Undercover investigators were able to sneak explosives and weapons past security screeners at 15 airports nationwide, according to a government report on aviation security. story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=s … =/usatoday
/20040923/ts_usatoday/airportscreenersmissedweapons
I have to admit to being quite baffled by how this could happen. Go to any US airport and you see folks being made to take off their shoes, belts, and various other garments, all, we are told, in the name of making everyone safer when we get on a plane.
Recently, a teacher friend travelled to the USA and in Seattle, he was asked his name, where he was coming from, where he was going, could he show his passport, and many other questions by 5 different security guards in less than 45 minutes time. Apparently, these people don’t talk to one another because they could have simply asked one another if they had already spoken to him.(Wow, now that I think about it, I hope no real terrorists slipped by when various security officers kept speaking to him ).
If this is the best that the USA can do to combat terrorism, then I really feel for America because it is clear that we are not really much safer now than we were pre-9/11.
“We’re aggressively pursuing all the solutions available to us,” TSA spokeswoman Yolanda Clark said.
Except ones that work, obviously.
Americans should make sure that they don’t ask other countries for advice on this. Like say, the British who have had metal detectors in airports for passengers and baggage since the beginning of the 1970s. No no no. Go it alone. Your solutions are clearly working well. Congratulations. Well done guys. Brilliant. Boy, America really understands this issue ! Thank God we’ve got America to protect us.
Pathetic.
I can’t wait to be on the receiving end of the next pious lecture from an American on terrorism.
America and Americans are not any safer now than before 9/11, if anything probably less safe.
The US along with Bush has no idea of how to deal with this threat, they are still trying to get over the shock that someone would even want to attack them.
To be honest, I’m not at all surprised. Screening bags is a terribly boring, repetitive job, and I strongly suspect it’s not done by people who aspired all their lives to ‘screen baggage’. If you really want a decent job done, it probably has to be done in short shifts by very highly trained people, preferably two at a time. Sort of like air traffic control. Or turn it over to the army
And even then, I wouldn’t bet on it. It only takes a moment of inattention to let something through, and people are not good at being hypervigilant for extended periods of time.
[quote=“hexuan”]“We’re aggressively pursuing all the solutions available to us,” TSA spokeswoman Yolanda Clark said.
Except ones that work, obviously.
Americans should make sure that they don’t ask other countries for advice on this. Like say, the British who have had metal detectors in airports for passengers and baggage since the beginning of the 1970s. No no no. Go it alone. Your solutions are clearly working well. Congratulations. Well done guys. Brilliant. Boy, America really understands this issue ! Thank God we’ve got America to protect us.
Pathetic.
I can’t wait to be on the receiving end of the next pious lecture from an American on terrorism.[/quote]
sigh, this is so painfully and patently true
The rest of the world has been dealing with terrorists for decades now and are better equipped to handle security issues than the US. However, because of inbred arrogance in their stature, America refuses to listen to all reason. Besides the Brits, the US can learn from the Israelis, Indians, Germans about airport security etc. No, the ego is apparently too strong.
A year ago I was going through the Chicago airport which I believe is the 2nd or biggest airport in da U.S., and I had to take off my shoes for someone to check.
I really felt sorry for this one guy, I think he might have been a real cop judging by his uniform. He spent the entire day going through ppl’s smelly shoes as they would take them off going through the metal detectors. I was going to tell him how I really thought he had the worst job in da world…but didnt see how that would make the situation any better.
Sometymes I get annoyed at the inconvenience I have going through customs, but than think of the ppl on the otherside of the counter and I don’t mind anymore
[quote=“webdoctors”]A year ago I was going through the Chicago airport which I believe is the 2nd or biggest airport in da U.S., and I had to take off my shoes for someone to check.
[/quote]
I’ve had to take my shoes of CKS plenty of times. Why? Because I usually wear boots and I guess the Taiwanese screeners are suspicious of boots. The first time was I had to do it was on a TPE-HK flight, August, 1993.
They should have finger-printed them, that would have stopped them.
Even the aussies found this weapon:
[quote]AN adult sex toy shut down a key regional airport for almost an hour today when it was mistaken for a bomb, Queensland police said.
The vibrating object was discovered at Mackay Airport by a security officer who noticed the suspicious package inside a rubbish bin at the terminal cafeteria[/quote]
).
