Originally Posted by Dovster
I don't think they would take me seriously for a second. What kind of terrorist hides a bomb in his suitcase and then announces it to Security?
They would probably crack back, "No problem. I saw it, called the bomb disposal squad, and we're going to blow up your suitcase right after you check it in."
Exactly. ^
Israeli security is all about preventing guns, bombs and terrorists from boarding airplanes, not simply pushing people around because they can. Irrational paranoia is not endemic there.
The TSA, on the other hand, is all about preventing guns and bombs from boarding airplanes (not really focusing on terrorsts - and rightly so, given the paucity of real terrorists here) AND pushing people around, just because it can. The barking, the yelling - happens nowhere but here. Professionalism? Still waiting, Comrade Daschle.
False bomb threats are illegal in the USA - jokes about bombs are not illegal, unless they rise to the level of a false threat. And reasonable people could debate whether false threats should be illegal at all - given that real terrorist bombers never announce their real bombs prior to detonation.