On September 11, 2001, a rare exception to the total shutdown of U.S. civilian airspace was made to save the life of a snake handler in Florida who had been bitten by a deadly inland taipan.
I still remember the international response. There were two kinds. The "we're here for you big guy, whatever you need," and the "I swear I had nothing to do with it." Both of which had strong nervous laughter subtext. Everybody immediately remembered what happened the last time somebody sucker punched America and it didn't go well for Japan.
Nah this isn't Hollywood, America stopped winning wars after WW2 nor are they capable of bringing change to invaded countries or maintaining control. All they do is bloat the wallets of the rich and politicians and destroy shit. Increasingly seen as weak and stupid, driven by greed and incompetence. The rest of the world isn't Japan pre-WW2 anymore. If rice farmers and goat herders can't be conquered, neither will nations with modern armies. Nukes are commonplace now, stop living in the past.... Iran sure as fuck isn't nervous
Man, the US inevitably failing to secure their poorly defined objective is very different from Iran not getting hurt. Thousands are dead. An immense amount of infrastructure has been destroyed.
Iran has not meaningfully hurt the US.
It's one thing to observe that the current US leadership huffed a bit too much of their own propaganda and forgot that allies have actually been a big reason previous stuff has gone well, and another to act like Iran is in a perfectly fine place with the current situation.
I will never not correct this mistake, same with calling a magazine a "clip", or using the wrong version of there/their/they're. If you want to use slang to refer to something, okay whatever. If you're using the term for something similar but different, like how there IS a type of ammunition holder called a clip but it is different from a magazine, then I will correct you. It's not hard just use the correct term
I correct this too, but the worst thing is the people who correct others but think anything going into a gun is a magazine. Like you said, there are both. Most modern weapons use a magazine.
Essentially, a magazine is a container that holds ammo. It isn't just something that goes into a gun. Ships have magazines, where the ammo is stored to be used.
Actually, it's the opposite in firearms. Clips hold ammunition, whereas magazines feed ammunition as part of the firearms operation. Some magazines are removable, whole others are entirely internal.
Most automatic pistols use detachable magazines that lift the ammunition with a spring for feeding into the chamber, wheras double-action revolvers have speed-loading clips that hold ammo in a manner that lets you load the cylinder quickly.
The M1 garand has kinda a hybrid system where there's a clip that holds the ammunition and is inserted into the gun and is fed with the ammo, but is not a magazine.
Oops, I didn't write what a clip was. Yeah, a clip is something used to move ammo, not hold it. It is there to get it into a magazine. Usually clips have minimal material too, just enough to connect to the ammo but be lightweight.
The Bush administration allowed the attacks to happen by indifference and incompetence and then used the American people's fear to get what they wanted.
Correct. That single terrorist act has succeeded in ways Americans refuse to acknowledge. We allow the memorial of the event to create division, this last one being particularly divisive.
It's all self inflicted at this point but I could see future historians crediting Bin Laden for seeding the fall of the empire.
Interesting argument. It's almost like you're saying we shouldn't judge entire families, cultures or religions based on the actions of the radical few.
Hmm...you should move to Washington DC. The current US government could really use minds like yours.
The inland taipan is the most venomous snake in the world, bites are extremely rare so few places stock anti-venom. Also given the snake is from Australia you wouldn’t expect many US hospitals to have it.
It is my understanding that they did not fly out on 9/11 itself, but the FBI gave them airport escorts to chartered flights out of the country in the days right after 9/11 when most flights were still grounded.
I don't remember exact timelines. I do remember loved ones scheduled to fly home from abroad that had to wait. It wasn't military or affiliated, just visiting other loved ones, but I was deeply worried and wanted them to come home.
Inland Taipan Antivenom is notoriously tricky to make, doesn't store well, and you need ridiculous amounts of it to give someone a chance at survival. IIRC, someone else got bitten not long before that and the reserves of the hospitals/zoos in the area were all used up.
Not to mention that the Inland Taipan is native to Australia. Those snakes can’t be all that common in Florida, unless there’s a feral population I’m not aware of. The fact that there’s any supply of antivenin in the US at all seems really lucky!
55 replies
Apparently, lives still were worth something back then.
Was it a myth members of the Bin Laden family were allowed to fly out of the country?
Apparently not, see this link provided by nightwatch_admin on another comment
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2004-apr-11-oe-unger11-story.html
We were all a little touchy, to be fair.
I still remember the international response. There were two kinds. The "we're here for you big guy, whatever you need," and the "I swear I had nothing to do with it." Both of which had strong nervous laughter subtext. Everybody immediately remembered what happened the last time somebody sucker punched America and it didn't go well for Japan.
you can't sucker punch yourself.
tHe 'nervous laughter' would be about what countries where a target for the scumbags with this excuse.
Nah this isn't Hollywood, America stopped winning wars after WW2 nor are they capable of bringing change to invaded countries or maintaining control. All they do is bloat the wallets of the rich and politicians and destroy shit. Increasingly seen as weak and stupid, driven by greed and incompetence. The rest of the world isn't Japan pre-WW2 anymore. If rice farmers and goat herders can't be conquered, neither will nations with modern armies. Nukes are commonplace now, stop living in the past.... Iran sure as fuck isn't nervous
That's such a hilariously bad take.
Man, the US inevitably failing to secure their poorly defined objective is very different from Iran not getting hurt. Thousands are dead. An immense amount of infrastructure has been destroyed.
Iran has not meaningfully hurt the US.
It's one thing to observe that the current US leadership huffed a bit too much of their own propaganda and forgot that allies have actually been a big reason previous stuff has gone well, and another to act like Iran is in a perfectly fine place with the current situation.
