According to NYPD radio scan police are reporting that Grand Central Station is right now being evacuated and strett traffic has been closed off in the last 10 minutes in that area. there were reports that a transit officer was approached by two passengers that a male dressed in tan was seen with a backpack with wires coming out of it and something attached around his waist. Police have not as of this minute located any peson matching this description. Now the report is that the package or backpack was left on a train from Greenwich, and that the terminal is completely evacuated.

(Eileen)Though they could've indeed gone for the White House and done far more damage to the country--Dick Cheney was at his desk. ;-P Oh Eileen, I am laughing in spite of myself, one of the few good laughs in days. Agree that it's spin, but who cares? The fragility of this country was part of the message the Taliban government conveyed in a plea for restraint issued late tonight. It said in part, "We appeal to the United States not to put Afghanistan into more misery because our people have suffered so much." They should have thought of this before they harbored and supported terrorists. And at whose hands have they suffered? They are asking us to show more caring for their people than they themselves have. And this culpability doesn't stop at the Afghan border. I really wonder if the world has the resolve and stomach to do what needs to be done in order to protect and preserve the greater good.

I really wonder if the world has the resolve and stomach to do what needs to be done in order to protect and preserve the greater good. We have lost some of our freedom. It will never be the same. In Miami one of the thoughts is that Castro might have supported these terrorists. Could you imagine also going after Castro? That would put Miami at a very high risk for attacks.

(Mari) Agree that it's spin, but who cares? It annoys me. Surely the White House has more pressing problems than Bush's political standing. We appeal to the United States not to put Afghanistan into more misery because our people have suffered so much ...as they pull out their AK-47s. Who are they kidding? Phooey.

(Mark) Ben's brother works (I believe) for Morgan Stanley...although it's not their head office in NYC... So his odds are good. I checked with Ben yesterday. You're right, Mark. His brother was midtown, and not in the WTC at the time, thank god. I tuned into a segement of the "Howard Stern" show yesterday morning... for some unknown reason. It's really very frightening at how "trigger happy" many people are after all this. It's understandable to want to express anger, but there were people calling in ready to invade the Arab/Muslim/South Asian neighborhoods, ready to take revenge. There have alrady been reports of violence. It's complete, total ignorance on their parts, and those callers represent a demographic of this country I'm very ashamed of.

(Mari) Agree that it's spin, but who cares? (Eileen) It annoys me. Me too, but not because of the political standing concern. Rather than make up lies, just tell the American public the truth of what they were doing and why and that is is SOP in such situations. Surely people would understand that. (Winter) those callers represent a demographic of this country I'm very ashamed of. Until/unless they violate someone's civil liberties or commit criminal acts, we have to tolerate such things as that is what our country's democracy is all about, i.e., standing up for people's rights to say the most vile things.

More from stratfor: U.S. Must Identify State Sponsors 0120 GMT, 010912 Summary The attacks on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., have sent shockwaves across the nation. While international Islamic terrorists organizations linked to Osama bin Laden's Al-Qa'ida group remain the top suspects, some have suggested nations opposed to U.S. global hegemony may also have been involved. Historically, international terrorism has needed state sponsorship in order to be successful. But such involvement would be tantamount to declaring war on the United States, and although the suspect list is long, there is little evidence at the moment that singles any one country out. Analysis The attacks on New York and Washington achieve a number of objectives for the perpetrators. On a strategic level, they demonstrate the vulnerability of the United States. In one fell swoop, the sophisticated and well-coordinated operation paralyzed New York City and the U.S. financial sector, sent the nation's government spiraling into chaos and struck terror in the hearts of the American public. Such a feat, accomplished with only four airline hijackings, is almost impossible to comprehend and will impact U.S. defense and foreign policy for decades to come. By immobilizing the U.S. financial sector, the strike threatens to push a nation, already suffering from a downturn, into recession. This will have ramifications for U.S. influence throughout the globe. It could also damage U.S. markets abroad as well as numerous other nations with economic ties to the United States. Understanding the impact of the attack is important for identifying likely suspects. There is good reason to suspect international terrorist organizations linked to Osama bin Laden's umbrella group, Al-Qa'ida. More important, however, is the question of which, if any, states might also have been involved. The article goes on in much more depth and there are several other articles worth reading at http://www.stratfor.com

From my son - his intraoffice email: The official word from the FAA about the new airport security procedures is as follows: Increased passenger and baggage security screenings at all airports. Passengers should plan to arrive at the airport a MINIMUM OF TWO HOURS prior to departure. Passengers must check their luggage at the ticket counter, no curbside check-in allowed. Only passengers holding an electronic ticket receipt, travel agency itinerary, airline ticket card, boarding document, internet printout or paper ticket will be allowed past the security check point. Passengers without receipts of any sort will need to stand in line at the airport ticket counters to obtain a receipt. (You may also contact TI and they will mail, fax or email a receipt to you prior to departing to the airport) Aircraft and airport security sweeps similar to those conducted during the Persian Gulf war. Vehicles will be inspected at terminal parking entrances. Unattended vehicles are banned near the terminals and will be towed. No knives of any size, or made from any material, are permitted on flights. The sale of knifelike items has been banned at all airports. Heightened vigilance for unattended bags. Searches of aircraft cargo and passenger compartments. An increase in number of uniformed law enforcement and military personnel. Random searches of service personal, flight crews and equipment. Reduces access points to secure areas at airports.

Thanks for the info. MArcia. I'm curious to know what the procedures are for our friends in other countries. How do these security measures compare to Europe/Australia/Asia/etc.?

Is this the end of Duty-Free shopping? I must say I am very happy about about the carry-on luggage ban. The size of those things were getting too large.

I think you will still be allowed carry on items, but just the curb side check service is gone.

I thought they said wallets and purses only.

O.k. I just didn't see that in the above post. It's quite possible that they will limit it to that.

Where does it say anything about limiting carry-ons to wallets or purses? Just no curbside check-in per above. Can you imagine turning over your camera to the airlines to check in cargo? I don't think so.

Wonder about laptops carry-ons. I suspect that they will be banned, as well. I guess we carry a well examined purse and a book to read. Who about nail files? knitting needles? Dental floss? The list is endless if one gets tryly inventive. Even a leather belt! El Al, The Israeli airlines makes inspections like you would not believe. They have the tightest security in the world and NO ONE complains.

This also from my son about colleagues travelling and caught in this mess: froma memo: We have heard from the rest of our traveling staff. DK is making his way to Chicago from Midland, Michigan via automobile. He is with SS and R. They hope to get on a morning flight to San Francisco out of Chicago. DM, who was on personal travel, is also in Chicago trying to get on a flight or take a Greyhound bus.

