.)
posted by spilon at 8:51 PM PST - 12 comments

'Oh my God they are jumping.' The British press covers the attacks with an emphasis on the people who jumped [graphic photo advisory]. I noticed the same thing watching BBC World on cable Tuesday -- is the U.S. press showing restraint with images like this?
posted by rcade at 8:23 PM PST - 39 comments

Giuliani requests 6,000 body bags. I don't feel like this is ever going to end...
posted by owillis at 8:17 PM PST - 12 comments

Fear of flying? New security measures are being discussed. Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta says, "These terrorist acts are designed to steal the confidence of Americans. We will restore that confidence."
posted by prozaction at 8:04 PM PST - 9 comments

MTV plays videos? It took a national tragedy, but it looks like their normal programming has been replaced with non-stop music videos without veejays. That would be weird enough, but all the videos seem to be positively-themed and spanning genres. They're occasionally breaking for original news reports and commercials.
posted by waxpancake at 7:54 PM PST - 17 comments

understanding the terms used - With the constant white noise of pundits and CNN trying to fill space I've realised how little I understand about the islamic belief. Now it seems to be Bush's soundbite bogeyman I guess we should all try and learn more. I'd love to read any more links you guys have.
posted by mrben at 7:39 PM PST - 2 comments

UEFA postpone all European Champions League ties. The European soccer community postpones its soccer matches as a mark of respect to the US tragedy. Good move, I would think. After all, everything else seems so trivial now.
posted by arrowhead at 7:29 PM PST - 4 comments

May 1998 interview with Osama Bin Laden "if they cherish their sons, they must elect an American patriotic government that caters to their interests not the interests of the Jews. " The impression I get from the news services is that all evidence so far points to him. An old interview, but still, disturbing.
posted by smt at 7:24 PM PST - 4 comments

Who is Osama Bin Laden? ...The Afghan jihad was backed with American dollars and had the blessing of the governments of Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. He received security training from the CIA itself, according to Middle Eastern analyst Hazhir Teimourian.
Is OBL the United State's Golem?
posted by housepox at 7:02 PM PST - 2 comments

NYC police scanner (RealAudio) reveals that officers are closing off a five-block area due to a bomb threat on the 44th floor of the Empire State Building. No officers are to report to that location.
posted by droob at 7:01 PM PST - 21 comments

There is always a tension between civilization and barbarism, and the barbarians are now here. The task in front of us to somehow stay civilized while not shrinking from the face of extinguishing - by sheer force if necessary - the forces that would eclipse us.
posted by semmi at 6:52 PM PST - 5 comments

Iraq may have financed attacks... Title says it all. Go read.
posted by metrocake at 6:49 PM PST - 10 comments

Bin Laden under house arrest Just read this article. I haven't seen this posted anywhere yet, so...
posted by crankydoodle at 6:09 PM PST - 16 comments

Simply astonishing. Within the past few months, the FBI had placed two men associated with an Islamic Jihad terror group on a border watch list, but through a screw-up, the pair got into the U.S. The two men appear to have been on the American Airlines Flight 77, the plane that crashed into the Pentagon, TIME has learned.
posted by HoldenCaulfield at 6:00 PM PST - 3 comments

Live releases a free downloadable MP3 in what is sure to be a long line of overwrought and sappy tribute songs inspired by the tragic events of yesterday.
posted by MegoSteve at 5:53 PM PST - 14 comments

In need of a chuckle? With all the horror that's come to light these past two days thought I'd share this, pretty funny (not sure how new it is though)
posted by zeoslap at 5:25 PM PST - 7 comments

Nasdaq headquarters on verge of collapse. This is turning into a day in history that will be added to text books soon enough. Without a doubt next September 11th will be a national rememberance day, no work, no school etc.
posted by HoldenCaulfield at 5:16 PM PST - 2 comments

"Lawmakers [have been] told in classified briefings that additional attacks are 'possible if not probable' and they should not assume a false sense of security. This message has been conveyed with a very deliberate and serious level of magnitude." I've been worried about this from the beginning. Who knows if there aren't more terrorists cooling their heels in some airport somewhere because the FAA grounded all the planes so fast? Or that they don't have some evil plan to freak us all out first, get us worked up into a "yeah, we're gonna get 'em!" frenzy, and then do something else just as bad to make us feel helpless?
posted by aaron at 5:03 PM PST - 23 comments

