Zeppelins on Patrol?

Our Man In Redmond writes "Everything old is new again: The Seattle Post-Inteligencer is reporting that NORAD is considering deploying zeppelins along the west coast and Canadian border to keep an eye out for terrorists. Larger than jumbo jets, easier to repair/upgrade than satellites, this may be an idea whose time has come. Again."

Comments

Re:Only one problem..........

[ergo98]

Pray tell: What, exactly, is a "Canadian" accent? Is this one of those foolish "paint 30 million people covering 10,000,000 square kilometers with one brush" type stereotypes? There are dozens of accents within Canada, all very different. My `accent' tradition is turned as "neutral" (such as in a recent trip through the Virginas), and hard to place, versus say a New York, or Boston, or Minnesotan, or Wisconsan, or Texan accent.

And why would Canadians be running the balloons? From what I've read, they are a prospective part of NORAD protecting the coastal regions of both countries, not the borders in between (mind you, Mr. Bush has been hard at work giving the illusion of safety to a public that is so unbelievably uninformed that they buy it. You know, pretending that the REAL problem is the Canadian border, despite the fact that not a single one of the 9/11 terrorists came from Canada. I continually hear about the big problem with Canadian marijuana entering the US (all a part of the "War on Drugs" propaganda that is keeping a lot of contractors rolling in dough), and this would almost be humorous if it weren't the absolutely miniscule amount of drugs going South (far less than the drugs and guns coming to Canada from the US. The US is a far greater exporter of crime than it's an importer, which makes the posturing and lip service all the more ridiculous), but compared to the monstrous amount of drugs coming into the US via the gulf region, BC pot is absolutely trivially tiny.

Re:Only one problem..........

[Kymermosst]

I think the real problem is Canadians entering the U.S. from Canada. :)

I'm kidding.

If you are in B.C. then your accent is surely as neutral as the U.S. Pacific Northwest.
Speaking of customs and such, I've noticed that when I come back into the U.S. they ask me just a few questions:
1. "Are you all U.S. citizens?"
If yes, go to question 3.
2a. "No? Okay, what citizenships do you hold?"
2b. "Are any of you dual-citezenship, and if so, where?"
3. "Are you transporting controlled substances, alcohol, tobacco, firearms, or any items in quantity subject to duty?"
"Thanks, have a nice day."

But, going into Canada:
"Can I see some identification?"
"Where are you going?"
"What are you planning to do?"
"How long do you plan on being in Canada?"
"Which border point do you plan for you return?"
"Do you have any firearms?"
"Could you pull over here. We are going to do a 'random' search on your vehicle."

So tell me, is the reverse true for Canadians? Do our customs grill you over for your entire vacation plans and searching your vehicle far more often than should statistically be done? Or, is it just your customs being jerks?