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Glasgow Airport Terrorist Attack Hero - What Really Happened

johnsmeaton.com — Airport worker, hero, smoker. John 'McClane' Smeaton lays down the a beat-down on al-Qaeda in his own words. This is how we do justice in the West of Scotland baby.

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  • graduate, on 10/11/2007, -3/+65Great quotes:

    "Only in Glasgow do suicide bombers need rescued from the locals by the police."

    "John just surpassed himself on the National ITV news. The interviewer asked "What message do you have for the bombers" - he replied

    "This is Glasgow we'll just set about you"

    "John did an interview on cnn and they asked how he restrained the guy and he said "me and other folk were just tryin 2 get the boot in and some other guy banjoed him" !
    • 3babyboom, on 10/11/2007, -1/+8john we need more people like you in the world i know you were just at the right place at the right time but their is one thing i would like to see you receive an award that's what you should receive instead of t in the park you should be on national TV getting an award for bravery instead of Muppet's getting them
      • SWMpls, on 10/11/2007, -7/+6"If it's not Scottish it's Crap!" - Mike Myers
    • TheTankengine, on 10/11/2007, -1/+7Another good quote:"Little did he know, as he happily dragged on his fag, that two crazed al-Qaeda operatives were preparing to meet their maker."
      • gruf85, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1well hes done scots proud good for him.if it was me in that situation id do the same.we wont take no piss fae any terrorist.we'l do them all in
    • warriorscot, on 10/11/2007, -3/+5There are plenty of people like that in Scotland its that strange combination of stupidity and bravery that makes it such a unique place, sure it has its downsides but it certainly makes terrorism more difficult.
      • Buggroff, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3I guess that's why, with only 10% of the UK population, about 24% of the British Defence Force are Scots. It's too wee now to be called an army .
  • gogza, on 10/11/2007, -3/+43Digg It Up!

    Dear me, they picked the wrong nation to try to terrorise. This just shows you exactly how the Scottish people will react.

    You try to kill us - we will take the piss.



    • drinkGreen, on 10/11/2007, -6/+16agreed. Congrats to the Scots.

      I wish I could say America is like that, but we've had our balls removed nowadays it seems.
      • anillop, on 10/11/2007, -5/+13Apparently you forgot the passengers of Flight 93 who kept the terrorists from crashing their plane into the White House.
        • CorpT, on 10/11/2007, -3/+10That was 6 years ago. Balls were removed since.
      • flashback99, on 10/11/2007, -7/+1is positive stereotyping any different from negative stereotyping?
    • Nerdable, on 10/11/2007, -2/+7there are plenty here in the states that would whoop some terrorist ass... you just have to find the sneaky bastards...
      • drinkGreen, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1But then you'd be arrested for a hate crime and thrown in jail and the terroist could then sue you for ruining his plans to blow up something.
  • siliconglen, on 10/11/2007, -4/+41Site is hilarious, well worth a digg. Comments here http://johnsmeaton.com/?p=3#comments are fantastic. May need some translation for non Scots, however. The BBC is now covering this as "Baggage handler becomes web hero http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/glasgow_and_west/6262266.stm

    Some are calling him a modern day William Wallace - gaun yirsel china!
    • CorpT, on 10/11/2007, -2/+10I heard he shoots lightning out of his arse.
    • dotari, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1We need idols... Even if it's false ones.
  • ArturBoruc, on 10/11/2007, -3/+26This shows what happens when terrorists take on more than they can chew.
    John Smeaton is a hero, but any Glaswegian in this situation would have done the same.
    As John so eloquently put it, "Glasgow does not accept this. We will set aboot ye."

    John, you're a star.
    • Janey12, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2Wages for a baggage handler - about £20,000 pa Price for 20 cigarettes - about a fiver Beating up a terrorist - priceless
  • SoothSinger, on 10/11/2007, -3/+31John Smeaton is a hero!!!!

