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230 Comments
- MyNameIsJoe, on 10/12/2007, -10/+292Just wanted to note the date of the article, October 18–25, 2001. This was about a month after 9/11, so understandably everyone was still a little jittery. But, still it's kind of scary that a picture on the cover of a book can get you grounded.
- econoar, on 10/12/2007, -11/+159This story is way old but it's still damn funny...yet sad and disturbing
- diggdong, on 10/12/2007, -4/+146Breaker breaker 1-9. We got a reader, at the check-in line. Over.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -10/+128FTA- Within minutes, Godfrey says, Philadelphia Police officers, Pennsylvania State Troopers and airport security officials joined the National Guardsman. About 10 to 12 people examined the novel for 45 minutes, scratching out notes the entire time. They also questioned Godfrey about the purpose of his trip to Phoenix.
also FTA- "This time, they took my Harry Potter book and about four people studied it for 20 minutes," Godfrey says. - pixelate, on 10/12/2007, -1/+117no, but his lesser known work "One Fish, Two Fish, Death to America" might get you a couple of sideways glances.
- smackywentz, on 10/12/2007, -4/+119Copy. Is that a bookmark?
- KMye, on 10/12/2007, -2/+99The date of this article isn't just something to note, it's crucially important. I think it's scary that this happened even a few weeks after 9/11, but the insanity is much easier to understand than if this were a current article. Though there's little they've done lately to cheer them on for, I believe if this had happened this week, there'd be a major outrage within the press, and the public.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -11/+99WAKE UP !!!
For ***** sake, what do Americans need, George Orwell to rise from the dead and scream in your cotton-stuffed ears ?
Remember freedom of speech and thought, do you, well take a friggin picture, cos its dead kids. - insovietrussia, on 10/12/2007, -2/+70Can you make out the title?
Yes sir. It's "How to a kill a joke by dragging it out too long". - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -6/+67cover
http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0316004138/ref=sib_dp_pt/002-2431764-4534445#reader-link
amazon
http://www.amazon.com/Hayduke-Lives-Novel-Edward-Abbey/dp/0316004138/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-2431764-4534445?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1177239562&sr=8-1 - dw2005, on 10/12/2007, -2/+57Once again the terrorists win :(
- DMCLP, on 10/12/2007, -4/+57'I' - *grammar
- Enlightenment, on 10/12/2007, -6/+50I remember flying soon after 9//11, and yes I remember the guards with the machine guns, wow that was weird!
Rule #1 - Don't ever take anything on a flight that might freak out security! Leave your "Guns N Ammo", "Hightimes", "Arabic", "Mensa", "Explosives Catalogs", "Hacker books and magazines" at home. If you have something questionable, put it inside something else, like a computer case or a paper bag, so it isn't out in the open and obvious to security. The same analogy would be to not put bumper stickers on your car like "free the weed" or "I love alcohol" or "I hate pigs" and then wonder why you are getting busted all the time.
Too many Airport Security and Police prove time after time after time they aren't smart enough to determine what is a threat or not...need I say the word "Boston Police Dept" as an example of way over the top response OR the opposite extreme of what should have been done to prevent the Virgina college shooting from occuring. I'm not meaning that ALL airport security and/or police are idiots, just some of them are!
Unfortunately, in this day and age, too many people in authority positions are NOT held accountable for their stupid actions. They just do things, then say "oh it is a security matter so we can't talk about it", or "we did it for security reasons and don't have to give a reason", or some other bogus security related answer. All those responses mean to us is "we can do what the hell we want, we don't have to give a valid reason, and we don't care if you like it or not". We don't need a bunch of zombie idiots running our security, fire the idiots and hire some smarter ones!
Don't get me wrong, because I do fly, and I am very much in favor of smart security procedures, and using the very latest security devices at check points. - thestorey, on 10/12/2007, -1/+44*****! Verified, that is a bookmark. That sick son of a bitch must have read half of that book by now. Commence takedown. Over.
- stevenvh, on 10/12/2007, -1/+42You'll never get on board with "Green egss and ham"!
Better take Tolkien's "The two towers". - JamesWilson, on 10/12/2007, -0/+37@Enlightenment:
I'm not sure whether to dig or bury your comment. You sound like you're on my side but you seem unwilling to want to have the actual causes of the problems fixed. You'd rather fix them superficially. I shouldn't have to "just" hide my reading materials. First amendment. It is eroding like crazy. Remember the guy who got arrested last week for sympathizing with the VT shooter? He should be able to say whatever he wants, short of making threats.
