About a year or so after 9/11 the mainstream media seems to have shied away from showing images from 9/11, such as the Falling Man plummeting to his death (Good luck seeing that ever being shown again on broadcast TV), and didn’t want to speak directly to the Jihadist ideology that caused 9/11. They seemed to be focused more on obscuring the causes and harms of 9/11 than on being straightforward with the truth. How much do you think this contributed to creating increased space for conspiracy theorists to assert blame for 9/11 on to their preferred arch nemesis, whether that be Jewish people, secret Federal Government cabals, etc?
What is stopping western societies from understanding that our values and intellectual achievements are a unique gift to humanity, and therefore worth preserving and defending?
An especially tragic precedent of giving up on these values is Germany, which eradicated the most successful immigrants the world had ever seen, and then uncritically welcomed the least successful immigrants in ever growing waves until today, which are not only economic losers but who often don’t share our values at all.
PS: What values and achievements do I mean?
I’m thinking of the unique values of the enlightenment that together with the industrial revolution catapulted humanity out of statism and poverty.
In particular the idea that the individual is free to pursue its own happiness (instead of being subject to some greater plan given by a god, a tyrant, or a collectivist ideology), the end of slavery, the rule of law, property rights, free markets (instead of central planning), science based on Popperian epistemology (all knowledge grows from conjecture and refutation), human and civil rights, an open society, the separation of church and state, the freedom of religion and the freedom from religion, and democracy (as a mechanism of non-violent error correction).
Nowhere else did humanity have all these breakthroughs, which essentially are decentralized error correction mechanisms: free markets, science, democracy, free speech are all based on decentralized trial and error.
Hi Richard, more islamist muslims are getting into govt positions in the west, with so many it is reasonable that some will have islam as their master not the interests of the people local to where they are. As it is not feasable outright ban them from standing for election (ie where can you draw the line and for what reason) is it inevitable that eventually it will lead to civil war or just permanent arguing, even left alone the shia and sunni decend into violence between each other, so how can they live among "unbelievers " without wanting to impost their way of life? eventually taking over via the womb and the ballot box - Exactly as is their intention?
As a journalist, are you satisfied with the level of transparency from the US government about 9/11? If not, what other areas or documents would you like to explore and why?
I was working in the city (of london) at the time - about two streets away from Tower 42 the old Natwest tower, and a guy on the Dutch power desk shouted to us "there are unconfirmed reports of a plane heading to thecity from amstardam and they cant get in touch with it" i thought "errrr fuck, if that hits tower 42 it WILL LAND WHERE IM SAT" !!!! so the head of the desk let us all go home , i didnt feel safe until i got back to the pub near Beckton.
We watched the towers collapse live on tv. Shocking day.
There are a lot of people, some who have a large following, that suggest Israel was behind 9/11. What is their evidence?. I have seen the group of Israelis filming one of the aircraft striking a tower and celebrating, they were arrested then released.
Looking back after 25 years, what did Europe misunderstand about 9/11? European governments strengthened surveillance and fought wars abroad, yet many still struggle with home-grown jihadism, failed integration and parallel societies. Did Europe focus on the wrong battlefield?
SAME WARNING TODAY: FIRST WEEK, WHAT YOU WOULD YOU DO?
If the same intelligence picture arrived on a president’s desk today, what three acts would you insist on in the first week, and which of the post-9/11 tools would you refuse to use again?
I remember exactly where I was: It was about 8pm local time, and the entire family was watching the West Wing on broadcast television. During one of the first commercials, a news bulletin said that a plane had hit a tower, and more details would come. My dad immediately said "it'll be bin Laden". By the time the show ended, the second tower had been hit, and it was clear it was a major thing. That is really when the 20th century came to close. The culture of surveillance really started at that point. Osama bin Laden understood the mountain of sand the West was built on and what would destroy it. Even "we must fight them over there so we don't have to fight them over here" failed.
When 9/11 happened I was a 18yo in Brazil. It was almost unanimous among my similarly aged colleagues here that America deserved it simply for being seen as too rich. Most of my close friends literally celebrated 9/11. Now that I am older I realize this Anti-American sentiment is still ubiquitous around here specially among the left. It's not just rhetorical, populist leftist politicians exploit this hate and get elected on platforms that are extremely detrimental to Brazil, simply because the it would be the anti-American thing to do. That kind of suicidal hate is very popular here. You guys have suicidal empathy, we have suicidal anti-Americanism. I imagine it's not too different in the rest of Latin America. Is there something America can do to change that image and that widespread hate among the global left?
I now live in South America where islamic terrorist attacks are unheard of. Has Europe and America (among others) been like the frog in the boiling water to now think of these attacks as "normal"?
Can the modern day Iran situation be compared to the Barbary coastal sultans trying to extract tribute from countries in 18th to 19th centuries? To me our maritime situation is looking more like Pirates of the Caribbean, than rules based order.
I heard the POTUS is reviving Letters of Marque. 🏴☠️ Please explain it's use in history and how it could be applicable to today.
How did journalists investigate back then? What were the procedures, step by step, for getting an accurate account of who had done what? From what individuals did you get the bits and pieces of information and how (and by whom) were these verified? Which of these procedures are still in use?
