I'm sure everyone has seen the article this morning regarding the six Muslims who were removed from the US Airways flight. The apparent reasoning behind their removal involved several passengers reporting "suspicious activities" from the six men.

The activities included (but weren't limited to) conducting their evening pray just before the flight took off. That could be something that might be considered unnerving, I suppose. There have definitely been occasions in the past where people praying on a flight would be bad form. If you're nervous about the flight, praying is only going to make other people more concerned and nervous too.

However, that, despite what the North American Imans Federation is calling bias and racial profiling, there were several other extenuating circumstances that lead me (in my humblest of opinions) to believe they had every right to take them off the plane:

 First of all, the men reportedly began praying just before boarding. Harmless for the most part, but in the post-9/11 world, you have to know this is going to cause some disturbance. I don't care who you are.

 Second, the men were supposedly making various anti-US comments both before and during boarding. Kinda stupid, if you ask me. Again, freedom of speech prevails, but you HAVE to know you're going to catch some flak for it. I wouldn't be boarding a plane in Iran and talk trash on the Koran or Islam (which would be their equivalent to the State).

 Lastly, when the men boarded the plane....they broke up into pairs of two and did not sit in their assigned seats. *FLASH* *FLASH* When they refused to move, the airport security was brought in to take them off the plane and detain them.

 Having ones rights and just being belligerent for the sake of making the headlines are just two separate things. Is it racial profiling? Probably; but don't blame Americans or Europeans for getting paranoid when a guy in a turban starts bucking the system just to prove a point! Get pissed at your Middle East brothers who've made us this way by plowing airplanes into our buildings...

Does it suck? Yes....is it understandable? Of course....

~Dubya