"Any response that I would be able to make to this barbaric attack on the very fabric of our western civilization would be inadequate to express the abject horripilation that I sensed when I saw the breaking story on MSNBC on the Warner Cable here in Springfield, Ohio.

To compare this to the Japanese's attack on Pearl Harbor is insufficient. At least the Japanese had the courage of their convictions to let it be known that they were the ones who did what they did.

These cowardly (words fail me here) can only be most horribly condemned for the lack of concern for humanity that they showed in the pursuit of whateverthehell it was that they were trying to accomplish.

If, for no other reason, that all they wanted to do was to erase the Wrld Trade Center from the face of the earth, then these barbarians have accomplished this heinous act in the most horrible of manner.

No matter what, there was no justification for the obliteration of the people in the towers that happened. Innocent people have no place in this kind of activity. They were not military, they were not special operatives of some kind of goevernment, but simply work-a-day people trying to make life better for all of us who take part in the business of business.

A pox upon them and their kind and the rewards that they have gotten out of this, if they are believers in an after-life of any kind, can only be pain and sorrow and costant reviewing and re-seeing of what they have "accomplished" in this cowardly, dastardly, and senseless act of terrorism.

I would hope that, as it appears that it has, the whole civilized world and the legitimate governments of the world come down upon these people who perpetrated this with all of the force that is available to them. In that, I wish NATO and others of the ilk only the best and speediest of actions towards that end.

We, as a people, to borrow from President Bush, have been attacked. We will, survive. We have always and will always survive.

Courage, hope, strength of faith, and the conviction to see this to the very end should be our by words in this crisis.

I have rambled on long enough in this message and will end by simply quoting as well as I can remember from a poem called "The People":

The People, yes the people
will survive.

"On Tuesday morning, September 11, I was preparing myself for what I thought would be another normal day in my life. I always listen to television as I get dressed because I can not watch if I am showering, appling my makeup etc. effectively. Suddenly a newsflas appeared on CNN saying a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center. Immediately, I said a prayer because usually after a plane has crashed, there is little chance of any survivors. Then after the second crash, I knew something was terribly wrong. My heart sank and i felt just like someone had just dropped a ton of brick on me. It is unbelievable! We hear about this and other countries and we are saddened, but, when it hits home the impact is much greater. If you've never been there, you may think you know how it feels to be a victim, but the real testimony comes when you are a victim. My heart goes out to the victims and their families who are a part of my extended because we are all God's children and I feel that a part of my American Family is gone. To the people who lost their lives trying to save others, I ask God to bless their families also. I am a firm believer that no matter what, "God is in Control." "

- Janie C. Balams  jbalams@yahoo.com , Mobile, Alabama 36609   9/13/01

""WE PRAY WHEN DISATER STRIKES, WHY NOT PRAY TO MAINTAIN PEACE AND AVOID DISATER"

It should not have happen.
This is America, a 1st world country. The officials might not ever say it, but I think we got caught with our pants down.
Anything out of the norm of an important industry (such as the airline industry) needs to send a red flag for action.
The technologies used for NASA needs to be used for air traffic and ground services.
If the prison system bug and track a prisoner when they breach security, why can't the gov't bug and track aircrafts in case they are diverted without explaintions. "Where is this country's priorities?"
If an airplane is off course, priority should be that it is a possible hi-jack, and contact that pilot. If he doesn't respond send in the F-15's. This is logic in a secured technology age.
We need to stop securing space, and secure this country.
Also America needs to believe "In God We Trust."
When prayer was removed from schools, violence came in. (All through the bible bad things happen when people deny the creator). We pray when disater strikes, why not pray to maintain peace in order to avoid disater.

I pray people are found in time, peace for NY, and America will be ready if a simular disater is attempted.

Godspeed
Jon"

- Jonthony  skidrowjj@earthlink.net , Riverside, CA. USA   9/13/01

"Terrorism has to be nipped by the bud..... thats the only cure to these acts that have plagued our society.Its a fight against fanatics and against people and groups who have lost their ability to think rationally. At the same time we must realize that our anger should not be directed towards people just because they look like or have faith in the same religion as the terrorists.
"Deporting moslems..." as suggested in a previous message , unfortunately parallels the same kind of fanaticism that the terrorists seem to display... and the loss of logical thinking is certainly evident in the subsequent statements by the same author. If was is a solution (which I think NOT) the ladies in our armed forces are as thoroughly trained as any male member..."

