[Zevonismymuse]

we have to keep in mind that it's not a perfect system and we do have to work outside the profile as well as inside.

I think this is a case of locking the barn after the horse escapes. I have flown as little as possible since 9/11 because it is a terrible, demeaning experience and I am a very compliant customer.

Just think if someone on one of the highjacked flights 9/11 had a can of hairspray and a cigarette lighter we might still be seeing the twin towers on the NY skyline.

[Dilbert56]

Yes. If we start checking only male Arabs in their 30's the terrorist will change tactics. Of course, if they've already decided Arab males in their 30's are the most reliable agent, the change would hurt their effectiveness. Some of this stuff is nonsense. The hijackers were too cheap to buy round trip tickets so now everyone on a one-way ticket gets extra scrutiny. Don't they think the terrorists would figure that out and blow the extra $150 on a round trip?

I'll pass along one compliment to TSA. When our regional airport switched over to TSA, the screeners found a swiss army knife that had been in my computer bag for years. I had traveled over a hundred times with it and no one noticed. TSA caught it the first time.

[discostu]

There's more than one set of horses. I've never been fond of flying, my post 9-11 experience almost not all at from the pre 9-11.

It's not a matter of having a can of hairspray and a lighter, it's a matter of using it. Prior to 9-11 there was no reason to fightback, hijackers just took prisoners and negotiated for stupid stuff. 99% of hijack victims would survive. Anyway as any criminal can tell you, once you make somebody bleed everybody else starts complying, that's how fear works.