Definitely the biggest world-changing events since I've been alive. For most people, it changed our lives.

To those reading this, where were you when 911 occured? And how did you react?

I remember my experience distinctly.


It was a very quiet night in Melbourne. I very ordinary night. I just finished watching Rove Live and was about to go to bed early, as I had to wake up for a high school excursion the next day. I was still excited that Lleyton Hewitt had won the US Open against Pete Sampras (In New York city). Ironically, they had just introduced a TV show called 'The Street' that very night, based on Wall Street.  :o

So after watching Rove McManus's standard unfunny ending, I decided to keep watching the box to see if there were updates on the news about Llleyton Hewitt's celebrations. Sandra Sully appeared on the screen, looking as calm as ever, talking about some boring news-story (I forgot what it was), when she suddenly says, "Breaking news, a plane has crashed into the world trade centres."

Little did I know, I was about to witness history.

At first, I was like... 'big deal, a small aircraft crashed into the tower' but when they went to the live feed, the image looked amazing. Smoke bellowing out of the tower frantically. I was wondering, "how could a pilot be stupid enough to crash a plane into the World Trade Centres (I still thought it was a light aircraft). Sandra Sully took it to a commercial break, so I quickly changed it over to CNN.

In strong American accents, as the flames blazed away, the anchors pondered who could possibly have done this, when in the background, a plane comes into the screen and plows into the second tower setting off an inferno. WOOSH.

The news-reporters didn't know what to say, accept, "We've just confirmed, a second plane has just hit the north tower."

I couldn't believe what I was seeing, it was like a movie. I then flicked through every available TV station: SBS, ABC, channel 7,9, 10, Skynews, --every station was broadcasting it. I decided to stick with CNN.

For the next 4 hours, I was hooked watching CNN. I had NEVER seen anything like it.

Anyway, you can picture what happened next. Plane crashed into pentagon, plane crashes in a field in pennsylvania, two towers fall. Nothing big.  ;D


And for the next week or two, there was nothing else on TV accept investigations into the crash, and the steps leading up to the invasion of Afghanistan. Suddenly, the Tampa crisis and Llyeton winning didn't seem such big news after all, and it was quickly forgotton.  :P

In all honesty, I thought we were on the brink of WWIII.

So there you have it, my story. Feel free to share yours.

I was in Melbourne too. Contracting. Went to bed early and saw it on the front page the next morning. Took it into breaky to show the others. It didn't seem like such a big deal at the time. Then during the morning we had a safety induction or something and I remember them talking about evacuating if the air raid siren sounded. Obviously they meant if there was a fire, but I was thinking WWIII and people attacking us. Anyway, I was glad that they kept up the news coverage because I couldn't really catch up till the end of the week.

I got up at 3.30am in Alice Springs as i am a long distance truckie and i was going to Adelaide that day.My family were all asleep and i went to the loungeroom/kitchen to get dressed,make some coffee and make some sandwiches to take with me.I flicked on the telly and the first image i saw was a tailwing sticking out of the world trade centre.The kettle boiled so i went over to the servery to turn it off,thinking it was a movie on TV.As i was making my sandwiches i heard the bloke on the telly repeating what i had heard 5 minutes beforehand.Strange i thought,they must have got the tapes mixed up again(common occurence on Imparja at that time).I looked up and realised i was watching CNN not Imparja and it hit me,it had happened thru the night and this was a replay.A cold shiver went thru me then because as you know Pine Gap is located 20 kays away from Town and i was thinking if someone has the balls to do this will they try and knock out the main US spy base on earth.I then thought that they will be on full alert and the Aussies have Air Force bases all around our country so it would probably be the safest place to be.
It has changed the world forever and i hope and pray we never see another incident like that

eta Its a funny thing but whenever this topic comes up everyone i have spoken to about it can remember what they were doing at the time.A shocking thing

Yes, I was up late watching the box too. The first one went in and it looked like a terrible accident. But to see the second one go in - well to see it live was just mind-blowing. I immediately though Terrorists, and then thought "this will really make the USA turn in on itself". The attack must have been successful beyond their (the terrorists) dreams.

