ALL Amsterdam "terror suspects" to walk: cell phones started 'problem'

[Bluebear]

HAARLEM, Netherlands (AP) - Prosecutors said Thursday they found no evidence of a terrorist threat aboard a Northwest Airlines flight to India that returned to Amsterdam, and they are releasing all 12 passengers arrested after the emergency landing.

The men, all Indian nationals, had aroused suspicions on Flight NW0042 to Mumbai because they had a large number of cellphones and other equipment, and refused to follow the crew's instructions, prosecutors said.

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/24082006/2/world-terrorism-involved-flight-diverted-amsterdam-suspects-walk.html

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Of course, if they decide to ban cell phones from aircraft now (turned off or not), then future Barbara Olson's couldn't "phone" their husbands to tell them the terrorists had boxcutters...oh, never mind...

[elehhhhna]

1. You know darned well they were showing each other picture phone pics

from their dammned vacation.

[Bluebear]

2. This is a great excuse to ban cell phones now...

along with hair gel and suntan lotion.

[peacebird]

3. bing-bing-bing! We HAVE a winner!

They were only guilty of flying while brown skinned.....

[ShortnFiery]

11. I used to work as a substitute teacher for D.O.D. middle schools

while we were stationed in Okinawa, i.e., not much else available for civilian spouses.

I often was requested *by name* because I did not tend to send students to the Front Office for discipline. Why? Because I corrected the behavior on the spot or put the disruptive students in the back of the room to enjoy their misbehavior.

Similarly, instead of spending BIG BUCKS to fly back to their base and arrest these people, why didn't any of these geniuses (the flight Attendants, the Air Marshals, the PILOT) bother to "square these men away" ON THE SPOT?!?

Sort of like, "Hey, Sir! Put away that cell phone, it's the law. And BTW what are you doing? Looking at pictures? You know, you are not supposed to even be sharing the pictures of your trip or using your Cel Phone in any way until the plane has landed." :shrug:

How much effort would it have taken to just "take care of business ON THE SPOT?"

In other words, have our first line of defenders become so damn chickensh*t of BROWN people that they're afraid to REMIND them of The REGULATIONS?

This situation reeks of irrational fear, undertones of racism, and is nothing less than PATHETIC. :(

[hedgehog]

16. Read the articles

They all include a phrase such as "they failed to follow instructions". Several articles claimed these guys were moving around the plane while the seat belt sign was still on. This situation had escalated before the pilots turned around.

Also - please note - these weren't the only South Asians on the plane! It was bound for Mumbai!

[ShortnFiery]

19. I did read the articles ... HOWEVER, no one explained this statement

Was there a language barrier?

Oh, I'm sorry, we're supposed to believe that the flight attendants CLEARLY reminded these men? Or perhaps if you are of another race, you are not BLESSED with a reminder? Is it straight to prison?

Nope, I find it hard to believe that there was a concerted effort to communicate with the 12 men but a whole lotta whispers ... a whole lotta irrational FEAR that could have been cleared up if there were ONE, just ONE person who attempted to COMMUNICATE WITH these 12 men. ;) Instead, they watched, whispered and screamed bloody murder to the pilot. Pathetic :thumbsdown:

[HysteryDiagnosis]

5. Of bridges and stuff like that?? I hope not.... BOO!!

[elehhhhna]

9. The bridges in Amsterdam are gorgeous...especially after visiting

a Coffeeshop.

[HysteryDiagnosis]

10. I'm sorry but you will have to leave your coffee at the counter,

that's just the way it is dear....

[Jeroen]

4. Here a picture of the terror suspects

[karlrschneider]

6. Boy howdy, that guy in the lumberjack shirt GOTTA be a 'terist.

:eyes:

[Jeroen]

21. Yes. 70's style terra. Rote Armee, don't you think? ;-)

[walldude]

7. So I wonder if the guy who posted this:

You know I get tired of the DU mind think that that everyone on the planet is innocent...
...It's not some fiction that everyone here wants to make it. I suppose we should err on the side of "freedom" and just accept that some people are going to die on airplanes. I guess that's a-okay with Du'ers. Because FREEDOM to do whatever you want must come before your life-and as I have learned on DU-everyone is Innocent and it's an OUTRAGE to ever SUSPECT anyone of being other than perfectly innocent.

Is really pissed off that Du'ers were right...

[karlrschneider]

8. "First they came for the Communists..."

:eyes:

[ShortnFiery]

13. No, and DU is a huge message board with multifaceted opinions ...

So the first part of your argument is bunk.

Having worked with some "very difficult populations" to include addicts and the criminally insane, I can conclude that a properly trained flight attendant who is forcefully assertive could have single handedly *squared away* every one of these 12 men. Yes, even with the language barrier.

What happened here is that "our first line of defenders" were behaving like frightened school girls running around screaming to the pilot with their dresses raised above their heads.

Anyone who has experience with adolescent children CAN correct misbehavior by a group of 20 something men. With my apologies to the significant segment of mature guys of this age group.

They were too afraid to find someone who spoke THEIR language and correct the situation on the spot.

Bottom Line: They were too AFRAID to do their job because the men were NOT from their culture. :thumbsdown:

[Deja Q]

12. Well, here's a hint: If you're at an airport & told to do something, DO IT

:dunce:

Okay, so they walked. The arrogant jerks wouldn't have gotten into any of this if they just plodded along with the rest of us who endure this sort of treatment too.

[ShortnFiery]

14. How do you know for a fact these men were "arrogant jerks"

and this situation could not have been an honest mistake due to the language barrier?

That's the problem in ameriKKKa, get afraid? Pull out the BIG GUNS! How stupid. :(

You communicate with people - you find the person in charge and pass the information down.

Why do you think that we can NOT recruit Intelligence Assets from the Muslim Community?

BINGO! Because we don't even try to UNDERSTAND the world from their position.

Our whole way of life in the USA will be ruined by FEAR if we let it consume us into FASCISM and LOCK STEP love of Authority Figures. Yes, even in the damn plane, you try to communicate with people of other races.

IMO, that was the problem: Race and Culture Clash.

Not so much "Arrogant Jerks" as Chicken-shit "Flight Attendants" who could NOT muster up the courage to find someone who could speak the language NOR Assertively squared them away ON THE SPOT.

[Bluebear]

18. What were they told to do that they didn't?

Just curious, I had not heard exactly how they didn't cooperate?

[LostinVA]

20. What didn't they do? First I've heard about them being arrogant and jerks

[rman]

23. right, so this had nothing to do with terrorism,

unless not following crew instructions is now also covered under terrorism.

[JohnyCanuck]

15. Maybe they were just trying to see if they could make cell phone calls

from 30,000ft as called for in the official 911 conspiracy theory (the one it's ok to believe).

http://globalresearch.ca/articles/CHO408B.html

[Bluebear]

17. Indeed!

[rman]

22. "refused to follow the crew's instructions"

Then wtf was this whining about "acting strange"?
Isn't not follow crew's instructions plenty to have them try and catch the next plane?

What the heck does this have to do with this war on terror we're supposedly in?

[Swamp Rat]

24. The only solution is to ban PEOPLE from flying!

Fuck this noise! I'm gonna build a pirogue! :D