Airport fun

[ditchdj]

I dont know if anyone else on here does but I seriously question the well-received concept of giving up a chunk of my freedom and liberty for PERCEIVED safety and security. And I dont see how the airlines are gonna pull all this off since they can't even get their own act together and turn a profit. It's because of this (and it's too expensive to fly me and my wife and kids) that I won't fly at all unless I have to like going somewhere that's on another continent.

[LostMyMind]

Morocco is a country, it's a nationality, it's not the name of a criminal, a terrorist, a criminal profession, a weapon or a form of destruction or death, Morocco is a country. A nationality.

Profiling as much as we like to call it "racist" is a matter of life and not racist. Profiling purely on color of skin is racist. Profiling via choice of clothing isn't. If I see kids wearing clothes gang style, yes it's his fault he gets treated like a gang member until he proves otherwise. First impression means alot, it's ingrain in us as a matter of survival. We have "learn" that skin color don't mean swat, but clothing still say alot.

Say, if a guy wears a T-Shirt saying "San Francisco" in the bible belt he deserves to be beaten in the street because there are gays living in SF?

Neverminding the "racism" (your term) you're using about the bible belt

Lets take that to the next step. Who's fault is it, if you put on a shirt saying "I love Jews. Death to all Arabs." when you visit Iran? If you walk into a camp of skinheads wearing a shirt supporting gays, yes, you asked for the beating. Is it right, no. But you push their button knowingly that they will resort to beating your butt. So who's fault is it really? Both sides share the responsibility for their action.

that I won't fly at all unless I have to like going somewhere that's on another continent.

You know there is a device called ships.

*edit for clarification since there was an confusion
I'm not condoning or accepting the profiling. I'm just correcting the term used. Racism means profiling/bias solely base on the color of skin (race). If the profiling/bias is done on anything else other than skin color, it's bias or profiling not racism. Personally, I think profiling base on clothes is stupid since you can change clothes. Even through I'm guilty of profiling via clothes occasionally (I really dislike gangsa clothes)

[Rapscallion]

No debates, please. Let's keep this civil.

Rapscallion

[protege]

I forgot to mention that when I flew after 9/11, I didn't get searched at the Pittsburgh airport...but got patted down at the Albany airport. It's a good thing I didn't buy any locomotives up there...otherwise I'm sure I'd have been pulled aside by security--the lead weights in those models look rather suspicious. I've heard a few stories about people actually having to take the locomotives apart to prove that they didn't contain bombs. Of course I wouldn't be able to do that now...since I can't take my modeling toolbox onto the plane

[PuckishOne]

I forgot to mention that when I flew after 9/11, I didn't get searched at the Pittsburgh airport...

I flew to Philadelphia several months after 9/11, and while I was putting my shoes back on after going through security, one of the security dogs pulled up beside me and licked my face. The handler wasn't looking down for silly women sitting half-shod on the floor for some reason , and his dog stopped for a nice greeting and kept him from tripping over me.

So airport security ain't always bad, I guess.

[LostMyMind]

While I can't speak for the recent security, however I did fly several times after 9/11 and before 9/11.

I just thought it was funny that I had to remove my flip-flops for inspection, just after 9/11 (this was before the infamous shoe bomber).

But they did make me leave my money clip (it's a old one, passed to me by my father), it had a "blade" if you could call it as such. I looked at that guy bewildered. The so called blade was maybe an inch and was duller than round bar. I even jabbed my hand and "slice" my fingers to show it was a dud. But nope, nail filers was fine but that dull toothpick was no go. Good thing I was early for my flight, gave me enough time to find a envelope and mail it to myself.

[terana]

Just to add my 2 cents on this and what I just recently saw at the airport by where I live. Hubby and myself took our kids to the airport so they could go on their yearly trip out to my folks. Everyone had to take their shoes off to go through security. They guy at the checkpoint at the begining stamped thier tickets wrong, and they held us up because it wasn't right. I did not have a problam with this as they *TSA agents* where all very nice about it and explained everything. All was well until boarding time. The kids get on and the other people flying, when this guy comes up with like a minute to spare, drinking coffee. The ticket agent told him either dump it or drink it all now as it can not go on the plane. The guy starts throwing a fit, telling the agent its just airport coffee blah blah. I'm sitting there about ready to laugh my ass off at him, because every ohhh 10 minutes I would have to say there was annoncemets over the PA system stating NO LIQUIDS OR GELS OF ANY KIND ALLOWED ON THE AIRPLANE. The guy I'm guessing was still complaining after he got on the plane as my kids where telling me about it when they called later that day. *sigh* Okay more than 2 cents, but stuipd people just scare me somedays

[SongsOfDragons]

They search your bags when you go on the London Eye (biggest observation wheel in the world, owned by British Airway, if ya didn't know) cause it would be damn nasty if they blew THAT up.

Getting on the bloody thing is like going into revolving doors. Y'know, how it's going too fast to get in and too slow to get out? Otherwise, it's a grand view up there.

[Mikkel]

They search your bags when you go on the London Eye (biggest observation wheel in the world, owned by British Airway, if ya didn't know) cause it would be damn nasty if they blew THAT up.

