Forever Vigilant — 9-11-01 — We Will Remember

MoonHowler

Initial News Bulletins

 

8 years ago. It seems like yesterday and it seems like a life time ago. It feels like 2 wars ago, and yet we are still at war– we have troops in harm’s way. The war in Afghanistan, where many of the criminals of 9-11-01 got their training, rages on, and Americans lose lives daily.

Every one of us has added to our collective memory that knowledge of knowing exactly where we were and exactly what we were doing the moment we learned that our country was under attack, much like older people can tell you what they were doing when they learned of  Pearl Harbor or  where they were  when they first learned of  the assassination of JFK. No incidents have recorded themselves quite as permanently, quite as indelibly, as those three events in the minds of Americans. You and every sentient person alive  on 9-11-01 will forever have this memory in common.

This thread will be an open 9-11 thread. Many of you have much to share regarding this day.

Links of Interest:

 

Memorial and Museum

Liberatio-9/11 Tribute Video 

God Bless the USA Video 9/11

Slideshow Tribute (Enya and Lee Greenwood)

Tribute to 9/11 Victims    (has thumbnail pictures)  slideshow

President Bush Speaks to America 9/11/01

Is Iran Imploding?

MoonHowler

 

 [UPDATE: Day 7 of protests continue in Tehran.]

Only one glance at the TV set tells us that all is not well for ‘He Whose Name I Cannot Pronounce.’   Ahmadinejad, the president of Iran, was declared the winner of the presidential election in Iran last week.  He was declared the winner within hours after the polls closed, so soon that ballots could not possibly been counted.

Iranians have taken to the streets and the numbers continue to grow.  Meanwhile, Ahmadinejad is galavanting around Russia as his country errupts into violence.   He has declared the demonstrations unimportant.  

Basically, what has happened, according to MSNBC:

[link removed]

 

Is Iran headed into civil war?  Will the Iranian people take control of their own country?  Is another Iranian revolution far off?  Do these demonstrations protesting the election make the region more or less secure?

Saturday, June 20–

Foreign press has been banned.  Citizens are exporting video and text on twitter, home video, cell phone, Facebook, Youtube, etc.  Thousands are protesting. 

Reminder, the actual leader of this country is the Ayatollha.  Regardless of who is president, Iran is still a theocracy. 

 

Mideast Conflict Competes With Economy and Obama for Public Interest

MoonHowler

A few of us have been revisiting the Powder Keg thread for several days now discussing the fighting on the Gaza Strip. The Middle East just scares me and I am one of those rare birds who see 2 sides to the Palestinian/Israeli on-going issue. Basically I want to scream at both and say STOP DOING THAT!

Usually a war that involves Israel gets top billing on the news. Many people stayed glued to their televisons during the Hezbollah/Israeli conflict 2 years ago However, so much else is going on that the current battle in Gaza is often is taking a backseat to the financial crisis, the Inauguration, and Blagojevich. The Pew Institute provides us with the following chart:

Fewer people are interested in the conflict with Hamas than they were with the conflict with Hezbollah 2 years ago. Now that Hezbollah is firing missiles on towns in northern Israel, perhaps the interest will ratchet up some. It makes for a very dangerous situation in that region.

Blogger Gainesville Resident has referenced 2 very good reading resources on the current conflict. One is from Time Magazine and the other is from The Jewish Voice and Opinion. Don’t be mislead by the title on the later. It gives a variety of points of view. Neither are quick reading but are highly recommended.

Can Israel sustain a 2 front war? What should the United States role be in this conflict? Is our position weakened by a change in the Presidency? Are America’s enemies waiting and watching to see what President Obama will do? When a conflict is going on involving Israel, are we more vulnerable for a terrorist attack? What do you all think?

Click for more information from the Pew Institute on current events.