I agree that many stupid things have happened at airports: that is human nature in a crisis. What I find puzzling is this: why would muslims expect life to be business as usual when there is a global jihad against the west?

The reasons as to why we are here aside, we are at war. If this was another war (WWII for example), speaking German or Japanese would have raised suspicion. War is ugly and it is usually fought in crude stereotypes (Japs are Nips or gooks; Germans are jerry, or Krauts). Our political leaders have actually - unusually in historical terms - gone out of there way to qualify all their speeches with 'Islam is not about hate', 'most muslims don't support terror', etc.

The introduction of security regimes that target everyone, from the three year old kid to the 80 year old woman in a zimmer frame, only hammers home the concessions made to not single out muslims. I know from my personal experience that muslims post 9/11 and 7/7 are more likely to wear traditional garb when travelling on public transport, and wander around unmollested despite this.

I think it would be nice if muslims acknowledged the scale of the threats, the massive number of casualties so far inflicted by muslim terrorists, and do things to not provoke the situation. Going around and deliberately alarming people doesn't sound wise to me; it just sounds arrogant. People know that a massive attack is due soon, and they are trying to be alert to stop it. Compared to being blasted out of the sky, your discomfort comes a long second. If you don't like this, then maybe you should stay away from flights for awhile, or choose to dress in an unalarmest fashion. Let me give you an example: if I chose to try and board an El Al flight dressed as an SS officer, I would be ejected from the flight for distressing the other passengers. So, why would you think that dressing like the people who daily make threats of killing people in the west would not distress people?

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I wouldnt expect less from a bunch of ignorant bigots.

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Ignorant bigots are everywhere here in America so why should anyone be surprised at the goofyness masses flying in aluminum tubes and killing us with global warming? Close all the airports and junk all the SUVs and bring all the troops home and stop this crazy sin called warfare. PLEASE! Or it would be a lot simpler just to impeach the Bushie jackasses who are the prime cause of all this terrorism shit.

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Maybe we all should start wearing t-shirts with messages of peace written in Arab. Let's see if they stop us when we try to board a plane.

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Anti-Arab racism in America is on an upswing due to paranoia and fear perpetrated by our government and supported by corporate media. Lies about Arab people and Islam, and the resulting hysteria, rule our daily lives whether we care to believe so, or not. I see Neocons, Israelis, and Republicans defaming Arab people on TV every day and nearly every hour yet I rarely see an Arab face talking anymore. Fareed Zakaria is on one or two talk shows but he is the one (very cautious) exception to the rule of never letting an Arab talk. Never is there a Palestinian, or other Arab, explaining their views unless it's some neocon lackey like Mahmoud Fandi. Instead we are given the "Arab" point of view by people like the Israeli Mark Regev or some other rabid hate filled Likudic Jew or a complete and total jerk like the "Harvard liberal" Alan Douchewitz.
Those who control the corporate media control opinions of the majority of us nearly brained dead Americans. The rest of the world knows the truth though and we are the only country who is ever surprised by reality.
A good link to an article supporting what I say:
http://www.antiwar.com/orig/cook.php?articleid=9632

Peace

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Does anybody actually believe that a terrorist would wear tradition garb of any kind? I doubt it.

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Here goes all the hysteria again. I'll try to keep this simple.

1) There is no global jihad against the west. I'll try that again: There is no global jihad against the west. Your government made it up.

Don't believe me? Ask Robert Pape, who studied all of the suicide terrorism acts over the last couple of decades (not just the Muslim ones, and they're not the majority). He found that what motivates suicide terrorists is when they believe they're being invaded or occupied. They don't give a toss about your religion or your consumer durables, they care a lot about what you're doing to their countries.

Still don't believe me? Ask Osama bin Laden. Every speech he's made is very clear: he tells the American people that the terror will continue until the US gets out of the Middle East. The war in Iraq has, of course, provided many new recruits for the movement. OBL must be laughing his arse off.

Still don't believe me? Read Blowback, by Chalmers Johnson, who warned about this before September 11th. Ask any of the numerous other writers who warned of this. Ask all the intelligence agents in the US and elsewhere, who tried to warn your government.

