Searching for Kulna Sawa

Don’t miss today’s sequel to Annie Jacobsen’s account of her June 29 Northwest Airlines flight: “Part II: Terror in the skies, again?”
UPDATE: The humor impaired Erika Linden Green writes:

Excuse me? May I ask why you are referring to Kulna Sawa in reference to this ignorant WWSJ article?
Kulna Sawa are indeed Syrian musicians – from Damascus, but they are NOT terrorists. In fact, they are personal friends of mine – yes, I know each and every one of them PERSONALLY. Please remove their name and stop the slander and missassociations [sic].

In response, I wrote Ms. Green that we had imputed no terrorist asssociations to Kulna Sawa. On the contrary, given that the band of Syrians on Ms. Jacobsen’s flight had been interviewed and released, the group on Jacobsen’s flight may even have been the musicians it appeared to be. I also offered to add the whereabouts of Kulna Sawa on June 29 to this post as an update if Ms. Green knew them. Maintaining the endearing tone with which she had initiated our correspondence, she wrote:

I realize that – I am a close reader, thanks, and I did read that the musicians were questioned and released – and found to be musicians (amazing!).
What I’m objecting to, is your use of my friends’ band name in the headline, insinuating that they are terrorists, and THEY are the group in question. I’m not sure of their exact whereabouts on that exact day. I believe Kinan, the clarinet player – who is an advanced music degree student at Juillard (this is the best music school in the country, in case you don’t know), was a featured guest at a music festival in New Jersey around that time – and how dare you demand to know where they are anyway, what business is it of yours?
You can explore their web site – any of the musicians in this group – and get any concert info, dates or whereabouts you may require. Please take the Kuna [sic] Sawa name off your headline.

And in a further installment of her charm offensive Ms. Green writes:

It’s not a joke. If you meant it to be one, it’s lame. Take off their name. You have no right to use it in this way.
What – you used the first Syrian musical group that came up in a google web search? Perpetuating the ignorant attitude that all Arabs are terrorists? How very in-depth reporting of you.

For the record, let me make sure all readers understand that we do not assert or believe that Kulna Sawa was on Jacobsen’s flight; the intention of our references to Kulna Sawa is humorous.
Putting the non sequiturs in Ms. Green’s messages to one side, I can only plead that I PERSONALLY know the Constitution of the United States, and I believe that its First Amendment protects our right to make lame jokes.
We give Ms. Green the final word — her fifth message concluding with the vow to turn us in to the sensitivity police:

Why was the headline “SEARCHING for . . .” then, in relation to this article – as if they were searching for this group.
I’m reporting you and your pithy blog to the American Arab Anti Discrimination League. This pointing fingers and laughing at foreigners attitude is not the ideal that this country was founded upon.
Good day.

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