It’s Posy Time Again

I hereby present my second Progressive Posy to the fearless individuals who attempted a citizens' arrest of three pilots who have been indicted in foreign courts for their roles in the horrible practice known as extraordinary rendition.  I prefer to call it "international kidnapping for vicious and illegal purposes" but I guess that's just me. 

The self-styled Aero Eight were arrested back in April for trespassing on land leased by Aero Contractors to deliver arrest warrants for three pilots for the "private air carrier" (wink, wink).  The pilots were among 13 Aero Contractor crew members who were indicted in Germany for their role in Khaled El-Masri's kidnapping.  You may recall that he was the German citizen that our government had rendered – rendited Bush might say – to be tortured in Afghanistan in a case of mistaken identity.  Last year, El-Masri was denied the right to sue the US government and three of it's hench-contractors because a trial would present a risk to national security.  Or so sayeth a federal judge.  In any case, the Aero Eight weren't buying it and decided to do what's right on behalf of someone who is unlikely, to say the least, to see justice done in this depressing case.  Yes, they did what was right.  Possibly harebrained, but definitely right, and certainly more than the county, state, or nation is going to do. 

On Thursday, a judge tossed out the trespassing charges against Ellen Biesack and concluded that Josh McIntyre, Samuel Bass and Patrick O'Neill, all of Raleigh, and Isabel Marcusson of Chapel Hill were not guilty of trespass.  Three others, Stephen Woolford of Siler City, Francis Coyle of Chapel Hill,and Barbara Zelter of Raleigh received short suspended sentences and were ordered to stay away from the Johnston County Airport for two years.  Ouch.   They plan to appeal their sentences on principle, and I wish them luck.  You can read El-Masri's statement here if you want to quibble about the Posy awards process.  You can also hear more about how Aero Contractor personnel were tracked down and indicted.  And if you can then think about what's done in the name of our security, by people living and working very nearby, and manage to stop vomiting, then perhaps you deserve a posy as well.