2) Most Muslims are like most Christians, or most Buddhists, or most Shintoists, or most Jews, or most Confucians, or most atheists. They just want to get on with their lives, work, play, spend time with families and friends, and generally just get along. If you really believe that a coupla billion people hate you and want you dead because of your way of life, I think that says a whole lot more about you than about them.

3) I'll use an analogy here, in case some of you still aren't getting it. Imagine a school playground. Imagine the biggest kid there goes around smacking the other kids, knocking them down, stealing their lunches, day after day after day. One day, one of the other kids pushes the big kid down. The big kid goes around now with a hammer, hitting the other kids on the head, saying "They hate me because I'm so good".

That is how the rest of the world sees the US, friends. That's what you look like to us. Your own media, your own government, are lying to you so consistently, and denying you the ability to easily see what the rest of the world sees, and you can't be bothered finding out for yourselves.

Yes, you're paranoid. Yes, you're ignorant. Yes, you're highly dangerous. The most heavily armed nation in creation is quivering with fear, imagining that evil people hate them because they're so good. You go around claiming that all the ills of the world are because of a tiny group of terrorists (but you believe they're a worldwide movement). You lash out at anyone and everyone, bombing far-off countries that most of you couldn't find on a map, or spell correctly, claiming that they're threatening you.

Yes, I'm insulting you. I'm sick to death of the ignorance and the bigotry and the murderous fear. I'm thoroughly tired of your constant claims of victimhood, as you slaughter your way around the world. I'm sick of your self-perception that is so woefully out of kilter with the real world.

This is not a 'liberal' thing, mind you. This is a reality thing. This is a thing against ignorance and savagery and hypocrisy. This is a thing about the responsibility of being an adult in the modern world. If you can't be bothered to read books, if you can't be bothered to use your logical faculties and think, then you should expect to be insulted.

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It's funny how white people create the most misery and war in the world and yet they are prepetually in fear of everyone. When it's not black people it's Hispanics when it's not them it's Arabs. Of course imagining that Arab actually means Arab and not ALL the people of the Middle East, South Asia and most of Africa would be giving the rednecks too much credit. As if they know the difference between one colored man and the next. Hysterical baffoons. Always so full of fear of the big bad brown man. Meanwhile their red faced irish sons have their cock up the ass of a 10 year old boy down at the church.

If anyone is interested irish is every white guy the way Chinese is every Asian and Arab is every "Middle Eastern" and Mexican is every Hispanic.

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The Arab on a Plane is named Raed Jarrar and his version of the events can be read at

http://us.oneworld.net/article/view/138584/1/7263

At the end of the story there's an internet link and the phone numbers for Jet Blue's complaint department. But for those who like to go off half-cocked here it is anyway:

http://www.jetblue.com/speakup/complaintsform.aspx

Here's what I wrote to them:

The current ‘security situation’ is bad enough without Jet Blue pandering to the paranoia and/or racism of a few of it’s passengers.

As you already know on August 10, a man named Raed Jarrar was given special attention from the Jet Blue security staff because he wore a t-shirt with the words “We will not be silent” in English and Arabic lettering, to which other passengers objected. After questioning he was allowed to board his flight, only on condition that he cover the offending lettering with another t-shirt provided by Jet Blue.

You know this would not have happened if the t-shirt had said “Jesus is Lord” or displayed a portrait of Che Guevara -- although it might very well have happened if the offending garment had a Peace sign or anti-war slogan.

If nervous – or racist -- passengers do not like the looks of another passenger, they have options: They can take a later flight, or they can transfer to another airline. The additional cost and inconvenience ought to be “a small price to pay for being safe,” if that’s the way they feel about it. Jet Blue should not make itself a party to their cowardice and bigotry.

For myself: obviously I will use air transport if there is no other option. And I will fly Jet Blue if the price and schedule is to my advantage. And frankly, long lines and cramped seating are a bigger factor in my choosing vacation destinations that do not involve air travel. But, the sense of oppression and violation that incidents like this create adds measurably to my preference for train bus and auto travel whenever possible.

As an American who values our Constitution and our way of life, I find incidents like this disgusting. At the moment I’m associating the nausea with Jet Blue.

