A question for the guys in the US

[Chris_Allen]

...which muppet designed the security at Newark airport?

[Gregory East]

I got my 1st ever border interrogation at Boston in 1993. At the time it felt like the third degree but looking back it was just a few questions to see if I was on the up and up. I hate think how it would have played out today what with my extended and fully flexible itinerary complete with hippy hairdo of yesteryear.

I'm sure Chris has a much better story.....

[Israel]

I think it is more of a spongebob sq pants thing

[J_Dunavin]

...which muppet designed the security at Newark airport?

Gonzo

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

...which muppet designed the security at Newark airport?

It was actually done by committee:

[Chris_Allen]

I'm sure the stooges were working there.

[wallywally]

Ahhh Newark....the armpit of America.

[UROK]

...which muppet designed the security at Newark airport?

Christopher Moltisanti, Pussy Bonpensiero, Pauly Galtieri, Silvio Dante, and Bobby Baccalieri on behalf of the Big T himself!

Waddayagonnado?

[bassmonster]

Ahhh Newark....the armpit of America.

"Sewark"

[bzb]

More like Dr. Bunsen Honeydew. Dude doesn't even have eyes. Beaker always gets jacked because of him. Poor Beaker.

Newark was pretty bad in 2005, last time I was there. Atlanta's has been ridiculous at times, and Seattle's was ridiculous with the line out the door into the freezing rain.

But nothing has been worse than Pittsburgh's. There were maybe 30 people at that airport, and they confiscated my contact solution, telling me I'd need to show my prescription. Got the patdown, had to turn on all my electronic devices (if they were bombs... wouldn't they be screwed?), and got a lecture from a dude who could barely speak Bad English.

Funny thing was, my dad had a similar experience, and he has a pretty high security clearance. You'd think those kinds of things would come up in a database.


Laguardia and Reagan, on the other hand, is a treat. You'd think they'd be more Security Nazi at either of those... but they're pretty dang relaxed in comparison.

[wallywally]

More like Dr. Bunsen Honeydew. Dude doesn't even have eyes. Beaker always gets jacked because of him. Poor Beaker.

Newark was pretty bad in 2005, last time I was there. Atlanta's has been ridiculous at times, and Seattle's was ridiculous with the line out the door into the freezing rain.

But nothing has been worse than Pittsburgh's. There were maybe 30 people at that airport, and they confiscated my contact solution, telling me I'd need to show my prescription. Got the patdown, had to turn on all my electronic devices (if they were bombs... wouldn't they be screwed?), and got a lecture from a dude who could barely speak Bad English.

Funny thing was, my dad had a similar experience, and he has a pretty high security clearance. You'd think those kinds of things would come up in a database.


Laguardia and Reagan, on the other hand, is a treat. You'd think they'd be more Security Nazi at either of those... but they're pretty dang relaxed in comparison.

I work for United Airlines:( I still get treated that way, and I have a badge!

[bzb]

With the technology we have available today, and considering how cheap things are, and considering how much public information we have on people...

Sigh. I guess that's the difference between government and private industry. Somehow Disney World has a system implemented that'd serve pretty well. They track your tickets with your fingerprint, they can trace your ticket numbers to the credit card purchased, they can bill anything in any of the parks and surrounding businesses to your room, they can detect whether or not you're able to use a FastPass...

And yet, we can't even keep a "Cleared List" option operational. We had that at a few airports that I signed up for a few years back (and the company paid something like $300 for it) and I gave up all kinds of personal information, fingerprinting, and a full background check/interview. That program is long gone.

[Steve Regier]

Ahhh Newark....the armpit of America.

Directly connected to one of the few metro areas that makes it's own gravy each rainfall.

[el_ingeniero]

With the technology we have available today, and considering how cheap things are, and considering how much public information we have on people...

Sigh. I guess that's the difference between government and private industry. Somehow Disney World has a system implemented that'd serve pretty well. They track your tickets with your fingerprint, they can trace your ticket numbers to the credit card purchased, they can bill anything in any of the parks and surrounding businesses to your room, they can detect whether or not you're able to use a FastPass...

And yet, we can't even keep a "Cleared List" option operational. We had that at a few airports that I signed up for a few years back (and the company paid something like $300 for it) and I gave up all kinds of personal information, fingerprinting, and a full background check/interview. That program is long gone.

I do some security work.

"No Fly" and "Cleared" lists, airport scanners and security checks are nothing but theater.

For what it's worth, there is no method of keeping someone off a plane that wants to be on one badly enough. A much better idea (and vastly more difficult to execute) is to make it impossible to carry out bad intentions.

And nothing against Disneyworld, but nothing they have in the way of customer surveillance is going to stop a determined group of terrorists from entering and wreaking any sort of havoc they choose.

[Gregory East]

The face recognition stuff is a bit scary. An American bloke got pinged living in NZ under his dead brother's identity. US authorities "recognised" him as his wanted self years later when he was free and clear on a NZ passport.