This Time article, which claims the "b-word" was not used during Mr. Alpizar's mad rush through the airplane, leaves the hazy impression that Federal Air Marshals are cooking up a cover-up. In a feat of journalism sure to vie for the Pulitzer, Time interviewed one eye-witness for their "web exclusive".
CNN interviewed a few more passengers plus a few officials. Kudos to them for a more in-depth fair and balanced article, which leaves the impression there might have been good reason for concern.
It also fills in some gaps. For instance, I wondered where the man's wife was during the shooting, since earlier stories said she was "chasing him" down the aisle yelling "he's off his meds" or something similar. This story confirms she had been in process of returning to her seat when he was shot. It also states that an off-duty pilot was seated near the couple to calm them down, and that a cell phone call to Mr. Alpizar before the flight might have triggered something.
Finally, something a bit tinfoilish. During the heat of the indident on Wednesday there was a corresponding story about a man supposedly detained at JFK airport last week because his shoes tested positive for TATP, an explosive residue. The man's shoes supposedly were quite similar to those of the original shoe-bomber, Richard Reid. Apparently that man was allowed to leave, and this story seems to have now disappeared.
MORE 12/8
After further review.....the FBI website indicates the above mentioned story about an unrelated incident at JFK where shoes tested positive for explosive residue and led to an FBI bulletin now appears to have been a false alarm:
Analysis of the shoes was performed at the FBI Laboratory and it was determined that no explosive materials were present in the passenger's shoes. This individual was also interviewed by Special Agents of the FBI and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Waterloo, Iowa, and it was determined that he poses no security threat.
Funny, the original story I saw (which seems to no longer exist) suggested that some entity had tested the shoes five times, and all were positive.
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ABC News has more on the story here. I still have questions. According to what we've been told, the TSA got five positive results from testing the Egyptian man's shoes (which looked like Richard Reid's). Then we're to believe they let him go. Why? Then we're to believe they notified the FBI, who presumably issued a Be-On-The-Lookout type bulletin for shoe bombers, something which might have contributed to he shooting in Miami. Now today the FBI said the whole JFK incident was a false alarm. Are we witnessing incompetence, finger pointing, press exaggeration or something else?
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