At Last the Aggressors Themselves Are Able to Wedge In a Word Or Two *8-/ Subject: Islamic Jihad, what is next ? Date: Thursday, September 13, 2001 1:53 AM From: felipe rodriquez Reply-To: "felipe rodriquez" To: ISLAMIC JIHAD, what is next ? (c) Felipe Rodriquez INTRODUCTION The attack on the World Trade Center in New York is a new phase in an ongoing global religious and ideological conflict. This conflict started in 1990, with the gulf war. The mother of all wars, as Saddam Hussein called it, and is unlikely to end for some time. To understand this conflict, we must look at the Western world's exploitation and colonization of Saudi Arabia and other Muslim nations . Economic and geopolitical moves that benefit only the western democratic capitalist structures are the primary cause of this terrible conflict. USAMA BIN MUHAMMAD BIN IN LADEN The Taliban consider Osama Bin Ladin to be a holy man, because of his incredible service in the Afghani war against the Russians, and the reconstruction of Afghanistan. Osama Bin Ladin has fought hundreds of battles in Afghanistan, and has been wounded numerous times. He went to Afghanistan around 1982, and took with him a large amount of construction equipment, and a team of engineers, to rebuild the war torn country. Consequently he became involved in many battles, and was wounded many times. He is a devout Muslim, and answers to Allah and certain important Islamic teachers, such as Sheik Safar Ibn `Abd Al-Rahman Al-Hawali. He founded the "Al Qaeda" movement, with Muhammad Atef. The movement was initially setup to record the movements of Mujahedin in Afghanistan. Later the goal changed to driving the United States forces out of Saudi Arabia, where the US setup a military base since the beginning of the Gulf War. Many devout Muslims see this as a hostile invasion of the Islamic holy land, comparable to the invasions of the crusaders in the past. Some years later the goal changed once again, into what it is now; to attack Israel, the US and its allies wherever it can. The justification of these acts, in the mind of the Muslim activist, comes from the foreign occupation of the holy cities; Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem. It is simplistic and short sighted to assume that Osama Bin Laden is the great leader behind the attacks on the WTC, the Nairobi and Dar Es Salaam US embassies, the hit on USS Cole in Yemen and various other terrorist attacks. Islamic religious activism is the glue that binds this global terror movement together. Removing Osama Bin Ladin from the scene will not remove this global movement, and will not end terror. Killing him will only motivate thousands of Muslims to volunteer for the ultimate sacrifice. The Islamic radical movement resembles a hydra, A serpent represented as having many heads, one of which, when cut off, is immediately succeeded by two others. The movement cannot be eradicated by violence and retaliation, such deeds will only make it stronger and increase popular support in the Islamic world. To understand how this works, lets look at Hizbollah and Hamas. These Islamic organizations have been setup in such a way that they are almost impossible to eradicate. There is always double redundancy in the leadership, because any leader can expect to be assassinated by their enemies at any time. The effectiveness of this redundancy is demonstrated by the fact that Hizbollah and Hamas still exist today, despite the fact that many of its leaders have been assassinated by Israel and others. We must assume that the leadership of the organization that hit the WTC, and other targets in the past, is organized in a similar way, building on the experience of Islamic organizations in Lebanon, Palestine and elsewhere. Hamas and Hizbollah have integrated Islamic thought in their society by providing numerous services to their communities. Schools and hospitals are provided for free or at cost. And they materially support families, widows and orphans that have been victims of aggression by their enemies. Hizbollah operates numerous businesses, that together with donations fund the activities of the organization. These social activities provide the organizations with enormous popular support, it is an effective way of disseminating the virtues of Islam, and strengthening its base. It has also created a strong platform to recruit martyrs for the violent Jihad (Holy War) against Israel and its allies. >From documentation that was seized in Africa, after the Nairobi bombing, there is a strong indication that a cell structure was used to limit the risks to the terrorist organization that hit the African embassies, allegedly the same organization that hit the WTC in 2001. A cell structure is often used by violent groups. It is implemented in such a way that cell members only know a limited amount of members of the organization, and only have limited access to information about the planned activities of the group. Typically cell members only know the coordinator of the cell, and the coordinator only knows one higher placed member of the organization. The aim of the cell structure is to protect the organization, in case of arrests and torturous interrogations. The violent faction of the Islamic activist movement, such as the Islamic front for Jihad, is mostly invisible. It has been hardened through years of struggle in Lebanon, Palestine, Iraq and Afghanistan. It is acutely aware of its security requirements, because numerous Islamic activists have been assassinated in the past. The WTC attack, and the other attacks in the past demonstrate that they have relatively good communication security; they most likely assume that all electronic communication is monitored by the US and its allies through their global Echelon surveillance system and the FBI's Carnivore software. Human infiltration of these groups is not likely either, most of these Islamic activists have been working together for many years. An infiltrator would have to speak fluent Arabic, would have to have intimate knowledge of the Quran and Islamic religious rituals, and would have to be willing to make the ultimate sacrifice, Martyrdom, to earn the trust of the organization. In 1853 adventurer Richard Burton managed to disguise himselfe as a Muslim Derwish, participate in the Pilgrimage to Mecca and Al- Madinah, and came back alive. But he was the exception to the rule, and he did not try to infiltrate a terrorist organization that expects infiltration attempts. INTENTIONS AND MOTIVATIONS "The people of Islam awakened and realized that they are the main target for the aggression of the Zionist-Crusaders alliance. All false claims and propaganda about "Human Rights" were hammered down and exposed by the massacres that took place against the Muslims in every part of the world. The latest and the greatest of these aggressions, incurred by the Muslims since the death of the Prophet (ALLAH'S BLESSING AND SALUTATIONS ON HIM) is the occupation of the land of the two Holy Places" (Source: A DECLARATION OF WAR, by Osama Bin Laden. http://msanews.mynet.net//MSANEWS/199610/19961012.3.html) A growing group of Islamic scholars and activists feel that the military installations of the United States in Saudi Arabia represent a hostile foreign invasion into their holy land. They believe that the three most holy places in the Islamic world, Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem, are occupied by Zionists and Christian crusaders. They also believe that most Muslim nations are victims of neo-colonialist exploitation by the capitalist western world. A holy war, Jihad, was declared in 1996 to struggle against exploitation and occupation. In 1998 a Fatwah was declared by Sheikh Usamah Bin-Muhammad Bin-Ladin, Ayman al-Zawahiri, amir of the Jihad Group in Egypt, Abu-Yasir Rifa'i Ahmad Taha, Egyptian Islamic Group, Sheikh Mir Hamzah, secretary of the Jamiat-ul-Ulema-e-Pakistan and Fazlul Rahman, amir of the Jihad Movement in Bangladesh. This Fatwah reconfirms the holy war against Israel, the US and its allies. A quote from this Fatwah: "The ruling to kill the Americans and their allies -- civilians 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 [Mecca] from their grip, and in order for their armies to move out of all the lands of Islam, defeated and unable to threaten any Muslim. This is in accordance with the words of Almighty God, "and fight the pagans all together as they fight you all together," and "fight them until there is no more tumult or oppression, and there prevail justice and faith in God." (Source: World Islamic Front Statement 23 February 1998, http://www.fas.org/irp/world/para/docs/980223-fatwa.htm) Safar Ibn `Abd Al-Rahman Al-Hawali, an important Islamic scholar and ideologue and highly regarded by Osama Bin Ladin, recently wrote a book, The Day of Wrath, describing various biblical prophecies. He describes, among other things: "The attributes of the victorious army, the collapse of the Zionist forces and the fate of the strategic ally of the Zionist state (United States)." He states that the beginning of the new era will be with the announcement of Jihad. And goes on to say that: "It is futile for the enemies of Allah to compete with Him in weapons!" and "On the other hand, as if at the signal of a trumpet, the Palestinian refugees return to their homes, and after the great battle is over the Muslims, especially those from Egypt and Iraq, are called to the Holy Land to visit its sanctuary and spend time in worship within its environs." He goes on to speculate that the reconquest of Jerusalem will take place in 2012. True or not, we cannot deny the fact that the organizers of this Jihad believe they are part of this prophecy, and believe that their struggle will ultimately be successful. This has given them great moral strength, perseverance, and willingness to sacrifice. NEXT TARGETS We should be prepared for the possibility that the WTC bombing is only the beginning of a new era of warfare. This group has shown repeatedly what their capabilities are. They have been given no reasons to stop their Jihad; the US still has military bases in Saudi Arabia, Jerusalem is still occupied by the Israeli's, and the western world is still perceived to be implementing its systems of neo-colonialist exploitation on most, if not all, Muslim nations. Much will depend on the actions of the US and NATO. Pinpoint retaliation by them is not possible, because they are fighting an invisible enemy. President Bush has already stated that no difference will be made between those countries that harbor terrorists, and the terrorists themselves. Therefore it is likely that the US and NATO will shed the blood of innocent Muslims, causing increasing popular support for the Jihad. Retaliation by the US and NATO would be a precedent for the organisers of the Jihad to engage in further attacks and further retaliation. Any future targets of violence by this group are likely to be of greater symbolic and material value than the WTC tragedy. Destruction of the Vatican in Rome comes to mind immediately. The radical Islamists consider the Catholic church to be corrupt, and its destruction would cause a complete loss of morale for many people in the Western world. The White House is an obvious target, as is Tel Aviv, the European Parliament in Brussels and other centres of power. Additionally they may target military targets, such as NATO headquarters, the Menwith Hill spy base in the UK, and similar sites around the world. In an interview Osama Bin Ladin expressed that it is his religious duty to obtain weapons of mass destruction. We cannot discard the possibility of a terrorist attack on a city with biological or even nuclear weapons. THE SOLUTION ? A solution is unlikely to come up anytime soon. The allies of the US and Israel will most likely respond with violence, instead of analyzing the causes of this movement. The Western focus seems to be to eradicate these terrorist movements through violence and prosecution, by implementing stronger intelligence systems and implementing additional internal security systems. President Bush has already stated that he will attack any nation that harbors and protects terrorists. Thereby laying the groundwork for acts of war that are likely to be highly inaccurate, causing many civilian casualties. If the history of the Middle East gives any indication, we can speculate that violence will be answered by more violence and aggression. Retaliation is at best the wrong answer, at worst it could be a catastrophic mistake. The start of a solution would be to look at the causes that have created this violent movement. Why are so many Muslims upset with the Western world and Israel ? Why have they been driven into a position where the only answer they perceive possible in their struggle is unprecedented violence and aggression ? Why do they feel cheated, raped and abused by the western worlds military and capitalist system ? Why do they not trust the US and Europe at the negotiating table, and instead see them as targets for terrorist strikes ? We must go back into history, and realize which mistakes have been made by our nations. We must recognize our total lack of respect and appreciation for anything different than the modern western system of democracy and capitalism. Only then will we arrive at some answers that could lead us to an end of this Jihad. This is highly unlikely to happen though and therefore the situation will likely get worse before it gets better. (c) Felipe Rodriquez Sources: Frontline - http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/binladen/ A declaration of war from Usama Bin Laden - http://msanews.mynet.net//MSANEWS/199610/19961012.3.html World Islamic Front Statement - http://www.library.cornell.edu/colldev/mideast/wif.htm The DAY of WRATH - http://home.swbell.net/jhaidar/0_preface.htm Foreign Terrorist Organizations - http://www.state.gov/www/global/terrorism/fto_1999.html The next presidents terrorism policy - http://www.terrorism.com/analysis/TerrorismPolicy.pdf The Use of Force in Response to Terrorism - http://www.terrorism.com/terrorism/Force.shtml WMD TERRORISM AND USAMA BIN LADEN - http://cns.miis.edu/pubs/reports/binladen.htm Suitcase Nuclear Devices - http://www.prop1.org/2000/suitcase.htm CNN - http://www.cnn.com Hezbollah by Hala Jaber - Columbia Univ Pr; ISBN: 0231108346 A pilgrimage to Al-Madinah and Meccah by R. Burton - AES; ISBN 81-206-0903-4 Gideons Spies by Gordon Thomas - Pan Books; ISBN: 033037537 The Fateful Triangle by Noam Chomski - Pluto press; ISBN: 0745315305 Pity the Nation by Robert Fisk - Oxford University Press; ISBN: 019285284-1 The terrorism reader by David J. Whittaker - Routledge; ISBN: 0-415-22134-X

http://interactive.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/Tenant-List.htm is a list of building tenants with status reports on tenants and business.

I really hope these security precaustions are permanant. I hope to God, they aren't eased up on when people start complaining about the inconvenience. According to the FAA, they claim they have been calling for all airport security personel to become federal employees and trained and paid accordingly, for quite some time. Thet were trying to enforce this, but backed off when all the airlines began protesting.

(Marcia) Only passengers holding an electronic ticket receipt, travel agency itinerary, airline ticket card, boarding document, internet printout or paper ticket will be allowed past the security check point winter, you asked about procedures in Europe - the above has always been the case in the UK to my knowledge - certainly any time I've flown, whether within the UK, within Europe, or to North America (USA and Canada) you cannot get into the departure lounge without a boarding pass which is issued at check-in (and passport for international flights); non-passengers are not allowed past that point. Then at the boarding gate you must show your pass again. If a checked-in passenger does not board, but has put luggage on the plane, the plane will not fly until the luggage has come off. Check in times for USA/Canada have been two hours minimum every time I've done the trip; within Europe its usually an hour; I know someone who checked in 30 minutes before a flight to Dublin (thus was technically late) and was not allowed to board because she'd breeched security regulations. what is curb side check in?

There are skycaps at the entrances (curb) who will take your bags and they are put on the plane. You have to produce a valid ticket and photo identification. This is only for domestic flights. Plus you have to tip these guys per bag.

Science@NASA is based in the United States, but among our many subscribers are a substantial number of readers from other countries. In recent days many of them have written to us expressing their sympathies and horror at the events of Sept. 11th. Their messages, attached below, reveal how the heart-breaking loss of life in New York, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania touches everyone. The staff of Science@NASA extend our heartfelt condolences to the many victims of Tuesday's tragedy, and we thank our friends overseas for their kind messages of support as we resume, later today, our regular schedule of scientific story-telling. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- TO: Ron.koczor@msfc.nasa.gov FROM: inna_mar@XXXXXXXX.ru Dear Mr. Koczor, All of us are shocked by the awful events that have occurred yesterday in New York and in Washington and we wish to extend our sympathy to you and your colleagues. If there is any way that we can help, please let us know. Sincerely, Inna Mardanyan Moscow, Russia **************************** TO: Ron.koczor@msfc.nasa.gov FROM: gushat@XXXXXXX.ru Dear friends, Your colleagues from Paleontological Institute of Moscow are with you. Our sympathy, thoughts and support are yours. And will always be. Best regards, Alexei Rzanov, Galina Ushatinskaya, and all colleagues from Moscow **************************** TO: Ron.koczor@msfc.nasa.gov FROM: snassopoulou@XXXXXXX.gr Dear Ron, We are very sorry and really left astonished and speechless with terrorism struck US yesterday. We sincerely wish and hope that everything is OK for you and all the American colleagues and families. Yours, Sophia Athens, Greece **************************** TO: phillips@spacescience.com FROM: tony.taggett@XXXXXXX.uk Dear Dr Phillips As my only point of contact with the United States is through your science@NASA website, I would like to express my heartfelt condolences to the American people, our thoughts and prayers especially go out to the relatives and friends of those who perished in the awful events that occurred yesterday Yours Sincerely Tony Aggett United Kingdom ***************************** TO: ron.koczor@msfc.nasa.gov FROM: mmazzolini@XXXXXX.au We would like to offer our deepfelt sympathy, concern and prayers to our friends and colleagues in the US at this dreadful time, Margaret and Alex Mazzolini Melbourne, Australia ***************************** TO: ron.koczor@msfc.nasa.gov FROM: omaro@XXXXXX.kz We are absolutely shocked by horrible events in the U.S. It is unbelievable...Accept my condolences...Today our world has changed. What will happen to our world? Take care, Prof Omarov Alma Aty, Khazakstan ***************************** TO: ron.koczor@msfc.nasa.gov FROM: cofXXXXX@home.com As the President of CANADIAN Environmental Science and Research Group and on behalf of the Team of CESAR Group I would like to send our heart felt sorrow to those family members who lost relatives in these vicious and despicable attacks on democracy. God Bless America! Jack Pender Canada ***************************** From: Rafael C�rdenas Santacruz To: Ronald.J.Koczor@msfc.nasa.gov Sincere greetings Dr. Koczor, Ron Together with my family, we feel very sorry for the regrettable incidents in New York. We are with you with all our hearts. Rafael Cardenas Santacruz Scientific Technician Bogota, Columbia ***************************** TO: Ron.koczor@msfc.nasa.gov FROM: jarl.ahlbeck@XXXXX.fi In the 1930's Stalin deported and murdered 25,000 Finns that were peacefully living on the Soviet side of the border. It was a blind terror action against civilians, a complete ethnical cleaning of the Karelia county. Without successful defensive fight in the following winter war 1939 when Stalin tried to invade Finland (5 of my uncles were killed, my father injured), we would, according to recently discovered documents from Moscow, all have been deported to Siberia, and I would not sit here and study your website. These terrorists try to create a world of that kind. We do not want this world anymore! All the best for you in the USA Jarl Helsinki, Finland **************************** Necochea, 11/9/01 TO: ron.koczor@msfc.nasa.gov NASA: Hi�, My name is Maria. I am aware of the attack that has been perpetrated against your country, and I am very sad. I live in Buenos Aires, Argentina. I am 14 years old and there is not much that I can do to help, but I profoundly admire you and you have my moral support. I would like to ask you a favor. Please reach an agreement without wars, but I hope those responsible are found, so that peace will be extended throughout the world. Sincerely, Maguie. ***************************** From: Jonathon Dugdale To: patrick.meyer@msfc.nasa.gov Sent: 9/11/01 12:37 PM Subject: Condolences On behalf of all the employees and stakeholders of ApexMail I would like to say that we share in your shock, grief and pain resulting from today's unspeakable and cowardly assault. Our thoughts and prayers are with you and the people of America. Jonathon Dugdale Apexmail, Inc Canada *****************************

