Re: Erosion of Civil Liberties.

["Roger Stenning \(G1LIW\)" <g1liw@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Rob -

> This is, in fact, what the airlines do.  "If you want to ride our airline,
> you must abide by our rules" is Constitutional.  But "if you want to ride
> our airline, you must abide by rules set forth by the Government" is
> unconstitutional.  Basically, if the government is the one imposing the
> rules, or even just applying pressure to the airlines to apply certain
> rules, there's a serious Fourth Amendment concern.

Hmm. Makes me glad we don't have a contitution like yours, in this case; HMG (Her Majesty's Government) only has to
ensure that it doesn't break statute law; it can, therefore, require certain precautions to be practiced - such as body
searches!

> If the USG wishes to impose arbitrary searches, the only manner in which it
> is lawful to do so is if martial law is first imposed.

Hmm. No ofence to the Americans on this list, but if that's the case, then there's something seriously screwed with US
law, if you cannot, by law, secure the safety of your population, by imposing common-sense precautions at the behest of
the Government. I *do* understand, however, the graity of the conundrum the USG now finds itself in.

> Oh, sure.  Constitutional guarantees rarely apply to contracts between
> individuals.  :)

LOL

> Correct.  But in the current climate, /if/ the USG is specifying which
> security precautions must be implemented, and searches are part of that,
> then the USG is on thin ice.  If the random-searches are instituted by the
> airlines, by Busch Gardens, etc., on their own and without coercion from the
> government, then the USG is fine.

Hmm. Tricky. Does the learned Judge have any idea of how the UGS could get itself out of this mes, without breaching the
US Constitution?

Best regards,

Roger Stenning
Organiser, The Impossible Scenarios Group
www.the-isg.co.uk
ICQ: 74721632
UK Amateur Radio call sign: G1LIW
(PGP public key available on request)
________________________________________________________
LEGAL DISCLAIMER: The views expressed in this message
may not be those of the ISG. The information in this email and
in any attachments may be confidential and/or privileged. If you
are not the intended recipient, you should not retain, copy or
use this email for any purpose, nor disclose all or any part of
its content to any other person - you should also destroy this
message, delete any copies held on your systems and notify
the sender immediately.