Getting on the bloody thing is like going into revolving doors. Y'know, how it's going too fast to get in and too slow to get out? Otherwise, it's a grand view up there.

A very fine view. I was in London in 2004 and in the London Eye with my grandchildren, I thought exatly that when we were on top . I have always hated heights .

[ditchdj]

Wow. Seems like all the airports have been handed over to North Korea! What's next??? Are we all gonna be forced to submit to DNA tests and stool samples (at OUR expense of course!) next time we get a scare???

[Pagan]

Well, wish me luck and I'll have a report after we get back. On 9 September, we're flying from Albquerque to Newark, NJ and from there to Gatwick (yes, the one where the 12 yr old got past security and onto a plane! ). We're going to England, Scotland, and Ireland. We fly out of Dublin on 23 September. Luckily, I work with someone who also works with TSA at the Sunport, so I've been pestering him relentlessly!

[Rapscallion]

Ooh! Where in the UK?

Rapscallion

[trunks2k]

Well, wish me luck and I'll have a report after we get back. On 9 September, we're flying from Albquerque to Newark, NJ and from there to Gatwick (yes, the one where the 12 yr old got past security and onto a plane! ). We're going to England, Scotland, and Ireland. We fly out of Dublin on 23 September. Luckily, I work with someone who also works with TSA at the Sunport, so I've been pestering him relentlessly!

Ick. Have fun flying out of Newark. The security there is a mess, but since it seems as though you'll have a connecting flight, I dunno how bad it'll be for ya. But be prepared for your flight to London to be delayed by at least an hour. I flew out of there on my way to Bristol, UK* and we were delayed over an hour. I started chatting with another guy on the plane and he said he flies out of Newark to the UK about once a month and the only time his flight wasn't delayed was when his flight into Newark from Virginia was delayed a couple hours, thus he missed his flight to the UK.

*Bristol is such a great airport to fly in and out of. It's soooo tiny. ya get off the plane and you walk almost directly into Customs (no half mile walk). Plus since most of the people that fly into it are EU citizens, I'm like the only non-EU person there, so I get through Customs in a minute. When I flew from Berlin into Bristol, it took me two minutes to go from the plane to the main entrance to wait for a bus into town. TWO MINUTES. It was fantastic. Unfortunately the bus was delayed 20 minutes.

[repsac]

I'd like to relate some things taken from Thurber Country. (James Thurber, a very famous writer wrote this sometime in the fifties.) This may run long.

A few days out of New York (if you sailed from New York), printed copies of the passenger list are usually distributed, containing such names as Jowes, Qmith, Jonsob, Crazier, Aprker, Sommonx and Spider. It takes years of practice to deciper some passenger-list garbles. The letters of my own name have assumed some twenty different permutations, but I am most often listed simply as Jane Phurber, a winsome six-foot Ohio matron who affects men's clothes. My wife, whose name is Helen Thurber, turned up on one ship under the alias of H. Muriel. In some mysterious manner, our false names (I was Joseph Thatcher on this occasion) followed us ashore when we debarked at Naples. My wife indignantly showed our true passport names to one Italian official who had insisted we were one J. Thatcher and H. Muriel. He saw his mistake.

"I am all of regret, signorina," he said, in excellent English, "And expressing sorrows towards you and Signor Muriel."
"come on, H.," I said, "let's go."
"Ok, Joe." she said and we got out of there.

When, on my recent cruise, I returned to my stateroom after the Gala Farewell Revue, I found a cheerful note from our cruise director. It read: "Rise up in the morning with the will that, smooth or rough, you'll grin!" I decided against this. You never know how a customs man may interpret a grin, especially a fixed grin.
Customs inspection is seldom as trying as you think it's going to be, unless you have a shoeful of diamonds or a trunk full of liqueurs. Just take your place under your proper letter (Q for Smith, E for Perkins, P for Thurber, and so forth) and see that you have assembled all your baggage. You will usually find that your typewriter case is missing and that you have a large gray suitcase that doesn't belong to you. The person who owns the gray suitcase may have your typewriter, and he may not. Don't get excited and rush about accusing people of stealing your Corona, just relax. You have all day, you know, and if you went to bed instead of to the bar after the Gala Revue, you will find yourself taking this ancient formality in stride. It is important not to get mad at your inspector because he wants to go through your effects. That is his job. A virginian I know, a man impatient of red tape and fiddle-faddle, as he describes all activities of the United States Government, once adressed a group of three customs inspectors as follows; "Gentlemen, you are clearly insane." He was the last man off the dock that day.



Hope you enjoied this.

[Pagan]

Ooh! Where in the UK?

Well, it's easier if you go to this website, than for me to explain it: http://clanhamilton.com/ On the left hand side, click on "2006 Scotland Tour Itinerary". There's been a few changes, too. Main ones: we're now going to Roslyn Chapel as Lennoxlove is closed for major renovations, a b-day party for the Duke (same as mine!), and we'll get a tour of the Dukes private apartment at Holyrood Palace! It's going to be a lot of fun. Now, if only I could open a hole in the space-time continuum....