Free Republic

A friend of mine is taking his wife on a European cruise that ends in Barcelona this week. He told me how much they love the Spanish city and how they’d normally stay an extra couple of days there before flying back. “Not this year,” he said, before stressing that they’re “gonna get outta there fast” because of safety concerns. We had this discussion before this weekend’s violent riots in Barcelona, in which hundreds of people (black clothing, masks, and Palestinian flags prominent among them) looted and damaged dozens of stores, injured at least 15 police officers, and set multiple...

Confiscating hair gel and Starbucks coffee is this year’s equivalent of the banning of nail clippers and lighters. Put another way, the enhanced security measures put into place at airports across the world following this month’s disruption of a plot by British Muslims to smuggle liquid explosives onto several transatlantic flights aren’t making airline passengers feel much safer. Which is why Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff has tried to reassure American travelers about boarding an airplane by reminding them of such protections as the “prohibition on liquids, gels and beverages in carry-on baggage.” The problem is that while possible liquid...