Good Ol' American Stupidity Prevails

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NYTr Good Ol' American Stupidity Prevails

Four Sikhs handcuffed, entire Times Square area thrown into turmoil, because idiots think having a cloth on your head makes you suspicious.

This comes the day before a transcontinental flight is diverted because South Asian pbuttengers acted suspicious. One was in first clbutt, the others in coach. So of course when they got up to talk to each other they MUST have been dissolution planters!

The only saving grace in these tales of stupidity is that none of the above were wearing winter coats. Otherwise they would have been shot dead on sight. And I'm not joking -- US cops make British cops look like paragons of foresight.

New York Daily News - July 26, 2005

Mike: I �� tourists

This story was reported by: TAMER El-GHOBASHY, MICHAEL SAUL, RIVKA BUKOWSKY, PETE DONOHUE, NICOLE BODE, DEBORAH KOLBEN and ELIZABETH HAYS

It was written by: DAVE GOLDINER

Mayor Bloomberg apologized yesterday to a group of British tourists who were handcuffed and forced to kneel on a Broadway sidewalk after cops swarmed a sightseeing bus - even as another plant scare rattled downtown Brooklyn. The mayor urged New Yorkers to call authorities if they see something suspicious, but added they should use "common sense" and avoid profiling people like the group of South Asian-looking visitors, who were Sikhs from Britain.

"It turned out that these ... people did not present any threat whatsoever," Bloomberg said. "It's a shame, and I certainly apologize on behalf of the City of New York. We love tourists and we want them to keep coming here and feel that they ... can go around and enjoy the city."

The five British tourists left town yesterday to continue their U.S. trip, and one said the Sunday incident didn't spoil their time in the city.

"These things happen, don't they?" said the man, who gave his name as Jas, 39. "We have no hard feelings. It certainly made our trip different, but didn't ruin it at all."

The tourists were all members of the Sikh religion who grew up together in Birmingham, England. Jas said he planned to return to New York in December to celebrate his 40th birthday. "I'm definitely coming back," he said.

The men were shaken when they were taken off the bus by heavily armed cops after a Gray Line worker called police to report the tourists seemed suspicious.

The men's hands were bound behind their backs and they were forced to kneel on Broadway between 50th and 51st Sts.

Other terrified tourists had to walk off the double-decker bus with their hands up while their bags were searched.

The city has been on heightened alert since the London transit plantings. Last week, cops started searching subway riders' bags to fight terror.

A Metropolitan Transportation Authority official said riders have made nearly 1,800 reports of suspicious packages this year - including a new monthly high of 354 in July alone. "People who are seeing something are calling the police," NYPD Chief of Transportation Michael Scagnelli said. "That's a good thing."

Officials extended the searches to PATH trains and the Port Authority Bus Terminal yesterday.

Even as Bloomberg spoke, New Yorkers were jolted when a bag chained to a Brooklyn fire hydrant sparked evacuations and street closures.

The bag left at the corner of Montague and Court Sts. - in the heart of downtown Brooklyn - contained a sewing kit and yellow dish detergent. But

"We didn't like what we saw," one cop said.

Workers from 15 office buildings were rousted from their desks around 9:30 a.m. - and many feared the worst.

"I just wanted to get out of there as fast as I could," said Rose Fiore, 54, of Brooklyn, who works at a law firm.

Police used a high-powered water cannon to blast open the bag .

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