September 11th programming

The third anniversary of the 9/11 attacks is on Saturday - with a few programmes on this week - and this year they seem to be a lot more challenging.

C4 began with The Hamburg Cell last week, which I missed but was critically well received. Tonight they showed an Equinox special over the controversy over what to build at Ground Zero, while on Thursday a documentary looks at conspiracy theories around the incident.

ITV1 also have a documentary on Thursday night at 11pm about a Chaplain who was one of the first victims of September 11th.

I think now as the year's go by the event is being marked less and less officially, but I'm sure the News Channels will cover events on Saturday.

I'm sorry to say this, and no disrespect to those who died on the day, but I'm sick to death of September the bloomin' 11th and won't be watching anything to do with it.

I think, if it hadn't been used over and over and over and over by George Dublya as a political tool, we might just have a bit more sympathy.

Sky One aired a 9/11 conspiracies programme this evening. It was actually quite good - looking at how 9/11 was used as a political tool for war, how the Twin Towers were insured against acts of terrorism only a few months before the attacks, and how key workers were told not to go to New York in the month of September, including a worker for The Times who was banned from travelling to New York by the FAA.

Very intriguing.

It was presented by Danny Wallace - that bloke who started the "Join Me" cult.

As a subject (especially with the different strands which are emerging this year) it's got some mileage in it yet.

It's the be-laboured political spin, as you say, which is too much to suffer.

Did anyone watch Conspiracies on Sky One tonight?

Can't think why, for the life of me, but I think AJ might have done.

It's a positively awful thing to say, but we need to move on...(OK, I'll probably never forget where I was on hearing of the disaster, I was working at NTL Nottingham in the moving and transfers department, & it was Penny's leaving do at La Tasca in Nottingham, that night, I remember parking up in the Lace Market in Nottm, not really 'enjoying' the meal, & getting lost in Nottm going home - hey mabye my mind wasn't focused that night, I'll always remember tuning the radio, Radio Nottingham split it's freqencies between 103.8, news coverage and 95.5 covering a football match (life still went on, though it might not have done on that night) I remeber Simon Dale on Trent FM playing 'easy listening' music advising flights to the US were on hold,whist passing billboards advertising brand new flights to Florida from East Midlands Airport, on that very day...I remember being at the restauant that evening & the bar tender/waitress expressing their feelings/reactions "it's like something from the movies" - it was real....but it was 3 years ago...I'll definately take time to remember, but it's now certatinly in the past...God bless America & God bless the world...

Have to say I agree to a point but only because it's my birthday on that day, will see if I can steer clear of any "tribute" programming to boot if only for my own sanity.

Agree on all points here......

Just on a note there about The Hamburg Cell. I found it a truly remarkable programme. Without sounding like a terrorist I can see from the terrorists point of view why they did what they did and their beliefs etc. I don't agree with what was done obviously but that film was remarkable with one of their stories of love etc.

I missed the C4 Equinox, is it to be repeated?

I take your point - but this year there is a notable shift in programming from just saying how bad the act was to questioning the reasons behind it.

One thing I did find sick was the Republican Conference using September 11th and images linked to it to try and get George Bush back into the White House.

On a completely seperate note - George Bush: is he making the world a safer, or more dangerous, place?

It was an interesting programme, although the arguments that it was anything but a terrorist act were flimsy to say the least. Why would a worker for The Times be given special treatment over anyone else?

If you put your mind to it, you can provide conspiracy theories for virtually anything.