It's a good thing that the trial is being moved out of Manhattan, NYC. The probable traffic snarl would make Manhattan impassable. If you have a meeting in Manhattan, it's a good idea to be in Manhattan the day of the meeting instead of trying to get into Manhattan. Once when I was staying in Cherry Hill, New Jersey and I had to get on The Island; it took forever. Some are suggesting an adjacent island, Governor's Island with its Williams Castle http://farm2.static.flickr.com/... be the venue.
The congestion from the everyday population is stifling enough.
With the 9/11 trial that would be compounded by media, microwave trucks, journalists from all over the world. And tourists. Yes, there's always a gapper's block of rubberneckers at every spectacle. There are sure to be street vendors, trying to make a dollar from the traffic. Most importantly, how would Manhattan be secured with all that additional traffic?
I would move the trial to the International Space Station. Seriously.
I know you don't get it and have serious concerns for my sanity.
OK, I'll be the Mad Woman of Kos. I can live with this.
If the trial is held in the Space Station it's good for a number of reasons.
- Location, location, location! Nothing beats space to get that global perspective, our earth - our spaceship earth (coined by Buckminster Fuller) invisibly suspended and spinning, a huge blue-green marble. The view is priceless! Space is the once in a lifetime experience. A change of perspective, an 'attitude adjustment' takes place with that kind of experience/education.
- Brevity. No one is going to want to be in space any longer than they have to be. Space, for all its glamour is basically inhospitable. Beginning with the simplest things of all: the activities of daily living like, eating, drinking, digesting, defecating/urinating, hygiene - keeping clean, etc. We get down to basics, no messing around when you essentially are all living on life support.
- It's never been done! All the reason more to do it, to have this trial in space, because we, the United States of America, are the first space-faring nation. We are the good guys and the world needs to be reminded that even if we have some cruel and stupid humans among us, we as a Nation are good. And on 9/11, good and innocent people were killed.
- The whole world will be watching. The whole world will be watching this trial. We might as well make this trial, the trial of the century. And we will control the message, because we are that good.
Other options have been floated. Riker's Island. Williams Castle off of New York City http://farm2.static.flickr.com/...
But I'm all for the 9/11 trial to be held in space. A Federal Court is wherever a Federal Judge presides. A Federal Judge could preside in a Court held on the International Space Station.
The trial would be quick. When Catholic Bishops vote for a new Pope, they intentionally make it unpleasant so that the voters get to the heart of the matter and out of Vatican City, ASAP. Washington, D.C. was deliberately build in a swamp, to dissuade the emergence of a large Federal government and its inevitable lobbyists. (Okay, bad example, that did not work out, but our Founding Father's hearts and minds were in the right place. "A Man For All Seasons" tangentially spoke to the evils of lobbyists.)
BTW, the International Space Station has been continuously habitated for 10 years with various crews. Its capacity is 25 along with lots of scientific testing equipment. Its capacity might be more than doubled with the removal of the test equipment.
With a trial in the International Space Station, the trial would be winnowed to its essence.