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Why the underwear bomber story does not pass my smell test.

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Botany Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-04-10 12:28 PM
Original message
Why the underwear bomber story does not pass my smell test.
Edited on Mon Jan-04-10 12:35 PM by Botany
A few years ago a friend of father's who is a retired professor of Constitutional studies @ Princeton University, a decorated marine combat vet
in Korea, and a Marine Colonel was put on a no fly list because he said that the Bush Admin. was acting unlawfully in regards to the Constitution.

The professor's name made it to a d-base as far as being on a no fly list because he spoke against W but the notorious U.F.A. (Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab)
who England refused entry because he was linked to al Qaeda, his father told the U.S. embassy in Nigeria he wanted to e a terrorist, and was
traveling under his own name was able to board a plane bound for Detroit? Please a Dell lap top hooked into a terrorist watch list would have picked him
up.

The combination of "liberal media's" 24/7 propaganda coverage of the notorious U.F.A and the fact that people like Chertoff stand to make a lot of money
from the increased airport security makes me more than a little hinky about the whole story.



http://www.globalissues.org/article/713/is-princeton-professor-and-retired-marine-on-government-no-fly-list-for-criticizing-the-white-house


http://www.mlive.com/news/detroit/index.ssf/2009/12/official_us_has_known_for_2_ye.html

He has been on a terror watch list for 2 years.
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louis-t Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-04-10 12:30 PM
Response to Original message
1. He didn't "board a plane in Detroit"
He boarded a plane in Amsterdam.
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Botany Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-04-10 12:34 PM
Response to Reply #1
2. thanx
n/t
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midnight Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-04-10 12:47 PM
Response to Reply #1
7. "traveling under his own name was able to board a plane bound for Detroit?"
CBS/AP) An attempted terrorist attack on a Christmas Day flight began with a pop and a puff of smoke – sending passengers scrambling to subdue a Nigerian man who claimed to be acting on orders from al Qaeda to blow up the airliner, officials and travelers said.

The commotion began as Northwest Airlines Flight 253, carrying 278 passengers and 11 crew members from Amsterdam, prepared to land in Detroit just before noon Friday. Travelers said they smelled smoke, saw a glow, and heard what sounded like firecrackers. At least one person climbed over others and jumped on the man, who officials say was trying to ignite an explosive device.

“It sounded like a firecracker in a pillowcase,” said Peter Smith, a passenger from the Netherlands. “First there was a pop, and then (there) was smoke.”

The original post is correct in that there is no mention of boarding plan in Detroit..... Please re read....
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louis-t Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-04-10 05:01 PM
Response to Reply #7
25. Original poster corrected his comments
and thanked me for catching his error when he stated that the guy boarded a plane "in Detroit".
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RedCloud Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-04-10 01:11 PM
Response to Reply #1
16. knock, knock. Amsterdam door! It does not say what you thought it did!
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stray cat Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-04-10 12:34 PM
Response to Original message
3. Some people also think Obama is not a US citizen - so there is no dearth of opinions
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Truth2Tell Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-04-10 12:51 PM
Response to Reply #3
10. Do you need to compare someone to a right-winger
every single time you post? Is that ALL you have to offer this board? Really?
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Don Caballero Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-04-10 12:41 PM
Response to Original message
4. The conspiracy theories about this incident are all based on one guy's
supposed observation of the suspect being handed to the gate saying he had no passport. The guy keeps changing his story and has lost credibility in the media's eyes.
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RaleighNCDUer Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-04-10 12:47 PM
Response to Reply #4
6. No, the conspiracy theories about this incident are based on just what
the OP said - that people with far less cause to be on 'no fly' lists are stopped from flying, while this self-reported terrorist flying under his own name was not stopped.
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Botany Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-04-10 01:00 PM
Response to Reply #6
11. thanx
Official: US has known for 2 years that suspect in plane attack could have terrorist ties

http://www.mlive.com/news/detroit/index.ssf/2009/12/official_us_has_known_for_2_ye.html
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midnight Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-04-10 12:49 PM
Response to Reply #4
8. Who is this one guy?
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Don Caballero Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-04-10 12:50 PM
Response to Reply #8
9. A lawyer named Haskell
He is everywhere claiming a conspiracy theory about the attempted terrorist attack. The media is totally ignoring him because his story does not add up.
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Peace Patriot Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-04-10 01:34 PM
Response to Reply #9
17. Sorry, but your comment doesn't add up. Please clarify.
"He is everywhere..." --but "The media is totally ignoring him..."? WHERE is he "claiming a conspiracy theory"?