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The hypocracy of this guy is astounding. I do not understand why progressives defend the views that are so anti-women and anti-society. Try to even WEAR a tshirt in some muslim nations. Then tell me about it. Also,
-forced female circumcision in arab africa
-'Honour" killings of women who shame the family
-wear burkhas in 50 degree weather (or other garments)
-walk several paces behind your husband
-divorce on demand (by husband)
-get acid thrown into your face if you say no to marriage
-get stoned for adultry
-gangrape as punishment in some tribal areas
-no right of property ownership for women
Why do you defend this? At some point can't we say that views/practices like this are bad or is that politically incorrect because I don't understand their cultural heritage. Get real...

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Well those New Order policemen should try another trick to ward off muslim integrists from boarding planes.... try pigs!
Stupidity and idiocy prevail!

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See http://www.jlrweb.com/whiterose/ for a description of what that Anti-Nazi student group did.

The deliberate attempt to demonize all Arabs is not exactly new; recall when Timothy McVeigh blew up the Oklahoma FBI headquarters with a rented truck full of fuel oil-ammonia nitrate explosives? Arabs were immediately blamed (you can thank the Israeli propaganda lobby for this, and their cohorts in the media and Hollywood), but no, it was an ex-Army right-wing Hitler-worshipping guy pissed off over the BATF/FBI-organized slaughter of a religious cult in Waco, Texas.

The problem is that a good fraction of the American public don't view anything other than the major newspapers, popular films, and cable/network television - all of which are controlled by a handful of media corporations, who in turn are owned by the same banks and billionaires that control armaments, fossil fuels, pharmaceuticals and engineering (as well as having heavy influence in the local, state and federal government). Their chief identifying characteristic is their control of all government and military contracts; that's why all the small firms were prevented from getting reconstruction contracts in New Orleans and Iraq. This is classic fascism. IG Farben? Read Novartis-Roche-Gilead-Rumsfeld. Exxon-Halliburton-KBR-Cheney. Bechtel-Schultz-Bush Etc. Just look at the list of all government contract recipients since 2000.

These proto-fascists want the war in Iraq for a number of reasons, and demonizing Arabs is just a part of that, as is trying to develop religious-ethnic-racial divisions in general. For example, they try and portray Christianity and Judaism as a white religions, and Islam as an Arab religion, even though on a global basis, these religions are all-inclusive.

The Christian Zionists are the worst in this respect; their ideology mimics that of the Aryan German Church, and the Jewish Zionists and the Wahahbi Islamists are all formed in the same mold - blind obedience, race-based ideology, male supremacy over women, etc. See also Hitler's Pope for more on this shameful history. Arab society is highly diverse, and Islam is far larger than the MidEast (ever hear of Indonesia?). What about the Christian Arabs and Druze of Lebanon?. Where do they fit into this nasty ideology?

Regardless of which ethnic group is chosen for demonization by the plantation overlords, the game is always the same. Pete Wilson tried to demonize Mexican immigrants to California for political purposes; "The War on Drugs" has a main goal of demonizing African-Americans in the US - essentially it's all about whipping up fear and hatred in the population for purposes of political control and the establishment of totalitarian dictatorships. That's what the White Rose was trying to fight.

It is good to see that the rational and decent Christians are rightly condemning the Christian Zionists: Holy Land churches attack Christian Zionism, By Matthew Tostevin, Reuters

The owned corporate media and their constant stream of propaganda and disinformation is at the heart of the problem. Bush may be no Hitler, but Rove is a Goebbels clone, and he has many allies in the corporate propaganda system.

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AlterNet professes to not allow racist comments, but apparently defamation is tolerated as in the case of the words displayed on actor Samuel Jackson's picture, i.e., the substitution of the word "Muslim" for "snakes."

Personally, I resent this manipulation of Samuel Jackson's image and I hope that others will note this and comment upon it.

Perhaps it is because of the historic partcipation of Arab/Middle Eastern persons in the Black slave trade that originated in Sub-Saharan Africa long before the Europeans became involved in that horrific obscenity that Arabs/Muslims believe that they can still manipulate/defame African Americans.

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http://www.scholarsfor911truth.org/

Notice how its not funded by Iran nor written in Arabic.

