March 20, 2003
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH'S David Penberthy
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH'S David Penberthy recently re-wrote his paper's September 11 coverage to accommodate the demands of anti-discrimination zealots. No link is available, so I'll post it here in full, "tastefully shorn of any inflammatory references to gender, size, race, sexual preference, religion, handicap, and special culinary requirements ..."
MANHATTAN MISHAP, September 12, 2001
Two public buildings were destroyed in New York City yesterday after a collision involving two passenger jets.
While mechanical failure has not been ruled out, The Daily Telegraph understands a group of persons, sharing a common belief system, may have deliberately or unwittingly caused the jets to fly off course, striking the buildings.
Structural engineers were unable to say last night whether the collisions were the sole cause of the collapse or whether design faults may have also played a role.
The Manhattan area has also been plagued in the past by flood and tremor, raising questions about the buildings' stability.
Despite the absence of firm evidence, people outside the buildings were quick to apportion blame for the collapses and the death they allegedly caused.
"When he find the sons-of-bitches who did this we should bomb them back to the Stone Age,'' said one person, expressing a level of hostility for which this newspaper apologises.
Others blamed "Arabs'' for the attack but it should be stressed that the race of those who may or may not have interfered with the passage of the jets has no bearing on the nature of the collision or the ultimate collapse of the edifice.
More than 2000 people are believed to have died as a result of the collisions.
Friends and family of those who died said yesterday it was "a tragedy'' that their ``loved ones'' had been killed "going to work''.
However, it should also be pointed out that by "going to work'' in these buildings they were contributing to a system of economic order which offends and troubles other persons in other parts of the world.
Meanwhile, another building was hit by a plane in Washington and a fourth plane crashed in the state of Pennsylvania in what some analysts have been quick, possibly too quick, to describe as related incidents.
These other collisions have prompted claims that a group of persons may have entered the cockpit of the plane, loudly affirming the greatness of their chosen deity in a foreign language while interfering with navigational equipment.
American news sources reported last night that these persons may have even tried to fly the planes deliberately into the buildings, labelling them "suicide bombers''.
However, there was no evidence that any bombs were found on board and the nature of their demise cannot be discussed in accordance with guidelines covering the responsible reporting of suicide.
Whatever the case, the incidents triggered jubilant scenes in some parts of the world where people express a high level of commitment to their chosen faith.
There were suggestions that a social organisation called al-Qaeda, headed by a Mr. Osama bin Laden, may have been involved.
Mr bin Laden has been described as "a dangerous terrorist'' but others regard him as a religious man who would only use violence as a means of answering the might of the American military-industrial complex.
Posted by Tim Blair at March 20, 2003 02:17 PM