Improving Security

After the 9/11, American authorities are viewing how they can improve security to protect the country from this terrorist attacks. After the destroy of the World Trade Center, the United States spended a lot of money on improving the national security. They know that the major enemy are the Islamist groups of terrorism. Now, they set some goals to improve the security and some of them are to prevent the growth of terrorism and prepare people for future attacks. Americans know that another attack can occur at any moment, but for the next time, they want to be prepared in order to protect people.

"Total federal spending on defense (including expenditures on both Iraq and Afghanistan), homeland security, and international affairs rose more than 50 percent, from $354 billion to about $547 billion. The United States has not experienced such a rapid surge in national security spending since the Korean War."
In a lot of time, the U.S. didn´t spend that amount of money and all these can tell that this attack was massive.
"Islam is not the enemy. It is not synonymous with terror. Nor does Islam teach terror."
Islam is not bad and they don´t teach terror, but there are some extremist groups that attack places and those people are the enemies.

America took the Islamist attacks seriously and really wanted to improve the security of the country. They are clear on who the enemy is and invested big amounts of money because the are concerned about the protection of the citizens. They also know that more attacks may occur and they are doing all what they can in order to try to prevent them or prepare people from them. They know the whole situation and it will be easier to be prepared on the future.

Staying Safe

President Bush was flying to Nebraska because he needed a safe place and also a location where he can speak and give reports. In Nebraska, Bush had a conference with Rice and they concluded that they are involved in a war. Specifically, members of the government stayed in Offutt Air Force Base in which fifty people could stay. As planed, U.S. president stayed in Nebraska for some time and after that, he flew back to the White House in Washington D.C. passing over the Pentagon. Protections from Al Qaeda will be better and the war was against this extremist group from the Middle East.

"President Bush met with his principal advisers through a secure video teleconference. Rice said President Bush began the meeting with the words, "We´re at war," and that Director of Central Intelligence George Tenet said the agency was still assessing who was responsible, but the early signs all pointed to al Qaeda."
Everybody is concerned about the topic of the attacks and the war that they are having against the Al Qaeda group.
"Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska was chosen because of its elaborate command and control facilities, and because it could accommodate overnight lodging for 50 persons."
This was a very good place for people to stay so they selected it in order to have good instruments and security.

The president thought a lot about his security and he had chosen the best place for him and his men to stay. They got out of the White House and the Pentagon because they were attacked and they were dangerous places. After having the conference, they considered that it was safe to go back to Washington D.C. This was a memorable day for the U.S., but more for the government and they will be more alert if someone attacks again.

Knowing All About it

On March 23, Condoleezza Rice was told that Bin Ladin was planning to attack the U.S. and he might use a truck bomb. People started getting alert when there was a repoert that Al Qaeda might be using aircrafts to attack the cities of London, Boston, and New York. Three months later, the government and agencies discovered that Al Qaeda is located in different parts of the Middle East and maybe they could be in Rome too. Agencies discovered that attack are imminent because there are people concentrated on the borders of the country. Bin Ladin and Al Qaeda told to the U.S. that they are planning a massive attack and they will follow the plan in short time.

"Clarke warned National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice that domestic or foreign terrorists might use a truck bomb-their "weapon of choice"-on Pennsylvania Avenue." Rice was adviced that Al Qaeda will use a truck bomb and they actually used it, but in the World Trade Center instead of Pennsylvania Avenue.
"In early May, a walk-in to the FBI claimed there was a plan to launch attacks on London, Boston, and New York." They got information of the places that would be attacked and now, they knew barely what Al Qaeda meant to do.

Agencies and investigators got a lot of good information about the attacks that were being planned by the extremists. They knew the places that might be attacked and were these people were concentrated. These information was reliable and through spying, they got it from good sources and also from the actual extremist plans. If the U.S. knew almost everything, Why didn´t they stopped the attacks or improved security in important placessuch as airports?

FBI is Unprepared

In 9/11, in addition of the airplanes, they had a truck with bombs that a man put in the underground garage to blow up the building after crashing the planes. FBI, had arrested people from the Middle East that were entering to the U.S., but also other members of Al-Qaeda could enter to the country. FBI did a good job in arresting people that were going to cause damage in the country at the JFK Airport. Also, some people accessed so there were failures in FBI spying system too. There were a lot of errors and one of them was the poor training of the analysts and spyers because they didn´t have too much experience in counterterrorism and also they couldn´t speak foreign languages like the ones they speak in the Middle East.