- EMP  emp    9/13/01

"I woke up in Portland, Oregon on Tuesday and turned on the radio for some "noise" as I showered and prepared for my noon flight back to Minneapolis. That's where I was when I joined in with the rest of you in horror and terror. Nine hours later I was on the Amtrak Empire Builder and now after a 38 hour train ride with limited communication with the outside world I'm home in the Twin Cities.

I'm lucky to be at home writing these words. Hundreds of thousands are stranded still. After a shower and a nap I'll be looking for a newspaper. Take care of your loved ones coming home via various routes. The train ride suspended the grief as hundreds of us crowded onto that train bound for points east and shared each others chaos. Now I sit here and sob...

I'm praying for all of you. My fellow travelers and everyone living and dying..."

- Nancy Lee  devvers@mn.mediaone.net , Circle Pines, Minnesota, USA   9/13/01

"My Beloved Fellow Americans,

I believe we have been physically, emotionally and psychologically raped and ravaged. That someone can come into us and render us distraught to the point of being dazed. My intial response was sorrow and sympathy. I pray that I will never be able to empathize with those who have lost someone in such a terrible, mean-spirited and violent way. I am now angry - okay, p---ed off.

Tuesday, I had jury duty. Needless to say, the judges cancelled their proceedings for the day. I went in to work and could not get anything done.

I have never felt so personally violated. I can't say even today that I have fully recovered. It is still difficult to concentrate knowing that so many of my countrymen and women, girls and boys are hurting so deeply that I can not fathom that kind of pain.

I pray that God will heal those souls and give Peace to their minds and hearts.

I pray that our leaders will allow cooler heads to prevail and go about this systematically and with the Bible in hand. Because if we (as a country) don't, then we will be judged accordingly.

May you all find Peace in the midst of the terrible wrong.

With Much Love,

Celeste"

- Celeste  Teame4rt@yahoo.com , New Orleans, LA , USA   9/13/01

"Of course the terrorism is unacceptable. My heart goes out to the mothers, fathers, children, and others who have lost their precious family members. My heart has gone out to the thousands of Palestinians, year after year, decade after decade as they face the same terror daily, hourly, minute to minute. Today, America knows what it is like to be a Palestinian, an Iraqi, an Afghani, a Syrian, a Lebanese, a Jordanian, a Sudanese, a person from any of the Central American or South American countries who faces the American trained death squads, and the list goes on and on and on. Americans need to find out why it has so many enemies that it can't automatically determine who has attacked them. Americans need to understand that what goes around comes around and the double standards are not effective international policies. When the people lead, governments follow. The people need to demand their governments value the life of a Kenyan as equal to their own children. They have to demand that their government obey the same laws they demand others to follow. They have to demand their government stop attacking people, starving people, poisoning people, experimenting on people. If we were everything we claim, we would not have enemies. Maybe feeling the pain of all this atrocious, unmeasurable loss of life will make us realize that the hundreds of thousands of Iraqi's killed by ten years of bombing are not "collateral damage", but people loved every bit as much as the Americans tragically lost today. "

- conee  champ@sunset.net , Chico, CA USA   9/13/01

"As I sit here trying to make some sense of this tragedy, I am filled with sadness and anger. Sadness, because of the horror and pain the surviving victims and the families of those lost must feel. Anger because of the way we as a country have historically treated this type of incident in the past. As a Vietnam vet, I can remember the many times we could have won the damn thing, but no, we caved in to public opinion and lost. Will we do the same thing again? We know where this Bin Laden crackpot is and who is helping him. Will we take him and they out? I hope so. Send a message to the other haters of America a message. You throw a rock, we throw a boulder. Enough is a enough"

- william lartigue  william_lartigue@msn.com , texas city tx usa   9/12/01

"It was surreal. I wasn't sure if it was a scene out of a Die Hard movie or the news. The planes ripping into the towers cutting them in two, people killed by the fall, symbols torn in two, policital commentary, idiotic statements by a Newt, endless repeats of the crash and towers falling, dulling the senses. All the persons that died. How the hell could anyone do that? I'm familar with the ideologies and arguments: western oppression, radical islamic terrorism, economic manipulation, third world retaliation, fighting for freedom and democracy, etc., etc.. But, when you see it on your home ground, it makes you feel overwhemly sad and angry. As I watched one woman talk about the last cell phone call from her husband, "... tell the children I love them," he said from the hijacked plane before his the phone went dead, I just cried. Emotions undulate like a CD player set on random play of the works of Dylan. The mix crescendos to "Changing of the Guard". Then,.... What? I suppose that depends on the next choices we make as a people. "

