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Post by cbk on Dec 27, 2009 8:54:39 GMT -5
By now I'm sure that y'all have heard of the attempt to blow up another plane in flight. Among all of the hype that the news is putting out I have heard that there are two dangers that we don't really know about as we fly on our nation's airlines. The first is the lack of good security in other nations where these planes stop and pick up passengers or even originate. The second is that some nations will not let us board Marshals even though it's an American Airline. Thanks to quick thinking by a Dutch man and the crew this terrorist only managed to get some news for a slow news day (and burn his ass)
Years ago El Al, the Israel National Airline, instituted very tight security. Everyone went through it if they wanted to board an El Al plane. Didn't matter where the flight originated. El Al had it's own security. This was long before 9-11. Why can't we do the same? As far as U.S. Marshals on U.S. planes; I think it's time our State Department looked into that and we made some deals. I'm sure some pressure can be brought to bear. It's ridiculous that we can't protect our nation's airlines. And these problems should have been obvious to our government long before now. Just some more of our wonderful government efficiency. And these are the people who want to run your health care system folks.
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Post by cbk on Dec 27, 2009 9:04:40 GMT -5
BTW, Since security is SO tight for boarding an El Al plane, terrorists have taken to shooting people at the El Al ticket counters. On July 4, 2002 an Egyptian shot 6 Israelis at the El Al Ticket Counter in LAX. He was killed, not by our police, but by El Al security people. If they can carry weapons in our country why can't we in other countries?
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Post by cbk on Dec 27, 2009 10:20:52 GMT -5
Was just watching Dutch Ruppersberger (D Maryland) on Fox yammering on about how we have such wonderful security and the "best" intelligence in the world etc. etc. And it's all another country's fault that this happened. Typical Democrap B.S. and blame someone else.
On CNN a former Assistant Director of the FBI was saying how we failed because the Congress makes the FBI, and everyone else concerned with national security fight for every position they get. We don't have the feet on the ground, so to speak, to do the security and investigation in foreign countries because of it. I'm sure the man wouldn't have said what he did if he wasn't retired recently. All present employees are "lips sealed" I'm sure.
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Post by elaine on Dec 27, 2009 20:20:09 GMT -5
By The first is the lack of good security in other nations where these planes stop and pick up passengers or even originate. Chris, JC and I were talking today about poor airport security after watching the CNN reports of the second attempt on an airliner. We should have reported the lack of security at the Cancun airport when we came back from Riviera Maya in August. JC has solid titanium knees and lots of hardware to hold all that metal in the knees. He sets off every alarm possible in airports, so they have to scan him with the wands and he has to show his xrays. When we came back through security at Cancun, he walked right through the gates and the alarms never went off, therefore they did not scan him. We were boarding a Continental flight back to Houston! If the security was that bad at Cancun with us, it makes me wonder what else has come into our country through that airport. I'm still considering reporting it just for the records. |
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Post by cbk on Dec 28, 2009 12:06:18 GMT -5
Elaine, I think that would be an excellent idea (to report the bad security) I'm sure that our government knows it's bad but it never hurts to let people in government know that YOU know. In the light of such poor security in such a place as Amsterdam...which is supposed to be a civilized, hi tech. place, I think everyone who has experienced bad security should report it.
Years before 9/11 I was going through security when a man ahead of me rang the bells. He was gone over with a wand and it again gave off a signal at waist level. The woman asked him what he was carrying and he said in a soft voice, A money belt. He asked if she wanted to see it and she said, No. Now I realise this was before the World Trade Towers were brought down by civilian airliners. But pleanty of airliners had been hijacked during this period. I thought to myself, if he goes to the same gate as I do I'm going to demand that he show the money belt to a security person. He went to a different gate, so I let it slide. But I should not have.
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Post by jerry on Dec 29, 2009 15:46:09 GMT -5
Airport security is a farce. In part, I blame preferential hiring practices. Same principle that made B'ham's southside 20th Street one of the roughest in the state.
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Post by cbk on Dec 29, 2009 23:09:42 GMT -5
Airport security is a farce Jerry. I agree completely. Part of it comes from the attitude in Washington (and other places) that if it wasn't invented here it can't be any good and we don't want any part of it. Part of it is protecting turf. The FBI, CIA, NTSB, FAA, Border Patrol, State Department, and on and on with all of the various law enforcement and intelligence gathering departments don't want to share. It's a long standing attitude and practice. In WWII the Navy intelligence department wouldn't give the President of the United States what they had learned because they didn't trust the people around him. And as for sharing with the Army....well, forget it. Those attitudes still persist so the information doesn't get where it needs to go to do some good. And part of it is just plain stupidity. We seem to have no end of stupid, stubborn, mean spirited people in government. All of which adds up to ineffectiveness. It's going to get people killed. Then Congress will start another round of their investigations that help nothing, and cost a fortune.
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Post by jerry on Dec 30, 2009 0:13:29 GMT -5
I'm told TSA actually detained an 83 year old woman because she was knitting an Afghan.
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Post by cbk on Dec 30, 2009 6:50:13 GMT -5
 LOL I did see TSA harass a family who had an elderly man with what was probably some form of dementia. He was in a wheelchair and they were insisting that he walk through the screening device on his own. Now, of course, it could have all been an elaborate act. The man, who looked to be around 120 Lbs and very confused, could have been a terrorist. His wife who was trying to cooperate and was being told to not talk and stand apart could have been an operative in al Qaida. And their daughter who was getting rather upset with TSA could have been a thug. There should be SOP's for such situations. The TSA people seemed not to know exactly what to do. BTW, I carry a survival knife with me. I don't expect to crash when I fly a plane but I used to fly over some pretty rough country as a corporate pilot. A friend gave me a knife that has a lot of things such as the Swiss Army knife. Only it's the shape of a credit card and about as big as 4 credit cards stacked on top of each other. I usually remember to leave it at home when traveling on the airlines. However, I have forgotten several times and never once has TSA even asked me what it was. As a former x-ray technician I can't believe their machines don't pick it up. BTW, all of this is making me rather nervous about going home to Hawaii. What with the "big man" vacationing there his fellow Muslims might want to join him. ;D
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Post by jerry on Dec 30, 2009 8:03:46 GMT -5
Know what would crack me up? If both AF1's developed engine trouble on the ground and Yomama had to fly Delta home.
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Post by Tommy Thompson on Dec 30, 2009 10:27:29 GMT -5
That's when Nancy would fly out and pick him up in her plane. LOL
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Post by elaine on Dec 30, 2009 12:34:29 GMT -5
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Post by cbk on Dec 30, 2009 15:18:31 GMT -5
Yes, I've noticed his "extremest" tag. They are TERRORISTS, ENEMY COMBATANTS! If obama doesn't believe that perhaps he should go out on a patrol over in Iraq. You know, the war that isn't, and that we're winding down, where something like 38 people were killed in a bombing today. That little non event.
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Post by gloria on Dec 30, 2009 17:03:41 GMT -5
I saw on the news where another suicide bomber strapped a bomb to himself and killed 8 more Americans in Afghanistan. I think we just need to bring all the military home, close our borders and let them duke it out among themselves.
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Post by jerry on Dec 30, 2009 18:23:27 GMT -5
Ah, those Muslim children....they blow up so fast.
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LOL