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Its almost mindnumbing to hear all of this stupidity. You would think we have nothing to worry about at all. Nope, no Muslim extremists are trying to kill us. Nope, there is no Global Jihad against the west. And nope, there is nothing we can do about any future attacks. Anyone who disagrees is a ignorant bigot who hates Arabs and Muslims.
No, not all Muslims are terrorists, but almost all terrorists are Muslims. (Except, of course, your trump card of Timothy McVeigh. One out of literally hundreds is evidence that terrorism is an equal opportunity employer. Please) For over 20 years, Muslim extremists have been killing Americans, Brits and anyone else who represents the west. According to some of you, we actually deserve to live in perpetual fear. America has been the greatest evil in world history, so we have it coming. And you actually want the American people to vote for the Democrats in November to defend this country from terrorists. We're really considering having Ned Lamont stand between us and radical Islam. I might as well just go buy bedsheets for all the women I know right now while they're cheap.
Ah, but that's just ignorance. Silly me, I can't control my bigotry. I just hate Arabs and Middle Easterners that much. If we have Democrats in power, I guess I better learn to love them.

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Is It True, JetBlue?
by Naeem Mohaiemen

[Excerpt]
After learning that Raed Jarrar was told to remove his Arabic WE WILL NOT BE SILENT t-shirt before he could board a JetBlue flight, four members of The Critical Voice (TCV) boarded a Jet Blue flight last Thursday. The four members, all white women and US citizens, were wearing the same Arabic t-shirts. They were allowed to board the flight. This is more evidence that the Raed Jarrar case is one of racial profiling and censorship.

Read Full Article at

Is It True, JetBlue?

Related Links

Is It True Press Release

Naeem Mohaiemen
Visible Collective, Disappeared In America
http://disappearedinamerica.org

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I find it interesting that Alternet was able to flesh out this story but finds reporting on the Holocaust Exhibition in Iran in the same disapproving tone completely unnecessary . . . How quickly Alternet readers join the cacophony of liberal apologists who label ALL Christians as sadistic, immoral, hateful and intolerant "kooks" but displaying cartoons mocking the slaughter of 6 million people is apparently none of the above. How about a word or two commenting on the numerous calls for the death of all Americans, Brits, Israelis and others. I know most Alternet readers harbor a deep seated self-loathing but this is ridiculous. You can call for the destruction of your country and the deaths of your countrymen all you want but I for one will not be joining you in your crusade to glorify Islam while portraying all Americans (except for Alternet readers of course) as sick morons. If you are going to condemn sick, religious assholes then try and be evenhanded about it and spread the derision across the spectrum of "kooks". I guess burning down embassies and boycotting Danish products is not at all "kooky" or fanatical when it is done over a caricature.

Enough with the "Islam is the religion of peace" crap guys. All religions harbor intolerant, sick assholes but in your rush to appear holier than thou, you have neglected to point out that Islam, along with its monotheistic cousins Christianity and Judaism are TOGETHER responsible for the majority of hate, death and destruction in this world and those of you so quick on the draw to label Christians as "sick" need to paint JEWS and MUSLIMS with that same brush or not at all. Yeah, I know - Muslims are only responding to the imperialist West and would not otherwise be so violent, hateful or intolerant. That judgement is only reserved for Christians and Jews. Laughable!

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Mr. Mohaiemen, if you wear a t-shirt that says something ominous in an airport, you are going to be pulled aside and questioned, no doubt about it. Other passengers, flight crew and airport security have no choice but to treat you that way. Dozens of other people will be on a plane thousands of feet in the air with you. Think about it, if you think at all. Shame on you for whining about being singled because you're Arab. Look, I fly all the time and even after 9/11 I have sat next to Arab passengers and never gave it a second thought! If someone like you got on with that t-shirt, I and other passengers would be immediately suspicious. It was your perceived intention that got you nailed.

Also, does Samuel L. Jackson know that you are using his image and likeness to convey your message? What has Mr. Jackson done to offend Muslims? You owe him an apology. Take that photo off of this website immediately and don't ever be caught slandering someone like that ever again!

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I blame it all on the Batman movies and TV series. Everyone knows that you can spot criminals and people with evil intent by their bizarre attire, quirky behavior and strange names. What's the fun of being evil if you don't advertise your intentions in advance? Of course in the real world those plotting terrorism try to be inconspicous in every way until the moment they act, but any neo-con will agree that reality has a liberal bias.

