Curfew in Baghdad, TSA Nipplegate

Erin Kotecki Vest — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 01:52:34 -0500

CNN reports Iraq's government imposed a weekend curfew in Baghdad amid clashes between government troops and Shiite militia fighters, and U.S. Embassy staff were told to remain indoors after days of rocket attacks
left two U.S. government employees dead.

Sixteen rockets were fired Wednesday and 12 on Tuesday. U.S. Embassy workers in Iraq were
told to remain in secure buildings and wear protective clothing as rockets continued to rain down on Baghdad's International Zone.

10-year old Lexi took to YouTube to dedicate a song to "all the troops who have and are putting themselves in harms way for us.

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The Associated Press reports a Texas woman who said she was forced to remove a nipple ring with pliers in order to board an airplane called for an apology by federal security agents and a civil rights investigation.

"I wouldn't wish this experience upon anyone," Mandi Hamlin said at a news conference. "My experience with TSA was a nightmare I had to endure. No one deserves to be treated this way."

Hamlin's story, as reported by the AP:

Hamlin said she was trying to board a flight from Lubbock to Dallas when she was scanned by a Transportation Security Administration agent after passing through a larger metal detector without problems.
The female TSA agent used a handheld detector that beeped when it passed in front of Hamlin's chest, the Dallas-area resident said. Hamlin said she told the woman she was wearing nipple piercings. The agent then called over her male colleagues, one of whom said she would have to remove the jewelry, Hamlin said. Hamlin said she could not remove them and asked whether she could instead display her pierced breasts in private to the female agent. But several other male officers told her she could not board her flight until the jewelry was out, she said. She was taken behind a curtain and managed to remove one bar-shaped piercing but had trouble with the second, a ring. Still crying, she informed the TSA officer that she could not remove it without the help of pliers, and the officer gave a pair to her, said Hamlin's attorney, Gloria Allred, reading from a letter she sent Thursday to the director of the TSA's Office of Civil Rights and Liberties. Allred is a well-known Los Angeles lawyer who often represents high-profile claims. Applying pliers to the torso of a mannequin that had a peach-colored bra with the rings on it, Hamlin
showed reporters at the news conference how she took off the second ring.She said she heard male TSA agents snickering as she took out the ring. She was scanned again and was allowed to board even
though she still was wearing a belly button ring.

Jillian writes, "But this article is not the norm. The big bad Screeners do not get off on making people remove piercings from sensitive areas, going through your carry-on luggage is not the highlight of their day, and doing a pat down search is as uncomfortable for them as it is for the person receiving it. And while the details presented in this article make me question the actions of the Screeners involved, I feel the need to point out they all aren't like that. Some of them consistently go above and beyond what they are called to do. I can name countless times I've given up a break (after being on my feet for 9 hours) to help a lost passenger or a pregnant mom traveling alone or an elderly couple that looked like they needed my help. I've witnessed Screeners patiently give out information about the surrounding area, miss their shuttles because someone stopped them for help, call the Police when something didn't look right, and escort passengers to their cars late at night. And what about the toddlers we help dress, the shoes we tie? Where are those news stories? That's right, it's more important to sensationalize every single negative thing that happens. As a former Screener I was yelled at, cursed at, threatened, called all kind of names, had things thrown at me, been vomited on, and had my intelligence insulted by management and passengers alike on several
occasions. My point is: Don't let stuff like this speak for the rest of the Screeners who actually try their best to represent what TSA is supposed to stand for."

Alannah says, "THE OUTRAGE! (Okay, but you really should click on this link, if only to see Gloria Allred looking very concerned and seriously at the victim's bra)"

TSA officials said they are investigating to see whether its policies were followed.

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Contributing Editor Erin Kotecki Vest also blogs at Queen of Spain Blog.

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Curfew in Baghdad, TSA Nipplegate