--- In [email protected], "Ellen"
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
> OK, am I the only one who is pretty sure that at least some of
these
> people did something wrong? This is pretty extreme action if they
> didn't. Tough call, I know, but if they had blown themselves up
they
> would have been pretty guilty and there still wouldn't have been a
> trial. I read some group claimed responsibility. If a group takes
> responsibility for something, they are pretty much admitting they
did
> it without a trial. Sometimes a trial is just to determine
> punishment, not prove guilt. Did Saddam Hussein go to trial to
> determine if he was guilty or not?
> http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-
dyn/content/article/2006/08/11/AR2006081102053_pf.html
>
> I noticed an unusual absence of the word "allegedly" in this
article,
> usually used when reporters don't want to be accused of making
false
> accusations. They seem pretty sure that these people were planning
> something big. If you really think I'm jumping to conclusions, I'm
> willing to entertain that possibility.
>
Re: the reporters: their failure to use the term "allegedly"
proves nothing more than that they're buying the government's story -
- IOW, that they're crummy reporters. (The other morning I heard an
NPR reporter use the term "alleged" about the suspects, and had two
reactions: one, this is a good reporter; and two, damn, this is the
first time I've heard any reporter use the term "allegedly" about
this group. They've all been suckered.)
And whether or not A Group has claimed responsibility for the
alleged plot (although whether someone can "claim responsibility"
for an action that hasn't taken place is an open question), there's
still the question whether the individuals who were arrested were
actually members of That Group.
"If they had blown themselves up they would have been pretty
guilty," all right, but what about all the other people on the
plane? Does being present on a plane that was blown up inherently
make you a terrorist?
What's more, there have been reports that some of the 19 people who
were named as the 9/11 hijackers are still alive -- IOW, that the
people who did the hijacking assumed the identities of other people
(who may or may not have been involved in the plotting).
I have a good friend who had her identity stolen. How she found
out: she was in line waiting to board a plane, and the cops seized
her, handcuffed her behind her back, and perp-walked her out of the
airport, in front of all the other passengers, with her weeping and
protesting that she'd done nothing wrong. Turns out that the woman
who'd stolen her identity had been committing financial fraud all
over the place -- and all in her name. She spent a night in jail
before the situation got cleared up.
But what about the people who can't get their situations cleared up
that quickly? Did you read the story in the Post a few weeks ago
about the black man whose identity was stolen and who spent months
in jail before anyone would believe that he was who he claimed to be?
Honestly, Ellen, don't believe everything you read in the news.
Especially these days.
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