Nigerian Man attempts to blow up Plane

[KSig RC]

Originally Posted by ASTalumna06

This is exactly what I was going to say.

Why does a person have to detonate a bomb on an international flight? Maybe the person has a connecting flight, and they set it off then. Or maybe the person has been living in the United States, and they set it off while flying from LA to DC.

There are many scenarios where a terrorist could be flying over the United States for more than an hour.

I don't think that this proposed change in policy is going to greatly deter anyone from attempting another attack.

Well . . . are you familiar with the difference in boarding security between, say, LAX and Lagos, Nigeria?

While screening procedures are imperfect, they are MUCH better within the United States. That air they shoot on you when you walk through security? Yeah, that's not meant to replace a pat down or reveal a gun - the air is tested for minute (nano-level) particles of explosive. Even the "bag in the crotch" would have been caught at LAX or LaGuardia.

The reason why the TSA is focusing on international flights is because that's the greater risk - yeah, it sounds stupid to say "no blankets in the last hour!" but it deters copycats, greatly reduces exposure to America citizens, and gives a general idea that the TSA is doing something about it until new procedures (like the full-body scans) can be implemented. That's A Good Thing (tm). The average flier has absolutely no clue what goes into airline security, or the interaction between airlines and DHS/FBI/etc. That's a good thing. You're DEFINITELY not 100% safe, but you're pretty damn safe from anything but the craziest, most expensive, wildest plot out of a movie.

Originally Posted by KSUViolet06

I'm flying to Vegas in about 2 weeks, I can't tell you how overjoyed I am that our airline is now recommending that you arrive at the airport THREE to FOUR hours in advance due to increased security measures.

I'm flying tomorrow, the 7th, the 8th, the 12th, the 18th and the 23rd, so I'll let you know for sure either way, but domestic flights still recommend just the 2-hour window with the only changes coming at the individual airport TSA's discretion. I wouldn't worry too much, unless you're coming in from Porto Allegre.

[AGDee]

Originally Posted by bignasty

Do planes still go from NY to LA?

They were only instituting that for international flights, someone asked what good that would do, I quoted what they were saying on CNN as the reasoning for it. Will it really do anything? Probably not, but I didn't make the rule or justify it!

Originally Posted by KSUViolet06

I'm flying to Vegas in about 2 weeks, I can't tell you how overjoyed I am that our airline is now recommending that you arrive at the airport THREE to FOUR hours in advance due to increased security measures.

They said on our news this morning that it was causing all kinds of problems that people were showing up 4 hours early for flights and asked people to STOP showing up that early. They said 2 to 2 1/2 was sufficient.

Originally Posted by KSig RC

Well . . . are you familiar with the difference in boarding security between, say, LAX and Lagos, Nigeria?

While screening procedures are imperfect, they are MUCH better within the United States. That air they shoot on you when you walk through security? Yeah, that's not meant to replace a pat down or reveal a gun - the air is tested for minute (nano-level) particles of explosive. Even the "bag in the crotch" would have been caught at LAX or LaGuardia.

The reason why the TSA is focusing on international flights is because that's the greater risk - yeah, it sounds stupid to say "no blankets in the last hour!" but it deters copycats, greatly reduces exposure to America citizens, and gives a general idea that the TSA is doing something about it until new procedures (like the full-body scans) can be implemented. That's A Good Thing (tm). The average flier has absolutely no clue what goes into airline security, or the interaction between airlines and DHS/FBI/etc. That's a good thing. You're DEFINITELY not 100% safe, but you're pretty damn safe from anything but the craziest, most expensive, wildest plot out of a movie.



I'm flying tomorrow, the 7th, the 8th, the 12th, the 18th and the 23rd, so I'll let you know for sure either way, but domestic flights still recommend just the 2-hour window with the only changes coming at the individual airport TSA's discretion. I wouldn't worry too much, unless you're coming in from Porto Allegre.

