The most powerful message I have heard in the wake of the attacks on Sept. 11 was that the government is doing something about it. We are fighting the evil in the world, terrorists. With the help of many other powerful countries, we will put an end to this mess.

I think it's awesome to see how many people are helping out in this time of need. Whether it's volunteering, donating blood, money, clothes or anything else the victims of this tragedy might need. I wish there was something more that I could do. I wanted to donate blood but I'm not old enough. I still want to help in some way but I'm sure what I can do.

It's really hard for me to think of one specific positive thing that I've heard in the past couple weeks. I've heard a lot about everyone helping; that I know is really great. But it still seems really far away to me, like it doesn't affect me at all. When I things on TV or in the papers, it doesn't seem like it's really happening; just a TV show or story in the news. I know that it's really happening, but it still seems so...surreal?? My sister goes to school at NYU, and I know it's really affecting her. But it just doesn't seem like I have to think about it. I don't know. It's sort of hard to explain. I'm really glad that people are doing as much as they are. I'm sure that it makes a difference.

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The most memorable thing about the terrorist attacks on the world trade center was this whole poem and writing thing that my mom printed out. It was by a Buddhist monk. I thought it was really good and it just made me feel better.

The attack, was a shocking, unexpected, and disgraceful thing. What was the memorable experience, was going online, and finding my inbox filled with Òare you okÓ emails from my friends around the world. From my homestay family in Japan, which was asking about my relatives, and from my friends from France, and Switzerland. I had at least 10 of them, all from different people. It made me realize how big this event was and still is. This is all I really have to say on this subject, so see you.

This is one of the things that I recently saw in an email to me from my dad regarding the Sept. 11th attacks. It takes a little humor and puts it into a sad time for America. It has one or two curse words, but i did not put them in there, and I am assuming that you have heard them before so it will be nothing new. I highly recommend that you read it, and not just disregard it as some student's thing that you might not want to read.

NEW YORK-Responding to recent events on Earth, God, the omniscient creator-deity worshipped by billions of followers of various faiths for more than 6,000 years, angrily clarified His longtime stance against humans killing each other Monday.
“Look, I don't know, maybe I haven't made myself completely clear, so for the record, here it is again,” said the Lord, His divine face betraying visible emotion during a press conference near the site of the fallen Twin Towers. “Somehow, people keep coming up with the idea that I want them to kill their neighbor. Well, I don't. And to be honest, I'm really getting sick and tired of it. Get it straight. Not only do I not want anybody to kill anyone, but I specifically commanded you not to, in really simple terms that anybody ought to be able to understand.”
Worshipped by Christians, Jews, and Muslims alike, God said His name has been invoked countless times over the centuries as a reason to kill in what He called “an unending cycle of violence.”
“I don't care how holy somebody claims to be,” God said. “If a person tells you it's My will that they kill someone, they're wrong. Got it? I don't care what religion you are, or who you think your enemy is, here it is one more time: No killing, in My name or anyone else's, ever again.”
The press conference came as a surprise to humankind, as God rarely intervenes in earthly affairs. As a matter of longstanding policy, He has traditionally left the task of interpreting His message and divine will to clerics, rabbis, priests, imams, and Biblical scholars. Theologians and laymen alike have been given the task of pondering His ineffable mysteries, deciding for themselves what to do as a matter of faith. His decision to manifest on the material plane was motivated by the deep sense of shock, outrage, and sorrow He felt over the Sept. 11 violence carried out in His name, and over its dire potential ramifications around the globe.
“I tried to put it in the simplest possible terms for you people, so you'd get it straight, because I thought it was pretty important,” said God, called Yahweh and Allah respectively in the Judaic and Muslim traditions. “I guess I figured I'd left no real room for confusion after putting it in a four-word sentence with one-syllable words, on the tablets I gave to Moses. How much more clear can I get?”
“But somehow, it all gets twisted around and, next thing you know, somebody's spouting off some nonsense about, ‘God says I have to kill this guy, God wants me to kill that guy, it's God's will,'” God continued. “It's not God's will, all right? News flash: ‘God's will' equals ‘Don't murder people.'” Worse yet, many of the worst violators claim that their actions are justified by passages in the Bible, Torah, and Qur'an. “To be honest, there's some contradictory stuff in there, okay?” God said. “So I can see how it could be pretty misleading. I admit it-My bad. I did My best to inspire them, but a lot of imperfect human agents have misinterpreted My message over the millennia. Frankly, much of the material that got in there is dogmatic, doctrinal bullshit. I turn My head for a second and, suddenly, all this stuff about homosexuality gets into Leviticus, and everybody thinks it's God's will to kill gays. It absolutely drives Me up the wall.” God praised the overwhelming majority of His Muslim followers as “wonderful, pious people,” calling the perpetrators of the Sept. 11 attacks rare exceptions.
“This whole medieval concept of the jihad, or holy war, had all but vanished from the Muslim world in, like, the 10th century, and with good reason,” God said. “There's no such thing as a holy war, only unholy ones. The vast majority of Muslims in this world reject the murderous actions of these radical extremists, just like the vast majority of Christians in America are pissed off over those two bigots on The 700 Club.”
Continued God, “Read the book: ‘Allah is kind, Allah is beautiful, Allah is merciful.' It goes on and on that way, page after page. But, no, some a******s have to come along and revive this stupid holy-war crap just to further their own hateful agenda. So now, everybody thinks Muslims are all murderous barbarians. Thanks, Taliban: 1,000 years of pan-Islamic cultural progress down the drain.”
God stressed that His remarks were not directed exclusively at Islamic extremists, but rather at anyone whose ideological zealotry overrides his or her ability to comprehend the core message of all world religions.
“I don't care what faith you are, everybody's been making this same mistake since the dawn of time,” God said. “The Muslims massacre the Hindus, the Hindus massacre the Muslims. The Buddhists, everybody massacres the Buddhists. The Jews, don't even get me started on the hardline, right-wing, Meir Kahane-loving Israeli nationalists, man. And the Christians? You people believe in a Messiah who says, ‘Turn the other cheek,' but you've been killing everybody you can get your hands on since the Crusades.”
Growing increasingly wrathful, God continued: “Can't you people see? What are you, morons? There are a ton of different religious traditions out there, and different cultures worship Me in different ways. But the basic message is always the same: Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, Shintoism... every religious belief system under the sun, they all say you're supposed to love your neighbors, folks! It's not that hard a concept to grasp.”
“Why would you think I'd want anything else? Humans don't need religion or God as an excuse to kill each other-you've been doing that without any help from Me since you were freaking apes!” God said. “The whole point of believing in God is to have a higher standard of behavior. How obvious can you get?”
“I'm talking to all of you, here!” continued God, His voice rising to a shout. “Do you hear Me? I don't want you to kill anybody. I'm against it, across the board. How many times do I have to say it? Don't kill each other anymore-ever! I'm f***ing serious!”

