THE END OF FREEDOM
US anti-war activists hit by secret airport ban

From the London Independent via J. Orlin Grabbe:

After more than a year of complaints by some US anti-war activists that they were being unfairly targeted by airport security, Washington has admitted the existence of a list, possibly hundreds or even thousands of names long, of people it deems worthy of special scrutiny at airports.

The list had been kept secret until its disclosure last week by the new US agency in charge of aviation safety, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). And it is entirely separate from the relatively well-publicised "no-fly" list, which covers about 1,000 people believed to have criminal or terrorist ties that could endanger the safety of their fellow passengers.

This is sick and disturbing. Such a list is, at worst, comparable to the Nazis, and, at best, comparable to Nixon's secret "enemies list." Needless to say, this secret list strikes at the very heart of American freedom and democracy: this country's political health absolutely depends on honest, heartfelt dissent from both the left and the right. That the Bush administration is gunning for loyal Americans who are brave enough to do their patriotic duty despite strong social pressure to shut up is very, very sad.

Even worse, such news must come to us from the foreign press.

For more, click here.

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