"Journalist" Jailed for Phony Luggage Bomb
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"Journalist" Jailed for Phony Luggage Bomb
Luggage bomb hoax lands couple in jail
By Patty Davis
CNN
Thursday, January 9, 2003 Posted: 2:24 PM EST (1924 GMT)
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A Maine couple's attempt to make a political statement by rigging up a fake bomb in their checked luggage led to their arrest, officials said Thursday.
Paul Kenneth Donahue, 50, and Teresa Marie Wood, 46, had been scheduled to fly from San Jose, California, to Atlanta, Georgia, on Delta Flight 576 Tuesday. When their bags were put through a bomb detection machine, federal screeners found what turned out to be a snow boot with batteries, wires and an electrical power strip arranged in a suspicious way.
Screeners also found a note that read, "To the uniformed puppet opening this bag -- congratulations. You've just brought this once free nation one step closer to becoming a fascist police state," according to Transportation Security Administration spokesman Robert Johnson. The note was scribbled on one side of the cardboard torn from a box of Cracklin' Oat Bran.
San Jose police arrested the pair, who are from Machias, Maine, and booked them for "sending or placing a false or facsimile bomb," Johnson added.
An airline source told CNN that Donahue said he is the editor of his local newspaper.
Johnson said the federal screeners did what they were supposed to do, and he deplored the couple's actions. "This is like pulling a fire alarm in a theater and watching what happens," he said. "It's one thing to have an issue about protecting our flights from terrorism. It's another thing to play games with the system.
"Don't force our screeners to waste their time playing political games."
_________________________________________________
Sounds a lot like a stunt CNN "expert" "Scary Mary" Schiavo pulled a while back at CMH:
"...Earlier this month, Ms. Schiavo checked a bag containing suspicious-looking contents at Port Columbus International Airport in Ohio. Her goal was to demonstrate the ease of getting luggage unaccompanied by a passenger onto an airplane. This experiment was performed in conjunction with WCMH-TV, a local Columbus station, which was doing a story addressing airport security.
The bag, containing a tape-recorder, film-shield bag, can of shaving cream and colored balls of modeling compound, was found through the x-ray process two hours after it was checked. Airport security subsequently shut down one of two runways for four hours. Hundreds of passengers were evacuated and planes were pushed back from gates. When the contents of the bag were determined to be harmless, the FBI and FAA were called in. These organizations are now investigating the legality of Schiavo's experiment..."
http://www.mndaily.com/daily/1999/04...pinions/e0401/
She lost her professorship at Ohio State but otherwise copped a walk over this attempt at "journalism".
Here is the "newspaper" that Mr. Donahue edits:
http://www.powerlink.net/fen/men1.htm
By Patty Davis
CNN
Thursday, January 9, 2003 Posted: 2:24 PM EST (1924 GMT)
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A Maine couple's attempt to make a political statement by rigging up a fake bomb in their checked luggage led to their arrest, officials said Thursday.
Paul Kenneth Donahue, 50, and Teresa Marie Wood, 46, had been scheduled to fly from San Jose, California, to Atlanta, Georgia, on Delta Flight 576 Tuesday. When their bags were put through a bomb detection machine, federal screeners found what turned out to be a snow boot with batteries, wires and an electrical power strip arranged in a suspicious way.
Screeners also found a note that read, "To the uniformed puppet opening this bag -- congratulations. You've just brought this once free nation one step closer to becoming a fascist police state," according to Transportation Security Administration spokesman Robert Johnson. The note was scribbled on one side of the cardboard torn from a box of Cracklin' Oat Bran.
San Jose police arrested the pair, who are from Machias, Maine, and booked them for "sending or placing a false or facsimile bomb," Johnson added.
An airline source told CNN that Donahue said he is the editor of his local newspaper.
Johnson said the federal screeners did what they were supposed to do, and he deplored the couple's actions. "This is like pulling a fire alarm in a theater and watching what happens," he said. "It's one thing to have an issue about protecting our flights from terrorism. It's another thing to play games with the system.
"Don't force our screeners to waste their time playing political games."
