AP: "Minutes after hijackers slammed into the World Trade Center, police alerted airport control towers that they considered it 'a criminal act,' according to newly released Port Authority transcripts. The agency yesterday released the final set of transcripts from emergency communications during the Sept. 11 terrorist attack. The disclosure comes four months after the Port Authority released 2,000 pages of documents detailing what was said in thousands of other emergency calls that day."

Richard Drew writes: "My family calls it 'the picture that won't go away.' Most newspaper editors refused to print it. Those who did, on the day after the World Trade Center attacks, received hundreds of letters of complaint. The photograph was denounced as coldblooded, ghoulish and sadistic. Then it vanished. Yet, two years later, I still get asked about it. I've been invited on national talk shows, interviewed by foreign TV crews and asked to speak about it at universities across the country. Esquire magazine just published a 7,000-word essay that hails it as an icon, a masterpiece and a touching work of art. All this for a single frame out of hundreds shot in haste before I was pulled to safety as the second tower of the World Trade Center tumbled toward me."

"There is no reason why these transcripts and tapes were withheld for one hour after the attack two years ago. That the voice tapes are still not released is a criminal act. Nobody knows the pain these people are causing a decent woman. There are some family members who didn't want anything released. 'It'll come up no matter what,' Stella was saying. 'Some young people won't know in 15 years, they'll be oblivious. We need all this out.' Already, we've found that the trade center attack has produced monstrous lies by the government, lies day in and day out, about the air people were breathing at the trade center. Now people from many agencies get together and lie to a woman whose daughter died."

Newsday reports: "The mass chaos, confusion, horror and heroism of the World Trade Center attack and the individual terror of victims trapped alone in the minutes before thousands died are revealed in chilling detail in transcripts of Port Authority radio and phone communications released Thursday. Understandably, there was much confusion from the moment the first plane crashed into the North Tower at 8:46 a.m. Callers from the South Tower were told to stay at their desks, for example, rather than evacuate. But Port Authority Police Chief Joseph Morris said the number of selfless heroic acts that occurred that morning are underrepresented in the communications, because, 'When you're carrying someone down a flight of stairs to safety, you don't stop to call it in.' Mostly, the calls present the sad story of lonely deaths and last words from a place where 2,792 lost their lives."

"For a quarter-century, Jane Turner has been a special agent for the FBI. But now the agency is trying to fire her, and Turner says it's because she blew the whistle on FBI wrongdoing. Agent Turner tells her story in an exclusive interview with NBC's senior investigative correspondent, Lisa Myers. Veteran FBI agent Jane Turner was given an unpleasant assignment last year: investigate theft from Ground Zero -- a fire engine door, artifacts, goods donated to victims -- all allegedly stolen during the cleanup at New York's World Trade Center. But just as the case was heating up, Turner made a stunning discovery. Inside her own FBI office in Minneapolis, on a secretary's desk, was a severely damaged Tiffany crystal globe. 'She told me that it came from Ground Zero,' Turner said. 'I was absolutely shocked. And I asked the individual where she had gotten that. She responded it was an evidence-response team member from the FBI."

Many readers ask us about the episode of the 'Lone Gunmen' that had a plot similar in many ways to the events of 9/11. It turns out that there was indeed such an episode. "At the peace rally in Washington, DC, on October 26, I had the good fortune of running into Jonathan Inskeep, who told me about a fascinating TV program aired March 4, 2001, on Fox that foretold the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center, with some fascinating twists. In that story, a faction within the government organized a remote control takeover of a commercial airline, which it then aimed into the World Trade Center. The motive was to stimulate business for the weapons industry, which had been suffering since the end of the Cold War." As for the 'remote-controlled plane' theory, there is enough about 9/11 that is disturbing without going there. An impeded investigation does not imply missing evidence supporting one's pet theory. File this under 'eerie coincidence,' along with 'The Fight Club' ending.

According to O'Dwyer's PR Daily, "The Center for the Study of Popular Culture, in Los Angeles, has begun a PR campaign to pin the blame of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the Clinton Administration. The Center has mailed copies of David Horowitz's new pamphlet entitled 'How the Left Undermined America's Security,' to about 1,500 media outlets on Feb. 19. Horowitz is president of the Center. The 46-page pamphlet charges that the U.S. national security interests were undermined by the left, leading to the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11. This will be the theme of the PR campaign that will take Horowitz to more than 30 college campuses this spring," To read Horowitz's anti-Clinton screed, click here.

"I'm not trying to start some big crusade, because the hammer is nowhere near big enough to affect anything nationally, but maybe when you hear some s***head say 'Let's roll,' when he's off on a beer run, maybe you'll think to remind him what those words really mean....and President Weak and Stupid? That phrase is NOT some damn toy your Daddy bought! You don't own it!! You don't get to play with it!! It doesn't belong to you! Your actions on September 11th were the exact opposite of Todd Beamer's. You ran like a cockroach when your country was in severe trouble and needed a hero. Thank God Rudy Giuliani stood up and became President for a few days while you were running and hiding like back in your AWOL days with the National Guard. Todd, I wish 'our' president [sic] had one tenth of your courage. I'd like to propose a toast - a shot of Chinaco to you and those who helped you and every hero who helped defend this country in its darkest hour." (For those who like their language strong).

"Money for victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks will be counted against the $20 billion President [sic] Bush promised for New York City, White House budget director Mitch Daniels said Monday. New York Democrats immediately attacked Daniels' comments, saying they contradicted what he had told them in earlier conversations. Sen. Charles Schumer said Daniels' statement 'verges on a breach of faith.' 'It was repeatedly made clear that these dollars were not to be included as part of the $20 billion and we're not going to stand by and let that happen,' Schumer said. Added Sen. Hillary Clinton, 'This money is not related to the cleanup, rebuilding or economic recovery in New York'…About $10.7 billion of that was appropriated last year. Daniels said he expected the victims fund set up by Congress to total about $5.4 billion for the New York area, although he allowed that figure could change depending on the number of people who apply." Bush and the House GOP had earlier tried to slash the total to $9.8 billion.

