Tuesday, July 20, 2004
I RECEIVED THIS FROM A FELLOW EMPLOYEE who is doing his citizen-soldier duty. For those of you who have served in the military, you will see the humor in this. For those of you who didn’t have that opportunity, you will learn how your tax dollars are being spent:
Hello from Sarajevo,
[News about him and mutual friends]. . . .
Post-Sep. 11th deployments have changed a lot when it comes to security. My unit, all 15 of us, took a C-130 hop out of Ramstein AFB, Germany to get here.
There is now an x-ray and metal detector screening process for all passengers prior to entering the military terminal. It appears to be supervised by US civilians. I'm convinced the FAA and TSA must have gotten involved.
We were all in uniform to include carrying weapons and combat gear-- after all, we were heading into an imminent danger zone. When we approached the security check point, we were asked if we had any knives in our possessions. Of course we did! If the answer was “yes,” then they were tagged and temporarily confiscated. Also our 9MMs and M16s were required to be placed on the conveyor belt and x-rayed!
We all got wanded after walking through the metal detector, because everyone had metal on them from their uniforms. We then collected our thoroughly screened weapons, gathered our bags and headed to the ticket counter manned by Air Force personnel. They collected our receipts for the knives, retrieved them from security, and handed them back to us.
Regards,
[name not published for security reasons]
I DON'T KNOW ABOUT YOU, but I sleep better knowing that our troops and their weapons are being x-rayed before they board military transport planes, so that they’re protected from. . . ?
Hello from Sarajevo,
[News about him and mutual friends]. . . .
Post-Sep. 11th deployments have changed a lot when it comes to security. My unit, all 15 of us, took a C-130 hop out of Ramstein AFB, Germany to get here.
There is now an x-ray and metal detector screening process for all passengers prior to entering the military terminal. It appears to be supervised by US civilians. I'm convinced the FAA and TSA must have gotten involved.
We were all in uniform to include carrying weapons and combat gear-- after all, we were heading into an imminent danger zone. When we approached the security check point, we were asked if we had any knives in our possessions. Of course we did! If the answer was “yes,” then they were tagged and temporarily confiscated. Also our 9MMs and M16s were required to be placed on the conveyor belt and x-rayed!
We all got wanded after walking through the metal detector, because everyone had metal on them from their uniforms. We then collected our thoroughly screened weapons, gathered our bags and headed to the ticket counter manned by Air Force personnel. They collected our receipts for the knives, retrieved them from security, and handed them back to us.
Regards,
[name not published for security reasons]
I DON'T KNOW ABOUT YOU, but I sleep better knowing that our troops and their weapons are being x-rayed before they board military transport planes, so that they’re protected from. . . ?
I READ A NEWS STORY THIS WEEK FROM IRAN about a history professor who has run afoul of the clerics by publicly speaking his mind. It occurred to me that movie maker Michael Moore is now being funded by Hezbollah to market his films in countries where significant portions of their populations hate us, and his propaganda will be used to inflame that hatred. Imagine what it would be like if our country were run on the same principles as theirs! In a delicious flight of fantasy, I changed the names and locations in the story to reflect how Moore might be dealt with if we were to adopt the judicial system of his new friends:
Washington. D.C. - A prominent left-wing film propagandist, twice condemned to death on blasphemy charges has been sentenced to three years in jail for insulting American beliefs, the judge in charge of the case said Tuesday. The defendant's lawyer said he would appeal.
Michael Moore, a maker of polemic films marketed as documentaries, had his death sentence overturned twice before the charges were reduced in a third trial earlier this month.
Judge Loone Algore said he issued his verdict Saturday and informed Moore's lawyer on Tuesday. He said the sentence also deprives Moore of his social rights for five years, meaning he cannot take official posts or compete in elections.
Algore told The Disassociated Press that he acquitted Moore of charges of propagating against the ruling Republican establishment" and "spreading lies for the purpose of inciting public opinion." Algore said, “I’ve said many of the same things myself!”
Moore's lawyer, John Heinz Kerry-Edwards, said the full sentence was five years, with two years suspended. Moore, who has already spent more than two years in jail, will serve just one year of the new sentence.
