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| Muslims Booted Off Planes; Hmmm not a bad idea considering ... | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Nov 21 2006, 09:23 AM (1,284 Views) | |
| Carolina Sue | Nov 27 2006, 11:44 PM Post #41 |
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I think I agree with Sibs. After all, when was the last time a group of Christians flew a plane into an occupied building! The point seems to be not that they were praying, but that they were acting abnormal, even for Muslims. When was the last time Muslims did this on an airplane? If it was a common practice, why is this the first time we have heard of it happening? These guys knew that they were doing something to draw attention, and IMHO wanted the type of attention they knew these actions would draw! Seems to me they acheived their goal! |
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| bsb006 | Nov 28 2006, 01:53 AM Post #42 |
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Ruler of the Mountain
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I typed that at work when I was supposed to be listening to a lecture, I did not state this as accurately as I should have. The thing is, they didn't just pray.
I believe if Christians did the same as above....Anti American baloney, a apparent threat and an odd request.......They would be questioned - and they should be. The Oklahoma bomber supposedly did that in the name of the Christian God, did he not? My point is - it was more than the praying and that much odd behavior as a whole, would prompt an investigation. No matter the race or religion. |
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| Herb | Nov 29 2006, 01:42 PM Post #43 |
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Did anyone hear about this on the LSM. I Have been extremly busy and not much time to listen/read. http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2006/11...omo_code=29C5-1 It sure does re-enforce what the Pope said. |
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| bsb006 | Nov 29 2006, 01:55 PM Post #44 |
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Ruler of the Mountain
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I did not see this anywhere else, but that doesn't really suprise me!!! Thanks for the link! "One of the stunt-imams in US Airways' advertising scheme, Omar Shahin, complained about being removed from the plane, saying: 'Six scholars in handcuffs. It's terrible.' Yes, especially when there was a whole conference of them! Six out of 150 is called 'poor law enforcement'." -Ann Coulter |
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| bsb006 | Nov 29 2006, 02:32 PM Post #45 |
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http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,232879,00.html http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20...22902-7522r.htm |
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| Sibs | Dec 2 2006, 10:05 AM Post #46 |
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Ruler of the Hill
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"A spokeswoman for US Airways declined to discuss the incident. Aviation security officials said thousands of Muslims fly every day and conduct prayers in airports in a quiet and private manner without creating incidents. " That's the kicker. These muslims were itching for a fight and they got one. Now they want to cry foul. Sounds like the majority on that plane were in fear of thier lives because of a few, I would have been. Too bad the Christians on the plane didn't raise a joyful voice to the Lord with a loud and rousing Lord's Prayer to conteract them. Maybe that should be our response anytime the muslims are "heard" or seen saying their prayers in public. |
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| Culture Warrior | Dec 3 2006, 07:53 AM Post #47 |
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an Angry American
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6 Imams Kicked Off Plane Gave Crew Several Reasons to Be Suspicious click on link for full report including access to police report and passenger interview. Sunday , December 03, 2006 By Cassie Carothers
THIS WHOLE DARN THING IS A LITTLE FISHY!!!!! |
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| Toothless Dawg | Dec 3 2006, 09:06 AM Post #48 |
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Test Run!!! :ph43r: |
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| Condor | Dec 3 2006, 11:01 AM Post #49 |
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Yep, an effort to get the social pathethics to shortcut our security systems so that we can be the nice nation that failed! |
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| Toothless Dawg | Dec 3 2006, 05:19 PM Post #50 |
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Ruler of the Mountain
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From 'Pajamas Media' blog ... and reported by Michelle Malkin ... PJM also has PDF of the police report from the original incident. It supports this and other articles written after the MSM articles portraying these islamo fascist pig terrorists and innocent victims. The police report is 24 pages long and I have not yet been able to print it out but I am able to view it. This article and interview appears to tell the 'REAL' story of these pig terrorists. lying flying imams Jim PS- Title and Bold Text (following the opening paragraph) are done by myself for emphasis. |
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| bsb006 | Dec 3 2006, 07:49 PM Post #51 |
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Ruler of the Mountain
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That is some police report.....noone mentioned handcuffing them either..... Lots of inconsistencies between the report and MSM... Wonder if that will change? Bet not. Thanks for the links beernut and dawg.... Gotta keep informed. Must admit, my mom - almost as liberal as dad - is open to believe this was good call on the part of the Airline but was unaware of the one way ticket situation, the seating arrangements and the no luggage. I am not sure if it stems from her fear of flying, or from logical thinking - but I will take what I can get!!!! Have a great night!! |