Freediver-- I can't believe you missed it.  :o

Dirtysanta-- Great story.  ;) Woulda been kinda shocking seeing as how you were so close to pine gap. It really was like a movie, hey?

Dirtysanta
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Its a funny thing but whenever this topic comes up everyone i have spoken to about it can remember what they were doing at the time.A shocking thing

It's funny cause it's true. And for some reason everyone remembers where they were when Princess Diana died, but I didn't.  ;D



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Yes, I was up late watching the box too. The first one went in and it looked like a terrible accident. But to see the second one go in - well to see it live was just mind-blowing. I immediately though Terrorists, and then thought "this will really make the USA turn in on itself". The attack must have been successful beyond their (the terrorists) dreams.

Join the club mate.  8-) How long did you stay up for that night?

I have no idea where I was when Diana died. I know she was in a tunnel, but that's about it. I can't even remember when it was.

September 1997 sometime. I remember because of the AFL finals.

I was at kapooka. :-X

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I was at kapooka.

What the? Where the heck is that?  :o

Army training place, southern nsw near wagga wagga.

i was asleep and was woken up by my brother saying that some planes had flown into the World Trade Centre. i got up watched the news for the next couple of hours. then i went back to sleep.

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Army training place, southern nsw near wagga wagga.

Wow. Not bad ausnat.  ;)



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i was asleep and was woken up by my brother saying that some planes had flown into the World Trade Centre. i got up watched the news for the next couple of hours. then i went back to sleep.

He he. So you didn't think it was a big deal?

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i was asleep and was woken up by my brother saying that some planes had flown into the World Trade Centre. i got up watched the news for the next couple of hours. then i went back to sleep.

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He he. So you didn't think it was a big deal?

No, i wouldn't say that, but do u remember how the news was on that day. it was 24 news coverage on each channel, with updates every 15 minutes that were the same thing over and over. i only need to watch a news story once to understand it.

thank god channel 10 cut-off their news coverage early and started playing normal programs. if it wasn't for that, then i would have been bored out of my mind.

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No, i wouldn't say that, but do u remember how the news was on that day. it was 24 news coverage on each channel, with updates every 15 minutes that were the same thing over and over. i only need to watch a news story once to understand it.   thank god channel 10 cut-off their news coverage early and started playing normal programs. if it wasn't for that, then i would have been bored out of my mind.

Admittedly, I kinda enjoyed the 24 hour coverage.  :P

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Admittedly, I kinda enjoyed the 24 hour coverage.  :P

really!!
it didn't really change from the morning that much, two hours into it was enough for me.

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really!! it didn't really change from the morning that much, two hours into it was enough for me.

Okay maybe I'm exaggerating. I think I enjoyed it for the first FEW days. After that it got boring.

DT, after the attacks, our unit went that hard we passed with honours!

I was on the toilet...it gave me the sh-its. Too much coverage.

trump where were you when santa came?

In bed I hope!!!


Who cares about 911?.not me.

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trump where were you when santa came? In bed I hope!!! Who cares about 911?.not me.

You don't like me very much, do you Auzgurl? :-?

AAWww I do Trump... :) ..you give me a spray when I first came in remember, and I thought you didnt like me.
:(


Anyway Im sorry if you think that ...because its not true.!~

Maybe its because we both have somewhat opposing opinions over America and Muslims?  I think Americans are deviat and highly overrated and you dont. The beat up over Muslims confuses me as well.they are pple and I Feel the same about INd pple...mionority groups being pounded unsettles me.

But I try to tolerate your veiws as you try to tolerate mine.But we can disagree Trump , thats good and healthy for debate.We cant all think the same., how else do we learn ?I learn a lot from you and usually the first one I ask if I need to know something in an historical sense ie: ww2..I respect your veiws Trump even if I dont agree with them all.

Ill try to be  nicer.

