Welcome to (G Bush's Homeland Security) America- Now, Get the f*ck out!

[Dreadsox]

Now we're blaming this on terrorists. Tell me how a British man with a 20 year-old drug conviction (not terrorism, not violent crime, etc.) warrants being mistreated?

We use 9/11 to excuse everything. Is it remotely possible to suggest that this has absolutely nothing to do with 9/11? Because once that specter is brought up, then you're condemned for criticizing any public policy. God forbid...

Melon

Melon,

I have seen stories in here before....stories in which by the time the facts or whole story came out....the picture was quite different....

You said you wondered how we would feel if Americans were treated harshly. I answered you.

I have not condemned you or anyone for not agreeing with new policies. I agree with the new policies. You do not.

I have sad if the facts are true it is sad.

I believe we are at war.....a war that we have not taken the time to even admit we were at for at least the past twenty years.

 

[Dreadsox]

so yeah... admittedly... we're doing too much. this man should never have been denied enterance to the united states. he is no threat to national secuirty. but again... for the third time... i'd rather have a few mistakes of over-protection while we continue to develop the system then 1 deadly mistake of under-protection. but that's just me.

Maybe we are...but this is about how I feel as well.

This is the woman that my school has built a Peace Garden for. I worked breaking the ground with her father. I cannot express how much inner stregnth this man possesed. I do not know how one continues after losing a child. His daughter graduated from my elementary school. Her memory and garden great me every morning on my way into school.

 

[U2Bama]

For the record, let me state that I have several problems with the Patriot Act, because I can see the other perspective of how I would feel if somebody like Janet Reno were Attorney General and she had that power at her hands.

However, as Meegannie and others have pointed out, we really need to remember that obviously non-terrorist cases of cases of detention do occur around the globe. A pastor from my church was "detained" by local police in Russia while we had a group over there visiting a group of orphans that our congregation sponsors. His crime was wearing khaki pants that identified him as a westerner.

A friend of mine served in the Marines and was stationed at Camp Pendleton near San Diego for 2 years. When I went to visit him with another friend of mine, we wanted to go down to Tijuana for a night as it is a popular bar destination for the San Diego area (especially tourists like us). My Marine friend wouldn't take us because a few nights earlier several of them had been arrested as they arrived in Tijuana, before they had been drinking, and were told of their bogus charges; however, by paying the immediate police officers cash, they would be released.

Obviously, neither of these incidents are as serious as the traveller from the UK endured, and I do not mean to make light of his case, but these are examples of crap that goes on elsewhere. You may choose to ignore these examples if you think that makes your argument stronger; go ahead. But they did happen, and more serious detentions happen to travellers all over the world.

~U2Alabama

 

[anitram]

But they did happen, and more serious detentions happen to travellers all over the world.

This is true.

One the other hand, I don't think anybody here or elsewhere has argued places like Russia or Mexico to be bastions of freedom and democracy...

 

[melon]

American Fined in Brazil for Gesture

By ALAN CLENDENNING, Associated Press Writer

SAO PAULO, Brazil - A second American paid a hefty fine for making an obscene gesture during fingerprinting procedures for U.S. citizens in Brazil, police said Saturday.

Douglas A. Skolnick will be allowed to leave the southeastern resort town of Foz do Iguacu with his tour group Sunday after paying $17,200 for raising his middle finger when he was fingerprinted and photographed, said federal police spokesman Marcos Koren.

The customs requirements were imposed in response to similar U.S. rules for citizens of Brazil and many other countries. The United States says its rules will help prevent terrorists from entering the country.

Skolnick, who arrived in Brazil on Friday, was taken before a judge early Saturday after being arrested and jailed for hours on the charge of showing contempt to authorities.

Skolnick, 55, of New Jersey, said he made the gesture as a joke, agreed to pay the fine and told the judge he was sorry, Koren said. Skolnick's hometown was not immediately known.

On Jan. 14, American Airlines pilot Dale Robin Hersh was arrested on the same charge after making a similar gesture when he was fingerprinted in Sao Paulo. Hersh returned home after paying a $12,750 fine.

Skolnick "said he knew what happened with the pilot but said he had no intention of insulting the Brazilian authorities or the Brazilian people, but we don't think that's true," Koren said.

Globo TV aired footage Saturday showing Skolnick entering a jail cell and telling Brazilian journalists, "I'm an American citizen. I'm not a monkey."

Koren said Skolnick was upset with the media attention.

U.S. consular officials in Brazil were aware of the incident but were not asked to provide any assistance, said Wesley Carrington, spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Brasilia.

After the court hearing, Skolnick was taken to the hotel where the tour group was staying. He was kept inside his room with a police standing guard outside while the group toured the area, famed for its waterfalls, Koren said.

After paying the fine, Skolnick was free "to enjoy the little time he has left here," Koren said. He said money from the fine will be donated to two Brazilian charities for the elderly and children.

Foz do Iguacu sits at the border with Argentina and Paraguay, about 500 miles southeast of Sao Paulo. Skolnick's tour group arrived from Santiago, Chile, on a chartered flight.

Melon