When Michael Moore is sitting at home in his sweats and eating bacon while wondering what organization he can f**k with next, it turns out he gets texts from Oscar nominated directors who are being barred from entering the US to attend the Academy Awards because US Customs officials had no idea that a Palestinian could be nominated for an Oscar. Emad Burant is the director of 5 Broken Cameras. He was trying to enter the country with his family at LAX last night and officials were not going to let him in because his invitation from the Academy Awards was not proof that he was invited. Also, the fact that his name is listed in the nominees was not good enough either. Step in Michael Moore who called Academy officials who called lawyers who got the family released and are allowed to stay in the US for one week. No more.
This story is BS, Moore had nothing to do with it, except whinning like he usually does! TSA could care less that MM was invloved.
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ReplyDeleteThey probably should care, cuz now the story's out in the open and they look as stupid as ever. (Invitation and on the nominee list "not good enough" as proof? What the what???)
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, real terriosts traveled at will.
ReplyDeleteExactly, Patty.
ReplyDeleteMan, do I hate the TSA. They just security theater; they don't actually do any good due to all the red tape involved in that agency, coupled with the fact that so many TSA agents seem to be complete morons!!!
ReplyDeleteTSA doesn't give a flying squirrel about what MM or anyone else thinks. I have a friend who worked for TSA for six months before she quit - she said they were most bitter, power-mongering, backstabbing people she's ever worked with. They'd pull people for pat-downs just to mess with them, confiscate things just because they could, etc. One somehow managed to her ex on the no-fly list. (Or maybe recommended/reported, I don't remember the exact details.)
ReplyDeleteMost TSA I've dealt with are pretty nice, but after hearing about her experience (and she's not known to exaggerate), I'm extra careful whenever I fly.
if you are going to a foreign country for any reason, it might be a good idea to look into the tourist visa requirements. can't just show up to the airport with a oscar nomination and think everyone will jump for you
ReplyDeleteAlso, um, isn't deportation mean being forced to leave rather than being prevented from entering?
ReplyDeleteExactly Prolixe. Apparently the HufPo is reporting this as Enty has said. The family were held for 1.5 hrs and Michael Moore used the word "deport". You can get better information on this there:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/20/emad-burnat-detained-5-broken-cameras_n_2724518.html
Michael Moore is a governor of the Academy, so ICE (it wasn't TSA) IS going to care about what he has to say. He's a VIP of the organization that sent Bernat the invitation to attend the ceremony. As such, he could and did vouch for Bernat. He also alerted the Academy's lawyers so they could OFFICIALLY inform the feds that Bernat's alleged reason for coming to America was legit - just as he and Moore had already told them.
ReplyDeleteI have a confession to make: I haven't put my carry-on liquids in a ziploc bag in about five years. I forgot to do it once and then realized no one noticed at all and haven't done it since. Whew. Glad to get that off my chest.
ReplyDeleteThe last time I flew, when I went through the full body scanner, I must have put my wrists a little too close to my head and then the tsa agent thought it was more likely that i had metal in my skull than my VISIBLE watch was in the area.
Thanks for the confession Cathy, I think I've NEVER done it for the same reason.
ReplyDelete@Cathy, ha ha ha!
ReplyDeleteIt's total theatre. A few yrs ago I forgot to pull my razor from my toiletry bag, which was in my carry on. They never said anything & they didn't pull it from my bag. I was shocked when I came home & put my stuff away. Yet they yelled at me because I had an unopened bottle of juice with me. They saw it was sealed. They said my options were to either drink the whole thing right there or dump it. So I drank the whole thing. This was after 9/11 but before the nudie scanners.
ReplyDeleteEvery time my 60yr old mother gets on a plane they pull her for the pat down. Mind you she has a VERY white person last name. I don't get why they pull her every time. She used to love flying. Because of the TSA she doesn't like it very much anymore. I honestly think the TSA is losing them money. I'm terrified of having to go through a pat down. So I don't fly unless there is no other way.
Um, here's how I see it. He was detained (along with his family) in LA because he (they) didn't have proper ID. An 'Oscar invite' didn't fly (heh) and Micheal Moore is a crybaby whiner. Good Lord, could he have sent any MORE twitters looking for credit?
