9/11 - The 20th Anniversary

"I had just been released from hospital the day before and was still on sick leave. My father called me on the phone and told me to turn on the TV at once because there was something going on in America. Swedish television was broadcasting live.

Just a few seconds after I had turned on the TV-set - and before I understood what was going on - the television screen showed a passenger airplane flying suspiciously low close to the tower that had been hit first. Then I saw the plane steering right into the second tower, flames erupting around the hole that had been caused in the structure halfway up on the building.

I was baffled, shocked, sad, angry, and frightened. After seeing that I remained in front of the television all that day and well into the night to follow the news. There were many speculations concerning the number of casualties, so once the true numbers were released, I was strangely relieved that they were much lower than the initial speculations. 

2,977 people died in the attacks (and 19 hijackers committed murder–suicide), and more than 6,000 others were wounded, it's a scary thought that I could feel relief at such a high toll.

In my mind's timeline there will always be a before or after 9/11, Everything changed, or at least my outlook on everything changed."

(The above has previously been posted in 9/11 - In Memoriam.)

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We must also always remember that the terrorists are an extremely small minority in any community, religious group, or society. In the words of the American president Barack Obama, "We don’t differentiate between them and us. It’s just us."

18 Years Ago

On Tuesday, September 11, 2001, at around 2 PM local time, I was in bed and taking a nap. The day before I had returned back home after being in a hospital for a week and receiving five bags of blood. In a routine physical check-up, it was discovered that my blood count was dangerously low.

I was awoken by a telephone call from my father, who told me to turn on the television because "there are things going on in New York". I thought of going back to sleep, but my curiosity got the better of me so I turned on the TV and started watching the eerie live broadcast from New York City where the North Tower of the World Trade Center was burning.

About ten minutes after I started watching the broadcast the events of the picture started to unfold. A plane was seen flying closer and it became clear that it was aiming for the South Tower. It struck the tower at 3:03PM my time, 9:03AM New York Time, and a big ball of fire erupted from the place of impact. Smoke was now billowing from both towers.

I was stunned, like the rest of civilization, by this vehement terrorist attack happening in broad daylight and playing out on color-TV.

I stayed close to the television all through the night. The other attempted attacks were reported. And the numbers of the people killed and wounded rose by the hour. 

The final count says 2,996 people were killed (including the 19 hijackers) and more than 6,000 others injured. Additionally, 343 firefighters and 71 law enforcement officers died in the World Trade Center and on the ground in New York City. There were more people killed in places outside New York City.

Life for us, the lucky ones, continued but the world as we know it changed. We lost a kind of innocence that day with the over 3,000 deaths. Little by little, new agencies and lots of regulations and restrictions were put in place to try to prevent similar attacks from ever occurring again.

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On a day like this, it is good to remember the past, the victims of terror whether killed, mutilated or hurt, and hope and work so that we may never experience anything as horrendous again. 

Notre-Dame de Paris

Yesterday evening we got the devastating news that the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris, France, was aflame. The fire was initially so ferocious and violent that it was feared that the cathedral would burn down completely.

Firefighters inside the cathedral
Photo by Yoan Valat

Today we received the sad news that the spire and the oak roof had collapsed, but also the wonderful news that both towers were safe, the structure of the building undamaged and the rosetta windows still intact. All the treasures and artifacts had been removed safely and the copper statues that were normally a part of the collapsed spire had been removed a week prior. It seems the stone ceiling of the cathedral prevented burning timbers from falling into the cathedral. The heroic efforts of the 400 firefighters had been successful.

Of course, the usual Islamophobic ghouls came out yesterday and declared that this was yet an example of Islamic terrorism in its war against Christianity. The cause of the fire is awaiting an inquest, but it is believed that it can be attributed to ongoing renovation work around the collapsed spire.

Two French billionaires have already announced plans to pledge a total of €300 million towards renovation and repairs.

The Notre-Dame is a unique treasure of immense cultural and historical value for Europe and the World.

On Terrorist Attack in Christchurch Friday, March 15, 2019

Every single word of this.

“The most dishonest thing I could say today is that I am shocked by this attack.”😓#NewZealandTerroristAttack pic.twitter.com/RBAjVLVxss

— Qasim Rashid, Esq. (@MuslimIQ) March 15, 2019

Powerful, moving and cannot be said better!

Isolation of World Broken

Welcome back. people! I know you must have felt terribly isolated from me when my Internet crashed, but rest assured you are safe now and back in touch with me again.

The Southern Enchantment antiterrorist force is on the job and is rounding up the usual suspects of Mexicans, Arabs, and Muslims as we speak.

