Airline Security (another myth)

[Soundguy]

I thought this article in The Atlantic was well worth the read.

Quote: “Counter*terrorism in the airport is a show designed to make people feel better...." - couldn't be a truer statement IMO. I liked the bit about the "Osama bin Laden, Hero of Islam T-shirt" and the Hezbollah flag.

Want fake boarding passes? No problem! Platinum status? Done.

Jeffrey Goldberg arrives at the same conclusion I have held for some time - airline security will only catch a really stupid terrorist. One could argue that fortunately many of them are of course!

[toowongman]

I thought this article in The Atlantic was well worth the read.

Quote: “Counter*terrorism in the airport is a show designed to make people feel better...." - couldn't be a truer statement IMO. I liked the bit about the "Osama bin Laden, Hero of Islam T-shirt" and the Hezbollah flag.

Want fake boarding passes? No problem! Platinum status? Done.

Jeffrey Goldberg arrives at the same conclusion I have held for some time - airline security will only catch a really stupid terrorist. One could argue that fortunately many of them are of course!

Airport security in Australia is a total joke. The only way to have any degree of effective protection is to screen/xray at the departure gate doorway before a sealed walkway to the aircraft.

[medhead]

Airport screening is only a joke because of what thye try to stop. moving the location of the screening will not make it safer. They will still let you through with pens or pencils (i.e. pointy things), or glass bottles (i.e. can be smashed and made into pointy things), socks, soap, coins, electrical cables and etc. All things that can be made into weapons.

I didn't get the idea of the hezobollah flag or osama t-shirt. Not exactly weapons. More like signs of being an offensive dill. So they didn't arrest him for being offensive. Big deal.

[Soundguy]

I didn't get the idea of the hezobollah flag or osama t-shirt. Not exactly weapons. More like signs of being an offensive dill. So they didn't arrest him for being offensive. Big deal.

If you read the article his point was to deliberatly act suspiciously and see how security reacted ie would they investigate him more? Pretty funny lengths he went to, all to no avail.

As someone trained (by the government) in the use of high energy materials I always considered this aspect of the screening very weak. I doubt they would know what to look for if you waived it under their noses, besides the fact that there are other fundamental and fairly easily exploitable flaws in their screening approach unfortunately.

[medhead]

If you read the article his point was to deliberatly act suspiciously and see how security reacted ie would they investigate him more? Pretty funny lengths he went to, all to no avail.

That's my point, a non-arab looking person with a hezoballah flag or osama t-shirt is not suspicious. It's either a misguided idiot trying to make a statement, or a misguided idiot trying to wind you up, or a journalist (idiot) trying to get arrested along with a free prostate check to write a story about how the TSA are nazis.

See the common thread, an idiot involved at all stages. Personally, I don't find it funny when an idiot writes a step by step guide on how to exploit weaknesses in airport security. It certainly won't help the committed terrorist. But it will help someone who is angry enough to do something if only they can get past security.

[Soundguy]

That's my point, a non-arab looking person with a hezoballah flag or osama t-shirt is not suspicious.

....well except for the fact that the most dangerous ones here in the west (and especially in England) are the recent converts to the RoP - which are generally white, non-Arab looking persons of course. A certain Hick comes to mind here, with more brains he would have been quite dangerous. But I take your point that such articles are not helpful unless the outcome is that the security actually lift their game a bit.

[ejb]

Hi,

I had a similar experience last week on SYD-PER flight.

Early monday morning half asleep I arrive at the airport after throwing my gear into a carryon bag. Left nail clippers in bag by mistake and lost these at check point.

Boarding plane standing behind woman with 2 three foot high trophies made of metal (I think) and wood. I thought WTF and mentioned to QF staff that this was stupid and was told that the trophies were not a banned item.

The damage someone could do with these items would be much greater that my nail clippers yet I lose them.

ejb

[NM]

The damage someone could do with these items would be much greater that my nail clippers yet I lose them.

But don't you feel so much safer knowing the guy sitting next to you on the plane will not able to nibble his way through the flight deck security door with a pair of nail clippers

[anat0l]

Boarding plane standing behind woman with 2 three foot high trophies made of metal (I think) and wood. I thought WTF and mentioned to QF staff that this was stupid and was told that the trophies were not a banned item.

The damage someone could do with these items would be much greater that my nail clippers yet I lose them.

ejb

Don't you start!

• The pen in my pocket?
• A plastic fork is as deadly as a metal one.
• How about using my shoe lace as a garotte?
• Scalding someone with the hot coffee or tea?

Need I continue?

Of course, humans are stupid. If there wasn't someone who tried to put copious amounts of liquid together to create a bomb and bring this on board, we wouldn't have liquid restrictions.

[ethernet]

Add packing tape to the banned list - might tape up something. I was very cross - it was not sharp or pointy, and nothing on the signs.
Better my stuff, than 'smartetape' that is an $8 piece of plastic string.
Furthermore I asked for an exception - someone empowered to make a decision, and told no. That was after being swabbed to explosives or the like. Crazy superglue was ok. Lets hope the pommie with the macrame string shirt, or some ethnic with a turban gets confiscated - as clearly those are higher risk items

Going back 20 years, my handluggage from HK was full of knives and cleavers, and they just smiled, fished them out, put them in a buff envelope, and said to pick them up at the luggage counter, as they would go in the cockpit or the like. I did. Thus flying is less civil than it was 20 years ago. Yes it is all security theatre.

But I noticed a metal detector screener was on the ball, and used his beady senses. The security that you dont see is the effective stuff,