The Fear Factor


	As the earth plane moves from a fear based existence to a love based existence, fear is fighting for survival, and one of the tools which fear is using to maintain the illusion of a fear based existence, is terrorism and our response to terrorism.
	We cannot defeat fear. However, we can allow fear to cease to exist, by acting as though fear does not exist.
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	Every time that we are placed on high alert, we create more fear which is focussed and magnified by the media for their own purposes. The purpose of terrorism is to generate fear, and every time that we are placed on high alert, we have assisted the terrorists to achieve their goals. Terrorism will continue to be a part of our world whilst ever terrorists are achieving their goals. The only way to stop terrorism, is to prevent terrorists from achieving their goals, by acting as though the fear generated by terrorism does not exist. If we act as though the fear generated by terrorism does not exist, in time the fear generated by terrorism will cease to exist, because terrorists will cease to exist.

	Fear has no power in itself. We give power to fear, not because of what fear does to us, but because of what we do to ourselves in response to fear. One of the aims of terrorists who are the tools of fear, (regardless of how righteously they dress themselves in honourable motives) is to disrupt the freedoms enjoyed by the Western world. The motive of terrorism is nothing more than a battle for control, which is ultimately a battle to enable fear to maintain control of the earth plane. The following two uncredited news articles, demonstrate how we have allowed ourselves to become the tools of terrorism, and the tools of fear. We need to reflect on these articles and make a conscious decision whether we want fear to continue to be the basis of our existence, even under the guise of protecting us from fear. If we act as though fear does not exist, fear will cease to exist because fear only exists while we give feed fear and give fear life.

	Travel at your own risk.
	Is your name on the no-fly list? An uncredited article from civil liberties newsletter. Dateline: 9/27/02

One of the tell-tale signs that your political leaders are channelling the ghosts of dead Germans is when they start turning rights into privileges. Travel is a right that often becomes encumbered with permitting requirements, checkpoints, and even outright bans on movement by disfavoured people. For details of what that's like in practice, just ask one of the peace activists, Arab-Americans, or even military retirees who've been bumped from seats on airplanes over the past year.

Back in April, a group of Wisconsin peace activists on their way to Washington, D.C., were yanked from the line for a Midwest Express flight for questioning. The group, which included a priest and a nun, were able to continue their journey a day late, after undergoing questioning.

The treatment of Peace Action Milwaukee by federal and local authorities became something of a cause celebre in leftist circles after it was publicized by The Progressive. That publication revealed the existence of a 'no-fly' list maintained by the Transportation Security Administration. Details are a bit sketchy, but the TSA apparently compiles a list of allegedly suspicious people from names forwarded by other agencies.

The criteria for inclusion on the list are unknown, but seems arbitrary at best. The Associated Press reported the ordeal of Larry Musarra, a retired Coast Guard lieutenant commander based in Alaska. On his way to Portland, Oregon, to enrol his son in a school for the disabled, Musarra was pulled aside and informed that his name was on a list of people considered to pose a potential threat to airline security. He was able to fly, but only after an exhaustive screening, which was repeated on the return leg of the journey. Musarra has since discovered that many of his relatives have been subject to similar treatment. The only potential clue to the familial third degree is the family name. While the Musarras are of Sicilian origin, their name was once, long ago, derived from Arab roots, a dangerous link in these post-September 11 days.

The Transportation Security Administration operates under the rather hastily conceived and written Aviation and Transportation Security Act. Among the provisions of this law is the requirement that the new TSA:

"(2) establish procedures for notifying the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, appropriate State and local law enforcement officials, and airport or airline security officers of the identity of individuals known to pose, or suspected of posing, a risk of air piracy or terrorism or a threat to airline or passenger safety;"
(3) in consultation with other appropriate Federal agencies and air carriers, establish policies and procedures requiring air carriers;