One leader has risen to the awful occasion -- and, so far, it hasn't been President Bush. Well, at least I'm not the only to notice."Let's give Bush the benefit of the doubt and acknowledge he's extraordinarily busy." True, but it's hard not to notice these things.
posted by BarneyFifesBullet at 4:58 PM PST - 64 comments

The Doctor Is In
Yes, he may be crazy. Yes, he may be irrelevant. And yes, his numbers might be a little high, but it beats listening to the same dozen folks repeat the same stuff on the networks (Couldn't they all take 2-4 am off for bathroom breaks and showers?).
posted by yerfatma at 4:57 PM PST - 7 comments

Arafat gives blood This moved me. Did you see the look in Arafat's eyes yesterday when he offered his condolences to the Americans? Despite his vociferous and frequent criticism of the US, even he has been taken aback..
posted by Mossy at 4:13 PM PST - 39 comments

Metafilter on "Screen Savers?!" A shot of Metafilter was shown justnow on the live show of the "Screen Savers," on TechTV...the show is starting now.
posted by metrocake at 4:02 PM PST - 17 comments

Refuse and Resist Anti-Arab Racism. To do so is your minimal moral duty.
posted by sudama at 3:54 PM PST - 9 comments

Mefi Book of Condolence We do not know how many perished on that terrible day, but however many, we do know that there are many, many grieving families who have lost somebody special. Please take a moment to add your comments of support and condolences to this thread. Please just sign and add a comment of support to those who lost loved ones, save discussion for other threads.
posted by Mossy at 3:30 PM PST - 27 comments

Bush may have been target I don't mean to be out of line but I am a bit suspicious when Bush flees, then when a number of media folks question his flight from leadership position he states that his office knew of possible threat to White House. Asked, then, what info they had had so early in the events taking plalce, there is no answer given by the White House. To make matters even odder, we learn that the White House might be under threat but Chaney and Rice remained there. Againb, I am totally willing to give Bush the benfit of doubt. But a leader who flees for security. Couldn't have gone to Dick Gebhart's digs? Who would have thought to bomb that place.
posted by Postroad at 3:02 PM PST - 34 comments

Amazon donations page passed $1M during the last hour This is one minor lift to my spirit as I refresh the page to watch the tally grow. (Just wanted to get the link to the top of the page for those who may not have seen it)
posted by jonah at 2:37 PM PST - 8 comments

Never in my country wouldl an airliner be allowed to fly off course. This was posted in a discussion thread I think. There's nothing I can say.
posted by HoldenCaulfield at 2:22 PM PST - 36 comments

Military recruitment offices have reported a jump in visitors and phone calls. Lots of people apparently want to kick someone's ass themselves. "I'd be happy to go to the draft now," said one person. Do young people around you want to join the armed forces now?
posted by gluechunk at 2:18 PM PST - 23 comments

Sattelite Pics of NY, here is a bigger one
posted by zeoslap at 2:07 PM PST - 3 comments

There is a small, unidentified plane with no markings circling Manhattan

My apologies for the essentially null link - this was just shown on CNN.
posted by Sinner at 2:05 PM PST - 29 comments

Is freedom the answer? We've discussed the inadequacies of various policies. Is the ultimate answer simply to strive to make the Middle East free?
posted by marknau at 1:45 PM PST - 7 comments

Racism rears its ugly head in subtle ways. In this apparently eyewitness account of what happened aboard flight 93, the terrorists are referred to as "Arab terrorists" not once but twice. Was the second one even necessary? Was the first one necessary? And you wonder why shit like this happens...
posted by mathowie at 1:10 PM PST - 59 comments

An excellent personal account of the WTC attack.
posted by zedzebedia at 12:54 PM PST - 5 comments

