9/11 - Forum was offline earlier / Today's forum message...

[Neil]

The forum has been offline for a while today... For those that missed why:-


http://www.esquire.com/features/articles/2003/img/030901_mfe_falling_a.jpg

Five years ago today, Islamic extremists hijacked four passenger jets with the intention of crashing them into buildings in the United States. The result of this heinous act was the loss of nearly 3000 innocent lives, many in the most nightmarish of scenarios.

As a mark of respect these forums will be closed until later today... Please take a moment to reflect on that day's events.


They began jumping not long after the first plane hit the North Tower, not long after the fire started. They kept jumping until the tower fell. They jumped through windows already broken and then, later, through windows they broke themselves. They jumped to escape the smoke and the fire; they jumped when the ceilings fell and the floors collapsed; they jumped just to breathe once more before they died...


- http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/guides/456900/456983/html/default.stm The Four Hijacks
- http://www.cnn.com/2001/US/09/11/chronology.attack/ Chronology of September 11th
- http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2001/trade.center/victims/AA11.victims.html Victims of American Airlines Flight 11
- http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2001/trade.center/victims/AA77.victims.html Victims of American Airlines Flight 77
- http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2001/trade.center/victims/ua175.victims.html Victims of United Airlines Flight 175
- http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2001/trade.center/victims/ua93.victims.html Victims of United Airlines Flight 93[/url]
- http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2001/trade.center/victims/pentagon.victims.html Victims of Pentagon
- http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2001/trade.center/victims/rescue.victims.html Victims of World Trade Centre
- http://www.twin-towers.net/tt_video.htm Videos of Attacks
- http://www.time.com/time/photoessays/wtc/ Terror Hits Home - Images of destruction
- http://www.esquire.com/features/articles/2003/030903_mfe_falling_1.html Falling Man
- http://www.time.com/time/photoessays/shattered/ Shattered - Ground Zero images
- http://www.nytimes.com/pages/national/portraits/ Portraits of Grief - Glimpses of some of the victims
- http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/americas/2006/11_september_five_years_on/default.stm September 11th: 5 years on - BBC

[MinionZombie]

A nice touch there Neil, it's strange to think that 9/11 will forever live on as the day terror changed the world, obviously kids won't notice but I'm just saying because 9/11 was my first "this day shall forever be..." type thing...did that make sense? You know what I'm trying to say.

Was watching some of the memorial stuff on the news today, skipping between Sky News, BBC 24 and CNN ... it's still unbelievable to this day, it still all looks like a movie ... they showed a clip with one of the towers falling and I was sat there thinking in the back of my mind "this is preposterous that this happened in reality", as in, not believing it could be reality, because I've grown up watching such things in films or tv shows, so to see something that for me has been held in the world of fiction (e.g. The Towering Inferno), is just completely unfathomable...even five years on...hearing survivor's stories, it all sounds like it should be a movie...

Let's take a moment to consider those who weren't so fortunate on that day...:(

[Neil]

Imagine having to look out of a smashed window with a thousand feat below you, and having your lungs burning from the smokes so badly that - against every instinct in your body - you simply throw yourself out... Nightmare!

[Fulcifan91]

Its a day i wont ever forget. I was in fifth grade at the time and i remember about every second of it.

[DjfunkmasterG]

I thought the memorial Neil did was a nice touch, and I truly feel for the people whom suffered this tragedy, but at the same time we have to move on. I don't want to keep iving in the past and being in fear like the Bush administration wants me to be... I want to feel like an American but still remember those whom made the sacrifice, or were dealt a sh!t hand on that day of fate.

After I was read through the list I emailed Neil and asked him when he was going to re-open the forum. I wanted to get back to normal daily life, and my normal daily life is hereon HPotD.

[Bunker65]

I wanted to say thank you to Neil for the respect that was shown for the anniversary of 9/11.

As always my thoughts & prayers go out to all that were touched by 9/11 in any way.

I know it's something that I'll take with me the rest of my life being that I was less then a mile from the events when they happened & watched everything unfold that day & have images burned into my memory that will never be forgotten.

[TheWalkingDude]

Yes i Thank you for doing this. Not many sites from what i saw would pay this much respect to today.

[Chakobsa]

Well done Neil. That was a good thing you did.
Like Minion said, the whole thing still has an eerie feeling of unreality about it, that's the curse of being part of what the situationists called the "society of the Spectacle". Watching the towers collapse again and again all over the news today doesn't diminish that feeling that you're watching something from a movie, the scale of it simply beggers belief.
That simple, horrific image in Neil's post says it all really and good on him for posting it.

[mista_mo]

I was in school when this happened.....grade 8, I was so scared...

God bless all those who suffered and still do, I pray that they're in a better place.