"This was not a suicide attack. The terrorists parked a truck bomb with a timing device on Level B-2 of the underground garage, then departed." Terrorist attack was planned very well and they had some alternatives in case of something failing or going wrong.
"Ramzi Yousef, the Sunni extremist who planted the bomb, said later that he had hoped to kill 250,000 people." This person planted the bomb expecting to kill thousands of people, but fortunately only 6 people died in the attack of the bomb.

These extremists´ objective is to kill a lot of people in New York and to destroy the World Trade Center also. Their plans to reach the goal are inhuman and here we can understand that they will do whatever it takes to kill people and do whatever they want. On the other hand, FBI had to be prepared to deal with any attack from other people, but in these case, they were certainly unprepared. Some FBI errors and bad intentions from these extremists lead to one of the most terrible catastrophes in the history of the United States.

Airplanes are hijacked

In September 11th, 2001, nineteen terrorists were aboarding the flights: American 11, United 175, American 77, and United 93. The different terrorists passed through the security checkpoints and boarded the airplane. These flights departed from Boston, Newark, and Washington D.C. in between 7:30 and 9:00 am. After final contact with the towers, the planes were hijacked by this group. Two airplanes collided with the World Trade Center, one with the Pentagon, and another in an abandoned field in Pennsylvania after a battle between the bad guys and the passengers.

"At Dulles International Airport in the Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C., five more men were preparing to take their early morning flight." Five terrorists were going to an airplane in Washington D.C. and this plane will be the one that will end colliding near the White House inside of the Pentagon.
"At 8:46:40, American 11 crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City." This is the first hijacked plane and one of the two that crashed the World Trade Center.

There was suspect about these terrorists getting into the airplanes, but they were allowed to go becaused they passed through the checks. Once they were in the air, there was nothing that people could do, only wait to see what happens. Some brave passengers almost controlled the United 93 flight, but the bad guys crashed it before people rescuing it. This was a massive attack that will always be remembered by the whole world, but especially by the Americans.

Hunters=Brave People

The group arrived to San Francisco and met Annabeth's father and told him that his daughter was in danger so he immediately drove them to Mountain of Despair. Here was the place to which Luke, the manticore, and the General will arrive so they can build the mountain and turn it into the new Olympus after defeating the gods. The group fought against the enemies, rescued Annabeth, and destroyed them, but Zoe was killed by the Titan Atlas who was the General and Zoe's father. After completing the quest, they arrived to Olympus, where they were honored and congratulated by the gods. Blackjack and the pegasi brought the group back to camp half-blood and Percy called to mom and Tyson by an iris message. Nico realized that Bianca died and wanted to kill Percy, but suddenly four skeletons appeared, Nico destroyed them, and after that he was gone.

"He will not hurt me." Zoe said this because she is courageous and is convinced that she can destroy a big dragon that was the guardian of the door that guards Mount of Despair.
"You never had any courage, sister." Zoe said this to her sister that appeared there to alert the group that they should not enter to Mount of Despair. Zoe is confident that she can kill the dragon and once again, she demonstrated that she is courageous.

 The Hunters of Artemis are very courageous people and they will do whatever it takes to save a quest if it is necessary. At Phoenix's desert, Bianca died because she killed a monster to save the other members of the group. After that, Zoe also died after being poisoned by Atlas when fighting him. If there is a word to describe Hunters' personality, that word is brave.

Zoe is not a Good Person

Zoe, Bianca, Thalia, Grover, and Percy fought against a boar and after defeating it, it gave them a ride to the west and they were left at Gila Claw, Arizona. Aphrodite appeared and told Percy that he should not continue the quest with the Hunters, but his friends told him that he should not trust the goddess. After a few moments, the city disappeared and the junkyard of the Olympus was there. A monster rose up and Bianca destroyed it, but she could not escape and she died. They escaped from there and went to a snack bar near to a city. While they were there, the skeletons appeared, but Zeus destroyed them and saved the day.

