Comments on: Report: Arab passengers said it was “the last 30 minutes of their lives”

By: NTWR

NTWR — Wed, 23 Aug 2006 18:00:27 +0000

There are enough low-self esteemed (and most likely liberal) people in this world that it isn’t crazy to say some people would see how much flak these passengers were given for speaking up and would sit silently in the same situation, just to prevent embarrassment.

As my favorite band would say: “Sad but truuuueeeaaahh!”

And Tanya-I wonder if it was the same one that did that to me? In front of everybody, behind a clear partition. You should have seen how embarrassed, and then alarmed, she got when I mentioned I was wearing a push-up bra as she was feeling me up!

By: Hot Air » Blog Archive » Follow-up: Arab passengers removed from UK flight come forward

Wed, 23 Aug 2006 15:48:10 +0000

[...] I wouldn’t rule out possibility 2 entirely, but I do think possibility 3’s taken the lead. From the Mirror: The pair, studying for degrees at Manchester’s Umist institution, believe the scare was sparked by an elderly lady sitting nearby. [...]

By: thirteen28

thirteen28 — Wed, 23 Aug 2006 15:23:47 +0000

mcg:

it’s easier than that. If they were BS’ing, they’ll still get busted for doing so.

As they should.

Tanya:

I didn’t say I had a problem with what might’ve happened in security. When I flew right after 9/11, I was singled out and genuinely, honestly felt up. Like, hands on girlie bits. By a 60 year old woman, who was as uncomfortable as I was.

She could have at least had the decency to buy you dinner.

By: Tanya

Tanya — Wed, 23 Aug 2006 14:49:41 +0000

Ok folks. Decaf. Really.

I didn’t say I had a problem with what might’ve happened in security. When I flew right after 9/11, I was singled out and genuinely, honestly felt up. Like, hands on girlie bits. By a 60 year old woman, who was as uncomfortable as I was.

Did I care? Not really, tho I would have preferred a private room. It’s just safety. But if I were a man, and had just been third base groped by another guy, I might turn to my friend sitting next to me on the plane and call that “the worst 30 minutes of my life.”

By: there it is

there it is — Wed, 23 Aug 2006 14:12:32 +0000

Let’s get this straight. It really doesn’t matter what they did or didn’t say.
If, in this particular case, they were falsely singled out, so what?
Screw them!
We’re not the problem. They are.
If you insist on being Politically Correct regarding this, then screw you too!

By: venmax

venmax — Wed, 23 Aug 2006 14:09:33 +0000

Why are muslims and arabs still allowed on planes?

ditto

The so called “Moderate” Muslims (if they even exist) need to take back their religion or just go take a short walk off a tall cliff as far as I’m concerned.

By: modifiedcontent

modifiedcontent — Wed, 23 Aug 2006 13:57:43 +0000

Why are muslims and arabs still allowed on planes?

By: entagor

entagor — Wed, 23 Aug 2006 13:46:31 +0000

They’d probably had a really ugly time in security

Doubt it.

I hope they were examined intently and sternly, but I doubt it.

What constitutes ugly? To me that would have to be racial insults, not letting them sit down, not letting them go to the bathroom, slapping them around or ripping up their possessions. The other stuff is called being safe.

By: Tanya

Tanya — Wed, 23 Aug 2006 11:38:16 +0000

I hate to keep playing devil’s advocate, but (assuming they said it in english), any chance they said “worst 30 minutes of [their] lives?” They’d probably had a really ugly time in security, considering recent events.

By: mcg

mcg — Wed, 23 Aug 2006 03:17:53 +0000

thirteen28: it’s easier than that. If they were BS’ing, they’ll still get busted for doing so.

By: gmoonster

gmoonster — Wed, 23 Aug 2006 03:00:09 +0000

Wisdom of crowds: Have all the passengers interview each other before flights.

By: thirteen28

thirteen28 — Wed, 23 Aug 2006 02:16:00 +0000

Hmmm, let’s see.

