Middle East Analyst Maidhc ‘O Cathail*, accuses New York Senator Charles Schumer of turning the United States into “an Islamophobic police state”. He told Press TV’s U.S. Desk in a phone interview on Thursday that Schumer is “yet another reminder of who is stoking fear of Muslims in America.”

‘O Cathail who is also an Investigative Journalist said “Senator Schumer told a Jewish radio show that “Hasham an orthodox Jewish name for ‘God’ gave him his name ‘Schumer’ which means guardian, so that he can fulfill the very important role in the U.S. Senate as the guardian of Israel.”

He added,”presumably Schumer’s God-given role also includes turning the country he is actually paid to represent, the United Sates, into an Islamophobic police state.”

“Americans concerned about what Homeland Security is doing to their civil liberties need to be asking exactly whose homeland and whose security is being protected by the likes of Schurman. It certainly isn’t America’s? ‘O Cathail told Press TV’s U.S. Desk.

Last month, Senator Charles Schumer pushed for the creation of the No Ride List – which would act similarly to the No Fly List for airlines. He said that he would push for increased funding for rail security to fund more track inspections and monitoring. Schumer called for a “no-ride” list for Amtrak trains, as a way of preventing potential terrorists from riding the rails. He also proposed increased spending on rail security, despite $50 million of cuts to the rail and port security grant program. Edition.cnn.com

FACTS & FIGURES

Calls for airlines to hand their no-fly lists to the nation’s largest rail carrier are not sitting well with New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg. Newyork.cbslocal.com

Mayor Bloomberg said he’s not keen on the idea of a “no ride” list for Amtrak trains. Newyork.cbslocal.com

This is not the first time that someone has suggested increasing security on Amtrak, which last year carried 28.7 million passengers around the country. Gothamist.com

The September 11 Commission recommended in 2004 that travelers’ names be checked against terror watch lists before they were allowed to board boats and trains, but the idea was never implemented. Gothamist.com

Under the current rules, airlines must submit prospective manifests of passengers to U.S. officials at least two hours before departure time so the list can be checked against that no-fly list. Makes sense. But for Amtrak? What’s next, a no-ride list for buses? A no-shop list for malls? Let’s not forget that no-cross list for busy auto intersections. Bnet.com

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*Maidhc Ó Cathail is a widely published writer based in Japan. To read more of his writing, go to Maidhc Ó Cathail: Writing and Analysis.

June 8, 2011