(Marcia) El Al, The Israeli airlines makes inspections like you would not believe. They have the tightest security in the world and NO ONE complains. Right on, Marcia. Below is a fascinating article from today's Philly Inquirer on airport security in Israel. Take a moment to read this, everyone. IMO, *this* is the type of dialogue we should be having, and people need to think now about the balance of personal freedoms and civil liberties vs. much more aggressive security measures. How much of the former are you willing to give up in order to achieve the latter? A little? A lot? I don't have the answers but this is the type of thing I meant before when I wrote that I wondered if people would have the stomach for doing what may be required in the new world order. Military retaliation is only part of it. How Israel remains a model of airport security By Michael Matza INQUIRER STAFF WRITER JERUSALEM - As the United States moves to tighten security at its airports, it may look to the world's model of truly tough airport defense: Israel. Here, any trip on Israel's national airline, El Al, involves not only metal detectors but luggage searches, armed in-flight guards, and a personal grilling by a specially trained antiterrorism officer. Security agents routinely "profile" passengers to single out for extra attention Arabs or foreigners who fit ethnic or other parameters. Any foreign visitor who has taken off from Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv knows the drill: arrive two hours before departure, pass all luggage through a monster of a metal detector; open carry-on bags, which sometimes have to be unpacked on a stainless-steel table; and submit to interrogation by a no-nonsense screener. Where have you been in Israel? Whom did you meet? Did you go to the occupied territories of the West Bank and Gaza? Whom did you talk to there? Did you pack your own bags? Are you carrying any gifts? Did anyone give you anything to carry? Do you speak Hebrew? Can you read Hebrew? Have you ever studied Hebrew? Do you understand that I am asking these questions because what may seem like a gift to you may actually be an explosive device? Passengers of Arabic extraction say the questioning can last a very long time and often feels like harassment. Israelis tend to think of it as a necessary evil. In the United States, "profiling" would not pass constitutional muster. "I think that 99 percent of the passengers understand very well the need for security arrangements, and there are not many complaints," said Pini Schiff, spokesman for the Israeli Airport Authority and former head of airport security. "I can tell you, in general terms, that in two or three minutes of questioning, the screeners are doing their best to learn the passenger's aim for coming to Israel," Schiff said. "All the flight checkers are hired by us and trained by us. They go through extensive background checks. All of them have served in the Israeli army and have to pass several tests to make sure that they have the capabilities to do the job." When a passenger's answers don't add up, he is denied a boarding pass. Schiff declined to say how often that happens. By questioning passengers, guards quickly can spot those who appear nervous, said Leo Gleser, a former El Al security officer and head of ISDS, a security-consulting firm. In the case of Tuesday's hijackers in the United States, "not all of them would have made it onto the plane" if the Israeli approach to security had been used, Gleser told the Associated Press. "If you detect one, you can start to ask questions" that might lead to the other members of the group. As another security measure, Ben Gurion passengers are taken by waiting buses to the planes, which are parked far from the terminal on guarded runways. And, although official sources in Israel would not confirm it, it is widely believed that armed, undercover security guards ride aboard every El Al flight. "We've provided information in the past to other airlines and other airport authorities, and we will continue to share our expertise," said Nachman Kleiman, spokesman for El Al. Kleiman declined yesterday to say whether El Al had consulted with the Federal Aviation Administration on the new U.S. measures. "I can tell you that El Al maintains a high level of security for its passengers by not discussing its procedures in the media," he said. Israeli Transportation Minister Efraim Sneh predicted that Tuesday's attacks would lead to security changes. But instead of bringing more high-tech responses, he said, they likely would reinforce the low-tech methods. "Our screening method is based on identifying the suspect traveler and concentrating on the characteristics of the person," Sneh said. "Screening for explosives only works when the terrorists are using explosives." As the world now knows, for Tuesday's terrorists, the plane was the bomb.

Hi everyone! I just like to say that I used work on Wall Street and now am working in midtown. Unfortunately I still have many clients from the downtown location especially in the twin towers. The downtown area is my playground. I know every building and every street. I can name most of the businesses with their building address. I've been watching the news and they're flashing the names of all the businesses in the twin towers and it is devastating to see all the names that I know and was conducting business with. I'm in the buildings couple of times a week for meetings and I was very lucky for not being in the area the day it all happened. My heart and sympathy goes out to all my clients and their families. I can't even begin to say how I feel and have been feeling the past couple of days. I like to also thank all of you for all your wonderful support.

Sorry to spend so much time on the airport security issue... I've heard conflicting reports about what can now be accepted as "carry on" baggage. Some have said that purses and wallets only (what to do with backpacks?), others have said that there are no changes except that curbside check in is now banned. Am leaving for Indonesia next month (will live there for a year), packing a laptop, videocam and 35mm camera, books, files, clothes, etc.. Oh dear.

Thanks for that, Mari! When I board a plane I want to get to my destination in one piece with my nervous system intact. I have nothing to hide. Search us all and put the fear of a real God in them!

The web grows larger and larger. Germany and Italy to name two.

re: Carry-ons, they suggest we had better be prepared to turn on our laptops if we carry them on. Take photos with our digitals and so on. If you are using a standard camera, I'd suggest an empty one so they can open it and see it is just a camera. I am flying to my son's wedding next month. I am just as concerned as you are. I am heading over a very deep ocean and heading for San Francisco. I want to get there intact. I only have one child! I want to attend his wedding!

G O D B L E S S A M E R I C A ! ! !

(of course the flag didn't show up--hang on)

let's try again---

as an american, it is heart-warming and pride-inducing to hear and feel the goodwill coming across this computer, the tv, and looking out the window. please keep it up. we have friends in the pentagon and know how close to home this has come for us. GOD BLESS YOU ALL! and please, please remember, that anger will not fix this tragedy, will not bring anyone back. feel it but don't act on it. the majority of foreigners who have come here have come for the same reason our pilgrims did so long ago. i am angry, appalled, and very saddened by these events. pray for the leaders of all the countries of the world. please display your flag, put your lights on when you're driving around running errands and take the time to thank your servicemen and women of all walks...this is what they train for.

did you see London playing our National Anthem? i had goosebumps! thank you, that was very moving!! ABC needs to play it again!!

Re: Israeli airline security I know many people who have gone through it for years. You live with it. In the United States, "profiling" would not pass constitutional muster. It's done right now at the airports at customs on your return.... Has a smuggler sued on that basis???

i think that security at airports will make honest people feel safe but bad guys do think, how would airports prevent the bad guys from hiring in? and who's to say that that hasn't happened already. after all this destruction, the news just reported that several people are in custody from JFK and the G airport (i can't spell it at all). i don't know. we all know how bits of info turn into other things and then we have to go back and amend what was reported.

its LaGuardia. They arrested 5 people at JFK and 4 at LGA. all were of middle east extraction, sporting phony pilots licenses, demanding to get on those flights. They were arrested. Apparently, a group of 3 men tried to get on a flight on Tuesday at JFK, the pilot was suspicious, called port authority police and then the 3 men vanished...

Suspicious stuff was detected at check-in and the guys vanished. No pilots were involved. However, I just heard that a pilot and some flight attendants just tested our new airport security with a pocket knife, a corkscrew and false identification and walked right through and then turned around and told the security personnel. :-(

Oh Karen!!! I am happy I have a month before my flight.

Two groups got arrested/detained today trying to board airplanes with fake id's and knives. Peter Jennings was just talking to Senator Joseph Biden, pressing hard to get him to comment on whether or not we're still under attack. He said these guys were the second string and the crisis was over, but he looked visiably shaken and wasn't very convincing. An astrounding comment he made was that he was afraid where Jennings was going to go next and both of them looked shaken. Cheney was moved to Camp David today. Washington was evacuated. > >Whoever's running around with the suitcase nuke or the biological weapon has to be found and stopped before a far worse scenario unfolds.

The collapse of the WTC towers was detected as a M2.5 on the Richter.

Not a surprise since each of those floor slabs weighed 300 tons.

Perhaps it is time to relearn the 4th verse of the National Anthem of the United States. I much prefer it to what we sing now! Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand Between their loved homes and the war's desolation! Blest with victory and peace, may the heaven-rescued land Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation. Then conquer we must, for our cause it is just, And this be our motto: "In God is our trust." And the star-spangled banner forever shall wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

http://www.cnn.com/2001/US/09/13/jfk.airport.detained/index.html about today's two hijack attempts.

I know many people who have gone through it for years. You live with it. My point exactly. It's done right now at the airports at customs on your return.... Has a smuggler sued on that basis??? Karen, you know they're talking about profiling on the basis of ethnicity--not picking on middle-class ladies who come off the flight from Milan carrying too many Ferragamo bags.;-). Re: the Jennings/Biden interview. I saw that too, Terry. Was that the most bizarre interview you've ever seen, or what? Now, it's emerging that these guys were all trying to board flights to the west coast (i.e., planes loaded with fuel); armed with knives; and carrying pilot training certs from the same school in Fla. that the Tuesday bombers had attended. Same M-0! Yet, earlier today, the FAA says it's safe to fly and opens the airports. Now, oops--not NY! The FAA is totally incompetent, IMO, and should be removed immediately from having jurisdiction over whether the planes can be permitted to fly. However, I just heard that a pilot and some flight attendants just tested our new airport security with a pocket knife, a corkscrew and false identification and walked right through and then turned around and told the security personnel. :-( See my FAA comment above. It's like Groundhog Day. We keep doing the same thing over and over again, sending out the same poorly-trained minimum wage personnel to do a job that other countries employ highly trained people to do. When I saw the new FAA "security procedures," I'd have laughed if it weren't so pathetic. No plastic knives, huh? Well, that's ok, since they never cut through the crummy food they give you anyway.;-) Seriously, this is *so* primitive! Unbelievable--as I'm typing this, Ted Koppel is interviewing a passenger from the JFK flight. He said they were ready to take off, then about 20 SWAT team members rushed aboard shouting at everyone to hit the floor, and they pulled 3 people off the flight, one of whom was violently resisting arrest. But hey, let's open those airports. :-( I'm at a loss.