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| Sibs | Dec 4 2006, 07:58 AM Post #52 |
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Ruler of the Hill
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Something I don't understand is that two of them wanted to upgrade to first class and were told they coulnd't and then they just went up and sat in first class anyway. I must admit I've never sat in the first class section, but I didn't think you could just go sit there anytime you wanted. I would think that would have been enough to cause a stink with the flight attendants and the airline. Everything they did was wrong but far be it for anyone to think that. |
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| Culture Warrior | Dec 4 2006, 08:26 AM Post #53 |
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an Angry American
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sibs wrote:
I used to fly extensively. To the point where the frequent flyer perks kicked in and you could get bumped up to first class if seating was available. Under NO circumstances can you EVER just go and sit up in first class! The airline must authorize it first. I'll give you a little story - I was on a flight home one day, and there happened to be a small handful of soldiers that were going to be on it as well. They were in a sister unit (same administrative building) as our daughter's. You could see they were worn out and anxious to get home. I had bumped up to first class at ticketing with the "available" seats. Got in the seat and shortly after everyone was boarded, a snotnose guy tried to force his way into one of the First Class seats, argueing that they were open and he should be able to use one. The stewardess insisted he get back into his assigned seat, and after several stern comments to him he finally did. I felt rotten - here we had some soldiers returning from Iraq that duly deserved those first class seats before ANY of us including this nut. |
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| Toothless Dawg | Dec 4 2006, 08:56 AM Post #54 |
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Not only that, I was surprised to read they ALL boarded when the first class passengers were called. I've seen many people turned away for attempting to board before their time. |
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| Toothless Dawg | Dec 4 2006, 08:59 AM Post #55 |
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Ruler of the Mountain
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Tha's right. I've seen stewardesses turn coach passengers back to coach that wanted to use the first class rest room. I've flown 1st class many times too but normally there are few if any seats available. I'm surprised these muslims could get away with trying to pick their seat at will. |
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| Almtnman | Dec 4 2006, 09:28 AM Post #56 |
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After reading the article that TD posted here for us, I think they were testing the system and seeing how far they could go. I also think that they were trying to make things look bad for publicity. After an incident such as that I think that people fitting that profile should be throughly checked out before being allowed on any plane and if they don't like being profiled, then they should be told, "the road is out there a ways and it's open on both ends, so hit it Jack"! |
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| legitlinda | Dec 4 2006, 10:40 AM Post #57 |
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That's right Almtman....we need to say "hit it jack" so they can't do a "hijack"! I"m sorry, I know this is a serious subject but I just couldn't help that one. :rolleyes: |
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| Condor | Dec 4 2006, 11:07 AM Post #58 |
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The airlines actually try to dom that if there is a lone GI that is flying. If there are a lot, they don't do it because how would they pick which ones to get the few empty seats in first class. I was bumped up to first class on my way back to Vietnam after R&R. That was when the first class on a 747 was in the hump and had sofas, recliners and a bar. I was sober enough to get off the plane in Saigon! I really was! |
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| Toothless Dawg | Dec 4 2006, 12:43 PM Post #59 |
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Ruler of the Mountain
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The last few times I flew Delta, they were pretty good about announcing in the terminals about the 'special honored guests/travelers' coming back from Iraq. They would even announce their wishes for God to bless them and for everyone to give them a big round of applause. It was very touching and I am sure the GIs appreciated it very much. Jim |
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| bsb006 | Dec 4 2006, 01:09 PM Post #60 |
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This is great to hear - I have heard similar stories. I hope they keep it up. |
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| AbidinHim | Dec 4 2006, 03:41 PM Post #61 |
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Top of the Rung
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Yep test run. No matter if they were twarted because it accomplished something anyway. This all works to their favor in the long run. We saw the way the media was quick to condemn the airline and other passengers on board. One good thing might have happened though. It might have woke some of those who have been slumbering since 9-11, thinking everything's gonna be OK. |
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| Sibs | Dec 5 2006, 04:00 PM Post #62 |
