Ming the Mechanic:
Patriot Raid
The NewsLog of Flemming Funch
 Patriot Raid2003-04-30 22:09
9 comments
by Flemming Funch

Chilling account of the U.S. police state in action. Some folks who made the mistake of having dinner at an Indian restaurant in New York City.
"You have no right to hold us," Asher insisted.

"Yes, we have every right," responded one of the agents. "You are being held under the Patriot Act following suspicion under an internal Homeland Security investigation."

[...]As I continued to press for legal counsel, a female officer who had been busy typing on her laptop in the front of the restaurant, walked over and put her finger in my face. "We are at war, we are at war and this is for your safety," she exclaimed. As she walked away from the table, she continued to repeat it to herself? "We are at war, we are at war. How can they not understand this."
Yes, we don't quite understand. In this case, the person who's telling the story got an apology eventually. Because he's a white middle class American. The rough treatment was meant for the Asian and Hispanic immigrants who worked there.


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9 comments

1 May 2003 @ 08:39 by Jon Husband @216.113.202.62 : Run For Cover
Yikes ! Duck and run for cover. Wait a minute...no, that's exactly the wrong response.

Better to move to the south of France, methinks. The cureent madness in the US WILL take a crisis of major proportions to dislodge this crazy, weird, automaton-like way of looking at life and the rest of the world.  

1 May 2003 @ 10:10 by Paul Hughes @24.205.103.56 : Dispair and Hope
As much as I like to think I can rise above this stuff, the rapid erosion towards an ever increasing police state and totalitarian society creeps me out to the core. I waver between sharp anger and a sense of hopelessness. I continue to ask myself, "what can I do about it?', and more concretely, "what I can do to protect myself and my family?". These are not easy questions to answer. For sure, moving to the south of France is by far not a practical option. But at what point does it get bad enough, that I feel there is no choice but to do so. More importantly will this time come before they won't let me leave.

Jon, what kind of crisis of major proportions would it take to turn things around. I have yet failed to visualize what it would take. I continue to hedge my hopes on digital emergent democratic forces evaporating centralized power structures.  

1 May 2003 @ 13:41 by ming : Changes
Hey, this turn towards the dark side happened largely as an (over-)reaction to certain events (9-11). There's the possibility that another one-shot event might turn it in a different direction. Either an unexpectedly wonderful global event, or an event so horrible that it shakes us out of our stupor. The latter could be a nuclear event with loss of life in the millions. I hope that isn't going to be it. As to an unexpectedly wonderful event, hm, I'm not sure what it would need to be. The invention of teleportation. Us all suddenly evolving telepathy. Friendly extraterrestrials showing up publically. Us suddenly losing the ability to hate.  

2 May 2003 @ 08:28 by Jon Husband @216.113.202.62 : Response - Systems Thinking
Paul, in response - I am an organizational consultant, and a believer in "systems thinking". It's very hard for me to imagine, after watching as things emerged over the last twenty years, that there's going to be a wonderful emergent solution. I think that the unspoken rule is that politicians CAN'T give people real or bad news, otherwise they will be seen as pessimists. Their initiatives are always cast as imaginative and bold solutions - and the sysytem we all live in keeps getting more populated, more polluted, faster, more tense, more violent (psychically, at least).

In org theory, it's a truism that for real and substantive change, there must be a precipitating crisis. As for myself, I don't think the events of the last two years qualify as a real crisis - yet. 911 wasn't enough to create real change in the mental models of our rulers, the powers that be - and engender a global dialogue about democracy, a better balance of power, etc. It may well be that the actual physical dramatic events (such as 911) end up being much less powerful in the long run than the erosion of civil liberties and mental space that is currently underway in the US.

I'd like to refer a book to you - eerily prescient. It's called "The Fourth Turning - An American Prophecy" - see www.fourthturning.com

Imagine, they (the US) just warned us (Canada) not to change our laws about smoking pot. I truly think you guys live in one power-hungry, power-mad, power-tripping country which thinks it can tell the rest of the world (and its own citizens) how to think and how to live.

And I was born American - live north of the 49th by choice.  

2 May 2003 @ 13:44 by sharie : There's something for everyone...
It's difficult to deal with what's being created, not only globally, but in the personal lives of people by their own choices.

Can we change it?

Maybe

But it's wise to have a back-up plan just in case: when it gets dangerous... leave. Anyone with a brain ought to have a plan.

The masquer of millions has been going on for hundreds of years, it just moves around from one country to another, so nobody catches on to who or what is behind it... this way, the scapegoats are the "aristocrats" or the "communists" or the "terrorists" ... and we can all stay dumb to who's gettin' rich off these massive slaughters, and why.

