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 ...
He read the article.
"A law enforcement official stood near us, holding 14 Syrian passports in his hand. "
Alouette,
I wouldn't hide from them if I were you. Remember you are one of His chosen people for a reason and that reason probably isn't to hide. Not only that, but their purpose is to make people afraid, to terrorize them. If you hide, then aren't they winning that little battle?
Psalm 91 will be my prayer for you:
O thou that dwellest in the covert of the Most High, and abidest in the shadow of the Almighty;
I will say of the LORD, who is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust,
That He will deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.
He will cover thee with His pinions, and under His wings shalt thou take refuge; His truth is a shield and a buckler.
Thou shalt not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flieth by day;
Of the pestilence that walketh in darkness, nor of the destruction that wasteth at noonday.
A thousand may fall at Thy side, and ten thousand at Thy right hand; it shall not come nigh thee.
Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold, and see the recompense of the wicked.
For thou hast made the LORD who is my refuge, even the Most High, thy habitation.
There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy tent.
For He will give His angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.
They shall bear thee upon their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.
Thou shalt tread upon the lion and asp; the young lion and the serpent shalt thou trample under feet.
Because he hath set his love upon Me, therefore will I deliver him; I will set him on high, because he hath known My name.
He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him, and bring him to honour.
With long life will I satisfy him, and make Him to behold My salvation.'
Because they work so cheap. Nothing is more important than cheap foreign labor. Haven't you heard? And if it costs a few airliners and the lives of a couple of thousand Americans or so, well. . . that's just the cost of doing business.
/sarcasm
Sorry, but when she mentioned reading a column by Ann Coulter she outed herself...as a conservative. Liberals hate Coulter the way we hate Moore.
Just one bad eye?
there are trash receptacles and places for paper towels as well. The only thing I could think of would be to retreive a bag from someone going to the lavatory and put something from your bag onto something from theirs and pass the bag along to the next person. That way nothing left in lavatory. I think it might be possible but I know nothing about bombs and all so I don't know.
That is so sweet. I hope all that sensitivity training they give to pilots pays off then their flights go down in fiery explosions.
I agree with those who think this sounds like a dry run.
If there had been real bombmaking materials on board, they would have arrested them. But what they may have been testing is whether a large group of Arabs can board a plane without being stopped.
There's nothing wrong with profiling if it's done honestly. If necessary to cover themselves from political charges, they should have thoroughly searched all of the passengers before boarding because of the presence of this suspicious group.
The odds of any marshals being on that particular flight are slim. The woman was probably just told that to keep her quiet. The pilot probably called ahead to report the situation to have the LE there when and if they landed safely.
-PJ
MM: To make the statement "I refuse to live in fear of everyone who doesn't look like me," and yet claim you read the entire article makes you disingenuous.
These men did a lot more than "look" different than you. The committed overtly furtive acts which could not be contrued as "innocent."
I know this is serious, but as I read your post, tears of laughter rolled down my cheeks. Shoot, I'm still laughing. As is often said in my neck of the woods - bless your heart. ;-)
Of course they just told her that to pacify her. Can you imagine the hoopla if she'd been told they were indeed terrorists and had been in the process of blowing her plane up? Just like she was told there were marshals on board when there probably weren't. The airlines can't have passengers getting excited and jumping on each other nor can they have any more bad publicity over their lack of security. The FBI and other powers that be can't afford the admitting we aren't any more safe than we were on 9/10. The evil doers are here, have been here for a long while, and no one is sending them packing. Sitting on their hands listening to chatter is just too passive imo.
Charlton Heston called political correctness "tyranny with manners."
I am afraid that they will try to pull off another airborne operation, if not more than one. (In addition to other plots I am sure they are concocting)
The kid gloves need to come off, and let us fight the good fight, down and dirty, with no irrational restrictions that fly in the face of common sense and street smarts. Profiling of duly noted terrorist types, should be mandatory and passed by Congress ex post haste.
"When the swords flash let no idea of love, piety, or even the face of your fathers move you." - Caesar
They are not suppose to, in this case the flight attendant probably feared the passengers panicking and informed her to calm her down. Even the flight attendant acknowledged she could get into trouble for telling her.
How did she see Downtown LA if she were sitting Row 17 A,B or C which is on the left side of the plane. On approach to LAX from the east going west Downtown LA could only be seen from the Right side of the aircraft.
If she is familiar with the LA area she would not have to see downtown to know where it was relative to the planes position. Or she could have just glanced across the plane and looked out the window.
Better dead and politically correct than a live racial profiler?
"I will be circulating this story far and wide" - Space Wrangler
GOOD !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
"When the swords flash let no idea of love, piety, or even the face of your fathers move you." -Caesar
Quilla, bless your heart too honey!
I know it's funny, but it sort of helps the anxiousness of the situation.
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