LOGO: Truthdig: Drilling Beneath the Headlines. A Progressive Journal of News and Opinion. Editor, Robert Scheer. Publisher, Zuade Kaufman.
2010 Webby Award Winner for Best Political Blog
 
February 21, 2012
Log in / Register

 Choose a size
Text Size

Trending:     gay marriage     congress     colbert report     barack obama     iran     greece
Most Read

Acts of Love

Fearful GOP May Hope for a Brokered Convention

Ideological Hypocrites

Bill Moyers: Attack Ads Inside and Out

Santorum Staffer Links Obama, Islam Via 'Slip'

Most Comments
Most Emailed

Reports
Acts of Love
Ideological Hypocrites
The Lowdown on Fracking

Ear to the Ground

A/V Booth

Arts & Culture
Déjà Pooh

Digs
Financial Meltdown 101

Truthdig Bazaar
They Knew They Were Right

They Knew They Were Right

By Jacob Heilbrunn
$17.16

more items

 
Ear to the Ground

Airports to Get Tougher Screening in Aftermath of Christmas Attack

Email this item Email    Print this item Print   

Posted on Jan 3, 2010
Transportation Security Administration

Passengers traveling to the U.S. from or by way of certain countries on the U.S. government’s naughty list, which includes Yemen and Cuba, will be subject to “enhanced screening” starting Monday. Additionally, international travelers will experience increased random checks and possibly certain “enhanced screening technologies.”

That probably means the kind of body scanners that have been controversial (they let screeners see your boy-girl parts) but have encountered little resistance among travelers since the failed terror attack on Christmas Day.

Some enhanced measures will have to be carried out at the point of departure, since, as the Transportation Security Administration acknowledges, “effective aviation security must begin beyond our borders.” After all, it’s a little late to search a terrorism suspect when he or she lands in your country.

But that raises a question: If you consider a country such as Cuba or Syria to be a state sponsor of terror, how exactly do you trust it to keep terrorists off planes traveling through its airports?

The BBC has the story here. TSA statement here—PZS

More Below the Ad

Advertisement


Comments

Are you a Truthdig member yet? Login now, or register with Truthdig.

By Thong-girl, January 6, 2010 at 5:47 pm Link to this comment

“Bugsplat” is the metaphor used by CIA and Pentagon motherfuckers to estimate the number of children who are blown to pieces with our approval and tax dollars.  It should be the first question asked of every single U.S. lowlife scumbag politician and journalist when they speak to every single worthless politician in this country.  We kill babies and we do it so well that we estimate the number of children that we blow to pieces to protect our precious capitalist lives.

Report this

By ofersince72, January 6, 2010 at 5:29 pm Link to this comment

i quit riden the damn ugly things years ago,

anyway half the traffic in the air is all these
yuppies talkin bout how light their carbon footstepis

Report this
Blackspeare's avatar

By Blackspeare, January 5, 2010 at 6:55 am Link to this comment

Well, we’ve had the “fruit of the boom” now what’s next, a double D with TNT?!

Report this
rico, suave's avatar

By rico, suave, January 4, 2010 at 8:13 pm Link to this comment

It’s obvious why you libs don’t want the TSA to see your dicks.

Report this
Blackspeare's avatar

By Blackspeare, January 4, 2010 at 2:00 pm Link to this comment

What will be interesting to watch is how the USA selects and conducts physical searches(pat downs).  Knowing how the USA is particularly sensitive to political correctness the TSA will have to chose from a wide variety of travelers to maintain a non-profiling image.  Grandma and grandpa get ready for the thrill of a lifetime!!!

Report this

By don knutsen, January 4, 2010 at 12:50 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

News Alert!!! The War on Terror is a bogus construct created by the powers that be, both Republican and democrats, to keep you distracted while you are bent over and fucked each day by them. We are supposed to be so wrapped up in this supposed war that we won’t dare stand up and rebel agains a banking system that takes our money, from an insurance industry that takes our money, from a goverment that takes our money and has absolutely no incentive to do whats right for the vast majority of its citizens. If we didn’t have these made up wars, if we didn;‘t have hundreds of miliitary bases to pay for thruout the world, if we weren’t wasting billions paying bonus’s to wall street exec.s we’d have money to pay for health care for all, a college education for all, etc..  who are the biggest cheerleaders for this supposed “war”..the very people we elected to represent us, thats who. There are over 200 millionaires in the Congress, and guess what..they aren’t there working for you. Whenever you hear some sap exclaim how our soldiers are dying to protect our freedom, how about you stop and ponder, just for a minute, how the hell they are accomplishing anything but creating more peopple who hate america while we kill overseas.

Report this
Blackspeare's avatar

By Blackspeare, January 4, 2010 at 10:51 am Link to this comment

The recent lockdown at Terminal C at Newark Airport is an indication of the lack of diligence by the TSA.  Apparently it’s harder to walk into the exit at a ride at Disney World than at Newark Airport.

Report this
Arabian Sinbad's avatar

By Arabian Sinbad, January 4, 2010 at 8:35 am Link to this comment

The title of this piece is an example of how the media outlets are responsible for creating falsehoods and sensationalism regarding current events. Since there was only an attempt of some kind, instead of saying “the Christmas attack” the precise title should have been “the Christmas attempted attack.”

Moreover, instead of always repeating the official line regarding such incidents, it behooves free media outlets to point out that there are many who believe that such incident was a false flag operation.