"Moore is innocent and has to be acquitted. I will definitely appeal the sentence within the legal 20 days period," Heinz Kerry-Edwards told the DP.
The charges stemmed from a June 2004 film in which Moore characterized the president as a deserter who stole the election and engineered a terror event killing thousands so he could concoct a war with Islam to produce tax-free profits for a major oil corporation.
Moore was initially convicted on charges of blasphemy, insulting America and questioning US policy, but both death sentences were overturned by the Supreme Court after a public outcry from Hollywood and the UN.
Earlier this month, he stood three days of open trial on amended charges that carried a penalty of one to five years imprisonment. The judiciary did not explain why the charges were reduced, but some were overheard muttering something about France.
The new verdict is widely seen as a compromise that saves Moore's life and at the same time avoids discrediting the US judiciary.
Moore used this month's trial as a platform to defend democratic reforms, such as placing felons on voting rolls, disenfranchising military voters, and initiating hundreds of extortionary lawsuits against corporations when legislation to force them out of business can't be bought. He denounced hard-line conservatives who he said suppress freedoms in the name of capitalism and tort reform, comments that already cost him more than two years in jail. He firmly rejected charges that he insulted American patriotic tenants.
Moore said during his trial that he defends "a Sorosism (the purchasing of election outcomes by billionaire financiers) that brings about limits on your freedom and is compatible with democracy and human rights as long as I agree with them. I've opposed interpretations that justify suppression and dictatorship in the name of patriotism, unless of course they’re offered by my friends."
During his trial, Moore said he had "no hope" of justice and repeatedly accused Judge Algore of violating neutrality. Algore responded that he was merely waiting for a better offer.
Washington. D.C. - A prominent left-wing film propagandist, twice condemned to death on blasphemy charges has been sentenced to three years in jail for insulting American beliefs, the judge in charge of the case said Tuesday. The defendant's lawyer said he would appeal.
Michael Moore, a maker of polemic films marketed as documentaries, had his death sentence overturned twice before the charges were reduced in a third trial earlier this month.
Judge Loone Algore said he issued his verdict Saturday and informed Moore's lawyer on Tuesday. He said the sentence also deprives Moore of his social rights for five years, meaning he cannot take official posts or compete in elections.
Algore told The Disassociated Press that he acquitted Moore of charges of propagating against the ruling Republican establishment" and "spreading lies for the purpose of inciting public opinion." Algore said, “I’ve said many of the same things myself!”
Moore's lawyer, John Heinz Kerry-Edwards, said the full sentence was five years, with two years suspended. Moore, who has already spent more than two years in jail, will serve just one year of the new sentence.
"Moore is innocent and has to be acquitted. I will definitely appeal the sentence within the legal 20 days period," Heinz Kerry-Edwards told the DP.
The charges stemmed from a June 2004 film in which Moore characterized the president as a deserter who stole the election and engineered a terror event killing thousands so he could concoct a war with Islam to produce tax-free profits for a major oil corporation.
Moore was initially convicted on charges of blasphemy, insulting America and questioning US policy, but both death sentences were overturned by the Supreme Court after a public outcry from Hollywood and the UN.
Earlier this month, he stood three days of open trial on amended charges that carried a penalty of one to five years imprisonment. The judiciary did not explain why the charges were reduced, but some were overheard muttering something about France.
The new verdict is widely seen as a compromise that saves Moore's life and at the same time avoids discrediting the US judiciary.
Moore used this month's trial as a platform to defend democratic reforms, such as placing felons on voting rolls, disenfranchising military voters, and initiating hundreds of extortionary lawsuits against corporations when legislation to force them out of business can't be bought. He denounced hard-line conservatives who he said suppress freedoms in the name of capitalism and tort reform, comments that already cost him more than two years in jail. He firmly rejected charges that he insulted American patriotic tenants.
Moore said during his trial that he defends "a Sorosism (the purchasing of election outcomes by billionaire financiers) that brings about limits on your freedom and is compatible with democracy and human rights as long as I agree with them. I've opposed interpretations that justify suppression and dictatorship in the name of patriotism, unless of course they’re offered by my friends."
During his trial, Moore said he had "no hope" of justice and repeatedly accused Judge Algore of violating neutrality. Algore responded that he was merely waiting for a better offer.
