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a flight to NYC christmas 2001

Reader comment on item: Security Theater Now Playing at Your Airport

Submitted by myth (Germany), Jan 6, 2010 at 06:09

I agree with Dr Pipes that talking to people is the sophisticated method. Naturally it wise to start with those who judged from a perspective of common sense should be first in line. This sort of profiling is prejudiced, and it must be. I do understand that arabs feel humiliated in a body search exercise on an israeli airport. Maybe someone needs to tell them that bombs exploding on an aircraft are on the extreme end of being indiscriminate, if that is what they want for an equal treatment.

Even though I mandate profiling let me tell a story about my first flight to New York: The 911 terror attacks made me want to fly to New York, to see for myself and of course the flights were so cheap at the time of christmas 2001 as a result of the attacks. I booked a flight from Germany via London to JFK. On London's heathrow airport I had to travel quite a distance to the other end in order to change flights.

Looking out of the windows almost everbody working at the airport was some beardy guy, perfect Osama bin Laden look-alikes, maybe they were all Sikhs ? In the airport working at the terminals many pakistani looking people, probably all muslims. From a perspective of profiling maybe the radical islamists were already running the airport, or were they not ? When I boarded the aircraft today's newspaper was on many of the seats displaying a photo of Richard Reid who took a flight yesterday with those explosive-sneakers of his. I turned it upside down, no need to scare my girlfriend. Quite a number of oriental looking beardy people on board, anybody wearing sneakers ?

Standing in line for the bathroom I talked to many of them. It a appeared they were all jews. I expected 6 hours to be a long a flight but it wasn't. There was this questionnaire for all non-us passengers with all those questions wether or not I was a murderer or member of NAZI party or whatever. Sometimes the questions were somewhat tricky. I spent at least 3 hours helping people who had troubles with english fill out their forms. Maybe I even helped radicals into the US, I cannot tell. Answering the questions by immigration officers at JFK airport I set foot in the US. Finally I arrived in NYC safe with the one exception that I had the impression the rear weels would come off on that taxi into the city.

Submitting....

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Reader comments (68) on this item