Welcome to America. Home of the freely censored. - KuntaKinte, on 10/12/2007, -5/+40if i bring a dr. seuss book, will they accuse me of trying to explode the plane with green eggs and ham?
- g3r4, on 10/12/2007, -1/+34***** moron? He was the one reading a book. I have my doubts about you and your ability to read.
But this is like being kicked off for reading "The Satanic Verses". Punished for reading something remotely connected to the 9/11 terrorist attack. Utter *****. - sleze, on 10/12/2007, -6/+38This story is 6 years old. What's the age cutoff when posts need to say, "This happened many years ago but it is still an interesting read" ?
- Arkonnan, on 10/12/2007, -0/+30> "I was pretty shaken up," he says. "But I also felt guilty that I hadn’t realized bringing this book to the airport may cause a problem."
Therein lies the problem. He shouldn't have felt guilty about a damn thing. Having to look over your shoulder or feel guilty about your choice of literature is something you would expect from Nazi-era Germany, the modern-day Middle East or even China. In North America, we read whatever the ***** we want to read. - zelig, on 10/12/2007, -14/+41This is a 5 year old story.
- TheTaoOfBill, on 10/12/2007, -5/+31Negative! That's a negative! We have a folder! I repeat! We have a folder!
- brundlefly76, on 10/12/2007, -7/+33Sigh another hyperbolic headline, the reason he was not allowed on the flight included that he purchased his ticket on Sept 11 and had recently dropped out of college and was unemployed, as well as reading a book at the gate which depicted a terrorist holding dynamite.
Finally. since airlines cant comment on security matters we only get his side of the story. - pintomp3, on 10/12/2007, -1/+26this is not safe, just sorry.
- wqwert, on 10/12/2007, -0/+17mensa?
- TDot1980, on 10/12/2007, -1/+17Dumbledore is killed on page 601. Were they looking for evidence?
- vhold, on 10/12/2007, -5/+20The sad thing is.. the reason why security people have to act so over the top paranoid is legitimate... they are the ones being held responsible for almost impossible to prevent acts. If we acted like we were free, and were brave in the consequences for our freedom we would not litigate against them when things occasionally and freakishly go wrong. But... as a nation, we live in fear and will hold them personally and individually responsible.. Therefore they have to be paranoid to defend themselves.
- TheTaoOfBill, on 10/12/2007, -3/+16Sorry...forgot I didn't work for madTV
- loganhid, on 10/12/2007, -0/+13if you think thats bad, try being a muslim and flying
- insovietrussia, on 10/12/2007, -0/+11Despite that fact that you are being dugg down, I understand what you're saying.
If Cho Seung-Hui was in the position where he wasn't able to buy a firearm because he had written somes plays that had disturbing content we would all be up in arms (imagine Quentin Tarantino being denied a gun licence because of his films). In retrospect, now that the VT shootings have occured it seems so obvious that he never should have been able to buy a gun and his plays are pointed out as an indication of his instability. - Kronos6948, on 10/12/2007, -0/+10What should have been in the article:
Philadelphia police officers confiscated the book, examined it for twenty plus minutes, and still couldn't figure out what the hell it was.
Believe me, I live in Philly. Home of the highest (currently) murder rate. Cops here might as well work for OCP.... - newl, on 10/12/2007, -5/+15I reckon that it's time that we have another revolution.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -17/+26Anyone know if there is legal action this guy could have taken against all the *****? I mean common, what they did was uncalled for, illogical, stupid and wrong in every sense.
Although I have to hand it to this guy, I would have completely flipped out if I was being harassed like that. - HellifIno, on 10/12/2007, -5/+13Dugg despite punctuation problems.
- SultanTravi, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7The terrorists have won. They got exactly what they wanted--our freedoms have been destroyed. Or at least our freedom to step onto a plane with a book.
For God's sake, what the ***** did they think this average-sized college student with no weapons was going to do? Hit people with a book? - Spamiclese, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Should read, "Man kept OFF flight because of book he was reading SIX YEARS AGO."
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -6/+12I did read the whole damn article, you presumptuous piece of canine fecal matter. This article was part of the beginning of SO many other stories just like his. This government has caused life in america to become *****.
- paulbjensen, on 10/12/2007, -10/+16I'd like to suggest a thought experiment;
Imagine that Neil had actually carried out a terrible act on the plane (say he managed to crash the plane somehow and kill everyone on board). In investigating the aftermath of the event, you discover the various things about his dropping out of university and the book he was reading; what would the media be saying about it? Would they be asking why the warning signs were ignored?