Also, is he claiming "a conspiracy" or a "conspiracy theory"? Do you mean that he believes that there was a conspiracy to let this man board the plane? Or, he advocates or disbelieves someone else's "theory" about these events? Someone could be "claiming a conspiracy" (that there was a conspiracy behind something that happened), or could be claiming that the "conspiracy" is only a "theory" (debunking the notion of a conspiracy), or could be claiming ownership of a "theory" about the event. I'm not sure what "claiming a conspiracy theory" means.

Someone may have a conspiracy theory about an event, but they aren't claiming a "theory." They are claiming that the conspiracy is a reality.

From the general context, I gather that you mean that he was prominently, publicly saying that there was a conspiracy to let this man board the plane, based on something he saw. He was not claiming that this was a "theory." He was claiming that this was reality--that other people conspired to let the man on board--people who should have known better, who should not have done so.

One last question: Do you have some particular reason to believe that the media is "totally ignoring him" because "his story does not add up"--like, did some media person say that or write that? Or is that a guess on your part? Also, do YOU think his story adds up (or doesn't)?
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truth2power Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-04-10 01:50 PM
Response to Reply #4
22. You keep saying that. If you have a link (or links) that show he has
changed his story, please post them.

It seems to me that he has been remarkably consistent in his reporting. That, in itself, is one indicator that he is telling the truth.
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truth2power Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-05-10 09:04 PM
Response to Reply #4
26. Still waiting for the link....n/t
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niyad Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-04-10 12:43 PM
Response to Original message
5. the title of your thread cracked me up--so glad I wasn't drinking anything.
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Botany Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-04-10 01:01 PM
Response to Reply #5
12. I have to pamper some people
:rofl:
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Are_grits_groceries Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-04-10 01:03 PM
Response to Reply #5
13. That was a keeper. LOL nt
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pnwmom Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-04-10 01:08 PM
Response to Original message
14. It does mine. Incompetence at any level is predictable. n/t
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Andronex Donating Member (378 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-04-10 01:09 PM
Response to Original message
15. you cannot even fly over American air space...
I believe foreign airlines cannot even fly over American air space without giving the passenger list to US authorities beforehand...
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MidwestRick Donating Member (604 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-04-10 01:43 PM
Response to Reply #15
18. It was Delta
not a foreign airline.
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Cessna Invesco Palin Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-04-10 01:47 PM
Response to Original message
19. You don't know why he was placed on the no-fly list.
They don't give out that information. Plenty of people have obviously been placed on the list in error.
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DevonRex Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-04-10 01:49 PM
Response to Reply #19
21. And he wasn't on the no-fly list. He was on the watch list. See post below. nt
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nadinbrzezinski Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-04-10 01:55 PM
Response to Reply #19
24. Yeah like US Senators
if you believe that was an error, well I have a plot of land that looks out into the ocean in Nevada no less.
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HipChick Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-04-10 01:47 PM
Response to Original message
20. There is a difference between the no-fly list and watch list..
He was placed on the watch list.

The watch list is bascially a list of people that got told on they had contacts with terrorists or were suspected of being so. Thing is these names have no real evidence connecting them to terrorists. A number of people on it were then cleared because they got on the list due to a jilted lover,pissed off ex or someone wanting to make the person's life miserable. It's why it is close to a half million names. Something like 2000 names a day get put on the list. With hundreds of thousands of names how long do you think it takes to clear someone or actually move them higher and confirm they are a real danger? Give you a hint a long time and very few agents working on it. Even if you had thousands it would still take weeks to confirm somebody belonged on it and then bump them up to being a confirmed terrorist.

Do you honestly think a real terrorist who knew he was known to the US would fly under his real name? Honestly if Al-Qaeda wanted to and could they could have hundreds of guys doing the same thing each year. Only reason they haven't is they have to find someone dumb enough to blow up his own genitals and who isn't known The real important people are too valuable to use in this manner, so they use dums dums. If the guy really wanted to do damage,he could have detonated in the restroom of the plane, since he apparently was carrying enough to take the whole thing out. Look at the IRA,they rarely missed their target..they blew Lord Mountbatten to pieces,narrowly missed Maggie Thatcher sitting on the loo in a hotel..no matter how much security was in place..they still managed to penetrate and get their targets..
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Better Today Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-04-10 01:51 PM
Response to Original message
23. Because he pooped his pants??? :) Sorry, couldn't help myself.
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