Squiggy
ThunderDick
We made the rules but we can't live by them...
from the New York Times...
Brazil Jails American Airlines Pilot Over Fingerprinting Snub
By LARRY ROHTER
Published: January 15, 2004
IO DE JANEIRO, Jan. 14 — An American Airlines pilot arriving in São Paulo, Brazil's largest city, was jailed Wednesday after he protested new procedures requiring the fingerprinting and photographing of all incoming United States citizens by making what Federal Police officers described as an obscene gesture.
Eleven other crew members on the same flight from Miami were refused entry to Brazil and detained after the police said that they had refused to be fingerprinted and behaved in a "derisive" manner. They were ordered to return to the United States on the next available flight, which was to leave São Paulo on Wednesday night.
The dispute heightened Brazilian-American tensions that started Jan. 1 when Brazil demanded that arriving American citizens — and American citizens alone — be photographed and fingerprinted. The policy was in retaliation for increased security measures in the United States that require citizens of all but 27 countries, mostly European, to undergo nearly identical procedures.
At a conference of Western Hemisphere heads of government on Monday, Brazil's president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, personally asked President Bush that Brazilians be exempted from the requirements. He followed that on Tuesday with public criticism of the United States procedures, saying to reporters that "if the problem is to fight terrorism, this measure makes no sense" because "we have no culture of terrorism" in Brazil.
The police said that the American Airlines pilot, Dale Hersh, 52, had been charged with "disrespect for authority," an offense that carries a jail term of six months to one year. It was unclear whether he would be allowed to leave the country before facing trial, and the United States Consulate in São Paulo issued a statement saying that American officials were "working with both the Federal Police and American Airlines to resolve the matter."
American Airlines is one of the biggest carriers from the United States to Brazil and the rest of Latin America, with flights from New York City, Miami and Dallas to Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Belo Horizonte. A spokeswoman in Miami, Martha Pantin, said in a telephone interview that the company "regrets any misunderstanding" with the Brazilian authorities and plans to continue its normal flight schedule.
"American Airlines and its employees pride themselves on always being professional and courteous with everyone with whom they come in contact," she said. "The company apologizes to the Brazilian government, the airport authorities, the police or anyone else who may have perceived anything they believe to be disrespectful."
from the New York Times...
Brazil Jails American Airlines Pilot Over Fingerprinting Snub
By LARRY ROHTER
Published: January 15, 2004
IO DE JANEIRO, Jan. 14 — An American Airlines pilot arriving in São Paulo, Brazil's largest city, was jailed Wednesday after he protested new procedures requiring the fingerprinting and photographing of all incoming United States citizens by making what Federal Police officers described as an obscene gesture.
Eleven other crew members on the same flight from Miami were refused entry to Brazil and detained after the police said that they had refused to be fingerprinted and behaved in a "derisive" manner. They were ordered to return to the United States on the next available flight, which was to leave São Paulo on Wednesday night.
The dispute heightened Brazilian-American tensions that started Jan. 1 when Brazil demanded that arriving American citizens — and American citizens alone — be photographed and fingerprinted. The policy was in retaliation for increased security measures in the United States that require citizens of all but 27 countries, mostly European, to undergo nearly identical procedures.
At a conference of Western Hemisphere heads of government on Monday, Brazil's president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, personally asked President Bush that Brazilians be exempted from the requirements. He followed that on Tuesday with public criticism of the United States procedures, saying to reporters that "if the problem is to fight terrorism, this measure makes no sense" because "we have no culture of terrorism" in Brazil.
The police said that the American Airlines pilot, Dale Hersh, 52, had been charged with "disrespect for authority," an offense that carries a jail term of six months to one year. It was unclear whether he would be allowed to leave the country before facing trial, and the United States Consulate in São Paulo issued a statement saying that American officials were "working with both the Federal Police and American Airlines to resolve the matter."
American Airlines is one of the biggest carriers from the United States to Brazil and the rest of Latin America, with flights from New York City, Miami and Dallas to Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Belo Horizonte. A spokeswoman in Miami, Martha Pantin, said in a telephone interview that the company "regrets any misunderstanding" with the Brazilian authorities and plans to continue its normal flight schedule.
"American Airlines and its employees pride themselves on always being professional and courteous with everyone with whom they come in contact," she said. "The company apologizes to the Brazilian government, the airport authorities, the police or anyone else who may have perceived anything they believe to be disrespectful."
wtf?