ReplyDeleteThey were released after an hour and a half. I wish my time renewing my driver's license was an hour and a half.
Here's a link
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/20/emad-burnat-detained-5-broken-cameras_n_2724518.html?utm_hp_ref=entertainment
Unless I"m missing something, I thought it was nice that Michael Moore took the time to take care of the problem. The visit is only for a few days, I'm assuming.
ReplyDeleteI'm complaining about it Tuxedo simply because he seems to be trying to get attention due to the fact that Emad is a Palestinian.
ReplyDeleteDumbass doesn't realize that the movie was co-directed by an Israeli.
Moore seems to like to bang the walls until he gets attention and I find him to be a waste.
Excellent publicity, not planned out in advance at all. I'm sure nobody thought to tell this guy and his family that an invitation to the Academy Awards was NOT just as good as a passport! Is he incapable of figuring that out for himself? How ironic that these two fiction depicters are working together. I bet this guy wins for best documentary. What a joke.
ReplyDeleteAgree with you A Blake, Michael Moore does nothing without looking to get a huge amount of publicity out of it. Not such a nice guy.
ReplyDeleteWarning - I'm in a bitchy mood today, so it's going to come out.
ReplyDeleteLet's stop jumping to conclusions. Nowhere have I read that he flew without a passport, or he didn't have a visa. He would probably have gotten a B1 visa, which is for *business*, not regular visiting. Even with a B1 visa (and I'm going to assume he had one), you still need to bring proof that you've been invited to do business here. ICE (not TSA, as someone mentioned) may not be familiar with an Oscar invite. Let's be honest -- how many times have *you* seen what an Oscar invitation looks like? I'd possibly question it too.
Second, the passport. A Palestinian does not travel with a Palestinian passport. There is no such thing. Palestinians have passports from one of the neighboring countries -- Jordan, Lebanon, etc. Not all Palestinians have passports from the same country, BTW. I just had this conversation this week with two Palestinian coworkers. The experiences they have when traveling *even within the middle east* are very different based on which country they carry a passport for. Now, can you imagine the mess this director would have to go through to a) get the visa, b) travel from the Palestinian territories through several security checkpoints to a neighboring country just so he can fly out, c) arrive in the US with a middle eastern passport (ICE gives these greater scruitiny, I'm sure), and then d) have an invitation to the *Oscars*. Oh, and his name was likely transliterated from Arabic -- which means there's no guarantee that the transliterated spellings of the name on passport/visa/invitation actually match. I have no doubt that this guy thought he was doing everything right but could still get a lot of scrutiny from immigration in the US.
It *is* improbable that a Palestinian has an invite to the Oscars. Michael Moore himself pointed out that he's the first Palestinian to be up for a nomination.
Now, why would you expect Michael Moore to tweet out that the co-director happens to be Israeli? Is that actually relevant to whether this Palestinian nominee could get past immigration into the US?
As for TSA complaints...I travel several times per year. The signage is *extremely* clear: no liquids beyond 3oz. I have never read an exception because your drink bottle is sealed, because there *isn't one*. Don't get pissy because you broke the TSA's guidelines. Same with wearing a watch into the security scanner. Every security officer has said to remove watches. You put them in the nice container for that purpose, and walk through without said watch.
The ethnicity of your name is NOT a perfect indicator of whether you are a security threat. Middle easterners can change their names just like everyone else. Why, I'm sure you only know Hispanics with names like Lopez and Ramirez, Blacks with names like Washington, etc.
Oh, and age isn't a perfect indicator either. You don't think terrorists can age past 40, or 50, or whatever arbitrary age you want to set? I'm glad you would have let bin Laden travel freely through TSA just because he was older.
Sorry, but TSA is very open about subjecting everyone to random security searches. Don't act like you or your mother or whomever is entitled to special treatment, just because "it's obvious". It's not obvious to people who don't know you. Timothy McVeigh probably came across as a non-terrorist threat according to your criteria. So would have the Norwegian who took out all those kids.
*soapbox off*
Preach Amartel! <3 Lurky
ReplyDeleteOh and as far as being searched...do not piss off the person at the counter.