Prince Wild Zepp McMillan, the torturer extraordinaire, has been called home from his vacation at a gay resort in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, to oversee the interrogations, which are expected to be strenuous. In a brief interview, Prince Wild stated, "We shall get to the bottom of this conspiracy to deprive the World's access to his lairdship a.s.a.p."

Deep Sorrow, Frustration & Anger

The horrible news from London yesterday fills me with deep sorrow, frustration and anger.

My thoughts go to the families of the innocent victims and their families. This was yet an outrageous attack on a western democratic state to create havoc and incite hatred.

Do not for a moment let yourself be lured into believing that this has anything whatsoever to do with religious beliefs or cultural norms. It has as little to do with Islam and Muslims as the Crusades once had to do with fighting for Christianity or Christians.

No, these horrendous and vile acts of terror are all orchestrated to intimidate and disrupt the people of the western democracies as a part of a struggle for power, influence and money. The puppeteers behind this unprovoked violence are more likely to be found in Moscow, Peking and Pyongyang than in Baghdad, Beirut or Tehran.

9-11 In Memoriam

There was something "spectacular" over the acts of terrorism we all witnessed on live broadcasting on September 11, 2001. Events that usually unfold under the cover of darkness or in remote places were happening before our eyes.

I am guessing most of us, who are old enough, have a vivid memory of where we were and what we were doing when we got the news fifteen years ago.

I had just been released from hospital the day before  and was still on sick leave. My father called on the phone and told me to turn on the TV because there was something going on in America. Swedish television was also broadcasting live.

Just a few seconds after I had turned on the TV-set - and before I understood what was going on - the television screen showed a passenger airplane flying suspiciously low close to the tower that had been hit first. Then I saw the plane steering right into the second tower, flames erupting around the hole that had been caused in the structure halfway up on the building.

 I was baffled, shocked, sad, angry and frightened. After seeing that I remained in front of the television all that day and well into the night to follow the news. There were many speculations concerning the amount of casualties, so once the true numbers were released I was strangely relieved that they were much lower than the initial speculations. 

2,977 people died in the attacks and many more were wounded, it's a scary thought that I could feel relief at such a high toll.  

In my mind's timeline there will always be a before or after 9-11, Everything changed, or at least my outlook on everything changed,

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I will always remember that day and all the lives that were lost and disrupted. May the dead rest in peace!

Remember the Victims

On this day four years ago a right wing extremist and xenophobe went on a rampage and killing spree in Norway, first killing 8 people in Oslo City center and later killing 69 more, mostly children, on the island of Utøya.

Remember the victims!

Jon Vegard Lervåg, 32, Oslo * Ida Marie Hill, 34, Oslo * Hanne Ekroll Løvlie, 30, Oslo * Tove Åshill Knutsen, 56, Oslo * Hanna M Orvik Endresen, 61, Oslo * Kai Hauge, 32, Oslo * Anne Lise Holter, 51, Våler * Kjersti Berg Sand, 26, Nord-Odal * Karrar Mustafa Qasim, 19, Vestby * Andreas Edvardsen, 18, Sarpsborg * Ronja Søttar Johansen, 17, Vefsn * Emil Okkenhaug, 15, Levanger * Åsta Sofie Helland Dahl, 16, Sortland * Monica Iselin Didriksen, 18, Sund * Rune Havdal, 43, Øvre Eiker * Tore Eikeland, 21, Bergen * Espen Jørgensen, 17, Bodø * Karin Elena Holst, 15, Rana * Aleksander Aas Eriksen, 16, Meråker * Victoria Stenberg, 17, Nes * Ruth Benedicte Vatndal Nilsen, 15, Tønsberg * Isabel Victoria Green Sogn, 17, Oslo * Ida Beathe Rogne, 17, Østre Toten * Elisabeth Trørnnes Lie, 16, Halden * Monica Elisabeth Bøsei, 45, Hole * Håvard Vederhus, 21, Oslo * Carina Borgund, 18, Oslo * Ingrid Berg Heggelund, 18, Ås * Tarald Kuven Mjelde, 18, Osterøy * Porntip Ardam, 21, Oslo * Andrine Bakkene Espeland, 16, Fredrikstad * Torljus Jakobsen Blattmann, 17, Kristiansand * Jamil Rafal Mohamad Jamil, 20, Eigersund * Tina Sukuvara, 18, Vadsø * Fredrik Lund Schjetne, 18, Eidsvoll * Steinar Jessen, 16, Alta * Lejla Selaci, 17, Fredrikstad * Henrik Rasmussen, 18, Hadsel * Thomas Margido Antonsen, 16, Oslo * Mona Abdinur, 18, Oslo * Anders Kristansen, 18, Bardu * Gunnar Linaker, 23, Bardu * Ismail Haji Ahmed, 19, Hamar * Trond Berntsen, 51, Øvre Eiker * Sharidyn Svebakk-Bøhn, 14, Drammen * Silje Merete Fjellbu, 17, Tinn * Hanne A.Balch Fjalestad, 43, Lunner * Bano Abobakar Rashid, 18, Nesodden * Syvert Knudsen, 17, Lyngdal * Diderik Aamodt Olsen, 19, Nesodden * Simon Sæbø, 18, Salangen * Synne Røyneland, 18, Oslo * Birgitte Smetbak, 15, Nøtterøy * Margrethe Bøyum Kløven, 16, Bærum * Even Flugstad Malmedal, 18, Gjøvik * Tamta Lipartelliani, 23, Georgien * Kevin Daae Berland, 15, Askøy * Silje Stamneshagen, 18, Askøy * Hanne Kristine Fridtun, 19, Stryn * Håkon Ødegaard, 17, Trondheim * Sondre Furseth Dale, 17, Haugesund * Henrik André Pedersen, 27, Porsanger * Eivind Hovden, 15, Tokke * Rolf Christopher Johansen Perreau, 25, Trondheim * Sverre Flåte Bjørkavåg, 28, Sula * Eva Kathinka Lütken, 17, Sarpsborg * Maria Maagerø Johannesen, 17, Nøtterøy * Modupe Ellen Awoyemi, 15, Drammen * Lene Maria Bergum, 19, Namsos * Guro Vartdal Håvol, 18, Ørsta * Marianne Sandvik, 16, Stavanger * Andreas Dalby Grønnesby, 17, Stange * Sondre Kjøren, 17, Orkdal * Bendik Rosnæes Ellingsen, 18, Rygge * Gizem Dogan, 17, Trondheim * Snorre Haller, 30, Trondheim * Johannes Buø, 14, Mandal