NASA released aerial shots today, of lower Manhatttan taken from outer space. The pre-collapse smoke eminating from the twin towers, is clearly visible. So is the big gaping gap where the twin towers used to be, once they collpased. It was surreal seeing the pictures.

you know they're talking about profiling on the basis of ethnicity--not picking on middle-class ladies who come off the flight from Milan carrying too many Ferragamo bags.;-). LOL! Am reminded of my astonishment that my own parents were not strip-searched many many years ago on their return from Hong Kong. They must be the only people on the face of the earth who bought nothing. Who would've believed that? ;-) But seriously, ethnic and other profiling is routine at security/customs checkpoints now. Take drugs for example...or the chubby white guy with Rolexes up and down his arm. Have just heard back from my cousin, an air traffic controller in Miami. He too says there's no likelihood that any plane would've been a threat to Air Force One. What shocked him is the return to DC. Even after the 4th plane crashed in PA, there were still thousands of planes still in the air. That's why he couldn't go back to DC.

Hi all I may have upset one or two people when I said "Why do many Americans want war?" for which I apologise but these people did not care who got hit and some people thought the Libyans should be bombed even though Muhammad Gadaffi (right person??)condemned the attacks. If Libya did have a role then they deserve to get hit but I am only seeing stuff about the Osama bin Laden monster who resides in Afghanistan and whom should be extradited and tried anyway, OR if he is the mastermind, bombed into the ground. Bombs away if they are implicated, and GOD BLESS THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GOD BLESS FREEDOM AND GOD BLESS HUMANITY!!!!!!!!! Rob

Could you unlock your Cap Lock key? Thanks.

My sister sent this to me, I think it's in wide circulation on the net. Subject: From: "Nadia Zierke" TRIBUTE TO THE UNITED STATES This, from a Canadian newspaper, is worth sharing. America: The Good Neighbor. Widespread but only partial news coverage was given recently to a remarkable editorial broadcast from Toronto by Gordon Sinclair, a Canadian television commentator. What follows is the full text of his Trenchant remarks as printed in the Congressional Record: "This Canadian thinks it is time to speak up for the Americans as the most generous and possibly the least appreciated people on all the earth. Germany, Japan and, to a lesser extent, Britain and Italy were lifted out of the debris of war by the Americans who poured in billions of dollars and forgave other billions in debts. None of these countries is today paying even the interest on its remaining debts to the United States. When France was in danger of collapsing in 1956, it was the Americans who propped it up, and their reward was to be insulted and swindled on the streets of Paris. I was there. I saw it. When earthquakes hit distant cities, it is the United States that hurries in to help. This spring, 59 American communities were flattened by tornadoes. Nobody helped. The Marshall Plan and the Truman Policy pumped billions of dollars into discouraged countries. Now newspapers in those countries are writing about the decadent, warmongering Americans. I'd like to see just one of those countries that is gloating over the erosion of the United States dollar build its own airplane. Does any other country in the world have a plane to equal the Boeing Jumbo Jet, the Lockheed Tri-Star, or the Douglas DC10? If so, why don't they fly them? Why do all the International lines except Russia fly American Planes? You talk about Japanese technocracy, and you get radios. You talk about German technocracy, and you get automobiles. You talk about American technocracy, and you find men on the moon - not once, but several times - and safely home again. You talk about scandals, and the Americans put theirs right in the store window for everybody to look at. Even their draft-dodgers are not pursued and hounded. They are here on our streets, and most of them, unless they are breaking Canadian laws, are getting American dollars from ma and pa at home to spend here. When the railways of France, Germany and India were breaking down through age, it was the Americans who rebuilt them. When the Pennsylvania Railroad and the New York Central went broke, nobody loaned them an old caboose. Both are still broke. I can name you 5000 times when the Americans raced to the help of other people in trouble. Can you name me even one time when someone else raced to the Americans in trouble? I don't think there was outside help even during the San Francisco earthquake. Our neighbors have faced it alone, and I'm one Canadian who is damned tired of hearing them get kicked around. They will come out of this thing with their flag high. And when they do, they are entitled to thumb their nose at the lands that are gloating over their present troubles. I hope Canada is not one of those." Stand proud, America! Wear it proudly!! This is one of the best editorials that I have ever read regarding the United States. It is nice that one man realizes it. I only wish that the This is one of the best editorials that I have ever read regarding the United States. It is nice that one man realizes it. I only wish that the rest of the world would realize it. We are always blamed for everything, and never even get a thank you for the things we do. I would hope that each of you would send this to as many people as you can and emphasize that they should send it to as many of their friends until this letter is sent to every person on the web. I am just a single American that has read this, I SURE HOPE THAT A LOT MORE READ IT SOON.

"Tribute to the United States" This was written by Gordon Sinclair in 1973 regarding the Vietnam war. Gordon Sinclair died in 1984, but his sentiments resonate powerfully today. Canadians mourn with the Americans and are prepared to help any way they can. Anywhere between 50-500 Canadians are expected to be among the casualties of this horrific act. We are going to have a nationwide memorial service and moment of silence today. This attack was against all of us no matter where we live or come from.

"you know they're talking about profiling on the basis of ethnicity.." I can just see the suits now on the basis of racial discrimination . We are a litigious society. This would never be tolerated. For years I was searched at Heathrow; someone on the Most Wanted List must have looked like me. I never minded. But this would never be done in the US.

Yes, that email is making its rounds.

Two of the world's most impressive structures have been taken down and over 10% of New Yorks office space has been eliminated. You get a sinking feeling when you read Bin Laden's biography and read that he has a degree in 1979 from King Abdul Aziz University in ... Civil Engineering. He has been running a construction company for over a quarter of a century. Meanwhile . . . WASHINGTON (Reuters) - About 20 police officers, many in SWAT gear, stormed an American Airlines jetliner at New York's Kennedy Airport on Thursday, subduing one man and handcuffing two others, possibly thwarting a hijacking attempt, a passenger aboard the plane told ABC News. http://us.news2.yimg.com/f/42/31/7m/dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20010914/ts/attack_tradecenter_report_dc_1.html More (from CNN): 10 people arrested, getting on two planes -- one in JFK, one in LaGuardia. Some were trained in piloting at the same school as the hijackers on Tuesday. Some got caught at checkpoints, some made it onto planes. "WASHINGTON, NEW YORK (Reuters)" ... "The Defense Department asked Bush to authorize the activation of tens of thousands of military reserve troops for ''homeland defense'', defense officials said." "Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld planned to activate between 30,000 and 50,000 reservists to provide ``strike-alert'' jet fighter protection and perform other duties at domestic military bases." ... "Afghanistan's ruling Taliban movement, which shelters bin Laden, warned of revenge ``by other means' if the United States attacked their country in retaliation for Tuesday's attacks." ... "An ABC News/Washington Post poll released on Friday showed that nearly nine in 10 Americans approved of Bush's job performance -- a huge leap in the aftermath of Tuesday's terror attacks." "Nearly seven out of 10 Americans supported military action against the groups or countries responsible for the attacks, even if that meant a long war with heavy U.S. casualties, the poll found." http://us.news2.yimg.com/f/42/31/7m/dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20010914/ts/attack_dc_40.html

http://islamicsupremecouncil.org/Condemnation/support/bin_ladens_nukes.htm BIN LADEN'S NUCLEAR WEAPONS � ex-Soviet Warheads Become Fuel for Portable Terrorist Nuclear Bombs �Arab-funded terrorists smuggle nuclear warheads, purchased from the Russian mafia with opium and cash out of Russian territory, reaching Khost overland via secret routes through Uzbekistan. There, former Soviet scientists remove the active uranium to be processed and placed in backpack-sized nuclear bombs�ready for transportation to the West undetected�to explode in a blast of nuclear terror. Al-Watan al-Arabi, an Arabic language newsmagazine, reports that worldwide terrorist mastermind Usama bin Laden has used two tons of opium and $30 million to purchase over twenty nuclear warheads. Bin Laden has hired an international team of rogue nuclear scientists working in a secret underground base to convert warheads stolen from former Soviet republics into miniature portable nuclear devices capable of striking targets around the globe. The newsmagazine further states that bin Laden developed ties with the mafias of former Soviet republics during the Afghan War which provided him the key to obtaining nuclear missile warheads from the disintegrating USSR. The Arab Afghans, as bin Laden�s fighters are often called, have established extensive bases and networks in many of the Central Asian and Caucasian republics where, due to the weakness of the central government and the minimal security, they are able to thrive unhindered. These terrorist groups operate under the cloak of extremist Islam claiming to oppose the local governments on religious grounds. However, in addition to their calls for the overthrow of �corrupt Islamic governments� these groups serve as a channel for bin Laden to trade Afghani opium to the Russian mafia in exchange for stolen nuclear warheads. Al-Watan�s sources reveal that bin Laden recently sent a delegation representing himself and the Afghani mafia to meet with the mafias of the former Soviet republics. These mafia groups share a common extremist ideology and have disguised their criminal activities under the name of Islam. These mafias have terrorized the governments of the newly-formed Central Asian republics intending to destroy them and replace them with those following their fierce, extremist ideology. This meeting of mafias was a prelude to bringing bin Laden out of Afghanistan and into power in one of these Central Asian

http://www.smh.com.au/news/0104/30/world/world8.html http://www.msnbc.com/news/295108.asp

I may have posted this before, but it's significant, this is what makes these attacks possible. Osama Bin Laden is using web encryption - from an article published months ago in USA Today http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/tech/2001-02-05-binladen.htm I hate to use the term, but Bin Laden and the terrorists are a global, virtual community, they don't have to be in one physical place to survive, they can disperse to the far corners of the earth and still maintain contact using 128 bit encryption. That's the scariest part of all this this, they are invisible to all our current monitoring technology. They are extremely difficult to pinpoint and attack. This is what scares me the most about all this.