I received this e-mail and was very touched by it. Seeing how much people all over the world care about America made me feel a lot better. Please go to this site: http://people.delphi.com/andybeals/thankyou.htm

One thing that really bothers me about the September 11th attacks are the hatred that has come from it. I have been hearing stories about racist acts against Islamic people. It's really awful to hear that people are so readily able to stereotype and hate.

I really haven't heard much except the bare facts, but the lyrics of the song ÒI will remember youÓ keep running through my mind.

I think that the most important message that I heard in the past three weeks about the WTC bombing was that America will never back down and fall into the hands of terrorists. It will stand strong and defend itself no matter what happens to it. That is all for now.

Hi my name is Madie and Abby is writing with me. The tragic event that has happened is traumatizing. We have never been in a situation like this.
We don't really know what to think about because there are so many points of view. One point I sometimes like to consider is how would you feel if your child or mother or father or someone that was extremely close to you died in this tragic incident. I can see their point of view on why; right now in their life they are hating the world. But we need to overcome these obstacles as we do everything in life.
I hope that we as a country and even more so a world can come out of this experience learning more and appreciating the human life.
Thank you for taking your time to read this.

I suppose this doesn't exactly follow the assignment but I will send you another e-mail when I find something better. This was sent from my grandmother. I think, although it says nothing about September 11, has to do with the terrible happenings of that day. It's about living each day to the fullest. It's just a little something to think about. I like it!

The Bank
Imagine there is a bank that credits your account each morning with $86,400. It carries over no balance from day to day. Every evening deletes whatever part of the balance you failed to use during the day.
What would you do?
Draw out every cent, of course!!!! Each of us has such a bank. Its name is TIME. Every morning, it credits you with 86,400 seconds. Every night it writes off, as lost, whatever of this you have failed to invest to good purpose. It carries over no balance. It allows no overdraft. Each day it opens a new account for you. Each night it burns the remains of the day. If you fail to use the day's deposits, the loss is yours. There is no back.
There is no drawing against the “tomorrow.” You must live in the present on today's deposits. Invest it so as to get from it the utmost in health, happiness, and success! The clock is running. Make the most of today.
To realize the value of ONE YEAR, ask a student who failed a grade.
To realize the value of ONE MONTH, ask a mother who gave birth to a premature baby.
To realize the value of ONE WEEK, ask the editor of a weekly newspaper.
To realize the value of ONE MINUTE, ask a person who missed the train.
To realize the value of ONE-SECOND, ask a person who just avoided an accident.
To realize the value of ONE MILLISECOND, ask the person who won a medal in the Olympics.
Treasure every moment that you have!
And treasure it more because you shared it with someone special, special enough to spend your time.
And remember that time waits for no one.
Yesterday is history.
Tomorrow is a mystery.
Today is a gift.
That's why it's called the present!!!
Friends are a very rare jewel, indeed. They make you smile and encourage you to succeed. They lend an ear, they share a word of praise, and they always want to open their heart to us.

During these especially hard times since September 11, 2001 many things have touched me. However one thing that particularly touched me is the patriotism of all the citizens of our country. The country has come together in such a way that we have forgotten about our differences and have supported each other through these hard times. An amazing thing that symbolizes this patriotism is how so many Americans put flags in front of their houses, on their cars and many other places.

This a statement I found that I think has a lot of meaning:

“In spite of the unimaginable horror and sadness that have been thrust upon us, New Yorkers, those in and near Washington DC, and Americans all over have shown a resiliency and determination that are an inspiration to the world. The outpouring of love, courage, and faith that has been evident since the first sign of trouble is the most wonderful thing I have seen in my life and an unmistakable statement to the soulless murderers that any “victory” they have accomplished exists only in their own twisted minds, and that it will be short-lived even in that dark pit of evil.”

It shows how people can survive even though others think they can terrorize them and alter their everyday lives.
I'm not sure who wrote it, but it's quality made me want to send it to you anyway.

The world trade center incident was very shocking and impressive. I sent you an attachment concerning the after math of this horrible tragedy.
17601_753_3082.ram

This was a poem/ song that my French teacher brought in the class so we could hear it. It's about October (my favorite month) and talks about how the leaves change colors and fall on the ground, the haze and gray clouds come in, and the author mentions his family too. The reason I liked it, and chose this as my assignment was because it really stuck with me throughout the day. The words were the perfect description of a southern town in France, and the changes that follow in the month of October.