"Bush has done nothing but work against New York. He works against our economy. He works against economic prosperity. He works against Wall Street. He works against America's working families. He works against sensible gun laws that could prevent domestic terrorists from obtaining guns in the first place. He works against accountability. He works against Congress. He works against fuel-efficiency standards that could help reduce our dependency on foreign oil. He works against the voting laws of Florida. He works against the people of America. How can anyone call that patriotic?" So writes Mike Schiller.

"We who lost family members all share feelings of deep grief and loss, and are constantly bombarded with painful reminders of that terrible day. But there are many of us who oppose a vengeful approach to the war on terrorism. We can understand why victims' families would look to the death penalty as a justifiable punishment for convicted terrorists, but we feel that it is wrong to take a life. Nothing will erase the pain and loss that we must learn to live with, and causing others pain can only make it worse. Life without parole is a harsh sentence and protects society from dangerous individuals. It also allows for human error in the rush to judgment. If any good can come out of the disaster of Sept. 11, perhaps it will include examination of how we can maintain our humanity in the face of terrorists' threats." So write Orlando and Phyllis Rodriguez, friends of Democrats.com and the parents of 31-year-old Greg Rodriguez, a victim of the WTC attack on 911.

"Immediately after the terrorist destruction of the World Trade Center, President Bush made a promise to New York. Washington, he vowed, would provide $20 billion in emergency aid. That was a contract with the people of this stricken city and state. Now, incredibly and disgracefully, the White House is going back on its word. Despite administration requests for a little trust, the message it's sending is clear. Bush to New York: Drop dead. In the first days after Sept. 11, Congress dutifully appropriated $20 billion for New York and $20 billion to fight terrorism, with most of the money to be formally allocated later. The allocation has now been announced, and it amounts to outright betrayal. The emergency funding, which was supposed to be just a down payment, is being cut, diverted and delayed. The administration and House GOP leaders are now willing to hand over only $9.8 billion. And it won't even all come here."

"A British mother widowed by the World Trade Centre terrorism is being threatened with deportation from America as an illegal alien. Deena Gilbey, 37, lost her husband, Paul, in the inferno of the south tower on September 11, and with him, according to the Immigration and Naturalisation Service, she lost her right to live in the United States...[Of this right, an INS official told her] 'You have none . . . regardless of the circumstances, you are an illegal alien'... a probate lawyer told Mrs Gilbey that…the Internal Revenue Service will take 60 per cent of her husband's life insurance in tax. If she had been American, she would pay no tax on her husband's estate...The story has outraged the local community, however, and there is hope for the family in a campaign that is demanding that Washington confers instant citizenship on Mrs Gilbey, even if that means passing a law on Capitol Hill."

Where is the acknowledgment that this was not a "cowardly" attack on "civilization" or "liberty" or "humanity" or "the free world" but an attack on the world's self-proclaimed superpower, undertaken as a consequence of specific American alliances and actions?

British Intelligence believes Khalid Almihdhar played "'key roles' in both the August 1998 bombings of two United States Embassies in East Africa and the October 2000 attack on the American destroyer Cole in Yemen." They believe Almihdhar has closer ties to Bin Laden than Mohamed Atta, previously regarded as the leader of the Sept. 11 plot. (Mohamed Atta is not to be confused with Muhammad Atef, see below). The CIA identified Almihdhar as a key terrorist in August, and soon discovered he entered the US on July 4. The FBI began looking for him on August 23, but did not find him during the 18 days before September 11. Here's a question no one in Washington is asking: Why not?

"Following up on a tough-worded speech warning Afghanistan of an impending military attack, British Prime Minister Tony Blair revealed details Thursday of the case against Osama bin Laden, saying three hijackers have been 'positively identified' as associates and that the terror suspect told others he was preparing a major strike against the United States. The evidence was later released in a dossier by the British government. 'We have absolutely no doubt that bin Laden and his network were responsible for the attacks on Sept. 11,' Blair told a hushed special session of Parliament...Bush administration officials presented what was said to be similar evidence to NATO allies in Brussels on Tuesday and to Pakistan, which neighbors Afghanistan and has relations with that country's ruling Taliban militia. After seeing the evidence, Pakistan's government announced there was enough proof to justify putting bin Laden on trial."

"The fundamentalist believes that we believe in nothing. In his world-view, he has his absolute certainties, while we are sunk in sybaritic indulgences. To prove him wrong, we must first know that he is wrong. We must agree on what matters: kissing in public places, bacon sandwiches, disagreement, cutting-edge fashion, literature, generosity, water, a more equitable distribution of the world's resources, movies, music, freedom of thought, beauty, love. These will be our weapons. Not by making war but by the unafraid way we choose to live shall we defeat them. How to defeat terrorism? Don't be terrorized. Don't let fear rule your life. Even if you are scared." So writes Salman Rushdie, a brand new New Yorker.

"Firefighter Stephen Bellson was in the water at Rockaway on the Tuesday morning when people on the shoreline began yelling about the World Trade Center. Bellson was out of the water and into clothes and driving madly to Manhattan. He arrived at the World Trade Center just in time to get killed. He didn't need any mayor of the city to summon him to his job. He needed no phone call, beeper or politician on television announcing plans. He needed only the class of the working man of the city." So writes Newsday columnist Jimmy Breslin.

"A burn victim from the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center was released from New York Weill Cornell Medical Center on Tuesday morning, three weeks after barely surviving the events. Manu Dhingra suffered severe burns on his face, arms, stomach, and back when a hijacked jetliner crashed into One World Trade Center at 8:45 a.m. on September 11. He was on the 83rd floor when it happened... 'They were like, 'Manu, you have to try to try to help yourself and we'll help you. But there's nobody that will come up to the 83rd floor to get you down,'' Dhingra recalled. 'I don't know who was with me at that time, but I got some kind of energy from somewhere. I just got up and started walking down the stairs. And that's how I made it down... Dhingra said he won't consider working in a high-rise office building again. And he said he's 'not going to waste the second chance he has been given.'"

"My husband, Craig Scott Amundson, of the U.S. Army lost his life in the line of duty at the Pentagon on Sept. 11 as the world looked on in horror and disbelief. Losing my 28-year-old husband and father of our two young children is a terrible and painful experience. His death is also part of an immense national loss and I am comforted by knowing so many share my grief. But because I have lost Craig as part of this historic tragedy, my anguish is compounded exponentially by fear that his death will be used to justify new violence against other innocent victims." So writes Amber Amundson in the Chicago Tribune.