"For once I agree with Zoe." Thalia doesn´t like Zoe and she proves it by saying that she had never agree with her.
"You can´t trust Aphrodite." Zoe saying this tells us that she has fights and doesn´t like a lot of people so maybe she is not a good person.

Once again the group got in trouble, but this time, Bianca was dead. Bianca did a great action killing the monster and saving his friends, but the price was her life. After this danger, the skeletons appeared and put the group in a hurry. When they were about to die, Zeus saved them and destroyed the skeletons.

Doesn´t Matter the Conditions, I will Always Help my Friend

Blackjack and Percy were following Zoe, Bianca, Thalia, and Grover who were in a van, but abruptly, Dionysus appeared in front of Percy and Blackjack and he stopped them. Dionysus didn´t want to let them go, but when he realized that Percy could be one of the people who can die, he let him go. Percy discovered that Luke, Thorn and The General were growing zombies to kill Percy. They fought against a lion that appeared and escaped from the evil guys. After escaping, they took different luxurious cars and trains and reached to Cloudcroft, New Mexico.

"I´ll be okay, boss, he panted. Just catching my breath." Blackjack is showing that he is very tired, but he can do anything to help his friend Percy, even if he is suffering or exhausted.
"Don´t worry about me, boss! I´m a tough one." Blackjack is overwhelmed, but he still wants to help his friend Percy by giving excuses. A few moments later, Percy recognized that Blackjack was tired and he told him that he can go and rest if he wants.

Blackjack is really helpful and is always ready to help his friend Percy. Blackjack is really a good friend and there are little people who are so nice persons. Percy is a lucky person because he has a so good friend like Blackjack. Percy is also a good person because he recognized Blackjack´s work, he thanked him and let him go and have a rest.

Nico Cares for his Sister

Since Hunters were staying at half-blood hill, a "Capture the Flag" game was prepared and the Hunters won it. Half-bloods and Hunters discovered that Artemis was kidnapped by Luke and a misterious guy. A quest should take place and Grover, Thalia, Zoe, Phoebe, and Bianca will have to complete it. Percy will go with them in search of Annabeth and Artemis, but nobody knows that. Before going, the hippocampi asked for help because a creature had fallen in a trap, but finally, Percy saved that creature.

"Keep an eye on my sister!" Nico said this because he wanted Percy to take care of his sister since a lot of dangers were going to be present.
""Promise," he insisted." Nico wants to make sure that Bianca is going to be okay, so he made Percy promise that he is no going to let anything happen to Percy.

Bianca is going in her first quest and she is probably feeling the same way that Percy did in his first one. Nico is worried because a prophecy says that one of the people that is in the bquest will die. Nico´s worst fear is that her sister dies. He is a good brother because he wants to make sure that his sister is okay.

Fighting Monsters and Driving Cars at age of Fifteen

Percy is with his mom and his friends (Thalia and Annabeth) going to a new school to which he would like to attend. The school´s name was Westover Hall and the directors were Dr. Thorn and Mrs. Gottschalk. Grover was there and discovered that two half-bloods attended to that school. These half-bloods names were Nico and Bianca di Angelo and they were brother and sister. In that school was also a monster, it was the director Mr. Thorn.

Dr. Thorn was a manticore, he wanted to kidnapp the half-bloods, but if he couldn´t he will conform with killing them. He captured Percy, Nico, and Bianca, but in just a few moments, Annabeth, Thalia and Grover went to help them to fight against the manticore. The manticore also had reinforcements and those were helicopters with mortals aboard. It was really hard to fight against them and in just the appropriate moment, the godess Artemis with her Hunters (group of young girls who knew how to fight and were always with the goddess) arrived to destroy the monsterand save the half-bloods and Grover. Unfortunately, not all the half-bloods were saved because Annabeth disappeared with the monster when the Hunters killed it.

Zoe was the leader of the group of the Hunters and seemed to be an enemy of Thalia. Zoe explained that girls can train with Artemis instead of going to camp half-blood, but boys were not allowed to train with the goddess. If you stayed for long with Artemis, she could make a person immortal and that person will stay the same age and be part of the Hunters forever. Bianca took the decision of joining Artemis and become a Hunter.