WASHINGTON � Hidden in the X-rated pictures on several pornographic Web sites and the posted comments on sports chat rooms may lie the encrypted blueprints of the next terrorist attack against the United States or its allies. It sounds farfetched, but U.S. officials and experts say it's the latest method of communication being used by Osama bin Laden and his associates to outfox law enforcement. Bin Laden, indicted in the bombing in 1998 of two U.S. embassies in East Africa, and others are hiding maps and photographs of terrorist targets and posting instructions for terrorist activities on sports chat rooms, pornographic bulletin boards and other Web sites, U.S. and foreign officials say. from the above url

"Uncrackable encryption is allowing terrorists � Hamas, Hezbollah, al-Qaida and others � to communicate about their criminal intentions without fear of outside intrusion," FBI Director Louis Freeh said last March during closed-door testimony on terrorism before a Senate panel. "They're thwarting the efforts of law enforcement to detect, prevent and investigate illegal activities." A terrorist's tool Once the exclusive domain of the National Security Agency, the super-secret U.S. agency responsible for developing and cracking electronic codes, encryption has become the everyday tool of Muslim extremists in Afghanistan, Albania, Britain, Kashmir, Kosovo, the Philippines, Syria, the USA, the West Bank and Gaza and Yemen, U.S. officials say. It's become so fundamental to the operations of these groups that bin Laden and other Muslim extremists are teaching it at their camps in Afghanistan and Sudan, they add. "There is a tendency out there to envision a stereotypical Muslim fighter standing with an AK-47 in barren Afghanistan," says Ben Venzke, director of special intelligence projects for iDEFENSE, a cyberintelligence and risk management company based in Fairfax, Va. "But Hamas, Hezbollah and bin Laden's groups have very sophisticated, well-educated people. Their technical equipment is good, and they have the bright, young minds to operate them," he said. U.S. officials say bin Laden's organization, al-Qaida, uses money from Muslim sympathizers to purchase computers from stores or by mail. Bin Laden's followers download easy-to-use encryption programs from the Web, officials say, and have used the programs to help plan or carry out three of their most recent plots: Wadih El Hage, one of the suspects in the 1998 bombing of two U.S. embassies in East Africa, sent encrypted e-mails under various names, including "Norman" and "Abdus Sabbur," to "associates in al Qaida," according to the Oct. 25, 1998, U.S. indictment against him. Hage went on trial Monday in federal court in New York. Khalil Deek, an alleged terrorist arrested in Pakistan in 1999, used encrypted computer files to plot bombings in Jordan at the turn of the millennium, U.S. officials say. Authorities found Deek's computer at his Peshawar, Pakistan, home and flew it to the National Security Agency in Fort Meade, Md. Mathematicians, using supercomputers, decoded the files, enabling the FBI to foil the plot. Ramzi Yousef, the convicted mastermind of the World Trade Center bombing in 1993, used encrypted files to hide details of a plot to destroy 11 U.S. airliners. Philippines officials found the computer in Yousef's Manila apartment in 1995. U.S. officials broke the encryption and foiled the plot. Two of the files, FBI officials say, took more than a year to decrypt. "All the Islamists and terrorist groups are now using the Internet to spread their messages," says Reuven Paz, academic director of the Institute for Counter-Terrorism, an independent Israeli think tank. Messages in dots U.S. officials and militant Muslim groups say terrorists began using encryption � which scrambles data and then hides the data in existing images � about five years ago. But the groups recently increased its use after U.S. law enforcement authorities revealed they were tapping bin Laden's satellite telephone calls from his base in Afghanistan and tracking his activities. "It's brilliant," says Ahmed Jabril, spokesman for the militant group Hezbollah in London. "Now it's possible to send a verse from the Koran, an appeal for charity and even a call for jihad and know it will not be seen by anyone hostile to our faith, like the Americans." Extremist groups are not only using encryption to disguise their e-mails but their voices, too, Attorney General Janet Reno told a presidential panel on terrorism last year, headed by former CIA director John Deutsch. Encryption programs also can scramble telephone conversations when the phones are plugged into a computer. "In the future, we may tap a conversation in which the terrorist discusses the location of a bomb soon to go off, but we will be unable to prevent the terrorist act when we cannot understand the conversation," Reno said. Here's how it works: Each image, whether a picture or a map, is created by a series of dots. Inside the dots are a string of letters and numbers that computers read to create the image. A coded message or another image can be hidden in those letters and numbers. They're hidden using free encryption Internet programs set up by privacy advocacy groups. The programs scramble the messages or pictures into existing images. The images can only be unlocked using a "private key," or code, selected by the recipient, experts add. Otherwise, they're impossible to see or read. "You very well could have a photograph and image with the time and information of an attack sitting on your computer, and you would never know it," Venzke says. "It will look no different than a photograph exchanged between two friends or family members." U.S. officials concede it's difficult to intercept, let alone find, encrypted messages and images on the Internet's estimated 28 billion images and 2 billion Web sites. Even if they find it, the encrypted message or image is impossible to read without cracking the encryption's code. A senior Defense Department mathematician says cracking a code often requires lots of time and the use of a government supercomputer. It's no wonder the FBI wants all encryption programs to file what amounts to a "master key" with a federal authority that would allow them, with a judge's permission, to decrypt a code in a case of national security. But civil liberties groups, which offer encryption programs on the Web to further privacy, have vowed to fight it. Officials say the Internet has become the modern version of the "dead drop," a slang term describing the location where Cold War-era spies left maps, pictures and other information. But unlike the "dead drop," the Internet, U.S. officials say, is proving to be a much more secure way to conduct clandestine warfare. "Who ever thought that sending encrypted streams of data across the Internet could produce a map on the other end saying 'this is where your target is' or 'here's how to kill them'?" says Paul Beaver, spokesman for Jane's Defense Weekly in London, which reports on defense and cyberterrorism issues. "And who ever thought it could be done with near perfect security? The Internet has proven to be a boon for terrorists."

"I can tell you that El Al maintains a high level of security for its passengers by not discussing its procedures in the media," he said. HEAR, HEAR! Am I alone in believing that far too much information is given to terrorists, criminals, enemies in the name of "freedom of speech"?

And as a follow up to the above, from zdnet news The hunt for suspects in Tuesday's terrorist attacks has moved online. America Online has handed the FBI e-mail records for accounts belonging to the suspected hijackers, according to a report on CNN's Web site Thursday. AOL spokesman Andrew Weinstein declined to comment on any matters involving the investigation. AOL Time Warner's online division stores logs of when instant messaging users are on the network; it also can access e-mail correspondence under certain situations. "We are cooperating with (the FBI) in this ongoing investigation," Nicholas Graham, spokesman for Dulles, Va.-based AOL, said Wednesday. Although Graham wouldn't provide details, he denied reports that the company had agreed to install a Carnivore surveillance system. The FBI developed Carnivore, now renamed DCS1000, to allow it to wiretap communications that go through Internet service providers. "We are able to provide them with information on an immediate basis," he said, stressing that such an ability made Carnivore unnecessary. On Wednesday, EarthLink also acknowledged that it is working with the FBI to turn over specific information that may be relevant to the case. EarthLink's vice president of communications, Dan Greenfield, confirmed that the Atlanta-based ISP was served with a warrant under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) to turn over information. FISA limits the ability of intelligence and law enforcement agencies--essentially the FBI, the CIA and the military information-gathering National Security Agency--from spying on the American public. The warrant covers investigations relating to the leakage of information to a foreign government and requires less burden of proof than a warrant in a criminal case. The directors of the FBI and the CIA as well as the secretaries of state and defense are the only government officials allowed to request a FISA warrant. Calling the warrant "equivalent to a wiretap," Greenfield also denied that the company had let the FBI install a Carnivore system. "We are not installing any equipment," he said. "We are cooperating with a very specific request. There are concerns from our customers that we are giving arbitrary access to our network, and we are not." Most of the clues that have turned up so far in the hunt for suspects have been dug up through typical investigative footwork, not high-tech sleuthing. Authorities are searching for the accomplices of a well-organized group of suicide hijackers who commandeered four commercial jets Tuesday, effectively turning them into flying bombs. Two flattened the World Trade Center, while a third seriously damaged the Pentagon. The fourth plane crashed in a field. Some of the victims on hijacked aircraft used cell phones to describe the attacks to people on the ground. In addition, a review of the passenger lists has offered some leads. So far, five Arab men have been identified by Massachusetts authorities as suspects, according to two Boston newspapers. Authorities have also seized a rental car containing Arabic-language flight-training manuals at the city's Logan International Airport, where two of the hijacked planes originated, the papers reported. U.S. agents served warrants on homes and searched businesses in south Florida; they also issued alerts for two cars in connection with the attacks, local media reported. Jack Mattera, director of computer forensics for The Intelligence Group, which specializes in corporate investigations and crisis management, stressed that information technology will likely play a crucial role in finding out who planned the suicide attacks. "Using high-tech to investigate is critical," he said. "There are some things that gumshoe work is just not going to find." Security experts described Tuesday's attack as low-tech, with reports of knives being used as the primary weapons in the hijackings. Nevertheless, many suspect computers and the Internet may have played a critical role in planning the complex and highly coordinated operation. In February, George Tenet, the director of the CIA, warned members of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence that terrorists were using the Internet and high-tech tools to communicate. "International terrorist networks have used the explosion in information technology to advance their capabilities," he told the committee. Mark Mansfield, spokesman for the CIA, declined to explain what tools the agency was bringing to bear, saying "it would be ill-advised for us to talk about (our methods). It would not be a prudent thing to do." Both the NSA and the FBI declined comment as well. However, The Intelligence Group's Mattera said he believed that the requests for online information may be to check out the people who posted suspicious information in public chat rooms or online. "I think there is some indication that there may have been some information posted to different groups that didn't specifically alert people at the time, but now they may be able to go back and connect it to the suspects," he said. "Two days ago, a (virulent) e-mail may not have meant anything," he said, "but today they will run it down and see if it's a clue."

Gerard is still talking to us from on the ground in NYC. Gerard Van der Leun (boswell) Fri Sep 14 '01 (08:37) 45 lines Early this morning, looking out the window at the street, I suddenly started to see in my mind a whole chain of images from the last week. This was the first day when I had nothing in front of me that I had to do, and I just started to run the images... the rumble in my building, the confused chatter on the radio, the television images of the second plane coming in... the street outside my house with dozens all running toward the promenade to see the horro across the river.. the twin towers tall in the crisp and bright morning with the flames and smoke streaming up like obscene claws coming out of the building. and the sound and the sight of the first tower just going down and going down and the blast of dust up and spewing out of the canyons of wall street and the screams and wails around me as what we saw was so far beyond our ability to comprehend the enormity of it that we could have been just ants gazing at the sole of a descending boot... and the sick wet rumble that came across the water like a screaming beast having its innards torn out and the smoke, the immense plume of smoke that darkened the sun and went on and still goes on... and the rest of the day a dim numb blur i had i think something to eat and i went to get coffee in the bright sunlight with a friend and i called my daughter and found she was safe and far uptown, except of course she was not safe, as none of our children will ever be safe again until that thing that caused this is crushed and killed and ground to dust and sent down into the pit of oblivion forever.

Gerard Van der Leun (boswell) Fri Sep 14 '01 (08:43) 28 lines and going back to my place and watching the endless repeats and the endless parade of the doomed and the wounded and the hordes of people in the distance jamming the bridge, the brooklyn bridge on which two large american flags fly, these people all going one direction, one direction only... out and away from the stench and the terror and the death... and somewhere in there the second tower came down down on thousands trying to escape and down on hundreds of what have to be the bravest and most noble souls in the world, the fireman, the fireman who were going up the stairs... up the stairs... UP THE STAIRS... we cannot know what sort of human spirit that takes we can never know... i have no humanity and no manhood and no courage when compared to these men, none of us do none of us... do you all understand that they went into this building and up the stairs?

I am ready and willing to give up my civil liberties if it means that we can remain safe here in the US and the rest of the world. People need to realize that right now, and not complain about it, as they inevitably will.

