TRUTH about "Terror in the Skies - Again?" Inside!

[ZebraStripes]

Michelle Malkin has a bunch of links to various articles. This is the most recent of her postings.

 

[want2retire]

It is probably safe to assume that everyone has fears of one kind or another. One of the previous posters has admitted to being a nervous flyer. Outside of an act of terrorism on a plane, I have always heard that air travel is safer than traveling by car. What makes Annie Jacobsen's fear (given the circumstances) any more irrational than a fear of flying? Perhaps she did over-react, but again, hindsight is 20/20. I would have been scared, too. Several posters have said the whole story was a "fabrication". Perhaps the author's assessment of the situation was wrong, but evidently the events she described did occur. How about this part of the article?


"The last man came out of the bathroom, and as he passed the man in the yellow shirt he ran his forefinger across his neck and mouthed the word "No." "

I would rather report suspicious activity to the authorities and be wrong than not report it and regret it later.

 

[eeyore45]

I just thought it was interesting when I read to the end of the article...

\quote[June 29 was no ordinary day in the skies. That day, Department of Homeland Security officials issued an "unusually specific internal warning," urging customs officials to watch out for Pakistanis with physical signs of rough training in the al Qaeda training camps. The warning specifically mentioned Detroit and Los Angeles's LAX airports, the origin and terminus of NWA flight 327.

That means that our air-traffic system was expecting trouble. But rather than land the plane in Las Vegas or Omaha, it was allowed to continue on to Los Angeles without interruption, as if everything were hunky-dory on board. It certainly wasn't. If this had been the real thing, and the musicians had instead been terrorists, nothing was stopping them from taking control of the plane or assembling a bomb in the restroom. Given the information they were working with at the time, almost everyone should have reacted differently than they did.

Jacobsen's fear was quite natural under these circumstances, and she has done us a service by pointing out some egregious shortfalls in our airline security. Danke Schoen, Darling. Let's hope the right people are listening [q]

http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/taylor200407211921.asp

 

[wvrevy]

Yes, here he is folks...The terrorist of flight 327:

 

[dianeschlicht]

Thanks for this article! When I showed the first one to DH, we talked about how something didn't smell right with the whole story. This article DOES set it straight though.

 

[Ronda93]

Eeyore1954 said....

"I watched the videos on ABCNews last night. It was disturbing more than anything to see how casual and easy it was to get through security. 9/11 is a horrific memory for everyone, but that's hardly an excuse to allow prejudice to run free in the named of assumed security"

*****************

What *should* have happened at the security gate? Were they carrying anything that would not have been allowed on the plane at that time? If you believe the planes were taken over by boxcutters they would have gone into the cereal bowl with car keys and other pocket stuff and never given a second look.

Prior to the hysteria about sharp things I'd carry a Swiss army knife on me and a Leatherman in my carry-on. The Swiss army knife never raised any eyebrows and only once when he couldn't discern what the large bright object was on the screen, did a screener ask if I had a tool in my bag. I said yes, he said okay.

I've seen several recent media references to the "security failures" and I want to know what the failure was. The head guy at Logan was forced to resign because of this and I still don't see where the screening process didn't work as designed... it was designed to keep guns off of planes. Good work.

 

[OceanAnnie]

Originally posted by Eeyore1954
Events like that happen on every flight. I've been on more flights than I can count where there've been crowds in the aisles, lines at washrooms, people rummaging through carry-ons, people talking loudly in foreign languages, people whispering -- sometimes in foreign languages. This is NOT odd ... it's life on a normal flight. Either Ms. Jacobsen does not travel by plane very much or she has an incredibly overactive imagination. I suspect it's a little of both.

That's not exactly the way Ms. Jacobsen described the events. I've been on many a flight myself, but I haven't witnessed events as she described them.

Remember, snopes stated the events (more or less) did occur. The interpretation was incorrect.

