I would be the first to agree with you that smaller government would be a good thing, and not just in the US (I am not a US citizen). I would however cast doubt on your comment that when it comes to the press "Private companies engage in this business, free from government interference." Manipulation is also a form of interference and there are sufficient examples of government manipulation of the press....

I think that its purpose (now) is to provide employment for people who line the pockets of their friends/acquaintances as much as possible so as to ensure themselves a wealthy and comfortable retirement....

It's required for all carriers on their flights to the US. There is no "lessening" for foreign carriers. I've seen it on LX, QF, NZ, CI.

The requirement to ask the basic security questions which we are always asked and which we respond to automatically (did you pack your bags yourself, etc) are mandated for all carriers, that is correct. The requirement to check documentation for validity is also mandated (although not a security issue but an immigration one - and air carriers are fined if they carry passengers without valid documentation). However, "profiling" and asking you who you work for, where you work, and who you slept with last night are not mandated and are, in most cases, not carried out by non-US flag carriers, and that is the big difference.

I don't think anyone here is complaining about "the 3 questions", but about the interrogation that is carried out by US flag carriers which often delves deep into what one might call one's personal sphere. I certainly have never been subject to such questioning when flying on a non-US flag carrier.

FWIW, my wife and I were asked the same questions at CDG.

We were flying CO. This was back in July '05. We were asked to produce hotel receipts, business cards, itineraries, etc.

I'm posting this with great restraint and am refraining from name calling.

After "questioning", I wrote down the agent's name, station location and other details and said that I'd be writing CO. His attitide changed right away and apologized for his line (and "tone") of questioning. He also said that he was NOT a CO/CDG employee as such, and alluded to a US agency that "required" him to profile passengers and ask such questions. He wouldn't offer anything more.

We'll see how I do flying through CDG next month. I don't carry business cards, my accomodation is gratis because I'm speaking at a conference (so I won't have any receipts), and I typically memorize my itinerary. True enough, my itinerary will be on my laptop but it has a busted battery and it needs juice to power-on. They better have a French adapter ready... I'm not sure I remember what a French adapter looks like.

Where we have rectangular prongs, they have two round ones. But I don't think that the interrogators at CDG are going to be readily equipped with such an adapter.

Once the CDG contractor wanted to see my DL .... and he was clueless about geography. That was amusing in some ways.

I have single round prong. I guess they are out of luck.

OT, but I think the post office is probably one of the best run government agencies. Aside from waiting inordinate amounts of time in line (I guess it's comparable to the airport ), they do get my packages and letters where they need to go pretty quickly and at a reasonable price. They can't always compete with UPS or FedEx, but they do a pretty good job overall.

Then there are the other agencies ...

OT again.

Superguy, I like and agree with your signature.

Thanks.

It's an Abraham Lincoln quote. They have it up at work as a security reminder (we do government contract work).

I had to change it a little bit to fit within the 125 char limit and I couldn't attribute it. Hence the brackets you see in it.

Staying OT, I gotta disagree on this one. My local post office (city in my FT profile) loses about 2-5% of my mail. (We're talking first-class letters here.) I had a cashier's check that had to be stopped/issued/mailed 3 times over the course of 2 months to get here. I had an excise tax statement from my town (local mail, came from my own zip code) get lost, resulting in late fees and interest. I go into my post office once a month and ask for a stack of Forms 1510 (lost/pilfered mail report), and fill them out for the articles I can confirm are missing. I've talked to the postmaster and have his direct phone number.

Unfortunately Congress passed a law that exempts the post office from liability for misdelivering mail! So there's no legal recourse against these people, and they know it. I can complain, and they can pay lip service and act concerned, but they all know they can do nothing.

If UPS did this to me I'd go to FedEx or vice versa. But there's no competition to the USPS for first-class mail, and because of Congress, no accountability in the USPS either.

Keep in mind that it's still a government agency, so there is bound to be screwups. My main point was that FOR a government agency, it's pretty well run. That didn't mean that it was up to FedEx or UPS standards.

There are ways to get it there confirmed that the post office will have to deal with if it doesn't show (express mail, delivery confirmation, return receipt, etc), it's just that you have to pay more for the guarantee. And of course, by the time you do, you might as well just go with FedEx or UPS.

My favourite when travelling to the US from Manchester Airport

Is this your bag sir? No

Whose is it then? I borrowed it from a friend.

How long have you known him? About 10 years?

What does he do for a living? He's head of the Special Branch (anti-terrorist unit) in Greater Manchester Police.

Can you prove that sir? Yes sure, I'll call him if you like and you can talk to him.

Er no that won't be necessary, on your way. (Forgetting he hadn't asked any of the other questions to be asked)

Come to think of it, I've never been asked a single question going from Asia to the US, after some 40 or so trips over the years.

My CDG grilling still makes me angry. The lousy attitude of the guy on the jetway while he began pawing through every nook and cranny of my laptop bag (which had already been scanned so much it may have been radioactive), confiscating my good wooden hotel matches while leaving a few books of cardboard ones untouched, and then taking out some confidential client documents and reading them! I felt like slapping his hand.