- Orlow Kent Nygren  orlow@alleywayz.com , Northampton, MA   9/12/01

"Sept. 11th, I turned on the TV just minutes before the 2nd plane impacted. Seeing it live, I instantly knew it was a suicidal attack with a passenger laden plane. My reaction was identical to that when I first heard the announcement of the assassination of JFK. Over the years, we've all been subjected to these horrors again and again. Reliving the shock, the horror and the helpless rage is beginning to wear mightily on my soul.

But since Black September of 1980 in Munich, a new pattern of horrors has emerged. Always and always, it is Moslems working their age old black magic; attack, cripple, conquest and forced conversion to their awful thought control-- disguised as religion.

From "Moorish Spain" to the Islamic Balkans, the heritage of blood letting comes to us now.

Our well intentioned support of Isreal and mindless goodwill toward Palestinians is a disasterous no-win non sequitor. We are reaping the harvest of our mistakes now.

Tuesday at 10 AM, we passed the same point of no return as those ill fated airliners. There's no going back, the next attacks may well be nuclear or bio-weapons. We have a taste of that devastation endlessly repeated on the tube right now.

On one hand, Moslem spokemen deny and dissemble, offering sympathy and sworn loyatly. On the other, we have 21 years of their born fruit,bloody fruit, poisonous fruit. The tree of Islam must be uprooted from this country, via peaceful enternment and deportation.

Alternatives include voluntary sworn conversion to another religion of choice, or to none at all. Also a provision for repatriation: when acts of Jihad terror cease in the world.

The likely military war will be most trying and harrowing, but brief. Our softened troops will do little better against tough, entrenched Moslem guerillas than did the Soviets in the same territory against this enemy. But war we must, and only men can wage war. Ladies, you must stand aside."

- JR  macnoel@earthlink.net    9/12/01

"It's interesting to note the implicit Arab-Palestine/Israeli conversation in all this when it hasn't even really been determined that's what the attack was about.

And still, having been someone determined not to side exclusively with the Israelis, I also find it interesting to watch myself battle a very strong and violent anti-PLO feeling.

When all is said and done, however, I hope we can find it in us to become a world leader instead of a world dominator. And I hope that the Palestinians can find it in them to become compassionate, thoughtful beings.

I'm angry. Does it show?"

- Kelly  kelly@kellybreed.com , Los Angeles   9/12/01

"I do day care out of my home and when the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center was televised, I was just welcoming my fifth child for the day. As I watched all the children, including three infants, play in the play room, I again thanked God for my talent and gift of loving and caring for babies and children. Although I am not able to directly do anything to comfort those who are suffering because of the violence that just occurred, I am doing my part to give to the world by caring for children in my own home. I give love and nurturing every day to human beings. I hope these children will grow up to be strong peace makers unlike the evil weak cowards who committed these acts of terrorism."

- Susan Marie richards  srichardsil@earthlink.net , Woodstock, IL 60098   9/12/01

"As the U.S. walks around in a state of dazed confusion, anger, accusations, we find that our strength is in being behind a country that will say "No More." Sometimes, when we cower under the phrase that "Two wrongs don't make a right," we find that the two wrongs hit the same people. The bombing of the Embassys in South Africa was the first...this is the second. We are told to "Turn the other cheek." Tell me how much of the other cheek we can afford to turn? I am afraid, we must retaliate. We will stop the wrongs with yet, another wrong. And we will then, not have to deal with a fourth. God will judge, and we will justify. It's a sad state of affairs.....so very sad. And still, yet, unacceptable. "