You're right on target. As they noted, this guy went through screening in Nigeria but NOT in Amsterdam (where this would have been more likely to be detected too) because he never left the secure area once he landed in Amsterdam. Therein lies part of the problem. If someone flies from a country with little to security to another country and changes planes, they do not get screened again. Maybe they should be, but can you imagine how long a lay over you'd have to make sure you had to be able to get through security screening again?

I think, as someone who suffers from Crohn's Disease, I can't even consider flying out of the country as long as that one hour rule is in place and that's kind of sad.

[PM_Mama00]

Originally Posted by PiKA2001

WOW! That LITERALLY hits way too close to home for me. By the way, take that E from Clair and give it to Pointe

Lol sorry Rick. I actually thought about you when I heard that.

Originally Posted by AOII Angel

Yeah, right! And where did you learn that little factoid? Care to revisit the infamous thread? http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/sh...d.php?t=102169 Are you really afraid of white people now, too, or did we just teach you to add Timothy McVeigh to your list to throw us off? BTW, is your "friend" a Pakistani or a Palestinian now?

You can bring up all the old thread topics you want. I've always seen Timothy McVeigh as a terrorist. No one taught me shit, except my history teacher at the time. And if you really care to know, my best friend is Pakistani, and I went to school in Little Middle East, aka Dearborn. Look it up, learn something.

I will accept and apologize for my ignorance of Detroit. But PM Mama, ARE YOU KIDDING ME? A bomb is a bomb. You are making my point. Whether we save the cities or not, we are still leaving the people in our airplanes in danger with nuts strapped with explosives with cheesy "sit in your seat for the last hour" solutions to solve an attempted terrorist plot. Was he in the bathroom when he tried to detonate the bomb? NO! Would that rule have prevented him from assembling the bomb an hour and 10 minutes before landing to go back to his seat and detonate it when he wanted? NO! The rule, as I previously said, is STUPID! The ONLY reason that plane didn't blow up was because the detonator FAILED. Not because of any security measure in place. I for one feel no safer for any safety measure thought of so far.

I agree with you here, and I have to laugh at your quote about "nuts strapped with explosives", cuz literally they were strapped to his nuts.

As for my respect for other's lives, before you question other's dedication to human life, question your own dedication. What do you do in a single year, much less a day for anyone in your xenophobic, can't get into an elevator with anyone other than a child, scared of her own shadow life than yourself? I measure my respect for other's lives in more tangible ways than respect for a dumb rule thought up on the fly after a scary near miss that also produced a thoughtless comment like, "Our system worked" from Janet Napolitano. Maybe if you thought about something beyond yourself, you might too.

Oh, and BTW, if you can't find humor in the situation or compassion for the poor Nigerian man who was ripped off the toilet and arrested for having a GI bug, than you have no soul.

Ha. Well for one I can't get into an elevator with a small child. I can't get into an elevator with anyone considering the fact that I'm terrified of elevators and small spaces. I have to psych myself out before getting on a plane so yeah I'm leery of everyone. No, not every terrorist looks creepy, and not every creepy person is a terrorist. But I'm still leery of them. Visit Taylor, Michigan and find out why (lol Dee and Pika would probably understand that).

I find humor in a lot of things. My favorite thing to do is laugh, and make people laugh. And I actually put everyone in my life before myself. (and I find it funny for someone on a message board to call me out about that lol like you know me?) But I find nothing about terrorism to laugh about. I have friends in the military who have fought or may fight in this war. I have a high school friend who was out of the military but decided to work for a private security company in Iraq and was murdered a few months ago. (think I'm making it up? Google Justin Pope of Riverview, Michigan). And lastly, my cousin was in the World Trade Center on 9-11 and lost his whole work crew, and my uncle lost many friends (the firefighters from Brooklyn). So NO. I have quite a soul and I think it's ridiculous for you to accuse me of not having one since I don't find humor in this situation. I do have compassion for the man who just had to take a shit, but I don't blame everyone for being scared seeing as the other incident was just the day before and someone was incessant on being in the bathroom.

