The Concord Hymn
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1837)

By the rude bridge that arched the flood
Their flag to April's breeze unfurled;
Here once the embattled farmers stood;
And fired the shot heard round the world.

The foe long since in silence slept;
Alike the conqueror silent sleeps,
And Time the ruined bridge has swept
Down the dark stream that seaward creeps.

On this green bank, by this soft stream,
We place with joy a votive stone,
That memory may their deeds redeem,
When, like our sires, our sons are gone.

O Thou who made those heroes dare
To die, and leave their children free, --
Bid Time and Nature gently spare
The shaft we raised to them and Thee.

I notice a wee problem with this vote. On the same page as the Omagh bombing they have the Al Durra shooting. You know the iconic image of the little Palestinian boy being shot dead beside his father by Israeli soldiers. The only problem with this is that it's a fake, it's been fairly widely proven that this whole thing was a setup by a Palestinian cameraman for France's TV2.

No I'm not a crank conspiracy theorist I do believe in the moonwalk, I don't think MI5 murdered Diana but this incident was staged and France's TV2, the only TV station to have pictures of the event despite the dozens of other TV crews at that spot that day, have as good as accepted that it was a fake.

Now I know I'm going to get stick for this, but I really am not a tinfoil hat wearer who believes the CIA blew up the Pentagon, if anyone is interested I'll post a very calm and objective analysis of the outtakes and background to the event.

No argument from me Harry, I found it pretty hard to believe because it is still seen as iconic and 'real'. The guys who shot it were working in 'Pallywood' covering mock injuries of the same actors being shot over and over again.

Kristen shooting J.R.?

harry, Ciaran,

Wasn't the small crowd that pulled down the statue of Saddam nothing more than actors paid by the U.S.?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad_al-Durra

Info on the arguments around the Al-durra shooting

9/11 was the correct choice in my opinion. It's changed the dynamics of the world, and from a local point of view, it's most importantly changed the American outlook on terrorism, i.e. most Americans now see the Provos for what they really are, an illegal private army full of murderers and their apologists, rather than some romanticized "freedom fighters".

Concerning the Al Durra shooting. It may have been set-up but that doesn't mean it's a fake. At least according to the quotes on Wikipedia it looks as if the boy was actually killed. But ... who knows ..

Powerful imagery all the same.

CL
"t's most importantly changed the American outlook on terrorism,"

And it gave George Bush the power to bomb the sh!t out of anyone he likes, with nukes even. :)

For me it was 911.

9/11 was so powerful because the events unfolded live on television rather than a televised aftermath. I think for most people watching the live feed the world seemed to be in slow motion and our future seemed a little uncertain for a few days/hours. 9/11 for me.

The clocked first stopped at 15:07, June 12, 1988 for me.

9/11 wins that list though. By a mile.