In the Village Voice, Tom Robbins writes: "At least 1000 of the victims belonged to labor unions. Among them were the firefighters, city and Port Authority police, and emergency medical technicians lost in the rescue efforts. Others were the kidnapped pilots and flight attendants. Union members also worked throughout the towers. At Windows on the World, the swank restaurant atop One World Trade Center, as many as 79 members of Local 100 of the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees International Union perished. Twenty floors below them, at least 39 members of Public Employees Federation, most of them workers at the Department of Taxation and Finance on the 86th and 87th floors of the south tower, are missing." Let's honor all union members - and stimulate the economy - by increasing the minimum wage.

"In the wake of September 11, with the major media beating the war drum and sucking up every fanciful tale and lie that comes out of the White House, the Bush administration wants us to wage war on we know not whom and give up our civil rights in the process... This is the administration the corporate media and certain members of Congress would have us surrender our civil liberties to, accept national identity cards, submit to constant surveillance, subject ourselves, our homes and businesses to unreasonable searches, and consign our persons to possibly detention without end. Is this what it all has come down to? Have we become a nation of cowering, sniveling, spineless wimps all because of the acts of criminals, regardless of who they are?" So asks Bev Conover, editor of Online Journal.

The hijackers left behind a 5-page document, which "is a cross between a chilling spiritual exhortation aimed at the hijackers and an operational mission checklist. With the hijackers all dead, the pages may turn out to provide the most vivid and penetrating glimpse into their mental states and final hours before they embarked on the deadliest act of terrorism in U.S. history. The haunting writings urge the hijackers to crave death and 'be optimistic.' At the same time, the document starkly addresses fear on the eve of their suicide mission. 'Everybody hates death, fears death,' according to a translation of highlights of the document obtained by The Washington Post. 'But only those, the believers who know the life after death and the reward after death, would be the ones who will be seeking death.'" So reports Bob Woodward of the Washington Post.

Here are photos of the men suspected of hijacking the four airliners on September 11. The FBI is interested in any information on these individuals - call toll-free 1-866-483-5137.

"They were missing, presumed dead -- but now it turns out that four young Irishmen caught up in the World Trade Center attacks were victims in name only. An Irish parliamentarian said on Thursday all four missing workmen survived the September 11 attack but none had dared reveal their true identity for fear of falling foul of the law. All were working illegally in the United States and even their own families did not know they had emerged alive... The four, from County Cavan in the north of the Irish Republic, had been admitted to New York's St. Vincent's Hospital under the false names they were using to work illegally." We're grateful for this one ray of hope amidst the devastation.

"The end of the world came with both whimpers and bangs and all manner of sounds in between. When it was done, what hung over it all, greater than the smoke or the shock, was the sense of what most people are really made of, the emotional alchemy that enables us, from time to time, to love our neighbors as ourselves. To see ourselves in them all: the executives, the waiters, the lawyers, the police officers, the father, the mother, the 2-year-old girl off on an adventure, sitting safe between them, taking wing." So writes Anna Quindlen in Newsweek.

We need to decide whether or not we want to be a nation that does what it wants in the world regardless of how our actions affect others and without caring very much, or even caring to inform ourselves about, what those others think and feel. If we decide that we do not, then we need among other things to look again at how we educate our children about the world around us, we need to identify, nominate and elect a very different kind of leadership than we've had to date, and we need to let network executives know that we will not continue to allow so-called "infotainment" to take the place of news. If, on the other hand, we decide that we do want to be that kind of nation, then I'm afraid we've just been given our first lesson in learning to live with the consequences.

"The patterns of human history mix decency and depravity in equal measure. We often assume, therefore, that such a fine balance of results must emerge from societies made of decent and depraved people in equal numbers. But we need to expose and celebrate the fallacy of this conclusion so that, in this moment of crisis, we may reaffirm an essential truth too easily forgotten, and regain some crucial comfort too readily forgone. Good and kind people outnumber all others by thousands to one." So writes Harvard zoology professor Stephen Jay Gould.

"Key Republican lawmakers said on Tuesday they opposed adding benefits for laid-off airline workers to an aviation security bill, straining the bipartisanship that has reigned in Congress since the Sept. 11 attacks using hijacked airliners. House Democratic Leader Richard Gephardt of Missouri introduced legislation to give $3 billion in quick help to some 100,000 displaced airline and aerospace workers who lost their jobs after the attacks -- including health insurance, retraining, and extended unemployment benefits... But House Republican leader Richard Armey of Texas and Senate Republican leader Trent Lott of Mississippi both said they opposed linking aviation security and worker benefits." The Republican policy is not only immoral, but also bad economics - as we head into a recession and people lose their jobs, we need to maintain consumer purchasing power to keep the economy from sinking further.

"If Democrats have differences with President Bush they should make those differences clear and fight for what they believe. That is patriotic. If Republicans object to the direction in which Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle is moving, they should fight for their beliefs. That is patriotic. But what will do our country and our cause no good is for either side to accuse the other of a lack of patriotism if they disagree. This disagreement is the sine qua non of democracy. Democracy is what our terrorist adversaries want to disrupt. Let us not let them. Let us debate among ourselves so that we are better able to fight against them... We need the vibrant discussions, the challenges to the assumptions of the status quo; and the sometimes messy, American process of reaching serious decisions. Let us not let the terrorists take that away from us. Let us try to help promote it for them." So writes former Democratic National Chair Joe Andrew.

"I fear that this tragedy will pave the way for needless and provocative military buildups that will spawn another spiral of vengeance... But it doesn't have to be this way. Imagine if these terrible events inspired us all to take on the difficult work of creating a more just world, and making the necessary common investments so indiscriminate violence and needless suffering do not prevail. The crisis has already produced a wealth of individual acts of courage and compassion. We saw tremendous heroism in the firefighters, police officers, and ordinary citizens who gave their lives trying to help others live. We've seen an outpouring of personal generosity: people giving blood, comforting their neighbors, collecting supplies. American Christians and Jews have even held vigils to help protect threatened mosques... These events just might be able to break us away from our gated communities of the heart." So writes Paul Loeb, author of "Soul of a Citizen."