		"(A) to use information from government agencies to identify individuals on passenger lists who may be a threat to civil aviation or national security; and" (B) if such an individual is identified, notify appropriate law enforcement agencies, prevent the individual from boarding an aircraft, or take other appropriate action with respect to that individual;
	In and of itself that sounds rather straightforward, and arguably sensible. The apparent intention of the law was to identify suicide airplane hijackers of the future and keep them from taking their seats. But, in an atmosphere of confusion and secrecy, who decides if an individual is 'known to pose, or suspected of posing, a risk of air piracy or terrorism or a threat to airline or passenger safety'? What criteria are used to make that determination? When The Progressive reported on the problems suffered by the Wisconsin activists, it quoted a TSA spokesman to the effect, "as to how you get on it, or how it's maintained, or who maintains it, I can't help you with that." According to the Associated Press, "Dave Steigman, spokesman for the TSA, said revealing any of the reasons a name may end up on the list could jeopardize national security." And the San Francisco Chronicle just reported that "while several federal agencies acknowledge that they contribute names to the congressionally mandated list, none of them, when contacted by The Chronicle, could or would say which agency is responsible for managing the list." So, as far as anybody knows, the Wisconsin crew was booted from their flight by some over enthusiastic saber-rattler in the Department of Defense, and Larry Musarra was put through the ringer by some fellow he ticked off in high school who still harbors a grudge and now works for the FBI. Really, given the apparent total lack of safeguards on the 'no-fly' list, that's as likely a scenario as any. The safety-at-all costs crowd will point out that there are real dangers to be addressed. After all, September 11 did occur, thousands died, and airliners were hijacked for the purpose. But security procedures that victimize political activists and people with vague connections to unpopular ethnic groups are clearly putting some segments of the population at greater risk than they faced before the TSA started 'protecting' us. The right to travel is abridged, free-speech rights are threatened and the liberty of people tagged as 'suspects' is curtailed. Given the secrecy surrounding the whole mess, we don't know that even the slightest gain for anybody's safety has been achieved by the arbitrary 'no-fly' list or the unaccountable bureaucrats who administer the scheme. Liberty doesn't necessarily disappear amidst dramatic proclamations, with armies marching in the streets. It can be bled away by faceless functionaries handed too much power and subjected to little public scrutiny in the name of some vague justification, like 'national security' or 'public safety.' On your next trip to the airport, think about the cops, tax collectors and politicians you may have angered over the years. Could any of them have put a red flag next to your name?

	Terror System Flags David Nelsons.
	An uncredited article. Dateline: 6/17/03
	David Nelson is not an easy name to have these days. Across the country men with this name say they have been pulled off airplanes, questioned by FBI agents and harassed when travelling by air. The nationwide dragnet for terrorists has caused the name to raise red flags on airline screening software, but some federal officials say the problem is essentially a computer glitch, the Los Angeles Daily News reported Sunday. David Nelsons in at least four states, including California, Oregon, Alaska and South Dakota, have reported getting stopped. Even the former child star of ABC-TV's 'The adventures of Ozzie and Harriet' was stopped by a ticket agent at John Wayne Airport in December while en route to visit his daughter in Salt Lake City. Now a Newport Beach film producer, David Nelson, 66, told the Daily News that after airline ticket agents stopped him, two police officers quickly recognized him, and he was allowed to board his flight. "I don't think (terrorists) have the middle name Ozzie," he recalled telling an agent. For other David Nelsons, the experience was more difficult. Actor David Nelson, 35, of Hollywood said that on a recent trip to Hawaii, a ticket agent at Los Angeles International Airport took one look at his driver's license and said, "Oh boy. Here's another David Nelson." Nelson said the ticket agent told him the name brings up a 'red flag' for terrorists. A few months before on a New York-bound airplane, he had been told to exit the plane and was searched by FBI agents before reboarding. "When you get back on the plane, people look at you funny," he said. After agents requested to search him several times before the Hawaii flight, Nelson said he turned around and went home. A so called 'no-fly' list was introduced after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and is meant to prevent potential terrorists from boarding planes. The TSA gets names from law enforcement officials and hands the list over to airlines to screen passengers. In April, Transportation Security Administration spokesman Nico Melendez said those on the 'no-fly' list pose, or are suspected of posing, a threat to civil aviation and national security. "We do not confirm the presence of a particular name of an individual on a list," he said. "It's security information that we just won't do." Melendez told the Daily News that the 'David Nelson' problem is due to a name matching technology used by many airlines. He said it's not the name but letters in the name that are randomly flagged by the software. But David Kennedy, director of research services for TruSecure Corp., a Virginia based firm that specializes in intelligence security, said he thinks it's more likely the name is on the 'no-fly' list. "I'm more inclined to believe there is a bad David Nelson out there they're looking for," he said. Either way, since there is little to identify those on the list other than their names, it is difficult for many to get their names removed. In response, TSA has established a hot line for those who feel they were wrongly selected.


	Copyright permission is seldom withheld.

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Travel at your own risk.

Terror System Flags David Nelsons.