Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Call me crazy, again

Peace-lovin' muslim youth, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, was only attempting to blow himself up--not the entire Northwest Airlines flight!

TSA Update – December 28, 2009

TSA Strengthens Measures; Longer Security Lines Likely

In light of the Christmas Day incident where a passenger tried to blow himself up on the plane, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has implemented stricter guidelines for airport and in-flight security.

Because the TSA does not want the terrorists to know its plans, it has been intentionally vague with its public announcements. Media reports have indicated that some airline contacts have advised that hand luggage will be restricted to one for international flights. Other reports advise that in-flight entertainment will be curtailed and that flight maps will no longer be displayed.

The situation will become clearer in the coming days. In the meantime, BCD Travel advises clients traveling to get to the airport much earlier than normal. Airlines will not take responsibility for any delays travelers encounter with TSA. For the latest official information from the TSA, please see their site, www.tsa.gov. Here is a link to their current guidelines: TSA Guidance for Passengers.

Friday, December 25, 2009

Another Whiskey Tango Foxtrot moment

Obama and Napolitano will claim credit for averting this disaster but it was Dutch citizen, and other passengers, who took the bastard down. We will have daily updates on his burns, and how they are healing, no doubt--along with the "how did we, as a society, fail this young man and cause this attempt on innocent lives...".

A male passenger on an international flight bound for Detroit Friday tried to blow up the plane with an explosive device in an incident that the White House is labeling an attempted act of terrorism. (Sounds like an actual act of terrorism to me!!)

Several people were hurt on the plane, which had Delta markings, but was listed as Northwest Flight 253. One person, possibly the suspect, was admitted to the University of Michigan Medical Center at Ann Arbor, hospital spokeswoman Tracy Justice said.

The suspect, who ABC reported suffered second-degree burns, told federal investigators he was connected to Al Qaeda, though authorities are questioning the veracity of that statement, Fox News confirmed. A federal situational awareness bulletin noted that the explosive was acquired in Yemen with instructions as to when it should be used, ABC said.

Rep. Peter King (R-NY) identified the suspect as 23-year-old Abdul Mudallah of Nigeria, and King said Mudallah "definitely has connections" to Al Qaeda. King said Mudallah was not on any terrorism watchlist. (WRONG--he was on the NO-FLY list!!) "This could have been catastrophic," said King, speaking to "FOX Report" Friday night. "We were lucky on this one.



White House officials confirmed Friday that the attack was an attempted act of terrorism.
"He appears to have had some kind of incendiary device he tried to ignite," said one of the U.S. officials.

Authorities initially believed the passenger had set off firecrackers that caused some minor injuries. The suspect reportedly suffered second-degree burns in the failed attempt to ignite the device.



Delta Air Lines spokeswoman Susan Elliott said the passenger was subdued immediately. She had no details on the injuries. Delta and Northwest have merged.



An FBI spokeswoman in Detroit said the incident is being investigated. It came just as the flight, an Airbus 330 carrying 278 passengers, was arriving in Detroit from Amsterdam.



Passenger Syed Jafri, a U.S. citizen who had flown from the United Arab Emirates, said the incident occurred during the plane's descent. Jafri said he was seated three rows behind the passenger and said he saw a glow, and noticed a smoke smell. Then, he said, "a young man behind me jumped on him." (notice "Syed Jafri" saw the shit going down but a real American sitting further away was the first to jump the guy?) "Next thing you know, there was a lot of panic," he said.
Rich Griffith, a passenger from Pontiac, said he was seated too far in the back to see what had happened. But he said he didn't mind being detained on the plane for several hours. "It's frustrating if you don't want to keep your country safe," he said. "We can't have what's going on everywhere else happening here."

President Barack Obama was notified of the incident and discussed it with security officials, the White House said. It said he is monitoring the situation and receiving regular updates from his vacation spot in Hawaii.

J.P. Karas, 55, of Wyandotte, Mich., said he was driving down a road near the airport and saw a Delta jet at the end of the runway, surrounded by police cars, an ambulance, a bus and some TV trucks.

"I don't ever recall seeing a plane on that runway ever before and I pass by there frequently," he said.

Karas said it was difficult to tell what was going on, but it looked like the front wheel was off the runway.

The Homeland Security Department said passengers may see additional screening measures on domestic and international flights because of the incident.



"We encourage those with future travel plans to stay in touch with their airline and to visit www.tsa.gov for updates," the department said.



Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has been briefed on the incident and is closely monitoring the situation. (Yeah, thanks a lot, Janet)

The department encouraged travelers to be observant and aware of their surroundings and report any suspicious behavior to law enforcement officials. (As if we aren't--we know Obama and Janet aren't going to protect us from muslims)



Color me paranoid,
KarenO