EVER
I made that mistake once in Norfolk after a fantastic vacation in the Outer Banks. My bf was flying back about an hour before me. His flight was on time, mine was delayed a couple of hours. I rolled my eyes. Not.Smart.
I was then searched twice. Not.Fun.
Don't tick off the counter person. Take that for what it's worth.
Ohh Seachica, please step back up because I totally agree with you. Haters gone hate.
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ReplyDeleteMeh, I like Michael Moore.
ReplyDeleteI've been frisked by TSA, and it was a very underwhelming experience.
I think it depends on the searcher Pug :) Mine were 2 very large ladies who didn't seem to be having the best day.
ReplyDeleteBe very aware when the counter person is doing extra typing. No good can come of that.
Yo Ent - For someone like you who seems to be in the know, I guess your not. Maybe you should pull the wool out of your eyes - Michael Moore has been regularly posting on his Social Media accounts about all the walking he's doing and weight he's losing. I don't think you'll find him eating much bacon these days.
ReplyDeleteVery well said, Seachica!
ReplyDeleteIf you approach the TSA with a pissy attitude, look out.
I've been felt up, swabbed and scanned. Keep quiet, and it's over in a minute or two. (that's been my experience)
if any of you up there who are saying how the tsa isn't that vigilant, try being palestinian and try coming into the country. its a whole different set of standards. trust me on that.
ReplyDeleteI don't doubt for a second that michael moore got involved and that he set the heat on the immigration officials.
THANK YOU, Seachica - I was just about to post a similar diatribe. As someone who travels frequently between coasts and iternationally, it's just something you have to deal with. We live in an age of global terrorism, and TSA officials with airport security staff who unfortunately aren't trained terribly well, and generally don't care who they pull for searches/swabs or how they might delay your flight...
ReplyDeleteThey were just doing their job and an hour and a half really isn't that long to be detained. I've waited longer for my luggage.
ReplyDeleteMichael Moore is a giant douche who wishes he had any influence at all.
ReplyDeleteMrWolf, your comment disappeared!
ReplyDeleteI was swabbed last year and the TSA agent was very nice about it. I had forgotten to take my leatherman out of my purse (who does that? people getting ready a 4.30AM flight). They gave me a side escort, pat-down, envelope to mail my leatherman home, swab check, full body scan, and then priority escort to the gate so I wouldn't miss my flight.
It pays to be super nice and courteous to those in the trenches.
What's a leatherman, prolixe?
ReplyDeleteIt's sort of like a super awesome Swiss army knofe
DeleteI hope MM does his next documentary on TSA. They are way out of hand in Baltimore. I would be x-rayed and then frisked regularly. Why they're feeling my tits when they should only be checking my underwire I just don't know. Some areas are way worse than others. Me and my friends always thought it was funny that now women over 50 with over 25 years of govt. service and a SECURITY CLEARANCE were the new threat. Evidently the agency has been made aware of menopause.......
ReplyDeleteA leatherman is like a swiss army knife on steroids. Mine looks this. I have a little case in my bag with emergency stuff (ibuprofen, leatherman, chapstick, nail clippers, bandages, etc.) and I completely forgot about it being in there. They had a handy little service where you could mail your item home in an envelope (after it passed TSA approval), so I didn't lose it.
ReplyDeleteI love Michael Moore. Don't always agree with him, but he's an all-around good guy.
ReplyDeleteIMHO some of the TSA and European security measures are a complete WASTE of time and money for everyone.
ReplyDeleteYou guys read the article here at CDAN of people stealing diamonds. Well, statistics show that airports in Europe and the US are the black hole of inmigration and (ie anybody can enter if careful enough) and smuggling drugs, etc.
Who loses? Us normal folks who pay big with out taxes and our time.
I wish someone once would follow Michael Moore around with a camera. I swear if I was younger and had some money to blow I would do it. I bet he'd come off looking like an even bigger jerk than the people he tries to make other people look like in his badly hacked documentaries. And I say this as someone who liked Roger and Me. But when I saw Bowling for Columbine, I felt like MM did for humorous documentaries what William Randolph Hearst did for newspapers. Propaganda should be his middle name.
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