You can bring as many loose diamonds as you want into the US without having to pay any customs duty on them - not illegal. You can have as many mistresses as you want waiting for you at the airport - not illegal. I agree that the majority of what they find out isn't at all relevant to a security official. Let them "practice" their techniques for catching liars on someone else. The government has no business conducting unwarranted prying into my privacy.

"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - Benjamin Franklin

peace,
~Ben~

All the discussion over rights is interesting, but I would point out that the interrogation we endured was not done in the US, was not done by the TSA, but was in another country by someone who appeared to be an employee or agent of Delta Airlines. Now, it may have been done by mandate of the US government, I don't know. But, the person was at the gate and appreared to be working for or at least with the airline.

As someone who travels alot, it was just a major hassle. I certainly want to have secure travel. I am just skeptical of whether such questions are effective in making travel secure.

I was looking at the bigger picture, not just the security issue. My view was that if air travel is a RIGHT, why on earth would one entrust it to airlines? They have a track record of being notoriously incompetent. Not forgetting the smiley.... :)

For whatever reason, I've lucked out with the interviews. I've never been asked anything weird, other than "Are you carrying any crystals?" I've also never been asked to prove or document anything.

But I've heard stories... the one that creeps me out is that they'll take your cell phone and ask, "Who was the last person you called?" And I'm so clueless that I'd probably lose a hotel receipt, so I could never prove that either.

I kept think of that question as I went through such an interview last night at Buenos Aires/Ezeiza. But the questions were the same as always. The same ones I seem to get asked, in almost the same order, worldwide...
-Who owns these bags?
-Who packed them and when?
-Where have they been since you packed them?
-Have you accepted anything from strangers?
-Do you have any electronic devices?
-If so, how long have you had them? Does anyone else use them? Have you had them repaired?

That's it. They invariably say, "Keep your hand luggage with you at all times."

Then before boarding it's always the same...
-Where has your hand luggage been?
-Have you accepted anything from strangers?
And occasionally...
-Have you purchased anything from any place other than the airport shops?

No further questions.

Having flown with Delta out of Charles de Gaulle on multiple occasions, I was surprised that you got such a grilling. Let's hope that it does not become the norm.

This, bdschobel, is a simple statement that is probably the truest statement made on this thread yet....

I trust the airlines more than I trust the US government.

But you DO have your liberty and your freedom. You have the liberty and freedom to choose to fly a carrier with less stringent security measures, and there are many. You may not be able to fly when and with whom you want to, but nobody guaranteed that anyway.

As far as being the lesser of two evils goes, I would be in agreement with that statement!

The EZE questioning is always a joke. (It's only a few years old for EZE-MIA/JFK flights.) And now when I see the actors at EZE going through the motion, I feel like I should pre-record my answers and just hit the play button. :D

I want to see what the contractors for AA's CDG flights do with a friend of mine who grew up using sign language. He could well feign an inability to speak.

So I don't have the liberty and freedom to fly the carrier of my choice without sacrificing some small degree of either, but you can put this limited freedom in a positive context by describing how I am at "liberty" to avoid the venues in which the eroded freedoms are present? "Of course you're free to do that! So long as you do it somewhere else."

Are you the person who writes the "exciting enhancement" press releases for the airlines? :p ;)

And the security measures aren't the choice of the airlines, but rather those imposed upon them by US government regulations. If it were merely a matter of different vendors with different products, then we wouldn't be having a huge freedom/rights discussion.

peace,
~Ben~

Uh... no.

The nanny government does not let the airlines compete on security - they force this idiocy on all carriers.

Here in the United States, we have right to free speech, per the First Amendment. Hope it is not a surprise, but this right is not dependent on the government publishing all newspapers, magazines, news outlets, etc. Private companies engage in this business, free from government interference.

Government is not exactly a competent institution. Look at the efficiency of the United States Postal Service, how quickly road projects are completed, the performance of all levels of government in the Hurricane Katrina fiasco. Government is not the answer to delivering rights and services, it is an impediment to delivering rights and services.. That concept is why James Madison was so brilliant in writing the United States Constitution. What we had for about 150 years was a limited government that for the most part stayed out of the way of people conducting business. We would be better off if we realized that a smaller government would allow more freedom.

Actually I think the purpose of government was to protect and defend our rights. These days people think its purpose is to limit them.

Virtually every time Congress passes a bill that the President signs, we lose some freedom. The less government the better for our rights. The minimum government that will protect us is the best government we can have.

I wasn't referring to US carriers. I know that foreign carriers are subject to FAA (they were making the rules in my time -is it TSA now?) guidelines also, however to a lesser extent. I have yet to be subject to the "third degree" when flying LH between Germany and the USA for example. I hear Kuwait Airways has really cheap flights between London and New York too....might have to give up on the booze for a few hours though....