New Air travel rules now in affect.

[Pstreet1 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Pstreet1]

TSA Relaxes New Security MeasuresPosted on December 29, 2009 at 8:58 am ET by Carl Unger, SmarterTravel.com Staff
Here's the good news: As we reported yesterday, the Transportation Security Administration has relaxed the in-flight guidelines put in place following last week's attempted terrorist attack. The AP reports that at "the captain's discretion, passengers can once again have blankets and other items on their laps or move about the cabin during the tail end of flight. Restrictions on in-flight entertainment systems that show the plane's path were also lifted."

At this point, it seems airport security measures, which were also stepped up last week, will remain so. Screeners have increased their use of pat-downs and bag checks. This has led to long lines at airports across the globe.


Unfortunately, the guidelines put in place—and now revoked—have not been applied consistently, reflecting confusion that seems to stem from the TSA's vague framing of the rules. The AP reports that "On some flights [on Monday], passengers were told to keep their hands visible and not to listen to iPods. Even babies were frisked. But on other planes, security appeared no tighter than usual.

"The Transportation Security Administration did little to explain the rules. And that inconsistency might well have been deliberate: What's confusing to passengers is also confusing to potential terrorists."

Ben Mutzabaugh at Today in the Sky points out that "most of the inconveniences reported by AP came on international flights."

But those are inconveniences many will accept as necessary—for now.
TSA Relaxes New Security Measures - SmarterTravel.com

[Keitht Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Keitht]

No checked baggage should not be a criteria for added checks.

No checked baggage on its own isn't the problem. It's when that is combined with the other factors that alarm bells should have started ringing somewhere, and it appears that didn't happen.

[Pstreet1 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Pstreet1]

Der Spiegel, as usual, lays it right on the line. Full body checks would have eliminated the threat; they check for "non-human" objects; they aren't a pornographic show for the scanners--but of course, on that aspect as most others, people react before they have the facts.

Meanwhile, we in America have our astute Director of Homeland Security to lead us; she was one of the worst governors Arizona has produced, but following the Peter Principle, she is in charge of a vital piece of the national government: on one day, she says the good news is that the system worked; the next day she says she would be foolish to sit there and say the system worked. What a leader!

Meanwhile, we reject full body scans and profiling while we institute measures responsible people/sources declare useless.

The World From Berlin: New Airline Security Measures Are 'Blind Overreaction' - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News - International

[MargeS Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close MargeS]

I would much rather subject myself to the full body scanner before a flight, than to whatever methods necessary to identify my body parts after the flight....

[Hoc Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Hoc]

We ought not to give in to ''political correctness''. At this juncture we do not have Hindu terrorists, Lutheran terrorists, Budhist terrorists, etc. They need to do the proper profiling and check the groups whose extremists produce these terrorists.

So, Christians and Muslims? Isn't that a Civil Rights violation?

[Pstreet1 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Pstreet1]

Me, too, Marge. One source I heard said the Dutch said they were not allowed to use the body scans on flights to the U.S.--but they use them for European flights. Probably another U.S. rule. If that's true, we have only ourselves to blame.

[Pstreet1 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Pstreet1]

Newsmax - Newsmax.TV - Newsmax.TV - Home

Viewpoint on Al Quida and air attack.

[BoardGirl Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close BoardGirl]

It would be fairly difficult to profile based solely on religion. I'm a white chick in America, free to practice whatever religion I choose or none at all.

[Pstreet1 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Pstreet1]

That's true, but you are, also, highly unlikely to be a suicide bomber.

[Glitter Brunello Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Glitter Brunello]

Quick, close the barn door ! The horse just got out !!!!!!!!

Seriously. Maybe now we can go back to carry liquids in our carry ons.

[Glitter Brunello Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Glitter Brunello]

So, Christians and Muslims? Isn't that a Civil Rights violation?

ya think?

[Keitht Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Keitht]

It seems that Obama is laying a large amount of the blame squarely on the shoulders of the various US security agencies. There is a strong suggestion that they are still failing to share information and are more interested in their individual profiles than in having effective protection.

[Carolinian Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Carolinian]

So, Christians and Muslims? Isn't that a Civil Rights violation?

It is more Muslims and everybody else.

It is less of a civil rights violation than blowing up planes and killing people. Being dead is a whole lot worse than merely being offended. We should not care about offending people, if by doing so we keep people alive. To heck with the left's ''political correctness''.

[x3skier Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close x3skier]

I would much rather subject myself to the full body scanner before a flight, than to whatever methods necessary to identify my body parts after the flight....

+1

Cheers

[x3skier Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close x3skier]

It is more Muslims and everybody else.

It is less of a civil rights violation than blowing up planes and killing people. Being dead is a whole lot worse than merely being offended. We should not care about offending people, if by doing so we keep people alive. To heck with the left's ''political correctness''.

+1

I'm with El Al. If you don't like the way they profile and examine, don't fly El Al. You can go fly the airlines who will be ordered by the ACLU lawsuits and political blackmail to let anybody on with anything they can hide so we can protect their so called privacy and dignity.

Cheers