OCTOBRE
Le vent fera craquer les branches
La brume viendra dans sa robe blanche
Y'aura des feuilles partout
Couchées sur les cailloux
Octobre tiendra sa revanche
Le soleil sortira à peine
Nos corps se cacheront sous des bouts de laine

Perdue dans tes foulards
Tu croiseras le soir
Octobre endormi aux fontaines
Il y aura certainement,
Sur les tables en fer blanc
Quelques vases vides et qui traînent
Et des nuages pris aux antennes

Je t'offrirai des fleurs
Et des nappes en couleurs
Pour ne pas qu'Octobre nous prenne
On ira tout en haut des collines
Regarder tout ce qu'Octobre illumine
Mes mains sur tes cheveux
Des écharpes pour deux

Devant le monde qui s'incline
Certainement appuyés sur des bancs
Il y aura quelques hommes qui se souviennent
Et des nuages pris aux antennes
Je t'offrirai des fleurs
Et des nappes en couleurs
Pour ne pas qu'Octobre nous prenne Et sans doute on verra apparaître
Quelques dessins sur la buée des fenêtres
Vous, vous jouerez dehors
Comme les enfants du nord
Octobre restera peut-être.
Vous, vous jouerez dehors
Comme les enfants du nord
Octobre restera peut-être.

- By Francis Cabrel

This is something very strange I learned about the terrorist attacks on the World trade center.
The date of the attack: 9/11 - 9+1+1= 11
September 11th is the 254th day of the year. 2+5+4= 11
After September 11th there are 111 days left to the end of the year.
119 is the area code to Iraq/Iran 1+1+9= 11
Twin Towers - standing side by side, looks like the number 11
The first plane to hit the towers was Flight 11
but...there's more....
State of New York - The 11th State added to the Union
New York City - 11 letters
Afghanistan - 11 letters
The Pentagon - 11 letters
Ramzi Yousef - 11 letters (convicted of orchestrating the attack on the WTC in 1993)
Flight 11 had 92 people on board 11 - 92= 11 also 9+2= 11
Flight 77 had 65 people on board 77 - 65= 11 also 6+5= 11

Well that's it for these spooky number 11 things that have to do with the terrorist attacks. Write back and tell me what you think? If you want...

I got this forward from my aunt, about the September 11th attacks, its pretty shocking how accurate it sounds, read and see if you agree with me.

Dear Friends,
Yesterday I heard a lot of talk about "bombing Afghanistan back to the Stone Age." Ronn Owens, on KGO Talk Radio allowed that this would mean killing innocent people, people who had nothing to do with this atrocity, but "we're at war, we have to accept collateral damage," and he asked, "What else can we do? What is your suggestion?" Minutes later I heard a TV pundit discussing whether we "have the belly to do what must be done." And I thought about these issues especially hard because I am from Afghanistan, and even though I've lived here for 35 years I've never lost track of what's been going on over there. So I want to share a few thoughts with anyone who will listen.

I speak as one who hates the Taliban and Osama Bin Laden. There is no doubt in my mind that these people were responsible for the atrocity in New York. I fervently wish to see those monsters punished.

But the Taliban and Ben Laden are not Afghanistan. They're not even the government of Afghanistan. The Taliban are a cult of ignorant psychotics who captured Afghanistan in 1997 and have been holding the country in bondage ever since. Bin Laden is a political criminal with a master plan. When you think Taliban, think Nazis. When you think Bin Laden, think Hitler. And when you think "the people of Afghanistan" think "the Jews in the concentration camps." It's not only that the Afghan people had nothing to do with this atrocity. They were the first victims of the perpetrators. They would love for someone to eliminate the Taliban and clear out the rat's nest of international thugs holed up in their country. I guarantee it.
Some say, if that's the case, why don't the Afghans rise up and overthrow the Taliban themselves? The answer is, they're starved, exhausted, damaged, and incapacitated. A few years ago, the United Nations estimated that there are 500,000 disabled orphans in Afghanistan--a country with no economy, no food.

Millions of Afghans are widows of the approximately two million men killed during the war with the Soviets. And the Taliban has been executing these women for being women, and have buried some of their opponents alive in mass graves. The soil of Afghanistan is littered with land mines and almost all the farms have been destroyed. The Afghan people have tried to overthrow the Taliban. They haven't been able to.

We come now to the question of bombing Afghanistan back to the Stone Age. Trouble with that scheme is, it's already been done. The Soviets took care of it. Make the Afghans suffer? They're already suffering. Level their houses? Done. Turn their schools into piles of rubble? Done. Eradicate their hospitals? Done. Destroy their infrastructure? There is no infrastructure. Cut them off from medicine and health care? Too late. Someone already did all that.

New bombs would only land in the rubble of earlier bombs. Would they at least get the Taliban? Not likely. In today's Afghanistan, only the Taliban eat, only they have the means to move around. They'd slip away and hide. (They have already, I hear.) Maybe the bombs would get some of those disabled orphans; they don't move too fast, they don't even have wheelchairs. But flying over Kabul and dropping bombs wouldn't really be a strike against the criminals who did this horrific thing. Actually it would be making common cause with the Taliban--by raping once again the people they've been raping all this time.

So what else can be done, then? Let me now speak with true fear and trembling. The only way to get Bin Laden is to go in there with ground troops. I think that when people speak of "having the belly to do what Needs to be done" many of them are thinking in terms of having the belly to kill as many as needed. They are thinking about overcoming moral qualms about killing innocent people. But it's the belly to die not kill that's actually on the table. Americans will die in a land war to get Bin Laden. And not just because some Americans would die fighting their way through Afghanistan to Bin Laden's hideout. It's much bigger than that, folks. To get any troops to Afghanistan, we'd have to go through Pakistan. Would they let us? Not likely. The conquest of Pakistan would have to be first. Will other Muslim nations just stand by? You see where I'm going. The invasion approach is a flirtation with global war between Islam and the West.

