NationStates Jolt Archive

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6108574.stm

Paris airport bars Muslim staff
By Clive Myrie
BBC News, Paris

More than 70 Muslim workers at France's main airport have been stripped of their security clearance for allegedly posing a risk to passengers.

The staff at Charles de Gaulle airport, including baggage handlers, are said to have visited terrorist training camps in Pakistan and Afghanistan. [but but but, Musharraf says there is no training camp in Pakistan, no?:confused: ]

One man is thought to have been a friend of Richard Reid, the so-called British shoe bomber.

Richard Reid tried to blow up a flight from Paris to the US in 2001.

Discrimination lawsuits

Earlier this year officials at Charles de Gaulle airport, north of Paris, conducted a security review of staff and questioned dozens of Muslim workers.

More than 100 baggage handlers and aircraft cleaners had been under surveillance for months.

In all, 72 people were later told their passes allowing access to secure areas were being withdrawn.

Airport officials say some of the workers had frequently visited Pakistan and Afghanistan the previous year.

It is also believed another worker had been close to a senior figure in an Algerian terrorist group with links to al-Qaeda.

But some of the men who have lost their security clearance are suing airport authorities.

They claim they are being discriminated against because of their religion.

However, about a dozen other workers who have been identified as security risks still have access to sensitive areas of the airport because under French law they must be allowed an opportunity to respond to the charges before they are suspended.

A sign of things to come.

Do you think that what the airport authorities did is correct, from a passenger's POV?

Or do you think that the muslim staffers are unfairly discriminated against?

I personally think this is not a discrimination against religion, but a discrimination against a nation - Pakistan, since the staffers were dismissed not for being muslim, but for visiting Pakistan.

lol. Visiting Pakistan is now a red flag for western countries. me :p

that was wrong. some christians have crashed planes before by accident. so should we ban all christian pilots?

If they are suspected of going to those terrorist training camps for a good reason(being muslim=a bad reason) then the only problem here is how did trained terrorists get security clearance in the first place.

If it is just because they're muslim then they should get their clearance back and possibly some compensation from CDG airport.

If they are suspected of going to those terrorist training camps for a good reason(being muslim=a bad reason) then the only problem here is how did trained terrorists get security clearance in the first place.

If it is just because they're muslim then they should get their clearance back and possibly some compensation from CDG airport.

Yeah, uh, if they have proof of them being terrorists, they should arrest them, not just take away their security clearance. If they have no proof, the airport can fuck off.

40 people? At the same airport? At the same moment? Are there any muslims left in that airport with clearance? I highly doubt it. I'm filing this under discrimination and profiling until further info.

Yeah, uh, if they have proof of them being terrorists, they should arrest them, not just take away their security clearance. If they have no proof, the airport can fuck off.

Thats pretty much it.

Do you think that what the airport authorities did is correct, from a passenger's POV?
Depends on how substantive the claim that they may have visited terrorist training camps was.

how about only arrest people who are not muslim?
the terrorist wont know who to bomb!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6108574.stm



A sign of things to come.

Do you think that what the airport authorities did is correct, from a passenger's POV?

Or do you think that the muslim staffers are unfairly discriminated against?

I personally think this is not a discrimination against religion, but a discrimination against a nation - Pakistan, since the staffers were dismissed not for being muslim, but for visiting Pakistan.

lol. Visiting Pakistan is now a red flag for western countries. me :p

Good for the French. Finally, someone realizes who is the enemy of civilzation.

Hum, we are talking about security-sensitive jobs here.
Now it is up-to-you to decide if you can accept guys with "suspect" background to take care of your plane, or not.

AdP is employing more than 10000 people; 72 lost their security clearance.
They are still working there. But not at security-sensitive jobs.
Are not workers in US airports being screened? Indeed probably not, remembering their carelessness last time I was there (Oct-Nov 2002, it probably changed since, thanks to the beautiful spin-work of W's goons...)