It's sad to think that this sort of thing would happen, but you understand the difficulty of judging an individual from potential warning signs, especially in the context of the Virginia Tech shooting and what happened at NASA too.
In the case of Neil, 2 + 2 equaled 5; the intent to kill existed in the combination of his possessions and his history, but the truth is Neil had no intention to kill whatsoever.
There's another story I'd like to highlight regarding the shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Charles_de_Menezes
His case highlights the dangers of the cautious reactions of the police to cases like this. - rgodfrey, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Well, Neil is my brother, I'm the former webmaster mentioned in the article, and I assure you it went down just like the article says. Although his ticket was refunded, my brother never made it to Disneyland, never got so much as an apology from the any of the involved parties, and didn't attempt to fly for over three years after the event out of a legitimate fear that he would be on a no-fly list.
It's kind of amazing that this story still has traction so many years later. Two months after the article was posted on the citypaper.net website and continuing at least until I left the paper in 2002, this was the most viewed story ever on a site that has well over 25,000 articles. I'm guessing the Digg effect will only confirm that trend. - daedalus779, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7the terrorists have won folks.
- BlackLineFish, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5"I remember flying soon after 9/11, and yes I remember the guards with the machine guns, wow that was weird!"
I flew in October that year, and the National Guardsmen with machine guns were a little unnerving. They all looked so young! I was on a Southwest Airlines flight to Indianapolis, and they had just security-stopped a young man with a knit hat. Immediately about 15 young men in uniform, guns, and smiles had surrounded Wes Scantlin, apparently on his way to Baltimore or something. (Honesty check, I knew he was with the band, but did not know his full name until after I came home.)
However, the people in my line were a little freaked out by all this attention. The woman behind me said "Is that some kind of celebrity?" I looked over and recognized him and said "Yeah, he's the singer for a band called Puddle of Mudd." Then she asked, "Is this something I should worry about getting an autograph for my grandkids?" I said, "No."
This was the KC airport, and "Blurry," and "She Hates Me" was already in heavy play since it was a local band.
Still, it was funny all of the attention that he got. It looked like something else from a distance.
--gh - twertyto, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5@morky
Considering his name (thatdood) I doubt it. - manicleek, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5What worries you more when flying within/to/from the USA
1. That you might get bombed on the plane or in the city you are visiting.
or
2. Some dumb ***** security guard, devoid of common sense, might completely ruin a whole chunk of your free time just because you feel like having a read.
I'd have to go for No.2, because its far more likely to happen.
"Then he took my book and asked me why I was reading it."
"Because I can" - greenmountain, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4October 01, but we are still X-raying old folks from Omaha...
Look, all we had to do was look more closely at people from specific countries. That is it.
This would have happened:
!) We would stop actual terrorists
2) Powerful, peaceful people from those countries, pissed off, would have been more motivated to clean thier own house.
3)The same people would be screaming "OMG, Yew peeple are Facists and Rasists OMG WTF" - Morphinity, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4"Of" is a word. It's just not used properly.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Our nation is this way because you people let it happen. I really don't know how else to say it.
VTech is a great example. Days later and you people are still glued to every story. You people give "experts" like Dr. Phil a platform to speak. It draws ratings while he essentially sets up elaborate strawman arguments to trick people into agreeing with what he says.
Then lawmakers go, "How can we prevent this?"
Now guess what? Your colleges are going to be more locked down.
Anyone who writes disturbing screenplays may be singled out and targeted as a potential threat.
Anyone who has a bad day and snaps at someone will be targeted as a threat (despite the fact nearly everyone has one of those days).
The problem is people like to feel safe. They want to know how to prevent it, "what could we have done?" (real answer: nothing) Politicians listen, and take it to the next level.
This is why people with iPods that fall into toilet seats on planes are subject to FBI interrogation.. because of someone else's irrational fear and ignorance.
To be honest, I'd rather live in a world where I run the risk of being randomly slaughtered than have to deal with layers of "protection" to assure it doesn't happen. The other option is to resist. I'll read whatever the ***** I want, and if any law enforcement or establishment wants to alienate me, you bet your ass there will be a scene. - rholloway, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4silly you. Coming to Digg trying to use common sense.
- tont0r, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5diggers dont care. 90% of them didnt read the article. they assume this happened yesterday.
- HardwareLust, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4This is 5 years old? Damn, I should have read that part first.
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