About a year or so after 9/11 the mainstream media seems to have shied away from showing images from 9/11, such as the Falling Man plummeting to his death (Good luck seeing that ever being shown again on broadcast TV), and didn’t want to speak directly to the Jihadist ideology that caused 9/11. They seemed to be focused more on obscuring the causes and harms of 9/11 than on being straightforward with the truth. How much do you think this contributed to creating increased space for conspiracy theorists to assert blame for 9/11 on to their preferred arch nemesis, whether that be Jewish people, secret Federal Government cabals, etc?
What is your take on the fact that we now have people with islamic backgrounds running for office in the US that thinks america had it coming.
What is stopping western societies from understanding that our values and intellectual achievements are a unique gift to humanity, and therefore worth preserving and defending?
An especially tragic precedent of giving up on these values is Germany, which eradicated the most successful immigrants the world had ever seen, and then uncritically welcomed the least successful immigrants in ever growing waves until today, which are not only economic losers but who often don’t share our values at all.
PS: What values and achievements do I mean?
I’m thinking of the unique values of the enlightenment that together with the industrial revolution catapulted humanity out of statism and poverty.
In particular the idea that the individual is free to pursue its own happiness (instead of being subject to some greater plan given by a god, a tyrant, or a collectivist ideology), the end of slavery, the rule of law, property rights, free markets (instead of central planning), science based on Popperian epistemology (all knowledge grows from conjecture and refutation), human and civil rights, an open society, the separation of church and state, the freedom of religion and the freedom from religion, and democracy (as a mechanism of non-violent error correction).
Nowhere else did humanity have all these breakthroughs, which essentially are decentralized error correction mechanisms: free markets, science, democracy, free speech are all based on decentralized trial and error.
Hi Richard, more islamist muslims are getting into govt positions in the west, with so many it is reasonable that some will have islam as their master not the interests of the people local to where they are. As it is not feasable outright ban them from standing for election (ie where can you draw the line and for what reason) is it inevitable that eventually it will lead to civil war or just permanent arguing, even left alone the shia and sunni decend into violence between each other, so how can they live among "unbelievers " without wanting to impost their way of life? eventually taking over via the womb and the ballot box - Exactly as is their intention?
As a journalist, are you satisfied with the level of transparency from the US government about 9/11? If not, what other areas or documents would you like to explore and why?
I was working in the city (of london) at the time - about two streets away from Tower 42 the old Natwest tower, and a guy on the Dutch power desk shouted to us "there are unconfirmed reports of a plane heading to thecity from amstardam and they cant get in touch with it" i thought "errrr fuck, if that hits tower 42 it WILL LAND WHERE IM SAT" !!!! so the head of the desk let us all go home , i didnt feel safe until i got back to the pub near Beckton.
We watched the towers collapse live on tv. Shocking day.
There are a lot of people, some who have a large following, that suggest Israel was behind 9/11. What is their evidence?. I have seen the group of Israelis filming one of the aircraft striking a tower and celebrating, they were arrested then released.
Looking back after 25 years, what did Europe misunderstand about 9/11? European governments strengthened surveillance and fought wars abroad, yet many still struggle with home-grown jihadism, failed integration and parallel societies. Did Europe focus on the wrong battlefield?
Who or what is the enemy? Islam, Islamism or something else?
SAME WARNING TODAY: FIRST WEEK, WHAT YOU WOULD YOU DO?
If the same intelligence picture arrived on a president’s desk today, what three acts would you insist on in the first week, and which of the post-9/11 tools would you refuse to use again?
I remember exactly where I was: It was about 8pm local time, and the entire family was watching the West Wing on broadcast television. During one of the first commercials, a news bulletin said that a plane had hit a tower, and more details would come. My dad immediately said "it'll be bin Laden". By the time the show ended, the second tower had been hit, and it was clear it was a major thing. That is really when the 20th century came to close. The culture of surveillance really started at that point. Osama bin Laden understood the mountain of sand the West was built on and what would destroy it. Even "we must fight them over there so we don't have to fight them over here" failed.
I suppose my question is, did the terrorists win?
When 9/11 happened I was a 18yo in Brazil. It was almost unanimous among my similarly aged colleagues here that America deserved it simply for being seen as too rich. Most of my close friends literally celebrated 9/11. Now that I am older I realize this Anti-American sentiment is still ubiquitous around here specially among the left. It's not just rhetorical, populist leftist politicians exploit this hate and get elected on platforms that are extremely detrimental to Brazil, simply because the it would be the anti-American thing to do. That kind of suicidal hate is very popular here. You guys have suicidal empathy, we have suicidal anti-Americanism. I imagine it's not too different in the rest of Latin America. Is there something America can do to change that image and that widespread hate among the global left?
I now live in South America where islamic terrorist attacks are unheard of. Has Europe and America (among others) been like the frog in the boiling water to now think of these attacks as "normal"?
Thank you for taking our questions.
Can the modern day Iran situation be compared to the Barbary coastal sultans trying to extract tribute from countries in 18th to 19th centuries? To me our maritime situation is looking more like Pirates of the Caribbean, than rules based order.
I heard the POTUS is reviving Letters of Marque. 🏴☠️ Please explain it's use in history and how it could be applicable to today.
Thank you, Jen W.
How did journalists investigate back then? What were the procedures, step by step, for getting an accurate account of who had done what? From what individuals did you get the bits and pieces of information and how (and by whom) were these verified? Which of these procedures are still in use?
Can you tell us the conclusion of the true victim of 9/11, zohran mamdani's aunt?