This Article Is Spreading Like Wildfire

[Fly]

Here's a solution: NO CARRY ON. Period! I think Naked Air has a good concept going. Strip down and get on. 😉 Heck, the fact that naked women are on the flight should be enough to keep the Arabs off. 😛 That's it: From now on, I'm telling all our Arab passengers "I'm naked under these clothes".

Of course, just kidding.....but I think the No carry-on policy could work. Inconvenient? Sure, but better then dead.

 

[robbedagain]

I really, really, really hope you were speaking tongue in cheek there.

not speaking with a cheek tongue but if this country would adopt tougher policies about allowing foreigners in especially the arabs, we may not have had the 911 attacks.

 

[NWA/AMT]

Paranoia Strikes Deep...

Remember Tim McVeigh? Should we report crew-cut white guys renting trucks? I need the answer quick, I'm helping my daughter move this weekend and need to know whether to report myself.

Seriously folks, are we forgetting - once again - that under the rules in place on 9/11, the box cutters the terrorists used to hijack the planes were allowed on board because we all thought it was an inconvenience to have to leave our penknives at home when we travelled? Now we're barely allowed to keep one around to fix the planes with, let alone fly with one.

It's good to be vigilant, but it's bad to be paranoid. Considering that even after the FBI and TSA found no hint of terrorist activity, the author of the article still chose to portray the incident as some sort of terrorist event, it's not hard to see which category this story falls under.

It's not like now is a bad time to be scaring people away from our aircraft, is it?

 

[JetClipper]

Paranoia Strikes Deep...

Remember Tim McVeigh? Should we report crew-cut white guys renting trucks? I need the answer quick, I'm helping my daughter move this weekend and need to know whether to report myself.

Seriously folks, are we forgetting - once again - that under the rules in place on 9/11, the box cutters the terrorists used to hijack the planes were allowed on board because we all thought it was an inconvenience to have to leave our penknives at home when we travelled? Now we're barely allowed to keep one around to fix the planes with, let alone fly with one.

It's good to be vigilant, but it's bad to be paranoid. Considering that even after the FBI and TSA found no hint of terrorist activity, the author of the article still chose to portray the incident as some sort of terrorist event, it's not hard to see which category this story falls under.

It's not like now is a bad time to be scaring people away from our aircraft, is it?

NWA/AMT:

Thanks for the excellent post.

Once again, you bring a level of sanity and critical thinking that is often sorely lacking on these message boards.

JetClipper

 

[ITRADE]

Its made the D.C. papers:

Scouting jetliners for new attacks

 

[NWA/AMT]

NWA/AMT:

Thanks for the excellent post.

Once again, you bring a level of sanity and critical thinking that is often sorely lacking on these message boards.

JetClipper

Thank you.

 

[Dont call me Shirley]

For another take on this story:

http://blogs.salon.com/0002874/2004/07/22.html#a1032

 

[goingboeing]

Ag, remind me again...who was it that blew up that federal building in OKC? :huh:

An Arab in a brown pickup truck who was financed by an OKC Property mogul who also was Arab.Tim McVey was a willing accomplace and fall guy.
Read the book of the OKC Television Reporter who had the facts and the story ready to air and it was axed by her superiors.
Too much political correctness and the ACLU in this country to have effective security measures.

 

[Trip Confirmed]

Now the government is looking into this. It has been confirmed by other passengers.

http://washingtontimes.com/national/200407...11508-5912r.htm

http://www.lucianne.com/threads2.asp?artnum=158421

The best timeline is at http://michellemalkin.com/

Start from the bottom and read up.

They Didn't Bother To Check-7/25
The Syrian Band's Playlist (includes their song glorifying martyrs)-7/27
Flight 327 Lands On Capitol Hill-7/29
Did the Syrian Ambassador lie?-7/30

also
“Mother of a Martyr†Nour Mehana’s Greatest Hits

By Heather Wilhelm
www.heatherwilhelm.com
July 27, 2004

Nour Mehana, the "Syrian Wayne Newton," has finally hit the big time. After
days of fevered speculation, Mehana has been outed as the mysterious Syrian
music-maker who, along with his band, set Northwest Airlines Flight 327 into a
tizzy over a feared terrorist "dry run."