Democrats.com has often featured Ray Berry's wonderful Bush-Toons. But when Ray's hometown of Manhattan was hit by terrorists, Ray began keeping an online diary. Ray writes, "My one shot emotional writings and observations reflect my immediate daily impressions of the city and nation that I love from inside an island under siege."

Although many friends and relatives of victims in the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center have fervently hoped to discover their loved ones in hospitals as Jane or John Doe patients, a spokesperson for area hospitals said all of the injured have now been identified. Considering the chaos of this horrible event, this was a great feat for medical personnel in so short a time. We applaud their relentless efforts and grieve for those who must now relinquish hope. Our prayers are with you.

On Friday, Americans gathered in houses of worship, parks, homes, and just out on the streets. There were a wide range of powerful emotions, including anger and fear, sadness and depression. This dialogue should continue as America launches its "War for Freedom."

"The roots [of terrorism] are not only found in terrorist cells, financial networks, training camps, and safe harbors. The roots are also found in the frustration and pain of victims seeking their own justice. Many of the causes of anger toward America are rooted in the violence of the Middle East, so the resolution of the Middle East problem must be part of the war on terrorism. We need to engage the moderate leaders in the Middle East with dignity, respect, and recognition of their own just demands... This will not eliminate the fanatics and sociopaths of the world - nothing will do that. But we can eliminate the support and sympathy that they garner among common people who can find no other outlet for their demands for justice. When they lose that support, we can indeed root out this evil of organized terrorism, and destroy it." So writes international development expert John Gillies.

Here are just a few of the stories that have arisen, phoenix-like from the ashes of last Tuesday's disaster. There is the Father Mike, a Franciscan chaplain for the NY Fire Dept., who left the safety of his church to be with the injured, only to be killed while giving last rites. Then there's Harry Ramos, a Wall Street trader who died because he refused to desert a coworker who could not make it further than the 36th floor. Or how about Lt. Col. Ted Andersen, who, upon hearing that the World Trade Center had been hit, got on the phone from his Pentagon office with his wife's sixth-grade class to reassure students and urge them not to take out their anger on any ethnic group? While on the phone, he heard the crash as his own bldg was hit, then rushed out to aid in helping in the evacuation, saving at least one other life. As the weeks go by, we will be hearing many, many more such stories of incredible courage and compassion that will make us proud to be Americans.

Perhaps the only way to prevent recurrences of events like last Tuesday's is indeed to engage in an all-out, no-holds-barred, civilians-be-damned, total state of war. If that's really the case, then I do have a couple of suggestions. After we've made the world safe from terrorism, or whatever it is we'd be trying to do, let's take a good, hard look at all the carnage we'll have left around us - that's if there are any of us left to look around, of course - and let's drop any pretense we might have that we're somehow "noble" or "righteous." We should also forget for a while about exploring space, or researching stem cells, or trying to figure out the mysteries of the universe, or other such pursuits. Those are activities for a mature species, and it'll be all too clear that we'll still have a lot of growing up left to do.

An estimated 2,000 people crowded into St.Paul's Cathedral in London for a service of remembrance honoring those who died in the Sept. 11 attack. An estimated 500 Britons are feared dead in the disaster. Heads of state, including Tony Blair, Queen Elizabeth, the Duke of Edinburg, and the Prince of Wales were present, as were hundreds of everyday people, many of them Americans. The cathedral doors were open to all, and the throng flooded out into the street. In stark contrast, the carefully choreographed service at the National Cathedral in Washington admitted only invitees - senators, congressmen, etc. Once they were seated, the doors were closed and locked and no 'common folk' admitted.

In Ireland, government departments, schools, and many commercial businesses closed, while thousands lined up to sign a book of condolences in Dublin. In Paris, church bells rang for five minutes, followed by a period of silence. In Brussels, thousands poured into the streets to pay their respects, while in Germany, Berlin's Brandenburg gate has been draped with a mourning banner. Russian broadcasters interrupted their programs to observe a minute of silence. What strikes us most forcibly about this outpouring of sympathy is its unabashed and utter sincerity. These nations have all experienced terrorism firsthand and on a deep gut level, truly feel our pain.

"When a terrible tragedy like the bombings in New York and Washington occur, blaming groups of Americans, as Mr. Falwell and Mr. Robertson have done, is an insult to all Americans. At a time when we set politics aside, using the public airwaves to spread hatred of certain groups is immoral. The acts of terrorism that occurred in New York and Washington occurred because of hatred, not because of God's retribution on the American people... We, therefore, call upon Mr. Bush to publicly condemn the statements of Mr. Falwell and Mr. Robertson. We further call upon Mr. Bush, as President of the United States, to publicly proclaim his support for ALL Americans, just as ALL Americans are proclaiming support for the presidency during this crisis." A White House official called the remarks "inappropriate" and added, "The president does not share those views," but that's no substitute for a clear condemnation. Sign the petition!

Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY) writes, "While no one should believe that this atrocity will go unpunished, it should be clear that our goal was not just blind revenge but justice. When we act, we must do so based on facts, not assumptions, after fully investigating the crime, and reaching an appropriate level of certainty that we have identified the guilty parties. We should work together with the international community... Bringing the perpetrators to justice in this way may require more time but in the end will be vindicated by the approval of our friends and critics... In our zeal to provide a new level of security, we must guard against going so far that we trade away the rights and privileges of a free society. In reacting to this incident, we must not allow the hate of our attackers to destroy our own decency and commitment to justice."

There are voices of reason. The callers to the local Pacifica Station. A woman with a Perspective on the local NPR affiliate reminding us of the fifties and fallout shelters eating up the family's college budget. Were we safer then? And will an allocation of billions for retaliation make us safer now? I doubt it. In front of the city hall in a small west coast town people gather in overnight vigil. They are urging peace. They are calling for caution. They are calling on our nation's and the world's leaders to take some time to get at the root of the violence, even if some of the roots go deep into our own complicity in the ongoing trouble in the Middle-East and other places around the Globe where America has staked a claim. Go with caution, Mr. Bush. It's time America lived up to its potential for moral as well as military leadership. It's time the leaders listened to the quiet but determined voices of reason, which will not be stilled by the drumbeats of War.

