Not to deny those of you whose only form of exercise is jumping to
prejudiced conclusion...

-A

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,702062,00.html

The Cat Stevens incident has its origins in a spelling mistake

The Yusuf Islam incident earlier this week, in which the former Cat
Stevens was denied entry into the U.S. when federal officials
determined he was on the government's "no-fly" antiterror list,
started with a simple spelling error. According to aviation sources
with access to the list, there is no Yusuf Islam on the no-fly
registry, though there is a "Youssouf Islam." The incorrect name was
added to the register this summer, but because Islam's name is spelled
"Yusuf" on his British passport, he was allowed to board a plane in
London bound for the U.S. The Transportation Safety Administration
alleges that Islam has links to terrorist groups, which he has denied;
British foreign minister Jack Straw said the TSA action "should never
have been taken."

The incident points up some of the real problems facing security
personnel as they try to enforce the "no-fly" list. One issue is
spelling; many foreign names have several different transliterations
into English. And the sheer size of the list is daunting; thousands of
names have been added in the last couple months, says one government
official, bringing the total up to more than 19,000 names to look out
for. That makes it difficult for airlines and government agencies to
check all passengers. Within the past six months, several people on
the no fly list have been mistakenly allowed to fly.

Still, the TSA is learning. It recently acknowledged that a Federal
Air Marshall, unable to fly for weeks when his name was mistakenly put
on the "no-fly" list, was in fact not a threat, and removed his name
from the list.

The Cat Stevens incident has its origins in a spelling mistake

Not to deny those of you whose only form of exercise is jumping to
prejudiced conclusion...

-A

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,702062,00.html

The Cat Stevens incident has its origins in a spelling mistake

The Yusuf Islam incident earlier this week, in which the former Cat
Stevens was denied entry into the U.S. when federal officials
determined he was on the government's "no-fly" antiterror list,
started with a simple spelling error. According to aviation sources
with access to the list, there is no Yusuf Islam on the no-fly
registry, though there is a "Youssouf Islam." The incorrect name was
added to the register this summer, but because Islam's name is spelled
"Yusuf" on his British passport, he was allowed to board a plane in
London bound for the U.S. The Transportation Safety Administration
alleges that Islam has links to terrorist groups, which he has denied;
British foreign minister Jack Straw said the TSA action "should never
have been taken."

The incident points up some of the real problems facing security
personnel as they try to enforce the "no-fly" list. One issue is
spelling; many foreign names have several different transliterations
into English. And the sheer size of the list is daunting; thousands of
names have been added in the last couple months, says one government
official, bringing the total up to more than 19,000 names to look out
for. That makes it difficult for airlines and government agencies to
check all passengers. Within the past six months, several people on
the no fly list have been mistakenly allowed to fly.

Still, the TSA is learning. It recently acknowledged that a Federal
Air Marshall, unable to fly for weeks when his name was mistakenly put
on the "no-fly" list, was in fact not a threat, and removed his name
from the list.