And that is Bin Laden's program. That's exactly what he wants and why he did this thing. Read his speeches and statements. It's all right there. At the moment, of course, "Islam" as such does not exist. There are Muslims and there are Muslim countries, but no such political entity as Islam. Bin Laden believes that if he can get a war started, he can constitute this land, he'd be running it. He really believes Islam would beat the west. It might seem ridiculous, but he figures if he can polarize the world into Islam and the West, he's got a billion soldiers. If the West wreaks a holocaust in Muslim lands, that's a billion people with nothing left to lose, even better from Bin Laden's point of view. He's probably wrong about winning, in the end the west would probably overcome--whatever that would mean in such a war; but the war would last for years and millions would die, not just theirs but ours. Who has the belly for that? Bin Laden yes, but anyone else?

I don't have a solution. But I do believe that suffering and poverty are the soil in which terrorism grows. Bin Laden and his cohorts want to bait us into creating more such soil, so they and their kind can flourish. We can't let him do that. That's my humble opinion.

What do you think of what she has to say?

I think that the recent disaster has helped different countries around the world unite with a common cause.

Last Wednesday I went to a grade school to represent IHS. A girl from the Middle East came up to me and asked me if there was racism at our school. I was able to say no and it made me feel really good. Our school is a safe environment for everyone, no matter who you are or where you are from. I am thankful.

I don't have much to say right now about the terrorist attacks but I can say that Bush has also acted like a terrorist by bombing innocent people in Afghanistan. He needs to rethink his ideas. Pledging a war against Afghanistan will only make things worse. I send my condolences to the families who lost their loved ones.

2 Little Birds 2 little birds fell from the sky,
They fell with bellies full of fire,
And locked inside their bodies,
Like children of a caring mother,
Were creatures with hearts cold as stone.

And the 2 little birds,
Crashed in to 2 twin mothers,
Mothers with so many children,
Children they wished to protect,
Yet they fell to their knees,
As if to pray for forgiveness,
Forgiveness for their weakness.

And the 2 little bird,
Had a brother.
A brother who made his home in another nest,
A nest with 5 points like a star.
Yet now the star is a square,
And the mighty are weak,
And political jokes will never be the same.

And the final little bird,
Missed his nest.
When the weak were mighty,
And cell phones served as messengers,
Messengers for tearful goodbyes.
For lives,
As fragile as eggs,
Were lost,
Or broken,

I live 3000 miles away from the crash,
And yet I still feel the blow,
That was caused by a group of people,
Who like Lucifer,
Took Lives that were not their own.
No one really talk about it
But it is in every ones brain,

And you must ask your self
Why would any one do this?
And it makes us wonder,
What lies in the savage part of our brains??

But I don't talk about it,
It makes people uncomfortable
And I am just a child,
What do I know?

My most memorable remembrance of the September 11 and its following events. Was a few days after the attack, when firefighters were searching for people stuck in the rubble of the World Trade Center, at the beginning of the road they drove down to get to the World Trade Center, people just stood on the side of the road cheering them on. I guess it's the most memorable because it shows how people came together, and are just doing whatever they can, and giving inspiration and wishing good luck to the firefighters. It's hard to explain.

You asked us to write the most moving thing that we heard about Sept 11th. For me this would probably be the day after the 11th. My aunt, who lives in New Jersey and works in New York, sent my dad an e-mail and all it said was "we're all fine." You see she work for CBS and so does my Uncle so neither of them had time to write a long message, but this short little thing not only told me they were safe but also that they cared soooo much about everything else that they didn't even take time off to talk to their family about it.

This is a letter that I got from my friend. It made realize how Americans can have power; because they actually did drop food and medicine for people...I hope you enjoy this letter, thank you,

"Several of us have been discussing a way to counter the intention of the terrorists and also help to make a small symbolic start at solving the structural problems that have led to the current situation. Since we have moved a major aerial force into a position to bomb Afghanistan, we think the United States should use its airpower. We envision a huge flight of B-52s over that nation, opening their bomb-bay doors, and salvoing -- parachutes carrying containers of food. It could be followed up by fighter-bombers dropping some of our pre-packaged medical facilities, and leaflets volunteering to supply physicians on loan to operate them. This would have certain advantages in addition to helping the poor Afghans, facing severe food/medicine shortages and suffering under Taliban repression. An obvious one from our viewpoint is that food is cheaper than bombs. Yes, the Taliban might try to maintain control over what is dropped, but if it were widely enough dispersed the people would know where it was coming from, as would the world. There undoubtedly would be logistic problems to solve, but we surely have a military in a position to solve them. This is not to say we should not continue to try to identify, defund, and destroy terrorist networks, and punish the perpetrators of the recent atrocities. But some move like this might make clear that the United States will not indiscriminately destroy innocent people to get revenge on the guilty. At it might give us a good start on the sort of "Marshall Plan to the World" that we and others think needs to be pursued over the long term to help close the widening gap between haves and have-nots, clearly one of the roots of recent terrorism. It might also help counter the idea that the West wishes to wage war on Islam. And it surely would be a result anathema to those who perpetrated the acts of Sept. 11 -- a stinging defeat for them. This may not be a good idea; and our government may consider it too dangerous for domestic consumption in a nation still in shock from the horrors of New York and Washington. But if you think it worth considering, please circulate it to your friends so a widespread discussion can take place. "
I think what's happening in the world is a very scary thing. I really hope this gets resolved in a non-violent way and that American citizens can go back to their daily way of life and not be worried about terrorists.

I think American foreign policy is at fault the most. I don't necessarily believe that it is productive to start a war. I think we should try to fight the hatred instead of the people because the only way the terrorists thrive is through the angry and confused youths they recruit.

