I pick option 2.  Like I've said, I'm no racist, but come on, it's common sense old ladies are less likely to bomb a plane than scraggly, middle-aged Arabs.  I'm not saying all Arabs are scraggly or terrorists, far from it, but come on, this issue isn't worth people dying over. 

it's an unfortunate fact now. i don't like it but if a person looks arab, he's going to get searched. a friend of mine is indian and he was searched on a layover in new york on his way to india. he wasn't amused despite his pleas that he was hindu.

it's an unfortunate fact now. i don't like it but if a person looks arab, he's going to get searched. a friend of mine is indian and he was searched on a layover in new york on his way to india. he wasn't amused despite his pleas that he was hindu.


Yeah I find it unfortunate too.  But it's better to offend than let people die.

-FHF  :-\\

Yeah I find it unfortunate too.  But it's better to offend than let people die.

-FHF  :-\\


Sometimes it just has to be done. The people planning terrorist attacks against america, are arab males. And that's who we have to suspicious of right now.

Yes, racial profile.

Why should my 71-year-old mother in a wheel-chair get a mandatory all-over search?  There are certain groups I say just pass through a metal detector and go.  I don't care if it makes somebody who has the same background as a terrorist uncomfortable.

If certain groups like wheelchair-bound old ladies are bypassed as a matter of course, you can bet that the next round of suicide bombers will be (or at least seem to be) wheelchair-bound old ladies.  You can't completely exclude any single group from this kind of search, but the search should probably be just about enough to ensure that the little ol' lady in question actually is what she says she is, and the wheelchair ain't stuffed with semtex.

Racial profiling doesn't improve safety.

You know there are Muslims that do not fit the profile. They are many blue-eyed blond-haired adversaries there too. Many of them (especially Chechens) are coming here to help the terrorists. Terrorism doesn't have a particular color to it. I think everyone should be checked b/c there are so many crazy agendas out there. You can't be quite sure who is working for whom now.

Tanya

Somehow, I don't seem to recall white guys with crewcuts being profiled after Oklahoma City.

Somehow, I don't seem to recall white guys with crewcuts being profiled after Oklahoma City.


Interesting point. That's what I was getting at in my first post. Thanks for sharing.

Tanya

Terrorism doesn't have a particular color to it. I think everyone should be checked b/c there are so many crazy agendas out there. You can't be quite sure who is working for whom now.



Yes, excellent point.  It's just that when the terrorists looks like you, they're somehow not nearly as much of a cause for concern.

Yes, excellent point.  It's just that when the terrorists looks like you, they're somehow not nearly as much of a cause for concern.


So true. I remember when the Oklahoma bombing hit, no one in the mainstream wanted to admit that domestic terrorism exists and that often times, it's by white males. It may have been glossed over for like a minute, but it was never within a honest, in-depth discussion.

Tanya

It's not so much white people that I think should be overlooked as it is kids, elderly, whatever.  Although I guess if we do as a rule terrorists will start picking up old people.

kids,


Palestine my good friend.

Children are there number one weapon of choice.

Heh. Funny thing. Rice Cube always gets searched when he flies and he looks about as Muslim as I do. Hell, even I got searched at the airport when I flew and I'm still trying to figure out why. And the people had a really lame a*sed excuse for searching me ("your camera had some sort of particles on it that we detected" huh?) I maintain that they searched me because I was wearing a baseball cap that had my last name on it in old English letters. ;D

My point? I don't have one. I'm still amused by the whole incident even though it happened almost two years ago. :D

Heh. Funny thing. Rice Cube always gets searched when he flies and he looks about as Muslim as I do. Hell, even I got searched at the airport when I flew and I'm still trying to figure out why. And the people had a really lame a*sed excuse for searching me ("your camera had some sort of particles on it that we detected" huh?) I maintain that they searched me because I was wearing a baseball cap that had my last name on it in old English letters. ;D

My point? I don't have one. I'm still amused by the whole incident even though it happened almost two years ago. :D


You gotta be careful about that old English stuff.. they wouldn't let me take my sword and shield on..   :o

Got searched the year before last.. the guy was totally thourough as well went through all my bags, each compartment. Then got me to take my jacket off and searched me like with the beeper thing and then patted me down. Found nothing.. i cocked an eyebrow and looked disgruntled.

'Tis worthwhile thought.

