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 ...
wrearrr! cat fight!
This one is worth reading. Honest.
Having read the article and some 500 or so posts, I concur, it was a training run. All of them getting up after the attendants are strapped in? One I can understand. ALL? No way.
While I think this is one tactic, I witnessed what I think is another tactic. I saw a small jet, probably a Cessna shadowing a big jet(777 or A330) that was likely in landing pattern to Newark. I watched these two planes over a huge arc of the sky over many minutes on my drive home. The small plane was too high and too close for it to also be landing, but it was on that big plane like I've never seen and I work under the approach to Newark and Teterboro and see planes coming in for landings every day, 2 to 3 minutes apart. It was odd, it was WAY out of the norm.
I reported it through my own back channel and since it's been about a month I figured I'd add it in here just so other folks also might watch for practice runs. I've been watching airplanes for 30+ years, this was the oddest thing I've ever seen and it spooked me. Could have been a fluke, or could be nothing. I saw it, it scared me.
Small planes don't get the scrutiny that big ones do, but small jets can take out big ones.
I think that the best and safest way to handle being on a plane where something like this is happening is to voice out loud what your concerns are. So everybody else does not think that they are crazy. Something like, those guys keep bringing things into the bathroom and it scares me. What are we going to do?
I think that the best and safest way to handle being on a plane where something like this is happening is to voice out loud what your concerns are. So everybody else does not think that they are crazy. Something like, those guys keep bringing things into the bathroom and it scares me. What are we going to do?
what does that mean?
I don't know whether to laugh, cry or swear. Its obvious that these men were testing the system and will report back to their radical leaders what they have learned from this flight.
Typical of liberal leftists in our government, we must not discriminate against would be terrorists. Let them kill us first, then we'll pick up the people in their cell group and let the tax payers pay for their attorneys.
need this.. dont need that. too bad
I'm not sure either. &:-)))
I have dogs barking and running, the phone ringing, the doorbell ding donging, and emails coming in. Bongggg!
All at the same time. Sorry!
I just hope if I ever have to fly again, there are freepers all around me. I don't want to have to be
the only one on the plane that thinks something should be done to counteract the terrorists before they plow the plane into some building somewhere.
Maybe we need to create a, "Flying Freeper Friend" list to call when we fly.
oh yeah.. passengers under 16 either.
womens wall street? wtf? where is the mens wall street?
haha - i know what you mean. I'm a stay-at-home dad at the moment (although I have a job interview (3rd round) tomorrow) and I have to deal with the kids, dogs, etc.
I also agree about flying - I may have to be flying soon if this 3rd round interview goes well.
>Absolutely! I figured this was something Michael Savage would go nuts over, so I went to his website to find an email address... he already has a link to this story at the top of his front page.<
I was telling a friend about this story, and he said it was being discussed last night on Coast-To-Coast.
badeye cant see the reason -why- nothing major has happened since 9-11. give up your foolish stubborness, cuz. you cant be that insecure.
Outrageous.
good god.. i replied to one of your posts earlier before i realized you were.. you know.
Easy for you to say, as you type this on your computer, and your butt is only 14 inchs off the ground.
Let me tell you something, I wouldn't fly on an aircraft with fourteen A-rabs on board, no way in hell.
They had all the passengers sitting there, sweating, some crying, waiting for four hours for something *horrendous* to happen. This is a bad joke.
It's so bad on board, the freaking flight attendents are telling the passengers, "Don't worry there are armed air marshalls all over the plane??? LOL!
Enjoy your flight!
I had a buddy once that got on his plane and some Mid Eastern type that looked like Yaser Arafat came and sat down near him. He said this guy smelled like a damn campfire. He stood up and walked off the plane and he actually quit his job and found a position that didn't require him to fly. I don't blame him.
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