Re: study Arabic; get locked-up!

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: "Mike O'Dell" <mo () ccr org>
Date: September 18, 2009 9:36:12 AM EDT
To: dave () farber net
Subject: Re: [IP] study Arabic; get locked-up!

the great thing about "using behavior profiling" is that it gives  
instant,
irrefutable air cover to anything the TSA does or wants to do.
obviously they can't explain what triggered their interest, valid or  
otherwise.
this ability to legally prevent disbelief comes dangerously close to
absolute power, so one might think they would be very careful to
demonstrate it was being used with great care so as to not endanger
whatever trust they currently enjoy.

if there was compelling evidence the TSA people were competent and had
developed the considerable skill required to do behavior profiling  
well, like the
crack El Al teams, i would relax my cynicism. but given the willingness
of the TSA to justify other mindless and mind-boggling abuses of power  
by
their agents, the grounds for such confidence are thin indeed.

when the TSA story doesn't agree with the police on the scene,
the possibility of wilfull prevarication is hard to ignore, especially
when they start trying to blame the victim and possibly misrepresent  
fact.

so is there any video surveillance of that holding cell that could
resolve the question of whether he was left handcuffed in the cell?
if not, why not? it's used wall-to-wall everywhere else these days
in any kind of "sensitive" area.

nowhere else in society does the blanket excuse "but we had noble  
motives"
work as justification for illegal acts and abuse of power. why is it
given a pass here?   (the English clarified that a full 500 years before
the birth of the United States when King John was "convinced"
that even his will could be bound by law.)  If the rules of the game
are allowed to be secret, how can the judicial stance that "ignorance
of the rules is no excuse" be allowed to stand?

Or did Joseph Heller get appointed to the Supreme Court as the
Tenth Justice when I wan't paying attention?

  harumph
  -mo



David Farber wrote:
> Begin forwarded message:
>
> From: Jim Warren <jwarren () well com>
> Date: September 16, 2009 10:19:54 PM EDT
> To: Dave Farber <dave () farber net>
> Subject: study Arabic; get locked-up!
>
> http://www.philly.com/philly/news/homepage/58864467.html? 
> cmpid=15585797
>
> ... should a college student flying back to school be handcuffed and  
> held for five hours because he has Arabic flash cards in his backpack?
>
> ... <big snip> ...
>
>
>
>
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