Artemis wanted to search for the monster and Annabeth to destroy the monster again and rescue the half-blood. She asked her brother, Apollo to bring the half-bloods and the Hunters to camp half-blood. He arrived with his big car and took the group to camp half-blood, Thalia drove the car from Maine to Long Island. For everyone´s surprise, Thalia knew how to drove the car and she had the machine under control at all time.

"There!" Apollo pointed. "Long Island, dead ahead. Let´s slow down, dear. ´Dead´ is only an expression." Apollo told Thalia to slow down the car to arrive to camp half-blood at Long Island.
"You were right, my dear. You had everything under control!" Thalia knew how to drive the car and Apollo admitted that she was a great driver and got everything under control.


Half-bloods are very young and they are already surviving to dangers like monsters. Also Thalia demonstrared that doesn´t matter the age, but she can do many things. It is tough having this type of life at such a young age. This is only the start of a new adventure, will they survive biggest dangers or monsters will calm down?

Sometimes it is Difficult but a Hero Always Does the Right Thing

The half-bloods, Tyson, and Grover were at Miami Beach and they needed to return to half-blood hill fast so Thalia´s tree don´t die. They only had $300 so they decided that it was Clarisse quest and she had to go on an airplane to complete it on time. Clarisse was gone and they are searching for something that can bring them back to half-blood hill, but they don´t find anything. Suddenly Luke appeared and told Percy to bring him the Fleece but Percy told him that it is with Clarisse and she is going back to half-blood hill. Luke got mad at Percy and they both were ready to fight one-on-one.

Luke and Percy started fighting, but Luke had a sword and a shield and Percy had only a sword. Percy hit Luke and some people were celebrating, they were Chiron and some other centaurs. Luke escaped, get back to the Princess Andromeda, and went back to the ocean. Now, people in half-blood hill knew that Luke was the one who poisoned Thalia´s tree and not Chiron so when he go back there he will be the director of activities again and Tantalus will leave half-blood hill. Chiron and the other centaurs could run very fast and that will allow Percy, Annabeth, Grover, and Tyson to arrive to half-blood hill faster.

Tantalus was gone, but Chiron said that if he started the chariot race they should continue with that tradition and that he will organize the race. Annabeth and Percy won that race. Clarisse put the Golden Fleece at Thalia´s tree and it began to heal. The story was that Thalia was a daughter of Zeus and he transformed her into a tree so a monster that was chasing for him doesn´t kill her and that tree controlled the magical borders. A few moments after inserting the Golden Fleece a girl appeared at the ground, it was Thalia, the Fleece worked so well that also made Thalia regain her human form.

"Clarisse," I yelled. "Come on. You´re going to the airport. Annabeth, give her the Fleece." Percy thought that it was Clarisse´s quest and that she should complete it.
"She jumped in the cab. "You can count on me. I won´t fail."" It could be hard for Percy but he did the right thing and let Clarisse finish her quest. He thought that she will feel bad if they just finished her quest and receive all the credit.

Percy made the right decision when he gave Clarisse the Fleece so she can complete her quest. He gave Clarisse the chance of going in an airplane so she arrives fast to half-blood hill. Percy did all what he could for saving Grover and taking the Fleece back to half-blood hill, but let Clarisse get most credit for completing the quest. Finnally the Fleece let Thalia transform into a human again and live her normal life.

Having a Good Friend is Always a Great Thing

Percy and Annabeth were at the Queen Anne´s Revenge going to see the Cyclops, but at the middle of the ocean, they find some sirens that started singing, but they tried ignoring them and using things so they don´t hear them. They left the place where the sirens were and reached to the Cyclops´s home. That place looked like an island in the Caribbean, not like a place where a big monster lives. They arrived there and find Grover and the Golden Fleece, but there was also the Cyclops and they have to kill him to get Grover and the Fleece back.

After that, Clarisse appeared and they had rescue Grover, but they still had to get the Golden Fleece. They find a way to fool the monster and Percy was about to kill him with his sword, but the Cyclops said that he will allow them to take the Fleece only if they don´t kill him. They took the Fleece, but it was all a lie, because the monster was about to eat them. Just a few seconds before the monster eating Percy, someone threw a rock to the monster´s mouth and saved Percy, it was Tyson! He explained to Percy that he and the ship were sinking, and Rainbow the hippocampus (half horse-half fish) went there to save him. The Cyclops hit Annabeth and the Queen Anne´s Revenge so they were floating in the ocean and also taking care of Annabeth so she don´t die. They called Rainbow and his friends and they took the half-bloods, Tyson, and Grover to Miami Beach.