"...The man in the yellow T-shirt got out of his seat and went to the lavatory at the front of coach -- taking his full McDonald's bag with him. When he came out of the lavatory he still had the McDonald's bag, but it was now almost empty. He walked down the aisle to the back of the plane, still holding the bag. When he passed two of the men sitting mid-cabin, he gave a thumbs-up sign. When he returned to his seat, he no longer had the McDonald's bag."

" ...For the next hour, the men congregated in groups of two and three at the back of the plane for varying periods of time. Meanwhile, in the first class cabin, just a foot or so from the cockpit door, the man with the dark suit - still wearing sunglasses - was also standing

"...Suddenly, seven of the men stood up -- in unison -- and walked to the front and back lavatories. One by one, they went into the two lavatories, each spending about four minutes inside."

"...The last man came out of the bathroom, and as he passed the man in the yellow shirt he ran his forefinger across his neck and mouthed the word "No." "

Those types of events don't happen on every flight. It could be the muscians were jerking everyone's chain, knowing the passengers were alert to suspicious activitiy. Maybe having a little perverse fun.

I don't think Ms. Jacobsen should be discredited entirely or painted as an insecure paranoid person. I think anyone would be reactive to the type of episodes she described. JMO.

 

[Eeyore1954]

Originally posted by OceanAnnie
That's not exactly the way Ms. Jacobsen described the events. I've been on many a flight myself, but I haven't witnessed events as she described them.

Remember, snopes stated the events (more or less) did occur. The interpretation was incorrect.

"...The man in the yellow T-shirt got out of his seat and went to the lavatory at the front of coach -- taking his full McDonald's bag with him. When he came out of the lavatory he still had the McDonald's bag, but it was now almost empty. He walked down the aisle to the back of the plane, still holding the bag. When he passed two of the men sitting mid-cabin, he gave a thumbs-up sign. When he returned to his seat, he no longer had the McDonald's bag."

Ohh, very scary. Now ignoring the Ewww factor in this (taking a meal into the lavatory), exactly what is so sinister about this. Nothing! Is it gross? For me, yes, because I wouldn't carry a meal into the lavatory. Giving a thumbs-up to someone? Not sinister -- I fly with co-workers all the time and wave or give a thumbs up when I pass them. No longer had the bag? Maybe he finished eating an threw it away? Again, reading more into this than is there is just allowing paranoia to run free.

" ...For the next hour, the men congregated in groups of two and three at the back of the plane for varying periods of time. Meanwhile, in the first class cabin, just a foot or so from the cockpit door, the man with the dark suit - still wearing sunglasses - was also standing

Phuleeze! I watch people congregate in the back of the plane, middle of the plane, front of the plane on nearly every trip. And some people continue to wear sunglasses on the plane. Maybe the guy's eyes are sensitive to light, maybe he is experiencing shingles (I've had that on my face and had to wear sunglasses for several days to protect my eyes).

"...Suddenly, seven of the men stood up -- in unison -- and walked to the front and back lavatories. One by one, they went into the two lavatories, each spending about four minutes inside."

Gee, imagine that ... seven males all have to go potty at the same time. Now THAT certainly should raise suspicions. Four minutes each? To me that's hardly sinister... I'm just amazed at the size of their bladders!

"...The last man came out of the bathroom, and as he passed the man in the yellow shirt he ran his forefinger across his neck and mouthed the word "No." "

Umm, yeah, I've done that also -- it's sort of a universal signal to avoid that lavatory for awhile until it airs out! It's more a courtesy than something sinister.

Those types of events don't happen on every flight. It could be the muscians were jerking everyone's chain, knowing the passengers were alert to suspicious activitiy. Maybe having a little perverse fun.

I don't think Ms. Jacobsen should be discredited entirely or painted as an insecure paranoid person. I think anyone would be reactive to the type of episodes she described. JMO.

