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stephanie
03-15-2007, 07:09 PM
WTF..Everybody needs to be aware of this.....

By Katherine Kersten, Star Tribune
Last update: March 14, 2007 – 11:04 PM

Katherine Kersten: The real target of the 6 imams' 'discrimination' suit


The "flying imams' " federal lawsuit, filed this week in Minneapolis, has made headlines around the country. The imams are demanding unspecified damages from US Airways and the Metropolitan Airports Commission, both with deep pockets. But their suit includes other defendants, as yet unnamed. These people, unaffiliated with the airline industry or government, are among the imams' most vulnerable targets.
Recall the November 2006 incident that gave rise to the suit. The imams engaged in a variety of suspicious behaviors while boarding a US Airways flight, according to the airport police report. Some prayed loudly in the gate area, spoke angrily about the United States and Saddam, switched seats and sat in the 9/11 hijackers' configuration, and unnecessarily requested seatbelt extenders that could be used as weapons, according to witness reports and US Airways spokeswoman Andrea Rader.

After extensive consultations, the pilot asked authorities to remove the imams for questioning, which they did, releasing them later that day.

"The pilot did what he had to do," passenger Rita Snelson of Maplewood told the Star Tribune. "I told the airline afterward, 'Thank you for watching over us.' "

The imams' lawsuit, however, asserts that US Airways and the MAC acted solely out of religious and ethnic discrimination. It includes 17 separate counts.

It also rehearses a catalogue of harms allegedly suffered by the imams, including fear, depression, mental pain and financial injury. They have not only endured exhaustion, humiliation and ridicule, but also have lost sleep and developed anxiety about flying.

Their lawsuit appears to be the latest component in a national campaign to intimidate airlines and government agencies from acting prudently to ensure passenger safety. The Council on American-Islamic Relations, which is advising the imams, is also calling for congressional hearings and promoting federal legislation to "end racial profiling" in air travel. If the legislation passes, airport personnel who disproportionately question passengers who are Muslim or of Middle Eastern origin could be subject to sanctions.

But the most alarming aspect of the imams' suit is buried in paragraph 21 of their complaint. It describes "John Doe" defendants whose identity the imams' attorneys are still investigating. It reads: "Defendants 'John Does' were passengers ... who contacted U.S. Airways to report the alleged 'suspicious' behavior of Plaintiffs' performing their prayer at the airport terminal."

Paragraph 22 adds: "Plaintiffs will seek leave to amend this Complaint to allege true names, capacities, and circumstances supporting [these defendants'] liability ... at such time as Plaintiffs ascertain the same."

In plain English, the imams plan to sue the "John Does," too.

Who are these unnamed culprits? The complaint describes them as "an older couple who was sitting [near the imams] and purposely turn[ed] around to watch" as they prayed. "The gentleman ('John Doe') in the couple ... picked up his cellular phone and made a phone call while watching the Plaintiffs pray," then "moved to a corner" and "kept talking into his cellular phone."

In retribution for this action, the unnamed couple probably will be dragged into court soon and face the prospect of hiring a lawyer, enduring hostile questioning and paying huge legal bills. The same fate could await other as-yet-unnamed passengers on the US Airways flight who came forward as witnesses.

The imams' attempt to bully ordinary passengers marks an alarming new front in the war on airline security. Average folks, "John Does" like you and me, initially observed and reported the imams' suspicious behavior on Nov. 20. Such people are our "first responders" against terrorism. But the imams' suit may frighten such individuals into silence, as they seek to avoid the nightmare of being labeled bigots and named as defendants.

Ironically, on the day the imams filed their suit, a troubling internal memo came to light at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. The memo revealed that our airport is at particular risk of terrorist attack because of its proximity to the Mall of America, its employment of relatively few security officers and other factors. The memo advised heightened vigilance to counter "this very real and deliberate threat."

The imams may not be the only ones losing sleep and growing more afraid of flying.


Katherine Kersten • kkersten@startribune.com


Join the conversation at my blog, Think Again, which can be found at www.startribune.com/thinkagain.
http://www.startribune.com/191/story/1055656.html

Nukeman
03-15-2007, 07:14 PM
Thier whole agenda is to get the airport to let down its guard. If they can't intimmidate them into they will sue them to do it. Not only will they be able to infiltrate the airport but they will ahve the airport pay for it as well..

:salute:

Dilloduck
03-15-2007, 07:21 PM
Thier whole agenda is to get the airport to let down its guard. If they can't intimmidate them into they will sue them to do it. Not only will they be able to infiltrate the airport but they will ahve the airport pay for it as well..

:salute:

Perhaps one of the liberal hubs of the north oughta rethink some of thier politics before it becomes Mohamedsota.

Gaffer
03-15-2007, 08:31 PM
And as the article says they want to scare the average citizen into not making a report on what they see. That is a very important issue here too, even more so than the airline itself. Because it makes peole stop and think about what they might face after the fact. It's a form of intimidation.

:pee: islam and :pee: imams

KitchenKitten99
03-16-2007, 08:25 AM
Locally, all the conservative radio stations are asking that we call USAirways and tell them that they had better not back down and cut a check to these jerks.
here is the info they are giving us for their customer relations:
Phone: 1-866-523-5333
5 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Friday, MST Closed Sat-Sun
Fax 480-693-2300
Postal Mail US Airways
Attention: Customer Relations
4000 E. Sky Harbor Blvd.
Phoenix, AZ 85034

Hugh Lincoln
03-16-2007, 07:46 PM
And as the article says they want to scare the average citizen into not making a report on what they see. That is a very important issue here too, even more so than the airline itself. Because it makes peole stop and think about what they might face after the fact. It's a form of intimidation.

:pee: islam and :pee: imams

Sadly, invoke political correctness, and citizens today WILL back down. I think the real "terrorism" is the fear regular Americans fear about being called a "racist" if they object to Arabs destroying their country.

Gaffer
03-16-2007, 08:33 PM
Sadly, invoke political correctness, and citizens today WILL back down. I think the real "terrorism" is the fear regular Americans fear about being called a "racist" if they object to Arabs destroying their country.

Your right on that hugh, Americans today are more afraid of being called names and insulting people than they are of being attacked by these nut cases.