Bomb scare at Ottawa airport just an iPod

In the age of terrorism, security officials are a bit on edge these days, you know? British travellers have had to check their electronics, Americans are facing the war on liquids, and the Canadians have just opened up a new front in the war on carry-on items. Some twelve days ago an incoming plane from Chicago, landing in Canada's capital city, Ottawa, was kept away from the main terminal as a suspicious item was found on board in the plane's lavatory. The passengers were taken off the plane, a canine team and bomb squad were brought in and the plane was checked from stem to stern. The offending item? An iPod. No word on what kind, though. Folks, please be careful with your iPods -- don't let them go wandering off to the loo unattended, ok?

P.S. - A guy turned up on the World of Warcraft forums, claiming that it was his iPod that caused the whole fiasco. He recounts his tale here. Airport security FTW!

P.P.S. - A woman who was on that flight contributed an op-ed piece to the Ottawa Citizen, confirming many of the details of the above story.

[paolo @ Aug 27th 2006 3:21AM]

haha poor guy i kinda felt bad for him

[Shorties @ Aug 27th 2006 3:28AM]

What would of been really bad (And Ironic) is if the battery in the guy's laptop exploded as customs was searching for Contraband on it.

[eric @ Aug 27th 2006 3:57AM]

Kerunt, there's most likely clauses in your ticket agreement that forfeits the right against search and seizure.

I a week I am taking a one-way flight with a lot of electronics in toe. I'm going to do my best to minimize suspicion but I have a feeling this heightened security will be trouble.

I'm afraid to fly because of my government, not the terrorists. Who's winning this war again?

[Lonin @ Aug 27th 2006 4:28AM]

Such an amazing yet ridiculous story. Like eric said above me, terrorists have succeeded when crap like this happens.

It's very interesting to hear about the misinformation, bullying, and scare-tactics officials use to ground people into submission first-hand. I really wonder what would've happened if he stood up for his rights a few more times than he did. He'd probably be in prison already without any charges and not see the light of day for another 6 months. Very sad.

[Juaquin @ Aug 27th 2006 4:29AM]

Would anyone like to argue that "security" hasn't gone too far when an iPod encased in feces is considered a threat?

Didn't think so.

[Nogami @ Aug 27th 2006 4:43AM]

Holy crap - if all of that is true, I feel so embarrased to have a security agency like that representing my country... What kind of totally clueless f**king morons are they hiring in security services these days...

If the government thinks that this kind of idiocity makes us feel "safer", they're even stupider than I thought.

N.

[Me @ Aug 27th 2006 6:03AM]

This is hardly the first iPod baumbe scayre.
I've personaly had my 60GB black iPod vid clear a playne twice.
I am very wyte and of eyre-ish decent.
Never been to a ma da-la camp.
No stampz in guvmint pssprt to suggest that Iv eva had brayn warshin.
Grannyz got a balm up herz stokinz.

[David @ Aug 27th 2006 6:10AM]

Honestly I was fine with the actions of security up until the point at which this snippit happened:

""Contraband," he said without looking up at me.
"Such as?"
"Child pornography, hate propaganda."
"Child porn I can understand, that's illegal. But hate propaganda is protected speech."
Now he looked up. "What country do you think you're in?"
"Oh, it's illegal in Canada?"
"I honestly don't know. But that doesn't matter. I get to decide what goes in this country. Do you have a problem with that?"
I paused for a long time while I thought about what I should say to this. "Yes."
"Yes, you do have a problem?"
"Yes, I do. If it's illegal in Canada I'll understand, but saying 'I don't want it in my country' isn't good enough when you're a government official."

[Eli @ Aug 27th 2006 7:26AM]

Eric,
I'm more scared of security than terrorists too. Kind of sad isn't it?

[Vince @ Aug 27th 2006 7:50AM]

If you're wondering if a customs agent has the authority to search your computer files, bags, clothes and/or misc body cavities under the flimsiest of pretexts...yup, he does. If you're wondering if those same agents can have you detained for an unspecified period of time...once again, yup.

Immigrations and Customs are a virtual no-man's land, where the laws that apply within the country do not necessarily extend. There is no axiomatic guarantee that what you can possess within the country can be brought in to it. Likewise, there is no axiomatic guarantee that the legal rights you have within the country extend to your time in customs and immigration.

I feel a bit embarrassed for the guy, but that's about as far as it goes. Basically, he was lucky not to have an extended vacation courtesy of the Canadian government.

[John @ Aug 27th 2006 8:03AM]

Ok...so what's a TLDR and a haiku?

[daz @ Aug 27th 2006 8:17AM]

"Do the customs people even have the right to simply go through a person's laptop without a warrant of some sorts?"

In UK the police have to have a warrant IF the computer is password protected, If it is not then they can look through it.

At the point when he said that it is his ipod in the toilet the stewards should of called it off.

[Seanux @ Aug 27th 2006 8:22AM]

I find that article hard to believe

"Folks, this is the captain. I don't want to alarm you, but we've found a suspicious device in the front lavatory. Now, we think it's probably nothing, but in this day and age ... you can never be too careful. We'll be landing at Ottawa, where we will await further instructions."


this is a big nono in aviation, you DO NOT want to start a panic on your airplane. While I do believe that an iPod could have caused this, I don't believe that the person claiming it to be their iPod was telling the truth.