For many, this discovery was a massive relief. In fact, one look at Mehana's
publicity photos set many minds at ease. This man, a terrorist? A man who
sings with a goofy Syrian band, plays in shady casinos, and has a cheesy
porn-style mustache? That silly woman Annie Jacobsen! Aren't we all so silly
and paranoid?

Mr. Mehana has a nice little song on his recent CD, by the way. It's
called "Um El Shaheed."

In English, that's "Mother of a Martyr."

I noticed "Um El Shaheed" on Nour Mehana's web site. "Shaheed," I knew,
meant "martyr," but that was as far as my Arabic could go. Since
martyrdom seemed an odd topic for a casino crooner, I called the Middle East
Media Research Institute. I spoke with Aluma Dankowtiz, who is fluent in
Arabic, to find out exactly what Mr. Mehana has to say.

"Mother of a Martyr" glorifies the death of a young Palestinian. Mehana sings
to a grieving mother that she should not be sad, because her son, who died as
a martyr, is a hero. She should be happy that her son is gone, Mehana croons,
because freeing Palestine and the Golan Heights are heroic goals. The song,
which starts slow and solemn, ends with a triumphant chorus, celebrating the
martyr's glorious death: "Allahu Akbar...Allahu Akbar...Allahu Akbar!"

Feel better? Somehow, after "Mother of a Martyr," that Wayne Newton porn-
style mustache becomes slightly less comforting. Hey, is anyone ready to jump
onto a plane with Mr. Mehana and his wacky band?

Come on, don't be shy!

Nour Mehana is, apparently, a religious man; according to one website
biography, he spent his pre-singing years reciting the Holy Koran. And
if "Mother of a Martyr" is any indication, Mehana also supports the Palestinian
intifada--and, along with it, martyrdom doctrines.

"Mother of a Martyr" does not, in any sense, prove that Mr. Mehana is involved
with terrorists. It does not mean that he was making a dry run on Flight 327.
However, it does suggest that Mr. Mehana embraces certain ideals of
martyrdom--similar to the very ideals that drove the 19 hijackers into the
World Trade Center.

Break out those tambourines!

Contrary to the protestations of America's chattering classes, the ideals of
martyrdom and jihad do not exist only on the Islamic fringe. Rather, these ideals
have generated a surprising amount of support in some regions of the Muslim world.
This support is broadcast loud and clear on Al Jazeera, in dozens of newspapers, and by
singers like Nour Mehana, whose glorification of martyrdom somehow doesn't
seem to bother those monitoring our friendly skies.

Johnelle Bryant, an official with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, met up
with Mohammed Atta several times before September 11. After Atta threatened
to slit her throat, talked about blowing up major United States cities and
landmarks, and came back to her in a disguise pretending to be someone else,
Ms. Bryant had this to say: "I felt that he was trying to make the cultural
leap from the country that he came from. I was attempting, in every manner I
could, to help him make his relocation into our country as easy for him as I
could."

Doesn't the condescending reaction to the "cheesy" Syrian band seem
disturbingly similar? Of course those Syrian band members were milling
about the plane--they didn't know any better! Plus, they play at casinos--they
must be truly clueless! In the blink of a news cycle, Nour Mehana was
transformed into a cartoonish, hapless non-threat, despite the fact that
his support for martyrdom doctrines is literally broadcast to the world.

American authorities say they checked Nour Mehana and his band out. But
as recent news reports have announced, authorities couldn't even catch the
fact that almost every single member of this travelin' band had fishy paperwork.
Thirteen of the Syrians who boarded Flight 327 has expired visas. No one
seemed to notice. Something is seriously wrong with this picture, and it goes
far beyond some questionable lyrics.

I traveled to Turkey about seven months after September 11, 2001. While
wandering through Istanbul's grand bazaar (where my husband, regrettably,
decided to wear an Indiana Jones-style hat, subjecting us to countless "Hey
Cowboy! Hey American!" catcalls), I found a beautiful bracelet for my mother.
"What does the writing on the bracelet mean?" I asked the man behind the
crowded counter.

He pulled an English-speaking colleague over to help me. The man handed
me the bracelet, smiling. "Ah," he said, as I smiled back. "It is beautiful,
isn't it?" He grinned even wider. "It says that there is no god but Allah…and that
he shall lead us to the victory!"

I dropped the bracelet back into his hands, shaking my head. He laughed.
"Ah! You," he said, pointing at me, "are not ready for the victory!" His smile
was wry. I laughed with him, agreed that I certainly was not ready for the
victory, and headed back into the bazaar.