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I'd just like to point out that an actual Islamic terrorist would be the absolute last person on this earth to try to board a plane in the U.S. wearing a political t-shirt with Arabic lettering on it.

He was the safest guy in that airport -- they should have whisked him right through security without a check.

That's the essential flaw in racial profiling -- check all the Arabs and your next terror attack will be by someone wearing a sombrero or a sailor's uniform or dressed like an orthodox Jew.

Stupid, stupid, stupid.

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Please name the last hundred airplane hijackers. How many of them are Inuits? Or Haitians? Or Orthodox Jews in black hats? And how many of the last hundred airplane hijackers did so for reasons other than money (e.g., DB Cooper)? And how many for political reasons?
While you are looking up the answers, how about naming the cathedrals, synagogues, meeting houses, and houses of worship have been built (and still stand) in the last 500 years in Mecca, Medina, Teheran, Amman, or the capitals of Syria, Iran, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia? And how many masjiids have been built in the US, Britain, Canada, and Australia during that same period.
Generally I would ask, "Am I missing something?"
This time I ask, "Does it occur to you that if your fellow airplane, train, boat, or bus passengers are suspicious, could they have a rational basis for suspicion?"
Whether their concern is fair, nice, kind, or even sane is not the question any more. Your unhappiness at their being concerned is, however, going to remain a good question until the persecution/religious limitation on Christians, Jains, Jews, Hindus, Bahai, or nonbelievers ends in Muslim countries.
Or would your clergy like more forced conversions like the FoxNews folks?

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leave the rhetorics alone and lets look at the facts will we ?

FACTS:

1) 9/11 was an inside job, or at least the gov. lied BIG TIME.
2) More muslims are killed by the west (including Israel or not) than the reverse.
3) America has always been known as a country of justice and equality, that is, as long as you're white, christian and rich. Not so long ago poor black ppl couldnt get a seat on buses, and there is still a huge descrimination towards colored minorities.
4) Ignorant bigots want to stay that way, a lot of the americans I have talked to STILL think that Saddam was behind the 9/11, that he had WMD, and that Bush is a benevolent ruler at the head of a benign admnistration, despite all the HATE and HOPELESSNESS it has sowed and still continues to.
5) And last but not the least, Iraq is a big mess and you will get your butt your kicked over there, RHETORICS CANT HIDE COFFINS.

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Does anyone posting, except the chaney guy, have a lick of commonsense? That tshirt told everyone in line that the wearer was making a political statement-that he was in agreement with those who killed 3000 people- English translation be damned. Such a display spat upon the memory of the victims.

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Flying while Arab is the new DWB (driving while black).

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Its nice to see somone take on the rampant illogic and hysteria so effectively. You made all the points I try to make, much more clearly than I could ever hope to do.

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Recently, Nazi/Bimbo in Chief Ann Coulter described the situation in Afghanistan as "going swimmingly." I'm no anthropologist but I guess that's smug New England WASP-speak for just fine! One of the great victories in the war on terror was to all but abandon much of the country to vicious drug lords. Back in 2000 a secret deal was struck with the Taliban by US officials to cut the opium trade. By the following year the Taliban's brutal efficiency cut opium production from a 4,600 ton high in 1999 to 185 tons. But the war and occupation changed all that and soon after the collapst of the Taliban regime the opium production soared back to almost previous levels. The Northern Alliance is made up of some of the most brutal warlords in Afghanistan and they control all the opium producing areas. Despite the best coalition efforts only 200 hectres out of a total of 130,000 hectres have been taken out of production. The drug traders virtually control whole villages and force indebted poppy farmers to increase production for payment of debts to these drug traders who sell the opium crop for huge profits. According to BBC journalist Jane Corbin, drug traders who fail to recieve payment on debts, the interest on which climbs quickly over time, are allowed by Afghan custom to take the children of the debtors. These young children are generally girls who the traders marry off to old men for a huge bride price.

This is going on all the time. It is routine. This is what "liberated" Afghanistan looks like. This is the differance in perspective between a respectable, award-winning, British Journalist and a stupid, reactionary, American pundit. The efforts of Hamid Karzai to modernize and democratize Afghanistan are failing. It is still a haven for terrorists. And no one has been liberated but possibly global energy conglomerates still seeking a pipeline deal connecting the Indian Ocean to the vast Natural Gas deposits of the Caspean Sea.

