Travel in the Age of Hyper-Fear

[tyzack]

A great editorial in the NYT today that I feel merits reposting:


The Cost of High Anxitiy About Flying

I am actually in the middle of a similar trip to the one the author mentions, and I agree with her completely. Seeing the quiet, serine beauty of the desert, the majestic pink rock facades at Petra, the timeless faces of Greek and Roman gods staring benevolently into the distance, the victory arches of ancient generals, cobble-stone streets worn down with 2,000 year old ruts, a chruch built by Mark, and mosque built by Mohammeds\' son, is well worth a few probing questions in customs on your way back into the US.

[bdfreetuna]

I don\'t go anywhere I can\'t get to in one of these, anymore..

[tyzack]

I don\'t go anywhere I can\'t get to in one of these, anymore..

They have those in dubai...




...and, yes, it\'s in a mall.

[cannontrip]

I agree with safety measures, but some of these security procedures are not only violations of privacy rights, they are ineffective at catching the serious threats.  For example,

Prime Minister Gordon Brown has given the go-ahead for full body scanners to be introduced at Britain\'s airports

Security staff pretty much sees thru your clothes, aka naked.


Great for busting small amounts of drugs hidden on someone\'s body, but useless against a professional terrorist group(s) (i.e. they disperse the weapon across their body as to be undetected).
 

Experts have questioned the scanners\' effectiveness at detecting the type of bomb allegedly used on Christmas Day in an attempted plane attack over Detroit.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8438355.stm

[bdfreetuna]

what about a Trojan Magnum stuffed with substance of choice up the ass? and will passengers in dire need of taking a shit before boarding the plane be cavity searched?

will passengers be encouraged to empty their bowels before a flight?

these questions cross my mind.

[tyzack]

The terrorists don\'t have to succeed in any of their plots for them to be effective. All they have to do is to come up with new ways to sneak bombs onto planes, condoms up various holes come to mind as the next choice.