    Only in Glasgow do terrorists need protection from the general public! This man makes me proud to be Glaswegian.
  • MinnieLass, on 10/11/2007, -3/+28My favourite quote from the site is:
    "Here's to his heroism, his straightforward belief in right and wrong, his support for law and order, and his willingness to give a good kicking to someone richly deserving it."
    Brilliant, for once it is refreshing to hear about someone getting involved rather than standing just looking, or turning away! Well done John!
  • homergord, on 10/11/2007, -2/+18As horrendous as the potential outcome was it still makes me laugh to hear about how the first reaction of so many onlookers was to get wired into the bombers.

    Truly nothing comes between a Weegie and 2 weeks in the sun!
    • Deansy2005, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0so true, i'd be ragin if i missed mt holiday :@
  • peterbruff, on 10/11/2007, -2/+5Ha ha ha... too funny!
    • mustacheo, on 10/11/2007, -11/+1.uʍop ǝpısdn noʎ buɐɥ oʇ buıob ǝɹɐ ʎǝɥʇ .noʎ ʇǝb sʇsıɹoɹɹǝʇ ǝɥʇ 11ıʇ ʇıɐʍ
  • chrisolly, on 10/11/2007, -4/+14Digg this up and buy the guy a pint!
  • buyhimapint, on 10/11/2007, -3/+13Everyone buy him a pint!
    The man is a legend.
    • mustacheo, on 10/11/2007, -14/+1¿¿ooʇ ʇuıd ɐ ǝɯ ʎnq oʇ ǝɹɐɔ ǝuoʎuɐ p1noʍ
    • micamoo, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0i have pledged my money to buy him a pint, however, where is the section to make proposals of marriage? i love him
  • Darkhowling91, on 10/11/2007, -2/+5Haha this is great.
  • kdehead, on 10/11/2007, -3/+21he's Scotland's version of chuck norris. they're up to 500 pints donated for him. another 500 to go.
  • kdehead, on 10/11/2007, -2/+13from the site:
    The country needs to see 1,000 pints lined up, on the bar at the Glasgow Airport Holiday Inn, with John Smeaton’s name on them. JohnSmeaton.com will not rest til 1,000 pints are paid for and foaming on that counter.
  • princessfiona75, on 10/11/2007, -2/+14Who needs Jack Bauer......we have John Smeaton.......what a hero...git stuck right intae them ...

  • theLADz, on 10/11/2007, -3/+33My favourite comment is " Giraffes were created when John Smeaton hit a horse with an uppercut " Quality Glasgow humour, ye canny beat it!

  • mizthistle, on 10/11/2007, -2/+4well done john .. have a pint on us ... what a total legend !!
  • stooverine, on 10/11/2007, -3/+5Glasgow, a city on the rise, needs more men like this man to keep on the straight and narrow. LEGEND!
    • warriorscot, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3Lol, you clearly know nothing of glaswegians, he lamped him because he was "pullin that ***** at work" not because they were doing something not along the straight and narrow.
  • BuckyGoldberg, on 10/11/2007, -2/+24UPDATE FROM THE SITE..............

    Daveycmc Says:
    July 3rd, 2007 at 11:47 am
    My cousin works as a Baggage Handler at Glasgow Airport, but unfortunately for him, it is for a different company than they who employ the great man.

    However, her has phoned me this morning to tell me that Smeato is being threatened with disciplinary action from his employers because it is in their contracts that they are NOT allowed to talk to the press about any of the goings on at the airport.

    • Digitalbabe, on 10/11/2007, -1/+22We can't let this HERO be persecuted for talking to the press! Reward,not punishment is called for!
    • MarkOfTheDead, on 10/11/2007, -2/+13i hope he doesn't get disciplined. the city should issue a pardon of some type through his employer. what if those horrible people killed the officer? i think he should be rewarded through his employer whether or not it has to do with the press. if anything it makes them look good.
      • yournamehere, on 10/11/2007, -6/+8just call Bush, he'll pardon anyone
      • vorlons, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2If he does get fired, I hope some other employer immediatly reaches out to try and hire him.
  • fazerboy, on 10/11/2007, -2/+22the quote of the year ! lol (nearly wet myself !)

