Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: gofaster on January 13, 2004, 10:21:25 AM
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... or you may get a visit from the law enforcement authorities. And certainly don't go around looking for flight sim games at your local office products store!
Pilot's Search for Flight-Simulator Software Spurs Visit From State Trooper
Mon Jan 12, 5:34 PM ET
By Emanuella Grinberg, Court TV
(Court TV) —
Be careful what you ask for is the lesson Julie Olearcek learned when she inquired about a gift for her son last week at a Staples store.
A seemingly innocent query for flight simulation software earned the Air Force Reserves pilot a visit to her home from State Troopers, according to local reports.
Olearcek was looking for a computer game that her son could use to practice flying an aircraft, just like the ones flown by his mother and father, who is also an active-duty pilot. After searching the aisles for something that didn't involve fighting to no avail, Olearcek asked a sales clerk.
"He was alarmed by us asking how to fly airplanes and said that was against the law," said Olearcek, according to The Recorder, an online news site. "I said I couldn't imagine that, but, because (the clerk) was a little on edge ... I left."
A few hours later, a State Trooper showed up at Olearcek's house incognito, shining a flashlight through a sliding door and tapping on the glass.
Olearcek was frightened at first, but the State Trooper identified himself and asked Olearcek if she had inquired about the video game. She said she had, and then showed her military ID. "At first I felt like, 'Wait a minute, this is America.' But we also have to understand it takes everybody to pay attention," Olearcek said.
Sgt. Donald Charpentier of the Shelburne Falls State Police barracks said the Staples manager had called them to report that a person had been looking for instructional videos regarding flying planes.
"Those programs are quite common for entertainment and training, but he felt it was suspicious enough to warrant a call," said Charpentier, according to the Recorder. "We responded, and it turned out to be innocent enough; a person looking to buy a Christmas gift."
In the post-9/11 world, Staples spokesperson Sharyn Frankel said are instructed to be alert and to report any sort of suspicious inquiries or behavior in the store. "It's all about keeping our associates and customers safe. This was out of the ordinary and kind of raised a red flag and (the sales clerk) did what he thought was right."
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It seems that our entire law enforcement system is out of control.
Hiya DMF. :D
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Originally posted by Sandman_SBM
It seems that our entire law enforcement system is out of control.
Yes, I agree. I say we disband all law enforcement and let chaos rule, particularly in California. :D
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This is actually kind of intresting as she was (im guessing solely by name) a white woman and a likely american citizen and she still got coucht up in this mess. Perhaps its a sign that we shouldnt worry so much about fears that the terror war and increased watchfulness would unfairly target mid east men to the exclusion of other people who come off as suspicious.
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What the hell. Staples needs to fire that person. What a ****up.
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The very few times I have been in Staples, I have had to bring a search dog to try and find an employee. Unless it's a last minute must have item, do people really still buy office supplies in retail stores?
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Keep the guns legal in US, however require flightsim license to purchase flight simulators.
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Originally posted by GtoRA2
What the hell. Staples needs to fire that person.
I agree.
Staples should go out and find all the different flight sim programs and send them to that customer for free. The least they can do.
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Sick.
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I gotta agree. If this was not a caucasion military family the outcome could have been much different. What if they were of Mediterranian or Arab descent? This is nothing more than an outright invasion of privacy. I guess HTC is nothing more than a front to train terrorists. :rolleyes: What happens if there is a terrorist attack that does'nt involve aircraft and uses, let's say an 18 Wheeler? I imagine the people that bought Big Mother Truckers can expect a visit from DHS. Car Bomb? It's quite obvious... Grand Theft Auto owners off to Gitmo!
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Originally posted by rpm371
I gotta agree. If this was not a caucasion military family the outcome could have been much different. What if they were of Mediterranian or Arab descent? This is nothing more than an outright invasion of privacy.
err a person asked about flight sim software...a employee misunderstood and phoned someone...so now a simple misunderstanding of a question is a invasion of privacy???
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Originally posted by vorticon
err a person asked about flight sim software...a employee misunderstood and phoned someone...so now a simple misunderstanding of a question is a invasion of privacy???
Yes.
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This is stupid. That salesperson needs to get fired ... period. Even if the person was middle-Eastern ... it still doesn't warrant reporting it to the police. Just another sign that the terrorists are winning :(
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Some of you seem to think this is acceptable. How different is this from someone being investigated for buying a history book about JFK because they might assassinate a politician?
Inches and feet, that's what this is.
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That's it, I'm getting myself a turbin and heading down to my local Staples.
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Its a bit much... I could of seen it happening if the customer's questions were related to cities or well known buildings in regards to a flight sim.
Glad I don't shop at Staples, if I buy coffee there they may think I'm trying to ship cocaine. :rolleyes:
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That's it, I'm getting myself a turbin and heading down to my local Staples.
:rofl
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A Dariwn award canidate?
