   The New Blacklist
quote:US anti-war activists hit by secret airport banAfter more than a year of complaints by some US anti-war activists that they were being unfairly targeted by airport security, Washington has admitted the existence of a list, possibly hundreds or even thousands of names long, of people it deems worthy of special scrutiny at airports.The list had been kept secret until its disclosure last week by the new US agency in charge of aviation safety, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). And it is entirely separate from the relatively well-publicised "no-fly" list, which covers about 1,000 people believed to have criminal or terrorist ties that could endanger the safety of their fellow passengers.The strong suspicion of such groups as the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which is suing the government to try to learn more, is that the second list has been used to target political activists who challenge the government in entirely legal ways. The TSA acknowledged the existence of the list in response to a Freedom of Information Act request concerning two anti-war activists from San Francisco who were stopped and briefly detained at the airport last autumn and told they were on an FBI no-fly list.The activists, Rebecca Gordon and Jan Adams, work for a small pacifist magazine called War Times and say they have never been arrested, let alone have criminal records. Others who have filed complaints with the ACLU include a left-wing constitutional lawyer who has been strip-searched repeatedly when travelling through US airports, and a 71-year-old nun from Milwaukee who was prevented from flying to Washington to join an anti-government protest.I guess it was only a matter of time. Obviously being anti-war makes you a TERRORIST!!! Oh well; they''re shooting themselves in the foot, by denying perfectly legitimate customers the oportunity to buy their delightfully shoddy and overpriced product. 
quote:Original post by Mithrandir  Oh well; they''re shooting themselves in the foot, by denying perfectly legitimate customers the oportunity to buy their delightfully shoddy and overpriced product.   Such optimism...  I... don''t think the loss of a few tickets will make them lose sleep.Sorry.Cédric ;quote:Original post by Cedric  quote:Original post by Mithrandir   Oh well; they''re shooting themselves in the foot, by denying perfectly legitimate customers the oportunity to buy their delightfully shoddy and overpriced product.   Such optimism...  I... don''t think the loss of a few tickets will make them lose sleep.Sorry.Cédric   You''ve obviously never been a salesman before. I have years of self-loathing experience in the field; every lost sale is a sale to a competitor of yours, which he will use to put you out of business. When a customer accuses you of cheating him, you will gladly say you cheated him and give him what he wants, so that he does not take his loud-mouthed bitching public, and tells everyone what an evil corporation you run.A lady within a minorty once extorted $300,000 from a company I worked for claiming racism because a security guard escorted her from the store. An hour after we closed. ;quote:Original post by Mithrandir  every lost sale is a sale to a competitor of yours, which he will use to put you out of business.Are the problems specific to a particular airline company? I don''t really know airports, but isn''t the government in charge of the security?Cédric ;  No, from the article it says the TSA and/or FBI keep this list.  I''m sorry but this is among the most terrible things I''ve heard of apart from the new system announced a while ago that would rate people as a security risk from a variety of factors which include CREDIT HISTORY.  This better not be let to fly...-=Lohrno ;quote:Original post by Lohrno  No, from the article it says the TSA and/or FBI keep this list. I don''t understand; is the "competition will get the mistreated customers" issue valid or not?quote:This better not be let to fly...*rolls eyes*Cédric ;quote:Original post by Cedric  quote:Original post by Mithrandir   every lost sale is a sale to a competitor of yours, which he will use to put you out of business.Are the problems specific to a particular airline company? I don''t really know airports, but isn''t the government in charge of the security?Cédric   right, but "competitors" doesn''t neccessarily mean "in the same exact business". A Competitor could be a rental car company, train company, boat company, bus company, or even an automobile dealership.The assumption is that these people want to go somewhere, and will find a way to do it. ;  All I can say is: WHAT THE HECK?! Is media exaggerating things or is Bush really aiming for 1984? Sure seems like it. And no offense to anyone on the boards, but I''m almost certain Bush will be re-elected - even if he gets less votes. 