Loss of Privacy

Note that none of the passerbys seem concerned at all about what is happening.

From the YouTube description:

On June 19, 2011, after the Transportation Security Agency pulled my pants down, I was arrested at BNA for refusing to pick up my pants until I was informed as to whether the search was complete. I never got the answer to my request, “Is the search over?” The resolution search that I agreed to after my 3″x4″ microfiber cloth had been picked up as an anomaly in the millimeter wave scanner, is the same search that Senator Rand Paul (KY) refused. I am a frequent flyer, having A-list status with Southwest and flying through Nashville 3 dozen times in the past 2 years. I now opt out of the millimeter wave scanner and maintain an informal record of the search procedures of the TSA. The grab and pull of my pant legs seen in this video was not necessary as all the TSA searches I have received before and after the incident have proven.

I am looking for a lawyer to sue the TSA. The charges of Disorderly Conduct and Public Indecency are unjust. One officer, Robbie Keeler, was heard stating, “I think we’re stretchin’ it on the Public Indecency, but what the hell?! Have him tell it to the commissioner. I would like to charge the all officers involved, Officer Hardini Carter and Officer Robert Merritt, round up the pack. TSA agents Seth James and Lee (badge# 74020) are also liable. The first thing Agent Lee said upon standing up after pulling down my pants was, “Pick up your pants.” When I asked, “Is the search over?”, his response was, “Pick up your pants, sir!” His supervisor Seth James, could only offer snide remarks and the same “Pick up your pants!” command. I explained, “Is the search over? Because if the search is over, I will pull up my pants and grab my stuff.” The TSA Agents and the Police Officers had no intention of respecting my right to know whether the search was complete.

This video was obtained by requesting it from Bob Watson and Terri Barnhart. The TSA records at double time. 714p_thru_725p_11-01025_061911.mpg

As you are watching the video remember these questions:

As American citizens, have we or have we not, the right to know whether a search we voluntarily submit for is complete or if it shall continue indefinitely?

Is it TSA policy to submit American citizens to submission by dehumanization?

Am I prepared with the phone number of a friend or relative with a land line telephone, in the event that I attempt to keep my dignity at the airport?

Are the police liable for false arrest when they themselves reviewed the surveillance video and thought the charge of Public Indecency to be a stretch?

Watch out Americans. There are government agencies that do not respect your right, nor you dignity.

I am looking for a lawyer who believes in justice for American citizens. It has taken me nearly 8 months to even post this video on youtube and start to solicit the lawyer help, because the psychological toll this incident has taken can be unruly at times.

Last week, Poland and Slovenia expressed regret over the signing of ACTA. Now the Czech Republic and Romania have expressed the same doubts. Czech Prime Minister, Petr Necas, has stated that the Czech Republic will suspend the ratification process of ACTA.

“By no means would the government admit a situation where civic freedoms and free access to information would be threatened,” Necas said.

That is why the government will analyse the issue and have it assessed by experts. “We really must look into the impact it would have in real life,” Necas said.

After learning that their country had signed ACTA, many citizens of the Czech republic took to the streets in protest . Also agreeing with the protesters are several Czech Euro ministers.

Romanian Prime Minister, Emil Boc, has publically stated that he doesn’t understand why Romania even signed ACTA. Emil Boc offered his resignation shortly after, however, the president is still asking questions.

PM Emil Boc said, on Saturday, that, for the moment, he did not hold any information on the circumstances in which Romania had adopted the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), Realitatea.net informs. PSD President Victor Ponta is asking the government to publicly explain why it had signed ACTA on behalf of Romania without a prior public debate and notes that, when it goes to power, USL will suspend the enforcement of the Agreement until a dialogue with the civil society is fulfilled, he notes on his Facebook account.

This is what happens when treaties are proposed and signed in secret. Even those at the top levels of government have no idea what is happening in their countries or how such treaties will affect their citizens.

ACTA is still a very real problem and the countries involved need to take a serious look at what it is and whether they really want to be involved by informing themselves about what ACTA really is.

Many countries that have signed ACTA are now rethinking their positions and apologizing for screwing up their countries with such legislation. Once everyone actually took the time to read and research what ACTA does, they discovered that they aren’t happy with what it entails at all.

One of the biggest regrets came from Poland this week when it suspended its ratification process for ACTA. Donald Tusk, Poland’s prime minister, said that there were insufficient consultations made before signing it.

Tusk’s backtracking could spell the end of ACTA for the entire European Union. If Poland or any other EU member state, or the European Parliament itself, fails to ratify the document, it becomes null and void across the union. As it stands, there are already five member countries that have not even signed ACTA.

Poland has seen the biggest protests against ACTA, with thousands demonstrating on the streets last week. Hackers believed to be associated with Anonymous attacked Tusk’s website, as well as the European Parliament site, after the signing.

Critics of ACTA say it has insufficient safeguards for online liberties, particularly in signing countries that do not already have strong principles of freedom of speech and expression. In addition, the agreement negotiations, which took place without the contributions of civic groups or elected representatives, have been widely described as undemocratic.

Although Slovenia also signed the agreement, their ambassador, Helena Drnovšek Zorko, has publicly apologized to her country for doing so, saying that it was a mistake.

I signed ACTA out of civic carelessness, because I did not pay enough attention.

Quite simply, I did not clearly connect the agreement I had been instructed to sign with the agreement that, according to my own civic conviction, limits and withholds the freedom of engagement on the largest and most significant network in human history, and thus limits particularly the future of our children.

The final version of ACTA is also very watered down from what it once was.

Here are some major improvements:

The provision that proposed to criminally punish ordinary users (think college kid downloading music) with fines, jail time, seizure of computers, etc., was significantly scaled back as the negotiation process moved on and finally eliminated in the final text.
The provision that required all ACTA countries to hold third parties, such as ISPs and consumer electronics manufacturers, liable for their customers’ infringement was eliminated. This provision, as drafted, was inconsistent with U.S. law and would have required changes to this complex and evolving policy space.

The provision that required countries to institute safe harbors for ISPs from their customer’s infringement was eliminated. While the idea of providing ISPs with a safe harbor is a good one and facilitates the development of platforms and services on the Internet, the way in which ACTA would have required these safe harbors was not good. It lacked safe guards for users that are contained in U.S. law. Further, it could have provided the excuse for measures such as three strikes and deep packet inspection.

The DRM provisions of ACTA were improved significantly. Earlier leaked drafts had called upon countries to prevent circumvention of DRM, treat them as both civil and criminal offenses, and consider them illegal even when there was no underlying attempt to infringe copyright. Furthermore, these drafts had not acknowledged that circumvention could be done for lawful purposes. The final text overcomes these deficiencies and gives countries flexibility in how they implement DRM provisions.

ACTA hasn’t been ratified in Europe yet, so there’s still time to protest it if you care anything at all about democracy and free speech. Protests are being called for on Saturday, 11 February 2012 across Europe.

If you’re still confused about ACTA, visit EFF’s page or this discussion on reddit.

Talk by Arvind Narayanan at the Governance of Social Media Workshop Nov 11, 2011.

Aasif Mandvi explains why forcing welfare recipients to be drug tested should never have become a law.