First off all, I don't think people are hesitating out there to report suspicious behaviors because of a fear of getting sued. And what will you get sued for if you just say, "hey, i think that behavior is suspicious". You have to have balance man. For every person who needs protection, there's some overzealous guy who will over-react and create a mess and should get sued because they acted on prejudice and not real concern. Look, if you see someone playing with matches on a plane, that's suspicious and illegal, no one can sue you for that. If you see someone looking around nervously - that's not suspicious behavior. And if you feel uncomfortable with a bunch of Arabs making noise and laughing - or getting up to use the bathroom, well, you can tell someone, "those guys are making me nervous because of x, y and z". But the moment you say, "Those guys are terrorists" - hey, you're opening yourself up to slander and libel. There's a reason why there are laws addressing those issues, and it's too protect people from unfair defamation. I know your intent is only to fight terrorism, but what you are doing is actually giving into it. This law will not accomplish anything. My god, if someone had a bunch of wires coming out from them in the seat next to me, I wouldn't report it, I'd try to knock him unconscious. I wouldn't care if I got sued or not. If someone is using the bathroom a lot and for some reason I get the impression someone is acting in a way that makes me think he MIGHT be a terrorist, should I be reporting that guy? As what? "Excuse, that fellow is fidgeting, speaking in a language I don't understand, and thinks he can use the bathroom whenever he wants" - no one can sue you for that. But if you say, "Ma'm that fellow is planning to attack this plane" You better be right or hell yeah you can get sued.
I think your definition of suspicious behavior is different than many other peoples'. I would say someone fidgeting and looking around nervously IS suspicious, and someone should not be sued if it turns out the guy was just afraid of flying. Meh, I don't care much either way because this law has about a 0.0001% chance of ever impacting my life.
Some people are "fidgeting and looking around nervously" because they are afraid of flying. If they happen to be of Middle Eastern decent, or happen to look like they are of Middle Eastern decent, and that is the only thing going on that is freaking other people out on the planes, perhaps the people freaking out should consider trains or going by ship. And if they tackle these innocent people, they should expect to be sued. Heck, they may be charged with a crime for creating a disturbance. This isn't like flying back to the States in the late 1960's on KLM or Pan Am, when the most disturbing, or amusing (depending on one's point of view) thing to happen might be someone lighting up a doobie in their seat over international waters. D&D. Impeach Bush and Cheney.
Yes it is. Unfortunately, defending yourself in court can cost a lot of time and money. Beyond that, how do you prove that you thought someone was acting suspicious? How do you prove that someone else just made up a story? I think it would be very tough to defend your decision to express your concerns about someone that ended up being innocent. I think all of that would be at least as much trouble as being questioned or held off of a flight. If the law is passed, the worst that happens is that people are unfairly harassed. If the law is not passed, that worst that happens is someone, somewhere chooses not to express their concerns, and people die. People dieing is worse than people being harassed. I wouldn't expect that enough people would be affected detrimentally to outweigh the danger of a single incident.
I would like to know when the internet version of this law will be passed. A lot of potentially dangerous activity takes place on the internet but I'm too scared of the harassment of a lawsuit to report it (as a result, PEOPLE MIGHT DIIIIIEEEEEE!!!!!). Please let me know when I'll be protected from the harassment of a lawsuit so I can report it. Until such a time the prospect that I might be harassed will prevent me from preventing a situation in which people will DIIIIIEEEEEEE!!!!!! And I don't mean like Iraq war deaths where there are no funerals or coffins. I mean REAL DEATHS. Please let me know when the law will allow me to report people. There are many people whom I would like to report. (And if I don't, and soon, people will DIE!!!!) For example, I have strong suspicions about several ex-girlfriends, their current boyfriends and StupidMoniker, but I don't want to be harassed if I'm wrong.
People's irrational fears should not be protected by the law. If you are going to report something, then you better make sure you are acting out of a logical reason and not on prejudice or fear. If someone is Arab looking and fidgeting, sweating, and looking uncomfortable, why don't you just ask them if they are alright? Maybe they need medical assistence. You don't have to cry wolf everytime there's a 0.0001% chance a guy is a terrorist. Why can't people just act rationally - is that too much to ask?
yeah, this is america - you have no right to use the bathroom whenever you want! you have peed 3 times in the last hour. you must be a terrorist! apparently so.
There are actually worse consequences to this law than just that a few people might be harrassed. As Deckard noted many people act nervous and fidget on planes because of fear of flying and the state of modern air travel is inherently stressful. If people are encouraged to make accusations with no consequence what potentially could happen is that air travel gets even more delayed exacerbating problems we already have. The worst case scenario is that people overreacting create a dangerous situation themselves on the plane. While its very important that we be alert for potential terrorism its also important that we don't let our fears get the best of us. A law like this basically tell us to not double check our judgement before making an accusation.
I guess if I have standby tickets, this law would make an environment where, just before boarding, I could accuse a group of "suspicious activity" and than I would get my seat. Works for me!
Ooooh, can I play this "worst case scenario" game too? If the law is passed, the worst that happens is accusations start getting thrown out all over the place, exacerbating racial tensions and causing riots possibly killing some people, not to mention the massive delays at the airport that cost the US economy billions of dollars. If the law is not passed, the worst that happens is a few people have to deal with the inconvenience of a lawsuit that will get thrown out fairly quickly if the plantiff can't prove intent. I wouldn't expect that enough people would be sued (there's 1 case thus far, no?) to outweigh the danger of blanket immunity protection.
Bush signs homeland security bill WASHINGTON - President Bush signed legislation Friday that intensifies the anti-terrorism effort at home, shifting money to high-risk states and cities and expanding scrutiny of air and sea cargo. "This legislation builds upon the considerable progress we have made in strengthening our defenses and protecting Americans since the attacks of Sept. 11," Bush said in a statement. The bill requires screening of all cargo on passenger planes within three years and sets a five-year goal of scanning all container ships for nuclear devices before they leave foreign ports. It also elevates the importance of risk factors in determining which states and cities get federal security funds. That would mean more money for such cities as New York and Washington. It also puts money into a new program to ensure that security officials at every level can communicate with each other. "This legislation makes some progress, but it also authorizes billions of dollars for grants and other programs that are unnecessary or should not be funded at such excessive levels," Bush said in a statement. "I will not request this excessive funding in my 2009 budget request." (Nice) The legislation also: _Authorizes more than $4 billion for four years for rail, transit and bus security. _Requires the screening of all container ships in foreign ports within five years, but give the Homeland Security secretary authority to delay implementation. _Establishes a new electronic travel authorization system to improve security for visitors from countries participating in the visa waiver program. Bush said he would continue to work with Congress to provide more flexibility to bring some of the closest U.S. allies into the program. _Strengthens a board that oversees privacy and civil liberties issues. _Establishes a voluntary certification program to assess whether private entities comply with voluntary preparedness standards. _Requires the president and Congress to disclose total spending requested and approved for the intelligence community. _Provides civil immunity to those who, in good faith, report suspicious activities that threaten the safety and security of passengers on a transportation system or that could be an act of terrorism. there ya go basso, your xenophobia can run wild _Requires the president to confirm that Pakistan is making progress combatting al-Qaida and Taliban elements within its boarders before the United States provides aid to the country. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070803/ap_on_go_pr_wh/bush
Carefull basso a lesser person would report you to the mods. But I'm not surprised you take after your buddy deadeye.