I do agree that specific groups should be targetted more, however, saying that guy has brown skin and a beard, let's search his a** is wrong.. W-R-O-N-G wrong. Fact of the matter is this.. chances of terrorists useing a plane again are slim. Even if they get on to the plane with there little knives they ain't gonna get in the cockpit for sh**, that's a big a** re-enforced door there. Take a hostage? Sure, dunno what good it will do 'em. Airline policy is this.. the passengers are expendable. (why do you think they treat you like sh**  ;D)

Of course what i laugh at is this, i have been given a metal knife with my food on a plane before, does that not defeat the whole object of taking nail clippers from people? ::)

Of course what i laugh at is this, i have been given a metal knife with my food on a plane before, does that defeat the whole object of taking nail clippers from people?



The whole system is a joke.  In the 30+ years they'd been using metal detectors, no one anticipated terrorists using non-metal weapons?  No one could see the prudence in (duh) keeping cockpit doors locked?  Now they want to hassle Salman Rushdie or Deepak Chopra and let John Walker Lindh walk right on by?

I maintain that they searched me because I was wearing a baseball cap that had my last name on it in old English letters. ;D

Better than French letters, though...

Palestine my good friend.

Children are there number one weapon of choice.


No kidding.  Yet people in France and Germany according to a BBC world poll like Palestine over Israel, even though Palestine is the one causing all the problems and the ones using children suicide bombers.

Wait and see, when Iran starts will those nuclear weapons, Israel will be the ones to blow it up (why not, the world already hates them?)  Then Great Britain, France, and Germany will start with their "bad bad jew" crap, even though deep down inside they will be blowing a sigh of relief.

No kidding.  Yet people in France and Germany according to a BBC world poll like Palestine over Israel, even though Palestine is the one causing all the problems and the ones using children suicide bombers.

Wait and see, when Iran starts will those nuclear weapons, Israel will be the ones to blow it up (why not, the world already hates them?)  Then Great Britain, France, and Germany will start with their "bad bad jew" crap, even though deep down inside they will be blowing a sigh of relief.


I lambasted the idiot Palestinian supporters in front of Marks & Spencers in our local town (M&S Being Jewish owned) anywho.. i simply put forward to some questions to them and they couldn't answer one. They said if you don't support our plight go away. We'll give me some reasons i should then ASSHOLE!!

I e-Mailed the Israeli embassy in London with this story, i was invited to a young Jewish minds meeting..had to decline on the technicality that i am a Roman Catholic.

No kidding.  Yet people in France and Germany according to a BBC world poll like Palestine over Israel, even though Palestine is the one causing all the problems and the ones using children suicide bombers.

Palestine is only "the one causing all the problems" on US politically biased news, we (ie the rest of the world) understand the situation a little better.
Israel is illegally occupying Palestinian land, this is in breach of UN resolutions and, more importantly, the geneva convention.  This occupation constitutes a warcrime!  Palestinians live under a regime of apartheid and oppression by religious fundamentalists, led by a wanted warcriminal* and some of them fight back using guerilla tactics.
The French and Germans support the victims, not the terrorist oppressors!

* Sharon is wanted by the international court on at least two counts of slaughtering innocent civilians!

Wait and see, when Iran starts will those nuclear weapons, Israel will be the ones to blow it up (why not, the world already hates them?)  Then Great Britain, France, and Germany will start with their "bad bad jew" crap, even though deep down inside they will be blowing a sigh of relief.

I can't see Britain breathing a sigh of relief if Israel attack Iran. I know we turned a blind eye to the wave of Israeli 'anti-terrorism-terrorism' across Europe in the 70s, but things are different now. America is definitely Israel's major supporter (struggling to think of anyone else who approves of their actions); I feel your 9/11 disaster was as a result of the support the US gives them. The end result of Israel attacking Iran could be the next world war; muslim nations are not going to stand around and watch the Israeli fascists illegally subjugate another of their peoples. The only reason they currently get away with it is because of the threat of military action from big brother America; muslim nations are, I'd imagine, greatly scared by the US's foreign policy of "shoot up any old muslim country & sooner or later, we'll get the right culprits", but if Israel decides to meddle anywhere else, I'd imagine we're in for hell on earth. As Bush's greatest current cunnilinguist, I'd imagine we'd get dragged into assisting with this great crusade, despite the fact that an ever-increasing proportion of our population is muslim itself...