Queen Elizabeth II placed a wreath of flowers at a site of the Sept. 11 attacks Tuesday and chatted with victims’ families and first responders, minutes after using her first visit to New York in more than three decades to praise the U.N. for promoting peace and justice.

The 84-year-old British monarch braved 100-degree heat in a 15-minute visit to the World Trade Center site after challenging the United Nations to spearhead an international response to global dangers.

Near the footprint of the trade center’s south tower, she placed a wreath of New York-grown red peonies, roses, lilies and black-eyed Susans on a wooden riser at the site.

Classy. Unlike say, these guys:

The Cordoba House, a planned 13-floor Muslim community center and mosque two blocks from Ground Zero, has upset families of 9/11 victims and their supporters. They claim the building would amount to a monument for terrorists.

But Islamic community leaders insist the project is about building bridges between Muslims and non-Muslims.

I’ve often said (and heard) that there’s nothing more violent than a peace activist.

Police are poring over Times Square surveillance footage in an effort to determine who threw an explosive device at the military recruitment center there early this morning.

In a second briefing today, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said officials have few additional leads, but that the investigation is focused on a man who was spotted riding a bicycle in the area around the time of the blast.

No injuries were reported.

While the Joint Terrorism Task Force is participating in the investigation, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman tells the Associated Press that, “We do get occasional vandals at our recruiting stations. It’s unfortunate but it happens from time to time.”

H/t: Guy sitting next to me, who brought it to my attention.

They’ve come up with a 9/11-style monster movie. Because I guess the reality - that a group of people living among us wants to kill us in the name of Allah - was too much to bear. Easier to blame it on Godzilla, I suppose.

For those of you who still have the nightmares (you know who you are, and you know what I’m talking about), don’t bother clicking the link. The flashbacks are a bitch.

I couldn’t watch the whole thing.

“We are law-abiding citizens, and we want the people of New York to know that Muslims are part and parcel of the landscape,”

I couldn’t agree more.