Threads 1.9

Threads 1.9 09/11/08

Threads Contents Editorial -A Note From My Desk Page One -Remembering 09/11/01 Page Two -09/11/01 Continued -Three Quick and Easy Meals Page Three -Of Human Bondage Page Four -The World’s Largest Science Experiments -In The News

A NOTE FROM MY DESK:

T

he good news is that with this issue, I’ll be overcoming my “third issue” slump I have always run into with past publications. Although I’ve been way behind schedule with most of the stories, Threads 1.9 is slowly coming together. I will be getting quite busy in the next few weeks, with my moving and all so the actual release date of issues 2.0 and 2.1 are really up in the air at this point. I am diligently trying to improve content and quality, even when my time is severely limited. I also want to expand both page length and distribution. I have been drawing up many plans for Threads, we’ll see how they all pan out I guess.

1.9

“Love of mine someday you will die”

Remembering 09/11/01 "We have some planes," began the voice over the radio that was heard at the control tower. "Just stay quiet, and you'll be okay. We are returning to the airport." The transmission came from American Airlines Flight 11, at 8:24am on September 11, 2001. These words would be the initial clue that The Front Page of The New York Times on 09/12/01 something bad was going to happen - what exactly no one really knew. At this point what was known is that a plane had been hijacked. Although this was a serious situation, there were procedures set up for hijackings. Unbeknownst to authorities, there were four planes hijacked and the hijackers did not have any intentions of negotiating - or landing. By the time fighter jets had been scrambled two of the hijacked planes had crashed into the World Trade Center towers in New York City. The "some planes" the hijacker in American Airlines Flight 11 was referring to included United Airlines Flight 175 (UA 175) that would soon crash into the World Trade Center south tower, seventeen minutes after American Airlines Flight 11 (AA 11) would crash into the north tower. Two other planes, American Airlines Flight 77 (AA 77) and United Airlines Flight 93 (UA 93) would share similar fates, AA 77 would crash into the Pentagon while passengers would deter the destination of UA 93 causing it to crash into a field in Pennsylvania. There were a total of 19 hijackers who would carry out these suicide attacks. These attacks would leave 2,974 American citizens dead, a majority of them in the World Trade Center towers. When the planes crashed into the towers the jet fuel poured through the buildings. Upon impact the planes burst into fire balls, the building themselves were constructed out of low grade steel, and the combination of the fire and the low grade steel caused the building to lose its integrity. Within minutes of each collision, both of the towers crumbled, like a house of cards, to the ground

Threads 1.9 09/11/08 The smoke and debris from the buildings engulfed most of New York City. A wall of dust raced through the streets as people ran for their lives. Many pedestrians were covered in the dirt. Papers rained down from the high rises into the streets. The plane that crashed into the Pentagon left a gaping hole in the side of the building. The impact killed 125 people in the building and 59 people (excluding the hijackers) on the airplane. Today is the seven year anniversary of the now infamous "9/11 terror attacks" and recent reports suggest that after all this time, the United States is not prepared to handle certain types of terrorism. The report produced by the Partnership for a Secure America says the biggest threat is bioterrorism.

Three Quick and Easy Meals

The bipartisan panel of experts on terrorism (comprised up of both Republicans and Democrats, some of which helped write The 9/11 Commission Report.) released the report yesterday giving a grade on all the possible forms of terrorism and the strength of the United States preventive measures towards each form. One of the largest weaknesses the report card noted time and time again was the lack of, or poor quality of communication between the different organizations that have been set up to prevent terrorism.

In order to combat the lack of communication among public and private organizations, the Commission Report suggests "…the establishment of a National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), built on the foundation of the existing Terrorist Threat Integration Center (TTIC). Breaking the older mold of national government organization, this NCTC should be a center for joint operational planning and joint intelligence, staffed by personnel from the various agencies. The head of the NCTC should have authority to evaluate the performance of the people assigned to the Center." And "the current position of Director of Central Intelligence should be replaced by a National Intelligence Director with two main areas of responsibility: (1) to oversee national intelligence centers on specific subjects of interest across the U.S. government and (2) to manage the national intelligence program and oversee the agencies that contribute to it." Even before the planes struck the buildings, communication was an issue. The FAA Air Traffic Control Centers were having issues getting the information out to NEADS (Northeast Air Defense Sector) and NORAD due to chain of command procedures.