As a side-note, I find it funny when in one thread you blame the French for "sucking muslin-cocks", and in another one you blame them for acting against potential security breaches.
Make up your mind, please.

Good for the French. Finally, someone realizes who is the enemy of civilzation.

I didn't know you were denied entry in France.

Hum, we are talking about security-sensitive jobs here.
Now it is up-to-you to decide if you can accept guys with "suspect" background to take care of your plane, or not.

AdP is employing more than 10000 people; 72 lost their security clearance.
They are still working there. But not at security-sensitive jobs.
Are not workers in US airports being screened? Indeed probably not, remembering their carelessness last time I was there (Oct-Nov 2002, it probably changed since, thanks to the beautiful spin-work of W's goons...)

As a side-note, I find it funny when in one thread you blame the French for "sucking muslin-cocks", and in another one you blame them for acting against potential security breaches.
Make up your mind, please.

I'd feel a lot safer with people with a 'suspect' background taking care of my plane, rather than them losing their clearance over simply being muslim and knowing that my country allows shit like this to happen - that would worry me a lot more.

I'd feel a lot safer with people with a 'suspect' background taking care of my plane, rather than them losing their clearance over simply being muslim and knowing that my country allows shit like this to happen - that would worry me a lot more.

I could not agree more. Well, theoretically, I could, but, if I agreed more than I do right now, the weight of my agreement with you would generate a black hole that would consume us all. o_O

:p

I could not agree more. Well, theoretically, I could, but, if I agreed more than I do right now, the weight of my agreement with you would generate a black hole that would consume us all. o_O

:p

I demand that you join Gabbly!
http://gabbly.com/http://forums2.jolt.co.uk/forumdisplay.php?f=1227

As a side-note, I find it funny when in one thread you blame the French for "sucking muslin-cocks", and in another one you blame them for acting against potential security breaches.
Make up your mind, please.

lol...the French have been pretty good in atleast combating islamism within their country....better than most EU countries. It is just that they don't agree with the Bush admin's way of dealing with islamism, especially with Iraq. But who cares, let's stereotype French cuz its more fun..:rolleyes:

Why is fighting islam a good thing?

Why is fighting islam a good thing?

Because it gives the sheep something to fight so they are easier to control, and gives them someone to blame for whatever. It was communism before, remember?

Good for the French. Finally, someone realizes who is the enemy of civilzation.

Is that sarcasm? I'm not very good at reading people.

Because it gives the sheep something to fight so they are easier to control, and gives them someone to blame for whatever. It was communism before, remember?

I'm too young to remember communism :(

But I see your point.

lol...the French have been pretty good in atleast combating islamism within their country....better than most EU countries. It is just that they don't agree with the Bush admin's way of dealing with islamism, especially with Iraq. But who cares, let's stereotype French cuz its more fun..:rolleyes:

Yeah, uh... Islamism? *shrugs*

And how are we stereotyping the french?

What the hell is Islamism, and why do we need to fight it?

As for the french airport security, it would be good to know the context in which this decision was taken. it seems like more than simple security considerations. If it was security, they would have been smarter to do it quietly over time. This way, any terror organisation that did have a sleeper agent would be able to make alternate arrangements.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6108574.stm



A sign of things to come.

Do you think that what the airport authorities did is correct, from a passenger's POV?

Or do you think that the muslim staffers are unfairly discriminated against?

I personally think this is not a discrimination against religion, but a discrimination against a nation - Pakistan, since the staffers were dismissed not for being muslim, but for visiting Pakistan.

lol. Visiting Pakistan is now a red flag for western countries. me :p


correct or not when their kids torch people in busses, what do they expect? if they cannot behave in a civilized society, then they should like leave

Why is fighting islam a good thing?


because the west cannot function without an enemy. after the fall of communism, it was the end of the world.. a new enemy was needed - terrorists/radical islamist fit in quite nicely. and they had oil to boot.

before this it was the monarchy, and even before it was witches!

and somewhere in between were all those african folk..

if you ain't got enemies, you must make em.

correct or not when their kids torch people in busses, what do they expect? if they cannot behave in a civilized society, then they should like leave

... I'm sorry, was this sarcasm? It sounded a lot like ignorant hate.