Report this
thecrow's avatar

By thecrow, January 4, 2010 at 5:19 am Link to this comment

So no “well-dressed men” will be allowed to circumvent security?

http://michaelfury.wordpress.com/2009/12/28/let-the-right-one-in/

Report this
thecrow's avatar

By thecrow, January 4, 2010 at 5:16 am Link to this comment

“the real perpetrators behind 9/11, namely Bush Cheney and Rumsfeld will never be subjected to this ritual humiliation”

The diamond bullet of truth between the eyes.

http://michaelfury.wordpress.com/2008/12/18/clock-stoppers/

Report this

By P. T., January 4, 2010 at 12:05 am Link to this comment

The U.S. has engaged in terrorist attacks against Cuba.  But when has Cuba ever engaged in a terrorist attack against the U.S.?

Report this

By don fahrney, January 3, 2010 at 11:39 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

Don’t you know that Air Cubana from Montreal flies right over Washington DC eveyday. Yes it does, what is to stop a crazed pilot from crashing into the White House. Check it out, we have an agreement with Cuba that they can fly straight down the US from Montreal to Havana if we can fly directly over Cuba on the way to South America, it’s that economic thing of saving fuel. I was told this by a Cubano pilot on a flight from Montreal to Havana 3 years ago. Seems we’re on prety good terms with that horrible Communist country. check it out for yourself, call Montreal’ Air Cubana and check the facts. What war on terrorism

Report this
johnnyfarout's avatar

By johnnyfarout, January 3, 2010 at 11:36 pm Link to this comment

I didn’t even read the article or nothin’...but once in the scanner, gettin’ hotter and hotter, I figure it’s really not okay. Every time it’s for me to go away you make me scream. I think you’re really mean. Let’s build some trains coast to coast at 200mph and see how fun that is…but nooo…we gotta’ blow up the world…what do aliens have control of your mind or what?

Report this

By diamond, January 3, 2010 at 9:47 pm Link to this comment

The solution is simple: don’t fly until the airlines all go bankrupt. Maybe when they’re on their knees financially they’ll come to their senses. I’m not exposing my genitals and my backside to their ‘screwtiny’ for all the tea in China. I’ve already decided I won’t be flying until this black comedy ends. And bear in mind that the real perpetrators behind 9/11, namely Bush Cheney and Rumsfeld will never be subjected to this ritual humiliation because in the parallel universe they inhabit they are not terrorists.

Report this

By DRACULA, January 3, 2010 at 9:42 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

Drug dealers used mules to move drugs into the US form South American.  They put the drugs inside condoms and had these human mules swallowed the condoms full of cocaine. Once safely past customs the condoms were excreted at there destination.

Why couldn’t the same thing be done with explosives and some sort of miniature detonation device triggered by a cell phone or radio frequency.  These terrorists are not afraid to die and that makes them unstoppable.

The bad guys are smart.  I know its unpatriotic to say this about the “terrorists” but nothing I know of beats what they did on 911. It was perfectly choreographed and brilliantly executed in broad day light for the whole world to witness.

If the US wants to put a stop to the attacks the US has to stop exporting wars to countries that don’t want war.

The metaphor here is…DAVID & GOLIATH…
and we all know how that ended.

Happy new year

Report this

By Dayahka, January 3, 2010 at 8:00 pm Link to this comment

Homeland Security must be riddled with idiots. If you tell terrorists that everyone from such and such countries will be thoroughly searched, then they will fly from some other country and all you will have done is inconvenience lots of non-terrorists from the marked countries. Why doesn’t the TSA just announce where you all hide your gold, your silver? Why not also tell the world where every nuclear weapon is hidden? I mean, why bother with this charade?

Everyone who fits a profile, flying from no matter what country, should be searched. Why only people from 14 or 15 countries? I didn’t see the UK or Netherlands or most of Europe on the list, but the EU is riddled with terrorists. And I didn’t see Saudi Arabia on that list, yet if I remember correctly, weren’t 19 of the 20 9/11 people from Saudi Arabia? And isn’t Saudi Arabia just teetering on the brink, with nationalists ready to overthrow the totally corrupt ruling class? Please, name me one country from which terrorists have not come.

Report this

By lemmingsbuster, January 3, 2010 at 6:13 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

Run this way lemmings!  No, run that way!  What incredible drivel.

If there were any real terrorists they could just leave the explosives in their checked in luggage.

Report this
G.Anderson's avatar

By G.Anderson, January 3, 2010 at 5:41 pm Link to this comment

Interesting, now that we’ve identified total body scans as exposing people to significant levels of radiation, this comes along. I guess it’s just serendipity…

The scans won’t do anything to stop someone with sufficient determination. All they would have to do is have surgery and have the bomb implanted inside a body cavity with a wirelss trigger on the outside…

Pretty soon, we’ll have to have a Doctors examination, just to board a plane and we’ll all be wearing hospital gowns for the flight…

Report this

By lichen, January 3, 2010 at 5:05 pm Link to this comment

What about US drones and fighter jets and arms convoys?  Will they be scrutinized more carefully, and when weapons are found, will they be grounded and the terrorists (from the white house down) arrested?

Report this

Add Your Comment

Posts by unregistered readers are moderated. Posts by members
are published immediately. Why wait? Register today!






                        Number of characters remaining: 4000

Are you a human? Retype the word you see here.

     

Please read and abide by our comment policy.
By submitting this comment, you agree to this site's terms and conditions.

Newsletter

Get Truthdig in your inbox


 
 
 
Join the Liberal Blog Advertising Network
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A Progressive Journal of News and Opinion. Editor, Robert Scheer. Publisher, Zuade Kaufman.
Copyright © 2012 Truthdig, L.L.C. All rights reserved.