OT - Sympathies with US

o_donnel_abu

I know it's off topic for this forum but in view of the many IT relationships that people in Ireland have with USA and, in particular, the key role played by Elana Kehoe in getting IrelandOffline to where it is, I feel the need to say something but just cannot find the words to express my revulsion and horror at today's events.

I just hope and pray, Elana, that none of your relatives or friends have been caught up in this.

Martin Harran

infomat

I am glad that some one mentioned this. I myself have relations in Boston and New York but it would appear that they are OK.

ando

I also deeply offer my sympathy to all involved. My cousin lives in New Jersey, we have'nt been able to contact him... hoping he's ok

b20uvkft6m5xwg

Words honestly fail me @ this point in time.

When I heard this news this afternoon, I was almost physically ill. Looking @ the pictures on TV now is almost making a grown man cry. My sincere thoughts & prayers go to all those involved and especially to the families who are in such uncertainty as to the status of their loved ones.

Please God forgive the perpretators of this most horrific attack.

sceptre

I know a guy in Washington - his girlfriend's father works in the Pentagon (in an office that was destroyed by the plane) - she was going into work with him today, happily they went for a long breakfast and didn't get in until after the crash.

I'm currently taking part in a big discussion elsewhere on the nature of terrorism so this is a short message but I as fairly shocked to see the second WTC crash live and then watch the buildings collapse (still going on as I type, another 47-storey block has just collapsed)

Delphi91

I would also like to extend my sympathies to the American people.

What happened today was shocking. I think that if I had been asked to imagine a terrorist scenario in New York, I couldn't have come up with anything even vaguely close to the barbaric acts perpetrated today on the American public.

Mike

n1800

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dahamsta

You weren't the only one 80p, and it's nothing to be ashamed of.

I got an email on a buddy list today at 2.17 with just a link to an article on ireland.com, sparse on detail. I went straight for the TV and watched as it all happened. I was so angry I was shouting at the television, and so saddened I was close to tears several times (hey, I'm a lily-livered liberal, cut me some slack, ok?). When I had to tell someone in the family who hadn't seen the news a couple of hours later, I could literally hardly speak. Later on I found out that my brother-in-law's parents were in New York at the time - luckily they're ok.

I know things like this happen every day, caused by so-called acts of god and even by other evil people, but the sheer scale and loss of this really brought it home. It's only when you think of the people inside the planes, and inside the buildings when they were trying to escape, probably thinking they had a chance, that it really hits hard. It's only when you see those ugly, terrible people in Palestine cheering at the loss of human life that the evil in the human race becomes apparent. It honestly disgusts me, it embarasses me.

Now I'm just angry at these disgusting animals who think they're serving a cause with their actions. I don't even want them dead, I want them locked up in a jail cell for the rest of their lives with just the basic human rights keeping them alive. I want them to suffer for what they did.

Sorry for rambling, but it really did hit me hard, and writing is my way of venting emotion. And pardon the new signature, I know it's political and cutting, but I honestly believe it as true.

My sympathies go out to the people hurt and killed in this incident, and their families; and my pity goes out to the people who perpetrated it. I hope they rot in hell for what they did.

adam

Matfinn

I would also like to express my deepest sympathies to those who have suffered in the American bomb attacks. I hope that those who were not fortunate to survive are happy in some place now, and I pray for their friends and families. Again my deepest condolences.

Matt

Urban Weigl

Words alone can not describe the shock and disbelief that I experienced when a friend rang me and told me to switch on the TV, "any channel". One can only hope that this isn't just the first in a string of terrorist attacks against the civilized world. My thoughts are with all the people who had loved ones there, and with all the victims.

Lemming

I watched that news yesterday in utter disbelief and horror. Each time I thought it wasn't going to get any worse, it just continued to happen. My deepest and most heartfelt sympathies go out to those caught up in these obscene acts of lunacy.

Even more despicable was the scenes I saw on tv from Islamic countries. These people represent the worst in human nature, if they can celebrate such attrocities!

Whilst I can't help but feel that america needs to examine its PR image around the world, this was just a .... I don't know. I'm sorry but I don't have the words for this!!!!

I hope those responsible are found and brought to justice. May god have mercy on them, cause I certainly can't.

Orcus

I too would like to extend my deepest sympathies to the American people.

I watched on the Net yesterday in total disbelieve as the events unfolded in front of me. I honestly don't think I have ever been so shocked at any event. Really words can't describe how I feel.

Really this isn't just an attack on the US, but on democracy around the world.

I would also like to give my condolences to the family of the Cork mother and child who where killed on one of the planes.

Brian.

ekehoe

Thanks Martin, I really appreciate that...

Our family and friends, as far as we know, are all okay. My parents, who are on a special disaster medical team, have been mobilized and are possibly on their way to New York now. I'm hoping they are able to do some good.

Thoughts are with anyone who is worried about people in New York or Washington. This is quite frightening and shocking and I'm not really sure what to say.

E

MyPerfectCousin

As another American in Ireland I'd just like to say thanks for all the kind words online, offline, in the corner shop, etc.

John

mewso

There was once an Indian man of Hindu religion who belived in non-violence to achieve a political end and he forced South Africa to bend as well as getting independence for India. Einstein said there would come a day when we would wonder if such a man really did once live on this planet. Today I've lost all belief in humanity.