Rocky Mountain News columnist Bill Johnson writes, "Yes, that is the sound of war drums you're hearing. If you listen closely, it is possible, too, to detect a nasty, discordant sound. It is the sound of jingoism run amok, of kicking backside for the sake of it, of not caring who gets kicked, as long as America does it. Hard. Fast. Soulessly... Thumpa, thumpa -- BIG thumpa. A talk show host on Thursday actually advocated the killing of Islamic children, like those he'd seen celebrating the U.S. attack in the streets. It is impossible, he said, for such young children to be re-educated not to hate America. So if they died in a U.S. attack, it'd be unfortunate, but it'd also be one less terrorist America would have to deal with later on. "I know it sounds crazy, but I can't help it now," he says, struggling for words. Yes it is. And yes, he could help it."

If bin Laden is found responsible, Professor Michael Klare says military action will fail. "I propose a strategy that combines global law enforcement collaboration plus moral and religious combat. It would compel the Bush administration to drop its war rhetoric and instead treat its hunt for bin Laden as a criminal investigation. It will not be possible to put bin Laden's networks out of operation without the cooperation of police and intelligence personnel all over the globe -- including the Islamic world. The best way to do this is to brand bin Laden and his associates as mass murderers who are sought for trial and punishment under U.S. law -- as has been done with other suspected terrorists. Then, the United States should order a massive global manhunt to capture bin Laden and all of his associates, wherever they dwell."

"Nearly two days after the horrific suicide attacks on civilian workers in New York and Washington, it has become painfully clear that most Americans simply don't get it," writes Seumas Milne in the UK Guardian Observer. "Shock, rage and grief there has been aplenty. But any glimmer of recognition of why people might have been driven to carry out such atrocities, sacrificing their own lives in the process - or why the United States is hated with such bitterness, not only in Arab and Muslim countries, but across the developing world - seems almost entirely absent. Perhaps it is too much to hope that, as rescue workers struggle to pull firefighters from the rubble, any but a small minority might make the connection between what has been visited upon them and what their government has visited upon large parts of the world. But make that connection they must, if such tragedies are not to be repeated, potentially with even more devastating consequences."

Former President Clinton was in Australia during the attack, but flew home and headed straight for downtown Manhattan when he landed. "Clinton condemned the attacks as a 'barbaric act' and extended 'condolences and support to the victims and their families and to all New Yorkers'... As he walked slowly down University Place, Clinton shook hands with startled passersby and stopped to talk quietly with knots of people who had gathered around him. 'I want to do what ever I can to help pull the city together,' Clinton told one man, who had reached out and clasped the former President's hands in his." Clinton praised Giuliani, Pataki, and Bush. "Hundreds of people poured out of nearby shops and restaurants surrounding Clinton. Many shouted, 'We love you Bill,' and 'We wish you were still President.' 'Just seeing him here has lifted my spirits,' said Bill Tomsky, who works in a nearby drug store."

"Amidst the dust and ruin, amidst the pain and woe, amidst the remarkable unity that is being demonstrated by Americans everywhere, there lurks a vein of hatred and evil that is nearly beyond description. Some Americans today are leveling fingers of blame towards homosexuals, towards liberals, towards the ACLU, towards those who protect and defend a woman's legal right to reproductive freedom. That anyone would seek to smear fellow American citizens with blame for the atrocities that have been visited upon us is wretched enough to make any decent human being physically ill. That those who do this are denouncing our fellow citizens in the name of God is the definition of evil, and is the same kind of hate that drove those airplanes like a dagger into the heart of our nation. I am ashamed to be an American today because of Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson." So writes William Rivers Pitt for BuzzFlash.com - and all of us.

On the eve of the terrorist attack, writer Cheryl Seal received word that her father had died - a man who, at 96, had lived through more changes and more bloody wars than anyone before his era could have imagined. The terrorist attack does indeed signal the beginning of a new era. But will it be one where the same old solutions using far more destructive tools will be applied to the same problems? Or will the phoenix of truly new solutions rise from the ashes of the World Trade Center and Pentagon?

Nicole Miller, a sophomore on the dean's list at West Valley College in Saratoga, was working her way through school as a waitress at Chili's Grill & Bar. Andrew Garcia, 62, a businessman from Portola Valley in the San Francisco Bay area, had reveled in the joy of getting to know his first grandchild--the eight month old daughter of his son, Andrew Garcia, Jr. As a teen growing up in San Jose, United Airlines Captain Jason Dahl learned to fly before he could drive. These are three of the people aboard United Airlines Flight 93, which took off from Newark headed to San Francisco and crashed in western Pennsylvania.

Writes historian Howard Zinn: "We can all feel a terrible anger at whoever, in their insane idea that this would help their cause, killed thousands of innocent people. But what do we do with that anger? Do we react with panic, strike out violently and blindly just to show how tough we are? We have done that before. It is the old way of thinking, the old way of acting. It has never worked. Reagan bombed Libya, and Bush made war on Iraq, and Clinton bombed Afghanistan and also a pharmaceutical plant in the Sudan, to "send a message" to terrorists. Isn't it clear by now that sending a message to terrorists through violence doesn't work, only leads to more terrorism?"

Los Angeles, with the threat of earthquakes ever imminent, has devised an advanced plan for dealing with the vast amounts of rubble that are produced by disasters such as earthquakes - or super-building collapse. The Los Angles plan combines efficiency with maximum materials recovery. Human nature wants to just deep-six all traces of the disaster. But the resources that can be saved by systematic materials recovery can only help a city that will be faced with huge cleanup and rebuilding costs. One of us interviewed Summer Harrison some years back, a young lady who then lived in Hawaii and first was inspired to create a recovery plan after watching truckload after truckload of materials hauled to a dump in the wake of a hurricane - putting a huge load on waste facilities and wasting resources.

In the wake of the vicious attack in New York, hospitals in Manhattan's lower tip, where the World Trade Center stood, are hard hit. Worse yet is the sheer difficulty of getting the injured from the rubble to the hospitals. To help ease the situation, the U.S. Navy hospital ship USNS Comfort is heading for New York (it reportedly was deployed sometime after noon on 9/12. The ship is indeed a floating hospital, compelte with 12 surgical rooms, 1,000 patient beds, radiological machines, a full lab, pharmacy and CAT scan machine. On the foredeck is a helicopter pad, greatly facilitating the shuttling of patients.

