The USS New York, an amphibious assault ship built with scrap steel from the ruins of the World Trade Center, has been christened as a source of strength and inspiration for Americans.
Thousands of people, including friends and families of those who died in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, gathered on Saturday near the hulking gray ship, trimmed in red, white and blue banners.
'NEVER FORGET'
The bow stem, which contains 6.8 tonnes of steel from the site, bore a shield with two gray bars to symbolize the twin towers and a banner over that declaring "Never Forget," a slogan among New Yorkers after the attack.
"May God bless this ship and all who sail on her," ship sponsor Dotty England said before smashing a bottle of champagne against it, producing a loud thump to go with the spurting liquid and flying streamers.
Her husband, US Deputy Secretary of Defense Gordon England, spoke at the ceremony.
"I tell you, it's a fantastic day. Sometimes you think you're over something," he said, his eyes welling up as he looked off toward the ship, "and then you realize you're not completely."
He said that ship names provide a legacy, and that for their crews they serve as a source of strength and inspiration.
When the attacks occurred, the ship was planned but had no name. Then-New York governor George Pataki asked the Navy to commemorate the disaster by reviving the name "New York." That required an exception to Navy policy of assigning state names only to nuclear submarines.
LEADING THE WAY
The steel from the towers is now part of the ship that splices through the water, leading the way.
"It resurrects the ashes, so to speak, to do great things for our nation," said Bill Glenn, a spokesman for Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding, the ship builder.
The US$1 billion, 22,700-tonne vessel is 208m long and 32m wide. It is the fifth in a new class of warship, designed for missions that include anti-terrorist operations. It can carry a crew of about 360 sailors and 700 combat-ready Marines to be delivered ashore by helicopters and assault craft.
The USS New York's prospective commanding officer is Commander Curtis Jones, a native New Yorker. It is to be commissioned, essentially added to the fleet, next year. It could be used as part of peaceful missions or as part of a war, said Admiral Gary Roughead, the US Navy's chief of operations.
That it could be used in war did not bother Lee Ielpi, president of the September 11th Families' Association, whose son Jonathan died in the attacks. The ship won't be used for war "unless you bother us," he said in an interview.
"We're sending a message that we're standing strong," Ielpi said. "This ship, as it cuts through the water, is going to send a ripple. That ripple will say, `We cherish our freedom.'"
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese