And those aren't even extreme comments on the 700 Club...
And about the Sikh man on the train, Peg, thanks. Here's something about it Providence Journal site:
Providence police detain Amtrak passenger • The train is halted outside Providence Station, and searched for four suspicious men reported by Boston police, the train's origin."PROVIDENCE -- As the largest terrorism investigation in U.S. history began yesterday, federal and state authorities focused attention on New England, searching for clues at a Maine airport, a Boston hotel and on an Amtrak train at Providence Station.
A tip and suspicion in Boston led to a frenzied search of a Washington-bound train in Providence yesterday afternoon and the arrest of a 28-year-old Virginia man on misdemeanor weapons charges.
The man, Sher J.B. Singh of Leesburg, Va., had a beard and a green turban, and was held for about six hours at the Providence police station before being released about 8 p.m.
Singh was charged with possession of a knife with a blade more than three inches long, a misdemeanor. Police Chief Richard T. Sullivan said the man had no connection to the terrorist attacks.
"This is a case of mistaken identity," said Singh's wife, Hermani Kaur, in an interview last night, before her husband was released on personal recognizance.
Sher Singh lives in Leesburg, but he and his wife have stayed in the Milford, Mass., area for two years while she is enrolled in dental school at Boston University.
He's an engineer and an active member in the Milford, Mass., Gurdwara, a place of worship for Sikhs. He and several members of the Milford Gurdwara are working on a start-up high-tech company "E-Call Data," said his friend and Gurdwara secretary, Inderpreet Singh.
"Everyone in the community loves him," Inderpreet Singh said. "It's really shocking that he was picked up because of what he looks like."
If he was questioned because of his appearance, he was charged because of a symbol of his faith.
The knife he carried in a sheath strapped across his shoulders is called a kirpan, a ceremonial dagger that's considered a symbol of the Sikh faith. It's a curved, ceremonial dagger that's difficult to open, said Inderpreet Singh.
The kirpan is a symbol, not a weapon, and it's meant to be worn at all times, said Inderpreet Singh.
Since the terrorist acts, Sikhs have become targets of suspicion.
"It's a very tough time for our nation, too, on top of the tragedy and finding the culprits," said Inderpreet Singh. "But just because they look different doesn't mean you can take away their rights."
Hemani Kaur wants an apology from someone, anyone, for the damage they've caused to her husband's reputation.
Shortly before 2 p.m., Boston police called Amtrak police in Providence with a description of four men who boarded a train bound for Washington, with a stop in Providence, said Chief Sullivan.
Amtrak police contacted Providence police, who prepared to find the men and question them. They knew where to look, right down to the exact car on train No. 173.
Police cruisers and undercover cars swerved down Gaspee Street, blocking off the train station. Bomb squads from state police and Providence police pulled up. Bomb-sniffing dogs panted and strained at their leashes.
Uniformed and plainclothes officers from state and local police and the state fire marshal's office swarmed through the station, some ordering the growing crowd back from the building.
The train was stopped on the tracks as the police found the four men who fit the description from Boston. Bomb-sniffing dogs were scouting the luggage and packages around the four men on one of the train cars, Sullivan said.
Drawn by live TV accounts of police detention of the train, a crowd of more than a hundred gathered around the train station and on the nearby State House lawn: men and women in business attire, younger people wearing T-shirts.
As the incident continued, word spread that at least one suspect had been arrested and would be taken away by police. As he was led from the building, some in the crowd lunged toward him. Police kept them away -- but they could not prevent the whoops and jeers.
"Kill him!" one man yelled.
"You killed my brother!" screamed another.
No one seemed to know anything about the man -- nor did they seem to care. Police safely escorted him to a cruiser, which sped off to the Providence police station.
Singh and three other men whose descriptions seemed to match the tip didn't appear to be connected to the terrorism, Sullivan said. The other three men were let go and continued on to their destinations, he said. Singh was held because he was carrying a knife.
Singh was questioned at the police station by local detectives, and agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, and the Immigration and Naturalization Service, said Maj. Martin F. Hames. He is a native Indian who has been a U.S. citizen for the past two years -- and his description had been considered suspicious by the police. "
>:(
---Lepus Rex