The secretaries and file clerks and young executives in the stricken office buildings, and the children and mothers and fathers and sisters and brothers aboard those four airplanes would not have been the targets of hatred, had we Americans better expressed our highest values throughout the world --had our government expressed in all its actions the fairness and generosity that characterize our people. That disconnection between our people and our government does not excuse the cold mass-murders committed by terrorists, but it helps explain it, and we cannot stop it if we do not understand it.

In military terms, Tuesday's attack was more symbolic than strategic. Repoter John Rieger asks, "How can we fight this battle of symbols which has, at the same time, such terrible human stakes? Shall we rain our costly cruise missiles on an empty field in Afghanistan? If we do, we lose. Shall we decimate the population centers of any state that harbors terrorists, as the Russians did, to international condemnation, in Chechnya? Once again, in the battle of images and ideas, we lose. Or shall we exhaust our treasure to build a Maginot line in the sky? The answer is contained in the question. The terrible truth is that in this war of symbols, America is vulnerable... from the White House, to the Sears Tower, to the Golden Gate Bridge. But for American vengeance, there are no hard targets. Our weapons are ideas, like Freedom, and Justice, ideas that are often best exemplified by what we do not do. To win this war, with these weapons, will require courage, wisdom, and, yes, justice."

While even the mildest criticism of Bush is deemed treasonous this week, right-wingers and the media continue their never-ending attack on Bill Clinton. USA Today's headline screams "Clinton Rejected Military Strike on bin Laden," as though we had him in our crosshairs in December 2000. In fact, as the article itself makes clear, top officials feared "the information was stale and could result in a miss or civilian casualties." National Security Advisor Sandy Berger and one other official said military officials never made a recommendation to proceed with the attack. "There was never a recommendation from the Pentagon," Berger said.

This is the most comprehensive set of links we've found, covering the investigation, resources for victims, and actions we can all take.

In an effort to help people find out about their loved ones, the folks at NY.com have built an online list of survivors.

According to this March 16, 2000 report in Asiaweek, Osama bin Laden is afflicted with kidney disease, which, by then, had begun to affect his liver. His cohorts were trying to obtain a dialysis machine to treat him. If this is true, it is likely that this sick and twisted megalomaniac saw the attack on America as his last chance at immortality before dying. This adds a new dimension of evil to Bin Laden - a man willing to take thousands of people with him - including his blindly faithful followers - as a way to make one final world headline.

It's unbelievable that in the wake of one of the nation's greatest disasters, that network news coverage is following the same tack it did for the election or the Clinton scandals. Endless overanalysis and few concrete facts. Cruel replaying of graphic details like bodies flying from windows (CNN and FOX, esp.). Newcasters harassing the bereaved or emergency personnel for a juicy "exclusive." Worst of all - there seems to be a conscious effort to keep the crisis going at full heat Case in point: a CBS poll taken within 24 hours of the attack while anger is at its height for the sole purpose of producing the inflammatory headline: "America Wants Retaliation"! Gotta keep those cameras rolling! Polling a shocked and grieving populace within hours of a tragedy - before the bodies have even been counted - as to whether they want to go to war is not only outrageous, it is absolutely obscene.

I know more about cancer than I would like. It is a systemic decease with local manifestations. I find it is useful to think of terrorism as a form of systemic cancer. We can treat the local manifestation, but that is not good enough. We have to address the entire system if we want a cure. And as with cancer, there are no silver bullets just lots of hard work, difficult medicine, luck, hope, and time.

At the below location is a searchable database of victims. Our prayers are with the families and friends of those lost.

Across the nation, even Americans who are not regular churchgoers are seeking solace in churches, synogoques and mosques. The disaster has inspired some intensive soul searching. For author Father Thaddeus Barum, the lesson of tragedy is that "There is so, so much that we have all taken for granted. It's the little things, the little gifts, the little details of daily life with our loved ones." Rabbi Howard Shapiro of Temple Israel says it must always be remembered that "All people are grass, their constancy is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of our God will stand forever." Father Seamus Murtagh of St. Ann's Catholic Church in West Palm Beach, FLA. believes the ultimate spiritual solution is simple: forgiveness. Americans must be pulled "kicking and screaming into the word of forgiveness" while shunning the "deep satisfaction of revenge, of closure through getting even." Amen.

Catholic Charities is one of the largest and most effective private disaster relief organizations in the country, with 1,400 local agencies and institutions. They are now mobilizing to help disaster victims, rescue workers, and others involved in the disaster. If you want to see how you can help check out this link.

The sophistication of the attack was astonishing. This was not a band of mountain men with AK-47's. Who could have conducted such an operation? And why were our intelligence agencies completely in the dark? Share your thoughts with the members of Democrats.com.

While many say the Sept. 11 attack had to be the product of years of painstaking planning and training, it is also very possible the plot's very deadliness and undetectability lay in its simplicity. The terrorists who flew the high-jacked planes to their lethal destinations may have trained using inexpensive flight simulation programs, such as Microsoft's Flight Simulator, which cost just $45 in 1999 and was widely available and could be adapted by clever computer programmers. Because, as any pilot knows, the most demanding part of flying is take off and landing, a sim-trained pilot who didn't have to handle take off or landing could quite plausibly guide a plane into large target once in the air. By adapting software with representations of buildings supplied by clip art, a sim program could have been created what was sufficient to enable the terrorists to succeed in their hideous task.

In its scope and devastation, the attack drew instant comparisons to Pearl Harbor," says a new LA Times commentary. But, the writers add, "Bush's challenge now is quite different. Unlike Pearl Harbor, the airliner attacks came with no return address. And unlike FDR, then in his third term, Bush is in only his eighth month as president, still untested as an international leader. In that political context, the best analogy may not be Pearl Harbor, but rather the Cuban missile crisis that confronted President John F. Kennedy." Kennedy's triumph came in combining cool restraint with incredible nerve. BUT, unlike JFK, Bush helped set the stage for the current crisis: his stances have systematically provoked anger at the US around the globe. Meanwhile, his focus has been on long-term missile shield schemes, not on the immediate threat of terrorism, thus leaving the US more vulnerable.

"En este momento, lo unico que quiero es llegar a casa, abrazar a mi familia, oror junos y mirar las noticias..."

