Death imitates Art?

Scarcely had I finished the previous post, than the news came that US air marshals had shot dead a man on an airplane at Miami airport. According to reports, he had claimed to have a bomb, had failed to comply with directions from air marshals, and had been shot while reaching into his bag. He was subsequently described as suffering from bi-polar disorder. Think of this poor man, and his widow, in your prayers.

It was interesting to see how the different news bulletins covered this. SBS, of course, portrayed it as a case of blood-crazed trigger-happy goons who had gone huntin' for passengers, preferably mentally ill ones. As Mr. Alpizar's bag was blown up on the tarmac, the SBS voiceover announced, in as portentous a manner as she could muster, that "no...explosives...were found...". Gee, you mean the air marshals failed to use their X-ray vision prior to opening fire?

Everything which SBS knew about Mr. Alpizar, at second hand, was reported as absolute fact, except the one detail - his having claimed to have a bomb - which was carefully bracketed with the magic word "alleged".