See Amy Berman's poem

This is not something Ihave heard but something someone has done. I live in Rafael and I was walking down 4th Street... A lady approached me and gave me a heart with a mini clothespin attached. I had the name of a firefighter that had died in the World Trade Center bombing. She asked me to give a prayer for this man. And I did. My prayer was not from a religion or spoken in a different language. It was a prayer from my heart, one that anyone can understand! It made me feel wonderful and happy inside.

The attack was a terrible and tragic event. The attack was done by people of Middle Eastern descent. Because of this, there have been numerous hate crimes, I think two people have even been killed. This has to stop, hate crimes cannot be tolerated. Just because someone believes in a Middle Eastern religion or looks like they could be of that descent, is absoultely no reason to treat anyone unfairly. America is a mix of different races and everyone is equal in this country.

We were asked to write about how we feel about the terrorists attack:

For me, the world is not the same. I'm mostly confused about how I feel, I know that I feel sympathy and compassion for the victims, and anger for the terrorists to cause such a pain. And although I've seen the tears and sadness on the television, It still hasn't hit me that this happened to, of all places, the United States. It doesn't seem real. It can't be real; but it is. I wish it wasn't.

Yet even if there is pain and sorrow, I also feel a rush of a mixture of joy, pride and excitement when I see the people who mourn for others; watching the crowds of thousands coming to remember those that most of them didn't know. But the victims were mainly Americans, and they were all humans. Seeing the flags hanging everywhere at first made me slightly uncomfortable, and I'm not sure why. But after a while I got used to seeing the red, white and blue, and now I have a sense of pride when I see it.

A friend of mine, name Sam Spector, who attends Berkeley High at the moment, wrote a poem that I would like to share:

This goes out to flight # 93.We will never be we as people,
Or we as a nation.
We will only be perished souls together in the sky above.
You look down on us now because you are now guardian angels of fight 93
Bright and gold
Strong and Bold
You will never be the one we knew, you will only be the one who holds us now
through this harsh time.
Be strong cause you are gold and we are silver.
We will never forget forever.
See you again someday.
--Sam Spector

One of the most memorable things I have heard about the terrorist attacks was an e-mail. It was from a Canadian newspaper about how America has helped so many countries and when the attacks occurred some other countries were at the time chuckling. While America helped other countries with their problems and when we had a few problems no one jumped in to help. Here is the e-mail:

"TRIBUTE TO AMERICA
The following, from a Canadian newspaper, is worth sharing.
Its subject is "America: The Good Neighbor"

Widespread but only partial news coverage was given recently to a remarkable editorial broadcast from Toronto by Gordon Sinclair, a Canadian television commentator. What follows is the full text of his trenchant remarks as printed in the Congressional Record:

"This Canadian thinks it is time to speak up for the Americans as the most generous and possibly the least appreciated people on all the earth. Germany, Japan and, to a lesser extent, Britain and Italy were lifted out of the debris of war by the Americans who poured in billions of dollars and forgave other billions in debts. None of these countries is today paying even the interest on its remaining debts to the United States.

When France was in danger of collapsing in 1956, it was the Americans who propped it up, and their reward was to be insulted and swindled on the streets of Paris. I was there. I saw it.
When earthquakes hit distant cities, it is the United States that hurries in to help. This spring, 59 American communities were flattened by tornadoes. Nobody helped.
The Marshall Plan and the Truman Policy pumped billions of dollars into discouraged countries. Now newspapers in those countries are writing about the decadent, warmongering Americans.

I'd like to see just one of those countries that is gloating over the erosion of the United States dollar build its own airplane. Does any other country in the world have a plane to equal the Boeing Jumbo Jet, the Lockheed Tri-Star, or the Douglas DC10? If so, why don't they fly them? Why do all the International lines except Russia fly American Planes?

Why does no other land on earth even consider putting a man or woman on the moon? You talk about Japanese technocracy, and you get radios. You talk about German technocracy, and you get automobiles. You talk about American technocracy, and you find men on the moon-not once, but several times-and safely home again. You talk about scandals, and the Americans put theirs right in the store window for everybody to look at. Even their draft-dodgers are not pursued and hounded. They are here on our streets, and most of them, unless they are breaking Canadian laws, are getting American dollars from ma and pa at home to spend here.

When the railways of France, Germany and India were breaking down through age, it was the Americans who rebuilt them. When the Pennsylvania Railroad and the New York Central went broke, nobody loaned them an old caboose. Both are still broke.

I can name you 5000 times when the Americans raced to the help of other people in trouble. Can you name me even one time when someone else raced to the Americans in trouble? I don't think there was outside help even during the San Francisco earthquake.

Our neighbors have faced it alone, and I'm one Canadian who is damned tired of hearing them get kicked around. They will come out of this thing with their flag high. And when they do, they are entitled to thumb their nose at the lands that are gloating over their present troubles. I hope Canada is not one of those."'

I personally feel remorse and sorrow for anyone involved in this tragic occurrence that will live on in my memory forever. My grandmother lives in New York, not near the Trade Centers, but in Long Island and our neighbor is a volunteer firefighter. Luckily (but unfortunately also), he had an eye surgery and could not go help the rest of his team uncover the wreckage. Another horrible thing that happened in my family was that my cousin was three blocks away from the Trade Centers when they were hit by the terrorists in their planes. She watched as people from the top stories of the building jump and fall to the ground. She was in shock and could not believe herself.

Also, my other friend who is not in high school, lives in New York City and goes to school in New York City. He helped the Red Cross hand out sandwiches and drinks to the tired firefighters. This whole experience was an eye opener because I realized that the United States is not immune to attacks. That any powerful nation is not immune to terrorism and I have just realized that my life has been affected by everything I hear and that the media has made me bias on certain matters. This incident has changed me very much and I am grateful I am more aware of the world around me.

