Actually, it?s always been quite a dismal day. There was certain music on the radio, the same dinner, a huge argument between my brother, who was intensely communist, and my dad, who had just been bumped up into the hierarchy of an evil empire that was charging starving people far too much for drugs. I have fought long and hard over the years to try and make Sunday like any other day, but it?s an unwinnable battle. 
Robert Smith, on Sundays
It’s easy to develop “war on terrorism” fatigue. From daily reports of car bombings, vague color-coded warnings, and the unfortunate ways the terror threat is glued to our current polarized political/cultural state, I’m certainly guilty of tuning out.
Consider me tuned in again.
Bored, I started into a pilot’s commentary on Salon about another writer’s terrifying flight from Detroit to Los Angeles. He found her story appalling and claimed that the article was “spring-loaded with mindless hysterics and bigoted provocation.” The more I read his story, the more I wanted to read <a href=”http://www.womenswallstreet.com/WWS/article_landing.aspx?titleid=1&articleid=711″ title=”<em>her</em> story”><em>her</em> story</a>.
Here is the high level overview (no pun…) Fourteen Syrian men board flight 327 and sit in two different groups. Soon after liftoff the men exchanged glances and repeatedly visited the bathroom with oddly shaped bags and objects. For an hour, Annie Jacobsen writes, the men congregated in small groups by the bathroom. As you read, you wonder, <em> How would I react?</em> Not being a fan of flying as it is, I would probably have peed in my pants. I guess I’m a hate-filled racist (and a coward). But it gets scarier. As everyone is buckled in for landing at LAX, seven of the men suddenly get up and head for bathrooms in the front and rear of the plane. They each spend about four minutes inside the restroom and are armed with cameras and cell phones. Passengers are crying and praying.
They safely land and as the writer and her family enter the terminal they see LAPD agents running toward the gate. Later she learns that FBI, Federal Air Marshals, and members of the Transportation Security Association met the plane as it landed.
Now the story gets really interesting. The Salon writer, a Times article, as well a few other mainsream press reports claim that the group consisted of Syrian musicians booked at a hotel or an Indian casino. But no one can identify this group or their venue. What was the name of the band? Did anyone attend their performance? Speak up! Unfortunately this has developed into a “right wing” story as bloggers, talk radio hosts, and others are tackling the thorny issue of racial profiling and blasting PC zealots. I say ‘unfortunately’ because I really hope the politicization of the story doesn’t prevent real investigative journalism from uncovering what really happened.
Annie Jacobsen believes that this incident was a “dry run.” She found a story published in the London Observer that claims European intel has found that Islamic militants have been conducting dry runs of a new style of bombing. Essentially they’re bringing the components of explosive devices on the plane separately–in items like cameras–to be assembled once on the plane.
Since the original article was published, Annie has followed up with <a href=”http://www.womenswallstreet.com/WWS/article_landing.aspx?titleid=1&articleid=716″ title=”Part II”>Part II</a> and the story has been making the blog rounds. From my standpoint, I don’t care about her intentions. She thinks we’re too politically correct? Who cares what she thinks. The incident is what matters. A former PBS executuve and magazine editor has recently made a <a href=”http://michellemalkin.com/archives/000245.htm” title=”strong case”>strong case</a> against the band theory. It just doesn’t add up, he writes. There are no Syrian bands popular enough to justify the expense to fly to LA for a one-off show. Normally the band would be part of a larger World Music tour.
There was no band. So what happened to the fourteen men?
Concerned about our site’s customers abandoning IE due to security flaws, I downloaded the latest Firefox release. The simple and streamlined browser is a result of Netscape’s Mozilla open source project. Although tabbed browsing isn’t exactly an innovation, Firefox just gets it right. There are a few necessary features like pop-up blocker and password manager, and other neat things like a ton of quick-to-learn keystrokes. Should Microsoft be worried? Sadly… probably not.
“To a listener accustomed to Hootie and the Blowfish, Wilco sounds like the Minutemen?daring, allusive, funky, weird, and yet so right. To a listener accustomed to the Minutemen, Wilco sounds like Hootie and the Blowfish…” Stephen Metcalf, and a new book called Wilco: Learning How To Die …dare to suggest that this “culturally significant” band is fronted by a guy who completely lacks artistic conviction. I’m a fan but I think they’ve got a point.
The following is a collection of statements made by the president and his official spokesmen since 1997. Originally appeared in the the May issue of Harper’s Magazine. Hat tip: www.andrewsullivan.com
The President of the United States is not a fact-checker.
I?m not a statistician.
I?m not a numbers-cruncher.
I?m not one of these bean counters.
I?m not very analytical.
I?m not a precision guy.
The President is not a micromanager.