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First off it's basically an isolated and absurd case but is symptomatic of the kind of absurdity that pops up in times like these. Just like what happened to JB73 when he made his crack about a 'yellow alert' and nearly got fired and or arrested.
That clerk must be incredibly stupid or naive. Imagine saying that asking about flying airplanes is against the law. That was confounded by the management in the shop. I don't blame the cops because they have to respond to to all kinds of BS as a routine. The question in my mind though is what if it was a young man not an Air Force pilot who happens to be a woman. He could have spent a very uncomfortable few hours before the truth came out.
It reminds me though of the kind of thing that goes on in Fascist or Communist regimes. There is always someone willing to report people for real imagined plots against the leader or threats to the state.
Luckily America is still a free country but there are degrees of freedom. The risk is not so much that the government actually deliberately restricts freedom but that it creates a climate of fear where people are afraid to express themselve freely because there is always a spy or an informer ready to report them to the authorities or even maliciously try to get them into trouble.
JB73's situation would be more typical. An isolated jokey comment taken out of context and escalated. I'll bet JB feels a little more constrained in what he says these days. Multiply that by a thousand or a hundred thousand times and it gets worrying.
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Can't even buy flight sims anymore. What has happened to the economy!?!?!
dont answer that, it may involve another 150 posts....
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At least she didn't try to buy a yoke and pedals to go along with the flight sim. That could've gotten her arrested.
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the clerk doesn't suprise me. more often than not I deal with morons when going to a retail store. he was an idiot.
but the cop should have known better. when the clerk made the report, why didn't the cop just say "wise up you moron, flight sims aren't illegal" and end it right there.
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The cop had no choice, the idiot couldn't help himself it's the manager who should be fired.
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you have to remember in any good-sized organization, the true idiots don't get fired.
they get promoted.
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"In the post-9/11 world, Staples spokesperson Sharyn Frankel said are instructed to be alert and to report any sort of suspicious inquiries or behavior in the store. "It's all about keeping our associates and customers safe. This was out of the ordinary and kind of raised a red flag and (the sales clerk) did what he thought was right."
It seems as if they are allowed to track the books we read from the library. Then they should be allowed to know what we game we play for our computer. Strike another one up for USA Patriot Act and the fear this government has pumped into the masses.
I hate living in the post 9/11 world.
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why did the cop have no choice. the guy reptorted behavior that was neither suspicious nor illegal.
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Originally posted by SOB
That's it, I'm getting myself a turbin and heading down to my local Staples.
Let us know how it works out.
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Lip service to safety?
Yes, looks that way to me...
Attempting to create a fear ridden state through such means?
Yes also....
They get to look like they are doing something to protect us when in reality they can do next to nothing. 9-11 will Never happen agin ... the passengers won't let it. An irrational fear has been created over a little anthrax and four planes ... now you see this fear eveywhere .... anyone could be a terrorist, especialy tho' fligth sim dweebs :rolleyes:.
But this is simply the latest symtom in the news
tho I see it elsewhere too
.... I went to a basketball game few weeks back .... they were stoping people and checking thier cell phones... they made you push buttons to make sure it was 'real' and working...
so I ask him.... why are you checkign the phones
Guys says ..."because they might be bombs"
I had to stop myself from LOL...
I could think of easier ways in a minute to create terror than packing c4 or something into a phone....
Throw any chemical of choice into a hotdog stand.... ( i get liquor in games all the time, it wouldn't be any harder to get in some type of posion, were you so inclined)
A working phone would be much more useful for a remote triggering device, which means it would be working anyway.
Lip servivce to safety ....
This flight sim fiasco reeks of the same problem .. not only lip service to safety, but an attempt to build fear in common people, an irrational fear ....
"The Terrorists(al'quada)" aren't coming for you ... and the idea that you can keep people like Tim McVhey(sp) from doing thier thing is impossible unless your willing to give up all your freedoms for safety....
Watch out for tho's guy renting U-hauls ... they might use it to blow up the FBI
That's the kind of logic we are looking at
What's stoping me from going out and createing terror .. nothing but me.....
and that holds true for most of you with a brain and any education in firearms etc.
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This is why this really bothers me .. just the latest symtom of an irrational fear.
the clerk should not be that afraid... it's irrational....
The police should have told the moron it's an irrational fear, but they didn't so ....ethir the cop(s) involved have the same fear, or they feel the right to seach anyone at a whim- take your pick.
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Originally posted by SOB
That's it, I'm getting myself a turbin and heading down to my local Staples.
I'd pay for that video. It would be 10X's as funny as "Punked" or "Yank Crankers"!
Anyway, this is just the beginning.
I still gotta wonder, if someone called the police and said they had to report someone was trying to buy flightsim software, why would she have to have a Trooper knocking at her window with a flashlight pry scaring the crap outta her? Wouldn't they just tell them to piss off?
