Reading over some of the letters in response to this artical, I have to assume that most people here have never traveled outside of the United States. At least not since 9/11 and all of the security changes that have been made. I foun a significant portion of Mr. Kurth's article questionable in regards to his credability. If even a portion of it is true then I would sympathize with him as much as I would any human being caught up in such a horrible situation. But in truth, a very significant portion of why he ended up in such difficult circumstances must be laid at Mr. Kurth's feet.

1) His passport - deciding to take a last minute jaunt with a nearly expired passport was a foolish thing to do, considing that many nations now require that your passport be valid for at least the amount of time as their standard tourist visa lasts (30-90 days) and most require several months validity for entry to the country. Some have questioned why he was permitted to travel in the first place with his nearly expired passport, but the truth is that it's not the airline's reponsibility to make sure that he will be granted entry into the UK. Making sure that you meet the entry requirements is the traveler's responsibility.

2) Drinking while on medication - I don't think I really need to go into why this was so monumentally stupid on his part. Maybe he wasn't intoxicated enough to be considered legally drunk, but it was clear that the combination of alchohol and his medication had clouded his judgement considerably.

3) Not communicating his medical condition to the airline staff - you have a condition that might cause blood clots if kept crammed in a window seat and you don't tell the crew that you need an aisle or exit row seat so that you can move your legs? And then complain that no one made any accomodation for you? That makes a huge amount of sense. Apparently he thinks that one of the talents British flight crews possess is ESP, because he came across as awfully perturbed that they did not automatically assess his needs.

4)The laptop - Tracking down his missing laptop is not the airline's responsibility. The flight crew has enough responsibility worrying about their passengers; calling back to see if his laptop is at the terminal is not high (as in at all) on their list of priorities. Their job is to make sure that 300 passengers arrive safely at their destination, not to hunt down a piece of lost property. They are in no way responsible for Mr. Kurth's carelessness (or intoxication) as he is a big boy and is fully capable of keeping track of his own personal belongings.

5)His behavior - Again, Mr. Kurth bears full responsibility for his behavior. Lashing out at flight crews and not following instructions is not only extremely poor manners, but in the US is a felony. He became threatening and vulgar on the flight and abusive to the flight attendants. He refused to listen to directions to leave the galley area and even though he recieved a warning, he chose to escalate the confrontation. Is it any wonder that the police were on hand to arrest an unreasonable, intoxicated and threatening passenger when he arrived in England?

The timing of his arrest (during the holidays while the courts were closed) is unfortunate for him, but the first rule anyone is ever taught when they travel is that when you visit another country, you go by their rules. Jail stinks, even in the most modern of countries. No one goes to lock up thinking that it's going to be a country club. And court systems don't automatically open during holiday breaks to deal with ill-tempered Americans who behave stupidly and end up tossed in.

As for Kurth's other insinuations (such as the sexual assault that he alludes to), again there were things that he could have done to help himself. When the alleged assault occured, he could have notified the guards and been placed in protective custody. He could have pressed charges against his assailants. He could have gone to the media immediately upon his release and made a public case.

As for bail, he is a foreigner without valid documentation up on serious charges... did anyone honestly explect them to let him walk out the door without some security that he would return for a court date, or without someone who would vouch for his behavior. He had access to a lawyer and the embassy, but seems to feel that he deserved some sort of special consideration in regards to beig released.

When offered a chance to pay a fine in exchange for release from prison, he instead chose to return to prison. Can we truely believe that he was traveling to England with an empty checking account? That he didn't have any friends or family that could wire him the money? This from an educated, connected, professional man?

Like it or not, when you travel to another country, you go by their rules. And foreign owned planes (like ships) operate under the laws of their own nation.

No one will ever argue that anyone arrested should not be safely detained while their court cases are pending, but this was less a critique of the brualities of the western penal system than a grown man whining over where his bad behavior landed him. Sure, we can argue that airline customer service stinks, or that the security protocols are absurdly strict. But that is not what this article was about. This was a man complaining over his unfortunate circumstances and even after owning up to the fact that his behavior left something to be desired, refuses to accept responsibility for his actions. He acted like an asshole in a situation that nowadays will land you in jail. The ugly American got pinched. End of story.