What the hell is Islamism, and why do we need to fight it?

As for the french airport security, it would be good to know the context in which this decision was taken. it seems like more than simple security considerations. If it was security, they would have been smarter to do it quietly over time. This way, any terror organisation that did have a sleeper agent would be able to make alternate arrangements.

Islamism is a fundamentalist Islamic revivalist movement generally characterized by moral conservatism and the literal interpretation of the Koran and the attempt to implement Islamic values in all aspects of life

From wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

Kind of like when the Muslim Brotherhood think that Islam is the answer to poverty, corruption, and all other social problems. Islamists think theocracy is a good thing.

Islam is the answer? What's the question? Why do things blow up?

Yeah, that was bigoted.

40 people? At the same airport? At the same moment? Are there any muslims left in that airport with clearance? I highly doubt it. I'm filing this under discrimination and profiling until further info.

Charles de Gaulle is France's biggest airport, and a significant proportion of France's unskilled workers (the group baggage handlers and such would fall into) are Islamic. So I wouldn't be surprised if 40 people didn't represent even a half of the Muslims working at CdG.

Then again, I don't have the figures, but I would be surprised if that airport only hired forty Muslims.

I'd feel a lot safer with people with a 'suspect' background taking care of my plane, rather than them losing their clearance over simply being muslim and knowing that my country allows shit like this to happen - that would worry me a lot more.

Maybe you should read the article then. It doesn't say that all Muslims have been barred from secure areas, just 72 of them who failed the background security check.

correct or not when their kids torch people in busses, what do they expect? if they cannot behave in a civilized society, then they should like leave

Blowing shit up is an important aspect of French civilisation, as you would know if you know if you knew anything about French history. The recent protests were actually an example of immigrants assimilating into French culture.









(Man... even I can't tell when I'm joking some times...)

Maybe you should read the article then. It doesn't say that all Muslims have been barred from secure areas, just 72 of them who failed the background security check.

But -why- did they fail the security check? If there was any proof of them being trained in a terrorist camp, they should be arrested, not denied clearance.

Because security checks don't need the same evidence as a criminal court does. That's life and a fact of security checks.

Because security checks don't need the same evidence as a criminal court does. That's life and a fact of security checks.

So because they think you might have maybe gone to a terrorist camp at some point in your life, you fail it?

I'm sorry, but that's unwarranted bigotry.

Who says that is the evidence against all of them? In security sensitive jobs you could fail a background check because you went on a march 20 years ago, slept with the wrong person as a student, joined the wrong political party...

You seem to forget that in America they can fire people for no reason, and there are hundreds of people in Guantanamo Bay who have been locked up without trial for years. These people haven't been fired, just moved to another job.

Who says that is the evidence against all of them? In security sensitive jobs you could fail a background check because you went on a march 20 years ago, slept with the wrong person as a student, joined the wrong political party...

You seem to forget that in America they can fire people for no reason, and there are hundreds of people in Guantanamo Bay who have been locked up without trial for years. These people haven't been fired, just moved to another job.

They can refuse to hire you for having bad credit in some security background checks.

Who says that is the evidence against all of them? In security sensitive jobs you could fail a background check because you went on a march 20 years ago, slept with the wrong person as a student, joined the wrong political party...

You seem to forget that in America they can fire people for no reason, and there are hundreds of people in Guantanamo Bay who have been locked up without trial for years. These people haven't been fired, just moved to another job.

Yeah, and in all those situations, it's wrong.

If the French keep doing things like this, they might actually convince the world they're not a bunch of cheese-eating surrender monkeys who're hell-bent on undoing the work of Charles Martel :D

Props to the French for this salutary development. Hopefully it'll catch on. :cool:

Yeah, and in all those situations, it's wrong.

