Posted on 07/19/2004 10:15:47 AM PDT by jimbo123
Last Tuesday morning, WomensWallStreet.com (WWS) published my first-person account of a recent Northwest Airlines flight that I took from Detroit to Los Angeles called Terror in the Skies, Again? A heads up about this article went out in our Daily Cents email -- our subscriber newsletter which primarily features financial tips and information for women.
On Wednesday morning, the WWS page views were unusually high, something like 10 times the normal amount. Apparently our readers had been emailing the article to their friends, family and colleagues and everyone was reading it.
By Thursday morning, that number had again multiplied ten-fold. It felt like the shampoo commercial from my youth: they told two friends, then they told two friends, then they told two friends. We sat in the WWS offices reading through your emails, taking stock of what you had to say. As the afternoon went on, the number of people reading the article continued to increase and the telephone was ringing off the hook.
And then a powerful thing happened. The mainstream media started calling.
The following statement was made by Daniel Drezner, an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago, on his website danieldrezner.com:
I received a mass email linking to this disturbing first-person account by Annie Jacobsen... I can say that the e-mail sent to me and other bloggers was cc-ed to movers and shakers in the mediaspere -- Bill Keller, David Ignatius, George Will, Anne Applebaum, and Nicholas D. Kristoff. So they're certainly aware of the story... I'd like to see real journalists dig deeper into this.
Dig they did. NBC was the first major news outlet to contact WomensWallStreet. The producer I spoke with on the telephone said the FBI had confirmed that 14 Syrians were on the flight, they confirmed the details about what happened upon landing in Los Angeles, and they said that the accounts from the flight attendants regarding what happened during the flight matched the accounts given by me and my husband to the FBI after we landed.
Then I spoke with a producer from ABC. She explained that she could not get Dave Adams, Head of Public Affairs of the Federal Air Marshal Services (FAM), on the phone. So she asked me some of the questions that she had wanted to ask him: Where exactly did this band of 14 musicians play? What was the name of the band? Who booked the band and what kind of music did they play? Did anyone follow up and actually witness these 14 men performing at their desert casino gig? I had none of the answers, even though I had asked Adams these exact questions myself when we spoke last week. The ABC producer also asked me other questions which had crossed my mind after hanging up with Adams. Did I know anything about their return flight on JetBlue? Did the men go back to Syria? Did I believe FAM's story?
(Excerpt) Read more at womenswallstreet.com ...
"When GW is winning, go to ABCNNBC BS and put your tv on mute and watch them doing Mime in utter depression.
I did that the night we took away the congress when the Toon was president. It was a riot."
He he he, I like to do that whenever I find Aaron Brown on CNN. I hit the mute and offer my own commentary for the amusement of my wife.....LOL!
Hey, what can I say. After almost two decades I can still make her laugh.
I do the same with the lib screaming heads on mute!
She laughs at them on mute and my comments. That is 43 years of putting up with my sick humor.
I believed Ms. Jacobsen's account described in incredible detail in her first article. I was so concerned about what I read that I printed out the article and asked my husband and two teenagers to read it. They did. Without any preface, I asked them what they thought the 14 men were doing and what they would have done in the situation. All three considered the Syrians actions to be a dry run just as I did.
But, when I read so many comments indicating skepticism from posters whose opinions I respect, a few seeds of doubt were sown. I was just hoping for more details. Snopes.com, a site that debunks rumors, has this story rated as "undetermined" as they were waiting on the follow-up as well.
Thanks. I'll be interested to see if NBC airs the story.
You've got a good point, lying about things at this point would likely only lead to embarrassment or loss of professional reputation, which is one reason I'm more inclined than not to believe her.
You're right insofar as this being largely a court problem -- but Mineta is part of the problem continuing. I say this as a huge supporter of President Bush, but it concerns me that everyone -- including the Administration -- tiptoes around these issues, worried about being politically correct and/or not being sued (and one has only to see the derision for the Patriot Act to understand, in part, why) --and no one seems to have the courage to sound the clarion call to drop the P.C.-ness when it comes to airport screenings...working harder to close the borders...etc. I really wonder if it's going to take another major attack, something even worse, for Americans to get serious about airline and border security.
The actions of the flight attendants is similar to what I've seen on many trips. However, I have never seen 3 much less 14 ME men on one flight.
Hushing it up would make no sense. I'll remain skeptical because it just reads a little strange.
don't get me wrong, Mineta should have been fired right after 9-11.
The republicans don't have the guts to take this issue on - because to do so would mean having to take on the mainstream media and the judiciary, both head on. and to be honest, with so many americans dumbed down today, they see that effort as political suicide, and sadly they may well be right.
Like Ronald Reagan, Mineta has an airport named in his honor.
save for later bump
IMO, the only way we get serious about airline and border security is by allowing the LEO's to target without repercussion those who are non-citizens in our country.
If the Captain waas aware and concerned per original story. He would have announced turbulence, return to seats, and fasten seat belts. He wouldn't have kept flying with the FA's running around passing notes and talking to passengers about AM's being all over the plane.
That just doesn't wash in the Post 9/11 era.
I'd say so, too :-(
Reminds me of a terrific bumper sticker I just heard about, though....
"Kerry is bin Laden's man.... Bush is mine!"
Why are any Syrians allowed in this country post-911? If the 'Rats wanted to make points with the electorate, they'd eliminate political correctness on this issue and put the safety of our country above it. I'm not going to hold my breath.
Or as Arnold would say:
Kerry & Bin Laden are GIRLIE MEN!!!
and what do you do when they refuse to take their seats and buckle up?
the only way to stop something like this is not to let them board the flight in the first place.
Part II: Terror in the Skies, Again? ..............PING
There are remedies, esp. with air marshals on board, if they fail to take their seats. Even without air marshalls, armed pilots and patriotic travelers will certainly step up to the plate.
I have seen no official confirmation. If it's on here I missed it.
I am not trying to discredit anyone and it seems that someone other than me has tight panties.
"IMO, the only way we get serious about airline and border security is by allowing the LEO's to target without repercussion those who are non-citizens in our country."
Yes, I agree, to me what you are saying is part of "getting serious."
Of course you know we'll hear sob stories in the media still about people "wrongly" profiled...we're overly sensitive, I think, because of genuine racial wrongs in our country's past. But we've got to realize this is a new era, get over the past and do what needs doing *now* for the safety of us all.
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