Interogation

Andrew Sullivan has talked eloquently about this issue, but he's missed the important point: there's a better way. I have experienced that better way. Through a strange bit of coincidences, I faced an international drug trafficking charge. It was no joke (25 years in jail), but I was completely innocent. So how do I prove that? I don't know, all I know is that I'm facing a crack team of interrogators, and they're looking looking to bust me. But it's okay, I'm not in America, I have rights, and I'm innocent.

My crime? They think I'm involved in international methamphetemine smuggling. And I'm in the Auckland airport as an American citizen. And they have detected methamphetemine on my luggage, but no significant quantities of it. I have no rights (not a citizen) and have been accused of a very serious crime. Needless to say, I'm nervous. But I have one positive thought: the people of New Zealand would never allow a person to be mistreated. And they would offer me rights in a court of law. But that only helped me because I was innocent. If I weren't, I still be in jail in New Zealand. (As an aside, can Firefox update its spellpeck to include New Zealand?)

So I was interrogated for three hours by two New Zealand customs officials, two New Zealand drug agents, and one Australian official of unknown agency. At any given time, there were three interrogators, but they rotated. I told the story of my flying from Bangkok to Auckland through Bali and Brisbane at least five times. And I made it clear that I hadn't touched my bags since going through security in Bangkok. But in no instance did they ever allow me to tell that story in chronological order. Someone would always break in on my story about the Bangkok airport with what happened in Brisbane. "And how did your bags get from from Bangkok to Brisbane?" And I reply: "Umm, I don't know how Garuda Indonesia sends my bags, and I probably don't want to know." It was a constant stream of different questions from different people from different countries. There was simply no way I'd could ever create a coherent lie under that situation. The truth was really the only path. I could occasionally make a joke because my interrogators were actually quite nice. But they weren't easy. Fortunately, the truth saved me.

So what's the truth? There really was, and probably still is, a Brisbane to Auckland methamphetimine route that used excess baggage space as the means of transport. It was done through the baggage handlers. My backpack was very underloaded and could easily handle another 50 kilos. So they used my baggage space to transport their goods. And I ended up facing a very serious situation because of it. But the truth is simple: I was innocent and they figured that out. If they had tortured me, I'd have admitted to anything. And I'd still be in jail. And they would be no closer to catching those that committed the crime. In fact, they'd be farther away. And the truth is this: I didn't really like being held and interrogated under those circumstaces, but I have great respect for those that interrogated me. They did what they had to do (and I was scared), but they did get the right information.

Slacking

Haven't posted in a while. It's not that I don't have ideas. It's just that I feel like I feel like those ideas have to be good for them to be posted. And those ideas should be expressed in a reasonable manner. What's happened this week so infuriates me that it's difficult to be reasonable. Offshore drilling, Obama's cave on FISA, the usual right wing Christian craziness, etc. I guess the thing I find about blogging is that I'm much more hesitant to express my feelings than I would be just commenting on someone else's blog*. Part of it is that is is easier to react than create. But the bigger issue is that things I write in the main post are really mine. And I'm afraid to own something that is really stupid. Not that I haven't written stupid things here, I just don't want to do it knowingly. I also want to avoid issues that are already beaten to death. Offshore drilling is such an issue. If you haven't already read several dozen tirades against the plan, you haven't been reading. So, in the interest of providing something new, here's this and this. The first is about a katoey in Thailand and the second is about animals taking over airport runways in India. Both are from Asia Times, and neither are even remotely surprising. I've decided that I should make an effort to provide weird stories from India and Thailand because, let's face it, the weirdest stories usually come from those two countries . But I don't do this to denigrate either country, I do it to reveal the very real differences in attitude that exist in the world.

*Here's an example of a recent comment on gay issues:

"John, you raise a good point that is probably lost on most people outside of Thailand. I personally don't care much about the marriage issue, but I do support anyone's marriage rights and vote that way. I was born heterosexual and no amount of social pressure would ever change that. But I have no problem having drinks with the katoey in Bangkok- but just drinks, thank you. While I'd agree that sexuality is a continuous spectrum, I'm pretty far to one side. And I'm comfortable with that. And that's precisely why I enjoy the company of anyone who's anywhere on the spectrum. It just doesn't matter to me because I'm comfortable with myself. It's when people are acting in way that is inconsistent with their placement on the spectrum that problems arise. And based on the number of gay Republicans espousing anti-gay rhetoric, it's pretty clear that the failure to accept one's placement on the spectrum creates serious emotional conflicts. In the end, The Closet is the most emotionally destructive force in sexuality. We need to create a society where nobody feels the need to be in The Closet. And that needs to include the transvestites, transgendered, and transexuals as well. Thailand does it pretty well. So can we."

As you can see, it's longer than many of my posts. I think it's time to stop worrying about what I write, and just write. It's easier that way.

Tim Russert

Shocking news. I guess it's another reminder that we never really know when the end will be. I generally liked Tim as an interviewer. His toughness sometimes slipped into gotcha questions, but not too often. And he generally stuck to substantive questions. Overall, I'd say he was one of the better journalists on television. He will be missed.