[MineralMan]

After reading the entire article, I realize that nothing actually happened on the flight. Suspicious activity? Perhaps. But the flight went on, landed safely, and nothing untoward happened.

I refuse to live in fear of everyone who doesn't look like me.

[cripplecreek]

I doubt that terrorists will be able to take over planes anymore. Once it became apparent that terrorists seek to kill instead of hold hostages, even liberals will die trying to prevent it.

[Flightdeck]

I read the whole thing, also, and it wasn't "perhaps" suspicious activity, it WAS very suspicious activity. I agree that it is pointless and debilitating to live in fear, but if this entire account was presented accurately, those men should have surveillance 24/7.

[Conspiracy Guy]

After reading that rambling chicken little story I wish I had waited for the movie to come out.

[eno_]

You are being foolish.

Everyone, including the air marshals on board that flight, were obviously concerned.

At the very least, some attempt to disrupt these passengers' activity should have been made while en-route.

It is also exteremely irresponsible for our airline security to allow this group to fly together - twice!

It also shows the priorities of our airline security:

1. Be politically correct
2. Cover your own ass
3. Minimize public awareness of terrorist threats
4. Uhhhh, yeah, try to keep everyday people form dying, if we get around to it

[wbill]

Good Point. You also need to read the entire article to find that the questionable men were thoroughly checked out and cleared.

I also refuse to have an irrational fear of silverware. If someone comes at me with a fork stolen from an airport restaurant, I think I'll be able to fend them off.

I DID think that it was interesting, though, that airlines are allowed to detain only two 'minorities' per flight (I'm assuming that I read that right). If there are 20 suspicious Arabs (or caucasians, or blacks, or Indians, or....) on a plane, I think that I'd like to see them all talked to.

[Camerican]

The 911 hijackers took at least one rehearsal flight. The actor James Woods was a witness to their odd behavior on that rehearsal flight. This could have been a rehearsal flight. Or perhaps the rags couldn't assemble their bomb as planned (hence the one man mouthing the word "no" near the end of the flight).

I agree that living in fear is not the way. But burying your head in the sand in the face of blatantly threatening behavior is foolish. How many stories, editorials, etc. have been published about how the 911 hijackers were able to take over their planes with nothing more than box cutters because the passengers were so stunned that such a thing could happen that they failed to take any action to stop what was going on? Only the brave souls on the Pennsylvania flight did this - and only after they found out by cell phone what had happened earlier in New York.

Northworst should have taken better action - including calling an immediate emergency landing if the pilots deemed it appropriate. Even if the group turned out to not be an immediate threat (they would probably be a threat on a later flight), such action would send out a signal that the airlines are still being vigilant.

As for claims of racial profiling, Phuck the rags. Give them their own airline and then everyone will be a whole lot safer.

[OpusatFR]

Practice makes perfect.

[DustyMoment]

While I agree that nothing actually happened on the flight, the activities of these 14 men were suspicious and, in my mind, enough to raise the discomfort level beyond reasonable.

We have to remember that we are living in a post-9/11 world and our very survival depends heavily on being uncomfortable in these types of circumstances. Furthermore, although Bush has not overruled him, Norman Minetta's demand that ME men or persons of ME descent NOT be profiled has been demonstrably proven to be inexcusably reckless and dangerous. We know that the terrorists want another successful attack against the US INSIDE the US, why help them achieve it?

While this story sounds very much like a Hollywood "much-ado-about-nothing" movie in which a bunch of suspicious activities occur but nothing actually happens, the fact remains that, given what we know about the ME and Muslims, something COULD have happened. As silly as it seems, we have to defend against the prospect of what COULD have happened versus what did.

Because this is a POST-9/11 world, not an innocent 9/10 world.

[reagan_fanatic]

This was suspicious activity and it is quite clear by the account provided that these 'passengers' were in the process of conducting a dry run, not unlike the dry runs performed by Mohammed Atta and the rest of the 9/11 hijackers.

I suspect there have been many other such probes of our airline security since 9/11, and they will continue until they find the 'hole' that they are looking for.

[JackHawk]

I refuse to live in fear myself, but I don't plan to live STUPID either!

[MACVSOG68]

Suspicious activity? Perhaps. But the flight went on, landed safely, and nothing untoward happened.

So only if the flight were blown up would you have become concerned? My understanding is that terrorists conduct numerous dry runs. But then, I guess they have a constitutional right to conduct dry runs, and if it generates suspicion, then obviously those concerned are racists....

[gr8eman]

I think you are missing the point...I mean I know you are. Suppose you were on that flight! How would you have felt seeing the behaviour that this woman described? I think I would have done something to disrupt their actions! What I do not understand is why wasn't 9/11 a wakeup call to a lot of people!

[Camel Joe]

Swell, dry runs are therefore a very useful tool.

[petro45acp]

>>After reading the entire article, I realize that nothing actually happened on the flight. Suspicious activity? Perhaps. But the flight went on, landed safely, and nothing untoward happened.

I think you may have missed a point in the article. This appeared to be a practice/trial run. Not a bad process, they will simply need to get more of the "lily whites" recruited to make it work. Too many folks are now walking around in condition yellow (see Cooper conditions, not DHS) for swarthy ME types to pull it off (hence the article).

>>I refuse to live in fear of everyone who doesn't look like me.

It isn't fear, but alertness and recognition that there are, in fact, evil people out there. So, don't live in fear. Hopefully there will be enough people out there with training and determination (I don't mention means because that has been totally taken away by the "fly naked" rules in place now), to try and minimize the impact of any attacks by people who may or may not look differently but absolutely, think differently.

Stay alert,

[camas]

suspicious activity?? funny stuff?? and nothing happened. could be nothing, could be a trial run. no one should live in fear just stay awake and be careful.

[EUPHORIC]

"I refuse to live in fear of everyone who doesn't look like me."

Nice warm fuzzy touchey feeley politically correct mantra ya got there. Shame that chant gets your head chopped off nowdays by those people that don't look like you.

[hopespringseternal]

After reading the entire article, I realize that nothing actually happened on the flight. Suspicious activity? Perhaps.

Denial isn't just a river in Egypt, is it?

I refuse to live in fear of everyone who doesn't look like me.

Reread the article. She had just spent a lot of time in the company of people who didn't look like her, and was comfortable. Your self-righteous sentiment has nothing to do with reality.

[libstripper]

The 9/11 terrorists ran one or two dry runs where they didn't hurt anybody. These birds could well have been doing the sme thing. The article never could have been written if they'd taken the plane over and crashed it into downtown LA.

[FeliciaCat]

Wow. I dont know what kind of flights you take but I fly quite a bit and if this happend on one of my flights I would be WAY more then a little "suspicious". If these guys were "musicians" then I'm a rocket scientist. Sounds to me like they got spooked at the last minute and decided to call things off.

This PC crap of not profiling peoplehas GOT to stop. If their "feelings" are hurt,tough.

[philosofy123]

First what the hell is WOMEN WALL STREET.COM? Is there a publication called MEN WALL STREET? The hysterical babe needs to take a deep breath. The Hispanic population in the US is more than 25% already, so by the time you add the Indians, and other mixed race population, we can imagine that more than half of the US population are not blond and blue eyed. If we are going to soil our underwear every time we see a darker skin person, we will have no lives.

I don't even know why the idiot who posted this stupid article said it is a "MUST READ"! I wasted my time.