M

dahamsta

Elena, I'm delighted to hear everyone is ok. I have a couple of friends over there, one, my business partner, in Washington, and another who was scared lifeless in San Francisco when the fourth jet was rumoured to be heading towards him. Frightening indeed.

adam

Bard

Thankfully those relations I have there who live in Philadelphia and work from time to time in New York were safe - stuck in a jam on the New Jersey turnpike apparently at the time of the crashes and turned back to Philly shortly afterwards.

My uncle there said in an email to me yesterday: "everything fine here but its pretty close,our city pretty much closed down,look out here comes war...." ... kinda says it all...

I'm glad that your relations are OK, Elana, and hope for the best for anyone who got caught up in this awful mess.

May whatever God they believe in - help them in their time of need.

-Serpico-

I'm in the US at the moment and was watching it live on TV as the plane slammed into the second tower, and I don't think I've ever seen, or ever will see, anything so disturbing and upsetting as the aftermath of the attack. A friend of ours was on the way to Newark airport, as she was flying here to visit us here in Chicago, when the planes struck. They turned back, and were driving toward the city as the first tower collapsed... They were looking right at the tower as it fell...

Serp

Whoeverthehell

A bag? A bag survived a 1000+ degree fireball?

And On Topic -

When I heard about it yesterday I felt sick, actually I nearly vomited on the spot when I saw the crash for the first time. I can't believe that anyone believes that this will accomplish anything other than making them the most hated people on earth, and probably dead in a few weeks.

My condolences to the families of those who were killed in the towers, pentagon, airliners, and on the ground when the towers collapsed.

DeVore

I concur with the sentiments here, friends and family are in NY and thankfully all were ok. One mate had a very close call and was effectively one of those people who looked like zombies covered in dust.

I was in those buildings not 8 weeks ago riding up and down in the lift... they are mind-staggeringly big. They were, christ...

Tom.

Trojan

I too was deeply hit emotionally: I didn't get to see the video clips until about 5pm, and I was just totally shocked... someone said that Tom Clancy at his best couldn't have written a more shocking tale than the events yesterday.

I watched the events with a friend of mine who worked in the Empire State Building, he was telling me about the psychological effect the downing of the 2 towers will have on New Yorkers: he equated it to something along the lines of a Westport person waking up one day to find Croagh Patrick no longer rising up behind them.

Continuing the personal stories: my cousin works and lives in Boston, however as my aunt was over there he took vacation and had his trip to NYC planned for tomorrow... the hotel he had booked was the Meriott, right beside the towers. He told me he didn't know if there was a hotel left to cancel with.

Another cousin of mine works for Verizon, (luckily not the building you could see in those tv buildings) but in Philadelphia. I mailed him to see what was going on, he told me that they were very scared; Verizon have the 2nd tallest building in Philly and they were scared of a large scale assault on the east coast cities. Thanks be to god that didnt happen, and lets hope nothing else happens.

Anyway, it seems one employee of my company was on flight 11 (which hit the 2nd tower), and also we had 2 floors (25 and 26) of T2 as well, no word for over half the workers from those (there were 300) so lets hope they got out in time.

That was one scary day, and the US will never be the same again. Travel wont certainly.

Condolences to anyone with friends or family involved, and to all Americans.

Alastair.

dahamsta

One of the worst things I heard - relatively speaking - was when a friend in Oracle told me that the Oracle headquarters weren't being evacuated. (Their HQ is a bunch of 6 huge towers standing on their own right next to San Francisco airport.) I had a lot of respect for Larry Ellison before I heard that. To be fair, he told them they could go home if they wanted to, but they weren't sent home, and you know what the American work ethic is like.

He was very upset, he was woken up in the morning by his sister wanting to know if he was ok, and coming from sleep he thought they were under nuclear attack - something I think a stranger in a strange land would be much more prone to. And he felt like he was in Wonderland, because the Americans were strangely reticent about it - they'd be talking about the disaster one minute, sports the next and then back to the disaster.

To be honest, I think it hit a lot of Europeans and possibly other world citizens far worse than you would expect. Even today, when I saw a chronology of events on Sky News, with the new shots of both planes actually hitting the towers, I was in a right state. It's weird. After all I've heard about people remembering where they were when JFK was shot, now I know exactly what they mean. Those images won't leave me until the day I die.

My faith in humanity is beginning to be restored though. There have been some wonderful images and stories that demonstrate that we're better than these people, that we'll get over it, that we'll fight back the way we should, by helping each other.

The one image that sticks in my mind was one that was repeated on the news quite often. It was a policeman walking away from the debris, with his arm around a woman covered in dust and ash, and leaning over to give the woman a hug and a kiss, as if to say, it's ok, we're alive. It was a powerful image. I'll never forget it.

adam

obewan

As expressed above, this is one of te worst atrocities that I have ever heard of. Such a waste of life. ANd the aftermath could have such severe reprecussions for the whole world.

I hope that any relatives and friends of people here in Ireland are all ok.

Mick.

Fergus2

I wish there was an answer for this. One is reminded of the shock after Omagh. I hope even small things like better communications between cultures via the internet will work to neutralise these grotesque expressions of combined insanity, hated and power.

nahdoic

oh god, this is heart-wrenching. I am close to tears. I don't know if any of you have seen this, but they have a partial list of names of those killed. From all walks of life, physicians, gymnasts, engineers ... oh god, and this is just the start of a very long list.

How can such evil exist in this world?

My thoughts and prayers are with their family and friends.


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