American Night

                 "Don't just have a good night. Have an American night!"

^ I heard this on the TV just now. It is such a funny and good quote. Not sure what movie or show it's from. I wasn't watching the TV when I heard it. ^

Mandating Census

From the MT:

"Rosstat Proposes Compulsary Russian Census Participation"

Russia’s state statistics service Rosstat has proposed making participation in the National Population Census compulsory, the Kommersant newspaper reported Monday. Rosstat has proposed a fine of 100 to 300 rubles ($1.5 to $4.5) for those who refuse to answer census questions.  Rosstat has worked since April 2015 to secure the support of ministers and relevant authorities, and last week a government commission approved the amendments related to the 2002 population census law. The government will soon discuss the proposal, Kommersant reported. The census in Russia is carried out at least once every decade. The idea of compulsory census participation arose after 1 million people refused to take part in the 2010 census, Kommersant reported. According to the newspaper, 3.5 million people declined to answer questions on their education, 4 million declined to give information on their sources of income and 4.6 million declined to provide employment information. Approval for the census amendments took over a year because of the “idea's divisiveness,” Kommersant reported, citing Olga Vorobyeva, head of the Research Center for Socioeconomic Issues in Population. The amendments had won approval on ground that an accurate census “forms the basis of socioeconomic policy.” According to Vorobyeva, 2010 census data had to be compiled using landlords’ registers because census takers were not granted entry into homes. Consequently, the census was “not particularly reliable,” she said. She hopes an online census can be implemented in time for the 2020 census, Kommersant reported. Alexander Brovsky, a member of the Presidential Council on Human Rights remains skeptical: “Carrying out a comprehensive survey of citizens without an accompanying legal mechanism is impossible.” Completely reliable information remains “unobtainable,” he said. “If someone wants to hide something, they will simply risk the 300-ruble fine.”

^ I know many countries (like the US) have made it compulsory to fill-out their census. I don't see why Russia shouldn't be any different. While I know that it is illegal not to fill-out the census in the US I don't know what you get (jail, a fine or both) if you don't do it. ^

https://themoscowtimes.com/news/russia-to-introduce-fines-for-non-particpation-in-censuses-55212

15: 9/11: Culture

From Wikipedia:
"List of cultural references to the September 11 attacks"

This list of cultural references to the September 11 attacks and to the post-9/11 sociopolitical climate, includes works of art, books, poetry, comics, theater, film, and television

Art and design:

9/11 Flipbook (2005–present) by Scott Blake allows viewers to watch a continuous reenactment of United Airlines Flight 175 crashing into the South Tower of the World Trade Center. Accompanying the images are essays written by a wide range of participants, each expressing their personal experience of the September 11th attacks. In addition, the essays' authors posted their responses to the request that they reflect on, and respond to, the flipbook itself.

A Garden Stepping into the Sky (2002-3) by Ron Drummond is a design for a World Trade Center Memorial built out of the "clay" of functional interior space suitable for commercial, cultural, or residential uses. Praised by New York novelist and critic Samuel R. Delany and architecture critic Herbert Muschamp, Drummond's design was the focus of a documentary by the award-winning independent filmmaker Gregg Lachow and was featured on CNN and KOMO-TV News.

Golden Angels Over Lower Manhattan (2011), a painting by the New-York based Polish artist, Leokadia Makarska-Cermak, who was in Lower Manhattan during the attacks. She presented the painting at the Sanctuary Still remembrance event held at the St. Ann and the Holy Trinity Church on September 11, 2011.

September (2005), a painting by Gerhard Richter

Film:

International:

• 11'09"01 September 11 (2002), an international anthology film composed of contributions from Bosnia-Herzegovina, Burkina Faso, Egypt, France, India, Iran, Israel, Japan, Mexico, United Kingdom, and the USA, each exploring reactions to 9/11.

North America:

• 102 Minutes That Changed America, a 2008 American made-for-television History Channel documentary which follows the events of 9/11 through raw footage.
• 9/11, a 2002 Franco-American made-for-television CBS documentary.
• 911: In Plane Site, a 2004 American documentary film which advocates 9/11 conspiracy theories.
• 9/11: Press for Truth, a 2006 American independent film which investigates the events of 9/11.
• 9/11: The Twin Towers, a 2006 American made-for-television Discovery Channel documentary about the events of 9/11.
• Answering the Call: Ground Zero's Volunteers, a 2005 American documentary film.
• Beyond Belief, a 2007 American independent film about the post-9/11 experiences of two women who lost their husbands on 9/11 and who set up a humanitarian program for war widows in Afghanistan.
• Bowling for Columbine, a 2002 American documentary film by Michael Moore that refers to the events of 9/11 in its "Wonderful World" montage.
• The Cats of Mirikitani, a 2006 American documentary about the painter Jimmy Mirikitani who lived in New York at the time of 9/11.
• The Concert for New York City, documentary of the five-hour benefit concert at Madison Square Garden.
• Countdown to Ground Zero, a 2006 American made-for-television History Channel documentary which covers a 9/11 timeline.
• United States of Banana, 2011 series of art films by photographer Michael Somoroff, based on the 9/11 novel United States of Banana by Hispanic-American author Giannina Braschi.
• Dixie Chicks: Shut Up and Sing, a 2006 American independent film about the backlash experienced by the country music band, Dixie Chicks during the Post-9/11 climate.
• Dust to Dust: The Health Effects of 9/11, a 2006 American documentary broadcast on the Sundance Channel.
• Fahrenheit 9/11, a 2004 American documentary film by Michael Moore.
  • FahrenHYPE 9/11, reaction to the above film
• Flight 175: As the World Watched, a 2006 American made-for-television The Learning Channel documentary about United Airlines Flight 175.
• The Flight That Fought Back, a 2005 American made-for-television Discovery Channel documentary about United Airlines Flight 93.
• Grounded on 9/11, a 2005 American made-for-television History Channel documentary.
• Hijacking Catastrophe: 9/11, Fear & the Selling of American Empire a 2004 documentary
• The Heart of Steel, a 2006 American independent film about the post 9/11 experiences of a group of volunteers.
• Hotel Ground Zero, a 2009 American made-for-television History Channel documentary.
• I Missed Flight 93, a 2006 American made-for-television History Channel documentary about people who missed Flight 93.
• Inside 9/11, a 2005 American made-for-television National Geographic Channel documentary about the events before, during, and after 9/11.
• The Love We Make, a 2011 American documentary about Paul McCartney's experiences in New York City after the September 11, 2001 attacks, following him as he prepared The Concert for New York City October 2001 benefit event.
• The Man Who Predicted 9/11, a 2002 American made-for-television History Channel documentary.
• Metal of Honor: The Ironworkers of 9/11, a 2006 American documentary.
• Native New Yorker, a 2005 American documentary.
• On Native Soil: the Documentary of the 9/11 Commission Report, a 2005 American documentary.
• Rebirth, a 2011 American documentary about five individuals impacted by 9/11.
• The Second Day, a 2011 documentary by a man who as a boy lived through 9/11 and relates his real-life experience.
• The Secret History of 9/11, a 2006 American documentary.
• The Tillman Story, a 2010 American independent film about the death of football star and Army Ranger Pat Tillman during the Post-9/11 climate.
• Toxic Clouds of 9/11, a 2006 American documentary.
• Toxic Legacy, a 2006 Canadian documentary.
• Twin Towers (film), a 2003 American documentary.
• Where in the World Is Osama Bin Laden?, a 2008 American documentary directed by Morgan Spurlock