Gerard Van der Leun (boswell) Fri Sep 14 '01 (08:56) 50 lines and the day went on and went on... inside to television.. outside into the reality... and the smell of it got stronger and the white ash of concrete ash of steel ash of paper ash of human beings drifted over me and everythingand everyone around me and settled white and obscene on everything and the smoke went on and the streets were filled with people whose faces were filled with fear and with grief and with anger and nobody spoke except to whisper to those next to them that they knew or perhaps did not know but knew now in this terrible day at some point i began to take pictures of the skyline which was not there any more, of the lives that weren't there any more... of little things... but it wasn't any use... it was pointless... feeling grief was pointless... only rage seemed to have a point, rage and hate, and it seemed important, very very important to retain that rage and hate as a wall against the pain and the despair... i walked out again and again to look across the river and to smell the smoke and to see the dust because i knew that nothing would ever be the same again, i knew that something had killed my world and the world of those i loved... of the world of all of us...and that no matter what we did that world would never be returned to us... that we could and we must honor and remember it.. that we must take terrible and complete vengence on those whose evil took it from us no matter what the cost... but that world, that indian summer world, would not be returned anymore than the lives of those who went up the stairs in the burning and collapsing tower would be returned. this morning for the first time i have been weeping, weeping not in tears but in a kind of dry low screaming agony that sweeps up in my chest. it comes and shakes me and then it goes away. i'm going to go out into this world now to tend to the little needs of my little day in my little world. i can't bear to remember anymore of this week for now even though I remember it all.

Over 100,000 people participated at the memorial service in Ottawa, with speeches by Jean Chretien, US ambassador Paul Celluci and Governor General Adrienne Clarkson. Chretien expressed the resolve of Canada to fully supprt U.S at this difficult time.

Tony Blair's speech to the special session of Parliament was carried on FOX. He also expressed the support and allegiance to the US in tracking down the terrorists by every means available. Eloquent and sincere. Much appreciated.

Am I alone in believing that far too much information is given to terrorists, criminals, enemies in the name of "freedom of speech"? You are walking a very thin line here. But I agree with you. The thought of them having the possibility to make "backpack nuclear bombs" is a scary one. God bless us all!

President Bush gave a very inspiring speech at the National Cathedral as did Billy Graham. I was reduced to tears. My friend Jean is still awaiting word of her sister who was at the WTC for a conference.

we had a three minute silence and a candle-lit vigil at work today, at 11am, led by our chaplain. It was very moving and I'm glad I was there, although it feels such a small thing to do in the face of such enormity. Tony Blair said we (in the UK) stand shoulder to shoulder with the USA; NATO said an attack on one of us is an attack on all of us; we know now that this is true, that along with thousands of Americans were hundreds of British citizens, Irish, Canadians, Australians, and more, and this event will touch many of us, world wide. My father, my uncle, and my grandfather were all firefighters. The loss of some of New York's finest is keenly felt in this home, many miles away. I'm lucky, my friend escaped, my cousin's colleagues and friends are safe. My heart goes out to those not so lucky, and I just hope the prayers we said and the thoughts we had, at 11am this morning in the UK, go some way to comfort those shouldering terrible burdens. I think I read somewhere that at 7pm tonight, US time, candles will be lit. 7pm in NYC is midnight here; I'll be lighting a candle then. Shoulder to shoulder; an attack on one of us is an attack on all of us. God bless you

(Mari) When I saw the new FAA "security procedures," I'd have laughed if it weren't so pathetic. No plastic knives, huh? Well, that's ok, since they never cut through the crummy food they give you anyway.;-) Seriously, this is *so* primitive! B'ness as usual: 1. Panic. 2. Create specific reactive measures instead of broad proactive measures (golly gee, all 18+ hijackers answered the 'did you pack you own suitcase' question truthfully and they probably skipped curbside check-in). 3. Panic some more. Aargh! I was also LOL about the knives. Whatever will they do in first class, where the cutable food is served? Wait until someone chokes and sues. Or maybe they'll just ban airline food all together, or restrict it to the likes of those Otis Spunkmeyer cookies served by SouthWest. ;-) Winter, by the time you leave for Indo the carry-on requirements might be better defined. You could also look into shipping some of those items ahead.

posted to a listserve Dear Friends, The following was sent to me by my friend Tamim Ansary. Tamim is an Afghani-American writer. He is also one of the most brilliant people I know in this life. When he writes, I read. When he talks, I listen. Here is his take on Afghanistan and the whole mess we are in. -Gary T. Dear Gary and whoever else is on this email thread: I've been hearing a lot of talk about "bombing Afghanistan back to the Stone Age." Ronn Owens, on KGO Talk Radio today, allowed that this would mean killing innocent people, people who had nothing to do with this atrocity, but "we're at war, we have to accept collateral damage. What else can we do?" Minutes later I heard some TV pundit discussing whether we "have the belly to do what must be done." And I thought about the issues being raised especially hard because I am from Afghanistan, and even though I've lived here for 35 years I've never lost track of what's going on there. So I want to tell anyone who will listen how it all looks from where I'm standing. I speak as one who hates the Taliban and Osama Bin Laden. There is no doubt in my mind that these people were responsible for the atrocity in New York. I agree that something must be done about those monsters. But the Taliban and Ben Laden are not Afghanistan. They're not even the government of Afghanistan. The Taliban are a cult of ignorant psychotics who took over Afghanistan in 1997. Bin Laden is a political criminal with a plan. When you think Taliban, think Nazis. When you think Bin Laden, think Hitler. And when you think "the people of Afghanistan" think "the Jews in the concentration camps." It's not only that the Afghan people had nothing to do with this atrocity. They were the first victims of the perpetrators. They would exult if someone would come in there, take out the Taliban and clear out the rats nest of international thugs holed up in their country. Some say, why don't the Afghans rise up and overthrow the Taliban? The answer is, they're starved, exhausted, hurt, incapacitated, suffering. A few years ago, the United Nations estimated that there are 500,000 disabled orphans in Afghanistan--a country with no economy, no food. There are millions of widows. And the Taliban has been burying these widows alive in mass graves. The soil is littered with land mines, the farms were all destroyed by the Soviets. These are a few of the reasons why the Afghan people have not overthrown the Taliban. We come now to the question of bombing Afghanistan back to the Stone Age. Trouble is, that's been done. The Soviets took care of it already. Make the Afghans suffer? They're already suffering. Level their houses? Done. Turn their schools into piles of rubble? Done. Eradicate their hospitals? Done. Destroy their infrastructure? Cut them off from medicine and health care? Too late. Someone already did all that. New bombs would only stir the rubble of earlier bombs. Would they at least get the Taliban? Not likely. In today's Afghanistan, only the Taliban eat, only they have the means to move around. They'd slip away and hide. Maybe the bombs would get some of those disabled orphans, they don't move too fast, they don't even have wheelchairs. But flying over Kabul and dropping bombs wouldn't really be a strike against the criminals who did this horrific thing. Actually it would only be making common cause with the Taliban--by raping once again the people they've been raping all this time So what else is there? What can be done, then? Let me now speak with true fear and trembling. The only way to get Bin Laden is to go in there with ground troops. When people speak of "having the belly to do what needs to be done" they're thinking in terms of having the belly to kill as many as needed. Having the belly to overcome any moral qualms about killing innocent people. Let's pull our heads out of the sand. What's actually on the table is Americans dying. And not just because some Americans would die fighting their way through Afghanistan to Bin Laden's hideout. It's much bigger than that folks. Because to get any troops to Afghanistan, we'd have to go through Pakistan. Would they let us? Not likely. The conquest of Pakistan would have to be first. Will other Muslim nations just stand by? 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. He really believes Islam would beat the west. It might seem ridiculous, but he figures if he can polarize the world into Islam and the West, he's got a billion soldiers. If the west wreaks a holocaust in those lands, that's a billion people with nothing left to lose, that's even better from Bin Laden's point of view. He's probably wrong, in the end the west would win, whatever that would mean, but the war would last for years and millions would die, not just theirs but ours. Who has the belly for that? Bin Laden does. Anyone else? Tamim Ansary

Rachael - My father, too, was one of the head Fire Chiefs in Toronto. Two of my uncles are currently Captains (it seems to run in families, doesn't it?) I am totally devastated by the deaths of those brave men. My Dad is crushed, and he just had a cornea transplant which makes his pain even worse. My Dad had meet those chiefs who died in NYC on a couple of occassions at international events. If it had been here, in Toronto, I probably would have lost a few members of my family. I am trying to help my Dad's department organize something here cause like many, I really want to help. At the moment I have had to turn the TV off as they are putting faces on the dead, and it is breaking my heart. Here in Canada 100,000 people showed up at Parliament Hill in Ottawa for a memorial ceremony - that is a huge number. I am so proud of Canadians, so proud for the world for sharing in this grief.

Had the TV on all morning, sobbing. Each story is more heartbreaking than the next.

Washington Post New York Airport Suspects Cleared By Donna De La Cruz Associated Press Writer Friday, Sept. 14, 2001; 11:12 a.m. EDT NEW YORK �� About a dozen travelers of Middle Eastern descent who were detained at two New York airports have been cleared of any connection with this week's terrorist attacks, federal authorities said Friday. One person, however, remained in custody, said Barry Mawn, head of the FBI's New York office. That person had not immediately been charged and may be released, Mawn said. The incidents Thursday caused the region's three major airports � Kennedy, LaGuardia and Newark, N.J. � to close again just hours after service had been restored because of the attacks. Authorities had been investigating whether the two groups � detained at Kennedy and LaGuardia � were more would-be hijackers or people related to the attack trying to flee the New York area. Sen. Joseph Biden, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told CNN the arrests were based on suspicions that the men were linked to Tuesday's attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. One man was arrested because he was belligerent, while the others were merely detained and questioned, according to the senator's chief of staff, Alan Hoffman. Biden said there were explanations for the suspicions. One man was originally thought to be traveling with a fake pilot's license. Biden said the man was a pilot who also had his brother's identification. "His brother happened to live in an apartment complex that was one in Boston where some of these people had actually been," said Biden, D-Del. Others were traveling to a Boeing Co. conference, either because they work for the airline manufacturer or were invited, Biden added. "The folks at the airport thought, 'Hey, wait a minute, are they impersonating crew?' And they weren't." Mawn said he could not verify reports that the individuals had been taken forcibly off a plane. ---------------------------- I saw an interview on Good Morning American. A passenger said the pilot - after talking with those on board - told them to buckle up because they would soon be taking off. About 20 minutes later, men with guns drawn, in full riot gear, came in the rear and took the suspects away.

This is incredible stuff - world wide empathy and support feels very good, indeed. Lest anyone mistake Rob's comments in Caps, I want to assure you that he is a very special friend; conservative, itelligent and thoughtful. He is not given to overstatement nor emotionalism. Emphasis is what those Caps were for, and, Rob, many warm thanks for your doing so.

Tamim Ansary. Tamim is an Afghani-American writer. Wonder what this guy is doing to help his country except write emails?

