A Free Society?
The work freedom is rather ironic in these times and we are increasingly put under the thumb of more and more rules and laws dictating our behavior and what we can do. But at least it’s not as bad as France, yet.
The French Constitutional Council has approved a law that criminalizes the filming or broadcasting of acts of violence by people other than professional journalists. The law could lead to the imprisonment of eyewitnesses who film acts of police violence, or operators of Web sites publishing the images, one French civil liberties group warned on Tuesday.
The council chose an unfortunate anniversary to publish its decision approving the law, which came exactly 16 years after Los Angeles police officers beating Rodney King were filmed by amateur videographer George Holliday on the night of March 3, 1991. The officers’ acquittal at the end on April 29, 1992 sparked riots in Los Angeles.
If Holliday were to film a similar scene of violence in France today, he could end up in prison as a result of the new law, said Pascal Cohet, a spokesman for French online civil liberties group Odebi. And anyone publishing such images could face up to five years in prison and a fine of €75,000 (US$98,537), potentially a harsher sentence than that for committing the violent act.
Of course, these stupid airline laws have gotten way out of hand also.
Flight attendants, with their increased power, definitely seem to be getting more sensitive to all types of behavior. Emily Gillette claims that she was kicked off a plane last month for nursing her baby on a flight between Burlington, Vt., and New York City. A spokesman for Freedom Airlines, which was operating the Delta commuter flight, says that Gillette was ejected because she declined an attendant’s offer of a blanket.
One passenger on a Delta flight from Los Angeles to Salt Lake City was arrested for leaving his seat to go to the lavatory less than 30 minutes before landing (due to the incident, air marshals ordered all passengers to put their hands on their heads for the rest of the flight). And an Orthodox Jewish man was kicked off an Air Canada flight for praying, which attendants claim was making other passengers nervous.
Other passengers have been taken off flights for making jokes, such as asking attendants if they had “checked the crew for sobriety” and “where do you keep the bomb?” Some have been booted for taking onboard hand cream, matches and bottles of water, and for sniffing something in a bag.
And there doesn’t seem to be an age limit for the violators. In 2005, a United Airlines flight out of Chicago was delayed because a small boy said something inappropriate.
“It seems like there’s a real increase in these types of incidents. They’re more sensitive to minor infractions,” said Anne Banas, the executive editor of SmarterTravel.com. “There’s a no-tolerance policy. It really seems like you have to be on your best behavior on the plane.”
Frankly, this stuff is all getting out of hand. Here and there. The public really needs to put it’s foot down or the bureaucrats will continue to chip away at our liberties.
Notes to self:
1) Start internet journalism school in French—should net a bundle handing out credentials to anyone who purchases a video camera from the site.
2) Pee before getting on the plane, gag myself, and leave my wife and newborn daughter home.
Posted by TheWriteJerry on 05/08 at 05:14 AM
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