P.S. There are some funny comics about the fight against terrorists at
http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/lessons/
and at http://cagle.slate.msn.com/

The thing having to do with terrorist attacks that Ihave seen in the past couple of weeks that made the biggest impression on me was seeing Osama Bin Laden's speech on how the Americans were destroying the Muslim religion or something like that. It kind of shocked me how he had this impression that we were doing this, because this is not something that I see at all in America.

At first the terrorism attacks did not do anything for me, it was like it was a dream, but then people kept on talking about it over and over again until it hit me. I don't think people have reason to think it was Arabs, they are just judging.

But I have the sight of the picture that touched me a lot because it seems like I different perspective of the incident. You see the building in solitude almost.
http://jayboucher.com/exhibit/wtc/wtc_03.jpg

It's already been exactly a month today since the terrorist attack and people haven't given up hope that their loved ones will still be found. It's amazing. The whole country has been showing their patriotism and support. I think history has taken a turn and maybe the United States will now feel under the constant threat of terrorism. During the first week since the attack, I've only watched the news and I remember hearing the reporters constantly saying, "This is an act of war" and I keep thinking, what if the US really became engaged in a war? What will happen to the American society? What will become of our country? So many questions ran through my brain. Then I'm watching all those people walking around in the streets with flyers and children are crying while they cling to their mothers and fathers. This event has affected America tremendously and I think it is something no American will be able to forget.

The most inspiring story that I heard following the tragedies of September 11, was about a teenager. A 15 year old fireman volunteer helped get people out of the building. He worked many hours helping salvage people and finding lost people. When asked if he'd work as a paid fireman, he said "No, I'd rather volunteer." That, I found very inspiring.

Hi, I'm writing you in correspondence for the quote we most liked after the September eleventh terrorist attack. I didn't find one that I liked or that interested me a lot. One thing I didn't like though, is that Bush asked all kids 14 and under to send one dollar to the children in Afghanistan and places around there.

I chose this picture because it shows how the smoke blows away, and eventually September 11 will fade away.

Here is my homework. It's a song made because of the Attacks on the US. I thought this is a powerful song made for a time like this.

Name: Whats going on?
Artists: All Star Tribute

(P Diddy)
What's Going On

(Jermaine Dupri)
Tell Me

(P Diddy)
People Dying
People Crying
Lord Help Us

(Bono)
Mother, mother
There's too many of you crying

(Gwen Stefani)
Oh, brother, brother, brother
There's far too many of you dying

(Jermaine Dupri)
That's Right

(Aaron Lewis)
You know we've got to find a way
To bring some lovin' here today

(Nona Gaye)
Oh my father, father
We don't need to escalate

(Backstreet Boys)
You see war is not the answer

(Nona Gaye / Backstreet Boys)
For only love can conquer hate

(Christina Aguilera)
You know we've got to find a way
To bring some lovin' here today

(Britney Spears)
Barricades, can't block our way.

(J-Lo)
Don't punish me with brutality

(Destiny's Child)
Talk to me
So you can see

(Destiny's Child / Britney Spears) (First Chorus)
Oh what's going on
What's going on
Yeah what's going on
Ahh what's going on

(Ja Rule)
What's going on in a world filled with pain
Where's the love for which we pray
What's going on
When our children can't play
Homeless can't eat
There's got to be a better way
What's going on
When we politically blind
Can't see the signs of endangered times
What's going on

(Nelly Furtado)
Ah tell me
What's going on in the world today
I'd rather be dead
Than turn my head away
We gotta first world vision to ???? to lift our
Hands in the air and cry for a switch
(Michael Stipe)
Father, father

(P Diddy)
Father help us, come on

(Michael Stipe)
Everybody thinks we're wrong

(Alicia Keys)
Oh, but who are they to judge us
Together we can all be strong

(P Diddy)
United we stand, United we fall

('Nsync)
Oh you know we've got to find a way

(Mary J. Blige)
To bring some understanding here today

('Nsync)
Barricades can't block our way

(Savage Garden)
Don't punish me with brutality

('Nsync)
Baby talk to me
So you can see

(Second Chorus)
Yeah, what's going on
Hey, what's going on
Somebody tell me what's going on
I'll tell you what's goin' on -uh

(Nelly)
What's going on 'cross seas
Every minute a child dies by this disease
In record numbers indeed
Got momma's crying out please
My baby hold on
My child ain't done nothing wrong
Still I want to hollar
Ask them why they don't bother
Oh no, oh no
Make me turn to my father
And ask him why they all got a trapped soul

(Nas)
I can feel what was bothering Marvin
Why his words forever remain
Dealing with these modern day problems
'Cause of ignorance surrounding me and my constituents
Too many infected
Too many lives diminishing
Nobody say Protestants, Jews, Blacks, and Whites, Latino's and Asians
Pray together
Less fight
We better unite
As genocide chemical war
And the rich and the poor
Know that God delivers a cure

(Eve)
It's a shame our reality is devastating
People praying for a cure
Dying while they're waiting
Ask the Lord for the comfort and strength to face it
All the kids with dreams
Won't get the chance to chase it
Makes me sad
Think about the lives they would've had
Think about the orphan babies got no moms and dads
How can we sit back and not try to make it right
We gotta come together
We gotta fight for life

(Fred Durst)
Somebody tell me what's going on
(what's going on)
We got human beings using humans for bombs
But everyone wanna live
Don't nobody really want to die
You feeling me right
I can't be watching people die
(die)
And watching people cry
Let me break it down for a minute
If there's enough room here for you and me
There's plenty of room for some humanity

Somebody tell me what's going on
(what's going on)
Somebody tell me what's going on
(what's going on)
Somebody tell me what's going on
(what's going on)
Somebody tell me what's going on
(what's going on)
Somebody tell me what's going on

I don't know if this is inspirational or not, but it surprised me that
New York lost half of its firefighters.