"Listen To Your Body, Bock" - Part 2

"The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp", oil painting on canvas (1632), Rembrandt

In September 2001 I had just gotten out from a biannual medical check up and was driving back to work when my cell phone rang.

The caller was a nurse at the doctors office I had just left. He told me to immediately stop driving as soon as it could be done, park the car and get myself transported to the emergency room at the hospital. They were going to fax the paperwork there meanwhile. No, I was absolutely not allowed to drive there myself under any conditions.

When I (a little irritated) asked why this brouhaha all of a sudden, I was informed that they had received the results of the blood tests that had been taken and according to them I should actually not be alive, moving about and definitely not driving a car on public roads on my way to work. Apparently the tests showed that my blood count (Hb), which should normally be between 130-170 g/l in a healthy male, was down to 56 g/l.

During the following five days I was subjected to every kind of gastrointestinal examination on the books, gastroscopy, Esophagogastroduodenoscopy, rectoscopy and colonoscopy, I was fed with some radioactive gunk which then was filmed as it passed through my system, from the mouth to the other end.  Despite the extensive examinations no ongoing leakage was discovered, nor any scars or other signs of old leaks. As far as the tests showed, I had the most beautiful and healthy gastrointestinal system in Northern Europe.

It was - and still is - a complete mystery how and from where I had been leaking blood extremely slowly over what must have been a long period of time. If the drop in the blood count had been sudden I would have gone into a state of shock and died.

All the doctors I met asked if I hadn't noticed any bleeding from my body. I told them that I hadn't noticed anything of the sort. I had from time to time been feeling a little tired, but nothing exceptional and I had not had a single sick day during the previous three years.

While at the hospital I was given a bag of blood a day, and I noticed that I became more alert and awake and realized how tired I had in fact been.  "You must listen to your body, Bock" they all told me, but if there was no noticeable shift I cannot understand what my body could have told me.

I was released from the hospital on Monday September 10, 2001, in a much better condition than when I was admitted and told to regularly check my blood count. (There is an easy way to do it without a blood test. You look at the palms of your hands, if they have a nice rosy color all is well but if they go pale you should take a blood test.) I have never had a problem like this after that incident.

I was on sick leave for a month after being released from the hospital, the doctors and my employer insisted on it even if I was feeling better than I had felt for a couple of years. The day after I had come home my father called me in the afternoon and told me to turn on the television, there was something dramatic and strange going on in New York.

As I sat down in front of the television set, I saw a tape being replayed of the first plane crashing into one of the towers at the World Trade Center, I watched live - in a state of complete horror and disbelief - when the second plane crashed into the other tower, and later when the towers crumpled and crashed to the ground, one after the other, and listened to all the speculations all through the night.

Remembering 9-11

This drawing was made by a child during the week following the attacks of September 11, 2001. It was rescued from being destroyed by rain from the front wall of a Chelsea elementary school by blogger +Joe Jervis, Joe.My.God., on September 18, 2001.

"The Hugging Towers"

Please read Joe's touching original post about how he found the picture, J.M.G.: "One Week Later" (reposting September 18, 2006).