Ahh good ole 9/11. I had mates over on the night and we missed it entirely, but I was woken up hung over by a mate carrying on about planes falling out of the sky and hitting buildings and such. I can remember distinctly rolling over and telling him to bugger off and let me sleep!  ;D

After a while I got up, it was a bit full on for a while but the news coverage ruined it. I agree with Gavin it was massively over the top. For all the carry on I never understood why it was a world changing event, clearly it was but I mean planes had been hijacked before, just never used in that way... never have since. To me it was a mind blowing comedy of errors, I mean two planes were hijacked and flew a decent distance before getting to NY and nothing was done about it?

My two eldest brothers were there, one lived in New York (still does) and lost 3 or 4 friends in the towers, the other was in New Jersey and could see the smoke from his back yard. He reckons America went nuts, completely crazy, dudes were stopping cabs and dragging muslims onto the street and beating them and so on, people just lost it. My uncle was in one of the buildings the day before!

Planes hitting the towers was one thing but the really big thing was the fact that they fell down, I now find it ironic that so many people put so much weight on what I consider to be simply a quirk of engineering, a colossal failure if you will. Fire took the buildings down, not planes, it could have happened and could happen again with no terrorist intervention whatsoever. Buildings, particularly in the states where they use steel more than we do, are massively prone to collapse due to fire, hundreds of them all over the world. A strong enough fire will weaken the steel causing the floors to sag and pull the walls in, only one floor has to go to take down the whole lot. I queried my old man (architect - large commercial buildings) on the whole fire proofing of steel but he just laughed and said the fire proofing is there to slow this down enough for people to get out - it won't save the building. To me its just ironic that they know this and yet pour billions into the war on terror and have done nothing about improving fire regulations for large buildings...

i'm not too sure that it was the fire that brought down the World Trade Centre.

there have been several eye-witness accounts of explosions being held on several floors after the planes hit. when u look at the tower as it's going down u can see those explosions. it kind of looks like a controlled demolition.

besides, there have been other sky scrappers on fire in the past, where they burned for hours and they still didn't collapse. the towers collapsed too quickly and along with the explosions people witnessed, it looks suss.

i for one, don't believe the line, "it was the fire that caused the collapse".

Gavin wrote on Mar 23^rd, 2007 at 10:11am:

i for one, don't believe the line, "it was the fire that caused the collapse".

Then you are at odds with the engineering reports.

There are quirks about the WTC situation, for one it is believed that the planes dislodged much of the fire proofing on the steel structure, secondly it is believed that the re-application of fire proofing had become lax and a reports showed much of it was falling off months before the planes hit - having not been fixed since.

Not all sky scrapers are all-steel structures either. Flat slab reinforced concrete I believe provides much more fire protection for the steel structure buried inside. It is a fact that fire can bring down steel buildings, just because some have burned and not fallen down does not mean the same has to be the case for the WTC.

As for the explosions, thats just a load of bull and I'm getting rather tired of all this 9/11 conspiracy nonsense. The upper levels fell from about the point where the plane hit, you can see this from the footage easily. Now if an entire 10 or 15 floors of a scyscraper of that size suddenly drops, what kind of pressures do you think will build up in the floor that collapses? Huge ones. The 'explosions' are just windows blowing out with loads of flame (enormous fire - look at the smoke!) due to massive rise in pressure from the upper floors falling. Once one level falls then the rest go and yes it will look like a controlled demolition - this is because buildings do not fall over sideways, they fall straight down, and even still the top section of one of the towers tilts to an angle before collapsing straight down. If bombs took it out then the plane would have had to hit precisely where the bombs were planted... and not disturb them...

More importantly... how on earth do you cover up a conspiracy of that magnitude??

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As for the explosions, thats just a load of bull and I'm getting rather tired of all this 9/11 conspiracy nonsense. The upper levels fell from about the point where the plane hit, you can see this from the footage easily. Now if an entire 10 or 15 floors of a scyscraper of that size suddenly drops, what kind of pressures do you think will build up in the floor that collapses? Huge ones. The 'explosions' are just windows blowing out with loads of flame (enormous fire - look at the smoke!) due to massive rise in pressure from the upper floors falling. Once one level falls then the rest go and yes it will look like a controlled demolition - this is because buildings do not fall over sideways, they fall straight down, and even still the top section of one of the towers tilts to an angle before collapsing straight down. If bombs took it out then the plane would have had to hit precisely where the bombs were planted... and not disturb them...

that's what i thought as well, until i heard eye-witness accounts from people hearing explosions in the basement levels and lobby even before the building came down.

how does a plane crashing on the 100th floor cause an explosion on level 1 even before the floors started to collapse on top of one another? that does look suss.

