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I Was Arrested for Learning a Foreign Language. Today, I Have Some Closure

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Re: I Was Arrested for Learning a Foreign Language. Today, I Have Some Closure

#211

Post by rsync »

ecdavis wrote: post #95
yabatopia wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Do you know who did 9/11? Osama Bin Laden! And did you know that Osama Bin Laden had shoes? So you see why your shoes are suspicious and we have to arrest you?"

"It is cheap, basic and widely available around the world. Yet the Casio F-91W digital watch was declared to be "the sign of al-Qaida" and a contributing factor to continued detention of prisoners by the analysts stationed at Guantánamo Bay. Briefing documents used to train staff in assessing the threat level of new detainees advise that possession of the F-91W – available online for as little as £4 – suggests the we…

There are online communities dedicated to modding and improving casio watches ... here is a modded F-91W:

http://forums.watchuseek.com/f17/casio-f91w-mod-negative-dis...

Re: I Was Arrested for Learning a Foreign Language. Today, I Have Some Closure

#212

Post by downandout »

travem wrote: post #203
downandout wrote: post #201

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If there is no admission or finding of wrong doing it really feels like there was no accountability whatsoever. Accountability for what, exactly? He wasn't arrested. He was detained. Police have wide latitude to detain people that are suspicious. I think any objective human being would say that a second look at him was warranted with those items in his bag. Whether he meant to or not, he pretty closely matched the pr…

Being put in handcuffs and kept in a cell for several hours is not the same as being detained at a traffic stop to answer a few questions. And no, I don't think most objective human beings want to live in a police state where carrying arabic flash cards and a perfectly legal book is sufficient cause to be inconvenienced by the state in such a manner.

Legally, he was detained. He wasn't arrested. Those are two very different things.

Re: I Was Arrested for Learning a Foreign Language. Today, I Have Some Closure

#213

Post by mc32 »

iopq wrote: post #36
mathetic wrote: post #16

> "Do you know who did 9/11?" Taken totally aback, I answered: "Osama Bin Laden." Then she asked me if I knew what language Osama Bin Laden spoke. "Arabic," I replied. "So do you see why these cards are suspicious?" she finished. As horrific as the situation, I think we can all enjoy the humorous nature of the conversation above. Lack of shame and intelligence is surreal.

"Do you know who did the Oklahoma City bombing? "Timothy McVeigh" "Do you know what language he spoke?" "English" "So you see why talking in English is suspicious?"

That could make some sense if that exchange happened in Karachi, for example, and his flash cards had the words fertilizer, kerosene, explosion, supremacy, etc. It could, not that it does.

Re: I Was Arrested for Learning a Foreign Language. Today, I Have Some Closure

#214

Post by joshuaheard »

coin wrote: post #64

He was never arrested but rather detailed.

The issue is whether you are free to leave. If a cop stops you on the street and asks you some questions, you are detained. If a cop puts hand cuffs on you, or puts you in the back of his car, or in a jail cell, you are arrested.

Re: I Was Arrested for Learning a Foreign Language. Today, I Have Some Closure

#215

Post by tim333 »

shanemhansen wrote: post #187
MichaelGG wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Available on Amazon for ten bucks: http://www.amazon.com/Casio-F91W-Digital-Sports-Watch/dp/B00... Looks nice enough for what it is and the price.

Read the 3rd review. "USAF approved". Apartment it's common for US military to wear.

The 4th review is amusing.

Re: I Was Arrested for Learning a Foreign Language. Today, I Have Some Closure

#216

Post by s_q_b »

downandout wrote: post #212
travem wrote: post #203

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Being put in handcuffs and kept in a cell for several hours is not the same as being detained at a traffic stop to answer a few questions. And no, I don't think most objective human beings want to live in a police state where carrying arabic flash cards and a perfectly legal book is sufficient cause to be inconvenienced by the state in such a manner.

Legally, he was detained. He wasn't arrested. Those are two very different things.

No, legally, they are not. Any time you are in the presence of a law enforcement official and you are not free to leave, your person has been seized for purposes of the Fourth Amendment. From a Constitutional viewpoint, both arrest and "detainment" are a seizure of the person, and legally indistinguishable from an individual rights standpoint.

Second, how are the TSA agents stopping people from leaving until local PD arrives, if not by making arrests? The moment of arrest is "determined by whether a reasonable person under the circumstances would believe he was not free to leave. United States v. Mendenhall, 446 U.S. 544 (1980)

Re: I Was Arrested for Learning a Foreign Language. Today, I Have Some Closure

#218

Post by mod »

mikeash wrote: post #170
DanBC wrote: post #168

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They screen Arabs every day. They screen people who speak Arabic every day. Why haven't we heard about the illegal arrest of any of those people? Because those people don't use the English words "bomb" or "terrorist" or "murder" in front of security screeners.

Here's an example of a guy who wasn't allowed to board a plane because his shirt had Arabic on it: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-tariff-p... I'm sure you'll find many other examples. They mostly don't get arrested, but they certainly suffer unjustifiable abuse. And keep in mind that the TSA can't arrest people, only hand them over to the local police.

That link is not about a person with an Arabic t-shirt, nor is it about the U.S.

It's my presumption they don't have a "TSA," at least by that name, in the UK.

Re: I Was Arrested for Learning a Foreign Language. Today, I Have Some Closure

#219

Post by jacquesm »

hueving wrote: post #175
jacquesm wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> As I see it, your children are not your property. The children belong to the community at large. There has been no country stupid enough to ever make such an outrageous claim, no matter how communist they were. For starters: Children are not property at all, not their parents, nor society at large. They belong to themselves, they're independent and they are people just like adults, not cattle or objects. Second, pa…

Well children certainly aren't independent in the US. They can't choose to smoke and drink. They also can't choose to stop attending school without pretty harsh punishments. They are effectively prisoners of society until they turn 18 (even though they still can't drink).

And they have to eat their vegetables too! Won't someone think of those poor oppressed and imprisoned children.

Re: I Was Arrested for Learning a Foreign Language. Today, I Have Some Closure

#220

Post by DanBC »

mod wrote: post #218
mikeash wrote: post #170

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Here's an example of a guy who wasn't allowed to board a plane because his shirt had Arabic on it: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-tariff-p... I'm sure you'll find many other examples. They mostly don't get arrested, but they certainly suffer unjustifiable abuse. And keep in mind that the TSA can't arrest people, only hand them over to the local police.

That link is not about a person with an Arabic t-shirt, nor is it about the U.S. It's my presumption they don't have a "TSA," at least by that name, in the UK.

It's a pretty well known case and easy enough to find.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/5297822.stm

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