Title Commenter Date Thread
Airport attack [101 words]Clifton MApr 17, 2010 17:23171412
THE FLYING FOLLIES OF THE T.S.A. [901 words]DANIEL REDMONDJan 29, 2010 19:59168104
the keys under the lamppost [220 words]pdmFeb 4, 2010 09:54168104
finland profiling, statistics about immigrants [71 words]mythJan 18, 2010 17:48167505
1America Doesn't Have The Personnel To Do What israel Does [145 words]MikeJan 16, 2010 22:16167407
america does have personnel in some places [130 words]mythJan 18, 2010 18:16167407
A Complicated Problem With Strong Differences of Opinion [343 words]MikeJan 18, 2010 20:58167407
great article [15 words]GetCluedJan 14, 2010 13:51167335
1Theater of the Absurd [325 words]ArlindaJan 13, 2010 11:59167291
Advisors [209 words]RobertJan 13, 2010 06:24167269
1New FAA policies [137 words]pdmJan 12, 2010 11:17167233
1It is the IDEOLOGY stupid! [295 words]BAJan 11, 2010 22:43167210
1How can anyone be that stupid? [70 words]LesterJan 10, 2010 15:06167147
1Smart profiling saves lives [368 words]Rebecca Ellen MouldsJan 10, 2010 13:36167143
Ignoring a hero. [67 words]Judita Hruza MDJan 9, 2010 17:59167104
HERE'S ONE FOR YOU [77 words]DEBORAH THE JUDGEJan 10, 2010 00:05167104
join the fanclub of Jasper Schuringa [26 words]mythJan 10, 2010 11:17167104
FORGOTTEN HERO [156 words]DANIEL REDMONDJan 31, 2010 07:56167104
Why are visa and security systems so primitive [240 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
SullyJan 9, 2010 15:21167100
Screening [175 words]Jay1Jan 9, 2010 12:11167093
I remember that incident - Is there anything lower than that Palestinian monster? [62 words]Jeremiah JohnsonJan 8, 2010 18:57167058
As far as I see he is still in jail [171 words]saraJan 9, 2010 19:24167058
Thank you for the info - surprised the British have not bent over yet [38 words]Jeremiah JohnsonJan 13, 2010 11:08167058
The super power cannot protect the air traffic [184 words]foshJan 8, 2010 11:16167035
the data mining game [67 words]pdmJan 8, 2010 10:27167029
discrimination is evil [141 words]pdmJan 8, 2010 10:14167028
Highjacking [103 words]zdenek HruzaJan 8, 2010 08:18167026
Highjacking- I agree on Profiling, and also hiring qualified trained screeners. response to zdenek Hruza. [53 words]Anne-USAJan 10, 2010 17:22167026
Terribly inhuman [71 words]AnonJan 8, 2010 00:30167007
The West's medical emergency [437 words]Lance W.Jan 7, 2010 21:21167004
1ISA account differs [19 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
ZviJan 7, 2010 20:06166998
Bare Hands [82 words]JeffJan 7, 2010 16:33166989
Yet, Screeners Would Have To Know Things. [65 words]Mark PrestonJan 7, 2010 12:25166977
Security Theater Now Playing at Your Airport. You certainly nailed this one Dr. Pipes. [254 words]Anne-USAJan 7, 2010 11:58166975
Imaging complicates the job of the terrorists, as does profiling [73 words]SullyJan 9, 2010 15:09166975
Imaging complicates the job of the terrorists, as does profiling. I can see how imaging would be useful.- [315 words]Anne- USAJan 10, 2010 17:11166975
Hopeless in the US. Unless... [203 words]Alain Jean-MairetJan 7, 2010 03:32166965
screening [121 words]Ted RiceJan 9, 2010 00:04166965
An idea to speed up the screening for suicide bombers [104 words]Alain Jean-MairetJan 10, 2010 00:14166965
TSA Should be Trained by Israelis [131 words]Sofa SogoodJan 7, 2010 03:04166963
Seriously, we are not taking JIHAD seriously. ...Jan 2010 [627 words]Phil GreendJan 6, 2010 21:23166953
El Al's screening is brilliant [36 words]Abu NudnikJan 6, 2010 19:27166945
Interesting [55 words]Barry BlackJan 7, 2010 10:39166945
WMD = Human [25 words]LadyJan 7, 2010 12:46166945
Demonizing all the Muslims by one example is BAD [48 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
Abu HurairahJan 8, 2010 10:52166945
Why not in the U.S.? [333 words]C. Meyers'Mar 23, 2012 23:18166945
are all human beings good? [55 words]G.VishvasJan 6, 2010 18:56166942
All Human Beings are good? [210 words]Joe KaffirJan 8, 2010 00:40166942
Pessimism [103 words]John W. McGinleyJan 6, 2010 18:20166939
leaping the dots to connect the flying conclusions... [514 words]d levyJan 6, 2010 18:15166938
the greater jihad [18 words]mythJan 7, 2010 03:21166938
Stop swatting the bees and destroy the nest from which they come [165 words]Ralph C. WhaleyJan 6, 2010 16:19166935
Confidence in Security Requires Competence in Security Methods-There are No Oscars for Failure to Act According to the Threat [208 words]M. ToveyJan 6, 2010 13:22166929
Security? [225 words]Barry BlackJan 6, 2010 12:31166927
The Profiling Fiasco [41 words]Frank VeranoJan 6, 2010 11:58166923
Reactions [39 words]DGRJan 6, 2010 11:52166922
Ann Marie Murphy's involvement is an argument to interrogate everyone [34 words]Gamaliel IsaacJan 6, 2010 10:58166919
Security Theatre [99 words]Nelson D'SilvaJan 6, 2010 09:53166917
whatever it takes ? [43 words]mythJan 7, 2010 02:54166917
Commonsense over life [43 words]Nelson D'SilvaJan 8, 2010 05:17166917
Clouseau-like [32 words]JoeJan 6, 2010 09:33166916
Airline Security and Mr Obama [115 words]Nenette GrunbergJan 6, 2010 09:30166915
How is this? [439 words]Ray WasserJan 6, 2010 07:36166912
take the train ? [12 words]mythJan 7, 2010 02:46166912
Coming Soon [18 words]Barry BlackJan 8, 2010 12:15166912
a flight to NYC christmas 2001 [419 words]mythJan 6, 2010 06:09166906
"Profiling" and "discrimination" are not the same [402 words]M. HillerJan 6, 2010 23:06166906
is "Our entire air travel industry is at risk of being grounded - exactly what the terrorists want." ? [235 words]mythJan 9, 2010 06:34166906

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