Gasoline price gouging reported. In the wake of yesterday's tragedies, I'm not surprised by the courage and resolve many have demonstrated. I'm also not surprised by the nauseating greed evidenced by others. What's the price of gasoline (or other goods and commodities) doing in your part of the country?
posted by Big Dave at 12:50 PM PST - 8 comments

Fly the American flag today - If you have an American flag, please make sure it's flying in front of your home or place of business today, at half-staff if possible.
posted by SpecialK at 12:13 PM PST - 44 comments

Can we learn not to hate? Anti-Arab graffiti in Chicago.
posted by aladfar at 12:11 PM PST - 14 comments

What makes suicide bombers tick? From Foreign Policy Magazine : While most of the world sees them as lone zealots, they are, in fact, pawns of large terrorist networks that wage calculated psychological warfare. Contrary to popular belief, suicide bombers can be stopped-but only if governments pay more attention to their methods and motivations.
posted by fellorwaspushed at 12:10 PM PST - 2 comments

Much love to New York artists and other residents with Web presence, such as Morning News, Bobofett, Goats and Flick Filosopher.
posted by zedzebedia at 12:09 PM PST - 0 comments - Post a Comment

Microsoft Flight Simulator From the Theory-Of-The-Moment Dept: Is it possible to use Microsoft Flight Simulator as a training tool for terrorists?
posted by BarneyFifesBullet at 12:02 PM PST - 19 comments

Retaliation Starts A mosque in Irving, TX came under gunfire in the early hours of this morning just before Muslims gathered for the early morning (first) prayer of the day.
posted by adnanbwp at 11:51 AM PST - 34 comments

Design choice for tower helped save lives : via FARK - can you imagine what would have happened had the planes hit the base of the towers?
posted by Mossy at 11:49 AM PST - 5 comments

News from here in Boston, the police have arrested people (Boston Globe says 3, other local sources say 1) in Coply Square Hotel, and are investigating passengers on an Amtrak train bound for Providence.

Also, word has it that the Pennsylvania Plane was heading for the White House. There's numerous reports of civilians overtaking the plane and crashing it. If this is true, they saved a lot of lives.
posted by christian at 11:47 AM PST - 9 comments

partial list of passengers on the four flights. time to start attaching names to the trauma.
posted by whoshotwho at 11:34 AM PST - 0 comments - Post a Comment

"A plan to hijack US commercial planes and slam these into targets like the headquarters of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in Langley, Virginia, was first uncovered in Manila in 1995 after police arrested four suspects in a plot to assassinate Pope John Paul II." So perhaps what happened yesterday shouldn't have been an entirely unforeseeable event.
posted by lia at 11:29 AM PST - 5 comments

Wondering why those in power are so earnestly characterizing an act of terrorism as an act of war? Because under New York Consolidated Law S3203.a.17.c.1.C, insurance companies don't have to pay for acts of war. (More inside.)
posted by Allen Varney at 11:10 AM PST - 21 comments

Newspapers from around the world Global response seems united. Any other worldwide sources?
posted by mkn at 10:56 AM PST - 9 comments

The problem with retaliation. "Don't get me wrong. If Bin Laden is indeed behind this, then he should be either killed or put on trial....still, how we go about bringing Bin Laden to justice (assuming, again, that this is his work) will massively influence how safe Americans are in the decades to come." The sanest analysis I've seen so far.
posted by lbergstr at 10:37 AM PST - 49 comments

From PVP Online's Forums: "If we do wage war, will we be any better? What happened today, 9-11-01, was atrocious and could not be justified by any means. However, how could we justify violence while abhoring it?"
posted by philulrich at 10:19 AM PST - 11 comments

FBI Currently storming Copley Hotel (Streaming Windows Media) I am truly amazed at the speed at which this investigation is unfolding.
posted by glenwood at 10:15 AM PST - 12 comments

A call for help
I swear I read an article that listed a female USC student that was on one of the planes, but can't find it anywhere. Can anyone help out with an URL? I've got an upset friend who attended USC and would like to have any info she can find.
posted by jragon at 9:58 AM PST - 8 comments

And so it begins - "Federal police are reportedly increasing Internet surveillance after Tuesday's deadly attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Just hours after three airplanes smashed into the buildings in what some U.S. legislators have dubbed a second Pearl Harbor, FBI agents began to visit Web-based, e-mail firms and network providers, according to engineers " How do you think the attacks of the 11th will affect civil liberties?
posted by jed at 9:53 AM PST - 10 comments

Ghost site.
posted by beagle at 9:26 AM PST - 9 comments

Repost from another thread (thanks, nix). Father of three helped crash Pa. plane.