Video, television, and theatrical release: feature films:

• 25th Hour, a 2002 American film by Spike Lee that is set in post-9/11 New York and puts Ground Zero in the background of a pivotal scene.
• The 9/11 Commission Report, a 2006 drama based upon the 9/11 Commission Report.
• Airborne, a 2012 independent film about a hijacked airliner. The film introduces its story by pretending since 9/11 there would be a so-called "Firelight Protocol" which had been "designed to protect those on the ground".
• A Broken Sole, a trilogy of 2007 American short films that use 9/11 as a backdrop.
• A Few Days in September, a 2006 film about a CIA agent with advanced intelligence of the September 11 attacks.
• The Conspirator, a 2010 historical drama film directed by Robert Redford about the response to the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Critics have cited it as an analogy to the post-9/11 atmosphere.
• DC 9/11: Time of Crisis, a 2003 American made-for-television Showtime drama, re-enacting the events of 9/11 from the point of view of President George W. Bush.
• Dear John, a 2010 American film that uses 9/11 as a backdrop.
• The Dictator, a 2012 film, includes a joke about 9/11.
• Diverted a Canadian made-for-television Canadian Broadcasting Corporation film about the town of Gander, Newfoundland hosting thousands of travelers after the United States shut down its airspace.
• Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, a 2011 American film based on the novel by Jonathan Safran Foer.
• Flight 93, a 2006 American made-for-television A&E Network drama about United Airlines Flight 93.
• The Great New Wonderful, a 2005 American film following a group of New Yorkers one year after the attacks.
• The Guys, a 2002 American film that adapts the Anne Nelson play.
• Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay, a 2008 American comedy about the impact of the post-9/11 atmosphere on Harold and Kumar.
• Into the Fire a 2005 American film about the aftermath of 9/11 for three New Yorkers.
• Julie and Julia, a 2009 American film in which the main character works in a call center for 9/11 victims, leading her to find an escape.
• Mooz-lum, a 2010 American independent film that documents the lives of an African American Muslim family whose lives are changed by 9/11 and its aftermath.
• The Path to 9/11, a 2006 American made-for-television ABC mini-series about events preceding 9/11.
• Postal, a 2007 American film that opens with the 9/11 attacks.
• Reign Over Me, a 2007 American comedy-drama about the post-9/11 experiences of Charlie Fineman who lost his wife and children in the attacks.
• Remember Me, a 2010 American drama in which the events lead up to 9/11.
• Rudy: The Rudy Giuliani Story, a 2003 American made-for-television USA Network drama which includes Giuliani's response to the events of 9/11.
• The Space Between, a 2010 American drama about a flight attendant who finds herself responsible for a Muslim child in the wake of the attack.
• Stairwell: Trapped in the World Trade Center, a 2002 American independent film about a group of people trapped in a sub-basement of the World Trade Center after the two towers collapse.
• Tiger Cruise, a 2004 American made-for-television Disney Channel Original Movie which intertwines a fictional storyline with the events of 9/11.
• United 93, a 2006 American drama about United Airlines Flight 93.
• World Trade Center, a 2006 American drama by Oliver Stone.
• WTC View, a 2006 American independent film about the effect of 9/11 on a photographer who placed an ad for potential roommates on September 10, 2001.
• Ted, a 2012 American comedy, includes a joke based on 9/11

Literature and poetry:

Australia:

• "The Caribou Herd" (2003) by Miles Hitchcock won The Age Short Story Award in 2003. The narrator is an elderly English man with dementia, flying to New York on the day of the attacks and reminiscing about the 20th Century.

Europe:

• A Manhã do Mundo (The Morning of the World) (2001) by Pedro Guilherme-Moreira.
• Brick Lane (2003) by Monica Ali. The novel tells the story of Nazneen, a Bangladeshi woman who moves to England and her life before and after 9/11.
• Burnt Shadows (2009) by Kamila Shamsie
• Dead Air (2002) by Iain Banks. An early chapter is set in London on September 11, 2001. The main protagonist is a left-wing radio "shock jock" attending a wedding when news of the attacks filters through (Tuesday afternoon British time).
• Eleven (2006) by David Llewellyn. The novel takes place in Cardiff and London on September 11th and deals with the impact the terrorist attacks have on the lives of people in the UK.
• False Impression (2005) by Jeffrey Archer. The novel is a thriller that takes place during and immediately after 9/11.
• Netherland (2008) by Joseph O'Neill. The novel tells the story of a Dutch businessman who lives in New York and is traumatized by the events of 9/11.
• Saturday (2005) by Ian McEwan. The novel is set in London after the September 11th attacks but before the 7 July 2005 London bombings. The novel shows how much the world has changed since the attacks in America.
• When God Was a Rabbit (2011) by Sarah Winman. The protagonist and her brother are living in America at the time of the 9/11 attacks, and the main character believes her brother and his best friend have died in the crash.
• Windows on the World (2003) by Frédéric Beigbeder. The novel is set in the restaurant at the top of the North Tower on September 11. It tells the story of Carthew Yorston and his two sons as they try to escape or somehow survive the attack. Each chapter of the book represents one minute in time between 8:30 and 10:30 on 9/11. It also features a parallel narrative wherein the author, a French writer sympathetic to America, discusses the process of writing the book and his motivations for doing so.

North America:

• American Widow (2008) by Alissa Torres. A graphic novel by Alissa Torres, who was eight months pregnant when her husband Eddie Torres perished in the WTC on 9/11.
• Between Two Rivers (2004) by Nicholas Rinaldi
• Bleeding Edge (2013) by Thomas Pynchon. The novel is a detective story which takes place between the burst of the dot-com bubble and the aftermath of the September 11 attacks.
• The Book of Ten Nights and a Night (2004). Shocked by the 9/11 attack, a writer tells stories over the next eleven nights.
• Brooklyn Follies (2005) by Paul Auster
• The Dark Tower VI: Song of Susannah (2004) by Stephen King. Two characters place an artifact known as Black Thirteen in a coin-op storage unit in the World Trade Center in 1999, intending to leave it there forever. After leaving, they half-jokingly discuss what would happen if the towers were to collapse on the object.
• A Disorder Peculiar to the Country (2006), by Ken Kalfus. The novel follows the lives of New Yorkers Joyce and Marshall Harriman who are in the middle of a nasty divorce. In the early morning hours of September 11, Marshall leaves for the World Trade Center and Joyce for the airport.
• The Emperor's Children (2006), by Claire Messud. The novel traces the lives of three NYC friends before and after the events of 9/11.
• Everyman (2006), by Philip Roth. The protagonist of the novel moves to the New Jersey shore as a result of the fear he feels in the wake of the 9/11 attacks.
• Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (2005) by Jonathan Safran Foer. The novel follows the narrator, 9-year-old Oskar Schell, whose father was on the upper floors of the World Trade Center when the jets crashed into the Twin Towers. To fight his grief and quell his imagination, Oskar embarks on a quest to find what he hopes is his father's most illuminating secret. In service of this quest, Oskar conquers many of his irrational fears and comforts other damaged souls.
• Falling Man (2007), by Don DeLillo. The novel features a protagonist who survives the attacks on the World Trade Center.
• Forever (2003) by Pete Hamill. The novel tells the story of an Irish immigrant who is granted immortality, provided that he never leaves the island of Manhattan. Hamill completed his manuscript at 11:20 pm on the evening of September 10, 2001; he was about to deliver it to his editor when the attacks occurred. He spent another year revising the book. As a result, the 9/11 attacks form the culmination of 250 years of New York history described in the novel.
• The Good Life (2006) by Jay McInerney. The novel takes place immediately before, during, and after the events of 9/11.
• Home Boy (2009) by H. M. Naqvi. The novel tells the story of three Pakistani college students, AC, Jimbo and Chuck, before and after 9/11.
• "In Spirit", a science fiction novella by Pat Forde, published in Analog in September 2002 and nominated for a Hugo Award. A time travel story in which a form of "spiritual" time travel is perfected in the middle of the 21st century and the aged children of 9/11 victims are given the opportunity to go back in time and be with their loved ones "in spirit" in their final moments.
• Last Night in Twisted River (2009) by John Irving. Portions of the end of the novel take place on September 10 and 11, 2001, and deal with several characters' reactions to learning about the attacks.
• The Last Illusion (2014) by Porochista Khakpour
• "Let the Great World Spin" (2009) by Colum McCann. The novel focuses on Philippe Petit's 1974 tightrope crossing of the Twin Towers, and the effects it has on New Yorkers in 1974. At the end, the novel jumps to 2005, in which one of the character's daughters deals with living in a post-9/11 world, connecting the destruction of the towers to Petit's 1974 walk.
• The Man Who Wouldn't Stand Up (2012) by Jacob Appel. The novel depict the life of fictional botanist Arnold Brinkman, a New Yorker falsely branded a terrorist-sympathizer in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks.
• "The Mutants" (2004) a short story by Joyce Carol Oates in I Am No One You Know: Stories.
• Night Fall (2004) by Nelson DeMille. The novel connects TWA 800 to twin tower crash.
• Once in a Promised Land (2007) by Laila Halaby.
• Patriot Acts: Narratives of Post-9/11 Injustice (2011, non-fiction) edited by Alia Malek.
• Pattern Recognition (2003) by William Gibson. The first novel to address the attacks; the main character is a marketing consultant whose father disappeared in Manhattan on the morning of September 11.
• Saffron Dreams (2009) by Shaila Abdullah.
• Small Wonder, a collection of 23 essays on environmentalism and social justice by novelist and biologist Barbara Kingsolver, published in 2002 and written in response to the aftermath of the September 11 attacks.
• The Submission (2011) by Amy Waldman. The novel is about an American Muslim architect Mohammed Khan whose design is chosen for the memorial site at Ground Zero.
• ″The Suffering Channel″ (2004) is a novella by David Foster Wallace in Oblivion: Stories. Set in July 2001, its central protagonist, Skip Atwater, is a journalist who works for the fictional Style Magazine, which is located in the World Trade Center. Atwater is attempting to write an article about a midwestern artist, Brint Moltke (whose excrement reportedly resembles famous cultural objects) for the September 10, 2001 issue of Style.
• Sons and Other Flammable Objects (2007) by Porochista Khakpour
• Terrorist (2006) by John Updike. The novel explores post 9/11 America through the eyes of a radical Muslim youth and his Jewish guidance counselor.
• "The Things They Left Behind" (2005) by Stephen King. A short story about survivor guilt.
• "The World Trade Center Stories: 15th Anniversary Edition" (2016) by Richard D. Shea. Interconnected stories with one common element.
• Theater of the Stars: A Novel of Physics and Memory (2003) by N. M. Kelby. The novel centers on two women, a mother and daughter. Both of them are physicists - and both of them have dizzying gaps in their memories of their pasts.
• United States of Banana (AmazonCrossing 2011) by Giannina Braschi is a dramatic novel in which the collapse of the Twin Towers marks the fall of the American empire on September 11, 2001.
• United We Stand (2009) a novel that focuses on the aftermath of the attacks on September 11, 2001.
• Villa Incognito (2003) by Tom Robbins. The novel features several scenes of Military and CIA officials reacting to news of the attacks.
• We All Fall Down (2006) by Eric Walters. September 11, 2001 was "Bring Your Kids to Work Day", and the main protagonist, Will was going to meet with his father in his office in the World Trade Center. This novel focuses on how Will and his relationship with his father changes on the day of the 9/11 attacks.
• The Zero (2006) by Jess Walter is a novel about Brian Remy, a New York City cop suffering memory gaps in the wake of 9/11.

Television:

• 12 Days That Shocked the World - a History channel twelve-part special, featuring events that shocked the world as voted by viewers
• Aliens in America (2007–2008) - an American television series about a high school foreign exchange student from Pakistan who lives with an American family in Wisconsin in a post-9/11 climate.
• All-American Muslim, a 2011-2012 American reality show set in Dearborn, Michigan in a post-9/11 climate.
• Arrested Development (2003–2006) - In the episode "Best Man for the Gob", after Michael Bluth (Jason Bateman) sarcastically asks Tobias Fünke (David Cross) why his marriage is suffering, Tobias responds "Well, I don't want to blame it all on 9/11, but it certainly didn't help."
• Becker (1998–2004) - In the episode "Subway Story", Becker skips dinner with an old friend because he accompanies the mother of a 9/11 victim to Ground Zero.
• Bones (2005–present) - In the episode "The Patriot in Purgatory", the team investigates the death of a homeless veteran who died following the 9/11 attack on the Pentagon.
• Criminal Minds (2005–present) - 9/11 is mentioned occasionally throughout the show. Main character Kate Callahan also lost her sister and brother-in-law to the attacks; they were employees in the Pentagon.
• CSI: NY (2004–2013) - Mac Taylor (Gary Sinise) lost his wife Claire, who was working in the World Trade Center at the time of the attacks.
• Family Guy (1999–2003; 2005–present) - These episodes are an example for 9/11 humor, though it may also be a reference to the fact that the show's creator Seth MacFarlane nearly became a victim of the attacks since he was originally scheduled to board one of the planes, but a hangover caused him to oversleep.
  • In the episode "It Takes a Village Idiot, and I Married One", Lois Griffin repeatedly chants "Nine-eleven" to gain voters at a rally while running for mayor.
  • In a deleted scene from "Meet the Quagmires", when Brian and Peter Griffin go back in time, Brian gets into a fight, and instructs the bar patron to meet on top of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.
  • In the episode "Baby Not on Board", the family stops at Ground Zero at their way to the Grand Canyon to pay their respects. Peter remarks "Ground Zero, so this is where the first guy got AIDS". Brian corrects Peter telling him it was the site of the 9/11 attacks. Then, Peter believes Iraq (under Saddam Hussein) had something to do with the attacks, but those were untrue.
  • In Back to the Pilot, Stewie and Brian travel back in time to the pilot episode which took place on January 31, 1999. While in the past, Brian informs his former self about 9/11. This causes it never to happen and when they travel back to the present the United States is in the middle of a second civil war due to the fact George W. Bush never won the 2004 Presidential election.
  • In Big Man on Hippocampus, during Fast Money round on Family Feud, when Lois was asked to name a favorite holiday, Stewie answered 9/11.
  • In the episode Back to the Woods, Peter attempts to get revenge on actor James Woods by going on The Late Show with David Letterman and, pretending to be Woods, tells the world that he is starring in an HBO comedy putting a positive light on 9/11, called September 11th 2000-FUN!, about a window washer who has just finished cleaning the last window of the twin towers; when he turns to get off the scaffolding he sees an airplane and screams "Oh come on!" Peter then makes several evil 9/11 remarks to add to his speech.
  • In the straight-to-DVD never-shown-on-television episode Partial Terms of Endearment, a special feature shows a storyboarded scene that was never made part of the episode; in the scene, Peter attempts to kill Lois's unborn fetus by using boxing gloves attached to remote-controlled planes. Two of these glove-planes end up demolishing two sand towers that Stewie is building, causing him to exclaim "This is no accident; we're under attack!", and a third glove-plane is shown to land in a part of the yard labeled 'Shanksville'; all of this is a clear parody of the events of 9/11.
• Fringe (2008–2013) - The show repeatedly references the 9/11 attacks, as well as depicts an alternate reality, in which the show explicitly shows the World Trade Center attack having been averted in the episode "There's More Than One Of Everything," but the Pentagon and White House were attacked instead, as stated in the episode "Jacksonville."
• Homeland (2011–present) - The show centers on the characters of Carrie Mathison (Claire Danes), a bipolar Central Intelligence Agency officer, and Nicholas Brody (Damian Lewis), a homecoming U.S. Marine. Mathison has come to believe that Brody, who was held captive by al-Qaeda as a prisoner of war, was "turned" by the enemy and now supposedly poses a serious threat to the security of the United States. The series' first season in particular plays with the steadily-shifting equilibrium of not-knowing who-is-who and thrillingly depicts the aftermath of 9/11 as a national trauma and the fragile state the nation's collective mind has been left with.
• Law & Order (1990–2010) - 9/11 is frequently referenced from season 12 (2001–2002) to the end of the series. The season 13 episode "The Ring" depicts the murder investigation of a woman who was reported killed in the World Trade Center but is found a year later buried in a vacant lot in Hell's Kitchen. It is later determined that some of her remains were dumped in the rubble of the twin towers to hide the fact that she was killed the night before.
• The Office (U.S. TV series): "Email Surveillance" (2005) - Michael Scott (Steve Carell) initially mistakes the company's tech support employee, Sadiq (Omi Vaidya), for a terrorist as a result of the Post 9/11 atmosphere.
• Rescue Me (2004–2011) - A television series about the professional and personal lives of a group of firefighters in the fictional Ladder 62 / Engine 99 firehouse in New York City, post 9/11. Flashbacks of 9/11 are prominent throughout the series.
• The Sarah Silverman Program (2007–2010) - In the episode "Patriot Tact" (a pun of the Patriot Act), after Sarah is criticized for running over men with her car which she mistakes for Osama bin Laden, she tries to raise awareness for 9/11 by putting on a play where her neighbors Brian and Steve dress up as the towers of the World Trade Center.
• South Park (1997–present) - The Season 5 episode "Osama bin Laden Has Farty Pants", which was the first episode to air after the attacks, is almost entirely based around the attacks and the American Invasion of Afghanistan. September 11 was also referenced in "A Ladder to Heaven", where Alan Jackson's "Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)" and Saddam Hussein are the main references in the show. In Season 10, the episode "Mystery of the Urinal Deuce" takes on 9/11 conspiracy theories.
• Star Trek: Enterprise (2001–05) - In the Season 4 episode "Stormfront, Part 2", images of the World Trade Center Towers burning can be seen in the 'time stream' while Captain Archer and Crewman Daniels are talking about the Temporal Cold War and how history is restoring itself.
• Third Watch (1999–2005) was a series about first responders in New York City. The events of 9/11 dominated much of its 2001-2002 season, which began with an episode entitled "In Their Own Words" which broke the fourth wall and featured real-life first responders discussing 9/11. The first two scripted episodes of the season were also directly tied to the event, with the first set the day before 9/11 and the second some 10 days after.
• Touch (2012–13) was series about a former reporter, Martin Bohm, and his mute 11-year-old son who communicates through numbers. In the pilot episode, Martin is still struggling to cope with the death of his wife, who was killed in the Twin Towers on 9/11. He later learns of a firefighter who tried to save her, who is still struggling with her death as well.
• The West Wing (1999–2006), about a fictional US presidential administration, was one of the first scripted TV series to respond to the attacks with a special standalone (and, according to statements made by the cast introducing it, non-continuity) episode "Isaac and Ishmael" featuring the aftermath of a similar attack. It was written and filmed within two weeks of the real-life attack.
• The Wire (2002–08) -- In the pilot episode of the series, Detective Jimmy McNulty visits a friend of his who is an agent in the FBI, Terrence "Fitz" Fitzhugh, with the intention of seeing if the FBI can assist him in his investigation of the Barksdale drug ring. Fitzhugh, however, informs him that the FBI is ending most of its drug investigations, diverting those resources to anti-terrorist activity in the wake of 9/11.

Theater:

• The Domestic Crusaders (2005) by Wajahat Ali. The play is about a Pakistani-American Muslim family grappling with their own internal trials and tribulations, the changing dynamics of American society and a globalized, post-9/11 world.
• The God of Hell (2004) by Sam Shepard. The play was written in part as a response to the post-9/11 atmosphere.
• The Guys (2001) by Anne Nelson. The play explores the memories and emotions of a surviving fire captain and a writer who helps him write eulogies for his lost comrades.
• The Mercy Seat (2002) by Neil LaBute. The play is about a protagonist who considers faking his death after having coincidentally survived the attacks.
• Recent Tragic Events (2003) by Craig Wright. The play takes place on September 12, 2001, and deals with a blind date between a man and a woman who is trying to reach her sister, who lives in New York.
• Bystander 9/11: A Theatre Piece Concerning the Events of September 11, 2001 (2001) by Meron Langsner. An impressionistic but wholly authentic response to the catastrophe as it unfolded and in the days following. This play is included in The Methuen Drama Anthology of Testimonial Plays.
• Omnium Gatherum (2003) by Theresa Rebeck and Alexandra Gersten-Vassilaros. The play involves a sophisticated dinner party of characters talking about and who perished in the 9/11 attacks.
• Truth Serum Blues (2005) by Ismail Khalidi. The play tells of the story of Kareem a "young Arab-American" whose life is changed by the Post-9/11 atmosphere.
• "United States of Banana" (2011) by Giannina Braschi is a mixed-genre dramatic work conjuring a post-9/11 world in which Hamlet, Zarathustra, and Giannina are on a quest to liberate Segismundo who is trapped in the dungeon of the Statue of Liberty after the fall of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.
• Good Morning Gitmo (2014) by Mishu Hilmy and Eric Simon is a one-act dark comedy. The play takes pace decades into the future, where the warden creates a deranged morning talk show for the staff and detainees stuck on Camp Delta. The play devolves when actual visitors from the mainland arrive.

^ Here are some of the ways American and world culture has displayed 9/11 in the past 15 years. The ones in Bold are ones I have seen/watched/read, etc. ^

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cultural_references_to_the_September_11_attacks

15: 9/11: Closings

From Wikipedia:

"Closings and cancellations following the September 11 attacks"

Many closings and cancellations followed the September 11 attacks, including major landmarks, buildings, restrictions on access to Lower Manhattan, and postponement or cancellation of major sporting and other events. Landmarks were closed primarily because of fears that they may be attacked. At some places, streets leading up to the institutions were also closed. When they reopened, there was heightened security. Many states declared a state of emergency

New York City:

Speaking at a press conference at 11:02am on the morning of the attacks, Mayor Giuliani told New Yorkers: "If you are south of Canal Street, get out. Walk slowly and carefully. If you can’t figure what else to do, just walk north."  The neighborhood was covered in dust and debris, and electrical failures caused traffic light outages. Emergency vehicles were given priority to respond to ongoing fires, building collapses, and expected mass casualties. Over a million workers and residents south of Canal Street evacuated, and police stopped pedestrians from entering lower Manhattan. With subways shut down, vehicle traffic restricted, and tunnels closed, they mainly fled on foot, pouring over bridges and ferries to Brooklyn and New Jersey. On September 12, vehicle traffic was banned south of 14th Street, subway stations south of Canal Street were bypassed, and pedestrians were not permitted below Chambers Street. Vehicle traffic below Canal Street was not allowed until October 13.

