[Leica] Billingham bags banned from u.s. domestic flights

[sethrosner at nycap.rr.com (Seth Rosner)]

What fools these Homeland Security people are! White does Whatel know? 
Billingham bags were used 70 years ago to facilitate the escape from Das 
Dritte Reich of Erwin Piscator, founder of the Berliner Volksbuhne that was 
closed by the NSDAP 10 years later. The photos were taken not by Cassidy but 
by an assistant of Piscator in the 1920's. They led in part to the closing 
of the Volksbuhne.

Piscator left for the Soviet Union in the 30's from whence emissaries of 
Josef Goebbels sought to persuade him to return to Berlin instead of which 
he went to Paris, thence to New York where he and his wife, Maria Ley 
Piscator, started the Actors' Studio program at the New School for Social 
Research (Marlon Brando, Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward and a dozen or more 
great hall-of-fame actors.

Besides, Homeland Security has failed to establish any connection whatever 
between Billingham and Leica, let alone between Billingham and Cassidy. Not 
that they need such an excuse.

;-)

.........for the record, that's a BIG wink.



----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Kyle Cassidy" <KCassidy@asc.upenn.edu>
To: <lug@leica-users.org>
Sent: Monday, March 14, 2005 3:31 PM
Subject: [Leica] Billingham bags banned from u.s. domestic flights


> Washington -- March 14, 2005
> The U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced today that camera bags
> made by the Billingham Photographg Luggage company (Nasdaq: LENS) would be
> barred from all flights whose origion or termination was within the 
> borders
> of the United States. The bags are popular with oweners of Leica Cameras
> (OTC: LEICF.PK) which have recently been barred from U.S. flights. "It has
> come to our attention," said Homeland Security spokesperson Thad Whitel,
> "that Leica cameras are manufactured in Germany -- a country which is not
> and never has been our ally. If they choose to side with the terrorists, I
> see no option but to remove their products from our flights to protect the
> safety of Americans in the air." As evidence of the dangers of Leica
> cameras, Whitel produced several examples of scandelous photographs 
> recently
> taken by American photographer Kyle Cassidy. "You won't need any further
> examples than these," Whitel said, producing enlargements of the photos. 
> The
> photos were all taken within the past 30 days:
>
> http://www.asc.upenn.edu/usr/cassidy/temp/moon8.jpg
> http://www.asc.upenn.edu/usr/cassidy/temp/coral1.jpg
> http://www.asc.upenn.edu/usr/cassidy/temp/moon1.jpg
> http://www.asc.upenn.edu/usr/cassidy/temp/coral2.jpg
> http://www.asc.upenn.edu/usr/cassidy/temp/moon2.jpg
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