_________________________________________________
Sounds a lot like a stunt CNN "expert" "Scary Mary" Schiavo pulled a while back at CMH:
"...Earlier this month, Ms. Schiavo checked a bag containing suspicious-looking contents at Port Columbus International Airport in Ohio. Her goal was to demonstrate the ease of getting luggage unaccompanied by a passenger onto an airplane. This experiment was performed in conjunction with WCMH-TV, a local Columbus station, which was doing a story addressing airport security.
The bag, containing a tape-recorder, film-shield bag, can of shaving cream and colored balls of modeling compound, was found through the x-ray process two hours after it was checked. Airport security subsequently shut down one of two runways for four hours. Hundreds of passengers were evacuated and planes were pushed back from gates. When the contents of the bag were determined to be harmless, the FBI and FAA were called in. These organizations are now investigating the legality of Schiavo's experiment..."
http://www.mndaily.com/daily/1999/04...pinions/e0401/
She lost her professorship at Ohio State but otherwise copped a walk over this attempt at "journalism".
Here is the "newspaper" that Mr. Donahue edits:
http://www.powerlink.net/fen/men1.htm
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"Professional journalism" at its best. There should be a huge fine for this kind of stupidity, or maybe the passengers who have to suffer delays due to this should be able to have a go at these people.
ZbV
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Journos
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Would seem to me that Freak On A Leash was being sarcastic.
About time that these so called journalists are shown their place.
I have been wondering about the level of knowledge and quality of information provided by these "people" on TV, radio and the news papers. Yesterday CNN was reporting that Diyarbakir airport does not have "Instrumental Landing system" and today that fog caused the crash. In my 6 years of professional flying and a total of 11 years of flying I have yet to see an airplane stop flying once it enters fog. What a load of crap.
If the level of knowledge about aircraft and aviation is as poor as they have time after time demonstrated, how well do they know other subjects they talk about and report. How much BS are we actually being fed about things that are fairly unknown to us.
Do Doctors and other professionals feel the same when they hear all the stupidity put forward by these "Educated" fools just to sell a few extra copies of their worthless toilet paper ?
Rivercity does make a point in his post and I do agree that the fallen ones do not represnt the majority in either profession.
A pilot with BAC of .08 makes a headline, why because a reporter chooses to make money to the company he is working for by selling the story. Pilots rearly have a say about what is being printed about them or the industry. Journalists however have the luxury to study the subject they are writing / Broadcasting about, if they choose to do so. When you look at the general quality of journalism today one can only come to the conclusion that more often than not journalists choose not to find the facts but rather tie up key words together with "Journoblabber" to make impressive sounding stories.
Would seem to me that Freak On A Leash was being sarcastic.
About time that these so called journalists are shown their place.
I have been wondering about the level of knowledge and quality of information provided by these "people" on TV, radio and the news papers. Yesterday CNN was reporting that Diyarbakir airport does not have "Instrumental Landing system" and today that fog caused the crash. In my 6 years of professional flying and a total of 11 years of flying I have yet to see an airplane stop flying once it enters fog. What a load of crap.
If the level of knowledge about aircraft and aviation is as poor as they have time after time demonstrated, how well do they know other subjects they talk about and report. How much BS are we actually being fed about things that are fairly unknown to us.
Do Doctors and other professionals feel the same when they hear all the stupidity put forward by these "Educated" fools just to sell a few extra copies of their worthless toilet paper ?
Rivercity does make a point in his post and I do agree that the fallen ones do not represnt the majority in either profession.
A pilot with BAC of .08 makes a headline, why because a reporter chooses to make money to the company he is working for by selling the story. Pilots rearly have a say about what is being printed about them or the industry. Journalists however have the luxury to study the subject they are writing / Broadcasting about, if they choose to do so. When you look at the general quality of journalism today one can only come to the conclusion that more often than not journalists choose not to find the facts but rather tie up key words together with "Journoblabber" to make impressive sounding stories.
Last edited by JJflyer; 11th Jan 2003 at 09:11.
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JJ Flyer: " Do Doctors and other professionals feel the same when they hear all the stupidity put forward by these "Educated" fools just to sell a few extra copies of their worthless toilet paper ?"
the short answer is an unequivocal "YES!"
the short answer is an unequivocal "YES!"
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Idiots in my field are just as professionally embarassing as idiots in your (or anyone else's) field. They don't represent us any more than a pilot with a .08 BAC represents the vast majority who are professional beyond words.
But them's the ones that make the papers.
But them's the ones that make the papers.
