Certain Foreigners no longer have rights (homosexuals, America, Zen)

[GeneCosta]

http://www.cbc.ca/storyview/MSN/worl...uit050811.html

"You are fair game for however executive branch wants to treat you."

O land of the free.

I'm sure that if Maher Arar wasn't a terrorist before, he either wants to be now or understands why the Arab world hates America. When will people realize we're creating our own enemies? It's sad seeing people's rights slip away, when we're supposed to be fighting for them.

Mason said the interpretation means travellers can be detained without charge, denied the right to consult a lawyer, and even refused necessities such as food and sleep.

That's what happened to Arar, a Canadian-Syrian citizen who was stopped while trying to board a connecting flight in New York in 2002 and accused of having terrorist connections.

[Feathers in Hair]

Originally Posted by GeneCosta

http://www.cbc.ca/storyview/MSN/worl...uit050811.html

O land of the free.

I'm sure that if Maher Arar wasn't a terrorist before, he either wants to be now or understands why the Arab world hates America. When will people realize we're creating our own enemies? It's sad seeing people's rights slip away, when we're supposed to be fighting for them.

Very true. I'm sad to be so self-centered that I'm just as concerned about American's rights being taken away.

[Sunstone]

If someone wants to take away rights, the best place for them to start is with the rights of non citizens. Many fewer people are alarmed when a non citizen's rights are taken away than when a citizen's rights are taken away.

[Feathers in Hair]

Very well caught, Sunstone. I'm sure this has been quoted three billion times, but I think it applies here... "and by that time there was no one left to speak up for me." (Rev. Martin Niemoller, 1945)

[Fluffy]

Very well caught, Sunstone. I'm sure this has been quoted three billion times, but I think it applies here... "and by that time there was no one left to speak up for me." (Rev. Martin Niemoller, 1945)

It reminds me of a NOFX song. I can't remember the exact lyrics but it talks about the government getting rid of a list of minorities such as homosexuals, the homeless, prostitutes etc. and then asking the listener not to be surprised when there was noone left to protest when they came for them. In other words it is like walking on a slope which has been coated with 800 tins of grease whilst wearing shoes with no grip.