Many people are linking to Brisingamen’s post, You see, the trouble is, I’m not actually American, which pretty much sums up a great deal of the reaction to the current state of security paranoia in the United States.

Consequently, if I’m to be fingerprinted, photographed, iris-scanned, weighed, poked, prodded, stripped naked, denied access to sanitation, handcuffed if I so much as raise my voice to complain, and generally humiliated because of your government’s Patriot Act, I do not anticipate that I will be comforting myself with the thought that, hey, it’s okay because I’m doing my bit to ensure the security of the American people. [Source]

Many people, quite rightly, point out that many countries have been living with terrorism for years and have learned to live with it in ways that to not lead to a situation where people no longer want to visit. It seem to me the principal of ‘innocent until proven guilty’ is being lost and that is a worrying trend.

Knowing American immigration and security, I am fairly certain that Samantha Marson was stupid and should have know better, and security officials were right to detain her. But a potential prison sentence of 15 years?

On this day…

• 2003: New Year New Mirror