    "Those hapless al-Qaeda boys were to find out that Glasgow has no respect for international terrorism. Nobody gets between 10,000 Weegies and a £99 week in Ibiza booked on Thursday night through Barrhead Travel."
  • StirlingLass, on 10/11/2007, -2/+12Well done Smeato proud of you ma man!! And proud to be Scottish! Bought a pint for you, enjoy! x
  • Pounce, on 10/11/2007, -6/+23It tells alot about digg.com when you see every positive comment on the guy getting dugg down, and they are trying to bury this story.

    Does anybody see a pattern here, I mean the story where the kid gore's a burglar with his ninja sword made it but this one does not!

    Any thoughts?
    • catalysis, on 10/11/2007, -3/+4I'm not quite sure what you are implying, but I have a thought. How about waiting a couple minutes until everyone has had a chance to see the story?
    • ChronicColonic, on 10/11/2007, -7/+7Yeah, there are enough Diggers angry with USA's administration and War on Terror that ANYTHING positive about it makes the current administration look good. I know this happened in Scotland and really does not have anything to do with us directly. However, we are fighting Islamic terrorism everywhere on the globe. Any positive story about Islamic extremist losing is 1) good for our current administration, bad for anyone who does not like them. 2) bad for the people who support Islamic extremism. There are plenty of them on Digg. Since this site is used all over the world, why wouldn't radical Islam use it as another tool to squelch the positive news?

      Heck, with so many people angry with George Bush right now for the Libby commute, they would bury something like this just because it is one of the key principles the current administration stands. I mena check out how many Libby articles are on front page right now.
    • ChronicColonic, on 10/11/2007, -4/+4Actually, it the time that it took to write the above comment (yeah, even with the misspelling of mean), this story went popular. Good news!
    • REBELinBLUE, on 10/11/2007, -1/+6What the hell are you on about o_O
  • Pounce, on 10/11/2007, -7/+5The story about the kid getting the burglar with a ninja sword gets on diggnation but this one is getting buried.

    Any comments on how the guy did a good job are getting dugg down, am I the only person on digg.com to notice a pattern?
    • UnstableMind, on 10/11/2007, -2/+2What are you talking about? I haven't seen a negative post yet...
  • MaIkinIsANazi, on 10/11/2007, -5/+3Kevin an Alex had to leave diggnation and go into Revision3 possibly because drinking beer is Haram?

  • ripstuntz, on 10/11/2007, -7/+1Ahhhh the wonders of not bothering to implement CSS into your web site =D
  • geiger253, on 10/11/2007, -9/+10Yeah well the obligatory Kos line is that these weren't "real" terror attacks. I'd guess their demented take on John Smeaton is that he was getting in the way of a righteous protest by oppressed peoples (doctors from foreign countries with $100k a year tax-payer funded jobs in the NHS, apparently).
  • MarkOfTheDead, on 10/11/2007, -3/+3only on digg do heroes get their web servers crashed :(
  • BohicaTwentyTwo, on 10/11/2007, -3/+2Glad to know Smeaton and this guy are on our side.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Moran_%28firefighter%29
  • ScrumFritter, on 10/11/2007, -1/+19Haha, 'mon the Smeaton!

