The Steel Guitar Forum

I sincerely hope that I will stand corrected, but I have had several people inform me that these terrorist did not have any guns, but rather knives and box cutters. I guess it will still be a matter of time before we know exactly what was used, but I cant even fathom a plane load of people being held against their will by a couple of people w/ knives!!! Dont get me wrong, I sure as hell would not want to get into a fight w/ a guy and his knife, but it seems that w/ 50 some-odd people they could do something. AND I think I recall an incident last year of a man getting way out of control and trying to break into the cabin on a jet plane and three other passengers restrained him and (unfortunately) ended up smothering the guy. Can anyone help me here?!!!!!! God Bless every poor soul touched by this atrocity!! -Brandon

Oh YEA..... AMERICA, Its time to STEP UP to the F#$@%& PLATE!!!!!!

I have a basic thought on this. We as a people have not had to deal with terrorism for the most part. It's not a daily part of our lives as it is in other countries. I don't think our minds are geared or trained to look for suspicious behaviour or what to do if something is out of place.

Some years ago, I was in LAX (Los Angeles airport)and was waiting for luggage and gear. A few guys were standing about 20 feet from us wearing camos and...what appeared to be automatic weapons. They had no identifying badges. I casually walked outside by the curb and found an airport policeman and mentioned these guys to him. He wouldn't look at me and simply said "yeah" and then asked for me to walk away. I then noticed that a whole contingent of police were converging on the scene. As it turns out, these armed guys were navy K-9 units there to pick-up a dog. They were not authorized to carry weapons and I'm sure they got in BIG trouble.

I was impressed with how quickly and quietly the police did handle that situation, but had these guys been terrorist and opened fire, many people would have been lost.

As frightening as all this terrorism is, I'm concerned that "if" we become too susicious as a nation and a people, we'll have to have special passes and thorough searches done everytime we leave our homes, go to work, go to the grocery, etc. I guess I want the best of both worlds....security and the freedom to come and go unobstructed. I pray for God's blessings and wisdom on our countries' leaders.

Mike

Brandon, from what I have learned, they did use plastic knives (which can be as sharp as steel) or plastic box cutters. We know this based on descriptions from passengers who used cellular telephones.

Apparently, the hijackers stabbed the flight attendants and told the passengers that if they did not resists, nobody would be hurt. At that time, nobody had any reason to believe they would be used as a flying bomb, so the passengers complied, as I think you or I would have done in a similar situation.

Now, on the fourth plane -- the one that crashed in PA -- it appears that the passengers by that time had learned about the earlier crashes and it seems that they did, in fact, resist the hijackers, which ultimately led to the crashing of the plane.

FOR A LONG TIME there have been warnings that metal detectors are inadequate, that knives and guns can be made of plastic and used just as effectively as the metal kind. I guess this shows us just how right those warnings were.

This is indeed a sad day for all Americans and others as well. I found out last night that an acquaintance of mine (a long time friend of my bandmate)was a passenger on the 2nd plane to hit the World Trade Center. He used his cel phone to call his father, as the the plane was taken over shortly after they took off from Boston. He told his father that they had stabbed the flight attendant, and he did not know what was happening. A short while later, he called his father again to say goodbye. The terrorists explained to the passengers that they were going to crash into the Trade Center, and they all knew they were going to die. He told his father that they had knives and cans of mase. He said goodbye, and shortly after, the plane hit the tower and exploded. His wife and baby were on board as well. His father used the information to help the FBI investigation.It was bad enough to watch the video before, but now I don't see a plane hitting the building - I see him and his family.
I'd like to say that I would be able to attack the terrorists in an effort to save the lives of the crew and the people on the ground. However, I think it might be hard to think clearly given the situation. Its hard to predict what anyone will do once they have realized that they are about to die.

I don't know what to think about this whole mess. It seems that their religion justifies this type of behavior. Even if we catch those responsible, what about the generations of fanatics yet to come? This has indeed changed our world forever.

My condoleneces go out to anyone who has been affected by the senseless tragedy.

Knives! A little over a year ago in Seattle, a woman with a large sword, held police at bay for some eleven hours....swat teams, and dozens of officers stood by and analyzed the situation. Finally the fire department blasted her with a mounted fire cannon and she dropped the sword and an arrest was made. AMAZING! Simply amazing!

The terrorists found a fairly large hole in the security aboard domestic flights. Hopefully the security will be improved as a reaction to this horrendous incident now that we know that an airplane can become a major weapon.

A good place to start would be to secure the flight deck from the passenger compartment with solid doors and locks and perhaps to have an armed guard (in plain clothes)in the passenger compartment who can communicate with the pilots and alert them if a situation develops....at which time the doors to the flight deck can be fully locked. Also there could be some code system that would preclude someone other than the authorized pilot from operating the plane or turning off the transponder.

It used to be the case that an aircraft never carried any emergency medical equipment for fear of lawsuits. Maybe that has been rectified.

It's a shame that things have gotten so bad....

RET COP,,,,Buddy you got that right,,,,they should drive into a building and blow them
selves to hell.

The lowest scum of the earth are those people
who pulled this off.
Whatever country was invloved in this,,,,I wonder if in twenty years or less,,,we dont
patronize them and have trade agreements with them,,,me drive a Jap car?? No way...I remembered "Pearl Harbor" Sony,Mitsubishi, etc etc,,,,I buy American,,cause I remembered
December 7th 1941,,,,who won that war???

The japs lost the war ,,,but won the economical war,,,,its all bull $$it.....money talks you know what walks,,,,

Retcop and Jody,

From where I sit, any point you might be trying to make is lost in the wave of ignorance and bigotry.

I wonder if you react as strongly when the equally wrongheaded African Americans start demanding reparations for slavery. Or do you recognize that all the slaves, slave owners, sons of slaves and sons of slave owners are dead?

Maybe deep-seated resentment, passed down through generations, is why the Middle East continues to be such a hotbed of terrorism. Expressing resentment or hatred of all of “Japs” and Arab Americans, or Arab aliens isn’t helpful.

If Japan is not our friend then we must really be alone out there.

Oh sure, I’d like Japan to open up its markets a bit, but our history and relationship with Japan is a model of what the USA is all about. We defeated them and then took away most any reason (and capability) they could have for repeating the offense. I firmly believe Japan and it’s people share our values.

Not that it’s particularly relevant to current events, but I bet my Toyota has more domestic content and labor than my Pontiac. Where do you think that computer, VCR, DVD, television, etc. you have was made? I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you can’t go a single day without using a product made in Japan.

If I’ve over reacted and you simply hate NY taxi drivers, driving Japanese cars, then pardon me.

They said on CNN that the plane that crashed in Pennsylvania may have been trying to get back to hit the White House, but didn't make it.
There was a apparently a cel phone conversation where it was said that the men on the plane had taken a vote and were going to try to take back the plane. It could be that in trying to regain control of the aircraft and they caused it to crash, "prematurely", far short of the intended target. If that is actually the case, the passengers should all be considered heroes.

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My best,
Ernie

The Official Buddy Emmons Website
www.buddyemmons.com

This kind of talk belongs on Off Topic, not on the Steel Guitar Forum. Topic closed.

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