"Bomb" a dangerous word
Regardless of the context
"A 66-year-OLD Frenchman has been jailed in Abu Dhabi after making a bomb joke on a plane, the French foreign ministry said today.
Pensioner [retired person] Jean-Louis Lioret, who was flying to Bangkok from Paris on Etihad Airways, was arrested after cabin crew overheard him using the word bomb in an exchange with his co-passenger, his brother Michel Lioret said.
During a stopover at Abu Dhabi, Lioret's neighbour asked him to keep a packet on the other seat next to him as it was empty. Lioret's jocular "I hope it's not a bomb" was overheard and sent off alarm bells.
He was taken off the plane and grilled by police and then jailed. He was also informed that the packet contained cigarettes and not a bomb. The French foreign ministry said it was informed of the arrest and was following the case closely.
Source
A good reason not to fly Etihad
8 comments:
Airport and airline authorities around the world are now clearly over reacting to anything and everything "they deem" to be a threat. What it says in fact is, they have no defense against terrorism, other than to put on a show for the public.
Or, perhaps they knew there were cigarettes in that package? In todays totally PC'ized world, people who choose to smoke are treated the same as terrorists. Here in NYC, they're treated worse than child molesters. Apparently, we have reached the point where how much freedom you have depends on the group you are associated with.
Why blame Etihad when American airliners companies are just the same if not worse? First you have to deal with airport security which forces you to remove your shoes, your jacket, and your computer, not to mention the tedious security lines and now invasive body scanners. If the airliners cared they would lobby to abolish Homeland Security or at least make it accountable to the taxpayers and have ther leaders elected, after all, we don't need another ATF doing whatever they want.
Then you have the airlines that rarely offer a meal, don't have magazines anymore, and can leave you stuck in a tarmack for 3 hours.
I was looking at Etihad's website and they have Economy Plus (which is like economy but with bigger seats), and a very nice business class that is better than first in most American airliners.
Did they overreacted? Yes, they did, and I feel sorry for the guy. However, I know that when I fly I keep my trap shut lest allow the airline gestapo to get me.
It would be simpler, far safer and more reasonable to simply arm everyone on the plane with a weapon so a terrorist trying to take control would be the one at the greatest risk.
"It would be simpler, far safer and more reasonable to simply arm everyone on the plane with a weapon so a terrorist trying to take control would be the one at the greatest risk."
---Exactly! But people in government are always afraid of simple solutions.
Here's a perfect solution along those lines, and one that's free.
http://www.northstarnational.com/2010/01/16/cops-carry-firearms-airplanes/
Something similar happened here recently - people now have to realise that no-one connected with airlines has any sense of humour about these types of things.
I remember as a kid (30 odd years ago) joking about that type of stuff while on planes - no more.
Arming the passengers would only work against hijackers. The ones who just want to blow up the plain in air wouldn't really care whether the ones being blown up were packing or not.
It's always a victory for terrorists when they manage to make life difficult for their enemies. Killing 200 is nothing compared to screwing up millions of holidays. They cannot win with force but that's not even the goal here.
My aunt once told the story of how when I was younger and we were flying to Hawaii for a vacation, I blew into a plastic bag to inflate it, then popped it on the plane with a loud *BOOM!* I could just imagine what would happen if anyone did that today...
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