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British Airways Chief Slams US Security Requests
Ponca City writes "Reflecting a growing frustration among airport and airline owners with the steady build-up of rules covering everything from footwear to liquids, Martin Broughton, chairman of British Airways, has launched a scathing attack on the 'completely redundant' airport checks requested by the TSA and urged the UK to stop 'kowtowing' to American demands for ever more security. Speaking at the annual conference of the UK Airport Operators Association, Broughton lambasted the TSA for demanding that foreign airports increase checks on US-bound planes, while not applying those regulations to their own domestic services. 'America does not do internally a lot of the things they demand that we do,' says Broughton. 'We shouldn't stand for that. We should say, "We'll only do things which we consider to be essential and that you Americans also consider essential.''' For example, Broughton noted that cutting-edge technology recently installed at airports can scan laptops inside hand luggage for explosives but despite this breakthrough the British government still demands computers be examined separately. 'It's just completely ridiculous,' says Broughton."
So Martin Broughton went to the Wizard of Oz and got courage, the TSA could go get brains and a heart and air-travelers could wish to go home without being extensively cavity searched?
I haven't done it yet, but I've always thought it would be fun to cut aluminum foil out in the shape of a hand gun and put it in a friends book just before they were going on a trip.
Come on, it's not a good practical joke unless it breaks up a life long friendship or marriage or someone ends up in the hospital or jail.
Paying taxes to buy civilization is like paying a hooker to buy love.
They just thought you were hunting werewolves.
GENERATION 667: The first time you see this, copy it into your sig on any forum and add 1 to the generation
Actually, that's exactly how it should be... Let the US bound passengers deal with the idiotic extra checks, and make us other go through the useful ones.
Only thing you're going to get from me taking of my shoes is a biological weapon going off.
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Cavity searches are a notoriously unpopular way to begin a vacation.
Don't worry, these are done only if you and your family refuse to be seen in the nude.
This was discusssed on the Guardian comments the other day, and this solution was put forward which, if implemented, would sweep it all away at a stroke. I don't claim this came from me, but I can't find the attribution.
Solution: Invent a device that causes any concealed explosive to detonate instantly, and have this within a sealed containment room. Ordinary passengers pass right through, but real security risks are immediately removed from the situation. Extra bonus: muffled bangs would be shortly followed by an announcement that a seat upgrade is now available...
It's a completely pointless thing to say. Whether or not the UK wants to go along or not, any plane entering American airspace has to follow our rules, or risk being taken down. Same goes for other nations as well, if you want your plane to go through their airspace you have to follow their rules. The French wouldn't allow us to fly our military planes through their airspace en route to Iraq for the first gulf war so we kind of had to route elsewhere.
Prob'ly its hard to bring down a dam with a pocket knife.
Nice. Next time do it also in Norwegian and Japanese (including punctuation), and perhaps I'll be impressed by your linguistics skills.
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As I hate republicans and everything they stand for, I can clearly demonstrate that grass is not green by showing you a blade of brown grass from my dry back yard. You cannot argue with this, this is fact. This is why republicans are dangerously insane, probably shouldn't be allowed to vote, and should be castrated to be kept from breeding. Because they are all completely wrong about everything, and because Sarah Palin, Fox News, religion, guns, and the bible. They need to be forced at gunpoint to attend Jon Stewart's "Rally to Restore Sanity."