Comments on: Saturday Links

By: Frank

Frank — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 21:05:39 +0000

FlyerTalk discussion of this incident at http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/travel-safety-security/969394-man-detained-his-writings.html#post11981542

Expect lots of comments on Propaganda Village (aka The TSA Blog) to be censored and otherwise ignored. And expect Blogdad Bob to make some sort of inane statement supporting the actions of TSA employees.

By: Yizmo Gizmo

Yizmo Gizmo — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 17:07:48 +0000

“I was subjected to not one, but two invasive searches of my person and belongings. TSA agents then ‘discovered’ the script for Unthinkable #3. They sat and read the script while I stood there, without any personal items, identification or ticket, which had all been confiscated.”

Elvis Costello said it best:
Never mind there’s a good film playing tonight
where they hang everybody who can read and write
oh that could never happen here
but then again it might

By: Aresen

Aresen — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 02:41:51 +0000

#18 | MacK | June 27th, 2009 at 11:52 am Nope they are rocks and it is for the One Hundred Trillion Dollars bill.

I want a Z$100,000,000,000,000.00 bill. (Got change for a quarter?)

By: kt

kt — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 01:34:49 +0000

Re: the Mark sable/TSA incident, I should have realised that under Obama’s foreign policy which seems to be centered around firing missles from drones at funerals and weddings thereby making terrorism a self-fulfilling prophecy, that it wouldn’t be long before prescience would be a treasonous thought-crime of the highest rank, which makes me want to get high.

By: jahigginbotham

jahigginbotham — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 01:19:17 +0000

Any reason to believe finger joints for counting? I’ve always thought (as pointed out by rec) that having more divisors made 12 attractive.

By: kt

kt — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 01:15:30 +0000

The dragonfly nymph theory doesn’t explain the sudden onset of reproductive inability in male amphibians. The most plausible explanation I’ve heard blames this on the flood of female hormones released via flushing perfumes, cosmetics, etc, many of which are based upon real or synthetic hormones.

By: Mattocracy

Mattocracy — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 00:04:23 +0000

Good analogy of of dead babies in abortion clinics. I think I might use that in the future.

By: Warren

Warren — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 19:16:15 +0000

I find the TSA story to be unbelievable. There is no way that could happen. I mean, TSA goons can READ?

Pull the other one, Mark.

By: Mikestermike

Mikestermike — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 18:53:05 +0000

With a TSA story like that, I find it a miracle Radley is allowed to fly at all….

By: ClubMedSux

ClubMedSux — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 18:11:48 +0000

It’s a sad reflection on the Obama administration that President Change can explicitly extend a terrible policy that was heavily criticized when first promulgated by the Bush regime and it only elicits two comments here out of the twenty-six thus far. At least my co-workers have stopped asking why I was so cynical about Obama…

By: Henry

Henry — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 18:08:47 +0000

If the TSA story is true, it’s pretty outrageous, even by TSA standards, but I’d like some confirmation before I jump to being angry. The only source seems to be him and his publisher, and the site pretty much reposted what they said without any research.

So, to honest, this looks like a publicity stunt.

By: Michael Chaney

Michael Chaney — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 17:58:39 +0000

The Jena 6 trial is now over, with the rest of the 5 attackers pleading no contest, having to pay restitution, admitting that the victim didn’t use a racial slur before the attack, and apologizing to the entire town for the trouble they caused. In other words, they now admit that they attacked the victim for no reason.

What a mess.

By: Bill

Bill — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 17:56:50 +0000

I agree with you, Thorn, except that with government it’s usually more of a cliff than a slope.

By: thorn

thorn — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 17:07:56 +0000

Chance,

TSA shouldn’t have the authority to read his personal papers in the first place… nor examine his cellphone text history, his laptop computer files, the contents of his urine.

Agencies such as TSA are starting to endanger the very existence of the “slippery slope” fallacy; more often than not, govt DOES go right down that slope.

By: Dave Krueger

Dave Krueger — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 16:45:08 +0000

#17 | Chance

…private screener, TSA screener, local dogcatcher, don’t you think whoever is doing the screening should have a few additional concerns and questions for a guy walking around with a document that appears to be full of brainstorming plans for terrorist plots (note it says script, not a full comic) ?

Actually, no. Airport screening, which gives them the power to search you without a warrant, should not be used to do anything except protect the plane and passengers. I don’t think a script, in the absence of any other means to execute an attack constitutes a threat to anyone.

In any case, I don’t believe the TSA should be reading anything that comes out of someone’s luggage unless they believe the material can be fashioned into a weapon. In fact, I think of they even find anything that doesn’t pose that risk, they shouldn’t be able to use it as evidence against the person carrying it (and probably shouldn’t be allowed even to confiscate it).

They’re using this screening to search for drugs, child porn, and thought crime evidence which they ordinarily wouldn’t have the right to do without cause. It’s the typical government getting an inch and taking a mile.

By: J sub D

J sub D — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 16:42:09 +0000

The assistant commissioner for tobacco control, Sarah B. Perl, says …

Who wants to bet that she doesn’t have underlings?
Government waste? Not on Bloomberg’s watch!

By: Bill

Bill — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 16:35:22 +0000

Chance says: “But let me ask you this – private screener, TSA screener, local dogcatcher, don’t you think whoever is doing the screening should have a few additional concerns and questions for a guy walking around with a document that appears to be full of brainstorming plans for terrorist plots (note it says script, not a full comic) ?”

No.

First of all, writing is protected by the First Amendment. The guy isn’t yelling “fire”–writing a story like this won’t cause a panic unless the people reading it (in this case, the TSA guys; often it’s school administrators) are too dumb to be able to distinguish fiction from reality. Really, how hard can it be? Do real terror plots generally include dialogue?

Second, a terrorist who is carrying written plans for terrorist acts through a TSA checkpoint isn’t smart enough to be a threat.

Third, policing of thought almost always results in more harm than good. It’ not something we should ever encourage.

By: MacK

MacK — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 15:54:31 +0000

Chance I believe the story in this instance is more about the irony of real life following the fiction he wrote in the script.

By: MacGregory

MacGregory — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 15:53:44 +0000

#9 Mario LMFAO.
#6 | perlhaqr
“…pictures of naked, morbidly obese people at fast food restaurants…”
That may not be so far-fetched in the eyes of the government. Careful with that intellect. Since government has none of that and little imagination, they may steal your idea. Thievery is something they ARE good at.

I wonder if Bloombergs’s posters will be multi-lingual. Since some of our immigrants may be the only people on earth who haven’t had the notion that “smoking is bad for you” driven into their brains with a sledgehammer.

By: MacK

MacK — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 15:52:25 +0000

Nope they are rocks and it is for the One Hundred Trillion Dollars bill.

http://english.china.com/zh_cn/business/news/11021613/20090203/images/15307232_2009020314385815949800.jpg