Re: [NTLK] [OT] Airport Security craziness

From: Eric L. Strobel (fyzycyst_at_comcast.net)
Date: Thu May 30 2002 - 09:29:01 EDT


on 5/29/02 11:47 PM, Jim Witte at jswitte_at_bloomington.in.us wrote:

>
>>> To me, this indicates that they don't have a real clue how to deal with
>>> recent problems, and are just going thru motions, doing "something".
>> Clearly not - do you really think a plane could be hijacked with a
>> plastic
>> safety razor?
>
> This is a very old OT thread, but I remember someone saying early on
> after 9/11 that a trained terrorist could slit someones throat with a
> credit card (scary though, now we can't carry our plastic cards, as well
> as forks). When I went to WWDC, my only run-in was I forgot the pair
> of scissors in my bag (I knit, that's why they were there). Then they
> asked me to remove my shoes (I wonder if they'd have asked me to remove
> my shoes if I had remembered to get rid of the scissors beforehand).
> But another passenger was stopped because he had a "laser plumb-bob" - I
> assume something like a surveyor's transit without legs). He was quite
> adament with the person there, "I take it with me all the time" (I think
> he was a stage rigger) - but in the end had to check it, and was quite
> miffed.
>

Last trip I made (a few weeks ago) coming back from Orlando, my group ran
into some others that we knew and who were on the same flight. We were all
going through security together and the one fellow didn't come out the other
side immediately. We waited and eventually he got through, minus his laser
pointer! Yes, folks, a common laser pointer. We all know, of course, that
one can easily burn one's way through the cockpit door with a laser pointer.

Oh, and this was a RETURN flight, meaning that on the outbound leg there was
apparently no problem with carrying the laser pointer. Furthermore, we'd
all left and returned to Washington National, where the security folks are
supposed to be the most stringent. Go figure. I guess somebody needs to
get their collective act together regarding training and procedures.

- Eric.

-- 

Eric Strobel (fyzycyst_at_NOSPAM^mailaps.org)

===================================================================== Bioweapons? HA! I laugh at them!! *I've* cleaned the coffee urns at work!!!! =====================================================================

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