running dogg wrote:

Yep, the latest antiterror rule from the Bushies will force all airlines
to give passenger lists to Washington for all flights just PASSING OVER
US airspace. That's right, if the flight is NOT going to or from a US
airport, but is merely passing over US airspace, the airline must give a
passenger list to the US govt and it will be checked against the no fly
list. This means that if a flight is going from Vancouver to Montreal,
IOW a Canadian DOMESTIC flight, and the flight passes over US airspace
(something that happens fairly often with Canadian domestic flights),
the Canadian airline will have to check with Homeland Security first to
see that no forbidden passengers are on it.

This wacko rule was apparently prompted by a KLM flight from Amsterdam
to Mexico City that had two Saudis on it that were on the no fly list,
and the US govt found out about it and ordered the plane to return to
Amsterdam or be shot down once it entered US airspace. Halfway through
the flight the pilot had to turn around and go back. The airlines have
two options: reroute flights around the US (impossible) or bow down to
Bush and the idiots at Homeland Security (also impossible, since it
would cost too much to clear every single flight passing over US
airspace with DHS).

The BBC interviewed some guy from AeroMexico (the Mexican national
airline) who was NOT happy. He noted that the airline cannot afford to
route flights around the US, but it would also be a severe strain on the
airline to clear flights with DHS. He noted that this new rule violates
international aviation law, but that the airline has no choice but to
try to comply.

Folks, when the US (Bush) can force something like this on foreign
governments, it has too much power, and is misusing it. I wonder why
this latest antiterror rule was NOT reported by US domestic media, maybe
because this is a bridge too far? Yet another example of the power of
shortwave.

NOT reported? You really need to learn how to pay attention.

dxAce
Michigan
USA