Washington Post New York Airport Suspects Cleared By Donna De La Cruz Associated Press Writer Friday, Sept. 14, 2001; 11:12 a.m. EDT NEW YORK �� About a dozen travelers of Middle Eastern descent who were detained at two New York airports have been cleared of any connection with this week's terrorist attacks, federal authorities said Friday. One person, however, remained in custody, said Barry Mawn, head of the FBI's New York office. That person had not immediately been charged and may be released, Mawn said. The incidents Thursday caused the region's three major airports � Kennedy, LaGuardia and Newark, N.J. � to close again just hours after service had been restored because of the attacks. Authorities had been investigating whether the two groups � detained at Kennedy and LaGuardia � were more would-be hijackers or people related to the attack trying to flee the New York area. Sen. Joseph Biden, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told CNN the arrests were based on suspicions that the men were linked to Tuesday's attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. One man was arrested because he was belligerent, while the others were merely detained and questioned, according to the senator's chief of staff, Alan Hoffman. Biden said there were explanations for the suspicions. One man was originally thought to be traveling with a fake pilot's license. Biden said the man was a pilot who also had his brother's identification. "His brother happened to live in an apartment complex that was one in Boston where some of these people had actually been," said Biden, D-Del. Others were traveling to a Boeing Co. conference, either because they work for the airline manufacturer or were invited, Biden added. "The folks at the airport thought, 'Hey, wait a minute, are they impersonating crew?' And they weren't." Mawn said he could not verify reports that the individuals had been taken forcibly off a plane. ---------------------------- I saw an interview on Good Morning American. A passenger said the pilot - after talking with those on board - told them to buckle up because they would soon be taking off. About 20 minutes later, men with guns drawn, in full riot gear, came in the rear and took the suspects away.

Womack Diary, Day 3 *8-/ Subject: Day 3, and this morning Date: Friday, September 14, 2001 9:10 AM From: Womack, Jack Our secretary Heather (who just moved here from Alaska, two weeks ago) and myself are the only people on our floor so far this morning. Yesterday we were essentially told the building would be open, but after that it was up to us. And, as my ISP is down in the Closed Zone (I called them "control zones,"), I can't do email from home (and so won't be writing again till Monday), here I am, at least for a couple of hours. This morning it's raining, very hard, a frog-strangler. I don't think it's rained this hard this consistently all year. My pants are still wet and the tie's soaked through. This has made rescue attempts pretty much impossible, today, not that at this point anyone is really expecting survivors -- they were saying on the news that the dust down there, wet, has the consistency of oatmeal; and that with every half-inch of rain that falls, several additional tons of weight begin pressing down on everything. The subways down there have also all flooded, even before this, what with water main breaks in evidently several locations (This water of course is also soaking into foundations throughout the area). It's also turning much cooler -- somewhere in the 60s today, and yesterday afternoon it got up to the mid-80s, I think, and was humid enough to notice. It came to me this morning that the reason 30,000 body bags are on hand for what appears will be 5,000 casualties is that the 5,000 are all in pieces, and each piece of course will need to be bagged separately. There was a drawing in the Daily News today showing the outlines of all the buildings surrounding where the Trade Towers stood, and noting that at least 9 of them have suffered major structural damage. The Milennium (sic) Hotel and 1 Liberty Plaza I mentioned yesterday. Among the others in bad shape is one of my favorites, the 1927 Bell Telephone building at the corner of Barclay & West. It stands next to both the North Tower and 7 WTC, both of which collapsed. It's a Ferris-silhouette art deco beauty, and the building is built over the sidewalk on the Barclay St. side, a stone arcade running the length of the block. Cool in the summer. It looks like the only residential area fully evacuated was Battery Park City, where Ellie lives (she is still staying with patrick & Teresa, I am hoping she's been able to get some sleep soon). No word on when that'll open back up but I can't imagine it'll be anytime soon. THis morning, coming out of the subway, I was maybe one of three or four people. After yesterday, which at moments almost felt like a normal day (or, rather, a day in the gone world), today seems much more like Wednesday did, except far more grim due to the rain. As all of you know in the rain New York's color goes, essentially, gray. Very gray. And that's how it looks today. With luck, it will at least finally clear the dust out of the atmosphere (it struck me yesterday that one of the many interesting things we've all been breathing in the past few days are bits of infinitesimally powdered glass). But if the other buildings start falling, the cloud will come back. In this sort of weather in the past, of course, the cloud cover overlying NY would generally be so low as to hide the Trade Towers for view, and it was pleasant to be able to fantasize, at such moments, what downtown NY used to look like when they weren't there. I was reading, somewhere, that some European is already saying that he & others will get all European nations to help rebuild at least one of the towers if not both, bigger and taller and clearly even more of a hideous target. Thank you Europe, but no, please. Here are the ongoing bigger or more interesting changes in the event, both onsite and in media, that I'm noticing. I talked about some of these last night with Clute. 1. The first media memorial teddy bear site appeared. In Union Square, which is right at 14th Street where the No-Traffic Zone begins. Some workmen brought up a piece of steel from the Trade Towers and wrapped it around a stele, or flagpole, or something -- they never pan up of course to show you what the thing is, focusing instead on the flowers being left. The one good thing is at this point, no teddy bears have appeared. It's mostly single flowers and pictures of missing people, so I'm actually not sure that a media-driven Mourning Zone will take hold. I suspect because everything in New York is a Mourning Zone, and everyone here is too much in shock, still, to even be thinking of those goddamned teddy bears. 2. The dawning awareness of New Yorkers, such as myself & Ellen Datlow (who I met for a couple of drinks last night, down in Chelsea, as she was finally able to get above 14th.), that this is actually being paid attention to out in the country. A very funny thing, this -- the sense I think held to varying lengths of time by people who live here that what has happened is in some ways just the mother of all water main breaks. It's impossible for me to really sense, that is, what the mood of a non-New Yorker living in the US is just now, because even now I cannot see it from a non-New York perspective. I always knew New Yorkers were the biggest provincials and this just proves it... 3. Yesterday I walked from work (5th & 53rd) to meet Ellen at a restaurant at 8th & 18th, down in Chelsea. On the way down I saw a large group of people gathered around the front of a souvenir shop, and realized they were going through the postcards buying any with the Trade Towers on them; saw people standing out in front of hotels, clearly not flying out anywhere again today; and on all the mailboxes, in telephone kiosks, on parked vans, on walls, the more the further down I got, photocopied flyers with a photo and a name and a number. We see dead people everywhere. 4. Anti-Arab action increasing, in Brooklyn, but still I think on a smaller scale than what seems to be happening in Michigan and elsewhere. On the day of the event the Uzbekhi guys' frame shop in my neighborhood & Samad's Deli immediately closed. The poor guys were obviously terrified they were going to be overrun -- like anyone at either place would ever have time to be a terrorist; they're always at work. Most New Yorkers I think aren't buying into this, however. 5. But we can always count on the reliable Richard Brookhiser, who in his NY Observer column yesterday was baying for the nukes, and the Post as ever, came through. From yesterday's editorial -- sic the James Ellroy-like use of single sentences as paragraphs: "The heavens need to fall on their heads. They need to bleed. Not next month. Not next week. Now. Who are they? Who cares? Cast a wide enough net, and you'll catch the fish that need catching." Clute actually didn't believe me at first when I read this aloud to him. Notice how by the final sentence the author sounds exactly like an Arab Terrorist Making Ominously Vague Statements Directed At The West. Like attracts like, I suppose. 6. The Disaster Videos. The gang in the network editing rooms have had enough time to put together Meaningful, Olympics-like Montages. Last night's on NBC at 12 midnight was scored to Dylan -- I think it was Dylan, late Dylan, now that his voice is indistinguishable from that of Joseph Spence -- singing "We Shall Overcome." Better than Celine Dion, I suppose, but the worst instincts of the media are of course beginning to emerge. Paul McAuley tells me of seeing of UK TV the same thing I saw, though done by different broadcasters, i.e. as PM put it "two grinning journos demonstrated how easy it is to use MicroSoft Flight Simulator to ram the Twin Towers. The street finds its own use for technology...." Also, they're filling up the time with human interest stories, i.e., talking to someone holding up one of the aforementioned flyers and saying that they can't give up hope, and talking to people who have given up hope. Terribly invasive in both instances. 7. A shrink, around 11:30 last night on ABC, was saying that it is completely possible to get PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder, no longer "syndrome.") through constant watching of the event on TV. So not only will I be living in a city in which nearly all the citizens, myself included, will to some degree be effected by this for months or years, but a good percentage of everybody else in the country, and the world, as well. 8. Probably in relation to the former, I am having a very hard time wanting to know more about the ones they arrested at LaGuardia & Newark yesterday. I haven't even begun to process the event. I hadn't really begun to process the event of my stepmother's dying suddenly, last week. So no, I can't say I'd want to hear *what else* may happen. The desire to extrapolate is, suddenly, gone. Clute & I were talking yesterday about the limitations of metaphor which this event will bring about (he'd better explain it, though). 9. I feel pretty sure that we're not going to be seeing many new big budget blow-em-up movies at least for a while, and we will never view the ones that have already come out, in the past, employing the same eyes again. 10. In relation to some degree with the former, the way in which, periodically, scenes I am viewing in real life are reminiscent, or nearly identical to familiar scenes in movies. One particular view of downtown last night could have come straight out of Bladerunner, no problem; and a view from midtown from the Empire State Building looking downtown, in a sunset-filled orange cloud overhanging the city, looking almost exactly like the old (Bantam, I think) cover of Walter Tevis' MOCKINGBIRD. 11. In relation probably to PTSD, however small-scale, I feel myself at moments, for one of the few times in my life (the other being at certain times in Russia, and at the Galleries Lafayette food hall in Paris) at absolute sensory overload -- that if I know another sensation, just at that moment, I'll become ill. At that point I leave the room, or change the channel to something else. Forbidden Planet was on last night, and I much enjoyed watching it. It was science-fiction not set on earth -- 12. I'm not sure that Blinky, standing at his desk while expressing his concern, is better than Blinky sitting at his desk, expressing his concern; but I suppose his minders felt it gave him more of that Oprah feel. And I think I've reached sensory overload, writing about it. So for now I'll stop. More co-workers have come in, but it's still not a normal day by any stretch. I figure I'll be leaving around noon, as before. Hard rain, falling. I'll actually leave the last word to Paul, who closed his letter to me today with this; and I couldn't do better. The Last Night of the Proms, the traditional end to the Promenade series of concerts, traditionally finishes with a rousing queasily patriotic chorus of 'Land of Hope and Glory'. Not now: instead, Leonard Slatkin will be conducting the orchestral setting of Barber's 'Adagio for Strings', which thanks to Oliver Stone has become your plangent accompaniment to national mourning, followed by the defiant thunder of the last movement of Beethoven's Ninth. They've judged it right. Paul

Evelyn, Tamsin is an Afghani-American who has been living here for 35. His country is America. Thank you for posting Tamsin's letter. We're flirting with a world war between Islam and the West. My husband is Italian and he has been saying this for years, that it would happen. This is their holy war, this is just what they want. Americans and the international community believe they will be going to war to fight against terrorist, but they will be fighting the holy war.

Marcia, I wasn't at all offended by Rob's use of capital letters. He only used them to emphasize one particular thought in his post. It is a time of high emotion and different people express themselves differently. As it is also a time of high stress, some may react to certain things more strongly than would be the norm. It would seem that no harm was meant either by Rob or those who had been put off by his use of upper case letters. I've been able to contact my friends living in New York. Everyone is physically fine, but they say that they feel emotionally sick and bruised. So do I for that matter. Lastly, the Pennsylvania crash site isn't all that near Pittsburgh. It lies about 80 miles to the southeast, near the Maryland border, about 35 miles SSW of Johnstown. Pittsburgh is the largest city near it, and more people have an idea of where Pittsburgh is than were Johnstown, PA is. The plane crashed in Somerset county which is a very rural area. It came down in a cornfield. Fortunately no one on the ground was hurt.

Last night one network (I forget which) reported that they had "found" 10 policemen on the 2nd underground level...one of them had reached his wife via cel phone. Has anyone heard more about this? Is it confirmed? I could find nothing about it on any of the other networks.

