Hi Sam,
I had to come back and see what our friends think of the "incident" on the BA flight.
It's obvious that all are disgusted and severely condemn the actions of BA and it's staff. But what I find remarkable are the actions taken by the police and the British legal system.
The freezing of monies confiscated, the illegal holding of a person that did nothing wrong other then to say "don't kill him".
The excuses for such actions and what ever else they can come up with are non existent. Human rights don't seem to exist anymore and the "authorities" are taking full advantage of the paranoia of 9/11. Will this farce never end??? The use of power is corrupting as we speak and it's getting worse every day.
As I said in a previous post; terrorism existed prior to 9/11 and exists now. Human lives whether in the thousands , hundreds or single digits are a tragedy but never an excuse to withhold basic rights granted to all.
Your example of a Nigerian countryman on his way to Lagos is one of many (to many) and all thinking beings should understand that it doesn't only happen to "them" cos before you know it it can happen to "you".
In my thread about Yom HaShoah Phil Black added some thoughts written by a Lutheran Minister in 1945. We would all do well to heed what he wrote back then! It is all too real today (unfortunately).
First they came for the Communists,
and I didn’t speak up,
because I wasn’t a Communist.
Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn’t speak up,
because I wasn’t a Jew.
Then they came for the Catholics,
and I didn’t speak up,
because I was a Protestant.
Then they came for me,
and by that time there was no one
left to speak up for me.
Rev. Martin Niemoller, 1945
Shalom,
Peter