Every online news source I check is being pounded into submission. If you’ve managed not to hear the news, both towers have collapsed after being hit by hijacked aircraft. (They were 767’s, in the latest report I heard.) A helicopter has hit the Pentagon. Government buildings all over the U.S. are being evacuated. (There may be similar evacuations in Canada; that’s unconfirmed.) I’ve heard that a plane has crashed outside Pittsburgh. There are reports of other hijackings still happening.
The world’s about to become a very ugly place.
It seems Dave hadn’t realized there might be a need for a “terrorist attack” category (who would?), I’ll leave this as “Ask The Bureau” and request that anyone with additional information or comments post them below.
Slashdot seems to be holding up well. The comments there are loaded with various links, mirrors, and updates. We can’t keep up with them, so you might as well go there for updates.
Towers – oops
Those “towers” I mention are in the World Trade Center.
Responses
All air traffic in Canada and the US has been grounded. The Canada/US border is closed.
Hijacked planes
At least four passenger planes have been hijacked. At least two of those were on their way to Los Angeles. I don’t know if those planes are still on their way to LA or if they’ve been redirected. But this may not be over.
Re: Hijacked planes
Five planes, at last count – two in NYC (one for each of the Towers), one into the bureaucratic wing of the Pentagon, one into a strip mine in Pennsylvania, and one which has (unconfirmed) crashed in an as-yet-undisclosed location.
The States are effectively shut down – ALL civilian planes have been grounded at least ’til noon tomorrow, save Air Force One. Airports shut down. Even Greyhound buses are cancelling the bulk of their routes.
I very much want to go on a rant about how the government’s responses to this will likely be way out of proportion — “the terrorists used encrypted email! PGP must be outlawed! it’s for the children!” — but I suspect this may not be the best time for it. Maybe tomorrow.
Re: Hijacked planes
I already did email my congressman and senators suggesting that we not overreact w/ regards to civil liberties–after all, getting searched at teh airport didn’t do jack to stop this. Why should we assumed hightened invasions of privacy would?
This is not a point I would press to those w/ family members of victims. I also assumed no congressional staffer will see teh message today anyway…
Stevis
Sympathy
I don’t live in the US, but I have friends around the DC area, and had been due to be flying to New York on Friday. It’s a frightening time for many people.
Every sane, right-minded person on the planet has got to be completely shellshocked by the events of today. My deepest sympathy to all those affected by the attacks. I hope people in the US, and all of us around the world, can pull together to try to help in this crazy, shocking situation.
Relief Funds
Hey, it’s for a bloody good cause. If you’ve got a few bucks sitting around in your PayPal account, donate it and watch your good karma grow. Amazon.com is starting one as well.
If you’ve already given blood, and you don’t have the time/skillz/abilities to drive out to the east coast and assist more directly, this is a good quality idea. (Both funds are giving 100% of the donated monies to the American Red Cross, waiving all their usual fees.)