The higher scores were given to the United States ability to detect different security threats, from weapons materials, chemical threats, global preparedness and response to threats and denying access to bioterrorism components.

The Partnership for a Secure America sees this lack of an organized, regulated flow of information from one organization to another as a vulnerability that the United States should not have. Until these problems are addressed and taken care of, another attack similar to September 11, 2001 or another terror threat of the same magnitude remains possible.

The overall grade the US received was a C. One of the biggest critiques was the lack of appointing a coordinator with the authority to direct counter-proliferation plans, programs and funding in the case of a terror situation or other crisis - as suggested in The 9/11 Commission Report.

Many memorials took place in honor of the anniversary. Politics were set aside today while Presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama attended a memorial at the location of the World Trade Center attacks, known as Ground Zero, in New York City.

Easy Bread Sticks: Ingredients: 2C. Bisquick Baking Mix 1\3C. Butter or Margarine 1\2C. Cold water

Directions: Pre heat oven to 425 degrees Melt butter in baking pan (13x9) Mix together baking mix and water Mix until it forms a soft dough. Smooth dough onto floured surface and knead. Roll dough into rectangle. Cut rectangle in half. Then cut each half into 12 even strips. Dip each strip into melted butter in baking pan being sure they are fully coated. Arrange strips in same pan and bake 12 to 15 mins or until golden brown. Yields 24 bread sticks. Mexican Pizza Ingredients: 2 lb ground turkey or ground chicken

1 1.25 oz package low sodium taco seasoning 1 shredded lb mexican style cheese 2 package pizza dough mix

Directions: 1. Cook ground meat until all pinkness is gone. Drain and squeeze out all of the excess juice. (Too much juice makes a mushy pizza.) Then return meat to pan and add taco mix and a little more water than directed per the mix packet. Let this simmer for 10 minutes. Make sure that the meat is evenly coated with the seasonings. 2. Prepare pizza dough according to package directions and shape into a large rectangle on a baking sheet. Spread meat mixture onto dough and top with Mexican cheese. 3. Bake at 425° for about 15 minutes. Remove pizza from oven and slide the pizza out of the pan and place directly on oven rack for the last 5 minutes. Watch that the cheese doesn't overcook.

Rocky Road Frozen Sandwiches: Ingredients: 32 graham cracker squares 1-1/2 cups canned chocolate fudge frosting 1 cup miniature marshmallows 1 cup marshmallow creme 1/2 gallon chocolate ice cream, softened

Directions: Place graham crackers on a work surface. In a small bowl, mix frosting and miniature marshmallows together gently. Spread half of graham crackers with this frosting mixture. Stir marshmallow creme, then spread other half of graham crackers with marshmallow creme. Make sandwiches with the two varieties of coated graham crackers and the chocolate ice cream, using about 1/2 cup of ice cream for each sandwich. Press together gently, then wrap individually in plastic wrap and freeze until firm. 16 sandwiches.

Threads 1.9 09/11/08 OPINION

OF HUMAN BONDAGE By: Chadwick Heller A person collects a lot of stuff over the course of twentyfour years. Much of that stuff carries with it a lot of memories. A panoramic of my room reveals so much, a lot of it the results of old ambitions turned stale, other stuff, the remnants of old endeavors and past experiences. Near the cats litter box sit two guitars from back when I thought I could be a punk rocker, nearby is a stack of potholders that I would weave in my spare time. Near my bed is a table that has a stack of Punk Planet, Mother Jones and Harpers magazines sitting on it, beneath it is a box that is full of past writings. My dresser is cluttered with folders holding past bill statements, early essays and other important documents. In the far corner of my room are two book shelves overflowing with novels and other literature. In this corner are the majority of my memories. My eyes gaze over the numerous spines on the book shelf, Desolation Angels, the first Jack Kerouac book I read when I was a freshmen at Cornerstone University, nearby sits Esio Trot, a favorite book from childhood. My eyes make a scan over to the next book shelf and rest on the stack of Jose Saramago novels I have. The Stone Raft and Baltazar and Blimunda jump out to me, not to mention Blindness and Seeing. I recall the reading binge I went on when I discovered Saramago and how similar it was to my Kerouac binge I went on earlier in my life. Book by book memories come rushing back, like the emotional rollercoaster I was going through during the time I was reading Hairstyles of the Damned or the stress I was dealing with when I was reading Don Quixote. My eyes jump back to the other bookshelf. Down near the bottom, sandwiched between two large volumes of essays sits a book that I have tried (with difficulty) to forget. Every time I see the teal spine a small shiver goes through my body. Keeping Secrets is the title of the small memoir, given to me by the student director at Cornerstone University. "This book was helpful for me, I think you'll find it helpful too" She said as she handed the book to me. I've never wanted to tear the pages out of a book more than that day. "Read this and write me a short essay about what it means to you" she said as I sat, sweating in the chair across from her desk. "You'll have to set up a meeting with a counselor if you want to stay in school." she said as I left her office with the dreadful book in my hands. My eyes continue across the spines of the books, Mein Kampf and The Hitchhikers

