Detained and Cuffed Traveler Takes on TSA Overreach and Wins 25K Settlement

by Nomad

A five-year legal battle ended last month over the suspicious airport security agents handling of a passenger.  At the heart of the issue: Can there ever be a balance between our security and our civil liberties?

Nick George must feel the sweet satisfaction of closure after a settlement was reached last month  related to an August 2009 incident at a Philadelphia airport. While traveling from Pennsylvania to California George found himself in as absurd and frightening  situation as anything Kafka could have imagined.

Suspicious Minds

On his way to begin his senior year at Pomona College, George caught the attention of security agents at Philadelphia International Airport. As he  passed through the routine screening for his cross-country flight, Transportation Security Authority (TSA) agents asked him to empty his pockets. He was carrying a set of English-Arabic flashcards.

Leftovers: Hard Times for Syrian Refugee Children in Turkey

by Nomad

An unfortunate incident in an Istanbul fast food restaurant highlights the plight of refugee children in Turkey.

Last week, Turkish newspapers reported on an incident in Istanbul which you might not have heard about. It was pushed as one of those sign of the times stories.
According to one article, a young Syrian boy was assaulted by a manager at a branch of Burger King in an Istanbul neighborhood. Why?

The hungry child was seen eating french fries left over by a previous patron.

Eyewitnesses said the boy, who was apparently homeless, was eating french fries from discarded trays and collecting leftovers when the manager of a Burger King in Şirinevler on Istanbul's European side approached him and started slapping him before throwing him out.

Customers at the fast food restaurant were appalled by manager's reaction. They immediately recorded the details and used social media to publicize them. The photos showed the child with a bloody nose, sitting outside the establishment.  

How To Destroy A Perfectly Fine Planet

by Nomad

Happy Birthday, Paul Newman

by Nomad

 Had he lived. Paul Newman would be 90 years old today.
An American actor, film director, entrepreneur, professional racing driver, auto racing team owner, environmentalist, social activist, and philanthropist; All in all, it was a pretty incredible and worthwhile life. .

Disloyalty of a Republican Rising Star: Should Joni Ernst be Court-martialed?

by Nomad

Joni Ernst's comments during her Senate campaign were extreme by any measure but as an officer in the Iowa National Guard,  she should, some think, be prosecuted.

Back in October of last year, The Des Moines Register had an interesting op-ed piece about the Republican party's newest rising star, Joni Ernst. Ernst as you know, gave the rebuttal to the President's State of the Union speech last week,

The author, Vietnam veteran Steve Wikert, said that he, along with other vets, was troubled by candidate Ernst's behavior campaign rhetoric during her Iowa run for Senate.