HEROIC ACT. FATHER AND HUSBAND TAKES ACTION ON FLIGHT, ULTIMATELY SAVES MORE LIVES.

"The Miami Herald reported in Wednesday’s editions that a passenger on Flight 93, Tom Burnett, 38, the vice president of a Pleasanton, Calif., medical devices company and father of three children, called his wife and indicated that he and other passengers were about to try to overpower the hijackers. Burnett told his wife that somebody on the plane had been stabbed, said the Rev. Frank Colacicco, of St. Isidore’s Church in Danville, Fla. “We’re all gonna die, but three of us are going to do something,” Burnett told his wife, according to Colacicco. He added: “I love you, honey,” before the call ended."
posted by Sinner at 9:23 AM PST - 17 comments

Brilliant
The National "I'm Okay" Bulletin Board allows you to post your name and location, informing friends and family that you are safe
posted by monkeyJuice at 9:17 AM PST - 3 comments

Animations of the flight paths of the two planes that hit NYC and of the one plane that crashed in Pennsylvania.
posted by Steven Den Beste at 9:11 AM PST - 0 comments - Post a Comment

As someone living and working in NYC, I feel it is important to let people outside of the city know that while this tragedy is ongoing, most of the city is functioning. There is NOT chaos in the streets. Everyone is shocked, but New Yorkers are helping in any way they can. While many businesses are closed, most are open. Most public transportation is functioning (although i believe access from New Jersey is closed) The city is hurt, but far from defeated.
posted by gwint at 8:44 AM PST - 3 comments

Sorry that this will be offensive to many (seriously; if I didn't think this was important, I wouldn't post). It's an article linking American foreign policy to the terrible events yesterday.
posted by andrew cooke at 8:42 AM PST - 45 comments

Blogger sets up special search page. It displays posts mentioning "World Trade" or "terrorist." It's really something. It starts right at the very beginning. From the Blogger front page:

"'The need to connect is intense,' said Donna Hoffman, a professor who studies the Web and Web commerce at Vanderbilt University. 'While the network TV stations blather, the Internet carries the news and connects the masses in a true interactive sob.'" Indeed. Today was the most active posting day on Blogger ever—by over 22 percent.
posted by o2b at 8:12 AM PST - 1 comment

Knives with blades shorter than five centimetres would normally be allowed onto an aircraft , according to Mal Dunn "who headed the aviation security division of the [Australian] Civil Aviation Safety Authority. 'I'm not convinced that this was necessarily caused by lax security. My experience is that US airports are usually very diligent,' he said. 'The principle of people carrying knives is pretty clear and internationally recognised. The criteria are associated with the length of the knife; anything over two inches [five centimetres] long is considered dangerous and is usually taken off the individual." I was dumbfounded to hear these planes had been hijacked with knives, but reading the preceding still chills me. Perhaps, the time has arrived to rethink these measures as they appear to be so ignorant in hindsight.
posted by mischief at 8:09 AM PST - 45 comments

Fontomas shuts down temporarily in response to yesterday's ugliness. Have any other sites also done this? If you care, please send Dirk, and any of the others a note.
posted by Su at 7:43 AM PST - 23 comments

World Trade Center tenants rosters: 1, 2
posted by dagny at 6:28 AM PST - 14 comments

You Have Been Warned... Lois Farakhan famously said that "God will not give Europe and Japan the honor of bringing down the United States. That honor will fall to the muslims". But Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman was more specific. Check out this article by Andrew McCarthy, an assistant professor of law at Fordham University and New York Law School, who prosecuted the blind sheik for the bombing of the World Trade Center. We were - and are - more than warned. So who is blinder?
posted by MiguelCardoso at 6:10 AM PST - 8 comments

