Shoe Bomber
Wed, 2002-01-16 23:28
#1
Shoe Bomber
We keep hearing about the shoe bomber, and there's no doubt that he's absolutely barking. But what about the passengers on that plane who risked their lives to overpower him? Surely they deserve medals.
mississippi
They got something far more valuable than a medal Karl. They survived!
Karl Wiggins
Too true!
Miles Fotherington
I read this thing about how US domestic flights have changed since Sept 11. On one flight, the pilot came out into the aisle and basically said, you are the only defence between us and death, so be vigilant and do whatever you have to do. Throw shoes, gouge eyes etc. Then he produced a small axe and said, "We keep this in the cockpit, and it's very sharp".
Andrea
*flying phobia deepens dramatically*
justyn_thyme
When Attorney General Ashcroft went on TV yesterday with the pictures of five more wanted terrorists he made the same point: in the final analysis it is a concerned and aware citizenry that provides the best defense. The government can't be everywhere, and I don't frankly want them to be everywhere. That can have some nasty side-effects.
I also saw something on the news today: the new law requiring all baggage to be inspected (including checked baggage) went into effect today in the U.S. Along with this was a report that the training for airline pilots and flight attendants now includes self-defense training, as well as a change in policy: no more cooperating with hijackers. Assume they are on a suicide mission and take them out! Damn well about time, too.
It also appears that Reid, the British Boy Genius, was a stalking horse for Al-Quaida, trained with them, flew all over Europe. He's the perfect person for that task. No loss if he gets caught, and if he gets through (even without doing anything, just taking the flight) it shows what idiots the security people are. Profilers must now include "stupid looking gits" along with the obvious "bomb thrower" look.