My Courageous Stand with Star Simpson

MensNewsDaily.com ^ | September 22, 2007 | Roger F. Gay

[river rat]

Okay, you’ve confirmed my initial impression of your diminished capacity to think rationally or consider the consequences of one’s actions or appearance in Post 9/11 airports and the obvious absence of a reasonable level of “street sense”.

I guess we can all be thankful you’re not responsible for anyone’s security.... if you would simply overlook this chick being at the very least a potentially disruptive smart ass or WORSE.

It’s amazing you’ve survived.

Another question: If her “Art work/jewelery” was NOT intended to raise concerns — what is YOUR explanation of her openly carrying Play Doh — which could pass for C4 or Semtex?

[Pan_Yan]

I want the people responsible for the security of thousands of divine, unique human lives to be paranoid, suspicious and handcuff everyone who makes them the least uncomfortable. And I don't want them to EVER be comfortable. I wish every airline and airport employee acted like they worked for El Al.

I looked up your profile. None of those unjust child support laws you spend your days complaining about were written by the "idiots" who surround you in "big adult world". Those unjust laws, poor judgments and mismanaged bureaucracies are the fruits of college graduates, former high school nerds, lawyers and journalists. People like you and Star. Not the security guards at the airport.

[cynwoody]

Israelis stop boy wearing bomb vest

NABLUS, West Bank (AP) — A 16-year-old Palestinian with a suicide bomb vest strapped to his torso was on a mission to kill the Israeli soldiers who caught and disarmed him before he could strike, the army said. The youngster told a newspaper he had been afraid to die.

Yeah, I remember that case. They sent a robot to bring him scissors so he could take it off. Here's a video. The Israelis are true professionals.

[Sir_Ed]

I’m completely confused.

The article says that the shirt said “socket to me” and is common around engineering schools, yet others say she also had fake C-4 attached.

If it is true that she had a shirt commonly used around engineering schools, that it is just a circuit board and flashing lights that say “socket to me” then I think there may have been an overeaction.

But if she had fake C-4, and she intended it to look like a suicide bomb, then they should have shot her and taken no chances.

I can’t tell from the articles if it was just a circuit board with flashing lights spelling out a bad pun, or if it truly looked like the suicide vests worn by Hamas terrorists.

Can you enlighten me more?

Ed

[MarkL]

"I have no idea what a real bomb looks like," writes a blogger at machinist.salon.com, "but I don't think it’s a plastic board with a 9-volt battery on it."

Here, let me interpret what this idiot blogger just said... "I don't know anything about BOMBS, but I'm sure this isn't one!"

I've got an idea... Let's put this guy in a EOD unit, and he can identify which suspected devices aren't bombs, because they're the ones that DON'T EXPLODE!

This person must post from an AOL account, or use WebTV! I wonder who dresses him and ties his shoes. I hope he doesn't try to cross any streets by himself!

Mark

[Vn_survivor_67-68]

try looking at the jpg in post #1......play-dough on the board.....and FNC says she also had it in or on her hands

[Wings-n-Wind]

She'll walk, because the grandstanding Commonwealth needs to prove intent,

I s'pect she may be dealing with FEDERAL charges in the aftermath of 9/11 & Patriot Act provisions...

Justa thought...

[FreedomCalls]

Wonder what a homemade suicide bomb would look like... wires, circuit board, battery...

This is a real IED discovered in Fallujah -- wires, circuit board, battery, and bags of stuff that look like Play Doh.

[CzarNicky]

LOL I love the kitty

[RogerFGay]

I think she looks like a dud..

Don't be insensitive to Hawaiian-Americans.

[blackie]

A nineteen year old female is far from being a child.

[RogerFGay]

Can you enlighten me more?

People are making up their own hype. They're rationalizing in support of a pre-conditioned feeling about an issue.

[r9etb]

She’s a girl - the sweat shirt was probably for her friend’s benefit.

Don't bother talking sense, Rog. She's obviously a terrorist, and you're obviously a DU troll, or some such crap.

The little flashing green star (for "Star") was clearly a clever ruse, designed to give the illegal immigrant terrorist mooselimbs a chance to do their nefarious work.

FReepers can sometimes be an embarrassing crowd to hang out with. This "issue" is one of those times.

[Jubal Harshaw]

After reading this thread, I am overcome with the desire to ask the question “Did IQs just drop sharply while I was away?” I know that my IQ just dropped sharply after reading the comments on this thread from people who can’t tell the difference between a bomb and a breadboard with LED’s in a star pattern, with a battery.

If it was a bomb, why the LEDs? Why would the LEDs be in a star pattern? Why only tiny amounts of what could be explosive (I don’t see any play-dough in the picture, let alone the large amount that a truly effective bomb would require.) Where is the shrapnel component of a real bomb?

I’m not even sure I understand how people who apparently have the sophistication to connect to the internet could possibly worry about the item in question could be a bomb. Many of the key components of a bomb are absent, and other components that have nothing to do with a bomb are present. Still, I suppose that, to be on the safe side, screeners might be justified in stopping Ms. Simpson for a closer look. Even that is questionable, but I suppose it’s justifiable.

But what happened next — charging Ms. Simpson with crimes, freepers defending the charges, far fetched justifications conjured out of thin air to support the charges — is incomprehensible. After it should have been clear to anyone who lives in a technologically advanced society that Ms. Simpson’s device was not a threat. Though I know it’s common, it still amazes me that anyone can make it to adulthood in the USA and not know what a breadboard or LEDs are. Sure, as one poster said, perhaps the breadboard itself was an explosive. Yeah, the terrorists cooked up rigid “plastic” explosive, and turned it into a perfect replica of a breadboard, rather than just make a conventional bomb and cover it with a piece of fabric. Yeah, right.

Anyway, I recognize that I have nothing to add to this conversation, but I just wanted to vent.

[RogerFGay]

I want the people responsible for the security of thousands of divine, unique human lives to be paranoid, suspicious and handcuff everyone who makes them the least uncomfortable. And I don't want them to EVER be comfortable. I wish every airline and airport employee acted like they worked for El Al.

I suppose I should first point out that the article does not instigate debate on the behavior of airport employees or police. I haven't read or heard anyone complaining about police behavior. It went the way it should have gone, up to and including the fact that they didn't hurt anyone. Under the circumstances, that was certainly the right result. Must have made their hearts pound. What a day!

I can understand your feelings. We rely on police to help us maintain a safe world inside our own borders, and the military to handle outside threats. Police have special training to handle difficult (sometimes extremely difficult)situations within domestic, civilian laws. We maintain a balance between the authority to police and maintenance of the rights and freedom that we all hold dear.

Paranoia is an imbalanced mental state that reduces one's ability to make valid judgments. I would not want police to literally be paranoid. I want them to be of sound mind, physically fit and have the proper training, equipment, and manpower to handle difficult situations well.

[RogerFGay]

you're obviously a DU troll

Ne sous-estimez pas la manière du troll !