Comments on TERROR IN THE SKIES, AGAIN?

OMG.

I can't describe how that sickens me. If I were an American airline, I'd say, "Screw it. We're going to check everyone we feel may be a threat. We owe this to our shareholders, our employees and to all Americans. We will especially scrutinize men from the Middle East, until another region of the world or another religious sect becomes a greater probable threat. This isn't about racism. It's about probabilities."

"The US government is going to fine us for doing this. You need to contact your local newspapers and your state and local representatives, and tell them you support our actions."

I agree. If these men had done something, the same people who scream 'profiling' would be wanting to know why the airline and/or the U.S. government didn't magically stop this.

I'm not buying the "musician" crap. I hope the FAM got their names, photos, fingerprints, DNA, and any other ID. Because those assholes were making a dry run for terrorist activity as sure as I'm sitting here typing. Scary shit.

God bless tom ridge and homeland security eh? Good thing the 'war president' is on the job tightening up the borders... of Iraq. Sounds like a simple matter of tightening up security. Just because you can't discriminate doesn't mean you can't double and triple check everybody. Maybe if we spent some of that 100 billion plus we spent on who knows what in Iraq on real security and real anti-terrorist measures, people might be and feel a little safer.
Issues facing TSA include but are certainly not limited to; shortage of staff, and they can't pay overtime to the staff they have, so they're understaffed. Screening of screeners, baggage handlers, and airport personnel is still faulty. Funding cutbacks have slowed the training of new air-marshalls, development of field location infrastructure and eqiupment. Access to airports and baggage areas is still relativley open, and no one checks cargo.

I don't know why this article comes as any great surprise, or is cause for concern about profiling. It's about lax security in Detroit and elsewhere. It's a money issue. Follow the money. Someone standing in front of a TV camera saying we're 'safer' doesn't make us safer.

I think the biggest problem these guys face is the baseless screams of 'racism!!! should they actually fire some neurons and take care of blantantly obvious situations like this.

I'm right there with scroff on this. I used to fly alot, I don't much anymore so I haven' really thought about this much, but I'll offer this for what it's worth. I haven't always been the fountain of joy and peace and love for my fellow man that you have all come to know and love. There was a time when I associated with, what some would call "unsavory" characters and it wasn't always possible to conceal a weapon. That's where something I learned in the Corps kicked in - Weapons of Opportunity. Now if someone wants to blow up a plane in the air with a bomb assembled in the air, well there ain't much you can do about it. But if you're being hijacked, well, the Rules of Engagement have changed. Instead of just sitting there, going along with it, passengers should, and probably will fight back. Why not? Beats crashing into a building at 500 mph. This is where a little prep can help you. Sharpen a pencil. Put it in your pocket or behind your ear. Should you need to use it, hold it in your hand with the eraser seated against the heel of your hand and the length of the pencil extending out between your middle fingers, make a fist securing it and punch upward just above the adams apple where the throat meets the head. In a pinch a pen will do, but a sharpened pencil works better. Drive it in hard. Take an old credit card and some 100 grit sandpaper and carefully sharpen the bottom of the credit card on the back side only so it isn't obvious. With a little patience you can get the thing razor sharp. Go for the side of the neck, fast and hard so that you cut the carotid artery. The sudden, massive loss of blood will almost always cause the target to black out. Keys work too. Hold them in your fist, with a key extending out from between each finger. Buy a pair of reading glasses with the rubber or plastic tips on the earpieces. Remove the plastic and sharpen the ends, then replace the tips. If you're nervous, order a cup of tea. Nothing like a cup of scalding, hot water in the face to chill an attacker out. There's more, but as I type this it occurs to me that other's may read this as well so I won't get into non-detectable projectile weapons. Use your head, look around you, think Weapons of Opportunity, be prepared.

d.