The Sept. 11 disaster has given bigots across the nation the excuse they needed to start their own small-scale terrorist campaign against Arab/Muslim Americans. Already, racist insults and threats are flying. These attacks are undoubtedly being justified in part by Bush's pledge to get not just those responsible for the attack but anyone harboring the criminals (which to a bigot means EVERYONE of the same race anywhere). What is particularly cruel about this is that many Arab Americans were victims of the terrorists. "We have friends and family who work in that building, the World Trade Center. We have family and friends that worked at the Pentagon," said James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute. "While we would like to mourn like everybody else in America, we end up looking over our shoulder because someone is pointing a finger."

Here's a list of what institutions and services are being suspended across the nation in wake of the Sept. 11 disaster. This list applies to Sept. 12. We will update it as need be.

Bush and his network of Cold War hawks have pushed their bloated missile schemes at the expense of nearly every other type of military funding - including intelligence. Over the years, underfunding and under support has lead to a serious decline in the efficiency of our national intelligence system. It is a point that both moderate Republicans and Dems agree on. Sen.. Bob Graham (D-FLA), chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee admitted after the attack "We have had gaps in our intelligence. We have deficiencies in our intelligence." Rep. Curt Weldon (R-PA) agrees: "It's a failure of our intelligence system." Weldon says the complacency is a result of the Cold War ending. However, the evidence more clearly points to too much investment in super weapons and too little in real world defense.

The grand old men of network news (Dan Rather, Peter Jennings, Tom Brokaw) covered the early hours of the Sept. 11 disaster. All, even Brokaw stayed focused on giving the most accurate accounting of events as they unfolded - real news, not a circus. (FOX was the exception, as ever). But now, the smoke hasn't fully cleared, and the networks and newspapers are already back to business as usual. Their coverage is increasingly more sensational, dragging every sobbing family member they can find before the cameras, printing fear-fueling headlines ("Nation in Grip of Terror!",etc.). Already, the anti-Muslim attacks are starting around the nation - even in laid back San Francisco. Even schoolchildren are being targeted. And soon, thousands of citizens in some other nation -- folks just as innocent as the Americans killed yesterday - may be slaughtered, thanks in large part to the networks and their hawkish rightwing puppeteers thirst for melodrama and bloody vengeance.

The GOP hawks immediately added a new line to their list of political catch phrases (which includes things like "guns don't kill people, people kill people" and "compassionate conservative"). The phrase "This is a new Pearl Harbor!" is designed to foment an atmosphere of war and justify the most extreme (and ultimately least effective) response to the attack. Michael Kramer's NY Daily News column starts out by saying the attack has nothing in common with Pearl Harbor. It was not the act of a nation's mobilized military "inviting" us to nation to nation combat. However, his conclusion - that we must now go slaughter thousands upon thousands of civilians by bombing Afghanistan's capital - is not only irrational - it would amount to murder. The slaughter of citizens has never deterred terrorists. Look at Saddam Hussein, look at bin Laden himself! So, if this is NOT a new Pearl Harbor, Mr. Kramer, why suggest Pearl Harbor solutions?

"At this time, let us in the the pro-democracy movement give ourselves to the heart of democracy -- by sharing our best selves with those in pain, in need, in emergencies, and in unfathomable grief. Let us focus in the immediate on the spirit, the deeper soul and body of our nation -- to address, with loving hearts, minds and hands, our physical, moral and spiritual wounds, which wounds are so deep and many tonight. We are all suffering tonight, but others suffer more than we do. Let us help them. Let us suspend our grievances for a brief time, to focus on the well-being of our fellow human beings." So writes Michael Rectenwald, Founder of Citizens for Legitimate Government.

"At 8:45 this morning, American Airlines Flight 11 traveling from Boston to Los Angeles with 92 passengers and crew, crashed into One World Trade Center in lower Manhattan. Although I live in New York City, I didn't hear it because I was 10 miles away in Queens. My son didn't hear it either - but he was only four blocks away at Stuyvesant High School." So writes Democrats.com co-founder Bob Fertik.

"Here we are, long after our parents and grandparents saved the world from fascism, more than a decade after the fall of the Berlin Wall, and we've finally had a look at the world our children stand to inherit -- orderly, routine, comfortable, plentiful, and terrifying. That wasn't the collapse of everything today, but the fall of something -- the hope that our kids might grow up fearless, citizens of a global community that increasingly knew peace and even prosperity. Now we have to sit down and explain how too many old disputes still spawn new hatreds, that the world's conflicts have no borders anymore, and that no amount of military force can stop acts of terror. In this age, a zealot can make war by buying an airline ticket." So writes Dan Rodricks of the Baltimore Sun on Sept. 11, 2001.

In the midst of the confusion and fear generated by the attack, Dr. John Steinbruner offers an expert, well-focused perspective. Steinbruner is one of the nation's leading experts on arms control, nuclear weapons, and Russian foreign policy. He is the director of the Center for International and Security Studies at Maryland (CISSM). He served for 18 years as Director of Foreign Policy Studies at the Brookings Institution. His latest book, Principles of Global Security, was hailed a "masterpiece" by reviewers. Steinbruner has served on major commissions and advisory committees, including the Defense Policy Board, the Carnegie Commission on Preventing Deadly Conflict and the National Academy of Sciences Committee on International Security and Arms Control.

The eyes of the nation were on Bush as he tried to rally us after the worst attack on America since Pearl Harbor. His writers carefully struck a reasonable tone, mostly avoiding anger and threats of vengeance. (We are troubled by Bush's statement that "We will make no distinction between the terrorists who committed these acts and those who harbor them." Surely the people who suffer miserably under tyrannical regimes - whether in Afghanistan or Iraq - cannot be blamed for the sins of their tyrants.) But Bush's delivery was hollow, failing to project the genuine compassion of Bill Clinton after Oklahoma City, or the solid resolve of Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1941. It was quarrelsome old Rudy Giuliani who truly spoke for the nation, when he sincerely choked up over the deaths of top fire department officials who died only minutes after he left them standing by the twin infernos. After waiting all day for Bush to finally speak, we were left disappointed.

