Security baffoonery

[JMCPilit]

Going through security.... take off the oversized pilot style watch....take off the company id and its chain attachment....take off the Miraclulous Medal....take out the 14 metal pens from my breast pocket....take off the cap with the Americanised metal company logo....take off the jacket with the Americanised company wings....take off the glasses...out of the pocket comes the looses change.... the wallet as I hold my breath hoping that the girlfriends and wifes pictures do not fall out together...... .Now I am rady to be demetalised. . ."HA,HA!!!"" I exclaim as there is no beep informing the as always alert security personnel that I am "clean". My joy is short lived as alas the security system in this country is such that if I am required to open any bag I am also required to have my shoes tested for bombs! "Yes a bum" ( as my friend inspector Clousteau would say). "A bum, dat is what I said you ful". .Which bag did I have to open you may ask. Well it was not the overnight bag, filled with hotel coat hangers, inflatable Betsy and a host of other goodies some of which resemble the threshold of JFKs busy runway. No the bag which I had to open was my Airbus computer bag. You see in the USA one is required to put the computer through the xray machine seperately from the computer case, a result being that you fall under the "your bag had to be requested to be opened even though it only has a computer in it so now you will remove your shoes because we all know the connection between opening your bags and your shoes rule".. .So there I am struggling to put my jacket on, my id in place, my wallet into my pocket while trying to orchestrate with the bag machine operator to back up the belt as the bags she was sending down was causing a backup that made the M4 on a Friday evening look like a Sunday drive in the Moors. I managed to get my uniform rescued from the melee, although it now looked like I sat on it in the crew bus from the hotel and my hat would take a good beating to resemble a hat again. I take my shoes off and get them de fragistickated or whatever that rag thing does and off I go. . .I understand the security issues. I see the need ffor them. I just hate the knee jerk reaction that is being used to stop terrorism. Searching all one way ticket holding passengers is fine but is the government that stupid that they don't realise that Muhammed and his terrorist buddies do not know this. I am sure that Mustaffah will be more than willing to buy a roundtrip ticket in order to avoid being searched....I believe that one can get better deals when you buy roundtrip now too!!!. .So when a guy is found to have explosives in his shoe the solution is to xray all shoes. I am dreading the day when I turn on the BBC to hear that a guy was caught with explosives in his undies or in a cavity!!!!! <img src="frown.gif" border="0"> <img src="frown.gif" border="0"> <img src="eek.gif" border="0"> <img src="eek.gif" border="0">

[Flintstone]

Ah, yes. I experienced the new heightened security in the US for the first time yesterday. A somewhat marked difference to that which I saw (at the same airport) on 9th September when I was allowed to walk around the outside of the beeping gate twice.

The best bit came when the security man asked me why I had a headset in the bag bearing a 'Crew' tag.

Even now I get the impression that some of these people are doing exactly what they have been told to without thinking about why. Even worse, there doesn't seem to be much initiative involved either.

[3000psi]

Greetings U3K!. ."in undies or in a cavity " !!! isn't scary you said that ....they ask me to take off my belt in Charleroi....I 'am dreading what they're gonna ask next time..... .Help !

[Devils Advocate]

Maybe this is maybe a little off-topic..... but the present high profile security, whilst highly knee-jerk (imho), will simply drive terrorism into more guaranteed, but lower risk (of being discovered in the execution of it), delivery mechanisms.

E.g. A determined Johnny Terrorist doesn't need to commandeer an airliner to do a lot of damage, especially so when a 'light' aircraft will do just as well.. .I.e. He / she fills the thing full of high-explosives, e.g. most light aircraft can lift at least 1000lbs of payload (and just what kind of damage could you do with 1000lb of Semtex ?), takes-off from some remote airfield (and there are plenty of them), flies as low and fast as possible, and then crashes it into the middle of, say, the Houses of Parliament during a debate, or Twickenham during an International, or a Man Utd home match...... I'm sure that you get the picture.

The IRA / ETA / etc, have been doing this sort of thing for years (with cars / trucks), albeit that they try hard not to martyr themselves in the process - which is not a problem our newest foe seems to worry about.

Indeed the above is almost so easy that I'm very surprised that its not been done it already, or perhaps JohnnyT is just waiting for their moment ?!

Ho hum........

[whatshouldiuse]

U3K;

. .Why do you think searching people with one-way tickets is OK? Don't you realize, and a previous poster mentioned this, that terrorists are aware of this?

On a personnal note, I make my living as a Computer Consultant. Normally 3 - 6 month contracts. I buy one-way tickets all the time, just to get to my next assignment !!! What's wrong with that? Should it immediately signal me out as a raving loonie? I don't think so, but it does.

Not to mention buying weekend specials on the Internet in the U.S. Normally, buy on Wednesday, fly on Saturday. Another sure fire way to obtain a free full-body cavity search....

. .Yet I keep coming back for more punishment. A more realistic approach to profiling really couldn't hurt here...could it ??

I know, be careful what you ask for etc....

. .Whatshouldiuse

[AhhhVC813]

Yup, almost stripped naked going through U.S. security a few weeks ago. Shoes onto the X-Ray machine, get dressed at the other end. All very laudable.............except that all the cabin crew walk through with shoes firmly attached to feet. So it would appear that it is only the blokes who are a threat, n'est-ce-pas?