Gavin wrote on Mar 23^rd, 2007 at 11:06am:

that's what i thought as well, until i heard eye-witness accounts from people hearing explosions in the basement levels and lobby even before the building came down. how does a plane crashing on the 100th floor cause an explosion on level 1 even before the floors started to collapse on top of one another? that does look suss.

How does an explosion on level one cause the top section of the building to fall partially sideways before collapse?

I don't want to get too far into this, people in New Orleans testified in court that they heard explosions down near the levy walls during katrina... does that mean it happened? Americans are always looking out for a conspiracy, and I even believe their government perpetuates this feeling on purpose.

Fire fighters have said they heard loud crashes prior to the building collapse, it was in a state of structural failure, it makes sense to me that things were going crash bang. With the magnitude of the event it even makes sense to me that you would hear structural failures from 100 floors up as though they were at the bottom levels through sound conduction - remember, sound travels very well and very fast through solids.

The Pentagon crash... damn suspicious, Bali bomb 2, probably planted by the local police, I can handle these because there is evidence to support them (former Indo president has said the 2nd bali bomb was a set up and the terrorists were paid by government...). I just think all the evidence behind 9/11 points to fire. We disagree, but thats cool :)

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With the magnitude of the event it even makes sense to me that you would hear structural failures from 100 floors up as though they were at the bottom levels through sound conduction - remember, sound travels very well and very fast through solids.

Theres your answer conspiracy theorists.

The buildings were also sealed objects- Heres an experiment for ya, Get yourself and a mate, tell him to stand 100 metres away in the open and tell him to clap.
Now find a large stormwater drain or a large pipe of the same distance Eg under a freeway and clap into that.

Will Zoso and Gavin please stop turning this into a 9/11 conspiracy thread?

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Definitely the biggest world-changing events since I've been alive.

Probably, if you were born in this century!  ;)

Why wouldn't the invasion of Iraq be bigger? Or the Bali bombings?


Anyway, back on topic. I was in a pub in Fremantle, and the broadcast hadn't even come on the TV yet. There were a whole pile of American backpackers standing in the middle of the street, frantically trying to call home. I asked one of them what was going on, and they said a plane had crashed into the twin towers.

I know 2 people who were on separate flights from JFK, and saw the smoke rising from the towers. One got sent back to the US, the other was on a Virgin flight, which was sent via Canada.

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Then you are at odds with the engineering reports.

Yes, the same type of engineering reports which were used prior to construction of the building in the first place!  ;)

I find it strange that if engineers are so good at testing, why didn't they allow for a fire burning on multiple floors? Perhaps the real question should be why the WTC consulting engineers have not been sued for negligence!

There is still no explanation as to why 7WTC collapsed. The report is due out this year. Interestingly, controlled explosions and thermite residue will be included in their research. Hopefully, the report will be thorough enought to put an end to all the speculation.

when u look at the tower as it's going down u can see those explosions. it kind of looks like a controlled demolition.

Most likely the air in the floor below compressing and blowing out the windows.

the towers collapsed too quickly and along with the explosions people witnessed, it looks suss.

Two reasons: the planes put a large hole in the sides which allowed plenty of oxygen in. They also added plenty of fuel.

that's what i thought as well, until i heard eye-witness accounts from people hearing explosions in the basement levels and lobby even before the building came down.

Have you ever ehard a building that size collapse? Of course it's going to sound like an explosion. Police have to deal with dodgy eyewitness reports all the time. People only see or hear something once, then play it back over and over in their head trying to make it fit with what they already know in order to make sense of it.

how does a plane crashing on the 100th floor cause an explosion on level 1 even before the floors started to collapse on top of one another?

Uh, where were these 'eyewitnesses' exactly?

Even a tin roof can make very loud bangs as it heats up.

