Posted on 07/15/2004 6:19:30 AM PDT by Rutles4Ever
A WWS Exclusive Article
Note from the Editors: You are about to read an account of what happened during a domestic flight that one of our writers, Annie Jacobsen, took from Detroit to Los Angeles. The WWS Editorial Team debated long and hard about how to handle this information and ultimately we decided it was something that should be shared. What does it have to do with finances? Nothing, and everything. Here is Annie's story.
On June 29, 2004, at 12:28 p.m., I flew on Northwest Airlines flight #327 from Detroit to Los Angeles with my husband and our young son. Also on our flight were 14 Middle Eastern men between the ages of approximately 20 and 50 years old. What I experienced during that flight has caused me to question whether the United States of America can realistically uphold the civil liberties of every individual, even non-citizens, and protect its citizens from terrorist threats.
On that Tuesday, our journey began uneventfully. Starting out that morning in Providence, Rhode Island, we went through security screening, flew to Detroit, and passed the time waiting for our connecting flight to Los Angeles by shopping at the airport stores and eating lunch at an airport diner. With no second security check required in Detroit we headed to our gate and waited for the pre-boarding announcement. Standing near us, also waiting to pre-board, was a group of six Middle Eastern men. They were carrying blue passports with Arabic writing. Two men wore tracksuits with Arabic writing across the back. Two carried musical instrument cases – thin, flat, 18" long. One wore a yellow T-shirt and held a McDonald's bag. And the sixth man had a bad leg -- he wore an orthopedic shoe and limped. When the pre-boarding announcement was made, we handed our tickets to the Northwest Airlines agent, and walked down the jetway with the group of men directly behind us.
My four-year-old son was determined to wheel his carry-on bag himself, so I turned to the men behind me and said, "You go ahead, this could be awhile." "No, you go ahead," one of the men replied. He smiled pleasantly and extended his arm for me to pass. He was young, maybe late 20's and had a goatee. I thanked him and we boarded the plan.
Once on the plane, we took our seats in coach (seats 17A, 17B and 17C). The man with the yellow shirt and the McDonald's bag sat across the aisle from us (in seat 17E). The pleasant man with the goatee sat a few rows back and across the aisle from us (in seat 21E). The rest of the men were seated throughout the plane, and several made their way to the back.
(Excerpt) Read more at womenswallstreet.com ...
Ernie,
Let me know when you plan to fly; I want to be on YOUR plane!
An article I read recently said that he did not report the event. He told the crew. AFTER 911 he confirmed that the crew had reported the incident to the FAA.
Me either. That's why I believe that the story has been embellished.
This sounds very logical to me.
Calm the passenger, keep him from over-reacting 'solo' AND also reassurance for herself that there were others, besides the crew and Air Marshalls, that were alarmed, aware and ready for action if need be.
We can strip search grandma, but we can't detain and question 14 Syrians who do all kinds of threatening stuff on a flight?
Political correctness is suicide.
Mind you, I am a person that is not in favor of the "security state" that so many here are. But, I am in favor of common sense, and common sense dictates that when you have more than a dozen foreigners, from a hostile country, that do stuff like this, you detain them, and figure out exactly what they were up to.
These actions are still at least somewhat informative, as we now know how they are trying to get around the fact that a small group of hijackers would be disembowled by passengers. They are obviously trying to get enough terrorists on board where they can afford to lose half or more, and still pull off their objective.
Given that Dearborn, MI is the largest concentration of Arabs outside the Middle East what were you expecting? All white men?
Thank you, Don for that very effective, reflective perspective (not trying for a laugh here, it just came out that way!)
What Blog - sounds like one I should be reading:)? I just googled the band's name and of course the geocities site is overloaded. Couldn't even get their "American Tour" dates out of the cache.
Kulna Sawa, meaning "all of us together" in Arabic. Band based in Damascus, Syria. Ten male and one female members. The clarinetist played a gig in Rutherford, NJ on June 27th.
that is funny.....I did question the validity of this story although I was not answered specifically I have read many other posts from folks who think it is valid....
That is how El Al handles it, they do racialy profile. Strangly the Israeli Airlines has never lost a plane.
But they do not get to wear a brownie button for PC either. By the way, I fly El Al...
All good points and I would think the standard reasoning for those who would do such a thing. The idea I put forward in my post was a response to the unusual nature of the activity reported in the story.
But sitting here thinking, another scenario comes to mind that blends both. Destroy the aircraft in flight, but at low altitude over the city. Mass casualties, destruction, economic impact, etc.
Tour is not scheduled to start until November.
http://www.geocities.com/kinankulnasawa/about.html
Music Group from Syria to Perform Concert for Peace Tour of U.S. in November
A Concert for Peace Tour is being planned for this November which will bring Together/Kulna Sawa, a well-known music group from Damascus, Syria, to American audiences. Kulna Sawa, which means "All of us together" in Arabic, combines the distinctive sounds of Middle Eastern music with the beat and style of American music for a unique sound like nothing you've ever heard before! Concerts are currently being planned in some 20 major cities around the U.S.
In the midst of the current tensions and conflict between East and West, the virtuoso musicians of Together/Kulna Sawa will use music, the universal language, as a way to build understanding and trust between Americans and the people of the Middle East. The tour is being sponsored by the Culture for Peace Program which is a part of the Royal Academy of Science International Trust (RASIT). RASIT is a non-governmental charitable organization which has been serving education and science since 1969. The Culture for Peace program of RASIT was formed in 1996 to create dialogue and understanding between East and West through cultural exchange to build respect for each other's culture.
The 11-member band is made up of highly accomplished young Christian and Muslim musicians from Syria. They have already made their mark on the Middle East music scene with their distinctive blend of the traditional Arabic music of their homeland and the new sounds and rhythms of American pop and jazz. They have recorded several very successful CD's and have performed internationally to enthusiastic audiences. During their U.S. tour, Together/ Kulna Sawa will be performing in both English and Arabic.
The Daily Star, an English-language newspaper in Beirut, Lebanon, said that Together/Kulna Sawa "is breaking new ground with their fusion of Western and Middle Eastern music styles." To read the complete feature article on the band in the Daily Star, click here. They have already been building bridges between cultures: among their highly successful concerts, they have recently performed jointly with an Irish group under the sponsorship of the British Council.
The tour builds upon a very well-received spring Concert for Peace tour of Dialogue, another group from Syria, which similarly offered American audiences an opportunity to hear a unique form of music and be part of an experience of bridge-building and peace-making between the Middle East and the U.S.
A website with more information about the November tour of Together/ Kulna Sawa including audio and video clips is under construction and will be available shortly. For more information:
Mel Lehman
Culture for Peace
310 Riverside Dr., #511
New York, NY 10025
(212) 865-6115
ML9612921@aol.com
Designed By : Mays Domat
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To whom did she report it?
I've emailed Mel Lehman on the off chance that he can confirm or deny that Kulna Sawa was involved in this incident.
Fourteen men seems like a huge number to knock it down. Two guys with the orthopedic shoes, in theory, could do that.
Perhaps there is technical redundancy in the boom-plan to assure its success, so as to cause a first disaster to draw cameras in to record some bigger cataclysm. Or, maybe the goblins' operation calls for a backup plan of horror, in case a takeover cannot be completed. Hence, multiple devices for such contingencies.
With that many operatives, the enemy seems absolutely determined that something happen in a certain city, and on approach.
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