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 ...
Good for you.
Inflict enough pain on the airlines and they will eventually turn their lobbyists efforts toward getting rid of the PC crap that is going to get us killed.
Our local radio host, John Carlson, just interviewed this lady. WOW. She seemed very credible. Ms. Jacobsen said she is being interviewed by Tom Brokaw this Monday.
Boy, talk about a wet blanket.
Let me give you a little personal story.
Two days before I was set out to fly to Vegas for the FR conference, I went to my local video store to rent out a movie. There wasn't much of a selection. It's a small store, and all the real good movies were rented out. So, I chose the Eddie Murphy/Robert DeNiro film "Showtime". Took it home, watched it (a bore of a movie), and returned it the very next day.
The day after that I caught my flight to Vegas. And as I was waiting for the plane to takeoff, I read one of those magazines they provided. The one that has all the movie schedules on it. I was surprised and delighted to see that the movie "Spiderman" was sheduled to be shown for that flight. After takeoff, and just before they were ready to show the movie, they announced that due to some error, they didnt have Spiderman. Instead, they would be showing us the movie Showtime, which they did.
Now considering all those facts, I was well within my rights to hit someone on that plane. Not a Judge or Jury in the country would convict me.
BUMPTY
This article scared the hell out of me.
I'm sorry folks, but anyone with passports from Arab countries or who fits profiles of possible terrorists should be virtually strip searched before boarding and strict limits should be placed as to how many of these people can board a flight...
..One per flight
Thanks for the lin Quilla
Great campaign, people!!
What the heck is wrong with this country ? Go ahead and offend them before the next 9/11 happens.
It is quite disturbing to read this article on the eve of the eigh7h anniversary of the terrorist attack upon TWA Flight 800.
http://www.twa800.com/index.htm
In such cases, there should be a flight attendant who would politely say "I'll hold that camera for you sir, you can't take it into the lav"
Maybe the pilot didn't land the plane because he was talking to the air marshals and knew what the plan was if they tried anything? I don't know, just a supposition.
Got a couple of nagging questions about this incident, maybe you can help...
1. If the intent was to build a bomb, would they all really need to go to the bathroom - does it take up that much space? Like, why not just assemble everything in the privacy of a big carry-on bag in the comfort of your own seat?
2. If bomb, made to blow cockpit door open, take over plane? But then there'd be, presumably, the American bum rush to the cockpit.
3. If they just want to blow up passenger planes, why not just go with cargo packages/explosives? For all this effort and manpower, seems like they'd be after another hijack sit.
All the pieces don't fit for me.
He reported the incident immediately after the "rehearsal" flight to the FAA, not the FBI.
PING (Read the whole article).
I mean, when they have an Amber alert and they know the nationality of the kidnappers, should they keep it to themselves? If a white person commits a crime, I don't get all bent out of shape if they profile white people. Wise up America-political correctness will get us killed. If you don't like it move to Canada. Nobody's keeping you here.
(And if I have to fly anywhere, the only airline I will take is Israel's)
My blood is boiling! We all freaking know what nationality the terrorists are. The liberals have signed our death warrants with their PC crap. I am so darn angry that I could just scream! Every Arab male and female should be searched and if they are offended oh well!
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