As if the US needs any more economic problems…

  • Heather Wokusch's picture
    Heather Wokusch
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February 12, 2008

There’s a time bomb ticking over here in Europe, and it’s completely off the radar where it will hit the hardest: the US.

The Bush administration is pushing for radical new regulations on airline travel including:

- Armed guards on all US-airline flights from Europe to the US
- More personal data on all air passengers FLYING OVER (not even landing in) the US
- Europeans will need new permits and a lengthier permission-application process before even booking a ticket to the US
- "Washington is also asking European airlines to provide personal data on non-travellers - for example family members - who are allowed beyond departure barriers to help elderly, young or ill passengers to board aircraft flying to America, a demand the airlines reject as ‘absurd’".

Under the radar, but an important developing story. Why? The tourism industry is incredibly important to the US and this paranoid development doesn’t help. Doesn’t win the hearts and minds of our allies abroad either.

Bureaucrats in Brussels are debating all of this right now and, as usual, will probably cave on many points. But big conventions, the tourism industry etc. are already going ballistic, diverting future plans away from the US.

Ominous development…

Read more about it here in The Guardian:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/feb/11/usa.theairlineindustry

Comments

To young women in Texas and Ohio

  • brenda1's picture
    brenda1
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02/13/08
11:32am

It seems to me that the concept of change has to be accompanied by action. Obama talks alot change but really what is his record of change. Not much happened in the Illinois Senate and he was there for 8 years - not passing a whole lot of legislation. In the U.S. Senate he voted pretty much along with Senator Clinton including several bills to continue funding the war. He also supported the Patriot Act which allows the government to listen in on phone conversations without a court order. Did he do some good things.I am sure he did. But his record does not, in my opinion, make him qualified for president at this time.

Clinton record on social reform: She helped set up free birth control clinics in Arkansas for poor women over 20 years ago. She along with others in Arkansas helped change laws to make mandatory child abuse reporting laws nationwide. She sat on committees to change Arkansas's educational system to require teachers have minimum educational levels and brought up Arkansas educational system . She worked in the 70's with Marion Wright, an African American activist, in inner cities for getting poor kids to school and helped with educational laws for those who had disabilities. That is why many kids were not going to school-they had no programs to help them within the system.She as a lawyer for the Childrens Defense Fund did help with laws to help these children.

Did she vote for the war? Yes she did.I am willing to see Clinton as a real person-both good and with making mistakes.One thing that disturbs me is that when you mention Obamas flaw people go into a frenzy. He has good and bad qualities just like everybody else.His supporters are unwilling to take a balanced stand because all this Obama stuff is exciting.

You know we all want heros. We all want change. Please do not go into voting with rose colored glasses. Vote for change yes. But please please don't vote for rhetoric. Clinton does have some baggage but she has also done wonderful things for children and families in this country. She has proven herself with change that she has made happen already-too numerous to mention here.Her contributions have been minimized in this election and sexist comments toward her in the media has been heartless.