Location: A simple man leading a complicated life....
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Azure
What the hell does that have to do with what I said?
The comic was blatantly biased. And THAT has nothing to do with sending troops into Iraq.
It has to do with your attempts to defend Bush as if he was a guy we should have some respect for. I find zero redeeming qualities in a guy who started an illegal war that sent young men and women to thier deaths. But keep defending him if you want.
It has to do with your attempts to defend Bush as if he was a guy we should have some respect for. I find zero redeeming qualities in a guy who started an illegal war that sent young men and women to thier deaths.
My attempts to defend Bush?
Really?
If only the world was as black and white as you make it.
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But living an honest life - for that you need the truth. That's the other thing I learned that day, that the truth, however shocking or uncomfortable, leads to liberation and dignity. -Ricky Gervais
I remember I had Social Studies that morning (how fitting) followed by math. I had a math test that day. My teacher walks into class (1 hr after the hit) and says "Today will be a day all of you will always remember. Today is the day you write your pure math 30 trigonometry test"
(also made a small blurb, something like "half of you will be going into engineering. in 5 years, many of you will be finishing your university degree and some of you might even be working on the new towers they put up)
(yes I know, both of those comments arn't heart-felt and sound sort of cold)
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As someone else already mentioned, I remember how eerily quiet the skies were. It was my first fall since graduating college and I was taking a year off from responsibility by working a landscaping job. On the morning of 9/11 I was enjoying a cup of coffee outside on a beautiful morning, waiting for a co-worker to pick me up.
I had no idea that this day was any different than any other until my co-worker showed up to pick me up for work. We spent the day barely working and listening to the truck radio for news.
I worried about my mom and brother in Boston, and friends in New York, and wondered if or when I'd see them next. I remember worrying that more attacks were surely coming...germ warfare or a nuke or something.
It sounds ridiculous now, but after work I went to the grocery store and stocked up on canned soup, bottled water, and a bottle of whiskey. The whiskey didn't last long.
It was difficult making phone calls to the east coast because so many people were trying to make calls. This went on for days, and the whole time the t.v. was on with the endless loop of the towers collapsing...it was surreal.
Perhaps the greatest memory that stands out in my mind as an American though, is the outpouring of support and sympathy from other countries. So often, it seems that the rest of the world takes such great joy at any failures or short-comings of the United States...but not that day.
true story: two people I worked with were scheduled to be in New York for a conference. They had everything booked. The conference was to start a little later in the morning, so they agreed to go to the top of one of the twin towers for site-seeing before the conference. Sept 7th, a sudden business opportunity means they both (manager of strategic planing, manager of treasury) are required to stay in Calgary and cancel their trip.
They would have both been at the top of the tower when it was hit.
A very close friend of mine was the last tour group to the top - the day before. The 'day of' apparently there were no tours. Is this true?
Coincidently, I was on a plane to Edmonton that morning when it all went down, the pilots clearly knew what was happening and had to change altitudes. We landed in Edmonton knowing nothing, except there were firetrucks with lights flashing on the runway. They dropped us off with no comments at the far end of the airport and we had to walk across a field and through a makeshift whole in the chain link and barbwire fence. They at least had cabs waiting for us. We still had no idea. It was not until I arrived at the Mcdonald hotel when we saw the TV in the bar what took place.
A very close friend of mine was the last tour group to the top - the day before. The 'day of' apparently there were no tours. Is this true?
Coincidently, I was on a plane to Edmonton that morning when it all went down, the pilots clearly knew what was happening and had to change altitudes. We landed in Edmonton knowing nothing, except there were firetrucks with lights flashing on the runway. They dropped us off with no comments at the far end of the airport and we had to walk across a field and through a makeshift whole in the chain link and barbwire fence. They at least had cabs waiting for us. We still had no idea. It was not until I arrived at the Mcdonald hotel when we saw the TV in the bar what took place.
Yep, the observation deck didn't open until 9:30, so there were no tourists up there at the time.
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honest question. people say 9/11 changed their lives. How?
If I were a New Yorker, or had friends and family immediately linked to the tragedy, then I can see how, but other than long lines at the airport, my life is pretty much the same
As a Canadian living and working in the US it has become a real lifesucking bitch to deal with border crossings, passport renewals (now that EVERYONE has to have one), and visa scrutiny from overzealous glorified mallcops.
It's basically a situation where you could lose your livelihood because you flew home for Christmas.
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"I'm only watching now for the chance to see brief close-ups of White's moustache." - rockstar</br>
Location: A simple man leading a complicated life....
Exp:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Canada 02
honest question. people say 9/11 changed their lives. How?
If I were a New Yorker, or had friends and family immediately linked to the tragedy, then I can see how, but other than long lines at the airport, my life is pretty much the same
- Needing a passport to travel to the States. And the hassles of getting one.
- Having to deal longer security lines where one has to remove thier shoes. Make sure thier liquids are the right size and in the right resealable bag. God forbid you don't have the right bag as i did last winter in Vancouver.
- Having to deal with arrogant and condescending custom agents everytime I cross the border and the never ending questions as they grill me as to why my brother is living Stateside, when in reality thier bloody computer tells them what they need to know.
Location: In a land without pants, or war, or want. But mostly we care about the pants.
