It finally happened - the spectacular bloody nose to The United States.
Most people worldwide are grieving for the families of the victims, but a few - mostly ignorant and envious of our lifestyle - gloating and cheering.

The blatant prostitution of religion to glorify mass murder is an affront to all humanity no matter the flavour of their beliefs. 200 years of wars in Europe ought to convince anyone of the rationality of keeping state and religion apart.

Americas traditional hospitality to individuals who come here to work to better their position, will probably cool down a bit for a time, but is hopefully so ingrained that restrictions will soon be lifted. America was built as a place where everybody could make their own life, no matter their background. You work hard to make yourself and your family a good life, and you are welcome to it.

Security should not be allowed to hinder individuals and businesses in their daily endeavours. It would be tragic if the costs from lost business in the cooling down period should exceed the costs of rebuilding.

You always risk to die when you live!. The airline industry is there to move people and goods safely in a timely manner. If security prevents movement, the product is not delivered. What is the purpose of being safe if you do not move? We accept losses from automobile traffic, so why not air, train and seatraffic? Of course we expect transportation providers to do their best according to regulations laid down by the law makers. Security costs money and flexibility, how much are we willing to spend? Definitely more money than flexibility, I would think. Flying is uncomfortable and being afraid is understandable, but will get you nowhere.

The exhibitionistic neurotic work methods of the media allows anyone anywhere to listen in on the investigation etc. allowing an antagonist valuable insights, and even forewarning of responses, and at the same makes it vital for politicians to concern themselves with their images, where it would have been more valuable to spend the effort in legislation, or administration. I do not think democracy is helped by this. There has to be time for restraint and reflection.

I hope New York will rebuild WTC, and soon. Should be an interesting challenge to create 3+ square miles of office space
I hope we will not see armed security in airports or for that matter airplanes.
I hope we will see proper security screening of all staff(including security personel) and vehicles (including police, telephone, catering, utility ...) going inside the airports.

A footnote on Afghanistan. It is apparently producing opium on an area a bit bigger than Denmark, making it the largest illicit opium producer in the world (surpassing Burma) - that can hardly be for local consumption.

A few pictures taken in 1983, please have patience while downloading