[Nettime-bold] Re: <nettime> Chilling Example of Curtailment of Civil Rightsunder Fast Track legislation

[Peter Kaminski <kaminski@istori.com>]

Dimitri Devyatkin writes,

>It looks like fascism has really come to America.

Fascism, or paranoia?

Before jumping to a conclusion, please read also a report of the incident 
in the Bangor Daily News, in which "one law enforcement source said... 
[Oden's] name is unknown to the FBI" and Oden was reported to be 
"uncooperative" during the screening process at Bangor International 
<http://www.bangornews.com/editorialnews/article.html?ID=44958>.

Oden *was* apparently flagged by the Computer Assisted Passenger Screening 
(CAPS) system for additional screening, but she may very well have been 
chosen at random.

CAPS chooses passengers for additional screening based on screening factors 
*or* at random, with the intent of providing additional deterrence and 
fairness to the system.  CAPS does not inform the screening staff whether 
the selection was based on the screening factors or random
selection, so the staff there would not have been able to explain to Oden 
why she was selected.

Many, many people in the US have faced grave inconveniences since September 
11.  Middle Eastern immigrants and American Sikhs have been killed because 
they look like terrorists to American eyes.  Entire planeloads of people 
have been detained, decontaminated, or flights cancelled or diverted, for 
reasons as absurd as spilled sugar or greeting card confetti.

In this context, it is difficult to see that one person's scuffle with 
airport security -- at Bangor International, no less, one of the airports 
that the terrorists may have travelled through on their way to kill 
thousands -- adds up to a government conspiracy.

I have no agenda besides seeking the truth.  Before September 11th, I could 
have seen Oden's experience as extreme; after September 11th, I see it as 
unfortunate, but also entirely unremarkable in context.

I call on Oden and Green Party USA to comport themselves responsibly and to 
substantiate their claim that Oden was singled out because of her 
affiliation, and not at random, and to provide evidence of additional 
systematic obstruction of their party, before crying wolf.

-- 
Peter Kaminski
weblog: <http://www.istori.com/log>
wiki: <http://www.istori.com/cgi-bin/wiki>

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