My Thoughts on This Anniversary

[Kat]

IMHO the best reaction is to ignore all further comments and continue on with the original intent of this thread.

This started out as a tribute, I hope we can get it back on track.

 

[clive francis]

I agree he has to be stopped, but you must be prepared to finish what you start, it never finished last time and we are right back where we started, chasing him again.

this is not ment to offend:

but another outcome of the attacks you have suffered and may well suffer in days, months or years to come is the increased cost of living.

here in the uk, our insurance has been loaded, and it stipulates that no payout will be made due to acts of terrorism.

in places where the terrorists were really active, the insurance was so high some people didn't bother as it wouldn't pay out any way.

there are the hidden costs that you don't see or services the government or local authorities provide that you take for granted, there are some parts of central london where there are no dustbins or post boxes, as these provide excellent places for bombs to be planted.

then there are the sneaky little gits who plant a bomb, let it go off or give a warning and put another bomb/s where the people are evacuated to, giving an even higher death toll.

you must be prepared for even more dastardly events, this may well be the tip of the ice berg, which was another reason for the posting saying to look forward.

another outcome of a more prolonged terrorist battle is the increased resentment and hatred for the people carrying out these attacks, and in a country where there are guns freely available, this could spell disaster for the US Arab/Muslim comunities, as some people may take out their frustrations.

 

[King Kong Matt]

Not marching through the streets of Baghdad looking for Saddam and inevitably killing thousands of innocent people in the process----->terrorist attacks on the US by people who most Arabs/Muslims have agreed are absolutely nuts----->higher insurance costs in England/lack of dustbins in parts of London.


Please...please...tell me you do not have a job where logic is critical.

 

[clive francis]

the point i was trying to make was it is not gong to be as smooth as people think!

there is going to be some major changes that you guys are going to have to make in your everyday lives, things that you make take for granted.

you have started tosee these changes already, increased security at airports even for internal flights, reduced flights.

in answer to one of your points, I seem to remember last time you/we bombed IRAQ there were inocent people killed, and you even managed to bomb the wrong building, so why are you lecturing me and making out i am mad?

it is going to be the deaths of the inocent that will stop the move to rid the world of madman hussein.

you have to look at the wider parts and not just the target hairs!

if we do this the wrong way, we can kiss every ones ar*e good bye, and I for one would like to carry on diving, I don't know about you!

K(eep) I(t) S(imple), if people go in gun ho then it will back fire.

and i seem to remember that after the attack there were attacks on muslims and muslim property in the US, whic was why i raised that issue.

both the US and the UK could end up fighting International and civil wars at the same time, due to the large number of muslims in our country, which should also be considered in the greater scheme of things.

 

[socaldiver]

A friend of mine (yes, I do have a few ) sent me this article today, I think under the circumstances of some of the posts under this thread you may want to get a better feel for how most Americans feel:

We rarely get a chance to see another country's editorial about us, the
USA. When you think the US isn't thought well of all over the world,
read this
excerpt from a Romanian Newspaper.

~An Ode to America~

Why are Americans so united? They would not resemble one another even
if
you painted them all one color! They speak all the languages of the
world
and form an astonishing mixture of civilizations. Some of them are
nearly extinct, others are incompatible with one another, and in
matters
of religious beliefs, not even God can count how many there are.

Still, the American tragedy turned three hundred million people into a
hand put on the heart. Nobody rushed to accuse the White House, the
army, and the secret services that they are only a bunch of losers.
Nobody rushed to empty their bank accounts. Nobody rushed out onto
the
streets nearby to gape about. The Americans volunteered to donate blood
and to give a helping hand. After the first moments of panic, they
raised their flag over the smoking ruins, putting on T-shirts, caps and
ties in the colors of the national flag. They placed flags on
buildings
and cars as if in every place and on every car a government official or
the president was passing. On every occasion they started singing
their
traditional song: "God Bless America!"
Silent as a rock, I watched the charity concert broadcast on Saturday
once, twice, three times, on different TV channels. There was Clint
Eastwood, Willy Nelson, Robert de Niro, Julia Roberts, (Mohammmed Ali)
Cassius Clay, Jack Nicholson, Bruce Springsteen, Sylvester Stallone,
James Wood, and many others whom no film or producers could ever bring
together. The American's spirit of solidarity turned them into a
choir. Actually, choir is not the word. What you could hear was the
heavy artillery of the American soul.

What neither George W. Bush, nor Bill Clinton, nor Colin Powell could
say without facing the risk of stumbling over words and sounds, was
being heard in a great and unmistakable way through this charity
concert. I don't know how it happened that all this obsessive singing
of America didn't sound croaky, nationalist, or ostentatious! It made
you green with envy because you weren't able to sing for your country
without running the risk of being considered chauvinist, ridiculous, or
suspected of who-knows-what ulterior motive.
>
I watched the live broadcast and rerun after rerun for hours listening
to the story of the guy who went down one hundred floors with a woman
in
a wheelchair without knowing who she was, or of the California hockey
player, who gave his life fighting with the terrorists and prevented
the
plane from hitting a target that could have killed other hundreds or
thousands of people.
>
> How on earth were they able to respond united as one human being?
Imperceptibly, with every word and musical note, the memory of some
turned into a modern myth of tragic heroes. And with every phone call,
millions and millions of dollars were put in a collection aimed at
rewarding not a man or a family, but a spirit, which no money can buy.
>
> What on earth can unite the Americans in such a way? Their land?
Their galloping history? Their economic power? Money? I tried for
hours to find an answer, humming songs and murmuring phrases with the
risk of sounding commonplace.
>
I thought things over, but I reached only one conclusion.
>
Only freedom can work such miracles!


With that being said, let's put this thread to rest and get on with diving issues.