(no subject)

From Vancouver Indymedia:

In the shadowy world of intrigue, provocation and counter-provocation that characterises the activities of the secret services, it is not beyond the bounds of possibility that a section of the US military Establishment decided to allow the terrorists to launch an attack inside America as a means of boosting public support for an aggressive policy and rearmament. This would explain the surprising failure of US intelligence, although the devastating nature of the attack would suggest that the provocation got out of hand.

The thing is, I believe that they could be right. What kind of supposedly democratic government ostensibly dedicated to the safety of its people sacrifices its citizens for the minute political and economic gain of an elite ruling class?

This is all just so fucked up, even without the shadow conspiracy speculation. I saw pictures of the rescue efforts, and it looked like England after the blitzkrieg. This belongs in Tom Clancy novels, not on CNN.

The scary thing is, most of the American public is not going to think, "You know, maybe the CIA helping train Osama bin Ladin and giving money to the Taliban wasn't a good idea. We shouldn't have encouraged the Muslim fundamentalists so the Soviets would have another problem to deal with. Hell, the Cold War was supposed to last forever, we didn't think this problem would come back to bite us in the ass." They're going to think, "Those fucking Arab bastards! Kill them all! We want blood!" And I'm afraid that's all it is. The officials have said they will bring these people to justice. Justice is supposed to be meted out in a court of law, although I would be much more comfortable if it were in the Hague and not the U.S. that these people would be tried. Vengeance is meted out on the battlefield. It's very bad to confuse the two.

(no subject)

I would also like to add that it is a very bad time in America to be Muslim or Arab, and very very bad to be both. I know that ethnically motivated hate crimes will spike, and I bet you anything that the conventional news sources won't cover them at all.

(no subject)

They used box cutters. Box cutters and knives. Things I use every day at work, things I've sliced myself with, cursed myself about. I don't know if you've worked in a grocery store or a warehouse, but these things are tiny, they'll fit in your hand, even the newfangled plastic ones you're supposed to be able to cut tape with, but you can't anyways and wish for the old ones that you pop straight razors into. That's all it took. Five people with box openers and four inch knives.

Please understand, I'm not condemning those passengers. I wasn't there. If it were me, it would have been all I could do to not piss my pants and wish I'd stayed home. It's just... they were box knives.

A reminder of how removed I am from this: My mother called me last night and told me to come home for dinner tomorrow. And to remind me to cancel a doctor's appointment I have. I react in irritation. It is only now that I realize that there are so many children right now who don't have mothers or fathers to nag them anymore. I am ashamed.

Thirty thousand people at least. Thirty thousand families at least. When they publish the list of the dead in the papers, it will be a whole section in itself. This is just so fucked up.

(no subject)

One does not know light without first knowing darkness.

Thank you, Sam. I will try to keep that in mind.

I am frightened.

I got this off ThreeWayAction, posted at 8:00 last night:

I'm sorry [poster name], but the lives of american people are more important than the lives of palestinian/iraqi/afghanistan/ people. I'm not sure what happy little planet you live on, but on this planet called earth, freedom is won through the barrel of a gun.

These are the sentiments of ignorance. And there are a damn lot of ignorant people in American hurting and wanting to lash out. I am very very frightened.