Wall Street:

The New York Stock Exchange did not open on September 11 even as CNBC showed futures numbers early in the day. As Wall Street was covered in debris from the World Trade Center and suffered infrastructure damage, it remained closed until September 17.

Transportation:

For at least a full day after the attacks, bridges and tunnels to Manhattan were closed to non-emergency traffic in both directions. Among other things, this interrupted scheduled deliveries of food and other perishables, leading to shortages in restaurants. From September 27, 2001, one-occupant cars were banned from crossing into Lower Manhattan from Midtown on weekday mornings in an effort to relieve some of the crush of traffic in the city (the morning rush hour lasts from 5:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.), caused largely by the increased security measures and closure of major vehicle and transit crossings. 

Subway:

The tracks and station under the WTC were shut down within minutes of the first plane crash. All remaining New York City Subway service was suspended from 10:20am to 12:48pm. Immediately after the attacks and more so after the collapses of the Twin Towers, many trains running in Lower Manhattan lost power and had to be evacuated through the tunnels. Some trains had power but the signals did not, requiring special operating procedures to ensure safety. The IRT Broadway – Seventh Avenue Line, which ran below the World Trade Center between Chambers Street and Rector Street, was the most crippled. Sections of the tunnel as well as Cortlandt Street were badly damaged and had to be rebuilt. Service was immediately suspended south of Chambers Street and then cut back to 14th Street. There was also subsequent flooding on the line south of 34th Street – Penn Station. After the flood was cleaned up, express service was able to resume on September 17 with 1 trains running between Van Cortlandt Park – 242nd Street and 14th Street, making local stops north of and express stops south of 96th Street, while 2 and 3 trains made all stops in Manhattan (but bypassed all stations between Canal Street and Fulton Street until October 1).   The only subway line running between Midtown and Lower Manhattan was the IRT Lexington Avenue Line, which was overcrowded before the attacks and at crush density until the BMT Broadway Line reopened. Wall Street was closed until September 21.

PATH:

The PATH station at World Trade Center was heavily damaged (a train parked in the station was crushed by debris and was removed during the excavation process in January 2002) and all service there was suspended. For several hours, PATH did not run any trains to Manhattan, but was able to restore service on the midtown line by the afternoon. Exchange Place was unusable since the switch configuration at the time required all trains to continue to World Trade Center. As a result, PATH ran a modified service: Hoboken-Journal Square, Hoboken-33rd Street, and Newark-33rd Street. Exchange Place reopened with modifications on June 29, 2003; a temporary station replacing World Trade Center opened on November 23.

Ferries:

Liberty Water Taxi and NY Waterway had a ferry terminal at the World Financial Center. As the area around the terminal was in the restricted zone, NY Waterway suspended service to the terminal with alternate service going to Midtown and Wall Street and Liberty Water Taxi service was suspended. Free ad-hoc ferry service to New Jersey, Brooklyn, and Queens began by evening, with about half a million evacuees transported by Circle Line Tours, NY Waterway, privately owned dining boats, tug boats, and at least one fire boat.

Buses:

MTA buses were temporarily suspended south of Canal Street, and MTA and NJ Transit buses were re-routed to serve passengers arriving in Brooklyn and New Jersey by walking and taking ferries out of Manhattan. The Port Authority Bus Terminal was closed until September 13. Amtrak suspended all of its rail service nationwide until 6pm. Greyhound Bus Lines cancelled its bus service in the Northeast, but was running normally by September 13

US Air Space:

The entire airspaces of the United States and Canada were closed ("ground stop") except for military, police, and medical flights. (The unprecedented implementation of Security Control of Air Traffic and Air Navigation Aids (SCATANA) was the first unplanned closure in the U.S.; military exercises known as Operation Skyshield had temporarily closed the airspace in the early 1960s.) Domestic planes were diverted to the nearest available airport. All non-military flights needed specific approval from President Bush and FAA There were only a few dozen private aircraft which received the approval in that time period. United Airlines cancelled all flights worldwide temporarily. Grounded passengers and planes were searched for security threats. Amtrak was closed until 6pm on September 11, but by September 13 it had increased capacity 30% to deal with an influx of stranded plane passengers. Many incoming international flights were diverted to Atlantic Canada to avoid proximity to potential targets in the U.S. and large cities in Canada. Some of the international flights that departed from South America were diverted to Mexico as well, however, its airspace was not shut down. On Thursday night, the New York area airports (JFK, LaGuardia, and Newark) were closed again and reopened the next morning. The only traffic from LaGuardia during the closure was a single C-9C government VIP jet, departing at approximately 5:15 p.m. on the 12th. Civilian air traffic was allowed to resume on September 13, 2001, with stricter airport security checks, disallowing for example the box cutting knives that were used by the hijackers. (Reinforcement of cockpit doors began in October 2001, and was required for larger airlines by 2003.⁾ First, the stranded planes were allowed to go to their intended destinations, then limited service resumed. The backlog of delayed passengers took several days to clear.

Businesses:

Many businesses across the United States closed after the intentional nature of the events became clear, and many national landmarks and financial district skyscrapers were evacuated out of fear of further attacks.

United States:

• Headquarters of the United Nations in New York City.
• Empire State Building in New York City was evacuated several times on September 11 and after due to false reports of potential threats.
• Chrysler Building in New York City
• The Washington Monument in Washington, D.C.
• The Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, and ferries to both in New York City.
• All state capitols and many government buildings surrounding the capitols.
• Many landmarks in the United States, including the Space Needle and Columbia Center in Seattle, Washington, and the Mall of America outside of Minneapolis, Minnesota.
• All federal buildings in Washington, D.C., including the White House, the United States Capitol, the United States Supreme Court Building, and the Blair House. Across the country approximately one million federal workers were sent home.
• D.C. Department of Motor Vehicles (although all other D.C. government offices remained open)
• The United States Patent and Trademark Office
• NASA, including all field centers and the agency's headquarters in Washington
• Resorts and vacation spots including:
  • Disneyland and Knotts Berry Farm (only on September 11)
  • Walt Disney World (only on September 11)
  • Universal Studios Florida
  • Universal Studios Hollywood
  • SeaWorld
• All television and movie studios in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California.
• All Westfield shopping centers, malls and shoppingtowns nationwide, as they owned the underground shopping mall at the World Trade Center.
• Most skyscrapers in New York City, Chicago and Philadelphia
• Sears Tower in Chicago
• John Hancock Tower in Boston.
• Several skyscrapers in downtown Houston
• Transamerica Pyramid in San Francisco
• U.S. Steel Tower in Pittsburgh
• Renaissance Center in Detroit
• IDS Tower in Minneapolis
• Bank of America and Wachovia headquarters towers in Downtown Charlotte
• The World Trade Center in St. Paul
• OneAmerica Tower in Indianapolis
• Government Plaza, Binghamton in Binghamton, New York
• HSBC Tower in Buffalo, New York
• AXA Towers in Syracuse, New York
• Sunset Bronson Studios in Hollywood evacuated in the wake of the attacks for a few hours.
• AOL Headquarters in Dulles, Virginia

International:

• Toronto: CN Tower, Toronto-Dominion Centre, Toronto Stock Exchange
• Ottawa: Parliament Hill
• London: Canary Wharf, Lloyd's of London, Stock Exchange Tower
• Kuala Lumpur: Petronas Towers

^ One way to remember how confusing 9/11 was (especially for those that weren't alive back then) is to see all the different places (government and private) that were closed around the country and the world. ^

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Closings_and_cancellations_following_the_September_11_attacks

Fall TV

From USA Today:

"Fall TV: When do your favorite shows premiere?"