[thxleo]

I woke up that Tuesday and turned on the news at 8:45am. Just as I turned on the t.v. I heard the breaking news of a plane hitting the twin towers. At first I was thinking of a small plane. I mean, how could an airliner hit the twin towers by accident? I got up and went into the kitchen and watched the news for a little while. After the second plane hit I immediately called my girlfriend. At that time she was a flight attendant with Delta based at Logan international out of Boston. After reaching her and realizing she was okay, she was not even working that morning, I went back to watching the coverage. I had to be at work at noon and all I wanted to do was just sit and watch the news. However, I did go to work. I'm a theatre manager, and the theatre I managed at that time did not even make $100 that day. It was like a ghost town all day long. The few people who did come in though made me wonder...what is wrong with you? Why are you coming to see a movie, when the biggest and worst event of our lifetime is going on right now?
The moment that sticks with me the most from that day was when the Pentagon got hit. That was when it seemed like complete chaos. You really did not know when the next strike might happen. Right after the Pentagon was hit, there was word of another plane heading towards Washington. It really seemed out of control. A very scary time.

[HLS]

To be honest I did not think it was appropiate to post a photo of someone plummiting to their death when that was up earlier today. I actually thought someone hacked the site for I could not get past that page. It really depressed me to see it. Its good to remember 9-11 and honor those that died but it gets to be too much when its on every news station, radio, talk show...etc. A photo of someone jumping to their death was very upsetting. It made me want to cry. Please noone negaive rep me. I just needed to get my thougghts out of my system:D I mean no harm by posting this:D

I remember that day. It was a tuesday I believe for I had the day off and I turned on the tv and saw the news evacuating all the federal buildings in Kansas City then the news went to New York. I could not believe my eyes. it was a real life horror story unfolding.

[Cody]

R.i.p

[Danny]

Yes i Thank you for doing this. Not many sites from what i saw would pay this much respect to today.

no were did around here, i was in kfc with all my freinds and just said "wouldnt you think thered be a minutes silence today or something?".

as for when it happened i think i was in grade 8 too, but the first i heard was coming home and being pissed there was news on instead of my avourite cartoons cus i had no idea what was going on cus the teachers never tod us anything about it.

[Neil]

To be honest I did not think it was appropiate to post a photo of someone plummiting to their death when that was up earlier today. I actually thought someone hacked the site for I could not get past that page. It really depressed me to see it. Its good to remember 9-11 and honor those that died but it gets to be too much when its on every news station, radio, talk show...etc. A photo of someone jumping to their death was very upsetting. It made me want to cry. Please noone negaive rep me. I just needed to get my thougghts out of my system:D I mean no harm by posting this:D

I remember that day. It was a tuesday I believe for I had the day off and I turned on the tv and saw the news evacuating all the federal buildings in Kansas City then the news went to New York. I could not believe my eyes. it was a real life horror story unfolding.


Sorry you feel that way, but I think "falling man" is an important, iconic and humbling image from that day! Read about it here... (http://www.esquire.com/features/articles/2003/030903_mfe_falling_1.html)

[Adrenochrome]

Sorry you feel that way, but I think "falling man" is an important, iconic and humbling image from that day! Read about it here... (http://www.esquire.com/features/articles/2003/030903_mfe_falling_1.html)

indeed.
It is no different than the "Burning Buddhist" photo or the one of the Viet Namese guy being shot in the head (I think he was Viet Namese - famous photo) or the one of the little girl running naked down the street after her village had been bombed (she was screaming). All those photos capture the horror mankind has had to deal with and should be shared and viewed in order remind us what needs to be done.
When I logged in and saw the site down for most of the day, you received a big thumbs up from me. Kudos!

[Debbieangel]

Thank you Neil for the fitting tribute to 9/11!! We should NEVER forget,forever be aware we are not safe as we want to think we once were! We can't ever go back to thinking we can go along like we did before 9/11. I don't want to sound like an alarmist but it's true how safe are we really?
But, that is not what I wanted to post about, 9/11 isnt over I was just watchin Montel Williams and he had guests on there that were first responders and workers after 9/11 trying to rescue and/or recover bodies. There were more people affected from that day now from health problems, people dying from the impure air they were breathing from the recovery effort. They said it could take somewhere 2 to 6 years to show up and the government wont pay for medical bills after 2 yrs. There was an official from NY a woman in government trying to bring light to the issue. Isnt this a sad issue they were the first responders and helpers and what do they get for their efforts? A kick in the teeth!!!
I just wanted to say...those creeps got more people than just from the planes and towers, pentagon and shanksville that day! HOW SAD!!!

[Danny]

thats one thing i dont get people allways go "never forget" ike some kinda d day tribute, but its been only 5 years it was a pretty damn big tragedy, who is really gonna forget, not ranting at anyone but you gotta see my point.

[Neil]

They just repeated the documentary here on "The Falling Man"... It's a good bit of television and very moving and humbling...

...their final lonely ten second jouneys...

[MinionZombie]

I remember watching that when it was first aired (last year?), and indeed it was quite moving. Interesting how people were trying to identify the unidentifiable, but I guess mankind's search for closure knows no bounds...

I think when met with the choice of how to die in that situation, I'd have chosen the "final lonely ten second journey" rather than stay. I personally feel there's more choice in taking the final fall than waiting for the situation to worsen.

Wasn't there something said that you'd pass out by a certain point on the way down, something to do with pressure or something?