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I was thinking just publicity stunt, but maybe ya'll are right and it really was a test run. I sure hope they quit giving out seatbelt extenders to anyone who wants one. I'm sure they could be used as a weapon. Ya know last night I asked my husband if he'd been following this story and his reply was what story? He's been watching nothing but local news and it hasn't been on there. |
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| Herb | Dec 5 2006, 04:22 PM Post #63 |
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I think it was to make the aircrews more cautious when confronted with unusual events and to get the public used to them doing weird things. When they get ready to do something no one will pay them any mind. The seatbelt extender if used right would be as effective, if not more so, as numchucks. This stuff is scary because the lawsuits will cause people to be more tolerant of abnormal behavior. |
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| Culture Warrior | Dec 5 2006, 05:38 PM Post #64 |
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an Angry American
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I'm with herb, but I think he meant that this was an attempt to get air crews to try and ignore this kind of behavior. It also may have been attempting to push the limits to see if they could get law suits for racial profiling, and damper public awareness of their actions. Here is another example of the same type of thing: Prayers in the Gym???? |
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| Toothless Dawg | Dec 5 2006, 05:43 PM Post #65 |
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Uhhhhhhhhhhh its a gym ... if the hussy wants to pray (???) let her go to a church, ok ok a mosque. Preferably one in the old country. Man this crapola is getting more and more wierd. |
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| greatwhiteelkhunter | Dec 6 2006, 03:35 AM Post #66 |
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You know Jim I talked a little about this in one of my threads BUT your right it is a tremendous feeling to walk the gauntlet of people shaking your hands and wishing you well. I';; also tell you they do a good job at telling us "Don't listen to the news we are all pulling for you and love you guys" Yea it is a great feeling. |
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| greatwhiteelkhunter | Dec 6 2006, 03:53 AM Post #67 |
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Ruler of the Mountain
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You know I'll be the first to tell you that I personally am very intolerant of their flagrant open public displays and always will be. In fact I'll be one of those guys they try to sue some day but I'll not change. Even their public displays are an attempt to get us to be tolerant and accustomed to "strange" behavior and to ignore it. Don't care if it's wrong or not, BUT I will always keep my eyes on them. I have requested and moved to a different seat on 3 flights after doing my own racial profiling and seeing them toward the back of the plane. So I positioned myself between the back of the plane and the front so when the time came I would be shoving a plastic fork, knife into a bad guys neck as he passed me. Oh yes there is a lot of things that can be used for weapons LIKE pens, Pencils, seat belt extensions, a key, or key ring with the keys slide between the fingers facing outward. I personally don't care what they or anyone else things about my actions because in the end it's us against them and in many cases it's YOU against them as to many people are not willing to get involved! I'll not go down like a punk to ANY of them at any time in any place period. So SUE ME!!!!!!!!! |
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| Culture Warrior | Dec 12 2006, 10:34 AM Post #68 |
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an Angry American
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Looks like the terrorist ties that these inmams have is growing: Katherine Kersten: Suspicion about imams grows as terror links pile up Katherine Kersten, Star Tribune Last update: December 11, 2006 – 10:00 AM
click on link above to read the whole thing |
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| greatwhiteelkhunter | Dec 12 2006, 11:42 AM Post #69 |
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Ruler of the Mountain
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Sorry Smell like crap! look like crap! it's CRAP! |
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| Toothless Dawg | Dec 14 2006, 10:09 AM Post #70 |
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I wanna drive fast and only straight, btw I also want Hazmat license Geeee you think this paki had an ulterior motive? Kudo's to the driving school for listening to the warning bells going off in their mind ... |
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| bsb006 | Dec 14 2006, 11:41 AM Post #71 |
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Ruler of the Mountain
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Now, TD. What have we been told about racial profiling? Just because he is from Pakistan, is an illegal alien who lied to obtain official documents and only wants to drive a Hazmat truck forward, doesn't mean we should consider him a potential terrorist. Where is your tolerance and understanding? :ph43r: :ph43r: :ph43r: |
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| Toothless Dawg | Dec 14 2006, 12:04 PM Post #72 |
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Barri Sue, Oh my, thank you for pointing out my offensive behavior. I don't know what happened to me during this time of weakness. I will retire to my room and recite 1376 hail hillary's before returning. It does indeed take a village to raise us foolish infidels :lol: :lol: |
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| bsb006 | Dec 14 2006, 12:52 PM Post #73 |
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Whew, that was a close one, Jim. I knew you would come to your senses. Keith Ellison will be proud!!!