September is here, which means fall TV is only a few weeks away. Check our calendar to see when your favorite shows — and what the networks hope will be your new favorites — roll out.

All times ET/PT;  Bold = Series premiere

ABC:

Monday, Sept. 12:Dancing With the Stars, 8:00
Tuesday, Sept. 20:Dancing With the Stars Results Show, 8:00; Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., 10:00
Wednesday, Sept. 21:The Goldbergs, 8:00; Speechless, 8:30; Modern Family, 9:00; Black-ish, 9:30; Designated Survivor, 10:00
Thursday, Sept. 22:Grey's Anatomy, 8:00; Notorious, 9:00; How to Get Away With Murder, 10:00
Friday, Sept. 23:Last Man Standing, 8:00; Dr. Ken, 8:30; Shark Tank, 9:00
Sunday, Sept. 25:Once Upon a Time, 8:00; Secrets and Lies, 9:00; Quantico, 10:00
Sunday, Oct. 2:America's Funniest Home Videos, 7:00
Monday, Oct. 3:Conviction, 10:00
Tuesday, Oct. 11:The Middle, 8:00; American Housewife, 8:30; Fresh Off the Boat, 9:00; The Real O'Neals, 9:30

CBS:

Thursday, Sept. 15: Thursday Night Football, 8:25 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 18: Case Closed Pt. 1, 8:30 p.m.
Monday, Sept. 19: The Big Bang Theory, 8:00 (moves to 8:00 on Oct. 27); Kevin Can Wait, 8:30 (moves to 8:00 on Oct. 24)
Tuesday, Sept. 20: NCIS, 8:00; Bull, 9:00; NCIS: New Orleans, 10:00
Wednesday, Sept. 21:Survivor, 8:00
Friday, Sept. 23: MacGyver, 8:00; Hawaii Five-0, 9:00; Blue Bloods, 10:00
Saturday, Sept. 24: 48 Hours, 10:00
Sunday, Sept. 25: 60 Minutes, 7:30
Wednesday, Sept. 28: Criminal Minds, 9:00; Code Black, 10:00
Sunday, Oct. 2: NCIS: Los Angeles, 8:00; Madam Secretary, 9:00; Elementary, 10:00
Monday, Oct. 3: Scorpion, 9:00 (2-hour season premiere; moves to regular 10:00 slot on Oct. 10)
Monday, Oct. 10: 2 Broke Girls, 9:00
Monday, Oct. 17: The Odd Couple, 9:30
Monday, Oct. 24: Man With a Plan, 8:30
Thursday, Oct. 27: The Great Indoors, 8:30; Mom, 9:00; Life in Pieces, 9:30; Pure Genius, 10:00

Fox:

Sunday, Sept. 11: Son of Zorn, 8:00

Monday, Sept. 19: Gotham, 8:00; Lucifer, 9:00
Tuesday, Sept. 20:Brooklyn Nine-Nine, 8:00; New Girl, 8:30; Scream Queens, 9:00
Wednesday, Sept. 14:Lethal Weapon, 8:00; Empire, 9:00
Thursday, Sept. 22: Rosewood, 8:00; Pitch, 9:00
Friday, Sept. 23: Hell's Kitchen, 8:00; The Exorcist, 9:00
Sunday, Sept. 25:Bob's Burgers, 7:30; The Simpsons, 8:00; Son of Zorn, 8:30 (timeslot premiere); Family Guy, 9:00; The Last Man on Earth, 9:30

NBC:

Thursday, Sept. 8:Thursday Night Football, 8:30 ET/5:30 PT
Sunday, Sept. 11: Sunday Night Football, 8:30 ET/5:30 PT
Wednesday, Sept. 14: Blindspot, 10:00 (moves to 8:00 on Sept. 21)
Monday, Sept. 19: The Voice, 8:00, The Good Place, 10:00 (moves to 8:30 on Sept. 22)
Tuesday, Sept. 20: This Is Us, 10:00 (moves to 9:00 on Oct. 11)
Wednesday, Sept. 21: Law & Order: SVU, 9:00; Chicago PD, 10:00
Thursday, Sept. 22:  Superstore, 8:00; Chicago Med, 9:00; The Blacklist, 10:00
Friday, Sept. 23: Caught on Camera With Nick Cannon, 8:00; Dateline NBC, 9:00
Monday, Oct. 3: Timeless, 10:00
Tuesday, Oct. 11:Chicago Fire, 10:00

CW:

Tuesday, Oct. 4: The Flash, 8:00; No Tomorrow, 9:00
Wednesday, Oct. 5: Arrow, 8:00; Frequency, 9:00
Monday, Oct. 10: Supergirl, 8:00 (network premiere)
Thursday, Oct. 13: DC's Legends of Tomorrow, 8:00; Supernatural, 9:00
Monday, Oct. 17: Jane the Virgin, 9:00
Friday, Oct. 21: The Vampire Diaries, 8:00; Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, 9:00

^ Going into the busy Fall line-up. I'm glad I can DVR 7 shows at a time. ^

http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/tv/2016/06/21/fall-tv-schedule/86188434/

Great Fire

From the BBC:
"London 'alight' for Great Fire retelling"

A giant wooden replica of 17th century London has been set ablaze on the River Thames in a retelling of the Great Fire of London 350 years ago.  Crowds gathered on the banks of the Thames to watch the 120-metre long model go up in flames.    The inferno in 1666 raged for four days, destroying most of the city, which then was largely of wood.  It paved the way for large-scale reconstruction including the building of today's St Paul's Cathedral. More than 13,000 homes, businesses and structures, including the old St Paul's, were destroyed.  Following the fire, stone started being used in the capital as a building material and an organised fire service and insurance industry were established.   The burning of the replica of London took place during a festival held to commemorate the Great Fire. London's Burning, which was held from 30 August to 4 September, featured a series of art installations, performances, talks and tours and was organised by the company Artichoke.  Helen Marriage, director of Artichoke, said: "I feel so relieved that it actually went off, because obviously when you do a live event you never know."  Tim Marlow, the artistic director of the Royal Academy of Arts, said it was a unique event. He said: "I've seen a shed blown up in the name of art, I've seen fireworks, I've seen artists bury themselves, I've seen the trace of an artist shooting himself in the hand or nailing himself to a car, but actually I've never seen anyone collaborate with so many people in such an extraordinary and exciting way, to make a commemorative replica of a skyline 350 years ago and then set fire to it.   "I mean this is spectacle and then some."

^ This is an interesting and cool way to remember the past. ^


http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-37272667

Labor/Labour Day!

15: 9/11 Education

From the Stars And Stripes:

"As 15th anniversary of 9/11 approaches, teachers now ask: 'Where were your parents?'"