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SOB in a turbine .... I hope he remembers were the pull starter is on it !!! :rofl
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I'd like to see Tracey Ullman do it in a turbin lol..
but i'd pay to see SOB hehe
if i start talkign about yokes at my local staples..... will i get in trouble or get eggs? :D
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I can't believe Staples employed this lad. Don't they sell scissors and the like there?
"Hello, is this the FBI? This is Frank McDunce. I've infilitrated an Al Queda cell that is planning some real mayhem going by how much equipment they have in this place. Better get the National Guard over here!"
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do they even allow scissors in england? Maybe just the ones with the round ends?
I imagine that the police have to investigate every complaint from citizens. I think sandies vision of a U.S. police force spinning wildly out of control may be a bit premature. libs are so.... impatient.
lazs
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We're not afraid of flight-sims over here, and the only traffic light systems we have are next to the road, showing just three colours. Fancy that!
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LOL SOB
:rofl
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but you add extra letters in "colors" to make up for it. And... you drive on the wrong side of the road.
lazs
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On the contrary, you take letters away from words that you have difficulty spelling (possibly in an act of petulant rebellion against Queen's English) and drive on the wrong side of road. You also put automatic gear controls on the steering column and refer to manual gears as 'stick shifts'. No!
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Originally posted by Creamo
I still gotta wonder, if someone called the police and said they had to report someone was trying to buy flightsim software, why would she have to have a Trooper knocking at her window with a flashlight pry scaring the crap outta her? Wouldn't they just tell them to piss off?
Staples peon : "Police? Yes, someone is here trying to buy flight simulation software!! I got her license plate number and..."
Police : "Do you sell flight simulation software?"
Staples peon : "What?"
Police : "I said, do you sell flight simulation software?"
Staples peon : "Ummmm...........I dunno"
Police : "Let me check........Yes, Staples.com says you do."
Staples peon : "OK, but..."
Police : "You are calling the police to report that someone is trying to buy a product that you sell?"
Staples peon : "Yes, but.."
Police : "Piss off!!!!"
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lol
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well 2 weeks ago there were apb's for almanacs so i guess flight sims would be next... Then books will be burned , then people...
history repeats itself... do the research ...
DoctorYo
PS (where was the prob. cause for trespass and illegal seach and seizure when that smoe was poking around her house...)
If it was that serious dont you think a judge should have been consulted: this is what im talking about.. No accountability..
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Hello.
I want to buy an almenac.
sales person : djust a moment.
LOL!
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LOL good one, SOB. they might even think you are the janitor or something.
With this PC environment, you may get a swell job offer too!
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Just flew back through OKC and was shocked when the computer randomly selected my two year old twin boys for a full screening. They were made to stand on a mat where we could not touch them while they were wanded down. We were also required to take of their shoes so they could be Xrayed. Of course, they were freaked out and cried the whole time. I was seething but kept my mouth shut until one of the TSA guys told me, "if they were my kids they would come when I called them" when they wouldn't walk through the metal detector by themselves and come to him.
I demanded to see supervisor who explained that because my kids had one way tickets back home (a long story involving using frequent flyer miles) they were slected by the TSA computer in the sky as security risks. I pointed out to him that a two year old with a one way ticket is PROBABLY A LOW THREAT POTENTIAL TO OUR NATIONAL SECURITY and did their EXPERTS really think that a terrorist bent on seeing Allah would be concerned with saving the cost of a round trip ticket?
I'm sorry folks but this is TOTAL BS!!!!!!!!!!!
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one of the TSA guys told me, "if they were my kids they would come when I called them" when they wouldn't walk through the metal detector by themselves and come to him.
Sick.
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one of the TSA guys told me, "if they were my kids they would come when I called them" when they wouldn't walk through the metal detector by themselves and come to him.
I'm guessing the TSA guy doesn't have kids. With that attitude I hope he doesn't get to. Sorry for what you had to go through. It's absolutely discusting.
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Originally posted by Corwin
"if they were my kids they would come when I called them"
My response would have been, "Would you like to try to repeat that sentence with no teeth?".
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Originally posted by Corwin
I'm sorry folks but this is TOTAL BS!
Before that little girl in Florida was found with a handgun in her teddy bear last year, I would have agreed with you.
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Originally posted by Mickey1992
Before that little girl in Florida was found with a handgun in her teddy bear last year, I would have agreed with you.
Then X-ray the teddy bear. X-ray the kids' stuff. And if you do have to wand the kids, do it with care and respect, with the parents close. There is absolutely nothing that can justify freakin out a child like that. Adults may understand what is happening. A child does not.
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Thats awesome Corwin. You know that ******* that gave you **** *may* have graduated from high school.
Hire the dumbest people around that are incapable of thinking for themselves to form the core of "security" personnel and have a computer tell them what to do.
May as well just train some ****ing monkeys to do that job.
-SW