I used to be a big Michel de Nostradame amateur scholar, actually... several years ago I spent quite a lot of time studying his writings (even going so far as to brush up on my French and try to learn a little Greek too, so I could try to translate quatrains from the original myself).
SOME of his quatrains are remarkable, in fact... particularly the ones dealing with Hitler and the second world war. He called Hitler "Hister" (only missing by one letter) and the "captain of the Crooked Cross" for whom "Germany would know no law". I think that's pretty close ;-)
But many others are way off, sadly. Especially when it comes to exact DATES. In the RARE cases where he DID give anything remotely like an exact date, it's usually proven to be way off or totally false.
With respect to the current situation... i.e. this terrorist attack on New York city at the beginning of the new millennium, actually there ARE a couple of creepy quatrains that COULD bear some merit.
Here are a few that I looked up quickly, from my old books... with rough translations (subject to alternate interpretations, of course... always the case with Nostradamus ;-) )
CENTURY VI.XCVII
Cinq & quarante degres ciel bruflera,
Feu approacher de la grand cite neufue,
Inftant grand flamme efparfe fautera,
Quant on voudra des Normans faire preuue.
(The sky will burn at 45 degrees.
Fire approaches the great New City.
Immediately a huge scattered flame leaps up
when they want to have proof of the Normans.)
CENTURY IX.XCII
Le Roy vouldra dans cite neufue entrer
Par ennemys expugner lon viendra
Captif libere faulx dire & perpetrer,
Roy dehors eftre, loin d'ennemys tiendra.
(The king will want to enter the New City,
the will come to subdue it through its enemies.
A captive, falsely faced to speak and act.
The king to be outside he will stay far from the enemy.)
CENTURY X.LXXII
L'an mil neuf cens nonante neuf fept mois
Du ciel viendra vn grand Roy deffraieur
Refufciter le grand Roy d'Angolmois.
Auant apres Mars regner par bon heur.
(In the year 1999, and seven months from
the sky will come the great King of Terror.
He will bring to life the great king of the Mongols. Before and after war reigns happily.)
-KEVLAR
P.S. Generally the only "sure" thing in any of this, among Nostradamus scholors, is that references to the "New City" at 45 degrees generally means New York in the New World... or "America" to us ;-) . All the rest of it is open to debate on meaning...
Kevlar is a guy from another forum that i post at. i would rathar not say what one as i dont want to bring to much heat to it as it deals with things that could be misconstrued as illegal.
/Edit to give credit to Kev.