I have a friend of Middle Eastern descent and his last name causes much attention to be paid to him at the airport. He is as American as I am and was born in the U.S. He doesn't mind and understands that some profiling must happen for us all to be safe.

One reason the most recent plot to blow up some American airplanes was thwarted was because of electronic survailance (sp?). Thousands of lives were saved. Yet one of the U.S. district courts recently ruled that it was unconstitutional. I belive it's wise to assume that the authorities are NOT doing whatever it takes to keep everyone safe. Sometimes their hands are tied.

I do agree that a mob mentality should be avoided and the situation you described shouldn't happen.

When Cat Stevens said (10 years ago? whenever it was...) that he thought the death sentence on Salman Rushdie was justified and righteous, I stopped listening to his music because now I can't hear it without thinking what a jerk he is.

Hi, Meredith: Were you referring to the Q&A session he had at the Kingston Polytechnic in 1989? If I remember correctly, in response to a question regarding the Rushdie affair, Cat Stevens merely attempted to explain the Muslim's view on blasphemy based on the Qur'an and the rulings of the law within Islamic jurisprudence. I don't think it went further than that i.e that he rallied for the fatwa on Rushdie. Given the personality involved, it was the media who took to giving the matter the wrong slant which led to a lot of speculation relating to a very topical issue at that time.