One-bag, carry-on, light travel tips, techniques, and gear

Patting you down because someone in Yemen ships an apparent bomb doesn’t make sense. And everyone knows this. And nobody in the US or the UK security apparatuses cares. Most OBOW readers in the UK are probably not fans of Peter (brother of Christopher) Hitchens, but he does state the truth about the latest…whatever it was….pretty plainly:

What, precisely, are these ‘hallmarks of Al Qaeda’ that we are constantly being told that such things have? How are they distinguished from the hallmarks of all terror organisations?

How powerful would they have been if they had detonated, assuming they could have been? And what on earth do they have to do with the ludicrous persecution of airline passengers, as apparently suggested by former Home Secretary and Defence Secretary and one-time Communist John ‘without a shot being fired’ Reid, who said this was a ‘cautionary tale’ for those who ‘want to reduce essential security measures.’

‘Doctor’ Reid added that these measures might be inconvenient for passengers but were nothing compared with the ‘tragic consequences of loss of life’ caused by a terrorist attack.

While true, this is a classic nonsequitur. ‘Doctor’ Reid has to show how these measures would have prevented such deaths. If he tried to do so, it would quickly emerge that most of them were not in fact essential. - Daily Mail (UK)

I love a good “cautionary tale.” Our governments are great at telling tales.

Update on November 1, 2010 by

Frank@OBOW

TSA statement:

“TSA is in the process of implementing new pat-down procedures at checkpoints nationwide as one of our many layers of security to keep the traveling public safe. Pat-downs are one important tool to help TSA detect hidden and dangerous items such as explosives. Passengers should continue to expect an unpredictable mix of security layers that include explosives trace detection, advanced imaging technology, canine teams, among others.”

Unpredictable mix. Thought that had been around for awhile. I can think of other adjectives for the TSA’s “mix.”