    Seriously, I honestly believe that no matter where this happened in Scotland, be it Glasgow, Edinburgh, or Aberdeen, there'd be someone around to kick terrorist ass. There's patriotism, and then there's Scottish ***** Pride! Let this be a lesson to them all - stay the ***** out of Scotland. The Romans learned it well, now these lads will have to do the same.
    • jmchez, on 10/11/2007, -2/+3The Romans thought that Caledonia was too cold and damp. Apparently the Irish didn't because they came over to settle and started calling themselves Scots. The English didn't either and took it. The Irish are independent, the Scots aren't (yet).
      • Joolsm, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1Yea so lets do something about that - independent Scotland!!
  • 029JO, on 10/11/2007, -1/+4WOW Great Guy Great Story I ll drink a pint to him with a smile on me face.
    • mustacheo, on 10/11/2007, -7/+1.ɹǝʇʇɐɯ ou - uʍop ǝpısdn ɹo dn ǝpısdn - uo ʍou ɯoɹɟ uʍop pǝıɹnq sʇǝb ʇı uı ʇuıd ɥʇıʍ ʇuǝɯɯoɔ ʎuɐ
  • durazine, on 10/11/2007, -5/+10If this happened in the US the terrorist would have sued and the ACLU would have represented him in court.
    • CorpT, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2Fortunately, they're doctors so they can probably pay for their own representation.
  • Jenovaside, on 10/11/2007, -1/+3as long as we send them 503's the terrorists can't do anything.
    BRILLIANT
  • yournamehere, on 10/11/2007, -3/+1digg effect killed the site
  • Grova, on 10/11/2007, -1/+3 What's the score? I've got to get this sorted

    John Smeaton
    Baggage Handler


    Brilliant!
  • halfemptyfilms, on 10/11/2007, -1/+10http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Smeaton He's older than I'd expected.
  • craighoxton, on 10/11/2007, -3/+16Funniest comment on the site: 'John Smeaton went on holiday to the Virgin Islands. When he came back, they were called The Islands'
  • bernieg1, on 10/11/2007, -8/+1I blogged aboot it in http://plancksconstant.org/blog1/2007/07/john_smeaton_a_hero.html
  • Chromatik, on 10/11/2007, -1/+18Choose life, choose a career, choose a big ***** television, choose kicking the ***** out of douche bag extremists that didn't bother to read up on what happens to dodgy bastards that try to screw with Scotland... Good show
  • caution, on 10/11/2007, -4/+6Sadly the MSM won't pick up on these kinds of things, or when they do, it's watered down.

    Seriously though, if more people were like this guy would 9-11 have happened the way it did? Or did he just have the benefit of knowing there was no other choice but to act?

    Anyway, this guy does Scotland proud. Those of us now living in the "colonies" salute you!
  • MaIkinIsANazi, on 10/11/2007, -1/+10If you ask me?

    I have had it with digg.com why are they burying this story?

    Does anyone know of any other sites like digg but can see things outside their little "war on Bush"
    • raid517, on 10/11/2007, -0/+11Digg really does suck these days. I don't like Bush very much either - but 95% of the front page is just full of opinion led politically biased *****.

      At best I only ever scan the titles for interesting technology news - and the very occasional little gem like this too.
    • kineticabstract, on 10/11/2007, -4/+0I'm very confused here. First Pounce's nonsense about negative comments, now you. How exactly does 465 diggs and being on the front page qualify as being buried?
      • MaIkinIsANazi, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2there are a couple dozen people on digg deciding to slant the way any political story comes out, anything factuall or worth discussion getts dugg down and hidden from everyone else
        • gandhii, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1if that were true .. it would take more than a couple dozen to have that affect
  • raid517, on 10/11/2007, -1/+8Glasgow really isn't a good place to do terrorism. Even if you look at most people slightly the wrong way you're likely to leave on you're kneees, clutching your crotch and with a new surgically implanted smile on your face that will make you grin from ear to ear.

    Terrorists? Pah! Bunch of pansies... You have much more to fear on a Saturday afternoon at any average Rangers V Celtic soccer match!
    • raid517, on 10/11/2007, -1/+2What is it with every positive comment in support of this guy's actions being dugg down?

      Maybe you guys who don't like this and probably don't have the balls to stand up to the terrorists the same way on your own should come and spend some time in Glasgow too?