It was a hoax. Friday September 14 11:36 AM ET NY Mayor Asks Media for Accuracy By DAVID BAUDER, AP Television Writer NEW YORK (AP) - Mayor Rudolph Giuliani (news - web sites) asked the news media to be more careful reporting about the World Trade Center rescue operation Friday, saying wrong information is raising false hopes and endangering workers. ``Some of it can be very dangerous and emotionally damaging,'' he said. He cited false reports that a potential survivor had been in contact with people by cell phone, and that 10 or 15 people were trapped alive in a store. Media outlets reported Thursday that five firefighters trapped since Tuesday had been rescued from the trade center rubble. It later turned out that only two who were trapped in an air pocket for several hours Thursday were found alive. Not only does false information play with the emotions of people with missing friends and relatives, it can send rescue workers on dangerous, fruitless chases, he said. He urged news organizations not to report such details until confirmed by police and FBI (news - web sites). ``If we could all be a little more patient and verify information before we put it out, we won't raise people's hopes unnecessarily,'' Giuliani said. CNN anchorwoman Paula Zahn, responding on the air to Giuliani's request, noted that it has been difficult to get accurate information out of the rescue site. ``We're all trying to heed this advice,'' she said. ``Unfortunately, everybody is being given conflicting information.'' ABC, CBS, NBC and the cable networks were into their fourth day of exclusive devotion to the story on Friday. News executives say they're keeping in mind television's role as a national gathering place in times of emergency. Network news chiefs uniformly expressed pride in how their profession has performed this week. ``There's really been a careful approach to the story that combines aggressiveness in getting information out with the awareness that we should not be speculating and we should not be alarming people,'' said CBS News President Andrew Heyward. NBC is being careful in its wording to not equate Islam with extremism even if some of the religion's believers masterminded the attack, network news President Neal Shapiro said. Until Giuliani announced Thursday that 4,763 people were missing at the World Trade Center, networks had generally been careful not to guess on the number of casualties. An exception: network reports that as many as 800 people died at the Pentagon; the estimate is now 190. There were also widely varying reports on the number of body bags brought to the World Trade Center site. News organizations also made different decisions when confronted with video depicting victims jumping from the World Trade Center to certain deaths; CBS showed it, ABC refused. ``It was not some sort of gratuitous, individual tragedy where we were exploiting someone's personal pain for some kind of sensational purpose,'' Heyward said. ``Quite the opposite. This was absolutely germane to the context of the story and vividly conveyed the sheer horror in a way that was journalistically appropriate.'' Offered the same video, ``without any hesitation we turned it down,'' said ABC News President David Westin. ``I don't believe that showing actual human beings leaping to their deaths was helpful.'' CNN showed images of things falling from the World Trade Center, but they weren't necessarily identifiable as humans, CNN Chairman Walter Isaacson said. NBC showed footage of a body falling once and decided not to anymore. The same was true at Fox News Channel. ``I don't think it's an easy call,'' NBC's Shapiro said. ``I don't condemn anybody who chose to run it.'' At least two networks were planning specials to help children cope. Peter Jennings will anchor a one-hour ABC special for youngsters Saturday morning, and Nickelodeon will present ``Nick News: Kids, Terrorism and the American Spirit'' with Linda Ellerbee on Sunday night. ---------------------------------------- If someone who knows how would delete my double post, I would be grateful. -- I think I hit reload and it sent all again - at least it shows on my computer.

Thanks, Suzee. (I only saw one copy of your post, by the way.)

we are skating on thin ice in this topic by venting our anger here. this will not help anyone. the afghani-american writer above makes sense, IMMHO. the Holy War is what these people want. and they sure as heck are trying hard to get it too. it's all around us, look at Israel, look at the Serbs, look at Ireland, for goodness sakes. this is ridiculous. ok, the service today was wonderful though i was a bit worried about all those people in the same place. tonight at 7, please light a candle!! and if you've flown a flag today, thank you so much. my sub-division either didn't have the flags or were too afraid to show them but to those who did, thank you very much!!

My candle is lit and sitting vigil at the base of my flagpole.. 7 PM was 1 PM here and it is broad day light. The candle will remain as long as it burns. The flag at half staff is coming down at sunset to rise then lower to half staff again tomorrow. Fighting amongst ourselves just plays into their hands. Come on world, we're better than that!!! Terry, MSNBC ran the Bin Ladin interview this afternoon again. You sure you want to see this man?

a new CNN article which explains how the Taliban are trying to defend Bin Laden and turn this into a religious war: http://www.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/central/09/14/afghan.denial/ _Prepare for Holy War_ "Now, the third empire of the world wants to impose an attack on us," [supreme Afghan leader Mullah Mohammed Omar] said. "As you know better, it is not because of Osama [bin Laden]. This is the demonization of Islam." Well, this idiotic move does nothing more than confirm their role as a Bin Laden conspirator.

... To insistent chants of "U.S.A.! U.S.A.!" from the crowds of workers, Mr. Bush took hold of a small bullhorn and climbed atop a small pile of rubble. He then shouted over a chorus of cheers that he wanted the rescuers to know that all America was deeply grateful for their efforts. "This nation stands with the good people of New York City, and New Jersey and Connecticut, and we mourn the loss of thousands of our citizens" he said. To cries of "George, we cant hear you!" the President replied: "I can hear you! I can hear you!" "The rest of the world hears you," he added. "And the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon!" ... more at: http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/14/national/15CND-BUSH.html

that was wonderful--the chanting and that he went straight in there...but because of the whole security issue where he is concerned, the operation slowed down. did anyone else get that impression? yes, terry, The Holy War between the west and islam.

Please, just do not make a martyr of Osama Bin Ladin. I am pleased with how America is responding. Makes me all gritty determination mixed with misty patriotism. I will do without, I will do what is necessary. Just do it right! Go to website and see the pics in all 4 sections. Humbling, maddening, speechless... This should never have happened. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/photo/attack/newyork/6.htm

that was wonderful--the chanting and that he went straight in there...but because of the whole security issue where he is concerned, the operation slowed down. did anyone else get that impression? yes, terry, The Holy War between the west and islam.

No one's making a martyr of Bin Laden. He's dispicable. They keep saying he's worth $300 million. The Banks aren't very top notch in Afghanistan. Where's he keeping this money. We should find out and confiscate all his money. NBC is now reporting that a couple of guys with box cutters were arrested off an Amtrak train in San Antonio, the cops thought they were drug dealers because they had a lot of cash. Now they're thought to be major players in this terrorist network. It's been getting a lot of local attention, now it's starting to break nationally. US officials are in the Caymans investigating a letter warning about a major terrorist act against the US involving airlines. It was treated as "merely speculation" by the government (whose?, the Caymans?). Three men are being held in the Cayman Islands.

This Cayman's connection sounds like that's where they might have a bank account. That should be investigated. the Holy War is what these people want. We are going back to the Crusades. There has been a major influx of Muslims all over Europe and in some cases such as Rome, they insist on having a mosque built. I would like to see in which Muslim country one can go live at and insist they build a Catholic church. It would never happen.

Sebastian Mendler (smendler) Fri Sep 14 '01 (20:26) 83 lines Subject: groping towards a solution (fwd) Hi, friends -- Okay, let's see here... tell me if I am incorrect in any of the following points, or in the reasoning that I am trying to distill from them. 1. Unless I remember wrongly, the Japanese were seen during WWII much the same way as the Islamic Extremists are being seen now -- driven by religious fervor, unable to be reasoned with for that reason, not afraid to die for their cause. 2. This religious fervor was defused after the war by Hirohito shedding his divine status, and a constitutional monarchy being established in Japan. 3. The majority of Japanese had little or no problem making the transition. This probably had something to do with the fact that the most fervent believers in the old system were, well, dead. 4. The huge occupation force in Japan both respected many traditional Japanese institutions, and defanged the more troublesome ones. 5. At the same time, the Americans in that force brought back to the US awareness of many aspects of Japanese and Asian culture that had hitherto been little-known in the US. 6. They also brought along some wives. 7. The Afghani people are in dire straits indeed -- so dire, some say, that bombing them would be pointless, there's nothing worth bombing. The resulting weakness is one reason why the Taliban have not been tossed out on their turbans. 8. As the saying goes, you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. 9. The point of the globalist movement -- which one assumes includes Bush, Powell, et al. -- is that Our Way of Life is the best one, so we need to get everybody involved in it. At least, that's sorta what they'll tell you if you ask. 10. The Japanese, rebuilt, became an economic powerhouse, and a key player in the world economy. It liked the results. The former militarist viewpoint, while still maintained by a few bitter conservatives, lost its former stranglehold on the soul of the nation. 11. So perhaps it makes more sense, not to try a purely military operation, but rather to try more of a *cultural* invasion. Think of the liberation of Pepperland from the Blue Meanies by the Beatles in _Yellow Submarine_. Restore color, light, and music to a dark, silent, depressed land. Wall-to-wall carpeting, not carpet bombings. PT Cruisers, not cruise missiles. Water, not napalm. Perfume, not tear gas. 12. Such an operation would still have its military aspects, and they would be huge. All the invading force of aid workers, fashion designers, educators, doctors, chefs, musicians, jugglers, car dealers, etc. would need to be protected while they did their jobs. Any attacking forces would be squelched, stomped, eradicated; but in the absence of attacks, life would get better and better for the folks that cooperated. This force would be much more like a police force than an army. (Sometimes, the best defense is to not be offensive.) 13. At the same time, we would not repeat the Soviets' mistake of trying to eradicate the fundamentalists. Chase them into the hills, and let them live their lives the way they want to. In fact, make sure they do; protect them from *all* outside influences, and protect the outside from theirs. Do not try to follow them into the mountains. 14. In this scenario, there would be plenty of opportunities for the more bloodthirsty among us to kick some righteous butt -- the beachheads (so to speak) will be tough to establish -- but these opportunities would ultimately be in the service of the healers. 14. At the same time, there are transformations to be effected within the Western world -- but maybe we should save that for another time... Am I on a promising track here? / /skip

Terry, Dear, you were not the one I thought might martyr this sick man and his followers. Unhappily we need give them no more reasons to hate Americans and want to kill them. His followers need little urging to create mayhem, it seems. *HUGS* (despicable is the nicest thing I have heard him called all week!)

Bin Laudin is an ex-Saudi. He just about holds the ruling house ther hostage for letting us land jets in Saudi Arabia during the gulf war. I am certain Swiss accounts are numerous, too.

Oh Skip, if only it were that simple. We are discussing a belief system here not a political one. Too many serf in both instances. How long do you think the dress designers would last in a land and religion which hides their women and treats them as chattel (not to mention mutillation, so I won't mention it.) Our do-gooders would be deader then doornails as soon as they landed. This is an other world. They are not insular, this cell system of radical Islamists! They infiltrate every layer of society and in OUR country of dress desingers, and still loathe us enough to kill us in cold blood - civilians!!! Think some more... I'm listening!

Well seeing as Bin Laden is as good as he is, at keeping his movements and his intentions hidden, I doubt if hiding $300 million in a series of international bank accounts, would be all that hard for him. If it is stashed away in Swiss bank accounts, I'm not holding my breath that it can be found and confiscated any time soon. How long did it take for the Swiss banking authorities to finally cooperate, in tracking down loot stolen by the Nazi's....45, 50 years ?