'Suspicious' men removed from Oakland plane They used cash, then spread out to different seats

The San Francisco Chronicle ^ | 10/5/02 | Henry K. Lee

[I_Love_My_Husband]

Four men removed from an America West plane at Oakland International Airport had prompted concerns because three of them paid cash for a ticket surcharge for the flight and had spread out to different seats, while the fourth was seen talking to them, authorities said Friday.

[DentsRun]

Some of the terrorists he helped train are within our borders. Some of his apologists are on this thread.

You'll be pleased to know (if the dog hasn't eaten your homework again) that Bush is doing exactly what I've so often said here that he should do--seek congressional approval before bombing Iraq. (Does that make Bush an "apologist" for Saddam too?)

Allowing the president to bomb whomever he wants whenever he wants has never been part of the conservative agenda. And the fact that some people here can't sleep for fear Saddam is under their beds is no reason to concede that authority to the president now

[DentsRun]

A generation ago, they were the type of "conservatives" who'd panic if they got into the same elevator with a black man. The type of "conservatives" that Leftists like to create caricatures around.

Right. And when people here talk about nuking Baghdad, Mecca and I don't know what else--they've got a whole long list of places that need to be nuked before morning--real conservatives, meaning those of us who want to save and protect America, not turn it into an empire, should call them on it.

[McGavin999]

If you can not see the paralles then you are a fool. We as a nation MUST take precautions. Just as carrying a hand gun is a precaution, so is seeking out those who would do us harm. If you don't lock your car door, you can expect your car will be stolen. If you ignore the enemy within, sooner or later that enemy will destroy you. It's all a question of commonsense.

The greatest strengh America has is it's ability to be a nation of individualists who are smart enough to know when to band together.

[VOA]

The incident is the latest after the Sept. 11 attacks in which "suspicious" behavior on a
plane was later deemed to be harmless.

Jouralism school graduate alert!
No consideration that a criminal act was prevented.
(well, these people don't like to admit that criminal activity is often prevented
simply by the brandishment of a firearm by a citizen).

And no thought that this might be a probing exercise or an attempt to make a band of
Middle Eastern types...hoping for publicity which would make them "victims" and get
sympathy from the press, gullible Americans and most, if not all,
Democratic Senators and Congresspersons.

[TC Rider]

I'm sorry, I thought you were an American. My mistake. Are you posting from Red China or Cuba? No real liberty-loving, equality-loving American thinks that way. No Christian either. So you must be an ahteistic Communist totalitarian.

Both of you better check your meds.

If Arabs want to go out of their way to make themselves suspicous, let them face the consequences.

Let's see, Arabs paid cash for one way tickets together, then spread out to different seats. Who else exibited such bizarre behavior? The hijackers who killed 3000 Americans.

If you are both so blind as to not see they are playing games with our security for either financial gain or to get us to relax our defenses, you deserve to be the next victims.

BTW, at no time did I suggest that all arabs deserve this treatment.

Lighten up.

[Roscoe]

Allowing the president to bomb whomever he wants whenever he wants has never been part of the conservative agenda.

Misrepresenting the actions of President Bush has always been part of the leftist agenda.

[DentsRun]

DentsRun: Allowing the president to bomb whomever he wants whenever he wants has never been part of the conservative agenda.

Misrepresenting the actions of President Bush has always been part of the leftist agenda.

I have no problem with Bush, now that he understands the necessity of getting congressional approval before attacking Iraq. My complaint is rather with those Freepers who have been claiming for months that when it comes to war Bush's status as commander in chief allows him to bypass congress and ignore the constitution. I don't know what these folks are going to do now that Bush is actually seeking a congressional resolution--accuse the president of being an apologist for Saddam?

[Roscoe]

My complaint is rather with those Freepers who have been claiming for months that when it comes to war Bush's status as commander in chief allows him to bypass congress and ignore the constitution.

Strawman.

[Commie Basher]

Allowing the president to bomb whomever he wants whenever he wants has never been part of the conservative agenda.

Most FReepers seemed to understand that when Slick was bombing this, that, and the other. Unfortunately, it now seems that many of those FReepers were not so much pro-Constitution as merely anti-Slick.

They seem to think the Constituion says: When the Chief Executive is a DemocRAT, his powers shall be limited as follows ... When the Chief Executive is a Republican, he may rule by decree.

[Commie Basher]

If you can not see the paralles then you are a fool. We as a nation MUST take precautions. Just as carrying a hand gun is a precaution, so is seeking out those who would do us harm. If you don't lock your car door, you can expect your car will be stolen. If you ignore the enemy within, sooner or later that enemy will destroy you.

The difference is that private gun ownership, security systems, locks, etc., are individual self-empowerment. Very healthy in a limited Constitutional republic. But such individuals rights should not be confused with STATE powers, which are at the expense of citizen rights and must be jealously limited.

[DentsRun]

They seem to think the Constituion says: When the Chief Executive is a DemocRAT, his powers shall be limited as follows ... When the Chief Executive is a Republican, he may rule by decree.

Well said.

[RightWhale]

Arrested for poor posture.

You there! Sit up straight!

[ATOMIC_PUNK]

I dont need no steenking airplane!

[cynwoody]

On 911- 19 Middle Eastern males paid cash for one-way tickets. Now, is that or is it not a profile that should be considered in the future?

False. E.g., Atta put his ticket on a Visa card. Visa - it's everywhere a sand nazi wants to be.

The only useful profile element is appearing middle eastern. All the rest is easy to change. And appearances are not enough to go on. Profiling is basically useless. Too many false positives. Too much unjust treatment. Too much economic inefficiency.

Essentially, these clueless air marshalls were like those errant immune cells that attack the joint tissue of an arthritis sufferer. Rather than protect our country, they instead cripple its transportation system. Allocate the cost of this incident to the the airline, the passengers, their businesses and customers to Al Qaeda's continuing return on its 9/11 investment.

We need to come up with cheaper and more effective security measures. Things that help more than they hurt. Like arming the pilots!

[cynwoody]

Like Richard Reid did, flying around the Mediterranean in funny shoes, before he put on the real bomb shoes and boarded the flight to the U.S.

Yeah, Reid is proof Bush and Ashcroft are soft. Here was a perfect test case for military tribunals -- caught red handed, firmly tied to Al Qaeda by the Wall Street Journal, and not a US citizen. Yet, instead of trying him in double time and executing him, they let the vile critter plead guilty in a civilian court and get off with a jail sentence.

Now FDR! There was a hard guy! When a group of Nazi sabateurs were caught after arriving on our shores via U-boat, they received an expedited military trial and were promptly fried in the Washington, DC electric chair. Roosevelt seized the opportunity to set an example! Yet Reid came a lot closer to killing a bunch of Americans than those miserable Krauts ever did.

[patriciaruth]

Bush and Ashcroft are soft.

And you, Woody, aren't?

LOL!!