I live with a guy trained in "unarmed" defense. It's amazing what "unarmed" can offer in the way of weapons. I'm with Scroff on this one. We need better airport and airline security. There needs to be a pat-down search (as well as current "x-ray" search) of everyone boarding. Also, all passengers should be required to provide photo ID (matching name on ticket) at time of boarding. One quick example to improve in-flight security: Hire plane toilet attendants who do nothing but check airplane toilets after every use. That way nothing can be left in a toilet for use in assembling bombs/weapons. Forbid taking items like bags and purses in the airplane bathrooms. If a woman needs a sanitary napkin or tampon, she can take it in bare-handed. No purse. We've pretty much all seen tampons, etc. No surprises. Embarrassed is better than dead. Men can empty their pockets, much as they do at airport check-in security. Would all this security beefing raise airline prices? Of course. Once again, same theme: can't spend that extra money you save if you've been blown up in an airplane.

First off a tip; if you double-click in the fields in this comment form your name, email and url will show up in a drop down menu and you won't have to type them in. Works in IE, don't know about other browsers.
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It doesn't have to cost more. Security measures can be funded through the Federal Budget. It might take longer and pose several inconviences, but hey, like you said, I'd rather have to get there two hours early than go boom. I'd also rather have severly tight security at airports, than have my name and data in some Matrix file. I mean it's an airport, not a resort. Once you get there you go through security and you wait for your plane, get on it go where you're going, get off and leave.

Scroff: Thanks for the tip (I use it all the time and just assumed everyone else did....)

The one thing that is in place are the Air Marshals. The story said that the flight attendants were aware of several of them on the flight.

An update of sorts. I sent this to my son who is on and in all sorts of tactical email lists and groups. He said this story has been floating around the tac groups. The scuttlebutt in those groups is that this was a "dry run", but the twist is, it was our guys (FBI, CIA, pick your own letters) doing it, to see how the FAM people reacted, how the passengers reacted, how the airlines and their personnel reacted. I'm really trying to believe that.

It's possible. It would have sucked if someone like d. had been on board and had rammed a sharp pencil into one of their skulls though. Oops!

From what I've read, the Air Marshalls aren't fully up to speed yet, or were expected to be "mid-2004". The budget was cut by about $100,000 in a 're-alignment' of the TSA. This is from a GAO report from the "Statement of Norman J. Rabkin Managing Director, Homeland Security
and Justice Issues" dated March 2004. (you can read it here http://www.anywhichway.net/filemgmt/visit.php?lid=135 ... of course you can :))

Well, I notice the suspects didn't actually try anything, just acted like, ummmm, suspects. Trying something might have bought one of them a FAM bullet along with the pencil in the eye.

What egg-sactly are you trying to say here oh brudder- a-mine?

50/50luv, homie, wassup?

yerbrudder

By the way, it ain't the eye, it's the throat, just above the adams apple, at an angle that will cause the sharp end to exit at the base of the skull, put yer finger back there, feel for it, where the skull meets the spinal cord. That's it, now you got it. Tired, going to bed. Peace out.

d.

IAmTiredOfTypingThisShit,

If you've typed your info once and then clicked the "Yes" button under "Remember personal info?" you shouldn't have to type it again. If you simply type the first letter of your name then your name should appear in a dropdown menu. It probably is, but you've been looking at you keyboard while typing when it did!

Also, as someone wrote above which is the first time I've learned of this, the dropdown should appear when you double click the field.

Cait,

About the dry run being US agents: That actually makes more sense.

They were so obviously acting suspiciously that I'd say they were either 14 agents testing the reaction of the airline, marshalls and passengers, or they were 14 very clumbsy terrorists.

And if they were terrorists, I doubt that they'd sent 14 of 'em on a suicide mission when only a handful would be neccessary.

Tuning Spork: we tried that 'remember personal info' - it won't work.

There's a post about it over at Munuviana; I personally think it's just a bug in this version of MT.

Hmmm. Or maybe it's the browser? Double clicking works fine for me here. I'm looking with JUNO via IE 6.0.

Or maybe it's the browser?

Dunno - I'm also using IE 6.0......maybe it's PFM?

Yeah, shit! It's my browser! Ever since SBC took over Prodigy it's been a pain in the ass. When I sign out of SBC and launch Explorer, I get the drop-down...sigh....sorry Mikey, guess it's time to go to Comcast.

d.

I wonder if maybe, juust maybe, these were 14 arabic band members who were nervous about all the hairy eyeballs they were getting. (??)

I work with an Egyptian MD. After 911 I asked him if he got alot of flack from people. His reply was that most people thought he was Puerto Rican. So much for profiling.

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