

David Miranda lawyers’ letter to the Home Office - yitchelle
http://www.theguardian.com/world/interactive/2013/aug/20/david-miranda-letter-home-office

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AdrianRossouw
So one thing I can't help but wonder, is why they would choose to fly through
Heathrow on the way to Rio, when there are any number of more convenient
airports to fly through.

There's the obvious Lufthansa/Frankfurt connection he could have used, or the
almost pleasant KLM/Schiphol route (which also seems the quickest from a
cursory glance at hipmunk).

All of the other saturday/sunday flights that seem to pass through Heathrow to
Rio are several hundred dollars more expensive and/or a five or six hour
longer journey.

I suspect they were baiting the UK government, and were expecting this kind of
retaliation. While it worked, it still feels kind of 'daily mail' of them.

Obviously it's circumstantial, and it could simply be that the Guardian had an
existing account with BA or something as innocuous as that.

All I know is that you couldn't pay me enough to endure the horrors of
Heathrow unless there was absolutely no other way to avoid it. And that's
without the threat of the UK government possibly detaining me.

~~~
gcb0
You assume they are living like fugitives, not like simple folks that just
picked the cheapest flight available on the day/time they wanted. like, you
know, you and me?

~~~
AdrianRossouw
what I am saying is that, unless the prices for flights were WILDLY different
last week, the flights that don't go through heathrow are both cheaper and
faster than the ones that do.

~~~
gcb0
There are several other factors normal people take into account. Maybe they
didn't want to route trhu a country they do not have an entry visa already in
case they are delayed more than a day? Maybe they were taking a day long
connection to visit some friends?

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grecy
"You must answer all questions and hand over any data or documents requested"
and

"If you fail to comply you could be prosecuted under ..Terrorism Act."

Wow. No right to a lawyer. Who wouldn't be scared enough to tell them anything
they wanted to know, lest you wind up in a very deep, dark hole a la Manning.

Who made this kind of crap into law? We need to reverse these laws, ASAP.

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jostmey
British security agents lowered themselves to the level of _" thug"_ when they
confiscated David Miranda's property. Sadly, this event has reshaped my
thoughts on what role government should play in our lives.