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| Toothless Dawg | Dec 14 2006, 01:49 PM Post #74 |
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:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: |
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| Culture Warrior | Dec 15 2006, 02:13 AM Post #75 |
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an Angry American
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Flying Imams - eh? Yesterday I spoke with a passenger on that flight, who asked that she be only identified as “Pauline.” A copy of airport police report, which I also obtained, supports Pauline’s account - and includes shocking revelations of its own. In addition, U.S. Airways spokeswoman Andrea Rader also confirmed much of what Pauline revealed….. The passenger, who asked that she only be identified as “Pauline,” said she is afraid to give her full name or hometown. She is spending the night at “another location” because she does not feel safe at home. She credits reports that one imam is apparently linked to Hamas. “It is scary because these men could be dangerous.” Pauline said she never wanted media attention. She wrote an email to U.S. Airways and cc:ed her daughter, who unexpectedly emailed it to her friends. As the letter took on an internet life of its own, it made its way to the inbox of a retired CNN executive producer. Then, to her dismay, the feeding frenzy began. Pauline revealed to Pajamas Media that the six imams were doing things far more suspicious than praying - an Arabic-speaking passenger heard them repeatedly invoke “bin Laden,” and “terrorism,” a gate attendant told the captain that she did not want to fly with them, and that bomb-sniffing dogs were brought aboard. Other Muslim passengers were left undisturbed and later joined in a round of applause for the U.S. Airways crew. “It wasn’t that they were Muslim. It was all of the suspicious things they did,” Pauline said. Here is her story, along with corroborating quotes from the U.S. Airways spokeswoman Andrea Rader and the official report, another Pajamas Media exclusive. Sitting in Minneapolis-St. Paul’s Airport Gate C9, she noticed one of the imams immediately. “He was pacing nervously, talking in Arabic,” she said. She quickly noticed the others. “They didn’t look like holy men to me. They looked like guys heading out of town for a Vikings game.” Pauline said she did not see or hear the imams pray at the gate (she was at dinner in a nearby airport eatery), but heard about the pre-flight prayers from other passengers hours later. As the plane boarded, she said, no one refused to fly. The public prayers and Arabic phone call did not trigger any alarms - so much for the p.c. allegations that people were disturbed by Muslim prayers. But a note from a passenger about suspicious movements of the imams got the crew’s attention. A copy of the passenger’s note appears in the police report. To Pauline everything seemed normal. Then the captain - in classic laconic pilot-style - announced there had been a “mix up in our paperwork” and that the flight would be delayed. In reality, the air crew was waiting for the FBI and local police to arrive. Ninety minutes after the flight’s scheduled 5:15 p.m. departure, the captain announced yet another delay. Still, Pauline said, there was no sense of alarm. Still, it seemed like just another annoying development, typical when flying the friendly skies. The situation in cockpit was far more intense, according to a U.S. Airways spokeswoman and police reports. Contrary to press accounts that a single note from a passenger triggered the imams’ removal, Captain John Howard Wood was weighing multiple factors - factors that have largely been ignored by the press. Another passenger, not the note writer, was an Arabic speaker sitting near two of the imams in the plane’s tail. That passenger pulled a flight attendant aside, and in a whisper, translated what the men were saying. They were invoking “bin Laden” and condemning America for “killing Saddam,” according to police reports. Meanwhile an imam seated in first class asked for a seat-belt extension, even though according to both an on-duty flight attendant and another deadheading flight attendant, he looked too thin to need one. Hours later, when the passengers were being evacuated, the seat-belt extension was found on the floor near the imam’s seat, police reports confirm. The U.S. Airways spokeswoman Andrea Rader said she did not dispute the report, but said the airline’s internal investigation cannot yet account for the seat-belt extension request or its subsequent use. A seat-belt extension can easily be used as a weapon, by wrapping the open-end of the belt around your fist and swinging the heavy metal buckle. Still, it seemed like just another annoying development, typical when flying the friendly skies. Days after the incident, the imam would claim that the steward helped him attach the device. Pauline said he is lying. Hours later, when the police was being evacuated, the steward asked Pauline to hand him the seat-belt extension, which the imam did not attach, but placed on the floor. “I know he is lying,” Pauline said, “I had it [seat belt extension] in my hand.” A passenger in the third row of first class, Pauline said, told a member of the crew: “I don’t have a good feeling about this guy,” about the imam who wanted the seat-belt extension. A married couple one row behind first-class, tried to strike up a conversation with the imam seated near them. He refused to talk or even look at the woman in the eye, according to Pauline. Instead, he stood up and moved to join the other imams in the back of the plane. Why would he leave the luxury end of the aircraft? Pauline wondered. The account of the married couple does not appear in the police report. Finally, a gate attendant told the captain she thought the imams were acting suspiciously, according to police reports. So the captain apparently made his decision to delay the flight based on many complaints, not one. And he consulted a federal air marshal, a U.S. Airways ground security coordinator and the airline’s security office in Phoenix. All thought the imams were acting suspiciously, Rader told me. Other factors were also considered: All six imams had boarded together, with the first-class passengers - even though only one of them had a first-class ticket. Three had one-way tickets. Between the six men, only one had checked a bag. And, Pauline said, they spread out just like the 9-11 hijackers. Two sat in first, two in the middle, and two back in the economy section. Pauline’s account is confirmed by the police report. The airline spokeswoman added that some seemed to be sitting in seats not assigned to them. One thing that no one seemed to consider at the time, perhaps due to lack of familiarity with Islamic practice, is that the men prayed both at the gate and on the plane. Observant Muslims pray only once at sundown, not twice. “It was almost as if they were intentionally trying to get kicked off the flight,” Pauline said. A lone plain clothes FBI agent boarded the plane and briefly spoke to the imams. Later, uniformed police escorted them off. Some press reports said the men were led off in handcuffs, which Pauline disputes. “I saw them. They were not handcuffed.” Later, each imam was individually brought back on the aircraft to reclaim his belongings. They were still not handcuffed. They may have been handcuffed later. At this point, the passengers became alarmed. “How do we know they got all their stuff off?” Pauline heard one man ask. While the imams were soon released, Pauline is fuming: “We are the victims of these people. They need to be more sensitive to us. They were totally insensitive to us and then accused us of being insensitive to them. I mean, we were a lot more inconvenienced than them.” The plane was delayed for some three and one-half hours. Bomb-sniffing dogs were used to sweep the plane and every passenger was re-screened, the airline spokeswoman confirmed. Another detail omitted from press reports. The reaction of the remaining passengers has also gone unreported. “We applauded and cheered for the crew,” she said. “I think it was either a foiled attempt to take over the plane or it was a publicity stunt to accuse us of being insensitive,” Pauline said. “It had to be to intimidate U.S. Airways to ease up on security.” So far, U.S. Airways refuses to be intimidated, even though the feds have launched an investigation. “We are absolutely backing this crew,” Rader said. Tucked away in the police report is this little gem: one of the imams had complained to a passenger that some nations did not follow shariah law and his job in Bakersfield, Calif. was a cover for “representing Muslims here in the U.S.” So what are the imams really up to? Something more than praying it seems. |
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| bsb006 | Dec 15 2006, 01:46 PM Post #76 |
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http://www.mpac.org/article.php?id=445 Unbelievable! :angry: |
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| Condor | Dec 16 2006, 10:11 AM Post #77 |
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More on reaction to the attempted vermin take over of the flight: This is written by the sister of the pilot whose plane crashed into the Pentagon. What a spokesperson she is! December 6, 2006 COMMENTARY On a Wing and a Prayer By DEBRA BURLINGAME December 6, 2006; Page A16 Allahu Akbar! Allahu Akbar! Allahu Akbar! Allahu Akbar! Those are the words that started it all. Six bearded imams are said to have shouted them out while offering evening prayers as they and 141 other passengers waited at the gate for their flight out of Minneapolis International Airport. It was three days before Thanksgiving. Allahu Akbar: God is great. Initial media reports of the incident did not include the disturbing details about what happened after they boarded US Airways flight 300, but the story quickly went national with provocative headlines: "Six Muslims Ejected from US Air Flight for Praying." Yes, they were praying -- but let's be clear about this. The very last human sound on the cockpit voice recorder of United flight 93 before it screamed into the ground at 580 miles per hour is the sound of male voices shouting "Allahu Akbar" in a moment of religious ecstasy. They, too, were praying. The passengers and crew of flight 93 lost their valiant fight to take back the plane just one hour and 20 minutes after it pushed back from the gate. Until the hijackers stormed the cockpit door, they were just a handful