I'm going to skip going into who is to blame for the terrorist being allowed in America- there are enough people out there with axes to grind who are going to blame everyone from Al Qaeda to President Obama to airport security in the Amsterdam, Netherlands. Knowing some people, they'll probably try blaming global warming.
My question is how ridiculous we are going to allow security to get. New measures being taken: passengers must remain in seats for the last hour of the flight, they must have EVERYTHING stowed for the last hour of flight, increased pat-downs, X-raying of objects, and increased secondary screenings.
Some airports have 3-D body scanners that pick up hidden objects that may be concealed around the body underneath clothing. This scanner would have easily picked up what terrorist Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab was carrying, which was PETN (an explosive). Others think that the VERY accurate picture made by the 3-D scanners is the same as a public strip search.
There is one fact that is certain: it was a passenger who started restraining the man, causing other passengers and the flight crew to join in and help restraining the terrorist. Passengers, on the average, have gone from being inactive sheep who blindly follow commands to active participants who feel responsible for the safety of others on the plane.
I don't have the solution to stop terrorists. But I can tell you that x-raying breast milk 10 times when a mom is carrying her baby with her isn't going to stop a terrorist. Refusing to let someone use the bathroom for the last hour of the flight isn't going to stop anything. If the terrorist can't blow up the plane during the last hour, he's not going to say "Oh, well, I guess I'll blow up the plane another day." He's just going to act sooner. And making me take off my shoes and walk on the dirty airport floor IS NOT GOING TO STOP A TERRORIST. Can we get real? They're are a hell of lot of places on the human body to conceal stuff. The shoe bomber was not only a wanna-be terrorist, he was also a damn idiot. And our now making everyone take off their shoes just makes up bigger idiots.
What is YOUR opinion of increased airport security? Does it help? Any ideas on how to increase security in a meaningful way (not with idiotic gestures)?
My question is how ridiculous we are going to allow security to get. New measures being taken: passengers must remain in seats for the last hour of the flight, they must have EVERYTHING stowed for the last hour of flight, increased pat-downs, X-raying of objects, and increased secondary screenings.
Some airports have 3-D body scanners that pick up hidden objects that may be concealed around the body underneath clothing. This scanner would have easily picked up what terrorist Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab was carrying, which was PETN (an explosive). Others think that the VERY accurate picture made by the 3-D scanners is the same as a public strip search.
There is one fact that is certain: it was a passenger who started restraining the man, causing other passengers and the flight crew to join in and help restraining the terrorist. Passengers, on the average, have gone from being inactive sheep who blindly follow commands to active participants who feel responsible for the safety of others on the plane.
I don't have the solution to stop terrorists. But I can tell you that x-raying breast milk 10 times when a mom is carrying her baby with her isn't going to stop a terrorist. Refusing to let someone use the bathroom for the last hour of the flight isn't going to stop anything. If the terrorist can't blow up the plane during the last hour, he's not going to say "Oh, well, I guess I'll blow up the plane another day." He's just going to act sooner. And making me take off my shoes and walk on the dirty airport floor IS NOT GOING TO STOP A TERRORIST. Can we get real? They're are a hell of lot of places on the human body to conceal stuff. The shoe bomber was not only a wanna-be terrorist, he was also a damn idiot. And our now making everyone take off their shoes just makes up bigger idiots.
What is YOUR opinion of increased airport security? Does it help? Any ideas on how to increase security in a meaningful way (not with idiotic gestures)?