Perhaps this is where the US needs to focus its energy and not on some Arab youths wearing "subversive" T-shirts at a big metropolitan airport. Time is running out.

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"Jean Charles de Menezes who was wearing a heavy coat when British police officers shot and killed him"

This got refuted shortly afterwards. It was another lie the police told to cover up their enormous screw up. He was wearing a light jacket, NOT a heavy coat.

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Movies have a way for society to look at itself from various perspectives. For example, take the film "Snakes on a Plane" which has an unbelievable plot, a bunch of snakes causing the passengers to have a good fright.
Although I haven't watched the movie I find it hard to imagine slithery creatures escaping and causing so much damage. But with "Hollywood", anything (in movies) is remarkable.
And since a picture can be used as a metaphor, substitute the vipers with Arab men and you get the idea. Samuel L. Jackson's quote will be a future catchphrase for those who simply have had enough.
I've had enough with the profiling of Arabs and every other minority group. In our zest to fight terrorism, many Arabs are singled out and most of them haven't committed any acts. We treated the German, Japanese, native Americans the same way during times of conflict who may have had ties to the enemy. It only disrupted lives and did little to stop a threat.
"Snakes"'s imagery, powerful at best, captured a feeling of our times. Evil is slithering around, hiding, surprising its victims, terrifying those who can't anticipate the next move. Our answer was to fight it with lethal force-overkill at times, but we love the drama. Those filmmaking motherf*****s.

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Jewish Passenger Removed For PrayingLast Updated: Tuesday, September 5, 2006 | 11:12 PM ET |CBC News
Some fellow passengers are questioning why an Orthodox Jewish man was removed from an Air Canada Jazz flight in Montreal last week for praying. The man was a passenger on a Sept. 1 flight from Montreal to New York City when the incident happened. The airplane was heading toward the runway at the Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport when eyewitnesses said the Orthodox man began to pray.

"He was clearly a Hasidic Jew," said Yves Faguy, a passenger seated nearby. "He had some sort of cover over his head. He was reading from a book. "He wasn't exactly praying out loud but he was lurching back and forth," Faguy added. The action didn't seem to bother anyone, Faguy said, but a flight attendant approached the man and told him his praying was making other passengers nervous.

"The attendant actually recognized out loud that he wasn't a Muslim and that she was sorry for the situation but they had to ask him to leave," Faguy said.

The man, who spoke neither English nor French, was escorted off the airplane. Air Canada Jazz termed the situation "delicate," but says it received more than one complaint about the man's behaviour. The crew had to act in the interest of the majority of passengers, said Jazz spokeswoman Manon Stewart. "The passenger did not speak English or French, so we really had no choice but to return to the gate to secure a translator," she said. The airline is not saying if the man was told he was not allowed to pray, but a spokesperson said the man was back on board the next flight to New York. Jewish leaders in Montreal criticized the move as insensitive, saying the flight attendants should have explained to the other passengers that the man was simply praying and doing no harm. Hasidic Rabbi Ronny Fine said he often prays on airplanes, but typically only gets curious stares. "If it's something that you're praying in your own seat and not taking over the whole plane, I don't think it should be a problem," said Fine. The Jewish group B'nai Brith Canada has offered to help give Air Canada crews sensitivity training.

http://www.cbc.ca

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One Problem with the so called "War On Terror" which is basicaly another Holy-war, is that the US rushed in with out any local, or forign support. Which is a repeat of Vietnam, that ended poorly for the US because they didn't think about what they were doing before rushing in. If they tried to make their cause known, and gained enough support before going into Iraq and Afganistan they might be out of there by now, but there were no negotiations, they just started to drop bomb and killing thousands of civillians. The US lost even more support after hurricans Katrina and Rita ripped through New Orleans, and they decided to send little help to them, they should have pulled out of Iraq, and helped their fellow country men.

Another problem with the "War on Terror" is the fact that the non-extreamist musilims arn't helping themselves, they need to tell the extreamists to stop or the musilim faith will be hated around the world. The extreamists will not listen to us westerners, but maybe if their own faith turned their back on them and condemed them, maybe they would stop then.

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