Hilarious. Posting in a Legendary Thread.

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Q u o t e:

Stop with your straw men, please. "Innocent until proven guilty" is what you do in the court room, not law enforcement - otherwise criminals would never be stopped unless caught "red handed."

"Suspicious activity is not a valid excuse for five hours of policy and procedure." Once again, only those caught red-handed could be taken care of. Ridiculous.

And there's a difference between "giving into fear" and being prudent. Just because you can't tell the difference doesn't mean the rest of us should have an even bigger reason to fear: Lack of common sense in security matters.

Sure, they go overboard sometimes, but FIVE HOURS of wait time? That's your case for the government stepping in too far? Give me a break.

(And with that, I'm off for the time being. Have fun "proving" me wrong.)

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First off, yes, I realize that in the U.S. Constitution, the only area that "innocent until proven guilty" applies is in the courtroom. I am talking about how things ought to be.

Whenever police catch suspected criminals, it's rarely because they were detained. Posing as hookers, staking out a heist -- all of these tactics are non-intrusive, avoid entrapment, do not violate privacy, and do not inconvenience anyone.

I know the difference between giving into fear and being prudent. You have to remember that I was detained five hours, *and* over 15 officials were involved in this case. A bomb squad expended materials and employed equipment to clear the plane. Considering salaries, materials, and equipment, the total cost to taxpayers of this fiasco could be very large.

Yes, I was detained five hours, but there are other costs at work here.

You should make a movie about this.

This is without a doubt the best post that I have ever read.

Sorry to hear that you had to go through all that, but at the same time, it sounds like it was an epic comedic adventure.

MY LEGENDARY THREAD METER READS: SUPER DUPER!

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Q u o t e:
OP--not sure if anyone else has mentioned this, I only had time left to read the first 2 pages after reading yoru story and checking out the links. While we can all attest that you were in the uneviable position of precautions taken to a absurd level, I feel obligated to point out that this is the price of vigilance. Things that are a danger in this sort of theme are deliberately disguised to be innocious, like a sports bottle with some drink...or toothpaste. These personel are trained to consider everything as being a potential hazard...and you should welcome that level of training and earnest attention to detail those people pursue. It is unfortunately, the response that is required due to the beliefs and actions of a group of hate mongering fanatics who use (as most such as they do) misrepresented and interpeted religious texts to justify their actions. It is regretible that you had to endure it, but take assurance in the other side of this episode that the airlines and gov't do in fact, respond with vigilance instead of casual apathy as they have in the past.

(Note: I do agree with your reply to his question about if you have anythign against him deciding what constitutes allowable data into the country based upon his subjective opinion rather than upholding the law).

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The cost to society for this vigilance -- the thousands of people who must take the time to make sure everyone is safe, the billions of dollars in expenditures, the countless man-hours of detainment and airport slowdowns -- is a high price to pay. And is likely what some terrorists wanted all along.

And I saw little vigilance, and a lot of apathy. Of the five hours of detainment, almost four of it was waiting ... waiting as some agency waited for some other agency to do something or other. I was not seeing any sort of efficiency or expedience in their work.

Why should one Customs official be able to decide for himself what does or does not go into Canada, despite what the law says? Why should I not take him up on this indiscretion? People who work for the government, any government, are necessarily public servants, and are bound by more strict rules than those that work in the private sector. Their conduct on the job is open to the scrutiny of the entire public, to ensure that they are fairly representing a government for the people, by the people.

What will really suck for you is now you are probably on "the list", and will be stopped everytime you fly.

Only way to take care of this is to go through the TSA and contact your congressman <-(true)

edit : TSA website has the paperwork you have to send in, and your local congressman can be found here: http://www.house.gov/writerep/

Good luck!!

That is just insane and horrific. I'm glad it didn't completely ruin your vacation (I'm assuming it didn't).

Hey Stupid, were on the same server! Now make me a haiku!

Haha, great story.

This is what the "war on terror" is doing to our society. And it's a war that will never end my friends.

Awesome story, that must of been horrible to go through.

On an unrealted note,

... My avatar looks horrible...

the spark notes version:
don't poop with your ipod on
crappy music results

lolol

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Q u o t e:
OP--not sure if anyone else has mentioned this, I only had time left to read the first 2 pages after reading yoru story and checking out the links. While we can all attest that you were in the uneviable position of precautions taken to a absurd level, I feel obligated to point out that this is the price of vigilance. Things that are a danger in this sort of theme are deliberately disguised to be innocious, like a sports bottle with some drink...or toothpaste. These personel are trained to consider everything as being a potential hazard...and you should welcome that level of training and earnest attention to detail those people pursue. It is unfortunately, the response that is required due to the beliefs and actions of a group of hate mongering fanatics who use (as most such as they do) misrepresented and interpeted religious texts to justify their actions. It is regretible that you had to endure it, but take assurance in the other side of this episode that the airlines and gov't do in fact, respond with vigilance instead of casual apathy as they have in the past.

(Note: I do agree with your reply to his question about if you have anythign against him deciding what constitutes allowable data into the country based upon his subjective opinion rather than upholding the law).

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This isn't the price of vigilance-----it's the price of extreme paranoia.

There are a number of problems in the world that deserve this sort of "vigilance." Among them include human slavery, the AIDS epidemic, and the proliferation of nuclear weapons which are poised to turn entire nations of men, women, and children into ash and glowing fertilizer .

Legendary thread - glad i gets a post in before my subscription runs out....

Thank you for sharing. It is a great read. And I love some of the replies too.

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Q u o t e:
He asked me if I knew how to make a bomb. "I have a degree in physics, and I'm not an idiot." Of course I knew how to make a bomb -- what kind of question is that?? The better question is, WOULD I make a bomb? The answer is no

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You should have told them that you are your guild's designated bomb maker and your bombs never fail (come to think of it, don't you all find it a bit odd that despite the fact that some of the engineering products fail at times, bombs never fail to go off) and see how they response ... lol.

So ... are you getting a new iPod?

..........rofl.....reminded me of the time i had to explain lan parties to my boss whe i was asking for a week off

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Q u o t e:
So ... are you getting a new iPod?

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Yeah, eventually. An iPod nano would be neat if they stored 8GB, but 4GB is cutting it too close. Guess it's an iPod video for me.