West Side Stories

Karen...

Pretty silly.  Thanks for sharing.

Imagine the threat to your security if four companion travelers EACH had three ounces of toothpaste - for a combined total of twelve ounces!  

That is a scary notion...

Tom

Egad, woman!  What are you, some kind of Islamofascist millenarian death-cult jihadist bent on the destruction of a middle-size Midwestern city?  I mean, TOOTHPASTE???  You go too far, madam.   And with your family there, watching your heinous plot be foiled by agents of freedom and justice, exposing you for what you are: a vile freedom-hater.  Have you no shame?!?  I pray your children don't grow up to one day experiment with floss, or even... mouthwash!

I think you would have served your readers more had you suggested that for their own enlightenment of your highly amusing encounter with security handlers at a major airport, that you send those readers to google or even the library, for heavens sake, to learn for themselves what you obviously did not know when he traveled to a major airport.  The experience might not be so terrible amusing when it becomes understood we that terrorists today live to kill hese us and perhaps one life WAS spared because someone who takes the butt of your humor everyday asks to examine your toothpaste (or nail cleaner or hair gel whatever).  Attached is just a small graph of a much larger report I found on google that is among many that can inform you and your readers more about this international crisis. Just to to terrorist, explosive, toothpaste.

And thank you, yes, I do feel safer tonight knowing that these safeguards are still be followed.

"...the latest plot seems to have validated the assumption that terrorists would be more likely to try and confound airport security measures by smuggling a bomb on board in pieces and assembling it in mid-flight. The particularly devious innovation of the London plotters was their alleged use of liquid explosives or explosive components, which are easily concealed in many of the items found in most travelers' hand luggage — perfume, hair gel, deodorant, medicines, drinks, toothpaste, lotions, and so on — and are extremely difficult to detect. Metal detectors will obviously miss them. While there have been some "puffer" explosive-detection machines placed in some U.S. airports, they are few and far between — and aren't made to detect liquid explosives in sealed containers."

Ray...

You made my point - exactly.  So what if you limit individual  passengers to three ounces of anything?  As long as any number of passengers can combine their individual three ounces of hair gel to a larger quantity of the same subtance - you might just get something else.  

Perhaps a perm maybe?

The biggest terrorism risk is not more than three ounces of some substance carried by a passenger; it is a bomb in checked baggage.  Don't take my word for it though; ask any commercial airline pilot.

As for someone commandeering an aircraft from the passenger cabin - forget about it - they'll not survive thee wrath of the passengers.

Folks, let's not forget that commercial airline travel is still safer than driving to the gorcery store and heart disease kills more Americans than just about anything else.

Background noise.

Tom

Ray, you are absolutely right - I was in the wrong. I'm sorry that you didn't appreciate my perspective or my humor. I do appreciate that these measures are put in place for our safety, even if sometimes they seem a little, um, ill-conceived. I'm all for air travel safety!

I had a good one similar to this in 2002. Obviously, it was soon after the 9-11 attacks and everyone was on high alert. We had taken the kids to Florida for Easter break and were flying back when my purse got pulled and subjected to a very intense screening and then I got a lecture for attempting to bring -- hang in there with me -- an infant nail clippers on the plane.

My son was 3, still had the baby nails that get scraggly sometimes. The nail clipper is about a quarter of an inch wide, if that. Those TSA people must think I am one savvy ninja to be able to do bodily harm to anyone with that thing.

Needless to say, I told them to go ahead and toss it.

Karen and others--This is NOT an air travel safety thing.  Terrorists will target railroad trains, ships, buses, maybe even sport events--whatever to terrorize us or to kill us.  We can only hope we are safe in our surroundings but whenever we are in need of any public conveyance, many of us will always question just how safe we really are.  I repeat myself when I say that terrorists want to terrorize us and they want to kill us. Perhaps we have to consider cutting back on trips to New York or Florida for the spring break,until more security is in place.  And think what less and less airplane hours might mean to our global environment. I have a great sense sense of humor and I see the humor of life in many places, but I also have grandchildren in the nation's capitol who often walk to school with military guards on street corners; I see nothing humerous about those men who are there or the work they do.

Ray...

You've raised in interesting point:  

"terrorists want to terrorize us and they want to kill us. Perhaps we have to consider cutting back on trips to New York or Florida for the spring break,until more security is in place."

I believe that is exactly what a terrorist would like to see happen - namely alter our lives out of fear - whether it be real or percieved.

Personally, I would rather we not behave as a nation of sheep; but rather go about our lives normally.

I have no intention of curtailing my travel.  In fact, I've resolved to increase my travel in 2008 - both domestically and out of the country.  I am going to New York too.

By the way, there are no military guards on the corners in DC.  I have been there twice in the last three years.  The military was prominent only in the days immediately following 9/11.

Happy New Year to all!

Yeah but Ray, terrorists are mostly just a fairy tale the government likes to tell us to keep us in line.  You know, so we put up with having our stuff rummaged through by strangers when we travel.  And so we keep giving up more and more of our privacy rights.  Someone once said that "he who gives up his freedom for security deserves neither."

Jeff - tell that to a family member of someone murdered on 9-11.  Let me know if you need a phone number.