Guide to the Galaxy sweep across my line of vision. What strange company my Hitchhikers book keeps, I thought when I noticed that The Communist Manifesto had also made a home nearby. Three booming knocks sounded on my dorm room door. “We're here to do the room inspection" the lady screamed as my roommate opened the door. Keeping Secrets lay on my desk as three campus security officers rifled through all my belongings. "You have any drugs in here?" the one in charge of the search asked me. "No you stupid cunt, get the fuck out you stupid whore!" I responded. I felt so violated. They pulled out all my dresser drawers, they pulled my mattress off my bed, they went through my backpack finding a small bag of pills. That familiar shiver went down my spine as I thought of that small teal book. Just over 100 pages long, but the memories attached to it weighed on me like a ton of bricks. I pulled the book out from its home, where it has sat for almost three years now unmoved. The cover still angered me. "You know why we're here, you nearly OD'd a week ago - we need to make sure you won't do it again, we'll have to go out to your car now." Said the lady. "My car isn't here, I'm getting the brakes fixed." I said, slightly relieved that the search was nearly over. My roommate stood in the corner looking on, he must have thought he was sharing a room with a demon. The words that I said to the officers doing the search were downright evil. I was throwing as many verbal grenades at that lady that I could think of. I don't remember much of what the actual memoir is about, I don't even make it an effort to remember the author. For all I care, all the pages could be blank, but that book serves as one permanent reminder of perhaps one of the most turbulent times in my life. The weeks with that stupid counselor, the times spent talking to the student director - those searches, my total loss of any desire to live. A lot of stuff has accumulated in this old room of mine, some of it only "visible" to me. Twenty-four years of things, of memories, of good days and of bad days all dwell in this room - a room with teal walls, the same color of the book that I've grown to fear. It's time now to move on and accumulate all these things elsewhere.

Threads 1.9 09/11/08

The World’s Largest Scientific Experiment Yesterday one of the world’s largest experiments was conducted in Switzerland. In a device known as the LHC or the Large Hadron Collider, protons were accelerated to nearly the speed of light in a 27 kilometer tube using high powered magnets in order to get the particles to collide head-on. This experiment was conducted to hopefully reproduce the Big Bang and potentially produce new particles that could change nature’s most fundamental laws. The particles will take several days before they reach maximum speed, scientists expect that it could take up to 31 days before they will attempt to smash the atoms. Once at full speed, the particles will make over 11,000 laps in the LHC loop per second. Conducting this large experiment did come with controversy. Many groups of people felt that this machine would cause the end of the world. The argument is that if the Big Bang is true, recreating it would cause another explosion of the same magnitude, destroying the Earth. Other groups hold the argument that this experiment would actually cause a black hole to form which would make the Earth implode. Even with the criticism, the experiment was given a green light by inspectors. The Large Hadron Collider does have safety precautions built into just in case scenarios such as an atomic explosion were to occur.

In The News: -Texas Prepares for Hurricane Ike -Gas prices spike due to concerns over Ike -Kanye West arrested at airport -Food Shortage in Ethiopia -Blacks and Gays face most HIV risks -FDA issues warning against imported baby food from China -YouTube bans videos that incite violence -Metallica releases new CD tonight -New 90210 suffers in debut show -US offer of Hurricane aid is rejected in Cuba -Pope Benedict to visit France

Suggestions? Critiques? Submissions? Send them to: [email protected] Thank you. [All stories written by me (Chadwick Heller) – pictures “borrowed” from online. Recipes are NOT my creation, content not mine will be noted.]