Exp:
I remember I was at work and my boss came out of his office, told us to come into the break room, and turned the TV on to CNN. My first thought after seeing the 2nd plane come crashing in live was something like "That's horrible and brilliant all at the same time; somebody out there is an evil motherf'ing genius who has just declared war on America."
I fully expected the world to go after Bin Laden and bring him to account; that this still hasn't happened is almost impossible to believe. All the fighter planes and tanks and satellites and comms systems and other military gizmos ended up being almost useless in finding one crazy fanatic holed up in the mountains of Central Asia, and soon it was clear that those toys needed to get used somewhere else or people would start wondering what the point of all that hardware was - and so we had an ill-advised and near-criminal invasion of Iraq.
Is the world a safer place with the flight regulations, the increased domestic surveillance, the no-fly lists, the passport requirements, and all the other "security" measures implemented since 9/11? Did the expenditure of hundreds of thousands of lives in Iraq and Afghanistan do anything to destroy radical Islam as an attractive philosophy for the millions of poor, angry young men living in the Middle East? Did the US show moral leadership by ending support for the Saudi regime of Wahabist fascists who are no better than Saddam, if not worse? Did anyone ever find any WMDs? Are we any closer to the end of terrorism?
No. The world is a worse place than it was, and instead of the sacrifice of 3000 lives meaning something positive, so far all it has been is the excuse by which freedoms have been curtailed and American military power vigorously exercised to little positive purpose. An opportunity to get the world to work together was squandered in favour of "doing something", no matter how counter-productive those somethings were and are. That's what is truly tragic about 9/11.
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I remember I was at work and my boss came out of his office, told us to come into the break room, and turned the TV on to CNN. My first thought after seeing the 2nd plane come crashing in live was something like "That's horrible and brilliant all at the same time; somebody out there is an evil motherf'ing genius who has just declared war on America."
I fully expected the world to go after Bin Laden and bring him to account; that this still hasn't happened is almost impossible to believe. All the fighter planes and tanks and satellites and comms systems and other military gizmos ended up being almost useless in finding one crazy fanatic holed up in the mountains of Central Asia, and soon it was clear that those toys needed to get used somewhere else or people would start wondering what the point of all that hardware was - and so we had an ill-advised and near-criminal invasion of Iraq.
Is the world a safer place with the flight regulations, the increased domestic surveillance, the no-fly lists, the passport requirements, and all the other "security" measures implemented since 9/11? Did the expenditure of hundreds of thousands of lives in Iraq and Afghanistan do anything to destroy radical Islam as an attractive philosophy for the millions of poor, angry young men living in the Middle East? Did the US show moral leadership by ending support for the Saudi regime of Wahabist fascists who are no better than Saddam, if not worse? Did anyone ever find any WMDs? Are we any closer to the end of terrorism?
No. The world is a worse place than it was, and instead of the sacrifice of 3000 lives meaning something positive, so far all it has been is the excuse by which freedoms have been curtailed and American military power vigorously exercised to little positive purpose. An opportunity to get the world to work together was squandered in favour of "doing something", no matter how counter-productive those somethings were and are. That's what is truly tragic about 9/11.
That post, my friend, is full of win. I wish I didn't have to say that. I wish it were all a lie... We have to face it. The world, not to mention the USA, lost to the terrorists. They won.
I fully expected the world to go after Bin Laden and bring him to account; that this still hasn't happened is almost impossible to believe.
The only way it could not have happened is if they didn't want to catch him...and they dont. If the States or Canada or anyone other that the Saudi's grab this guy and take him to justice then he becomes a martyr. If he is captured and prosecuted by the Saudi's, which he will be eventually, then he can't be labeled a martyr for he will be exiled by his own people.
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''The Phaneuf - Regehr pairing reminds me a lot of when I'm having sex with a new partner'' -malcomk14
''Not only is he a good player, but I enjoy his company'' -Pierre Mcguire on Phaneuf
"I'm only watching now for the chance to see brief close-ups of White's moustache." - rockstar</br>
I remember waking up and getting ready for work. I was listening to lite 96. They said there was an accident in New York but didn't know much. They tried to move on with the morning program, talking about a plane that hit a building. In my mind, it was a little 2 seater into an office tower. Vividly, I remember them cutting to the financial person in New York. Everyday they had a guy in NYC at some building do the financial reports, exhanges, price of gold etc. He was shaken up, but doing his report, all of a sudden you could hear a bang, like a car crashed behind him. They cut away and went on with the rest of the Calgary news. I didn't quite get it yet.
As I drove to work, every single radio station had the news moment by moment. I knew this was a big deal now because it was on every station. I remember driving and at every intersection looking to the cars beside me. We all made eye contact, everyone, in total disbelief. Sometimes we'd shrug our shoulders, other times, shake our heads. That was so surreal, connecting with people like that.
It wasn't until I came home that I saw the actual impact. It was so incredible, I went the entire day, knowing how massive and profound this was, without ever actually seeing the incident.
What's interesting, is that 9-11 was the start of the everyday "ticker" on the bottom of the tv's. Before that it was used rarely, and for stocks, sports updates, and gambling. Now they run commercials on the damn things.
I was going to my locker at Ernest Manning when a friend of mine said did you hear about the plane crash into the world trade center, I said no and continued about my business until I was walking by a class room that had about 8 teachers in it and they were watching a tv, so I figured I'd stop in to see what was going on and practically right after I walked in, the first tower fell and proceeded to see the 2nd one go as well.
Not a fun day.
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