I didn't say it's not wrong, but just because it's wrong doesn't make it bigotry.

lol...the French have been pretty good in atleast combating islamism within their country....better than most EU countries. It is just that they don't agree with the Bush admin's way of dealing with islamism, especially with Iraq. But who cares, let's stereotype French cuz its more fun..:rolleyes:
Fighting 'Islamism', eh?

As in making Muslims feel unwelcome?

Yeah... fantastic... I'm sure that's really helping the situation.

Yaaaaaay bigotry!

Fixed.

If they actually trained there, fine. If they didn't...they're going to have a gigantic lawsuit all over them.

Remember, France doesn't even ask for religion in the census it's that hands-off.

If the French keep doing things like this, they might actually convince the world they're not a bunch of cheese-eating surrender monkeys who're hell-bent on undoing the work of Charles Martel :D

Props to the French for this salutary development. Hopefully it'll catch on. :cool:

Props to you for being a bigoted little troll. You don't even stick around to defend these kinds of cheerleading remarks anymore - you know you can't and that to do so would just prove what a cheese-eating nazi monkey you are who's hell-bent on undoing the work of democracy, liberty and reason. :cool: :cool: :cool:

Where is the concrete proof that they were visiting terrorist training camps? I'm sorry, visiting Pakistan does not a terrorist make, my neighbor visits Pakistan, frequently.

Score! At least one institution has the balls to take necessary steps to ensure public security. Good on that airport, and whoever made the decision deserves a Legion d'Honneur.

Where is the concrete proof that they were visiting terrorist training camps? I'm sorry, visiting Pakistan does not a terrorist make, my neighbor visits Pakistan, frequently.

Apparently the airport knows, and the legal authorities just don't. Airport human resources centers are clearly the quintessential judges, juries and investigators of terrorism now. Government no longer needed. Hooray, because now Americans can sit there on the sidelines, wave their little pompoms and congratulate France for having "balls!" OO RAH!

I read the whole article. Like just about everything having to do with terrorism and security, it is not clear. They say these 72 workers were under surveillance for months as part of a general security background check of all airport workers, yet it does not say that any of the workers are actually suspected of being terrorists, only of possible connections. Not even confirmed connections.

It starts to sound like a witch hunt. All you have to do is seem hinky, and bang! you get tarred and feathered. It is especially suspicious to me that they had their security clearances revoked but have not been fired. I realize that it is difficult to fire people in France, but really -- for terrorism? This seems very strange to me.

Someone asked if this purge leaves any Muslims working at the Paris airport. According to the article:

It is estimated that of the more than 80,000 employees who work at the airport, about a fifth are Muslim.

So, yes, I guess it does. This would seem to lend credence to the idea that 72 could have hinky backgrounds, but still... I would feel better about it if the article said the clearance revocations were temporary pending further background checks, but it doesn't say that, so who knows?

Fighting 'Islamism', eh?

As in making Muslims feel unwelcome?

Yeah... fantastic... I'm sure that's really helping the situation.

No. As in making it clear that the law of the land is supreme over imported "cultural" practices (referring to the headscarf thing).

Show me the equivalent of Mohammed Bilal, Shehzad Tanveer in France and I will accept that UK's handling is better than France's.

No. As in making it clear that the law of the land is supreme over imported "cultural" practices (referring to the headscarf thing).

Show me the equivalent of Mohammed Bilal, Shehzad Tanveer in France and I will accept that UK's handling is better than France's.
What do headscarves have to do with terrorism and airport security background checks?

....Finaaaallly.

Now we need to get world leaders to re-direct the war on terror to Pakistan, those fucking two timing bastards.

What do headscarves have to do with terrorism and airport security background checks?

Nothing. Refer to the context of Yootopia's post.

Yeah, uh, if they have proof of them being terrorists, they should arrest them, not just take away their security clearance. If they have no proof, the airport can fuck off.

Concise, succinct, to the point. Kudos to you.