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Traveler Detained for Anti-TSA Message
scifience writes "A traveler frustrated with recent changes to airport security procedures found himself detained in Milwaukee after writing a message critical of the TSA's leader on a plastic bag presented for screening. The message, which read "Kip Hawley is an Idiot," resulted in a confrontation with law enforcement, the traveler being told that his right to freedom of speech applied only "out there (pointing past the id checkers) not while in here [the checkpoint]." The story, which is detailed in a rapidly-growing thread on a discussion forum catering to frequent flyers, has attracted the interest of the ACLU, an AP reporter, and many others. The incident raises a number of interesting questions and concerns regarding just where our rights end."
I wonder if there was a similar erosion of rights and freedoms during the second world war? And if so, was that erosion reversed during the period after WWII?
I turned down two jobs for the sole reason that they advertised "frequent travel to US headquarters" as an advantage. No thanks, that is not an advantage. It is a first degree disadvantage.
Baker's Law: Misery no longer loves company. Nowadays it insists on it
http://www.sigsegv.cx/
A lot of the members in my gliding club are airline pilots and i hear a lot of stories from them.
The pilots have to pass through security just like the rest of us, and from what I hear they are getting increasingly fed up with the security screening staff. The general opinion is, that these are the same personality types that under different circumstances would become executioners.
Some of the pilots fought back though. One guy I heard of, attempted to pass through the detector gate, carefully making sure to step over an imaginary 1 foot high obstruction.
The screening crew apparently didn't have a sense of humor and made the pilot walk through the gate again, warning him to do it "normal" this time around.
At first the pilot prcoeeded normally through the gate, but stopped in the middle of the gate, spinning around in a Michael Jackson-esqe manouvre and exited the gate walking backwards. The screening crew went ballistic and forced him through a third time before he was let through.
Another pilot presented his ID card to the security screening crew, was let through and pocketed his card again, hurrying towards his assigned aircraft. He was running late.
Airpot security guidelines clearly states that ID cards should be carried visible at all times and a female security offcial noticed that the pilot did not carry a visible ID-card, took offence and ran after him. The pilot made it all the way to the cockpit and was sitting down and preparing for the flight, when the security offical came bursting into the cockpit, throwing a hissy fit and telling the pilot off for not wearing the ID card visible. The pilots in the cockpit were running late and were getting increasingly annoyed by the security official, when they noticed that the official was not carrying an ID card herself.
"So who are you?", they asked her, demanding to see her ID card. Fumbling around her pockets, she realised that she had left her own ID card behind, when running after the pilot.
The pilots resolutely locked the cockpit security doors and radioed the airport advising them that an unknown person that could not identify herself was locked in the cockpit with them.
The security official was then escorted off the plane by two armed police officers.
No, your rights remain.They may be infringed, but your rights are still your rights, and that's why this traveller has a cause of action to sue the TSA over this fracas.
-jcr
The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
I might be paranoid but this seems all a big charade. After hijacking the planes for 9/11, we witnessed repeated attempts at blowing planes up, first the guy with explosive under the shoe, then the other guys who wanted to come onboard with liquid explosives. The problem is that Al qaeda should have hundreds of surface to air missile launchers left from Afghanistan campaign when they fought for USA aganst Soviet Russia (in soviet russia terrorists fight for YOU!). Those are made to hit military planes, a civilian plane during takeoff is a joke for them, I guess.
Al quaeda seems not willing to embarass the US by using the arms they got from them, in the meantime western citizens are being trained to be questioned, searched, put in custody for merely losing patience. Here the 500-1500 stingers given to Bin Laden... all lost? If so, can't they buy anything second hand in Kosovo? Strange.
---- MISSING MISCELLANEOUS DATA SEGMENT --- [sigdash] trolololol
I think the term you are looking for is "Salami Tactics". I believe that Sir Humphrey Appleby had something to say on the subject. Into the Wayback Machine, Sherman!
So where is the real danger? When your first amendment rights disappear? ("He shouldn't have said that. It's unpatriotic.") Third? ("Support our troops! And have breakfast waiting for them in the morning, please.") Fourth? ("If he wasn't a terrorist, he would have nothing to hide.") Sixth, Seventh and Eighth? ("They're enemy combatants, not people.") Or should you wait until they're all gone to start worrying?
Hey, as long as you have the twenty-first then things are all A-OK, right?
A few months ago I would have agreed with you. That was before I started learning the recent history.
It was after Nixon's political demise that Cheney, Rumsfeld, and others who came to be called Neo-cons stared to look for ways to increase the power of the presidency. Remember, it was Nixon who said that anything the president does it legal, because it is the president who is doing it. In other words, the president is above the law. Since then, they have slowly been setting the stage for this very day.
We had Reagan, who destroyed the unions and set up the boogeyman of the welfare queen, to destroy the social safety net and job security of the middle class. Look where we are now -- Productivity is the highest its been in fifty years, yet people are making less money, working more hours, with less benefits. Prices are up, savings is at an all-time low, and credit card debt at a high. People can't worry about politics -- they are too busy working. Have a problem with this? Shut up with your class warfare and get back to work.
Then came Bush Sr., who was somewhat stymied by a democratic congress and a single term. Clinton's anti-terrorism efforts were hampered by Republicans charging about gays in the military and Lewinsky. I assume I don't need to tell you about Bush.
So if you look at who the major players are behind the scenes in the Regan and both Bush presidencies, you will find Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, and assorted other Neo-cons who wanted to strengthen the presidency after Nixon's impeachment. Scary.
Computers are useless. They can only give you answers.
-- Pablo Picasso
That is indeed worrying that they're continuing down this path. The right to free speech is important, but the right to a fair trial is even more so - why is so much money and time being spent on the trial of Saddam when there's a lot of possibily innocent people rotting away in a US naval base in Cuba (great way to show the Cubans that the US way is better than Castro!). Torture of course should never be used in a civilised society but I can imagine it's a lot more widespread than just the US and its allies.
The US can never hold a moral highground anymore over anything. Land of the free? No you can't even walk through airport security without risking getting detained because they don't like what you're wearing or a slogan on your bag.
Setting a good example to others? No way. Threats to nuke Iran if they continue their nuclear programme seem very hypocritical. Their actions in Iraq and Afghanistan were so badly organised the US probably killed more innocent citizens than the terrorists did in 11/09/2001 and 7/7/2005 combined.
Also governments need to move religion out of politics, currently Bush loves bringing God into everything he can, this makes him as much of a religious extremist as the muslim extremists he's fighting.
I'm fed up with the UK too, but perhaps when Blair quits his replacement may not be such a Bush puppet - but I doubt we'll be as lucky. The UK in recent history have always had the special relationship with the US.