The Usual Fecking Government Stupidity Behind Air France Groundings

[shemp]

Name Mixup Was Behind Pre-Christmas Grounding of Air France Flights Over Terror Fears (http://abcnews.go.com/wire/World/ap20040102_632.html)

Six cases of mistaken identity were behind the pre-Christmas grounding of six Air France flights between Paris and Los Angeles over terrorism fears, a police official said Friday.

The names of six passengers were similar to those of terrorist suspects provided by the FBI, prompting the French government to halt the flights, the official said on condition of anonymity.

Pierre Debue, director of the French border police, said one name on the list turned out to be that of a 5-year-old child. The Wall Street Journal on Friday said two other suspected terrorists turned out to be an elderly Chinese woman and a Welsh insurance agent.

French police officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said errors in spelling and transcription of Arabic names played a role in the mix-up. But Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy said it was better to err on the side of caution.

How could ANYBODY be so stupid as to misspell and mistranscribe Arabic names so that they go mixed up with some Welshman and a Chinese woman??? What kind of goddamn fecking idiots are running this "war on terrorism." Do we all have to worry that maybe some night federal agents will blast down our doors and shoot us in our beds because some moron got some Arabic name wrong?

Once again, the boy cries "WOLF!" When terrorists really do pull off something, hardly anyone will be paying attention because the goddamn government screams "WOLF!" so much.

[rikzilla]

Originally posted by shemp
Name Mixup Was Behind Pre-Christmas Grounding of Air France Flights Over Terror Fears (http://abcnews.go.com/wire/World/ap20040102_632.html)



How could ANYBODY be so stupid as to misspell and mistranscribe Arabic names so that they go mixed up with some Welshman and a Chinese woman??? What kind of goddamn fecking idiots are running this "war on terrorism."

Well, when you put it that way, it sounds so :crazy:


But Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy said it was better to err on the side of caution.

...but then it sounds as if the French Interior Minister agrees with the "fecking idiots". Go figger.... :rolleyes:

-z

[crackmonkey]

So you're saying the French government is running the war on terror? I think you didn't read this very closely...

[Mel]

And look at how much nicer the world is now that America is working together with "Old Europe." ;)


Btw, we all know that terrorists will ONLY try to board planes in countries that are working together with Homeland Security.

I feel so safe now, I think I'll throw away all my duct tape & plastic! :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

[aerocontrols]

Both Chinese and Arabic are correctly written with a different alphabet than our own. This gives rise for multiple acceptable spellings of the same name. One of my old roomasts (Jörg on his passport, Joerg on his English-language ID) had trouble at the airport once because of the two spellings. (Pre-9/11, not post) Post 9/11 he was kicked out of the country for a visa violation.

Usamah/Usama/Osamah/Osama who?

As to the Welshman, perhaps knowing his name would help. Was it Cassius Clay perhaps?

MattJ

[rikzilla]

...LOL

I remember reading about a mideval Welsh prince named Gwynwynwyn. Hell, no wonder the Welsh have trouble in airports! Can you imagine being the new kid in class with a moniker like that?? :D

-z

[WildCat]

Originally posted by rikzilla
I remember reading about a mideval Welsh prince named Gwynwynwyn. -z
Those evil English stole all their vowels when they invaded! Those bastards.... :mad:

[Nikk]

Originally posted by WildCat

Those evil English stole all their vowels when they invaded! Those bastards.... :mad:

Ah, but those sneaky cattle thieving celts disguised some of them as consonants so we didn't get them all!