I find it strange that if engineers are so good at testing, why didn't they allow for a fire burning on multiple floors?

Cost. A regular fire on multiple levels would not have brought it down. Ripping it open and pouring in jet fuel is a completely different matter.

AUShole wrote on Mar 24^th, 2007 at 7:08am:

I find it strange that if engineers are so good at testing, why didn't they allow for a fire burning on multiple floors? Perhaps the real question should be why the WTC consulting engineers have not been sued for negligence!

Engineering is always about compromise, you can't expect budgets that allow for every little scenario to be tested, you can't necessarily build things to be perfectly impervious to all situations either. Designing and building a tower of that size with a possible collision with a loaded 747 in mind would mean unreasonable costs for what amounts to a very small risk (despite what we know of history).


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Will Zoso and Gavin please stop turning this into a 9/11 conspiracy thread?

I'm sorry Trump, but you have to admit, a 9/11 thread was always very likely to have ended up at this point...  :)

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I'm sorry Trump, but you have to admit, a 9/11 thread was always very likely to have ended up at this point...

Unfortunately... yes... I know.  ::)

Cost. A regular fire on multiple levels would not have brought it down. Ripping it open and pouring in jet fuel is a completely different matter"
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Yes freediver..saw a peice on the structural integrity or lack of it, on the Twin Towers from theyre inception and there were a lot of structural flaws that just didnt take into account the advent of a plane or 2 careering inot the side of them.

I must admit ,  although a terrible tradgedy ,it was a sight to behold,  i never tired of watching and whilst watching  not even at that point aware that there were humans struggling to save themselves.

We will never see  such scenes again I doubt we will..unless a controlled demolition. :-?

zoso wrote on Mar 24^th, 2007 at 7:04pm:

Designing and building a tower of that size with a possible collision with a loaded 747 in mind would mean unreasonable costs for what amounts to a very small risk (despite what we know of history).

A 747 did not hit the towers.

The engineers DID consider the impact of aircraft strikes when building the towers. The main concern was a light aircraft getting lost in fog. So they thought lets test it out with a Boeing 707 aircraft, which has almost an indentical payload to that of the 767 which did hit the towers.

What is the payload of the 3 types of aircraft? I would expect the speed would have a major impact. An aircraft lost in fog that low to the ground would not be travelling at full speed. The speed would effect the initial structural damage, the size of the hole for fresh air to enter, and the amount of jet fuel entering the building.

Thank You

http://www.smh.com.au/news/World/Four-charged-in-plot-to-blow-up-airport/2007/06/03/1180809306814.html

Four people, including a former member of Guyana's parliament, have been charged with planning to blow up New York's John F Kennedy International Airport, US officials say.

This was "one of the most chilling plots imaginable," Roslynn Mauskopf, US attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said at a news conference in New York. "The devastation that would be caused ... is just unthinkable."

The plotters sought to blow up the airport's jet fuel tanks and part of the 64km pipeline feeding them from New Jersey. Three of the four suspects, who included a former airline cargo handler, have been arrested, federal law enforcement officials said.

In a recorded conversation one suspect predicted there would be few survivors and that the attacks would result in the destruction of "the whole of Kennedy."

There was no connection to al Qaeda, officials said, but some suspects were linked to an Islamist extremist group in Trinidad.

In one recorded conversation, a suspect compared the plot to the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center, saying, "Even the twin towers can't touch it." He added, "This can destroy the economy of America for some time."

News of the foiled plot comes weeks after six suspected Islamist militants were detained on charges of planning to attack a US Army base at Fort Dix in New Jersey.

Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said the plot was "different in its distinct ties to the Caribbean, a region that is rarely thought of in terms of terrorism but of increasing concern to us as a crucible in the foment of Islamic radicalism."

White House spokeswoman Jeanie Mamo said President George W Bush had been briefed and updated regularly on the progress of the investigation. "This case is a good example of international counterterrorism cooperation," she said.

Ban the koran I reckon

Should we ban the Bible while we are at it for followers targeting abortion clinics?

Here we go again..sigh

Please qualify your statement supporting the banning of one religious document that has encouraged extremism yet exonerates another.