My discussion with the vendor in Istanbul was a joke. We laughed together,
recognizing the absurdity of the situation. We were both, it turns out, on the
same page. I had a wonderful experience in Turkey. Sadly, however, our
joke could just as easily have been a sincere conversation.

Britain and France have recently started to deport controversial Islamic clerics.
A town in Michigan recently held a vote as to whether a mosque could play its call
to prayer over the city. The Nour Mehana saga has sliced open a problem that
will challenge America for years to come. America is, after all, a country of free
speech. We celebrate diversity. Essentially, because of what America stands for,
we have to let foreign musicians who sing about the glory of Palestinian martyrs
onto our airplanes, no questions asked.

Or do we?

It's worth thinking over. Whether it was a dry run or not, I still believe Annie
Jacobsen's story. Many strange things occurred on that flight, and one
of the strangest was that no one had the guts to ask the harmless Partridge
Family to sit down.

Nour Mehana, despite his affinity for Palestinian martyrs, may happen to be
a really nice guy. But it shouldn't be controversial to check him carefully, enforce
the rules, and make his band sit down when the "Fasten Seatbelt" sign turns on.
If I'm right, the implications are huge. If I'm wrong, I've insulted Syria's Wayne
Newton. I'm willing to take that risk.
-------------------

Also
http://www.thespoonsexperience.com/archive...2568.php#002568
--------------
And the third update from the passenger herself
http://www.womenswallstreet.com/WWS/home.aspx

---
There are lots more.

 

[Trip Confirmed]

..Although I'll never understand the "sheep" mentality of some NWA crew members, the most telling thing is the posts here. The majority are simply concerned about income and benefits. (But for a few intelligent exceptions) the only concern is money.

But here are the comments from just TODAY from those who buy those tickets.


These are all taken from

http/www.lucianne.com/threads2.asp?artnum=158421 just TODAY. This has
been going on for or weeks. Hundreds of posts a day. ALL against NW.

Even if NWA seems uninterested in safety, it seems those 'fannies in the seats' are.

Can any crew member explain their mindset to me please?



bottom line guys...

Your PR is gettling really smelly.

There's some heavy duty NWA bashing going on here.People are demanding explanations.

 

[NWA/AMT]

There's some heavy duty NWA bashing going on here.People are demanding explanations.

Amateurs! To really hate NWA properly one must become an employee! B)

Honestly, is there anything NWA could say that would make a difference? Eighty years of being bad at PR has led NWA to learn the value of silence.

 

[USAir757]

All rhetoric aside, this whole story sent shivers down my spine. But it's what we deal with everyday now folks, how we will get around it, I still don't know. There is a fine line between keeping everybody safe, and doing what is politically right. Unfortunately, after reading that, I realize now more than ever that we are in for it. Again.

 

[Trip Confirmed]

Another update

Joe Scarborough tonight on MSNBC is scheduled at 10pm to interview another one of the passengers. Could get cancelled for other news if it's live, I have no idea.

So far three have come forward to the press. One poster at Lucianne.com has her daughter,son-in-law and grandchildren visiting. They were also on that flight.

Mom and 15 year old daughter were seated with one of them who acted like he spoke no English. However, early in the flight when Mom visited the restroom, apparently the guy started flirting like crazy, in perfect English with the grandaughter. All posters at Lucianne.com are pressing them to go forward to the press. They could be the ones on tonight for all I know. Daughter and son-in-law told Gramma they were terrified. And the flight attendants did basically, NOTHING.


There's also this from today.
---

Harrowing online story raises

questions about terror probes

By LESLIE MILLER

Associated Press Writer



2 August 2004

04:28

Associated Press Newswires



© 2004. The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

WASHINGTON (AP) - New concerns about airline security follow a writer's harrowing account of the odd actions of

14 Middle Eastern men aboard a Detroit-to-Los Angeles flight in June.

Traveling together on the Northwest flight, the men lingered in the bathroom, congregated in the aisles and

signaled each other during the trip, according to the account. Passengers and the crew feared the men planned a

hijacking, said the writer, Annie Jacobsen.

The men were met by agents of the FBI, the Los Angeles Police Department and the Transportation Security

Administration when Flight 327 landed on June 29.

Government officials confirm her account of the flight and the arrival scene. But they say none of the men posed

a threat. In fact, they were members of a backup band for a singer, Nour Mehanna, who is described as "the

Syrian Wayne Newton" and were heading to a show near San Diego.