If I report the guys and it turns out they were just BS’ing, I risk being embarrassed.

If I don’t report the guys and it turns out they weren’t BS’ing, the plane gets blown up and my lifeless body hurtles into the ocean from 30,000+ feet.

Tough choice here.

By: Benthoven

Benthoven — Wed, 23 Aug 2006 02:08:08 +0000

Words like that are tantamount to saying “I have a bomb” in an airport, and as the signs in airports say, It’s no F***NG joke. Quite literally, it’s communicating threats.

If, however, this was some kind of sick-ass muslim version of “humor,” these guys are just plain evil, cowardly, bullying bastards, typical of their mu-slime brethren. That’s the more likely scenario to me, as I assume they were searched and checked out thoroughly before being put on another plane.

They should have been taken to MI5 for a lengthy and uncomfortable interrogation, in my book.

By: kate q

kate q — Wed, 23 Aug 2006 00:12:30 +0000

Is this the first step in forcing airline security to improve?

Kudos to this pack.

By: labwrs

labwrs — Tue, 22 Aug 2006 23:51:26 +0000

I said yesterday that it wasnt that they were Arab-looking it was that they were acting suspiciously ( my inference from reading the news reports). It looks like that was the case.
Even IF it were a “joke”…it is a bully-boy kind of joke and the deserved the reaction.

By: DannoJyd

DannoJyd — Tue, 22 Aug 2006 23:38:33 +0000

IMHO, we won’t have that problem in America. Instead, the terrorists will be allowed to board as the same lousy airport security people that were working prior to 9/11 occupy themselves by strip searching some innocent 90 year old white woman, and her poodle.

For those with short memories, the answer from congress to correct the blatant problem of having really poor security personel at our airports was to Unionize those.

By: darwin

darwin — Tue, 22 Aug 2006 23:22:49 +0000

Better safe than sorry has taken on a whole new meaning. Political correctness goes out the window (tahnk goodness).

By: NTWR

NTWR — Tue, 22 Aug 2006 23:12:52 +0000

True, but look at all the crap the passengers got over the whole thing.

It’s similar to thinking you might be having a heart attack but not wanting to go to the hospital for fear of being labeled a hypochondriac.

In the case of (possible)life or death, sometimes it’s worth being embarrassed or labeled.

It makes me mad to even have these situations to deal with. It’s a mad world these days.

By: DannoJyd

DannoJyd — Tue, 22 Aug 2006 23:12:19 +0000

Isn’t erring on the side of caution one of the reasons they aren’t profiling at American airports today?

Airport security. What a joke.

By: pjcomix

pjcomix — Tue, 22 Aug 2006 23:06:46 +0000

I’m thinking it was an Arabic speaking woman who heard them say it in Arabic.

By: Allahpundit

Allahpundit — Tue, 22 Aug 2006 23:05:26 +0000

Unfortunately, all three involve taking it to the crew. There’s no way to know which one it is. You have to err on the side of caution.

By: Entelechy

Entelechy — Tue, 22 Aug 2006 23:03:43 +0000

Agree, 1 and 2 definitely necessitate talking to the crew.

By: NTWR

NTWR — Tue, 22 Aug 2006 23:02:40 +0000

So, they said the 30 minutes thing in English or did the lady speak Arabic and hear it that way?

Thanks for the follow up, A.

By: Allahpundit

Allahpundit — Tue, 22 Aug 2006 22:59:52 +0000

If I’d heard anyone say something about a threat, even as hearsay, I’d want some very thorough re-screening.

By: Entelechy

Entelechy — Tue, 22 Aug 2006 22:58:39 +0000

Allah, how would you have reacted in scenario 1 & 2?

I, sincerely, don’t know about my reaction to 1 & 2 and I know that I wouldn’t have gone to 3 because I fly a lot and would have probably already entered into a conversation…especially with foreigners.