[Pal @ Aug 27th 2006 9:04AM]

Read the forum post, funniest thing I've read in a long time. His writing made it feel like a short movie. Awesome.

[Wayne @ Aug 27th 2006 10:51AM]

I'm sorry, but I honestly believe that this story has been embellished a little bit. A customs officer not knowing if hate speech is illegal in Canada???

[Roberto @ Aug 27th 2006 10:57AM]

They went way too far. Corrective action is required. Personally, I'd be emotionally traumatized by that experience. Hell, reading his recounting of the experience was traumatic in and of itself.

That angle would be a good place to start when considering a lawsuit against Customs. Anyone interested in setting-up a legal defense fund?

[Leonard Nimrod @ Aug 27th 2006 1:25PM]

I can't wait for Matt and Trey to use this idea. After all, the gov't officals sure did act they were right out of a South Park episode.



IF YOU DIDN'T READ THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE ON WoW, DO SO; IT'S QUITE ENTERTAINING!

[Perrey Z. @ Aug 27th 2006 3:37PM]

Very well said, Eric. Sadly this country is rule by Republican bigots and their Billionaire buddies with a secret agenda and their propaganda is just to scare people in order to take advantage of them and at the same time make a few Billion$.

99.99% of the time those so-called " Terrorist plots" are orchestrated by the U.S. Government to keep people on panic. During the past 4-years since 9/11 the terrorist alert has never come down from the Orange Level and sure in hell after this so-called "liquid bomb plan" will never come down from the Red level either.

I'm sure Halliburton and all those corporations involved in this stupid war are enjoying it. But time will tell when people will see the right path and what kind of lying Government they have. Everything in life is always reveal. The good lord always make sure everything comes to light at the right time.

[Mark @ Aug 27th 2006 3:50PM]

If Matt and Trey use this idea, of course, it will have to be Philip and Terrence doing the cavity searches at the Ottawa, Canada airport ;) (which btw, got a really nice reno recently. I wonder if Delmer and Cecil had a hand in that)

[Tom @ Aug 27th 2006 10:12PM]

Hate speech is illegal in Canada. Free speech only extends until it encroaches on the rights of others. In Canada, everybody has the right to be free from discrimination. You don't have to like people, but you cannot discriminate against them. Charter of Rights people. Also Perrey you are aware that this occured in CANADA right? Our Government is not your government, and don't you ever forget it.

[Chris Korhonen @ Aug 28th 2006 12:56AM]

Airport security is wierd, I flew from Phoenix to Denver today and wasn't asked to present any form of ID when checking luggage, passing thru security etc. Nice and secure!

[weird @ Aug 28th 2006 1:01AM]

How ironic that a cherished document, called the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, tells you what your rights AREN'T and LIMITS your freedoms.

But, that's exactly the point. The point of it isn't to tell you that you are a free person with rights. It's to define the absolute bounds of what's possible in your existence. Being told what to do, how to live, what to think: just how Canadians like it.

[yep @ Aug 28th 2006 1:08AM]

Yeah, the Charter's more of a document of circumscription, and not so much one of liberation. I can't wait to graduate so I can move to the US...

[tekdemon @ Aug 28th 2006 4:21AM]

Does nobody else find it somewhat strange that this guy had no porn at all on his laptop?

I wonder then, if you had a particularly vast porn collection, whether customs would then have to view all of it to make sure none of it was child pornography. Like, what if you had like 100 hours of porn movies on your laptop-would they have to view 100 hours of porn to make sure your laptop is legal?

This could actually prove to be pretty hilarious if you think about it. We should totally make sure to keep some huge folder of the weirdest (but legal) porn we can find somewhere on our laptops just to piss customs off. Seriously, one huge folder of gay bondage scat porn just for customs to look through.

[Psyhun @ Aug 28th 2006 11:15AM]

I have some doubts on the authenticity of the story...... it seems too detailed......

[Afterthought @ Aug 30th 2006 12:08AM]

@ weird an yep, you guys are stupid. Especially yep.

There IS a reason why Canadians are always seen as very liberal, ESPECIALLY by our neighbours down South (weird if you are American, then you are even more stupid than I originally thought).

And yep, I can't wait till you can leave my country and join your redneck Republican friends in their quest to end democracy in the US of A.

Last time I checked, most Americans were complaining about how their rights were being infringed upon, etc etc. Why else do you think that sites like DemocracyNow were started for?

Idiots, pathetically hopeless.

[jay @ Sep 6th 2006 8:55PM]

Would anyone like to argue that "security" hasn't gone too far when an iPod encased in feces is considered a threat?

Didn't think so.

----

I'm not so sure. If you were the airhostessx and didn't know what was in there, would you call the TSA? And if you were the TSA, would you accept the air hostesses response "oh no everything is alright now, we are fine don't do anything" - what if the plane was highjacked?

So should the plane have been grounded? It certainly didn't hurt... What is certain is that once it was on the ground things got out of hand. They went way too nuts with the security once the plane landed and everyone knew it was just a stray iPod. There was no need for questioning him about his travels, just get the iPod out of the toilet!