"Rainbow the hippocampus-who´d apparently been following us ever since the Long Island Sound, waiting for Tyson to play with him-had found Tyson sinking beneath the wreckage of the CSS Birmingham and pulled him to safety."(131) Rainbow was there at the precise moment ready to help Tyson and save him from death.
"RAINBOW! We need you!"(137) Tyson and Percy called Rainbow when they were floating in the ocean. Again Rainbow was ready to help them and he showed that he is a really nice friend and is ready to help whenever it is needed.

Finally the half-bloods take the Golden Fleece and rescue Grover, now the only thing they have to do is insert the Fleece at Thalia´s tree at half-blood hill and everything will be fine. Rainbow is really a good friend and rescue Tyson more than one time. If Rainbow wouldn´t appear they wouldn´t get the Fleece and rescue Grover. They are at Miami Beach and the last thing they have to do is find a way to go back home and save half-blood hill.

You Should not Judge Anyone or Anything About Their Appearance

Percy, Annabeth, and Tyson reached Virginia Beach after escaping from Luke´s boat. Sea of Monsters was at the Bermuda Triangle and they were really close to it. After reaching there, Coast Guard started chasing them so they could know who they were. Annabeth took Percy and Tyson to a safe place that she built to hide from monsters or anybody who is chasing for her. Percy asked Tyson if he can go to find some donuts to eat and Tyson got out of the secret place and started searching for a place where he can buy some donuts. There were no donut places at the zone but Percy told that to Tyson, so he can talk to Annabeth.

When Tyson was back, he brought some donuts, but Percy couldn´t understand how he find them. Tyson told them that he found a place named: Monster Donuts and he went there to buy some of them. Annabeth knew that those places really had monsters and Tyson had just made them knew where they are. Not too much later a monster appeared and wanted to kill them, but suddenly something appeared and there was an explosion that blew the monster into ashes. It was Clarisse! She was in a boat named: CSS Birmingham and was going to the Sea of Monsters to complete the quest, Percy, Annabeth, and Tyson went aboard.

They reached the Sea of Monsters and Clarisse ordered to his captain to go to the entrance. There was a monster named: Scylla that protected the entrance, Clarisse ordered the captain to shoot. The monster started to attack and hit the boat, some part was damaged and Tyson knew what it was, he went to repaire it. Tyson finally repaired the boat but it was too late, Scylla hit again the boat and destroyed it. Tyson and the other people in the boat (except for Percy, Annabeth, and Clarisse) died. The small boats were launched and the CSS Birmingham with Tyson and the other people were destroyed.

After being at the small boats for some time they reached a place named: C.C.´s Spa & Resort and apparently it look normal and like there is nobody who can do any damage to anyone. C.C.´s real name was Circe and went with Percy to give him a massage, but she fooled him and instead of that she transformed him into a guinea pig and put him in a box. In that box were a lot of other guinea pigs. Annabeth went to rescue and transformed Percy again into a human, they discovered that the other guinea pigs were also half-bloods and heroes and they were also returned to its original shape. They escaped from there and find the Queen Anne´s Revenge that is the name of that boat. They were ready to return to the Sea of Monsters to find the Golden Fleece and rescue Grover from that Cyclops that kidnapped him.

"The place was amazing. There was white marble and blue water everywhere I look."(101) The place was very nice and ornate, but it only seemed to be like that, because that place represented a big danger for Percy.
"Percy requires my personal attention." Circe seems to be a nice person, but she is only acting like that to make Percy think that she is just a normal person so when they are alone she can do anything bad to Percy.

Percy and Annabeth keep escaping from a lot of places in this case from the CSS Birmingham and the C.C.´s Spa & Resort. At first Clarisse saves them from a monster that could kill them, but then she challenged another monster and almost killed both Percy and Annabeth and she did kill Tyson. They went to the Spa & Resort that seemed to be nice but it was a trap just for converting Percy into a guinea pig. They find the Queen Anne´s Revenge and they were going back to the Cyclops´s home to kill him and save Grover and the Fleece.

