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John Gilmore: I was ejected from a plane for wearing "Suspected Terrorist" button
(Declan McCullagh's Politech, July 19, 2003)
From: John Gilmore

Your readers already know about my opposition to useless airport security crap. I'm suing John Ashcroft, two airlines, and various other agencies over making people show IDs to fly -- an intrusive measure that provides no security. But I would be hard pressed to come up with a security measure more useless and intrusive than turning a plane around because of a political button on someone's lapel. . . . Cabin Service Director Khaleel Miyan, loomed in front of me and demanded that I remove a small 1" button pinned to my left lapel. I declined, saying that it was a political statement and that he had no right to censor passengers' political speech. The button, which was created by political activist Emi Koyama, says "Suspected Terrorist". Large images of the button and I appear in the cover story of Reason Magazine this month, and the story is entitled "Suspected Terrorist". You can see the button at: http://eminism.org/store/button-racism.html . . . The steward returned with Capt. Peter Hughes. The captain requested, and then demanded, that I remove the button (they called it a "badge"). He said that I would endanger the aircraft and commit a federal crime if I did not take it off. I told him that it was a political statement and declined to remove it. . . . They turned the plane around and brought it back to the gate, delaying 300 passengers on a full flight. . . . We were met at the jetway by Carol Spear, Station Manager for BA at SFO. She stated that since the captain had told her he was refusing to transport me as a passenger, she had no other course but to take me off the plane. I offered no resistance. I reminded her of the court case that United lost when their captain removed a Middle Eastern man who had done nothing wrong, merely because "he made me uncomfortable". She said that she had no choice but to uphold the captain and that we could sort it out in court later, if necessary. She said that my button was in "poor taste". [Take the link above to read the full letter. It's worth your time.]

. . . Read more!

posted by LoZo 11:56 AM

 

Patriot Act report documents civil rights abuses by Ashcroft
(Kevin Bohn, CNN, July 21, 2003)
The internal watchdog of the Justice Department has found 34 new credible civil rights and civil liberties violations under the anti-terrorism USA Patriot Act, according to a report released Monday. . . . "This report shows there are more victims of John Ashcroft's war on the Constitution," said Rep. John Conyers, D-Michigan. "The attorney general appears on television nearly every week claiming to protect us, while he simultaneously dismantles our civil liberties and civil rights. Will the Justice Department ever admit that it has gone too far?" . . . Inspector General Glenn Fine is required, as part of the anti-terrorism Patriot Act passed by Congress after the September 11, 2001 attacks, to give a report every six months related to claims of civil rights or civil liberties violations allegedly committed by Justice Department employees. . . . For the period of December 16 to June 15, 34 allegations were deemed credible and are being investigated by various officials within the department. Those 34 were among 1,073 complaints received during the period that suggested a Patriot Act-related civil rights or civil liberties connection.

. . . Read more!

posted by LoZo 1:42 PM

 

Careful: The FB-eye may be watching
(Marc Schultz, Creative Loafing, July 17, 2003)
Reading the wrong thing in public can get you in trouble . . . Two FBI agents. They say you're not in trouble, they just want to talk. . . . You Marc Schultz?" asks the tall one. He shows me his badge, introduces himself as Special Agent Clay Trippi. After assuring me that I'm not in trouble, he asks if there is someplace we can sit down and talk. . . . "Were you at the Caribou Coffee on Powers Ferry?" . . . Then they ask if I carried anything into the shop -- and we're back to me. . . . My mind races. I think: a bomb? A knife? A balloon filled with narcotics? But no. I don't own any of those things. "Sunglasses," I say. "Maybe my cell phone?" . . . Not the right answer. I'm nervous now, wondering how I must look: average, mid-20s, unassuming retail employee. What could I have possibly been carrying? . . . Trippi's partner speaks up: "Any reading material? Papers?" . . . Then it occurs to me: I was reading. It was an article my dad had printed off the Web. I remember carrying it into Caribou with me, reading it in line, and then while stirring cream into my coffee. I remember bringing it with me to the store, finishing it before we opened. I can't remember what the article was about, but I'm sure it was some kind of left-wing editorial, the kind that never fails to incite me to anger and despair over the state of the country. . . . I tell them all this, but they want specifics: the title of the article, the author, some kind of synopsis, but I can't help them -- I read so much of this stuff. . . . To tell the truth, I'm kind of anxious to hear back from the FBI, if only for the chance to ask why anyone would find media criticism suspicious, or if maybe the sight of a dark, bearded man reading in public is itself enough to strike fear in the heart of a patriotic citizen. . . . "In this post-911 era, it is the absolute responsibility of the FBI to follow through on any tips of potential terrorist activity," Paris says. "Are people going to take exception and be inconvenienced by this at times? Oh, yeah. ... A certain amount of convenience is going to be offset by an increase in security." [Comment: If you haven't reread Nineteen Eighty Four recently, this would be a good time to do so. This news story is indistinguishable from the story about Big Brother's Thought Police.]

For a copy of the column that got Schultz in hot water, go to Weapons Of Mass Stupidity ... but be careful, Bush's Thought Police may be watching.

. . . Read more!

posted by LoZo 11:55 AM