I bet they'd really freak if I were to snap some photos of the local animal life or even some of the screeners.
You bet your life! (literally) I seem to remember reading stories just a few years ago about the idiocy of some of the 'security precautions' that used to be taken at many places in the former USSR. Reporters would always be incredulous at the fact that their cameras were taken from thimn and film deliberately exposed when they took pictures of something the local commisars didn't want photographed...
Fast forward to 2002 in our own supposedly free nation. Try to take a camera with you to get some last minute pics of your loved ones as they board the plane (assuming you can get anywhere near close enough, and you'll most likely find yourself shortly sitting in a room being interregated by the local commisars and having your film exposed/confiscated. You'll be extremely lucky to get out of there with your freedom of movement intact.
Does this bother anyone else?
A couple of days ago, there was a story linked that had a fellow being charged by airport personnel for 'disorderly conduct' or something similar for allegedly freaking out when one of these fine 'professional' screeneds groped his pregnant wife's breasts during a 'pat-down'. The man's version of events and the security personel's version were, of course, wildly different. At the time I read the article I didn't think of it, but later on the question came to mind ...what about the cameras?
Surely with the massive amount of video survellance going on at these kafkeque nightmares we now call airports that there would be video evidence immediately available to the police (and later courts) to ascertain the actual facts of the incident in question. Amazingly, no such video evidence was mentioned.
Could someone out there who has had the misfortune of having to fly recently tell me if they noticed if there were cameras present at the screening gates. If they are not, then I'd have to ask, "why the heck not"? If we are going to give the kind of arbitrary power to these folks that they apparently have (or think they have), there needs to be some safeguards against them.