Fair comment IQSRLOW.  I was wrong to post that.  
Even if it were possible, we should not ban the koran.

My belief in freedom of speech overides a simplistic idealistic approach.

As a side point, other christians reported the abortion clinic bombers.  
The abortion clinic bombings were not supported by The Bible

[Quote= oceans_blue] Well Oceans I apolagise [/quote]

Spot the idiot that can't spell or even download a spell checker  ::)

In the immortal misspelled words of the resident asshat

KNO PRISE FOR SEKOND

;D

I just realised that  IQSRLOW had only a few postings. And a full stop after their name.
Silly me.

Sprintcyclist wrote on Jun 3^rd, 2007 at 9:06pm:

Fair comment IQSRLOW.  I was wrong to post that.   Even if it were possible, we should not ban the koran. My belief in freedom of speech overides a simplistic idealistic approach. As a side point, other christians reported the abortion clinic bombers.   The abortion clinic bombings were not supported by The Bible

It is admirable that you are able to admit when you have said something wrong sprint, although the reporting that you concede was a specific case and there have been other attacks perpetuated by extremist Christians.

Although attacks on abortion clinics are not supported by your interpretation of the bible, others see it differently.

there were a few attacks against abortion clinics in USA over the  period of 18 months or so (?).
Significant that other christians reported them to authorities and they are now stopped.


These sort of things happen when people do not read the Bible themselves. Instead rely on one persons interperetation of a single quote.  Lack of education essentially.
I have not been "taught" officially. I have just read the whole Bible myself and picked up other stuff along the way.

A group of muslim clerics including Abu Bakar Bashir have been denied a meeting with the indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (what a name!). ;D
The clerics were demanding the president to introduce sharia laws in indonesia, claiming the country will perish if it does'nt return to islam.
Bashir is the leader of Jemaar Islamiah which was responsible for the deaths of 88 Australians in the bali bombings.

Good on you president SBY, Keep those bastards out.

Link?

Sky News.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/breaking-news/indonesian-terror-threat-is-serious-pm/2007/07/08/1183833328731.html

Foreign affairs officials have warned of a threat of imminent terrorist attacks in Indonesia, including Bali.

In an upgraded travel advisory, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said terrorists were actively planning attacks which could take place at any time.

The advisory says Australians should reconsider their need to travel to Indonesia.

Well done Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.  
He should jail ALL the cleric and people who advocate such a move.

Just heard on the news - the longest sentence for the Madrid bombers was 40 years. Some got off with as little as three. What were they thinking? These people are responsible for the deaths of about 190 people. Any convict who could reasonably be expected to know that they were involved in a terrorist plot (petty much all of them) should get life.

3 years !!!!!!!!!!!!
Get worse for robbing a bank wouldn't you ??

I'ld have them live in a piggery for the rest of their lives.

Its called the RACIAL DISCRIMINATION ACTS.

Im sure these and the Bali bombers have pulled out the RACE CARD to regain their bloody handed freedom.

Hi dude - They'ld pull anything to get off justice.

I'ld also think there would be some dogooder apologetic "intellectual"  who wanted to give them their "rights."

In my books, people that do stuff like that have no rights.

Sprintcyclist wrote on Nov 2^nd, 2007 at 9:06am:

Hi dude - They'ld pull anything to get off justice. I'ld also think there would be some dogooder apologetic "intellectual"  who wanted to give them their "rights." In my books, people that do stuff like that have no rights.

Intellectual? Well my friend, I think you are safe then? Yeah?

Yo, please don't argue wit my response or me will pop a cap in ya knee!

Do they have the death sentence in Spain? Death would be too easy for these murderers and their supporters. Life, so they can think about what they've done.

http://news.smh.com.au/obesity-more-dangerous-than-terrorism-experts/20080225-1umw.html

World governments focus too much on fighting terrorism while obesity and other "lifestyle diseases" are killing millions more people, an international conference heard Monday.

Overcoming deadly factors such as poor diet, smoking and a lack of exercise should take top priority in the fight against a growing epidemic of preventable chronic disease, legal and health experts said.