hmmm... This e-mail is probably a lie, but whoever made it up had some MAD skills -
I'm sure that this has been forwarded ALL OVER the net. As follows
> Hi All,
> >
> >This is quite interesting. I don't want to generate fear, just awareness
> >and informed choices!
> >
> >Blessings,
> >
> >Kathleen
> >
> >----- Original Message -----
> >Sent: Wednesday, October 10, 2001 5:12 PM
> >Subject: Avoiding malls on 10/31
> >
> > > Dear Friends,
> > >
> > > I received this e-mail and decided to investigate it to see if it was a
> > > hoax. I called 2 different branches of Volt Corp. in Anaheim and
> > > Hunnington Beach, CA. I was told by both that Laura Katsis IS an
> > > employee of Volt, and that the proper authorities have been notified, and
> > > that they were not allowed to say anything about the content of this
> > > e-mail. I was assured that this was being investigated. Bearing all this
> > > in mind, I've decided to go ahead and forward this to you, and you are
> > > welcome to make your own choices.
> > >
> > > Very truly yours,
> > > Laura S-----
> > >
> > > ----------------------------------
> > > Hi All -
> > > I think you all know that I don't send out hoaxes and don't do
> > > the reactionary thing and send out anything that crosses my path.
> > > This one, however, is a friend of a friend and I've given it enough
> > > credibility in my mind that I'm writing it up and sending it out to
> > > all of you.
> > >
> > > My friend's friend was dating a guy from Afghanistan up until a
> > > month ago. She had a date with him around 9/6 and was stood up.
> > >
> > > She was understandably upset and went to his home to find it completely
> > > emptied. On 9/10, she received a letter from her boyfriend explaining
> > > that he wished he could tell her why he had left and that he was sorry
> > > it had to be like that.
> > >
> > > The part worth mentioning is that he BEGGED her
> > > not to get on any commercial airlines on 9/11 and to not to go any
> > > malls on Halloween. As soon as everything happened on the 11th,
> > > she called the FBI and has since turned over the letter.
> > >
> > > This is not an email that I've received and decided to pass on.
> > > This came from a phone conversation with a long-time friend of
> > > mine last night.
> > >
> > > I may be wrong, and I hope I am. However, with one of his
> > > warnings being correct and devastating, I'm not willing to take
> > > the chance on the second and wanted to make sure that people
> > > I cared about had the same information that I did.
> > >
> > > Laura Katsis
> > > Implementation Specialist
> > > 714/921-5424
> > > lkatsis@volt.com
> > > OpsVolt_Track@volt.com

After September 11th I value the human life and my family even more. It's just sad it took such a tragedy for people to realize this. Thank you

Since the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, I think the song "The Innocent" by Good Charlotte, Mest and Goldfinger means a lot. I agree that it is too bad so many innocent people died.

The Innocent
by Good Charlotte, Mest and Goldfinger

The start of Armageddon
It was just another day
We all saw the news, nothing to say
So many friends are missing
And family members gone
So we all pray that God help them be strong
And now we stand together
Remembering that day
The lives we live will never be the same

CHORUS
And we don't know why
The innocent die
Will this world ever find a way to change?
And we don't know why
But we know it's not right
We don't know why so many had to die
We don't know why so many had to die
Hate has turned to others
For their religion or their skin
But hate can't solve the problem it began
Everyone is angry
People are afraid
And no one knows what decisions will be made

CHORUS

Bridge
And we don't know why (don't know why)
The innocent die (don't know why)
Will this world ever find a way to change?
And we don't know why (don't know why)
But we know it's not right (don't know why)
Will any of us ever be the same?
Will any of this ever be the same? And we don't know why
The innocent die
Will any of us ever be the same?
Will any of this ever be the same?

The September 11 attacks have brought unity to Americans, but I think that it shouldn't take something so terrible to do this. I heard on the radio this morning that people who even resemble Afghanis are viewed with racism. I can't imagine how these racist people think. I hope it will all be over soon.

Here is my significant thing about September 11: "An eye for an eye will only make the world blind" --- Ghandi

Also, on a slightly more humorous level, I've had this comic running through my head for the past few days. It was a "Boondocks" comic with the two boys talking. I don't remember the exact words but it started with "No! Really?" and ended with "Well where else do you think that they're getting all of their money to bribe people to hide them?" The middle part of the comic is Huey saying that the terrorists are getting all of their money from making the American flags that keep popping up every where.

For the project on something that affected you, or really caught your attention, I chose a picture that my mum had received. Unfortunately, my mum threw out the picture, but I can still describe it, I'm sure you've heard of it, it's already been in the papers.
This picture is of a tourist standing on the one of the twin towers before it was hit. but, what is scary but so cool about this picture, is that the airplane that hit the twin tower is in the background, seconds before it hits the tower.
The picture was of course digitally made, and there originally was no airplane in the background, but it's so horrifying to see, that it almost seems real. It made me see just how real this attack was, and frightened the hell out of me, I now hate planes more than ever, and if I can, I will avoid going on them as much as possible. Well, that is what caught my eye the most involving the attack.

"Mommy, why are there millions of flowers?"
--Lauren Kelly, age 5, outside the American Embassy in Dublin.

"Before we begin dismantling constitutionally protected safeguards and diminishing fundamental rights to privacy, we should first examine why last week's attacks occurred."
--BOB BARR,a conservative in Congress.

I first felt that it wasn’t true and still haven't truly deep down realized what has happened. It’s so unrealistic and something that would happen in the movies. I think that I would actually need to visit New York and see the missing towers in order to truly realize the tragedy. Though, it hasn't hit me, I saw this and was truly moved by it.