Last year, I was feeling sorry about the state of the world and a friend of mine said, "Take a look, there's something for everyone." People who want to fight for their rights, can. People who want to defend their land and their home, can. People who want to create something entirely different, can. There's something for everyone.

If you don't want to get caught up in the trawling net and get slaughtered, then don't... OR... we can stand in defiance of how unjust it is, and get imprisoned for months, and have our assets seized, and be homeless or dead.

There's something for everyone. We can be depressed and discouraged and frightened, or we can face the facts and act with wisdom.

Thanks Jon, for the link. It's not just America that goes through the 80-100 year cycles... think of South American countries, Central American countries, Asian countries, African countries... this is not some natural phenomenon. It's strategically-planned re-possession of real estate, stock holdings, cash, and other assets. It's just done in such a way so that the masses of people won't catch on that the world's economies are manipulated and destroyed for the benefit of a small percentage of the world's population.  

7 Oct 2003 @ 18:26 by littlewolf : sorry folks
But I believe that, as an American, it is our duty to be informed and to speak out against unfair laws, practices, beleifs whatever...and suffer the consequences. true...the patriot act makes those consequences more real and life threatening..but it's still a moral obligation. Just my humble opinion though. leaving is a ridiculous option and for me if I chose to do so, would be moral cowardice. and yes..I know speaking about "morals" will throw people up in arms...but I'm not talking about religious beliefs or crusades...just a personal, educated pursuit of what's right...as relativistic as that may be.  

27 Feb 2005 @ 16:50 by rsass @69.133.198.125 : blue cowards
looks like you are still free, little blue balls whiner  

19 Dec 2014 @ 20:58 by Alex @12.181.204.36 : WruQpWYewaN
if anyone had a beettr idea on how to reform healthcare, he'd be open to hearing it. I went to Barney Frank's so called town hall meeting to try and give a BETTER idea, but he wasn't listening to anyone. It was all for show and he was so incredibly rude and obnoxious to those who pay him that it was a waste of my time & effort, but I need to keep trying. I will be in DC on 9/12 with my daughter. I think we need to have any lawyers out there who know what wording is required, to write up petitions for each of the 50 states, for all to sign who will be in DC at our 9/12 rally, that will cut our Senators & Congressmen's salaries by 1/4th. They are taking their salaries out of our pockets at gun point without our input, I think it is time we showed them WE the PEOPLE have the POWER! Then after the rally, each petition get signed further by those who can't afford to attend the rally, and then have them submitted as reforendums to be voted on, and take some of our money back! They need to understand they work for the Taxpayer, and make sure they can never give themselves raises without asking our permission. I can't put a gun to my bosses head and tell them they are going to give me more money!I was called by Fox & Friends to speak about Barney Franks Town hall meeting, which I did, but my purpose of going in the first place was to submit that instead of having the Govt who knows NOTHING about the needs of the healthcare profession, have the GOOD people in the healthcare industry like my privately owned hospital, (not corporate owned) who all management at all levels including board & CEO took voluntary pay cuts to keep from having to lay anyone off. There are good people in all aspects of healthcare including insurance, pharmacuticals, who if we all got together and each gave a little from their profit to manage to cover all including people with so called pre-existing conditions. Until they are diagnosed, all conditions are pre-existing. There are SO MANY CREATIVE ways we could cover all & pay for it, without the Federal Govt opening another overwhelming agency that still has no idea what we need, trying to tell us what we need to do. Just look at JCAHO! Tort reform, a much needed reform, since people must accept in a business where there are HUMANS helping humans, & unlike other businesses where a product comes out inferior, it gets recycled or scraped, we have to have a little understanding that ALL HUMANS, including the one who might have gotten minor harm, but with no long lasting effects, should not be allowed to destroy a good decent human being for making a HUMAN mistake. I agree that those with serious, long lasting harm, that can be shown was done out of gross negligence, or incompetance, should be compensated, and the healthcare worker be seriously punished or removed from practice all together, but lawyers who make a cut of the profit aren't willing to say, sorry, I see no real cause for this case, but will try to get as much as they can because it means a bigger bottom line for themselves. BO will not sign any bill if TORT reform is in it! First off the federal Govt should NOT be even doing any of this, and since obviously they believe they have some kind of right to do so, NO bill should be created with a public option Govt speak for Taxpayer paid for, and without TORT reform, who would protect good HUMAN healthcare workers who may have made a small mistake, where no serious harm is done. Report mistakes, to a health quality board, and allow healthcare workers to decide if punishment is required, as most of us want the bad to be weeded out because they make us all look bad, or maybe extra training might be needed, or a change in procedure, etc. But Lawyers are in it for THEIR bottom line!+1  

22 Aug 2016 @ 04:29 by National drink of Pakistan @39.36.247.24 : Malik
All the traloom.  

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