What I really want to know is whether they’ll refund your ticket
Published by Sabotabby June 18th, 2007 in Rights? What rights?Let’s say you’re a terrorist. You want to plan a terrorist attack on a civilian airline. It’s going to be bigger, better, and way more deadly than September 11th. And to top it off, you’re going to hit Canada.
With your terrorist cell assembled in a dark basement, you rub your hands together, cackle wickedly, twirl your mustache, and decide which of your dedicated would-be martyrs will carry out the attack. Do you pick:
Terrorist 1: A very experienced terrorist who the Canadian government knows is involved with Al Qaeda?
Terrorist 2: A recent convert with a previous conviction for assaulting a flight attendant during an air rage incident?
Terrorist 3: An ex-con with an extensive criminal record?
Terrorist 4: A guy with a totally clean record and no apparent links to terrorist or criminal activity.
The Passenger Protect Program, the Canadian government’s junior version of the American no-fly list that goes into effect today, seems to assume that Terrorists 1 through 3 are the likeliest hijackers. Check out their list criteria:
* An individual who is or has been involved in a terrorist group, and who, it can reasonably be suspected, will endanger the security of any aircraft or aerodrome or the safety of the public, passengers or crew members
* An individual who has been convicted of one or more serious and life-threatening crimes against aviation security
* An individual who has been convicted or one or more serious and life-threatening offences and who may attack or harm an air carrier, passengers or crew members.
Transport Canada is taking great pains to differentiate this no-fly list from the American one (which, as we know now, includes children, dead people, the President of Bolivia, and Ted Kennedy). This list, they assure us, is smaller (less than 1,000 names, versus 44,000). The list includes birthdays to prevent cases of mistaken identity. In short: We’re not like the Americans, who go too far with their abuses of civil liberties. We do things differently in Canada.
But our homegrown no-fly list isn’t different, just smaller (while leaving room for expansion and abuse). It relies on the same security theatre logic, providing the illusion of safety to some, striking fear into others, and failing to actually deter genuine threats. As one transport specialist put it: “What terrorist is going to travel with their own name and passport?”
In the meantime, just suck it up and remember that this is all for your own protection.
Throughout history, humans have struggled to prevent terrorism. Why? Because if someone _really_ wants to blow something up, it’s pretty hard to actually stop them.
Or it was, until lists. With the modern invention of the list, it now becomes possible to stop would-be evildoers before their evil is done.
Can you imagine how much better things would have been in the old days if they had lists?
Is it can be election time, now, plis?
It’s always good to know that the hard-earned money I pay as taxes is going towards ethnic and religious profiling. I certainly do sleep better at night with this in mind.