Awesome talk i believe most men would have cried if the FBI had asked them so many questions!!
If you do end up going to Mauritius, let me know what you thought of it. We are trying to figure out where to go in February? Any ideas on a "relaxing" trip that would work in February? Safe travels!
The fact that Mr. Elahi can recount all of this with a smile on his face and a sense of humor says a great deal about him. How could this line of questioning lasted 6 months? It would seem any interrogator worth their salt would quickly realize they had the wrong fella!? Seriously? Why did it go on for so long? Did he give suspicious answers? What was their reasoning for prolonging the "investigation"?
that was incredibly smart so he doesnt have to deal with them alllllll theeeee tiiiiiiime they can look an be like oh he's not blowing anything up!
I think a much more effective approach would be to constantly publicly post erroneous information about yourself. You know insanecanadian, I spent last weekend in Bora Bora. It was fantastic. How is your Oldsmobile running? At some point, I can see legislation that makes it illegal to lie about yourself online.
Do you find that your documenting of both your eating habits and your finances has had a positive impact on your dietary and financial health?
So, I'm not clear on this: As the dinosaurs retire, these new agents are going to be better at sifting through our data. Do you think that will be a good thing because they'll get less false positives? I fear it's not just previous experience, but something else that makes those dinosaurs act like idiots. Perhaps they got to call the shots because they are over-reaching paranoid idiots? These tech savvy guys might be tomorrows dinosaurs calling the shots, but with more of our information. What you did was pretty slick, btw.
I think what his point may be is that the FBI is antiquated in it's approach to processing this information. While you are right that "Computers are getting better at sorting through the noise every day", it sounds like the "establishment" at the FBI isn't interested in the thoughtful analytics data mining can provide. If they were, I would imagine Mr. Elahi would never have had an issue.
It's a great point about having an analyzing problem. Reading through all that data is unreasonable. But not to long ago, you could more easily hear the phrase 'human intelligence' in the media. If you haven't seen "The Lives of Others" then I recommend it. Takes place in East Berlin before the autumn of nations. Spies abound in the art world looking for turncoats. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3_iLOp6IhM
I agree that it might be dangerous, but that's the nature of art. If artists cease to be dangerous, then we will end up living in a world full of Bob Ross facsimiles (not that there's anything wrong with him, but one is good enough). Having just watched a long Nightmare on Elm Street marathon, I can sympathize with the author when he says confronting the FBI and giving them what they want is the best way to neutralize all of the power that they have.
I've never gone through anything like this but I get taken aside for increased security checks about 80% of the time when I travel. I'm 3rd generation US citizen but my mother is of mexican decent and my father German. Phenotypically, this must equate to "crazy looking terrorist guy" because I almost always get searched. The last time, they swabbed all my belongings and ran them through some machine to make sure there was not any trace of explosive. Really? Me? I'm a lover, not a fighter.
Do you really think it will come to this? Did you happen to read the news story of the man that was wearing his "camera glasses" in a McDonalds in Paris and was accosted by some employees there? Do you think these types of glasses (or the equivalent) will someday be the norm? If so, what does this do for society? Will it make people more tolerant, more "honest", knowing that their every action is documented?