"On Monday there were people fighting against praying in schools ...
On Tuesday you would have been hard pressed to find a school where someone was not praying

On Monday there were people were trying to separate each other by race, sex, color and creed...
On Tuesday they were all holding hands

On Monday we thought that we were secure...
On Tuesday we learned better

On Monday we were talking about heroes as being athletes...
On Tuesday we relearned what hero meant

On Monday people went to work at the world trade centers as usual...
On Tuesday they died

On Monday people were fighting the 10 commandments on government property
On Tuesday the same people all said 'God help us all' while thinking 'Thou shall not kill'

On Monday people argued with their kids about picking up their room
On Tuesday the same people could not get home fast enough to hug their kids

On Monday people picked up McDonalds for dinner
On Tuesday they stayed home

On Monday people were upset that their dry cleaning was not ready on time
On Tuesday they were lining up to give blood for the dying

On Monday politicians argued about budget surpluses...
On Tuesday grief stricken they sang 'God Bless America'

On Monday we worried about the traffic and getting to work late...
On Tuesday we worried about a plane crashing into your house or place of business

On Monday we were irritated that our rebate checks had not arrived...
On Tuesday we saw people celebrating people dying in the USA

On Monday some children had solid families...
On Tuesday they were orphans

On Monday the president was going to Florida to read to children...
On Tuesday he returned to Washington to protect our children

On Monday we emailed jokes...
On Tuesday we did not

It is sadly ironic how it takes horrific events to place things into perspective, but it has. The lessons learned this past week, the things we have taken for granted, the things that have been forgotten or overlooked, hopefully will never be forgotten again. "
--http://home.att.net/~ChimerraDesignLtd/memorial/memorial.html

Alex

The most powerful thing that I have seen is a saying, and I'm not sure exactly what it is or who said it. Iread it in the newspaper, and then saw it posted up in the hallway at school. It is something to the affect of "Let us not become the evil that we are trying to discourage". Of course, it was much more eloquent than that, but I don't remember it exactly.

Andrea

The opinion I have towards the thing that happened at New York on September 11, 2001 is that it's horrible!! But it has its good sides to it. The fact that the United States and its people are uniting more and more each day. People are putting up there American flags and are putting up signs that say " United We Stand". I think that is great because that proves that the U.S. will get through this all and will not panic over what is happening and will definitely not give up on the war against terrorism.

Below is an article that tells the story of the American spirit as seen through the eyes of a Romanian reporter. Since the September 11th attacks I have seen countless news reports and read magazine and newspaper articles, but this one stood out for me.

FROM ROMANIA:
RECOGNITION (AND ENVY) OF THE AMERICAN ETHOS AND ÉLAN!!

An ode to America
Why are Americans so united? They don't resemble one another even if you paint them! They speak all the languages of the world and form an astonishing mixture of civilizations. Some of them are nearly extinct, others are incompatible with one another, and in matters of religious beliefs, not even God can count how many they are.
Still, the American tragedy turned three hundred million people into a hand put on the heart. Nobody rushed to accuse the White House, the army, the secret services that they are only a bunch of losers. Nobody rushed to empty their bank accounts. Nobody rushed on the streets nearby to gape about.

The Americans volunteered to donate blood and to give a helping hand. After the first moments of panic, they raised the flag on the smoking ruins, putting on T-shirts, caps and ties in the colors of the national flag. They placed flags on buildings and cars as if in every place and on every car a minister or the president was passing. On every occasion they started singing their traditional song: "God Bless America!".

Silent as a rock, I watched the charity concert broadcast on Saturday once, twice, three times, on different TV channels. There were Clint Eastwood, Willie Nelson, Robert de Niro, Julia Roberts, Cassius Clay, Jack Nicholson, Bruce Springsteen, Sylvester Stalone, James Wood, and many others whom no film or producers could ever bring together. The American's solidarity spirit turned them into a choir. Actually, choir is not the word. What you could hear was the heavy artillery of the American soul. What neither George W. Bush, nor Bill Clinton, nor Colin Powell could say without facing the risk of stumbling over words and sounds, was being heard in a great and unmistakable way in this charity concert.

I don't know how it happened that all this obsessive singing of America didn't sound croaky, nationalist, or ostentatious! It made you green with envy because you weren't able to sing for your country without running the risk of being considered chauvinist, ridiculous, or suspected of who-knows-what mean interests.
I watched the live broadcast and the rerun of its rerun for hours listening to the story of the guy who went down one hundred floors with a woman in a wheelchair without knowing who she was, or of the Californian hockey player, who fought with the terrorists and prevented the plane from hitting a target that would have killed other hundreds or thousands of people. How on earth were they able to bow before a fellow human?

Imperceptibly, with every word and musical note, the memory of some turned into a modern myth of tragic heroes. And with every phone call, millions and millions of dollars were put in a collection aimed at rewarding not a man or a family, but a spirit which nothing can buy.

What on earth can unite the Americans in such a way? Their land? Their galloping history? Their economic power? Money? I tried for hours to find an answer, humming songs and murmuring phrases which risk of sounding like commonplaces. I thought things over, but I reached only one conclusion.

Only freedom can work such miracles!

Last summer my family and I went to Spain and my brother and I went to a camp in Marbella for two weeks. While we were there, my brother (who's twelve), had a little girlfriend, Isabella, who was from Germany. We hadn't really heard from her or her brother, Marc, since we left the camp.

Then the September 11th tragedies hit, and the next day Isabella called all the way from Germany to see if we were all right!!!! It was CRAZY!!!! It was so sweet to know that she really cared, and that she thought of us when it happened.

There are such freaks in the world, and things happen that make one really question humanity sometimes. It’s so wonderful, especially in times like these, to be reminded that there are also beautiful people in this crazy world, who make it worth overcoming the obstacles flung in the road by the freaky ones.

Attached is a picture of rescue workers in New York mourning their lost comrades.