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Western Union Blocking Money Transfers to Arabs
lowrydr310 writes "Western Union is blocking money transfers to people with Arab names. They have delayed or blocked thousands of cash deliveries on suspicion of terrorist connections simply because senders or recipients have names like Mohammed or Ahmed. 'In one example, an Indian driver here said Western Union prevented him from sending $120 to a friend at home last month because the recipient's name was Mohammed.' Western union claims they are merely following U.S. Treasury Department guidelines that scrutinize cash flows for terrorist links. I agree that Western Union shouldn't allow anyone supporting terrorism to use their service, however I'm fairly certain there are millions of people named Mohammed or Ahmed who aren't terrorists. I wonder if any other financial companies such as banks are doing the same thing."
Not that I agree with his remark, but IIRC, one (of many) reasons that same-sex couples wanted to be able to marry was to be afforded the same tax shelter of marriage granted to heterosexual couples, which certainly involves the state.
Presumably this is what was meant by "normal" marriages.
I take it you aren't married, we who are know that this "tax shelter" is a total myth. My wife and I file separately so that we don't get soaked. Married people in this country pay higher taxes than single people.
Say bad words about my book, in cold oatmeal, or I shall sue!
Hmm.. Correct, and interesting. I'll have to remember that when the time comes.
That is a highly subjective and very incomplete list. Contact me again when you have a complete list. - why? What do I care if you have 'the complete' list or not?
You can't handle the truth.
What about Eric Robert Rudolph
Terrorist. Most everyone else you mention are simply nut jobs. The word terrorist is tossed around far, far, far too often often, especially by law enforcement. I believe you're making the same mistake.
Let's be realistic here, which I believe was your intent...there are non-Arab and non-Muslim terrorists in the world. That, no one doubts. Having said that, right now, at this point in time, they are the *most likely* source of terrorist activity. Like so many things, profiling is woefully misunderstood by the press and especially the public at large. Sadly, this often translates poorly to the enforcement officier on the street that has taken it on themselves to do just that.
Think of profiling as a list of check boxes. If you have a lot of check boxes checked, some of which may include nationality, then that person should be further interrogated. Sadly, your average TSA agent or policeman on the street simply use a one check box system, which screws everything up. Profiling is a PROVEN technique...it's the layman's interpretation and common street implementation which is completely screwed up. Profiling, especially by agencies like the FBI, CIA, and NSA have been extremely successful at catching people. And yes, that profiling often includes race and/or religion. Saying it's ineffective is simply ignorant of the facts and the reality of the situation.
I do agree that untrained people which attempt to implement their own form of self trained profiling is ineffective and often wasteful of law enforcement resources. But let's be clear here and not give the wrong impression. The problem here is one of stupid people doing stupid things...not that profiling is bad or ineffective. Again, to be clear, profiling is an awesome and excellent tool...*if used properly by properly by trained, intelligent people*.