http://www.theatlantic.co...t-security

"Airport security in America is a sham—“security theater” designed to make travelers feel better and catch stupid terrorists. Smart ones can get through security with fake boarding passes and all manner of prohibited items—as our correspondent did with ease."

its a very interesting read

I just read.....doesn't make me feel very safe

I was down in Florida back in August. I know you guys have this thing about makign passengers take off their shoes to go through security, but I was wearing flip-flops. What could I possibly be hiding in these?


[Edited 10/19/08 22:57pm]

security theater is a great word for it because that's what it is, a public relations ploy

I've been through Israeli airport security twice and there's no comparison. Now THAT's security!

meow85 said:

They're not looking for anything hidden necessarily..
it has something to do with the material your shoes
are made from that trips off the alarms. So they just
have everyone take off their shoes.

obsessed said:

Bullshit. You mean to tell me the U.S. has special alrms that are tripped by rubber, vinyl, canvas, and leather that no other country in the world has?

Your flip-flops are really cute though!

What's the point of his report? to let terrorists know that he managed to do this and that they can do that too?

I mean, if the reporter really wanted to help make things more secure, he could've just sent his findings to the proper authorities to let them know their security system has a problem and let them fix it, instead of letting the rest of the world know that this is possible and give ideas to people who might actually not be in their right minds.

ArielB said:

apparently sending it JUST to the authorities was not enough to make them do anything. This is adding way more pressure, it might actually make them take action.

meow85 said:

It's not bullshit

It's the steel in some shoes that set off the metal detectors...Nike-type
shoes commonly set off the alarm....here's a couple word article that
confirms what I said....they even show airport-safe shoes lol

http://www.zappos.com/airport.zhtml

meow85 said:

rather dangerous precedent to set by passing your shoes for how they look though don't you think? instead it's a rule for everyone. besides, if they were on your feet they wouldn't pass through the xray machine to reveal the plastic shiv you had slid into the rubber sole.

meow85 said:

Maybe your feet were smelly, and they thought your foot odor would kill everyone on the plane.

So he always hid this stuff near his crotch, far as I can tell.

ZombieKitten said:

Those oens aren't mine, but mine looked close. They were green with fishies.

obsessed said:

Flip-flops aren't that heavy on the steel. And anyways, if the metal in shoes were the reason, wouldn't every country's airport security make passengers remove their shoes?

Has nothing to do with security. It is all conditioning.
Conditioning the public to fear terrorism and accept the giving up of
many rights. Conditioning us to not question authority and allow ourselves
to be controlled. Conditioning.

Look, we're all liable to get stopped and searched regardless of what you're wearing...I was catching a flight from Tucson back to Dallas when I went home on mid tour leave from Iraq...I was in my uniform....and I had a pack of smokes in one of my cargo pockets.....they made me damned near strip down because I forgot that -some soft-packs are made of mylar....I kept setting the alarm off...so there I am...shirt open, belt and boots off, uni pants almost falling to my ass...

...so if they did that to me, and I was in uniform and had all the right I.D., making you take your flip-flops off doesn't surprise me....

reneGade20 said:

Over-zealous security strikes again.

meow85 said:

underpaid government workers....

meow85 said:

wait, so now we're saying they're overzealous? When I was flying from Tel-Aviv to Paris, the Israeli airport security stopped a group of nuns and heavily interrogated them. Then they singled me out and strip-searched ME! Wouldn't an American military uniform be a nice disguise for a terrorist?

I loathe going through Israeli airport security. But after all, I did feel incredibly safe. There is no way in HELL they let a bomb on one of their planes. They dump out and exam every single toothpick in everyone's luggage. I've seen it happen. Nothing gets through.

heartbeatocean said:

True enough...but our I.D.'s are distinctive and virtually impossible to duplicate....so for me, the jury is out on that one....

reneGade20 said:

and you decided to go commando cuz you thought you were getting some on the plane!


"everything has a time and place"

Cinnie said:

reneGade20 said:

Picture it! You at a metal detector arch with nothing but some unbuttoned cargo shorts and your bush hanging out the front.

My stepmother visited in 2002 for thanksgiving and she brought a gift of a turkey carving set on the plane with her. 12" knife!

Cinnie said:

This may qualify as T.M.I., but...err, ummm....no bush!!

reneGade20 said:

further TMI visual edited
[Edited 10/20/08 15:46pm]

NDRU said:

when I was leaving Ezeiza Airport in Buenos Aires, I had what is called a Kiwi knife (not for killing New Zealanders ) which is a plastic spoon on one end and knife on the other.


like this kid has, but ours was green.

They confiscated it and I got a stern warning, in Spanish.

ZombieKitten said:

sure it's not!

they will take a nail clipper, but not a 12" carving knife. At least not from a white woman!