Details emerging.

Post #8,602 by addison 9/12/01 12:36:44 PM Reply	Details emerging. [link\|http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/956258/detail.html\|[link\|http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/956258/detail.html\|http://www.thebosto.../detail.html]] The Boston Globe reported that a bag belonging to one of the suspected hijackers did not make it to the plane. The bag reportedly contained a copy of the Koran, the sacred text of Islam, and a fuel-consumption calendar. The Herald is reporting that among the suspects are two brothers, one of whom was a trained pilot, whose passports were traced to the United Arab Emirates. At least two other suspects are believed to have arrived at Logan from Portland, Maine. Authorities believe the suspects crossed over from Canada on Tuesday morning. The paper also is reporting that the hijackers began killing flight attendants in order to lure a pilot from the cockpit and seize the plane. Sources say the suspects' weapons were razor blades embedded in plastic handles that were smuggled in on carry-on luggage. The FBI says that there were three to five terrorists aboard each hijacked plane, as reported by MSNBC. Addison
Post #8,636 by gdaustin 9/12/01 2:33:04 PM Reply	No Carry On Luggage I think it's a rule we all can live with. I know it will suck for a while, but this is one reason to follow it.
Post #8,639 by addison 9/12/01 2:45:53 PM Reply	For how long? and what gets excepted? Bags of medication? (perhaps containing "asthma inhalers" of anthrax, tear gas?) Baby supplies? What length of flight will you allow something to be carried? What about a back brace? (something someone has noted, you could take a gun apart and hide it in a back brace, something that's never checked by airport security).... Just not a real solution there, either. Cutting down on it would be a good idea, but you won' tbe able to not have it. Don't forget the "shuttle" flights where nobody checks baggage. Addison
Post #8,642 by wharris2 9/12/01 2:55:00 PM Reply	Might not have helped much. How much metal is in a razor blade to set off a metal detector? You could hide a razor blade in your pocket. For that matter, there are other things that could be used like knives that wouldn't be detected except by a really thorough search. From the accounts that are coming out, these guys were armed with some really crude weapons, not requiring any inside help at all. Razor blades stuck in plastic handles? And the passengers just sat around while they started cutting throats? That no man should scruple, or hesitate a moment to use arms in defense of so valuable a blessing [as freedom], on which all the good and evil of life depends, is clearly my opinion; yet arms ... should be the last resource. - George Washington
Post #8,677 by inthane-chan 9/12/01 4:32:54 PM Reply	Bomb threat. The terrorists claimed they had a bomb. If all you have is a knife, people will rush you. If you claim to have a bomb as well, people will hang back, even if you kill one or two of them, especially if they don't know your plans. There's some speculation that the plane that crashed in PA went down when the passengers found out on their cell phones what was about to happen to their plane. As long as they figured they might get out of that alive, they didn't want to upset the guys with the bomb. As soon as they figured out what was going to happen, they took out the terrorists. It's what I would have done. "He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." - Friedrich Nietzsche
Post #8,696 by wharris2 9/12/01 5:11:38 PM Reply	True, but have things changed now? Next time some group of thugs comes aboard with a bomb threat, do you think the passengers and crew will act differently? That no man should scruple, or hesitate a moment to use arms in defense of so valuable a blessing [as freedom], on which all the good and evil of life depends, is clearly my opinion; yet arms ... should be the last resource. - George Washington

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