A convenient coincidence

The first legal case against the US "no-fly" list, Ibrahim v. DHS, started in San Francisco this week. A crucial witness in the trial is Rainan Mustafa Kamal, Dr Ibrahim's daughter, who was expected to testify about how she and her mother were refused boarding permission in 2005. But there's a problem: she's in Malaysia. And oddly, she was unable to travel to the US to testify because she was on the "no-fly" list. A convenient "coincidence", neh?

This is what the secret exercise of unaccountable power inevitably leads to. And its precisely why we should never permit the government to hold such power over us.

[Hat-tip: Cory Doctorow]