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 ...
I got the same report. Frustrating.
What do you make of this woman's story?
Well if the disobey the Captain's order to be seated then the alleged Air Marshalls have the right to seat them. When you are on an Airliner the Captain is the law.
Try it sometime and see.
there are 14 terrorists on the plane, they don't want to hijack it, they want to blow it up. if two of them pose as the disruptors, as soon as the marshalls approach them, some of the other members of the team use that distraction to set off the bomb.
there is no way to stop an attack like this once you allow the possible terrorists to board the plane. none.
Precedence against political correctness is on our side. The courts just choose to ignore it.
That's how I read it but I have been flamed.
No Shi'ite. If they were on the level, this could be marketed into a gold mine for them. The Dim's could play the "evil racist Republican" card to the hilt, invite them to play for nice Bab's tune at the convention.
Some publicist type must have booked them. Just have him give give them another call.
What? They've just disappeared off the face of the earth? Why would they do that?
I guess they're just shy.
not at all, I don't put any particular trust in the motives of the author. if what she is saying is true, then let's comment on it as such.
but I will say - if airline security was working correctly, these guys would not have been able to board the plane. just like the El Al system, you can't just show up and buy a ticket - you have to prove who you are. That system that was recently scrapped to classify flyers was one way to go.
The author said it so me must believe it.
A little potation never husts. :)
I think this is probably why the gov. is downplaying it. Vigilantes make data gathering on these twits difficult. However, footage of 14 liquor cart curb jobs playing on Al Jazeera would warm my heart.
I agree. Hopefully, it's just paranoia - but my wife, who has a sensitivity about such matters - has been feeling it, too.
trust me, if this were to happen with our current justice system, first the ACLU will sue the airlines and win $$$s. then they will use hate crimes legislation to start putting these pilots in jail.
we cannot solve this problem with the current judicial system we have - the liberal judges, the lack of tort reform, the sheeple packing the juries - its a lost cause right now.
I will forward this to the author to see if she recognizes the faces.
But, when I read so many comments indicating skepticism from posters whose opinions I respect, a few seeds of doubt were sown.
That be's you. ;-)
Believe me when I say, I'd like all Foreign Muslims deported and not allowed to return. These guys obviously did not blow up the plane. 14 guys to blow up one plane is a huge expediture of resources.
Personally I would have picked another flight. I have done that 3 times since the early 80's but not even once since 9/11. I haven't called the lady a liar and I am anything but PC. I will remain a little skeptical until the story gets someone other than the author confirming it.
Bttt
We have agreed on so many things in the past. I'm not saying she lied. I believe she was scared. I just have trouble with Flight Crew reactions. Unless we detrained flight crews since 9/11, the crews' actions make no sense.
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