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-   -   Tom Tomorrow cartoon says it for me... a humorous look at "security" (https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/practical-travel-safety-security-issues/1153158-tom-tomorrow-cartoon-says-me-humorous-look-security.html)

JDiver Nov 26, 2010 11:23 am

Tom Tomorrow cartoon says it for me... a humorous look at "security"
 
This Modern World
By Tom Tomorrow
Tuesday, Nov 23, 2010

Just in time for the holidays: Security Theatre Follies!
What'll it be, ogled or groped?

http://www.salon.com/ent/comics/this...orld/story.jpg

For a more erudite, if less entertaining, approach see Finding Hidden Explosives - An Impossible Task, by "The Travel Insider", David Rowell <link>.

Essentially, a McDonalds approach to security will not work when there are committed terrorists out there, including those like Abdullah Asiri, who packed PETN explosive in his rectum in an attempt to kill Saudi anti-terrorism chief Saudi Prince Muhammad bin Nayef bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud. He was screened by airport security twice, as well as throughly vetted by trained palace and security forces before being allowed to address the prince about (bogus) al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. (He blew himself up, but fortunately enough of the force of the explosion was dissipated by his own body that the prince got away merely wounded.)



Originally Posted by NY Post article
..."Standard airport security is not going to detect that," said terror expert Steve Emerson. "You need a much more intrusive type of X-ray machine that can actually see inside body cavities."
In fact, many machines were calibrated to have less penetrating effects after protests that they allowed airport screeners to see images of people naked.
"They may have to calibrate it differently now to look at certain densities," said Emerson.
"It should definitely cause re-examination" of security tactics, Emerson added. "Because I've never seen that before. I've never heard of that before. The terrorists are always one step ahead of the counter-terrorists."

The Transportation Security Administration had no comment.

<link>

Think about it - Asiri, who was recruited and trained by his fanatical elder brother, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula bomb maker Khalid Ibrahim Ahmed Hyacinth Al Asiri, (one of the world's most wanted men and willing enough to sacrifice his brother in the attempt to strike back at Saudi Arabia and presumed engineer of the recent laserjet bombing attempts and the Detroit-bound crotch-bombing attempt) is dead, no big loss (and I think he got exactly what he deserved), but there are others waiting in queue to take his place, Khalid is still designing bombs and neither the TSA nor any airport security (other than Israel's, probably,) as currently established can catch these folks.

Back to the drawing board - but wait, we have a huge industry and government bureaucracy that feed from this frenzy, so the ultimate questions are "Can we reposition from McDonalds security to smart security? And, do we really want to?" Are we safe yet? I rather think not, but the pork barrels are certainly rolling. Perhaps Ike would have warned us about the "security-industrial complex" if he were alive today.

(Full disclosure: I was on a PA flight where a bomb was removed from checked luggage ~1986, and I was nearly blown up by terrorists who first detonated ~250 lbs of plastique in a pickup truck outside the Metropole Hotel in Dec 4, 1965, and then left a Claymore mine disguised in an airline bag on the street to sweep those providing aid, which included yours truly <link>. You might say I am vitally interested in the subject...)

LuvAirFrance Nov 27, 2010 1:28 am

Hey! I already posted that.

divemistressofthedark Nov 27, 2010 4:09 am

Glad to see you in here, fellow aquaphile. Thanks for the food for thought.


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