BuffaloGirl

I just read the follow-up article (take a look at it TopMan)...after having read the original yesterday. Seems very credible. I think a lot of people have become complacent. If you don't think this stuff is going on, you're not paying attention. There's a lot of credible info. out there that you're not being told about for fear of mass hysteria.

And please, Arab shieks and princes flying coach on an American airliner? Now that I'd like to see. (Then again, no I don't).

Thanks for the heads-up, TxTravelPro!

k_999_9

http://query.nytimes.com/mem/tnt.htm...html&tntemail0

This is the NY Times take on her story. If you don't want to read it, the summary is:

Her facts are essentially correct, that two groups of Arab-looking men with packages behaved strangely on the flight, including standing in the aisles when the "seatbelt" sign was on and visiting the lavatories in groups.

However, the Times seems to back up the story that it was just a group of musicians. I guess the unanswered question remains: Did anyone investigate their actions in-flight?

kat

My brother is a customs agent in NYC. You have no idea how many "incidents" happen that do not make it to the media. Just because CNN wasn't there to greet the plane doesn't make it a hoax.

bonniebroad

I hope no one lets the N.Y. Times interpretation of the story influence their thinking too much. That paper has really lost credibility on several stories in the last couple of years!

wagonwheel

Frankly I'm surprised that people are taking this lightly. Regardless of what someone's rights are , bottom line, if I'm not comfortable with what I'm seeing/feeling when the plane is boarding, I'm getting off. MY choice to make.

k_999_9

Oh, I have much more confidence in womenswallstreet.com than the NY Times, of course (groan).

Ryan

As Ann Jacobson correctly pointed out, if 9 terrorists can be taught to fly a plane, certainly 14 can be taught to play instruments.

When I read articles like this and I read the reactions of some on this board who miss the bigger point (or complain about the extra time security takes) I thank God everyday that I no longer have a job that has me flying 30 business trips a year.

Sadly, like everything else when it comes to air safety, the FAA and the airlines will live with the risk, until they are forced to act when people die.

TxTravelPro

I'm with you WagonWheel!
I think I like the thought of being empowered like that...
I mean, if people can smuggle in contraband to people in maximum security prison, how an I trust the TSA bozos to keep contraband off a plane?

Ryan

All I can say as I read some of these comments in UNBELIEVABLE. The fact that some are hung up on the source, WHEN MULTIPLE MEDIA OUTLETS like ABC, NBC, the NY Times, etc all state the government has confirmed their was an incident, just boggles my mind. We're at risk - read the original article, the follow-up, and the letters from industry sources!

I wonder, when the next plane is used as a terrorist weapon, will you first question the media outlet reporting it?

bonniebroad

k_999_9, think Jayson Blair and Judith Miller to name a couple of reporters........ Not to say the NYT isn't a good paper, but it doesn't carry the prestige it once did, IMHO. I no longer take something as gospel that I read there, as I, admittedly, once did.

RBC

The article is a must read only if you are interested in the hysterical rantings of a right wing racist. The only thing that the "Middle Eastern men" actually was to use the lavatory when the seat belt sign was on. How many times have you been on flights when non middle eastern people use the lavatories when the seat belt sign is on? Every flight I've ever been on people have done this. Further proof of the racist hysteria of the article is her quoting of Ann Coulter, a Neanderthal nut case who is even further right than Rush (if that is possible).

Jed

Now, c'mon, RBC. They did more than use the bathroom at the wrong time.

RBC

The article is a must read only if you are interested in the hysterical rantings of a right wing racist. The only thing that the "Middle Eastern men" actually did was to use the lavatory when the seat belt sign was on. How many times have you been on flights when non middle eastern people use the lavatories when the seat belt sign is on? Every flight I've ever been on people have done this. Further proof of the racist hysteria of the article is her quoting of Ann Coulter, a Neanderthal nut case who is even further right than Rush (if that is possible).

bonniebroad

Sounds to me as though, on this flight in question, we were getting slapped in the face by our own political correctness. From Jacobsen's account, these 14 Syrian men behaved in this most peculiar manner ... yet no one felt they should/could intervene. It sounds to me as though these men were making an effort to alarm other passengers, up to a point, but didn't go over the line where the air marshals could/would have called them on their actions. Yet a white-haired, WASP Granny can barely get through an airport these days without being relieved of her shoes, and half her clothing, when there is not the slightest thing unusual about her behavior.

But my big question is this: why aren't we hearing more from other passengers on the plane? I do wonder about that.... Guess it will all come out in the wash!

beachbum

No one wants to believe this story, but to discount it purely as paranoia (or right wing conspiracy) seems tantamount to denying that terrorists are still after us. Or, do you believe the prosecution of the war against terror is 100% effective? Is there a middle ground? And, if so, what are you willing to risk that you're right?

k_999_9

1. Using the lavatories wasn't the "only" thing they did. Read the NY Times account, and you'll see that.

2. The question is not whether you totally believe the NY Times. To cite two instances of inaccuracy amid the millions of stories that come out of the Times doesn't seem to lend reasonable weight to your argument that the Times is an unreliable source. No one said the Times is perfect. The question is which source you put more faith in. Fox news, perhaps?

3. It's unclear whether the air marshals stayed quiet because they didn't want to alarm the passengers or they didn't think the actions of the men warranted action. We really don't have the air marshal's side (yet).

kikahead

I'm with RBC on the entire article. Quoting Ann Coulter was the final straw. Would I be nervous if I was on the flight? Dunno. I disagree with the inferred call for racial profiling.

bonniebroad

k_999_9, my comment on the NY Times is no big thing. (Really has nothing to do with this story, and whether it is believable or not.) I'm just saying, in general, that the NYT is not my indicator of what's kosher and what isn't - I don't trust it as I once did. I rely on a ton of news sources and form my own opinion on an issue. (Not to say that you don't!)

We all know the terrorists will create another 9/11 if they get a chance. My question, in this instance, is "where are the other passengers on this flight, and why aren't we hearing from them?" Otherwise, I don't find the story suspect.

beachbum

Why is it so important to determine whether or not the story is true? Shouldn't the questions be:

1. Is it plausible that terrorists could build a bomb in flight?

2. If so, what's to be done to prevent it from happening?

blacktie

TSA, FAA and the airlines must make sure there's no repeat. That would be a tragedy. Since Bush builds his reelection around thwarting terrorism, if they get their hands on another plane, I'd think there'd be a move to impeach Bush, and rightly so. I cannot understand the stupidity in this country.

Last week, someone stopped their car on a bridge and started videotaping planes landing. When a motorist called 911, the cops gave him the run-a-round about jurisdiction, and by the time it was sorted out, after he called four police departments, the person had finished and moved on.