The first time social studies teacher Laura Webb taught a lesson on Sept. 11, she asked her students: "How do you feel?" "Where were you?" she asked. "What were you doing? Do you know anyone who joined the military because of this?" That was in 2002, on the first anniversary of the worst terrorist attack in U.S. history. This week, for the first time, she will teach the event to a classroom of Career Magnet Academy students who weren't alive when the attack happened. This year marks the 15th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. "Now, my kids were all born in 2002," Webb said. "They've seen it, but briefly. I can't say, 'Where were you?' because they weren't thought of yet. "I have to elaborate on (how) this is an actual, horrific event, because they tend to be a little hardened from things they see." Instead of asking where students were at the time, she asks where their parents were. She shows them video from ground zero and connects the attack to other events in history, such as the Dec. 7, 1941, bombing of Pearl Harbor. Unlike those 20th-century events, where students might examine yellowed newspaper clippings or early war photography, the terrorist attacks and the aftermath were captured on live television as they happened. Anyone can watch YouTube videos of the second plane striking the South Tower of the World Trade Center. Students can see video of the first, and then the second, tower collapse. Images shot on the ground show people running from the wall of debris after the collapse. "There was this one video I had seen — it wasn't too long ago, I was still a teenager or a pre-teen — and it was from the ground," said Jamari Smith, 15, a sophomore at Career Magnet, which is based at Pellissippi State Community College's Strawberry Plains campus. "It was a video, a man holding (the camera) and he started running and you could see the debris and the smoke and stuff just going everywhere and people going into the smoke to help others. That still sticks with me." Classmate Jake Willson, 14, also a sophomore, said he was 10 or 11 years old the first time he watched the video in class at Carter Elementary School. "Some of the footage I saw was planes flying into the Twin Towers, then we listened to phone calls that were made by the people in the plane, by people on the ground," Jake said. "We listened to their experience on the plane and on the ground of (how) they're going to lose their family members. It's just really sad and uncomfortable at the time, at my young age." In the early grades, the lesson plans on Sept. 11 center around broad themes of heroism and helping people, said Judy Newgent, K-12 social studies specialist, who coordinates curriculum for the district. "In kindergarten, I would not go into (details), but we talk about firefighters and police officers and heroes, and our teachers might have our students ... by second grade ... write a thank-you card and deliver to local police and firefighters," Newgent said. By fourth grade, teachers often talk about volunteering and character traits. In high school, teaching about Sept. 11 and the aftermath, including the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, are part of required state teaching standards. Mike Wyatt, who teaches U.S. history to eighth-grade students at Carter Middle School, said most of his students know little about the details of the attack before reaching his classroom. "They may have been taught about it through the years, but not in the perspective of American history," Wyatt said. "They know very little about it. When they see the real-time video of the planes going into the building and the animation they have on the internet, they sit there going, 'Oh my gosh.' " Last year, Carter Middle took a group of about 100 students to visit the National Sept. 11 Memorial Museum in New York City for the first time. Students spent more than two hours in the museum, poring over every detail. Not only are his students now born after 2001, but the memories of Sept. 11 are fading even from teachers. Wyatt notes one of his colleagues, a second-year teacher at Carter, was in fourth grade when the attack took place.

^  I can't  believe it's been 15 years. Not only does that make me feel old, but so does the fact that so many young people aren't told about and don't understand what really happened on 9-11 or how it still affects the country and the world today. Of course I remember exactly where I was when I saw it happen along with how it felt and the changes that occurred afterwards. Schools need to spend more time on teaching about the attacks since it is both a  part of our history as well as our current events (Muslim extremist terrorism, Iraq and Afghanistan.) ^

http://www.stripes.com/news/us/as-15th-anniversary-of-9-11-approaches-teachers-now-ask-where-were-your-parents-1.427214

Blind Notes

From the BBC:
"Australia launches tactile banknote to aid blind people"

Australia's newest banknote goes into circulation on 1 September with a tiny new feature designed to help people who are blind or visually impaired. The A$5 note has two raised dots on both of its long sides, allowing those who cannot see to identify its value, ABC reports. It's the country's first note to feature the tactile markings, and is being hailed as a major breakthrough. "For the first time in the history of Australian currency it will be possible for someone who is blind or vision-impaired to just pick up a note and know instantly what it is," says Bruce Maguire from the non-profit Vision Australia organisation. He says the change will help 360,000 Australians. Currently, blind or visually impaired people have to rely on others to identify the note and give the correct change. Some use a measuring instrument - which ABC News notes can be fiddly in a busy shop - or smart phone apps.  The new design follows a petition started in 2012 by teenager Connor McLeod, who is blind from birth, and his mother. It gathered more than 57,000 signatures and is being credited with persuading the Reserve Bank of Australia to make the change. "Now when I grow up, I won't have to rely on trusting that people have always given me the right change," Connor writes on the news.com.au website. "I can feel the markings on the bank notes and tell them if they've given me the wrong change and also think to myself: I did that."  Currencies vary widely in their accessibility features. Some simply have different sizes for each denomination, but others - including the euro - use intaglio printing creating relief marks that can be felt. From next year, the Bank of England will include raised dots on new £10 and £20 notes.

^ It seems so simple (to include these raised dots) but not many countries do it. I would like to see every domination of every country's currency include these as well as other ways to make them accessible to all of their citizens. ^

http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-news-from-elsewhere-37231007

Rome's Pilgrims

From USA Today:

"Pilgrims trek to Rome for Mother Teresa's canonization"

When a massive crowd converges on St. Peter's Square this Sunday to watch Pope Francis make Mother Teresa a Catholic saint, Janet and Steve Ray will have perch with a bird’s-eye view: the roof of the Vatican. The Rays will lead a group of 44 American pilgrims, a fraction of the thousands of Americans traveling to Italy, India and the Holy Land this year to commemorate the life of Mother Teresa, the modern-day "saint of the gutter." Known for half a century for her unconditional ‎love ‎for the poor and marginalized, Mother Teresa died in 1997 and was put on the fast track to sainthood by Pope John Paul II. On Sunday, she becomes a saint – less than 20 years after her death. Speaking by phone on Wednesday from Rome where he was awaiting his group, Steve Ray said he’d just finished a similar Teresa-themed pilgrimage to India with another group. “Everyone in India loves her, and she’s not even Indian — she’s Albanian,” he said. “She transcends national boundaries and religious boundaries.” Francis announced last spring that Mother Teresa would become a saint on Sept. 4.

Born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu‎ of Albanian parents in 1910, in Skopje, in what ‎is now ‎Macedonia, she joined the Loreto order of nuns in 1928. In 1946, while traveling by train from Kolkata (then called Calcutta) to Darjeeling, she was inspired to found the India-based Missionaries of Charity order. It has since opened more than 130 houses worldwide to provide comfort and care for the needy. ‎She earned several international honors, including ‎the ‎Nobel Peace Prize in 1979. At the time of her death at age 87, Missionaries of Charity supported 4,000 nuns and ran hundreds of orphanages, soup kitchens, homeless shelters and clinics around the world. John Paul II beatified Mother Teresa in 2003 after a first miracle was attributed to her: answering an Indian woman's prayers to cure her brain tumor, according to the Vatican. Beatification requires one miracle, described by the Catholic Church as recognition of a person's entrance into heaven. Sainthood requires two. Francis officially cleared Mother Teresa for the honor last December, recognizing her "miraculous healing" of a Brazilian man with multiple brain abscesses.  Without dispensation from the pope, five years must pass from the time of the candidate’s death before an examination for sainthood can begin. Once deemed worthy by the Vatican, the candidate is called a “Servant of God.” In Mother Teresa's case, the examination began almost immediately after her death. Francis, who has made outreach to the poor a priority for the Catholic Church, met Mother Teresa more than two decades ago, while he was Archbishop Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Argentina. He is known for admiring her ministry as well as her fearlessness in speaking out on behalf of society’s outcasts.

