The other 9/11

Eloethan He certainly didn't "win" the first election – not just because of the hanging chads but because of the numbers of people illegally disenfranchised and other corruption. Not to mention the cabal led by Bush Senior that saw to it he became President and the Bush family member who first called the election on Fox News.

absent Well, somebody voted for him - and probably quite a lot of those that did did so on the basis of "what's in it for me?". A significant number of people in the USA are horrified by the idea of "socialism" and see the introduction of state funded healthcare (and indeed any move towards a fairer distribution of wealth and resources) as the work of the devil.

9/11 the other way round, ie November 9th has two anniversaries in Germany. In 1938 it was Kristallnacht, night of glass, when Jewish businesses were attacked, and broken glass littered the streets. It was the start of the escalation of horrors against Jews and others deemed sub human by the Nazis.

In 1989 it was the date that the Berlin Wall came down. But the wall anniversary is not celebrated, because of it being the same date as Kristallnacht.

The number of Americans who believe in alien abduction varies from 36% to 50% according to the poll used. Many believed that Saddam Hussein was a member of Al Qaeda and involved in the 9/11 attack and Bush used this to justify the second war on Iraq.
However, when you consider some of the answers given by our own countrymen on quizzes, it stops any feeling of superiority in its tracks.
Did Britain deserve the present government? Oh no, there was no majority for any one party,was there?

Eloethan Surely no one could possibly have deserved George W.

I think a passionate commitment among many "ordinary" Americans to the American Way does tend to cause resentment in other countries. It may or may not be the best direction for those who live in the USA, but it will never be the best direction for everyone else in the world. I think also the fact that many Americans have little awareness of other countries and cultures – after all the USA is almost the size of a continent and offers a vast range of different experiences – causes similar resentment, especially in conjunction with the American Way.

Some say the people get the politicians they deserve.

Some American politicians seem to be a sandwich short of a picnic but it doesn't make me hate all Americans.

The USA politicians seem to have this soundbite about wanting to prevent other nations, terrorists etc. killing "Americans" which to me, rather sounds as if they don't care about just who else might get killed in any military operation. That might be just my silly perception.

'Carried out by America' - i.e the American government, not the average American citizen. My mother lost a much-loved brother in the war - she didn't hate all Germans, as she was too intelligent.

When 9/11 happened Newsnight held a studio debate , in the audience were Americans and British, it did get heated and I recall one American woman bursting into tears and asked ' why do people hate us so much' - several in the audience gave her a rather long list of atrocities - and they were atrocities- carried out by America

I yield to nobody in my dislike of the USA's apparent belief that they are entitled to be the world's policeman, but the people who died in the Twin Towers were not politicians, just ordinary workers, many of them muslims. I have expressed my feeling about mindless hatred of a whole nation on another thread. Hate the people who make the decisions, on the basis that they are stupid, corrupt, or both, but not just because they are of a certain nationality. We see where that leads.

Feeling sympathetic towards the people affected by one atrocity does not mean I don't feel equally sympathetic towards those involved in others.
I was talking on a personal level about the courage of those who knew they were going to die and still spoke calmly to their families on the phone - it changed my view of Americans.

Yes, the US was instrumental in bringing down Allende, who was elected by the people. Thatcher referred to Pinochet as a "good friend", despite his appalling - and well documented - human rights record.

Oh I see what you mean! Sorry. Got you wrong. (no caffeine yet)

JO - exactly, so why did the CIA(USA) back him? Rhetorical question! And why did Thatcher?

vampireQ I think that is very true about the USA. At the time of 9/11 someone made the remark that the USA had "had it coming" because of such activities in foreign parts. It was very insensitive at the time but unfortunately true.

But Pinochet was a wicked man!

all about it here

The CIA and therefore ultimately the Americans have caused so much suffering in the world but conveniently forget that so wonder why they're so disliked by so many.

There should be room to remember both 9/11s and I'm glad the BBC and the Guardian did have. Thatchers behaviour towards Pinochet will always be a reason for me to despise her beyond words