Surviving Even if Nobody Cares About you

Do you remember Tyson, the Cyclops? Technically he is Percy´s brother, Annabeth and Percy discovered that Tyson is a son of Poseidon so that means that he is Percy´s half-brother. Chiron was a centaur (half human-half horse) and was the director of half-blood hill activities, but he got expulsed, because he said that he poisoned the tree. The new director of activities was Tantalus and he did not care about half-blood hill being destroyed, the only thing that he wanted was creating a race. The race was about to start and everybody was ready.

When the race started, a lot of pigeons  appeared at the trees  and jumped, when they touched the floor they exploded. The race was over and when the danger passed, half-bloods discovered that the Golden Fleece could cure the poisoned tree. Somebody had to go in search of the Golden Fleece and Tantalus told Clarisse that she can search for it.  Percy and Annabeth were dissapointed and escaped from half-blood hill with Tyson to find the Fleece. The Golden Fleece and Grover were at the Sea of Monsters at a tree that was protected by a Cyclops. They boarded a ship named: Princess Andromeda and they found Luke (an old enemy that is son of Hermes). The boat was full of luxuries and Luke tried to convince them of staying there but they just escaped jumping to the ocean.

"Tantalus looked at Annabeth and me as if he wanted to flay us alive. "The champion should be one who has earned the camp´s respect who has proven resourceful in the char-iot races and courageous in the defense of the camp. You shall lead this quest ... Clarisse.""(54) This was a clear sign that Tantalus hated Percy and Annabeth and he told Clarisse that she should go on the quest just for making Percy and Annabeth feel like if nobody cares about them.
""Percy," Annabeth said, "we have to do the quest.""(63) Percy and Annabeth knew that they could find the Golden Fleece so ignoring Tantalus they escaped from half-blood hill and started their quest.

The only thing that Percy wanted to do is go to the Sea of Monsters to find the Golden Fleece and save Grover from the Cyclops. The fact that Chiron had been expulsed was no good for Percy because Tantalus hated him and as far as possible he would not let Percy and Annabeth be the heroes and save the camp and his friend Grover. The only way that he could complete the quest was escaping from the camp and find a boat to go to the Sea of Monsters. At the boat he finds other enemy (Luke) who is someone that hates and wants to kill him. Once again he had to escape, because there is a lot of people that hates him and there are a lot of dangers that he must survive.

Living a Hard Life

At the beginning of the story Percy was dreaming about what is happening to his friend Grover, who is a satyr (someone who is half human-half goat).  A monster was chasing for him and he was telling Percy that he should go to save him from his death, because the monster made a trap and the satyr falled there. When Percy woke up he went to school, his friend was Tyson and there was a bully, his name was Matt Sloan.  That guy always made bad jokes to Percy and Tyson. It was time to play dodgeball at the school and Matt told them that he was going to hit them really hard. Percy couldn´t use his powers against normal people because he was a half-blood(half human-half god).

When they started playing, some monsters appeared at the gym and were trying to kill Percy by throwing balls to him, but Tyson threw them back and caused that the monsters vanish. After escaping from the school they took a taxi to half-blood hill, that is a place that protects half-bloods from monsters because it has magical borders. When they arrived there, a lot of monsters were attacking and all the half-bloods were fighting against them. The monsters hitted Clarisse and Percy, because they were both half-bloods but Tyson without being a half-blood was allowed to enter there and saved Percy and Clarisse. There was a tree that controlled the magical borders but it was poisoned, so any creature could enter there whenever it wants.

"Tyson had batted two of the balls back toward their owners and blasted them to ashes."(12)  How could Tyson control two balls at the same and hit the monsters to turn them to ashes? Does he have some special powers or what?
"He´s a Cyclops." Annabeth paused.(28) When Annabeth said that Tyson was a Cyclops I wanted to know if Cyclop
s were good creatures or were evil monsters.

It should be tough being a half-blood because you have a really busy life. Fighting against monsters is not easy and if something goes wrong you can loose your life. If someone is being bullied the first thing that he wants to do is try to protect himself and the fact of being a half-blood did not allow him to protect himself. I would not like monsters appearing in front of me at every moment, because I think that being killed is not nice. Will Percy defeat all those monsters or will the monsters end up killing him?