of Middle Eastern-looking men on their way to sunny California. So, yes, let's be exceedingly clear about the whole matter. Some 3,000 men, women and children are dead because the unassuming people on those airplanes did not look at them and see murderers. Or dangerous Arabs. Or fanatical Muslims. They saw a few guys in chinos. * * * In five years since the 9/11 attacks, U.S. commercial carriers have transported approximately 2.9 billion domestic and international passengers. It is a testament to the flying public, but, most of all, to the flight crews who put those planes into the air and who daily devote themselves to the safety and well-being of their passengers, that they have refused to succumb to ethnic hatred, religious intolerance or irrational fear on those millions of flights. But they have not forgotten the sight of a 200,000-pound aircraft slicing through heavy steel and concrete as easily as a knife through butter. They still remember the voices of men and women in the prime of their lives saying final goodbyes, people who just moments earlier set down their coffee and looked out the window to a beautiful new morning. Today, when travelers and flight crews arrive at the airport, all the overheated rhetoric of the civil rights absolutists, all the empty claims of government career bureaucrats, all the disingenuous promises of the election-focused politicians just fall away. They have families. They have responsibilities. To them, this is not a game or a cause. This is real life. Given that Islamic terrorists continue their obsession with turning airplanes into weapons of mass destruction, it is nothing short of obscene that these six religious leaders -- fresh from attending a conference of the North American Imams Federation, featuring discussions on "Imams and Politics" and "Imams and the Media" -- chose to turn that airport into a stage and that airplane into a prop in the service of their need for grievance theater. The reality is, these passengers endured a frightening three-and-a-half hour ordeal, which included a front-to-back sweep of the aircraft with a bomb-sniffing dog, in order to advance the provocative agenda of these imams in, of all the inappropriate places after 9/11, U.S. airports. "Allahu Akbar" was just the opening act. After boarding, they did not take their assigned seats but dispersed to seats in the first row of first class, in the midcabin exit rows and in the rear -- the exact configuration of the 9/11 execution teams. The head of the group, seated closest to the cockpit, and two others asked for a seatbelt extension, kept on board for obese people. A heavy metal buckle at the end of a long strap, it can easily be used as a lethal weapon. The three men rolled them up and placed them on the floor under their seats. And lest this entire incident be written off as simple cultural ignorance, a frightened Arabic-speaking passenger pulled aside a crew member and translated the imams' suspicious conversations, which included angry denunciations of Americans, furious grumblings about U.S. foreign policy, Osama Bin Laden and "killing Saddam." Predictably, these imams and their attorneys now suggest that another passenger who penned a frantic note of warning and slipped it to a flight attendant was somehow a hysterical Islamophobe. Let us remember that but for their performance at the gate this passenger might never have noticed these men or their behavior on board, much less have the slightest clue as to their religion or political passions. Of course, that was the point of the shouting. According to the police report, yet another alarmed passenger who frequently travels to the Middle East described a conversation with one of the imams. The 31-year-old Egyptian expressed fundamentalist Muslim views, and stated the he would go to whatever measures necessary to obey all the tenets set out in the Koran. The activist Muslim American Society (MAS) issued a press release within hours of the incident, demanding an apology and announcing a "pray-in" at Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C. Standing just a short distance from the Pentagon, where five years ago black plumes of smoke from the crash of American Airlines flight 77 could be seen for miles, the assembled demonstrators complained that African-American Muslims, accustomed to "driving while black," must now cope with the injustice of "flying while Muslim." This brazen two-step is racial politics at its worst; none of the imams are African-American. MAS, which teaches an "Activist Training" program with lessons on "how to talk to the media," must have been thrilled when one cable news outfit, suckered by the rhetoric, compared the imams' conduct to that of civil rights icon Rosa Parks, who refused to give up her bus seat in the face of institutional racism. One wonders what the parents of the three 11-year-olds who died on flight 77 -- all African-American kids on a National Geographic field trip -- would make of this stunning comparison. Today, MAS Executive Director Mahdi Bray says his organization wants more than an apology. He wants to "hit [US Airways] where it hurts, the pocketbook," and, joined by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), will seek compensation for the imams, civil and federal monetary sanctions, and new, sweeping