Chris Nahr
10-04-2006, 03:05 AM
More treason from Bruce Schneier (http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2006/10/this_is_what_vi.html)!
On an American Airlines flight, a British architect got grabbed and searched by a passenger claiming to be a police officer while the other passengers and crew looked on. Reason? Apparently his holiday tan (http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/article1777847.ece)!
In Mr Stein's case, he was pounced on as the crew and other travellers looked on. The drama unfolded less than an hour into the flight. As he settled down with a book and a ginger ale, the father-of-three was grabbed from behind and held in a head-lock.
"This guy just told me his name was Michael Wilk, that he was with the New York Police Department, that I'd been acting suspiciously and should stay calm. I could barely find my voice and couldn't believe it was happening," said Mr Stein.
"He went into my pocket and took out my passport and my iPod. All the other passengers were looking concerned." Eventually, cabin crew explained that the captain had run a security check on Mr Stein after being alerted by the policeman and that this had cleared him. The passenger had been asked to go back to his seat before he had restrained Mr Stein. When the plane arrived in New York, Mr Stein was met by apologetic police officers who offered to fast-track him out of the airport.
And at a Seattle airport, a man was questioned by the police and missed his flight because he dared to speak Tamil on the phone. He sure has learned his lesson (http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/287261_tamil02ww.html), though!
But Parker had no explanation as to why a man speaking Tamil, which is spoken worldwide, would be considered suspicious. The person who contacted airport officials could give an answer to that question, he added.
Parker said the man was cooperative and boarded a later flight to Texas. He told officials that he would not speak in a foreign language on his cell phone at an airport in the future.
On an American Airlines flight, a British architect got grabbed and searched by a passenger claiming to be a police officer while the other passengers and crew looked on. Reason? Apparently his holiday tan (http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/article1777847.ece)!
In Mr Stein's case, he was pounced on as the crew and other travellers looked on. The drama unfolded less than an hour into the flight. As he settled down with a book and a ginger ale, the father-of-three was grabbed from behind and held in a head-lock.
"This guy just told me his name was Michael Wilk, that he was with the New York Police Department, that I'd been acting suspiciously and should stay calm. I could barely find my voice and couldn't believe it was happening," said Mr Stein.
"He went into my pocket and took out my passport and my iPod. All the other passengers were looking concerned." Eventually, cabin crew explained that the captain had run a security check on Mr Stein after being alerted by the policeman and that this had cleared him. The passenger had been asked to go back to his seat before he had restrained Mr Stein. When the plane arrived in New York, Mr Stein was met by apologetic police officers who offered to fast-track him out of the airport.
And at a Seattle airport, a man was questioned by the police and missed his flight because he dared to speak Tamil on the phone. He sure has learned his lesson (http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/287261_tamil02ww.html), though!
But Parker had no explanation as to why a man speaking Tamil, which is spoken worldwide, would be considered suspicious. The person who contacted airport officials could give an answer to that question, he added.
Parker said the man was cooperative and boarded a later flight to Texas. He told officials that he would not speak in a foreign language on his cell phone at an airport in the future.