- Cheshire  S_CheshireCat_@hotmail.com , U.S. of A.   9/12/01

"In the end, what redeems everything is that we really have been attacked. This is the nectar of war, which few of us have tasted. Francesa was right. There was something violating about the destruction of the temple. At bottom, everyone who lives in New York feels an intense identication between their home and the twin towers, our first and best landmark by air or land. "We don’t got the World Trade Centers no more," a man said to me on the street – an awful fact, and one which ended any discussion. But the war seems to have collateral benefits, which bring out some of the worst in New Yorkers. Unwholesome excitements, sanctimony, xenophobia, even a forthright anti-semitism: all these and more will start pouring out as the reality of war settles in. New Yorkers will display all their best and worst qualities, both as citizens and human beings. War brings out fundamental qualities, even in non-combatants. "
(Excerpted fromThe Boob)

- Josh Ozersky  josh_ozersky@yahoo.com , New York, NY   9/12/01

"As I watched the crumbling of the WT towers in horror while parked on the Brooklyn Queens Expressway, a few questions came: "What would drive a human being to commit such an act? Why sacrifice ones life and those of others who are "innocent" in that manner? Who draws the line in "warfare" or is there a line? Who is really "civilized"? Clearly, there are histories here that need to be heard and understood in order to make valid "judgements" as to who is right and/or wrong, if such pronouncements even apply.

Not too long many here (US) watched with patriotic glee as Iraq was "smart bombed" into submission. Wasn't Sadam Hussein once a "friend" of the US? Wasn't Osama bin Laden also called a "friend" at one time? Or maybe that should be "useful-tool" who has -for hidden reasons- fallen out of favor and is now the newest and most wanted enemy of Uncle "Super Power" Sam.

Such acts, of course, can never be condoned, for we all do suffer in the long run from escalating violence. However, one has to ask: how many secret acts of "terrorism" has the US (and/or its allies) performed to provide a framework for "chickens coming home to roost". You remember those words from another former "enemy of the State", Malcolm X.

Now what??? Real solutions anyone??? "

- L A Barton  lbperf1@banet.net , New York, NY, USA   9/12/01

"My plane was in the airspace over NY when the explosions happened. In a bizarre twist, we passengers seemed to know what was happening before the pilots, thanks to Jet Blue's installation of televisions at every seat. Our plane was diverted to a military airport. I rented a car there and drove back to Rochester, stopping to drop off other stranded passengers along the way.

Alyce felt greatly disturbed all morning, knowing only that I was supposed to come into JFK at that very hour, returning from a weekend drumming workshop in Santa Cruz, CA.

I left her a message when we hit the ground, then rolled into the driveway seven hours later. I am happy to be home, and still feeling stunned about yesterday's events.

Our redeye from San Francisco left two hours late due to NY weather. Had we been on time, some of the passengers on my plane would have been at work in the towers when the tragedy began. As we circled above, looking for a place to land, the grief (for their co-workers) and joy (for themselves) intertwined with disbelief for these shaken people.

At this moment all of my close friends in NYC are accounted for. I hope the same is true for you.

My heart goes out to all who are directly affected. And I hold out hope that the men and women in control of the USA's political and military machine act out of wisdom instead of anger."

- Blair Hornbuckle  blair@cleargenius.com , Rochester, N.Y.   9/12/01

"Waking to find your beloved daughter is in a place of peril. Tears for the other children across the world who have lived through days upon days with the unknown as a companion. Tears for the mothers across the world. Their fears are daily. The terror unavoidable. A new feeling for me. Realizing this violence must stop. No more bombing. No more killing. It must stop. Now."

- Eileen Keller  eileen@ideality.com , Austin, Texas, USA   9/12/01

"All I want is for it to stop. I don't want retaliation, I don't want my ignorant sense of security back, I don't want some damned innocence I didn't deserve to have restored. I don't want another world war to prove how tough we are. I do want us to take seriously, as a country, how reviled we are abroad, how many people feel endangered by our willful refusal to join various international efforts and by our rampant consumerism. Nobody, ever, under any circumstances, deserves the pain and suffering inflicted upon people in DC and NY and on those planes, but I think any continuation of our arrogant foreign policies will bring more of the same to American citizens and to other human beings, and I have no wish to visit the same upon other human beings in the name of justice. "

- Elizabeth  esfreeman@ucdavis.edu , Berkeley, CA, USA   9/12/01

"As a retired professional firefighter my grief was intensified by the knowledge that they, the firefighters, were putting their lives on the line once again. Isn't it ironic we pay sports figures millions of dollars a year and vote down pay raises for police and fireman!"