legislation that will extract even bigger penalties for airlines that engage in "racial and religious profiling." An investigation by the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Civil Rights & Civil Liberties is underway. Not incidentally, it is the "fatwa department" of MAS that pushed for segregated taxi lines that would permit Muslim cab drivers at the Minneapolis airport to reject passengers carrying alcohol. * * * Here's what the flying public needs to know about airplanes and civil rights: Once your foot traverses the entranceway of a commercial airliner, you are no longer in a democracy in which everyone gets a vote and minority rights are affirmatively protected in furtherance of fuzzy, ever-shifting social policy. Ultimately, the responsibility for your personal safety and security rests on the shoulders of one person, the pilot in command. His primary job is to safely transport you and your belongings from one place to another. Period. This is the doctrine of "captain's authority." It has a longstanding history and a statutory mandate, further strengthened after 9/11, which recognizes that flight crews are our last line of defense between the kernel of a terrorist plot and its lethal execution. The day we tell the captain of a commercial airliner that he cannot remove a problem passenger unless he divines beyond question what is in that passenger's head and heart is the day our commercial aviation system begins to crumble. When a passenger's conduct is so disturbing and disruptive that reasonable, ordinary people fear for their lives, the captain must have the discretionary authority to respond without having to consider equal protection or First Amendment standards about which even trained lawyers with the clarity of hindsight might strongly disagree. The pilot in command can't get it wrong. At 35,000 feet, when multiple events are rapidly unfolding in real time, there is no room for error. We have a new, inviolate aviation standard after 9/11, which requires that the captain cannot take that airplane up so long as there are any unresolved issues with respect to the security of his airplane. At altitude, the cockpit door is barred and crews are instructed not to open them no matter what is happening in the cabin behind them. This is an extremely challenging situation for the men and women who fly those planes, one that those who write federal aviation regulations and the people who agitate for more restrictions on a captain's authority will never have to face themselves. Likewise, flight attendants are confined in the back of the plane with upwards of 200 people; they must be the eyes and ears, not just for the pilot but for us all. They are not combat specialists, however, and to compel them to ignore all but the most unambiguous cases of suspicious behavior is to further enable terrorists who act in ways meant to defy easy categorization. As the American Airlines flight attendants who literally jumped on "shoe bomber" Richard Reid demonstrated, cabin crews are sharply attuned to unusual or abnormal behavior and they must not be second-guessed, or hamstrung by misguided notions of political correctness. Ultimately, the most despicable aspect about the imams' behavior is that when they pierced the normally quiet hum of a passenger waiting area with shouts of "Allahu Akbar" and deliberately engaged in terrorist-associated behavior that was sure to trigger suspicion, they exploited the fear that began with the Sept. 11 attacks. The imams, experienced travelers all, counted on the security system established after 9/11 to kick in, and now they plan not only to benefit financially from the proper operation of that system but to substantially weaken it -- with help from the Saudi-endowed attorneys at CAIR. US Airways is right to stand by its flight crew. It will be both dangerous and disgraceful if the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Transportation and, ultimately, our federal courts allow aviation security measures put in place after 9/11 to be cynically manipulated in the name of civil rights. Ms. Burlingame, a director of the World Trade Center Memorial Foundation, is the sister of Charles F. "Chic" Burlingame III, the pilot of American Airlines flight 77, which was crashed into the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001. |
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| Almtnman | Dec 16 2006, 10:38 AM Post #78 |
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Administrator
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If they want to be that religious, then I think they should ride camels to where they are going instead of on a plane with others that has strong suspicions of their ways. :angry: |
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| Culture Warrior | Dec 18 2006, 12:42 AM Post #79 |
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an Angry American
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December 24: The Day of Christian Pray-Ins at Airports
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| legitlinda | Dec 18 2006, 02:51 PM Post #80 |
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Ruler of the Mountain
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I like it!
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