I have never actually started a Pit Thread before, but now I’m so pissed off, I couldn’t resist.
I can’t believe some of the questions that the press is asking. I heard one interviewer ask a top-ranking official why the government’s intelligence regarding the attack was so lacking. Another interviewer asked what America could’ve done to avoid these attacks.
The fucking terrorists are the ones to blame. Quit blaming governmental and municipal officials, as well as the FAA, for what these fuck-nuts did.
I remember after Columbine, reporters were blaming the local police for allowing such a thing to happen. It was two assholes that made that happen. Don’t blame the police.
Sorre, Moe, but it’s perfecly legitimate to ask about some pretty obvious security and intelligence lapses. True, the terorists are utlimately responsible, but that they were able to go 4-for-4 on hijackings leads me to believe that somehow our system of security wasn’t up to snuff.
1.) Quit asking for an estimate of the death toll. nobody has one. When you’re interviewing an official, use your time to ask question that might actually get a uesful answer.
2.) Quit showing me footage a billlowing smoke above Manhattan. How is that supposed to be useful?
3.) A minor point, but I must rant about it. CNN was doing interviews with relatives of people who were on the planes. Of course, one idiot insisted that his ESP had informed him of the tragedy at the moment it happened (not is so many words, of course, but someone always says that.) Honestly, the worst fucking disaster in American history and they can’t think of anything better to show than that.
That’s an interesting idea, Jon. If the security was up to snuff, maybe none of this would have happened. And if they (the security personnel) had stripped searched all of the people on the flights, they might have found the terrorists.
But really, I don’t think that’s a plausible idea. In hindsight (which, as they say, is 20-20), I WISH the security had somehow been tighter, but to blame those in charge is, I believe, to blame the innocent party.
To me, it’s akin to saying that a rape victim was just asking for it. (I realize that analogy is the weakest form of argument. I thank JonScribe for his input, but my gut feelings tell me that his ideas are. . .well. . .misguided, to say the least.)
Guiliani is speaking about NYC’s medical examiner, who was injured during the events. Mayor G had been talking about the ME for a few minutes and it was clear that he was hurt by the debris.
Regarding security, I had heard that it was very lax indeed. I don’t have a source on this, but a few months ago some undercover government people decided to test our airport security. They were able to sneak in weapons and even people, by having them pose as workers on the tarmac. I saw a report about this on the news a while back, but the FAA didn’t seem to do anything about it.
Hey, I’m all for blaming shitheads. As you say, if it weren’t for shitheads, this wouldn’t have happened. And let’s find out who their bosses and co-shitheads are and bring them to justice. But we can’t just let all these shitheads run around the country blowing things up. I’m not blaming our guys, I’m just saying we have to be more careful.
An ex-FBI guy was being interviewed here in LA. He said, and I quote ," They wanted to stike at us and bring us to our knees, and they have done that". I hope that you misspoke. If not, fuck you. Nobody’s on their fucking knees around here. They wanted to fuck with the big dog on the block, well there gonna find out just how big and how mean of dog we are.
And to the moron anchor on channel 5. He said while interviewing someone " Our great leader, Franklin Roosevelt, said ‘we have nothing to fear but fear itself’. Do find that applicable?" Please get your head out of your ass. You sounded like you were waiting your whole life to be able to use that quote.
I swear to god, I have heard reporters ask some of the dumbest questions ever in that last 12 hours. I actually shouted at my TV screen “You asked him that 3 times!!! He doesn’t know the answer!!!”
An otherwise good rant, but let’s please not oversimplify here. I find it extremely hard, in light of evidence that has come out since that day, to say factually that Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris just up and decided “Hey, let’s kill some people.”
The point is, in both cases, it happened because the guilty parties worked the system.
Airlines typically allow small knives to be carried onboard. If not an actual “knife”, then the infamous utility or “box knife” can easily be slipped into a bag or suitcase, since it doesn’t look like a weapon.
The perps knew this, and that fact was key to their success.
In the case of Columbine, the killers, prior to the event, placed at least one false emergency call, which lured officers and support personel away to a different location, to give themselves- the killers- more time to do their dirty work.
They knew how the system works, and used it against itself.
It’s the underlying theme in all military tactics manuals- Know thy enemy, and use their strengths or weaknesses against them.
In hindsight, it’s easy to see how these tragedies could’ve been avoided.
I agree, Don, that the assholes worked the system. After the attacks, its easy to see the flaws in the system.
I guess, for me, there are degrees of blame to be distributed. And I think that those in charge of the system are being given more than their fair share.
random thoughts on the media coverage:
arafat sure looked nervous
incredible camera work by some amateurs
tom clancy sure sounded like an asshole on charlie rose
larry king gets the weakest guests “next on larry king live… a guy who was once in NEW YORK and saw the trade center…”
the newsies on BBC america have a different take on all this
footage of “people” celebrating really pisses you off (saw one photo of a young man shooting his AK into the air while wearing a fucking chicago bears jersey!)
the morning DJ’s need to take a few days off. listening to these idiots always makes me sick, but now they are trying to be “SERIOUS JOURNALISTS!” and it ain’t working. SHUT UP!!
The stupidest theory I ever heard yesterday was on the Fox news channel where they were interviewing a woman who speculated that all the airline crashes were simply the result of a huge air traffic control screw-up.
I hate those dumbass questions the press asks too. “How come the Inetl community didn’t know it was about to happen?” “Gee Wally, I don’t have an answer to that…”
Give me a fucking break. With all the restirctions the US Intel community has (we can’t hire terrorists/people with shady backgrounds. Can’t pose as journalists, etc.) and you’re somehow * surprised* that the Intel community didn’t catch it? That’s like asking why the Police aren’t able to catch every criminal act before it happens, with only 50% of the needed funding.
You think it’s bad now? Shit, you ain’t seen nothing yet.
Just wait until the yellow journalists come along (they’ve already started to emerge from their swamps), where the only thing about this is not updates but the same rehash (it may seem like that now but it’ll get worse). The weak guests (like gatopescado mentioned)—over and over and over again. This will come along when the general public has moved on or wants to move on. Oh, and just wait until the made for TV movie about this comes out in a year or two. Hollywood pretends to be sympathetic, but you know producers and writers (if you can call them that) are peeing their pants over this, thinking about the next great movie, that will no doubt involve a love triangle.
Had a surreal viewing moment yesterday, watching CNN’s coverage of the explosions in Afghanistan, got bored with it and went surfing only to find the exact same shot, with the same commentator, on every channel!
Now, I understand that CNN had the exclusive on this shot, but couldn’t ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC have gone so far as to have someone else commenting on the subject?
There were several moments like this yesterday, including one where the sound was cut-off on all 5 stations! A perfect example of the sad state of the press in the US.
I got hacked yesterday at Peter Jennings. Around noon, I heard him on ABC Radio going over the events of the past few hours. Then he starts complaining that Bush isn’t making a statement, that the American people need to hear from their President, and he (Peter) wants to know where the President is.
Hey, Peter, you think George might’ve had a few more things on his mind at that point than calling you and giving you an update? He’d already released one statement that morning, shortly after the attacks took place. Sorry he couldn’t fit you into his schedule.