Global terrorism was a real threat but posed far less risk than obesity, diabetes and smoking-related illnesses, prominent US professor of health law Lawrence Gostin said at the Oxford Health Alliance Summit here.

"ISLAMIC leaders from around the globe are at a two day summit in Dakar, struggling to counter wars in their midst and feeling unloved and unfairly treated by the West.
Iraq's Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari told AFP he was happy with diplomatic support given to his government by other countries "but we have to do more to counter terrorists and extremism".

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23356087-15084,00.html




Perhaps if they talked about these people more, they would be slightly credible :-



The Hamas commander, however, confirmed for the first time that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard had been training its men in Tehran for more than two years and was currently honing the skills of 150 fighters.
Speaking on the record but withholding his identity as a target of Israeli forces, the commander, who has a sparse moustache and oiled black hair, said Hamas had been sending fighters to Iran for training in both field tactics and weapons technology since Israeli troops pulled out of the Gaza Strip of Palestinian territory in 2005. Others go to Syria for more basic training.

"We have sent seven 'courses' of our fighters to Iran," he said.
"During each course, the group receives training that it will use to increase our capacity to fight."
The most promising members of each group stay longer for an advanced course and return as trainers themselves, he said.

So far, 150 members of Qassam have passed through training in Tehran, where they study for between 45 days and six months at a closed military base under the command of the elite Revolutionary Guard force.
Of the additional 150 who are in Tehran now, some will go into Hamas's research unit if they are not deemed strong enough for fighting."

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23346129-15084,00.html



As it is, they lack all credibility

Warning more terror cases could fail

http://news.smh.com.au/warning-more-terror-cases-could-fail/20080313-1z2x.html

More high profile terrorist prosecutions could fail without reforms to the way police, prosecutors and intelligence agencies work together, a new report warns.

The review of inter-operability between the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and its national security partners found an absence of formal decision-making processes could lead to mistake or errors of judgment during operations.

The review follows the collapse of the case against Sydney student Izhar Ul-Haque when the trial judge ruled his admissions in police interviews could not be used in evidence.

It also found the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) played only part-time roles on NSW and Victorian counter-terrorism task forces.

---

MP tries to force debate on terror bill

http://news.smh.com.au/mp-tries-to-force-debate-on-terror-bill/20080319-20co.html

Liberal MP Petrol Georgiou has interrupted parliament in a bid to force it to consider his legislation setting up an independent review of terrorism laws.

But the government used its numbers to quickly silence the outspoken backbencher.

Mr Georgiou introduced a private members's bill into the lower house on Monday creating the position of independent reviewer of terrorism laws.

The government allowed the bill to be introduced, but it was immediately adjourned without debate or a vote.

---

EU to criminalise Internet-based incitement to terrorism

http://news.smh.com.au/eu-to-criminalise-internetbased-incitement-to-terrorism/20080419-276n.html

EU justice ministers on Friday agreed to criminalise incitement of acts of terrorism, including using the Internet for recruiting purposes.

The 27 EU member states agreed to introduce as new offences "public provocation to commit a terrorist offence, recruitment, and training for terrorism" which would be punishable "also when committed through the Internet".

"The amendment is well-balanced in terms of its effects on freedom of speech and general respect for human rights," the justice ministers, meeting in Luxembourg, said in a joint statement.

Individuals "disseminating terrorist propaganda and bomb-making expertise through the Internet can therefore be prosecuted and sentenced to prison," if that is deemed to be provocation to commit terrorist offences.

The new legislation "will make it easier for law enforcement authorities to get cooperation from Internet service providers, to prevent crimes and identify criminals," the justice ministers said.

"It aims to equip our legal systems across the EU with the adequate tools to bring to justice the criminals who spread violent propaganda providing terrorism tactics and instructions on how to manufacture and use bombs or explosives to provoke others to commit terrorist acts."

The EU's counter-terrorism coordinator Gilles de Kerchove said last week that some 5,000 Internet sites "contribute to radicalising young people in Europe".

Germany has put forward a proposal to set up a Europol Internet surveillance committee to tackle the problem.