While today's terrorist attack will be difficult enough for adults to come to terms with, even with their grasp of the political issues involved, it will be far harder for children to deal with. Children can be affected directly by loss of a loved one or those struggling to comprehend how and why something like that could happen here. To aid in guiding children through this difficult time, here is a list of resources that may prove helpful.

Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his outrage at the attack on America by as-yet unknown terrorists and said "such inhuman acts must not go unpunished." We absolutely agree - in theory. The trouble is, how do you launch a wholesale retaliation? Terrorists are by definition cowards who, in between attacks, hide in well-concealed "holes." When America bombarded Bin Laden's mountain stronghold a few years back in retaliation for his terrorist acts, Bin Laden escaped, but many innocent people were killed. We suggest that instead of spending billions on a missile defense shield (which would have been useless against this attack), the U.S. should spend millions on an expanded intelligence capacity - one that does not rely on the Cold War "spy" approach, but draws on the most advanced psychological profiling and surveillance technology possible. Brains and methodical determination not brawn and instant retaliation are the most effective weapon against terrorism.

Today, a few news outlets seized on footage of one section of a Palestinian town where clusters of Arabs appeared to be cheering and celebrating the American catastrophe. FOX was the worst - it showed the same footage over and over in a loop, which gave the impression of a far more extensive event - unless you watched carefully enough to notice that the same 20 or so Palestinians, most of them grade-schoolers, were being shown over and over. Even if there was an outburst of outrageous, hateful behavior on the part of some Palestinians, to blow this out of proportion will only fuel hatred and violence, and inspire racist attacks against innocent Muslims. It certainly will not help solve this crime or help those suffering in the wake of the tragedy. We applaud the majority of news networks who avoided this destructive, even dangerous form of yellow journalism.

The police, firefighters, and emergency medical aid personnel on the scene at the World Trade Center and Pentagon did their jobs with incredible courage and determination, all the while remaining as calm as they could humanly manage to be. However, an experience such as this can take a tremendous emotional toll after the fact. Here is a site designed specifically to help police officers (and other emergency workers) deal with the very real and potentially devastating issue of post-traumatic stress. Also see this link: http://ncpoptsd.freeyellow.com/page1.html

After any catastrophic, traumatic event such as the World Trade Center/Pentagon disaster, the emotional and psychological toll taken on victims can linger long after physical wounds heal. Even those not directly involved in the catastrophe, including witnesses and aid workers, can be tremendously impacted by the experience. To get information on how to recognize and effectively handle post-traumatic stress, please investigate this link.

Here are emergency contact numbers, including a line for Pentagon personnel, emergency response relief (to see how you can help), blood donation, a clearinghouse number for the World Trade Center businesses, and for friends and family of those on the four destroyed aircraft.

Today, a few news outlets seized on footage of one section of a Palestinian town where clusters of Arabs appeared to be cheering and celebrating the American catastrophe. FOX was the worst - it showed the same footage over and over in a loop, which gave the impression of a far more extensive event - unless you watched carefully enough to notice that the same 20 or so Palestinians, most of them grade-schoolers, were being shown over and over. Even if there was an outburst of outrageous, hateful behavior on the part of some Palestinians, to blow this out of proportion will only fuel hatred and violence, and inspire racist attacks against innocent Muslims. It certainly will not help solve this crime or help those suffering in the wake of the tragedy. We applaud the majority of news networks who avoided this destructive, even dangerous form of yellow journalism.

United Airlines flight 93, a Boeing 757 bound from Newark NJ to Pittsburgh, PA, crashed around 10:00 am just north of the Somerset County Airport. Several as yet unconfirmed reports concerning this disaster have surfaced. First, it appears the plane may have been bound, under terrorist control, for Camp David. Second, it was reported by several sources that one of the passengers heroically managed to dial to 911 on their cell phone in an effort to warn those on the ground - even though the passenger undoubtedly knew their own life was beyond saving at that point.

Because of the randomness of terrorism, it is extremely difficult to anticipate where and when another attack will occur, but many states are taking precautions to reduce the danger and mitigate possible consequences. Here's a run down of what's going on around the nation.

"Hundreds of people rushed to Manhattan hospitals Tuesday to give blood and officials called in every available surgeon and nurse to deal with victims of the World Trade Center attacks... The American Red Cross did not call for emergency blood donations, saying it had 50,000 units ready to ship to New York if needed. However, it urged blood donors throughout the country to keep any appointments they have this week to give blood."

Writes Marc Fisher in the Washington Post just hours after most of central D.C. (where the White House, Congress, et al. are sited) were evacuated: "On the streets of Washington, there was no panic, no shouting, no crying. There were quick, efficient cell phone conversations about whether the kids would be safer at home or at school. There were strangers offering to drive strangers home, or at least in that direction. A woman whose boyfriend was at that moment in a plane somewhere over the East Coast was besieged with offers of the latest news about hijacked planes. People shared phones, radios, cars, stories. We didn't know what to do except to keep on doing."

Laura Flanders hosts an outstanding progressive talk show and lives in Manhattan, where she is filing frequent updates. Here's her filing at 12:27 p.m. "It looks like nuclear winter out there. Police are trying their best to close off all streets from my block south (Canal St.) I think of Baghdad, Belgrade. Speculation on tv runs rampant. I am going now to St. Vincent's hospital in Greenwich Village to give blood."

To help readers sort through the often confusing and conflicting reports coming from radio and television, here is a concise time line of events happening as the crisis unfolded today.

American Red Cross
America's Blood Centers
American Association of Blood Banks
New York Blood Center

European leaders have vowed to stand by the U.S. through the present tragedy and have condemned the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and a site near Pittsburgh as monstrous. French President Jacques Chirac was overwhelmed with emotion by the news of the attack: "The people of France are entirely at the sides of the American people." Tony Blair made an extensive statement, and decried the attacks as acts of "fanatics who are utterly indifferent to the sanctity of life." German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder is already mobilizing a crisis task force in response to the explosions. Russian Pres. Vladimir Putin, who has been riveted to the television coverage, expressed his deep condolences. As always, the one things terrorists never learn is that such acts draw the rest of the world CLOSER together and will never achieve the desired goal of "divide (through fear) and conquer."

Unknown terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing them in to the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon near Washington DC. Thousands are feared dead. Our hearts go out to the innumerable victims, their families, and friends. We pray for our nation in this dark hour.