Joe has donated the painting to the museum which now resides on the site of the former World Trade Center.

9/11 Again

Honor the dead by caring for the living!

I took these pictures on this day last year at the 9/11 Memorial site (SLurl) in SecondLife.

The effect of the two transparent and ghostly towers looming over the surrounding buildings is a powerful and beautiful reminder of the horrible day when the towers disappeared from the skyline and all our lives were changed for the foreseeable future.

I remember that awful day well. It feels like a lifetime ago but is only eleven years. The day before I had come home from a five day stay at the hospital where I had been urgently admitted when my blood count (Hb) was found to be only 59 g/l (In a healthy man it should be around 130-170 g/l).

They never found out where I had been bleeding slowly over a very long period despite probing my body through every open orifice with a variety of instruments. However, I was sent home after having received a few blood transfusions and been instructed on how to recognize the warning signs. (As long as the palms of your hands are reddish your blood count is over 120 g/l, below that they turn grayish/white.)

The day after I got a telephone call from my father telling me to turn on the television set because something terrible was happening in New York. I turned on the TV and sat in front of it the rest of the day and long into the night. I watched and cried while the second plane flew into the second tower and then again when the first tower collapsed and then the second and then listening to the guesses all night long about who and what had planned and executed these atrocities.

Finally

This morning I was woken by a telephone call from my mother, "It´s time to wake up, Bock", she said insistently and without catching her breathe she continued, "Did you hear the news yet? Osama bin Laden is dead, he was killed tonight by the Americans. Finally!"

"Finally" was my first thought also when I heard this news and my thoughts drifted back to that terrible day in September 2001 when Osama´s name and al-Qaeda became known to the whole world. I also thought of the close to 3 000 people who died as a result of that spectacularly heinous attack on the World Trade Center in New York.

During the day I have thought about my immediate reaction to the news again and again. The event has been the main subject of conversation at work.

Osama was of course only a symbol, his death is also symbolic. Terrorism unfortunately did not die with Osama.

I believe that wars should be avoided at almost any cost, except when our fundamental human rights and liberties are at risk. The terrorists however do hold a gun to the heads of all democracies therefore I do believe that the "war on terror" is legitimate, although I do not always agree with the methods.

In wars the leaders and generals of the enemy are legitimate tactical targets as their passing can reduce or destroy the enemy's ability to sustain combat operations. Even if I personally would have preferred if Osama had been brought to justice, I can understand and sympathize with the necessity of killing him.

Still I have an inner conflict about this, as a person who does not believe the death penalty has any redeeming excuses in a democracy or civilized society. I know I am rationalizing, but I still stick to my initial reaction to the news. "Finally!" 

My thoughts go to the families of the victims at World Trade Center.

9-11

The September 11 attacks (often referred to as September 11th or 9/11) were a series of coordinated suicide attacks by al-Qaeda upon the United States on September 11, 2001. On that morning, 19 al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four commercial passenger jet airliners. The hijackers intentionally crashed two of the airliners into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, killing everyone on board and many others working in the buildings. Both buildings collapsed within two hours, destroying nearby buildings and damaging others. The hijackers crashed a third airliner into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, just outside Washington, D.C. The fourth plane crashed into a field near Shanksville in rural Pennsylvania after some of its passengers and flight crew attempted to retake control of the plane, which the hijackers had redirected toward Washington, D.C. There were no survivors from any of the flights.

The death toll of the attacks was 2,996, including the 19 hijackers. The overwhelming majority of casualties were civilians, including nationals of over 70 countries. In addition, there is at least one secondary death – one person was ruled by a medical examiner to have died from lung disease due to exposure to dust from the World Trade Center's collapse.

The United States responded to the attacks by launching the War on Terror: it invaded Afghanistan to depose the Taliban, who had harbored al-Qaeda terrorists. The United States also enacted the USA PATRIOT Act. Many other countries also strengthened their anti-terrorism legislation and expanded law enforcement powers. Some American stock exchanges stayed closed for the rest of the week following the attack and posted enormous losses upon reopening, especially in the airline and insurance industries. The destruction of billions of dollars worth of office space caused serious damage to the economy of Lower Manhattan. (Quote from Wikipedia)

Mourn the dead, celebrate the heroes and start building a new future with tolerance, respect and forgiveness!

We must also always remember that the terrorists are an extremely small minority in any community, religious group or society! In the words of the American president Barack Obama, "We don’t differentiate between them and us. It’s just us."

And yes in the light of this I must - and will - forgive my few enemies and wrongdoers for the petty drama they caused me and for hurting my feelings. I will accept them, I will respect them but I do not need to love them!

....
P.S. Recommended reading on the blog Joe.My.God "That day". A personal eyewitness account.