(no subject)

[lls_mutant]

This is just utterly repulsive. Seriously. FLASHCARDS? FLASHCARDS are suspicious now, especially from a STUDENT? God forbid someone wants to learn a widely spoken language. Nope. That apparently makes you a terrorist suspect. I really, really hope this kid wins his fight. Because damn, that's just ridiculous. ::But note to self. Do NOT take books on Afghanistan on the flight to North Carolina next month.::

I hate people sometimes. Suffice to say, I know that terrorism is scary and it's not a threat to be taken lightly, but at the same time, this sort of shit is scary to me. I'd go into detail, but my f-list seems pretty liberal and I really suspect I'm preaching to the choir.

Seriously, though. FLASHCARDS. From a STUDENT. MINORING in MIDDLE EASTERN STUDIES.

In similar stuff, I finished A Thousand Splendid Suns the other day. If you haven't read it, holy shit, read it. (And get a box of kleenex.) I've been having dreams for days based on this one, the book is so haunting. I actually liked it better than The Kite Runner, and I LOVED The Kite Runner. But I think because A Thousand Splendid Suns really painted what life in Afghanistan has been like for women (also, awesome female friendship)... yeah. It's just a book that's not going to leave me for a long time yet.

But damn it, this is my adopted city being STUPID. ARGH.

Comments

[888mph.livejournal.com]

A police official, meanwhile, was quoted as saying it was George's ID in Arabic that caught their attention - from his Jordanian studies - and police were suspicious that the student's hair was shorter that day than it was in his Pennsylvania driver's license photo. "That," Lt. Louis Liberati said, is "an indication sometimes that somebody may have gone through a radicalization."

...

[lls-mutant.livejournal.com]

Exactly. I mean, how dumb of logic can you get? Especially when it's a college kid who might be starting to look for a job? (Or hell, just someone who wants a change? Got a new girlfriend? Styles changed? Got gum in their hair?)

STUPID.

[snorkackcatcher]

Once you start down that road of official paranoia, it's hard to ever turn back short of a major crisis. That's why keeping a cool head is a good idea. From that article, I think it's another case of "What Schneier Said".

[lls-mutant.livejournal.com]

Yeah. The entire thing is just too scary. Howard was telling me about the TWA people being trained in behavior analysis, so they ask questions, and if you look nervous or off or irritated or whatever, they flag you as a concern. Aside from the fact these are not trained scientists or law enforcement officials doing this, it really, really reeks of 1984.

[safenthecity.livejournal.com]

... Oh my god, my country. But then again, I got detained at the beginning of the year for leaving my bookbag next to my car because I left my keys in the Union, so I'm not surprised. at. all.

I'm glad you liked A Thousand Splendid Suns! I also liked it better than Kite Runner, it honestly reduced me to tears and sniffles in the middle of a mall. I adored it so much.

[lls-mutant.livejournal.com]

It's amazing how stupid people can be. ::Sigh::

I loved A Thousand Splendid Suns. And I mean, I really, really, really liked The Kite Runner, too. I think the fact it was about women really made a difference, just because of the utter helplessness that these women had. It didn't matter how strong or brave they could be- they literally had no recourse. It just broke my heart. Plus, the friendship that developed between them... ::sniffle::

Absolutely amazing.

[grey-sw.livejournal.com]

The best part is where they claimed it was extra-suspicious because some of the flashcards had words like "bomb" and "terrorist" on them.

After all, those never come up in Middle Eastern studies! Presumably all the cards with "chair" and "kitchen" and the like on them are sleeper agents... or is "pre-radicalized" the newspeak of choice? I forget, my memory is doubleplusungood these days. /eyeroll

[lls-mutant.livejournal.com]

I know!!!!! And he was using them to translate the NEWS. Um, what is half the news about other than bad things that happen int he world?

Newspeak is right. Gah. The whole thing reeks of it.

[forest-rose.livejournal.com]

Eep, that's quite scary! I'm hoping to go to Morocco to do my elective next year, and whilst I will mostly be using my French, I do want to try to speak a bit of Arabic there too! I will be very careful when travelling with phrase books.... xxx

[lls-mutant.livejournal.com]

Yeah, no kidding!!!! I'm trying to do some research on Afghanistan and the Taliban, and I'm thinking I'd better not be taking any books on a flight.

Morocco- that would be AWESOME. I'd so love to go there!

[prophetkristy.livejournal.com]

Dear TSA, GET A CLUE. @@

[lls-mutant.livejournal.com]

AMEN!

[kappamaki33.livejournal.com]

::headdesk::

Apparently the TSA didn't get the memo that we're *encouraging* people to study Arabic and Farsi because the State Dept., military, and intelligence agencies need more interpreters? Yeesh. Not to mention the thing about the haircut has to be one of the dumbest profiling measures I've ever heard of.

[lls-mutant.livejournal.com]

No kidding. I mean, he's a college kid. Maybe he's starting to, I don't know, LOOK FOR A JOB? Maybe his mother made him do it? Maybe he got a girlfriend/wants to get a girlfriend? Maybe he just is lazy about getting to a barber and his hair was longer in his passport photo? I mean, seriously- there are 1001 non-terrorist, non "radicalizing" reasons people could get their hair cut.

DUMB.

[joesther.livejournal.com]

The flashcards thing? Wow stupid.

[lls-mutant.livejournal.com]

It's scary how stupid it is. Seriously scary.