      I promise we only hurt bad guys. Most of the rest of time we're really quite friendly...
      • ScrumFritter, on 10/11/2007, -1/+3That's true actually. As much as there's folk around looking for a fight (***** Neds, mostly, or 'Chavs' as the English say), if you actually GET jumped, and you're lucky enough to have someone walk by, they'll probably come help you out. You see it quite a lot actually - on a night out people are up for most about anything, especially when half cut, :p.

        (On another note, I'm getting a kick out of the thought of some Yanks scratching their heads trying to figure out what Johnny boy means when he says 'polis', :D, because you know there's gotta be a good few out there!)
    • alstewart73, on 10/11/2007, -2/+1it's called football over here, not soccer.
      • kuzotz, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1its the same ***** sport aight mate? You knew what it was thus soccer served its purpose as a word. IF you didn't know what it was then we could've just said football there problem still solved. dumbass.
    • raid517, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1I was being polite and thoughtful for our American friends.

      I know that isn't generally the done thing on Digg, but there we are...
  • mtortolano, on 10/11/2007, -3/+2Scotland's Jack Bauer... shouldn't it be Jakie Bauer :-)
  • vorlons, on 10/11/2007, -4/+4Agreed. Here in the US we are all in the "militia" as defined in our Second Amendment to the constitution. Digg me down, but I am not trying to hijack this discussion. Please bear with me.

    During the 9/11 attacks let's not forget some of the passengers on United Flight 93 became the "militia" and did what they had to do to defend their country and due to the 2nd A, their actions were legal.

    Hat's off to John Smeaton, who would not stand by and do nothing. If the prevailing attitude of the Scot's is to agree with such action, then terrorists beware. All law abiding citizen's should be allowed to take whatever action is required when innocent life is threatened by criminals or terrorists. Of course with this comes responsibility and following the rule of law. It does not mean vigilantism and you will rightfully be subject to investigation to make sure you followed the law.

    From what I read, and please correct me, in England such action by a private citizen is very frowned upon by the "authorities" with possible charges even if what you did was "right". Maybe England can learn a thing or two from the Scotland!
    • domr, on 10/11/2007, -1/+3Scotland is not England.
      • graduate, on 10/11/2007, -0/+5That's what he just said: "Maybe England can learn a thing or two from Scotland!"

        Taxi!
    • ScrumFritter, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1To be honest, I don't think the English would take it lying down either. I'm part English, and my gran's always telling me about the Blitz... all that time under the German bombs and they didn't let it get in the way of day to day life. I like to think that spirit's still there.

      Fish suppers will always live on, exploding cars or no, :).
      • gandhii, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1there is a big difference between sittin and takin it ... and ... well...
    • kuzotz, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1my name is Keith.. but I'm black and also American.... Does that make me scottish now? XD
  • petertoone, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1A man of our times
  • Hangender, on 10/11/2007, -6/+2Queen of England VS Allah
    • DarkDakota, on 10/11/2007, -2/+5umm, Correction . . Scotland Vs Allah , England != Scotland!!!!!!!
      • Joolsm, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0How the hell you work that one out?? Idiot!!
  • Studio7, on 10/11/2007, -1/+3Just got a Pint for him!

    Thanks from Canada mate!!
  • Septimus, on 10/11/2007, -3/+4It's not just in Scotland that this attitude to terrorism is abound.

    Thanks to the US funding the IRA for 30 years, England is also pretty good at dealing with these situations also. You were just preparing us for the long game, we get it now.
  • DesuKN, on 10/11/2007, -5/+7See America? This is how you handle this sort of stuff.
  • Mossa, on 10/11/2007, -2/+3Here's the one where he describes his own experience with blowing up "deodorant cans on a bonfire".
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRXfF2sH0aU
  • ph33rm3, on 10/11/2007, -2/+1http://www.duggback.com/world_news/Glasgow_Airport_Terrorist_Attack_Hero_What_Really_Happened/
  • kdehead, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1***** me - they're nearly up to 1000 pints. 900 so far!
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