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The initial numbers are indelible: 8:46 a.m. and 9:02 a.m. Time the burning towers stood: 56 minutes and 102 minutes. Time they took to fall: 12 seconds. From there, they ripple out.
Total number killed in attacks: 2,819
Number of WTC companies that lost people: 60
Number of nations whose citizens were killed in attacks: 115
Ratio of men to women who died: 3:1
Bodies found "intact": 289
Body parts found: 19,858
Number of families who got no remains: 1,717
Number of people who lost a spouse or partner in the attacks: 1,609
Estimated number of children who lost a parent: 3,051
In this week’s address (transcript/video), the President thanked Congress for its strong bipartisan support for efforts to train and equip Syrian opposition forces to fight ISIL. This plan is part of the President’s comprehensive counter-terrorism strategy to degrade and destroy the terrorist group, and does not commit our troops to fighting another ground war. America, working with a broad coalition of nations, will continue to train, equip, advise, and assist our partners in the region in the battle against ISIL.
In the coming week, the President will speak at the United Nations General Assembly and continue to lead the world against terror, a fight in which all countries have a stake.
In this week’s address, the President reiterated his comprehensive and sustained counter-terrorism strategy to degrade and ultimately destroy the terrorist group ISIL.
His plan brings together a campaign of targeted airstrikes, increased support for Iraqi and Kurdish forces already taking on terrorists, assistance from allies and partners, expanded efforts to train and equip the Syrian opposition, and ongoing humanitarian aid for those displaced by ISIL. The President expressed his immense appreciation for the military men and women who make these efforts possible, and reminded the world that America continues to lead and stand strong against terror.
What is your take on our Commander-in-Chief's message re: the continuing terrorist threat?
It pisses me off that James Holmes is a 2010 graduate of the University of California, Riverside with a degree in neuroscience. I'm also a UCR graduate. UCR has a low profile nationwide ... and it stinks that UCR's most famous graduate is now a mass murderer.
The early reports are calling this 24-year old guy 'insane'. I think that we are better served if we refer to him as a 'terrorist'. Frankly, if his name had been Jamaal instead of James ... that is what he would be called. America's racial challenges are evident even in something as vile as this late-night massacre at a Batman movie in Colorado.
Reports indicate that the terrorist who committed this horrifying act had a bulletproof vest, used some kind of gas canister, and had multiple guns when he opened fire in the crowded theater. A three-month-old is among the injured. Our entire village is sad for those who lost their lives, those wounded, and their families.
I suspect that it won't be long before we see airport-style metal detectors at the entrance of all movie theaters. I suspect that stock in Netflix will spike as more folks decide to watch movies at home instead of going to a theater.
You would think that Americans would use this moment to think about the fact that this kid was able purchase enough guns to shoot 71 people. How many bullets? How many guns?
When are we going to reflect on the fact that random gun violence needs to be dealt with in a comprehensive manner? How many more children must be killed in school shootings? How many more Trayvon Martins? How many more Gabby Giffords attacks? How many more innocents slaughtered at public venues like the local movie theater?
In addition to keeping the Colorado families in your prayers ... perhaps you can support Mayors Against Illegal Guns it its campaign to put a stop to senseless gun violence like this with commonsense measures, like fixing gun checks to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people. They've started an online petition to demand action on ending gun violence.
We need to stand up against these terrorist thugs like James Holmes. That's my thought ... what say u?
I'm about sick and tired of al-Qaeda and this continuous effort to kill Americans. What did America do to Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a privileged 23-year old Nigerian, that built enough hate in his heart to attempt a suicide bombing of a plane headed to Detroit?
This young man is the son of a banker. He lived in a posh West London apartment. He studied mechanical engineering there between September 2005 and June 2008. Where does this guy have time to develop such a hatred for America?
We're told that Abdulmutallab is a member of al-Qaeda.
Al-Qaeda is an international terrorist network led by Osama bin Laden. Established around 1988 by bin Laden, al-Qaeda helped finance, recruit, transport and train thousands of fighters from dozens of countries to be part of an Afghan resistance to defeat the Soviet Union. To continue the holy war beyond Afghanistan, al-Qaeda's current goal is to establish a pan-Islamic Caliphate throughout the world by working with allied Islamic extremist groups to overthrow regimes it deems "non-Islamic" and expelling Westerners and non-Muslims from Muslim countries. [SOURCE]
In February 1998, al-Qaeda issued a statement under banner of "The World Islamic Front for Jihad Against the Jews and Crusaders" saying it was the duty of all Muslims to kill US citizens—civilian or military—and their allies everywhere.
In an al-Qaeda house in Afghanistan, New York Times reporters found a brief statement of the “Goals and Objectives of Jihad”:
Establishing the rule of God on earth
Attaining martyrdom in the cause of God
Purification of the ranks of Islam from the elements of depravity
I'm heading to church this morning ... so I have no problems with putting God first in our lives. I just don't feel that God is looking for any of His children to bring bombs on airplanes with the intention of killing innocent men, women and children. I guess I'm saying that I think that al-Qaeda is misguided with that second goal. God (by any name that you call Him) isn't looking for one human to disregard the right to life of other humans.
Hey, Farouk (and other al-Qaeda sympathizers) ... Am I Not Human?
Roots of Humanity feels that each of us can fight against human rights abuses in the world. We simply need to do something. Protest. Meditate. Pray. In the case of bloggers ... we want you to blog on the 27th of each month. Just share information on behalf of our human siblings in all suffering areas who are either barred from communication by their governments, or lacking in technology to ask: Am I Not Human?
According to Time, McCain campaign staffers in Virginia are teaching volunteers to see Barack Obama as having terrorist 'friends,' and then providing these volunteers with arguments for persuading voters that Sen. Obama, like Osama Bin Laden, shares responsibility for bombings of the Pentagon.