As shown there are simple explanations for every quote here. I would remind you of Occam's Razor -- the principle that one should not make more assumptions than the minimum needed. In other words, don't make something out of nothing, which is exactly what Ms. Jacobsen did. The simplest explanation for her is that she is an insecure, paranoid person who is seeking more than her share of 15 mins. in the spotlight. She craves attention and this is her way of obtaining it.

A rational person would hardly react the way she did. The fact that not one single passenger on the same flight has come forward to corroborate her tale of terror should be an obvious indicator that she is blowing some minor inconvenience or annoyance way out of proportion. People like her should avoid flying ... stick to ground transportation instead.

And if anyone should have been detained and questioned, it should be Ms. Jacobsen.

 

[OceanAnnie]

I'll agree to disagree with you on this one too.

If all passengers shrugged off anything somewhat suspicious, then that gentleman that tried to detonate that lovely shoe bomb might have succeeded. After all, he was only fiddling with his shoe.

 

[faithinkarma]

Originally posted by OceanAnnie
I'll agree to disagree with you on this one too.

If all passengers shrugged off anything somewhat suspicious, then that gentleman that tried to detonate that lovely shoe bomb might have succeeded. After all, he was only fiddling with his shoe.

I don't believe anyone is saying that no one should look and notice things. The point is that this woman is the only one in an entire plane who noticed anything, and in fact, her observations turned out to be wrong.

Once again I find myself on the same side of the fence as Steve....is there a med for that?

 

[OceanAnnie]

Originally posted by faithinkarma
I don't believe anyone is saying that no one should look and notice things. The point is that this woman is the only one in an entire plane who noticed anything, and in fact, her observations turned out to be wrong.

Once again I find myself on the same side of the fence as Steve....is there a med for that?

I believe that's exactly what Steve is saying. No one should look and notice things. The point is, Ms. Jacobsen's account of the events were correct. The interpretation was not. She was not the only one on the plane to notice these things. Even if she were, would that render her observations invalid? What if it were the shoe bomber she noticed?

 

[Eeyore1954]

Originally posted by OceanAnnie
I'll agree to disagree with you on this one too.

If all passengers shrugged off anything somewhat suspicious, then that gentleman that tried to detonate that lovely shoe bomb might have succeeded. After all, he was only fiddling with his shoe.

Well, someone attempting to light a MATCH on a plane is very suspicious.

Someone walking to the lavatory, eating a meal from McDonald's, spending 4 minutes in the lavatory (and maybe someone can explain WHY was Ms. Jacobsen timing these individual's potty breaks? ) ... those hardly rise to the level of suspicious behavior.

Now, if they do for you, I strongly recommend that you avoid flying, because behavior like this happens ALL THE TIME.

 

[Eeyore1954]

Originally posted by faithinkarma
Once again I find myself on the same side of the fence as Steve....is there a med for that?

FIK, I find a mix of Valium and Prozac to be helpful in fighting the vertigo that results from finding oneself on the "unusual" side of the fence! (Disclaimer: I am not a doctor, although I may pretend to be one on the DISBoards. Taking my advice literally could result in unexpected side effects -- like turning you into a Republican!!)

 

[Eeyore1954]

Originally posted by OceanAnnie
I believe that's exactly what Steve is saying. No one should look and notice things. The point is, Ms. Jacobsen's account of the events were correct. The interpretation was not. She was not the only one on the plane to notice these things. Even if she were, would that render her observations invalid? What if it were the shoe bomber she noticed?

Thanks for misinterpreting what I've posted. Maybe you can go back and re-read what I wrote.

As for being the only one on the plane to notice these things ... maybe you can point out where anyone else on that plane has reported or corroborated what Ms. Jacobsen says happened. Because I can't find any indication anywhere that any other passenger or member of the flight crew substantiated her account of the events. The only person to support her account is her husband.

Does this render her observations invalid? No, she can observe whatever she wants. But when she starts misinterpreting these events and creating an incredible work of fiction to be published on the Internet -- that's carrying her fantasy life a little too far.