A friend today forwarded me the following article: Terror in the Skies, Again? – WomensWallStreet
Now, if after reading this you are not angry, scared and generally thinking that there is something wrong with our society, there is a problem. For many of us that fly on a regular basis, some aspects of this story do not come as a surprise: the degree of scrutiny to which people are subjected at the airport today is at best inconsistent and at worst non-existent. For whatever reasons: political correctness, frugality by the security firms or TSA or laziness of staff in enforcing procedures, people are getting through security without having the majority of their belongings checked.
I guess I should feel comfortable that my laptop case receives extra scrutiny because the x-ray operator sees alot of wires inside, however, what about all of the folks that bring on entire suitcases or toiletry bags that could have containers filled with god-knows what kind of chemicals or dangerous substances? The fact of the matter is that we are missing the two most important components of an effective security mechanism: 1. Intelligent screening and 2. Profiling. Plain and simple. It is time that we get real and face the fact that the majority of terrorist attacks are not getting committed by the amish, by senior citizens, or by 30-year old jewish-american computer consultants.
I only hope that I do not have to be blown up before this view is shared by the powers that be.
PS: I just read this in the NY Times. It’s not looking good.