Report: Five Suspects Identified in NYC Attack Seems FBI, etc. is working double time (as expected). There are some more updates streaming.
posted by owillis at 6:09 AM PST - 12 comments

Preface? "The leader of Afghanistan's anti-Taliban opposition, Ahmadshah Massoud, was mortally wounded by suicide bombers on 9 September, dying within minutes of the blast [...]. The assassins are understood to have been Algerians affiliated to the al-Qaeda organisation of indicted Saudi terrorist Osama bin Laden [...]"
posted by dagny at 6:09 AM PST - 0 comments - Post a Comment

Special editions Poynter.org has begun posting pdfs of newspaper front pages from around the country. Oddly, the San Fran Examiner's special edition front isn't up. Does anyone else have a link to it? How has your local paper handled it?
posted by ice_cream_motor at 6:08 AM PST - 5 comments

Taleban will extradite Bin Laden... If there is sufficient evidence for his guilt, according to the BBC.
posted by talos at 5:44 AM PST - 19 comments

The Day America Grew Up. "Let's hope this is what future historians write about yesterday's events. If not, we won't be here -- and won't deserve to be."
posted by mw at 5:25 AM PST - 143 comments

Life goes on – but how? Life changes after a catastrophe like this; there is a clear Before and an After. But at another level, life marches onward. How is your daily life different or the same? (Probably a lot more taking time to smell the roses, yes?)
posted by joeclark at 5:04 AM PST - 24 comments

Blair just made an address the the British people where he pledged once again his full support for the US, and also emphasised how almost all muslim groups were shocked and outraged by this tragedy and offered their thoughts and prayers to the US people. I was astonished and saddened yesterday by the BBC, who chose to represent UK muslims by AM, an extremist fundamentalist faction whose representative made comments like this was a perfectly legitimate target under jihad, and all muslims who believe this a tragedy cannot call themselves muslim. Jihad does not allow murder of civilians on pain of death.. This is not the first time the BBC has asked this group to represent us, please call 08700 100 222 to complain to the BBC if you feel as saddened by this as I do..
posted by Mossy at 4:59 AM PST - 15 comments

How are we really any different from them if we can suggest "selective genocide" and "complete destruction and annihilation"?
posted by tranquileye at 4:54 AM PST - 20 comments

unity
madebynick has posted a photo that you can use on you site to show your support for those who died. thank you nick.
posted by bwg at 2:50 AM PST - 1 comment

Be Quiet. this has not been a good day for anyone. Let us all have a moment of silence for the thousands that are not with us anymore. do it in whatever way you feel is appropriate.let us all remember that alot of people died today. alot of people who did not deserve to die. and please, no comments or discussion on this thread. just be quiet for a few seconds. this is a quiet thread. i miss my friends.
posted by tp3wen at 12:16 AM PST - 51 comments

Overview of CIA Support of bin Laden during Russia-Afghan War “[T]he CIA, concerned about the factionalism of Afghanistan ... found that Arab zealots who flocked to aid the Afghans were easier to ‘read’ than the rivalry-ridden natives. While the Arab volunteers might well prove troublesome later, the agency reasoned, they at least were one-dimensionally anti-Soviet for now. So bin Laden, [and other] Islamic militants ... became the ‘reliable’ partners of the CIA in its war against Moscow.” Senator Orrin Hatch: “It was worth it ... Those were very important, pivotal matters that played an important role in the downfall of the Soviet Union.” Dated: Aug. 24, 1998
posted by raaka at 11:18 PM PST - 15 comments

WAR: Hub Terror Suspects ID'd - as found in the Boston Herald. Two brothers mentioned, as well as some more detailed information about calls from the airplanes.
posted by Bernreuther at 10:50 PM PST - 23 comments

WTC Editorial cartoons I don't know if they trivialize or symbolize, but they're often part of the artifacts we use to remember events like this.
posted by owillis at 10:46 PM PST - 14 comments

Google Current Events: Always the innovator, Google's brains make it easier to find news (and archives of news) about all of today's events.
posted by anildash at 10:16 PM PST - 1 comment