the vynsane asylum

I've got to fly out tomorrow. It's been a while since I've flown, so I was going over the regulations.

You can't carry on more then 3 ounces of any liquid. Doesn't matter what it is. Really, why the fuck? I know some kooks tried to create a liquid bomb once. Don't you think if they wanted to, they could use less than 3 ounces of liquid per person? What, am I supposed to go buy those little travel sizes of everything?

And you still have to take off your shoes. Why? Some fucktard tried to light a Boris & Natasha style shoe bomb using a fucking match. Did anyone think this guy was a real terrorist, and not just a goddamned moron?

It's also illegal to have, even accidentally, any prohibited item in your bags or on your person at the checkpoint. While I'm sure you could get away with the "Oh, I didn't know. Let me guzzle that Coke now" defense, that's a bit fucking excessive. If someone has a fucking plastic explosive, yeah, arrest their ass. If they brought shaving cream, for fuck's sake, it's not worthy of jail time.

All this would be fine, but three weeks ago an idiot got onto a plane with a concealed weapon, remembered it while in flight, and turned herself in. Meaning she got past security with a fucking gun. Oh, and scissors are still permitted in carry-on items.

So, still, we sacrifice all this, and we're not a bit safer.

Yeah, it's total bullshit. The fam flew down to FL back in January and that was a huge pain in the ass. First of all they have something like a 50lb weight limit on your checked luggage. Mine was like 30lb, and the wifes was 51.4lbs. Time to rearrrange the suitcases. Next it was remove your coat, remove your shoes, empty your pockets, take off your watch, let them dig through 3 carry-on bags, check the stroller. They even made us take off my son's jacket & shoes - he was 20 months old at the time. And then get totallly put back together, shoes & coat back on the kid, back in the stroller, pockets filled up - all while your shit is getting pushed further & further down the x-ray conveyor and you have 500 people waiting in line behind you.

Terrorists are 20 somethings with no friends or family. Thats why their asshole ringleaders can convince them to kill themselves for the "greater good". If you have a WIFE and a 20 MONTH OLD then you AREN'T a terrorist.

Dumbasses.

Before all this crazy shit, about 10-15 years ago, my brother was getting on a plane. He was in his early teens. He put his bag on the conveyor belt, and it turned out he had a super-soaker keychain in the small pouch, which he'd forgotten about. It was gun-shaped, and that's a no-no. They were going to detain him, until my dad convinced them to just throw it away.

Seriously, what the fuck is a kid going to do with a bright pink watergun with enough water for maybe one shot? "Take this plane to Cuba, or I'll squirt you!"

Fucktards.

George Carlin was right: there are no bombs!!

Where ya flying too?

I always find it funny that nail-clippers are specified as "weapons"- our local courthouse just got a "post 9-11 when everything changed" security upgrade , which of course includes metal detectors (our town is small and it's Canada) and nail-clippers were one of the things specifically mentioned in the articles about it

Is KY jelly a liquid?? You should bring a party sized tube of it and 24 condoms- when the KY get's exposed and you have to throw it out, whip out the 24 'domes and say "well then THESE are no use to me either"

Eternal Padawan wrote:Terrorists are 20 somethings with no friends or family. Thats why their asshole ringleaders can convince them to kill themselves for the "greater good". If you have a WIFE and a 20 MONTH OLD then you AREN'T a terrorist.

Dumbasses.

the supposed excuse is that "the terrorists pose as family people to avoid being singled out and therefore we have to have everyone take off their shoes and throw out their supersoakers."

anyway, the "terrorists" that everyone is supposed to be so afraid of don't really exist.

Like when they harrass the 70 year old lady, to avoid "ethnic profiling". When are where the hell are terrorists going to recruit Mrs. McAfee to suicide bomb a plane? Bridge club? Who would take care of her cats?

Dumbasses.

A thought occurs to me.

It would be extremely easy to verify if the contents of a container of liquid were dangerous. Even without special scanning equipment (which they should have anyway), a simple smell test combined with "If it's really soda, go ahead and take a drink" would suffice.

So to go through the security checkpoint, you have to get rid of your drink. But you get through the checkpoint, and you can buy the same drink! Only, being in the airport, it's at a ridiculously inflated price.

I think this is more economics than security. The airports figured out no one was willing to pay their prices for drinks ($2 for a liter bottle? I don't think so!) and so they came up with this stupid scheme.

And for the record: I firmly believe that Osama and the other senior members of Al Qaeda were as shocked that their plan worked on 9/11/01 as anyone else in the world.

anarky has been possessed by Tycho.

No, I never said they didn't do it. I just think they planned to hijack a shitload of planes in the hopes that maybe possibly they might successfully take one.