[rescue] Airport Security and Rescues...

[hike]

On Thu, Mar 27, 2008 at 12:03 PM, Jonathan C. Patschke <jp at celestrion.net>
wrote:

> On Thu, 27 Mar 2008, Geoffrey S. Mendelson wrote:
>
> > On Thu, Mar 27, 2008 at 06:38:21AM -0400, Phil Stracchino wrote:
> >> I have more than once speculated that the real purpose of the TSA is to
> >> make air travel so intolerable that nobody in the US flies any more.
> >> The one thing I can't figure out is what the win in this is for the
> >> government.
> >
> > If you have ever flown El-Al, you understand why the TSA does what it
> > does. El-Al uses all sorts of politicaly incorrect methods of spotting
> > the people who may be terrorists and questioning and inspecting them.
> >
> > The TSA does basicly the same thing, but since they can't use those
> > methods they have to use a 10 pound hammer to accomplish what could be
> > done with a pair of tweezers if left alone.
> >
> > The win in it for the U.S. Government is that they "keep the skys safe"
> > and don't spend all of their energy fighting lawsuits.
>
> I would argue that the situation in the US does not directly compare to
> the situation in Israel.  Whereas Israel and its neighbors do not get
> along, for whatever reason, and Israel is frequently on the receiving
> end of terrorist violence, the US generally doesn't have[0] that problem.
>
> Okay, yes, we had that incident in 2001, but I doubt that any future
> attempt at the same trick would work again.  Any poor idiot heading to
> the cockpit screaming in a foreign language with a knife, box-cutter, or
> cocktail fork would have his back broken by every able-bodied man and
> woman in that vessel while he made his attempt to break through the
> now-locked and now-reinforced cockpit doors.
>
> Thus, I argue, there is no need for all this government thuggery.  The
> problem is minimal, and I believe, now that people realize that being
> hijacked doesn't necessarily just mean an unplanned detour through Cuba,
> can be dealt with by the flying public.
>
> This stupid nonsense of taking off shoes and disallowing liquids on
> planes and whatever doesn't make anyone safer.  And it should make
> anyone -feel- safer if they pay attention to the statistics of the TSA's
> internal tests when confronted with real dangers.  Sure, they can keep
> thin Apple laptops and diet sodas from getting on planes, but they fail
> at roughly 70% of the simulated explosives and chemical agents that
> might actually be used to destroy an airplane.
>
> The TSA's purpose is simple.  They fulfill the perceived public's want
> for the government to "do something" about airline security, while
> conditioning the public to accept expanded and more invasive police
> powers.  It's the airport equivalent of "knock and talk" being the
> "something" the government "does" about firearm violence.
>
>
> [0] Though we're well on our way to buying that particular problem,
>     since we can't seem to keep our collective nose out of the problems
>     (real or perceived) of the rest of the planet.
> --
> Jonathan Patschke | "There is no such thing as a short of reserves...
> Elgin, TX         |  one bank can have a problem...the Fed can print
> USA               |  money, there is no shortage."
> .                 |     --Jim Glassman, US Economist, JPMorgan Chase
> _______________________________________________
> rescue list - http://www.sunhelp.org/mailman/listinfo/rescue
>


When our son graduated university, we flew in and out of a small airport.
One of the female TSAs was overheard telling another female TSA, "I only
pick women for the random wand searches.".

In Memphis, a company named "the Betty Bus" transports people to the Little
Rock airport.  The travel time is about 1.5 hours.  The cost savings on
ticket prices is startling.  There is a bigger operation in Knoxville that
transports people to the Nashville airport.  It's a 2.5 hour ride with a
similarly startling savings.

Private planes and corporate jets services do not fall under the same FAA
regulations as the commercial airlines.  They would be able to come and go
much easier.

Most people that I speak with would rather have less hassle at the airport
and quicker flights than the aledged increase in safety.  It is hard to stop
a suicide bomber, terrorist, nut case once she is on the aircraft.  Luggage
is still checked randomly so "playing the odds" is probably very effective.

It is sad that the proven effectiveness of the Israeli/El Al security
process is not applied here.  (The Democrats would have a hissy-fit!)


hike