However, the online story created a furor.

Jacobsen was interviewed on network television and by newspapers. She received dozens of e-mails from flight

attendants and pilots who said they had experienced similar incidents. Members of Congress asked Homeland

Security Department and FBI officials to brief their staffs about the incident.

In the month since Jacobsen's frightening flight, it has become clear that in some ways the airline security

system worked well.

An alert passenger -- Jacobsen -- notified the flight crew of her suspicions. Air marshals on board kept tabs on

the men during the flight, even inspecting the lavatory to make sure they had not left anything that might

endanger the plane. Law enforcement officials met the musicians at the airport, questioned them extensively and

checked their names against terrorist watch lists.

Not all well as it should have. Passengers are not supposed to congregate in groups on airliners, according to a

government advisory issued in December.

Jacobsen said seven of the men stood up and went to the lavatories as the plane was preparing to land and the

flight attendants were strapped in their seats.

"They seemed to be more in charge of the aircraft than the flight attendants," Jacobsen said.

Northwest declined comment on the flight attendants' actions.

Congress focused on a different potential problem: When the FBI questioned the men after the plane landed, it is

not clear the agent examined the musicians' immigration status or checked whether their visas had expired.

Homeland Security spokesman Dennis Murphy said stamps on the men's passports indicated they might have

been in the country illegally. Murphy said visas are so complicated that "it does take a trained eye to know what

to look for and how to look for it."

No one from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement bureau questioned the men, which the Homeland

Security Department now acknowledges was a mistake.

Murphy said the law enforcement officials were simply concerned whether the men were a threat. "The bottom

line is there was no threat," he said. "Everyone was here legally. Can the system do better? Sure."

Last week, congressional aides questioned air marshals and the FBI about why immigration officials had not

checked the musicians' status at the airport. A second briefing is planned.

Some pilots and flight attendants say the incident was just one of many that played on fears that terrorists might

be conducting dry runs for another attack.

American Airlines Capt. Gary Boettcher told The Dallas Morning News in Monday's editions that he knows airline

crews have found razor blades, knives and other potential weapons secreted under passenger seats.

"We've heard of people standing up all at once, looking at PDAs (personal digital assistants), and trying to

identify the federal air marshals," said Capt. Dennis Breslin of Fort Worth, Texas-based American. "There have

been reports of that in pilot chat rooms."

Dave Mackett, president of the Airline Pilot Security Alliance, a group of pilots that works to improve aviation

security, said reports of possible terrorist probes have been on the increase.

He said he has been told of passengers' suddenly walking toward the cockpit, perhaps to check the crew's

reaction; of people using lavatory in rapid succession; of passengers' noting flight numbers in notebooks.

Murphy, the Homeland Security spokesman, said air marshals collect reports of suspicious activity and forward

them to the TSA's intelligence unit for analysis.

"All have been checked and resolved," he said. "There is nothing to indicate that organized probing is going on."

The government does want to encourage reports of suspicious activity because al-Qaida has a history of probing

the aviation security system.

"We want an alert citizenry as one of our best defenses," Murphy said.

___



An August 2 Google NEWS search of Annie Jacobsen (the original passenger) brings 116 articles from legitimate news sources.. The same search for just websites discussing it brings 47,500.

I think Northwest 'declining comment' is about to come to an end.

 

[Trip Confirmed]

I just can't help myself. I have to post this since so many employees of NWA brushed this off as made-up garbage. It was very insulting.

I'd like them to reply now, and let us all know. Do they simply not READ?

Uninformed? Dumb as dirt, or too busy to keep up on current events?


What is the reason people who are crew members don't have a clue?

There is NO excuse in my opinion, to be in the dark to this extent.

Well, only one.

 

[mweiss]

I think that a great deal of us are missing the point.

It really doesn't matter if these particular individuals are or are not terrorists. If the events described happened as described, then it is easy for people who are terrorists to do pretty much anything.

One comment I've made before is that it's pretty easy to get a large number of "brawn" people onto a flight, and they can be of various races and fluent in English. Get a 757 with 50 of them, trained in hand-to-hand combat, and it wouldn't matter if there were FAMs on board.

It is far too easy to get around pretty much any defenses put in place. And the absurd suggestions of opening concentration camps and turning nations into radioactive glass don't help matters at all.