If the snake was poisonous he shouldn't have eaten it.
/overly pedantic differentiation of poisonous vs venomous
I will never not correct this mistake, same with calling a magazine a "clip", or using the wrong version of there/their/they're. If you want to use slang to refer to something, okay whatever. If you're using the term for something similar but different, like how there IS a type of ammunition holder called a clip but it is different from a magazine, then I will correct you. It's not hard just use the correct term
o7
Doing the work of the righteous.
I correct this too, but the worst thing is the people who correct others but think anything going into a gun is a magazine. Like you said, there are both. Most modern weapons use a magazine.
Essentially, a magazine is a container that holds ammo. It isn't just something that goes into a gun. Ships have magazines, where the ammo is stored to be used.
Actually, it's the opposite in firearms. Clips hold ammunition, whereas magazines feed ammunition as part of the firearms operation. Some magazines are removable, whole others are entirely internal.
Most automatic pistols use detachable magazines that lift the ammunition with a spring for feeding into the chamber, wheras double-action revolvers have speed-loading clips that hold ammo in a manner that lets you load the cylinder quickly.
The M1 garand has kinda a hybrid system where there's a clip that holds the ammunition and is inserted into the gun and is fed with the ammo, but is not a magazine.
Oops, I didn't write what a clip was. Yeah, a clip is something used to move ammo, not hold it. It is there to get it into a magazine. Usually clips have minimal material too, just enough to connect to the ammo but be lightweight.
Even more pedantic take: "Poisonous" is accurate, but imprecise.
A poison is a harmful substance. A toxin is a poison created by an organism in nature. A venom is a toxin delivered subcutaneously.
Not overly pedantic.
There was also a plane full of Bin Laden family members that was allowed to leave (another commenter even provided a link).
Never forget 9/11...especially facts like this.
Google "who did George Bush Sr have breakfast with on 9/11?" if you think this is all just a coincidence.
The Bush administration allowed the attacks to happen by indifference and incompetence and then used the American people's fear to get what they wanted.
Which turned out to be what bin Laden wanted
Correct. That single terrorist act has succeeded in ways Americans refuse to acknowledge. We allow the memorial of the event to create division, this last one being particularly divisive.
It's all self inflicted at this point but I could see future historians crediting Bin Laden for seeding the fall of the empire.
The bin Laden's were pretty well off from the construction business, even sponsored the Williams F1 team in the 80's
Osama had been pretty much disowned from the family for decades at that point.
They wouldn't have had a clue. (Unless of course you're insinuating that all Arabs are a hive mind, in which case. Yikes)
Interesting argument. It's almost like you're saying we shouldn't judge entire families, cultures or religions based on the actions of the radical few.
Hmm...you should move to Washington DC. The current US government could really use minds like yours.
I don't know that it was Osama who master minded and funded it, tbh.
I thought this post was going to be about this instead.
Stop you are ruining the American fairy tale
They call it the American Dream, because you've gotta be asleep to believe it.
Kind of like the people of Gaza not being responsible for the actions of Hamas? Kind of like that?
Snake handler like herpetologist, or snake handler like stupid religious nut?
Snake masseuse. Snakes get stressed, too.
Clearly, or he wouldn't have been bitten. Poor snake.
As someone who has no idea, I'm going with the latter
3 planes were allowed or am I dumb
Civilian airspace
Yeah, I can't read apparently
I mean of course the airspace wasn’t closed to fighter jets, how else are they going to enforce it?
TBF, ground-to-air guns and missiles exist. AKA FLUGABWEHRKANONE - even children can operate it!
We don't have those set up across the US though. A plane with have to fly within a few miles of a military base.
However you can get a fighter jet anywhere within the US airspace fairly quickly
But can a child fly a fighter jet? Checkmate, bolsheviks.
The inland taipan is the most venomous snake in the world, bites are extremely rare so few places stock anti-venom. Also given the snake is from Australia you wouldn’t expect many US hospitals to have it.
Nice. A lot better than the Saudi evac
I was in Lexington at the time. My GF and I saw the plane and freaked out. We knew there weren't supposed to be any planes in the air at that point.
https://archive.is/d4IWc
Thanks! FWIW I do not know if it is allowed in here to post Archive.today / .ph / .is links though?
Trump would have grounded the plane and let them die.
Nah, one of his cronies would have grounded the jet, Trump wouldn't even know or care about it.
Unless they said they were carrying little girls
Thus inspiring the most excellent 'Snakes on a plane' movie
House of Saud family members flew back to KSA.
It is my understanding that they did not fly out on 9/11 itself, but the FBI gave them airport escorts to chartered flights out of the country in the days right after 9/11 when most flights were still grounded.
I don't remember exact timelines. I do remember loved ones scheduled to fly home from abroad that had to wait. It wasn't military or affiliated, just visiting other loved ones, but I was deeply worried and wanted them to come home.
Wouldn't it have been faster to give the anti venom to the fighter pilot to deliver? Which would only need one plane instead of three.
I don't know but perhaps it was already in the air and the F1s just swooped in to accompany it.
Interesting. I was there that day and the only thing I remember was how silent the airport was.
He really had to go across the country for that? That’s crazy none were closer, even mid way.
Inland Taipan Antivenom is notoriously tricky to make, doesn't store well, and you need ridiculous amounts of it to give someone a chance at survival. IIRC, someone else got bitten not long before that and the reserves of the hospitals/zoos in the area were all used up.
Not to mention that the Inland Taipan is native to Australia. Those snakes can’t be all that common in Florida, unless there’s a feral population I’m not aware of. The fact that there’s any supply of antivenin in the US at all seems really lucky!