Scary, but a different kind of scary than what most of us are inclined to think about. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt once said that we have nothing to fear but fear itself. He encouraged and inspired a nation. Now we have nothing to fear but John Ashcroft and Tom Ridge, who have only one goal in mind: To scare the bejesus out of us so that whatever bill the administration wants passed, whatever powers they want Congress to give them, we will happily hand them over. (see USA PATRIOT Act)
Unfortunately, many read about this story in the Washington Times. Seeing as they are part of a conglomerate of several magazines -- Newsweek being one of them, Cable One, about a dozen regional networks, education and interactive companies owned by Rev. Moon -- it's not hard to appreciate their influence. Even if they print a retraction (or at the very least a follow-up story), the damage is already done.
From the Washington Times:
[Editor's note: This is a cached page, as it appears that the Times removed the original. Maybe that's as close to an admission of fault that we'll get out of them.]
Scouting jetliners for new attacksPlease read this article to learn what this "story" was really about and send it along to anyone else who sends it to you.
Flight crews and air marshals say Middle Eastern men are staking out airports, probing security measures and conducting test runs aboard airplanes for a terrorist attack.
At least two midflight incidents have involved numerous men of Middle Eastern descent behaving in what one pilot called "stereotypical" behavior of an organized attempt to attack a plane.
"No doubt these are dry runs for a terrorist attack," an air marshal said.
Pilots and air marshals who asked to remain anonymous told The Washington Times that surveillance by terrorists is rampant, using different probing methods.
"It's happening, and it's a sad state of affairs," a pilot said. A June 29 incident aboard Northwest Airlines Flight 327 from Detroit to Los Angeles is similar to a Feb. 15 incident on American Airlines Flight 1732 from San Juan, Puerto Rico, to New York's John F. Kennedy Airport.
