Friday, February 04, 2011

Who watches the watch list?

Among the more odious aspects of Leviathan is the stench of all the petty little remoras that cling to its flanks, the latest exemplar of which would be the British border agent who waited 'til his wife was visiting relatives in Pakistan and then added her name to the Terrorist Watch List, figuring that would be a handy way to be rid of her without having to have one of those pesky and annoying break-up discussions.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Am I the only one wondering why an island nation needs border agents?

Paul said...

Dare we say he was a muslim? Afffrimative action at its best. We have sown the seeds of out own destruction.

Bastard probably has a lawyer advising him as we speak.

Tam said...

Paul,

"Dare we say he was a muslim?"

Does it frickin' matter?

Eye on the ball: The problem is the watch list and the mechanism that lets petty bureaucrats use it as a tool of personal gain or vengeance, not what religion said petty bureaucrats belong to.

Standard Mischief said...

...And he was tried, convicted, handcuffed to the back bumper of a car, and dragged through the streets of downtown London. The bloody trail remained until the next rainstorm and was an ominous reminder to the bureaucrats that with great power, come great responsibilities and even greater punishment if that power is abused.


Oh wait, it looks like they just fired his ass. And left him unnamed. WTF?

RevGreg said...

Hmmm...Paul Simon was wrong. There are apparently 51 ways to leave your lover!

Josh Kruschke said...

I'm just baffled by his stupidity. Didn't he realize having his wife on the list would pop flags on his security clearance or it would in the States?

Josh

Jeffrey Quick said...

Appropriate punishment: drag his ass to an airport, put him on a plane to Anywhere Else, and not let him back in the country for 3 years. After all, that's what he did to her.

John Stephens said...

I've seen any number of marriages where either or both parties deserved to be abandoned in some Third World hell-hole. But I agree, it's unsporting to use powers not available to the general public to do it.

plopsess: the sound made when being dropped into the aforementioned hell-hole during riot season.

Bubblehead Les. said...

Wonder if some other petty Bureaucrat was able to keep her name off the List,or will it take 5 levels of Appeals to clear her name. Also wonder if her name was disseminated to other nations lists? After all, if you can still be registered to vote 25+ years after you died....Somebody put my niece's name on the U.S.A. Watch List a couple of years ago right after her I.D. was stolen, and the Department of Homeland Insecurity is still "Studying her Case and has yet to make a Determination".

Home on the Range said...

Really, it's not you, it's ME.

staghounds said...

Brigid wins the internets.

Alan J. said...

Tam, I kind of have my doubts about this story. Although it sounds easily believable, it also sounds like a typical Urban Legend story. No names given and the guy was only fired for this level of fraud? Perhaps my Google-fu isn't that strong, by my web search only turns up Wired and other blogs as the source of this story. Where's the verification from FoxNews, CNN, ABC, or even the Guardian or Daily Telegraph?