^ This is a really special honor for a really special woman. ^

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2016/09/01/pilgrims-trek-rome-mother-teresas-canonization/89669356/

Month's Temp

It would be nice if this comes true. I really like the Fall (especially here in northern New England.) The warmer weather would let me enjoy the: apple cider, maple syrup, apple cider doughnuts and foliage even more.

12 Years: Beslan

From the MT:
"Russian Police Arrest Mothers, Widows and Journalists Attending Beslan Memorial Event"

Russian police have detained grieving relatives at an event commemorating the Beslan school massacre after they criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Novaya Gazeta newspaper reported Thursday. Five women who lost relatives in the tragedy were detained after they removed their jackets to reveal t-shirts with the slogan “Putin - Butcher of Beslan,” the newspaper reported. Officers allegedly removed the women from the crowd and blocked them in a corner of the room while an official delegation, including the head of South Ossetia, Vyacheslav Bitarov, entered the hall. The five women were subsequently told that they were disturbing a public meeting, and taken to a police station..  Two journalists reporting on the event were also detained, with officers citing irregularities with their passports and documentation.  The 2004 Beslan school massacre in the Russian Republic of North Ossetia saw 186 children killed after terrorists seized a school building. The three-day stand-off only ended when Russian troops stormed the school, with the overall death toll reaching 334. Many have since criticized Russian authorities’ and President Vladimir Putin’s handling of the situation, with activists demanding that Russian troops’ use of heavy fire during the storming of the school, including using flame-throwers and tank fire, be further investigated, Novaya Gazeta reported.

^ I was living in Russia when this attack occurred. I remember it being the first time I saw just how censored the Russian media was (of course I didn't realize it until a few months later when I left Russia and learned the whole truth about the massacre.) There is no such things as freedom of speech in Russia so it's not that surprising that the mothers were arrested for criticizing Putin. He has created such a cult of personality for himself (that rivals only Stalin) that to say or wear anything that goes against his "vision" is an unofficial crime.  It is sad that not much has changed within Russia in the 12 years since the attack. ^

https://themoscowtimes.com/news/russian-police-arrest-mothers-of-terror-victims-at-memorial-event-55182

75th: Star

From the DW:

"The star of ostracism and death"

Seventy-five years ago, the Nazis forced Jews in Germany to wear a yellow badge, which meant they were excluded from society. The identification symbol was a precursor to the Holocaust.  The Star of David did not originally denote stigmatization, nor was the six-pointed star an exclusively Jewish symbol in the past. Nonetheless, the star has been associated with the Holocaust since the Nazi era in Germany. After the Nuremberg Race Laws were passed in 1935, Jews faced increasing social exclusion. The laws had meticulously defined who was Jewish, of mixed race or deemed as Jewish according to German laws. Years later, most of these people – not all of them – had to wear a yellow badge. Even before the war, Reinhard Heydrich, chief of the Reich Main Security Office, had thought about how one could make Germany's enemies within visible to the world. Shortly after the Kristallnacht in November 1938 when synagogues were set on fire and Jewish businesses were destroyed, Heydrich wrote, "Whoever is Jewish according to the Nuremberg Laws will have to wear a certain insignia." It made it easier for the Nazis to find Jews and deport them to concentration camps – and not only in Germany. Right at the beginning of the war in September 1939, Jews living in occupied Poland were forced to wear a white armband with a blue star on it. As more and more countries were occupied by Germany, the Nazis imposed mandatory ID badges on the Jewish population. Before the war, the regime was hesitant about labeling. In 1937, even Hitler revealed his calculated reluctance when he told functionaries of the NSDAP, the Nazi party: "The problem with the identification has been considered continually for two or three years and it will be implemented.... [T]hen you have to have the right sense to know, 'What can I still do, what can I not do?'" He still presented himself as willing to compromise as he apparently feared fierce reactions from abroad. But all inhibitions were abandoned at the beginning of the war. In 1941, the Reich Minister of Propaganda, Josef Goebbels, reminded Hitler about identification for the Jews again and he was given permission in mid-August. On September 1, 1941, the police regulation came into effect. All the specifications were worked out. "The palm-sized, black, six-pointed star made of yellow fabric with the black inscription 'Jew' is to be placed visibly on the left chest side of the garment." This regulation, based on the Nuremburg Laws, was applied to all Jewish citizens after six years of age. From this point on, it was forbidden for Jews to appear in public without a yellow badge. Anyone who tried to hide the star - with a scarf, for example - was harshly penalized by the Gestapo, who monitored the visibility of the badge. The victims despaired. Author and specialist for Romance languages, Victor Klemperer, came from a Jewish family but he had already converted to Protestantism before World War I. In 1935, Klemperer lost his professorship in Dresden and was forced to wear a star. In his diaries, which later became famous, he wrote, "Yesterday, when Eva sewed on the Jewish star, I was taken by an insane fit of desperation. Eva was also at her wits' end. I feel shattered, I cannot find composure." During 2013 at a commemorative ceremony in German parliament, Holocaust survivor Inge Deutschkron recalled, "The majority of Germans I met in the streets looked away when they noticed the star, or they looked right through me, the marked one, or just turned around…[W]ithout doubt, the star created a discriminatory isolation for us." Jews were isolated, discriminated against and controlled. The identification measure was only a precursor to what the Nazis called the "final solution" of the Jewish question, meaning extermination. Apart from wearing a badge, Jews were not allowed to leave their residential district without police permission. The perfect framework had been put in place for the Holocaust. It was no coincidence that deportations to the extermination camps began only a month later, in October 1941. Victor Klemperer and Inge survived, but millions of others did not.

^ It is 75 years since the Nazis forced the Jews in Germany to wear the "Star of David." As the article states the Jews in German-occupied Poland had to wear a white armband with the Jewish Star on it in 1939. The Nazis knew that the majority of Jews in Germany and Western Europe were more assimilated than those in Eastern Europe and that it would be harder for Germans to discriminate against people when they couldn't tell right away who was Jewish and who wasn't. The fact that the majority of Germans did little to show any support or sympathy to the Jews forced to wear the Star in September 1941 shows how deep Nazi ideology was in regular German society. Of course if you ask any German who was an adult during the War they "knew and saw nothing" like the "See no evil, Speak no evil, Hear no evil" saying. I remember when I lived in Germany and it was the 50th anniversary of the end of World War 2. Of course there was a lot written and spoken  about the anniversary in all the media catered to the American soldiers and their families - - it was because of that War that we had to be in Germany in the first place. I saw little mentioned in the German media about it and I lived on the German economy and not US housing so was more exposed than most Americans. I did notice that there were more flowers placed on the memorial to the German dead in the cemetary near my house. My friends (Americans) and I would go in right after someone placed the flowers on the monument and take them and put them on the closest grave. We didn't like the idea of people honoring anything to do with Nazi Germany. There is another story I remember from my time living in Germany (although I don't remember what anniversary, if any, it was for) but there was a man walking around with a very large yellow "Star of David" on his coat. I was on a German tram going into the center of the city and thought it was a pretty cool and bold statement to make. All of the Germans on the tram as well as those walking in the square near the man "looked" away  and said nothing. It is the German go-to even for those that weren't alive and had nothing to do with the War. The Nazis tried to murder all the Jews and the Germans have tried ever since to forget their role in it, but its anniversaries like today's that bring the horror back. ^

http://www.dw.com/en/the-star-of-ostracism-and-death/a-19509598

September!