- Peter J Callinicos  goldprosp@home.com , Lakewood, Colorado, United States   9/12/01

"It is now time for the world to unite and fight against extremism of this nature. Until yesterday many countries in other continents have been fighting a long battle against the so called "jehad"... the US remained largely unaffected. Now that the US has been dragged in, it should take the lead and form a joint coalition to put an end to this menace."

- MP  mapadman@aol.com , AL   9/12/01

"My family joins with the rest of the country in prayers for the survivors. Those we loved are always with us and we never forget them but it is difficult to have them taken away from us in such a senseless tragic way.

These terrorists will learn, as indeed the terriorists who attacked the United States at Pearl Harbor learned, that you cannot pull the tail feathers of the American Eagle with receiving cruel and harsh retribution and retaliation.

Justice and the lives of the innocent people lost yesterday, demand sure and swift response.

We will hear for days of the brave heroism of individual citizens, police and fire and emergeny personnel, indeed of the people in the airplanes that tried to stop the hijacking, the kind of stories that you expect of Americans. We will never forget the Congress lining up to support our President and then singing :"God Bless America".

I am so proud to be an American, I am so proud of our country. I am so saddened for its loss yesterday."

- Richard Bowers  rbowers@pgatourhq.com , Ponte Vedra Beach, Fl - USA   9/12/01

"This isn't about power. This isn't about religion. Or beliefs. This is about an inhuman nature to destroy, and kill and hate. This is about the desire to be God, not act for God. This is pure, unadulterated, undeniable, cruel, viscious hate. And I for one, will celebrate when I can see the same toward the terrorists that created this hell. Pray for the world. Pray for the States. And pray for me. There is no peace....."

- Fadra  Fadra , USA   9/12/01

"It was my birthday on the 11th. I was not planning anything substantial. Substantial plans had already been made. This ferocious atrocity was unbelievable and yet real. Words spoken, written or viewed can not allow any of us full perception of the terror in the tower of those alive with no hope...with minutes left to live...and well aware of this fact, those special souls who never slipped on their pantyhose and drank down their orange juice that morning thinking ..I am going to die today. Yes, I was home from work this morning, the day after. Our base was put into threatcon Delta and we were inconvenienced and by the added security, acutely aware of our own mortality. I woke up this morning, on this day of no work...and all I wanted to do is be in the garden, pull the weeds, restore the beauty. Symbolic for soul? perhaps...it helped. At least I was able to work in my garden...lingering under the sun, wondering, was that a plane that flew by?!?
"

- Elizabeth  media@ec.rr.com , North Carolina   9/12/01

"And it's not fought for freedom and democracy either."

- molly  lalala , Germany   9/12/01

"This is not about religion, I think it's about power. This war is not fought for God (however you want to call him). People only hide behind this excuse. Islam and the Moslem extremism is not the same thing. "

- molly  lalala , Germany   9/12/01

"It is to do with beliefs and the awful power of religion, rather than the power of God or Allah. Once, religion was the opium of the people, now it is the crack cocaine of humanity."

- Michael Round  rounm@easynet.co.uk , London   9/12/01

"I've been here in the chat of without sanctuary for more than a year and I got many friends who live in USA. I first couldn't believe that this has happened because I just came back from Utah and three weeks earlier one of the planes that crashed into the WTC could have been mine.

But another thing that chocks me is the way in which this incident is simplyfied. The fact that Ben Laden was first supported by the US and the reasons for which this happened are not really analyzed in the news. He once said he wanted the US citizens to know what it is like to live in war because their chountry's government was involved in so many wars all over the world without having anything comparable on their own ground. Interesting point. And I think it's wrong to call this an attack on the civilized world because we have no right to assume that those who committed this crime are not civilized.
I'm afraid that the influence of the planned missle defence system on the balance and peace in Europe might be forgotten because now there's again a big bad enemy out there that is to be watched and perhaps destroyed.

Bush now has to demonstrate strength of any kind and no matter how. He can't stop terrorism and he knows that. Countries and lives can be destroyed but ideologies can not be banned with war and destruction. I hope he'll be careful.
I'm sorry for all those who lost friends and relatives in the WTC or the Pentagon or the planes that went down or were shot down. May God help and guide you and let you know that he took care of his children and always will. "

- molly  lalala , Germany   9/12/01

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