Saturday, December 11, 2004
Makes You Proud to be an American
Two stories in the papers today just puff up with pride at being an American these days. The NYT reports on the firing of Aliakbar and Shahla Afshari from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health after having "failed" a security check. Problem is, the Afshari's can't get information or documents about exactly what it is they did "wrong." So now jobless, they may have to move after spending years in the U.S. and rearing three children here all because they may have, might have gone to a conference and/or maybe associated on social level with the wrong person or persons--but they'll never know because they can't get access to anything or anyone invovled in the decision. It's not like the Afshari's research anything remotely related to national security, as the NYT's reports,
The LA Times is running a story, "Guilty of 'Flying While Muslim?," in which Salam Al-Marayati recounts his family's dention upon returing to LAX from a Thanksgiving holiday in Mexico. Salam Al-Marayati is the executive director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council and has worked
As Al-Marayati's twelve year old son asked while the family was detained, "What about the Pledge of Allegiance, where it says liberty and justice is for all. Don't they have to believe in it, too?"
Two stories in the papers today just puff up with pride at being an American these days. The NYT reports on the firing of Aliakbar and Shahla Afshari from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health after having "failed" a security check. Problem is, the Afshari's can't get information or documents about exactly what it is they did "wrong." So now jobless, they may have to move after spending years in the U.S. and rearing three children here all because they may have, might have gone to a conference and/or maybe associated on social level with the wrong person or persons--but they'll never know because they can't get access to anything or anyone invovled in the decision. It's not like the Afshari's research anything remotely related to national security, as the NYT's reports,
Neither had access to classified documents or worked with banned biological or chemical toxins.The family is now getting by on their savings and by using their credit cards.
Moreover, none of their research was secret, much of it having been published in scholarly journals or presented at academic conferences.
Mr. Afshari, 52, who has a doctorate in industrial engineering, built equipment to study the health effects of things like asphalt fumes, human saliva and dust particles. One of his inventions helped analyze the sound of the human cough. He also worked with commercially available lasers and ultrasound equipment.
Mrs. Afshari, 43, who has a master's degree in occupational health and safety, worked in a laboratory that researched allergic reactions to common items like latex gloves and hand cleansers.
The LA Times is running a story, "Guilty of 'Flying While Muslim?," in which Salam Al-Marayati recounts his family's dention upon returing to LAX from a Thanksgiving holiday in Mexico. Salam Al-Marayati is the executive director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council and has worked
"with the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice [. . .]. In my role as the executive director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, I had even worked with the Treasury Department to promote legitimate charitable activities of American Muslim institutions.No explanation was given as to why the Al-Marayati family was detained. It appears that just being Muslim is enough for the Homeland Security thugs to lock you in a windowless room.
As Al-Marayati's twelve year old son asked while the family was detained, "What about the Pledge of Allegiance, where it says liberty and justice is for all. Don't they have to believe in it, too?"