It's sad that I have to put my proof in parenthesis to someone on a message board to prove that I'm not just making shit up and to stop being accused. I hope that one day our government finds a way to keep us safe so we don't have to worry about things like this. And if it means dealing with a stupid rule because they think it'll work? Fine. Pat me down, scan me, I don't care. Just keep us safe.

[PM_Mama00]

Originally Posted by agzg

.........So, do you choose one person at random in each of these threads to attack about being un-American, a terrorist sympathizer, and void of compassion for human life? Stop being such a drama queen. AOII_Angel isn't really even disagreeing with you. Get off her damned back.

Also, I get that this is scary for you, being a resident of Detroit and all, but jumping all over someone else's shit because you're scared is counterproductive. I totally understand why this stuff would freak you out, but honestly, I wish more people could think about these things logically or even be "cold" about it, because emotional responses to things like terrorism and fear of other countries wind us up in places like Iraq.

I had to go back and reread this thread to see where I started attacking her, and this is where it started. I said something made no sense cuz I actually didn't understand what she was saying. If anything, I got attacked...

Yesterday, 08:32 AM
AOII Angel
Registered User Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Baltimore, MD
Posts: 2,145

Quote:
Originally Posted by PM_Mama00
What do you mean in Detroit? That makes no sense. I'm glad you're taking a terrorist attack attempt so lightly. --- end post PM_Mama00

Oh don't start putting your racist mumbo jumbo crap and making me look glib (calling all Tom Cruise jokes). I certainly don't take terrorist attacks lightly, but sitting in your seat for an hour is a ridiculous solution to save us from a future attack. So is stopping men from boarding planes with arabic writing on their shirts which, if I remember correctly, you were all for! I fly at a minimum 20 weekends a year, and let me tell you, sitting in my seat for the last hour of a flight will sure make me feel so much more secure knowing some guy in the back could have some PETN bomb strapped in his underwear, but he can't get to the bathroom to detonate it.

What have I said, IN THIS THREAD, to make me look racist? And like a drama queen? I think if anything, homegirl needs to get off my back.

[AOII Angel]

Originally Posted by PM_Mama00

Lol sorry Rick. I actually thought about you when I heard that.



You can bring up all the old thread topics you want. I've always seen Timothy McVeigh as a terrorist. No one taught me shit, except my history teacher at the time. And if you really care to know, my best friend is Pakistani, and I went to school in Little Middle East, aka Dearborn. Look it up, learn something.




I agree with you here, and I have to laugh at your quote about "nuts strapped with explosives", cuz literally they were strapped to his nuts.



Ha. Well for one I can't get into an elevator with a small child. I can't get into an elevator with anyone considering the fact that I'm terrified of elevators and small spaces. I have to psych myself out before getting on a plane so yeah I'm leery of everyone. No, not every terrorist looks creepy, and not every creepy person is a terrorist. But I'm still leery of them. Visit Taylor, Michigan and find out why (lol Dee and Pika would probably understand that).

I find humor in a lot of things. My favorite thing to do is laugh, and make people laugh. And I actually put everyone in my life before myself. (and I find it funny for someone on a message board to call me out about that lol like you know me?) But I find nothing about terrorism to laugh about. I have friends in the military who have fought or may fight in this war. I have a high school friend who was out of the military but decided to work for a private security company in Iraq and was murdered a few months ago. (think I'm making it up? Google Justin Pope of Riverview, Michigan). And lastly, my cousin was in the World Trade Center on 9-11 and lost his whole work crew, and my uncle lost many friends (the firefighters from Brooklyn). So NO. I have quite a soul and I think it's ridiculous for you to accuse me of not having one since I don't find humor in this situation. I do have compassion for the man who just had to take a shit, but I don't blame everyone for being scared seeing as the other incident was just the day before and someone was incessant on being in the bathroom.

It's sad that I have to put my proof in parenthesis to someone on a message board to prove that I'm not just making shit up and to stop being accused. I hope that one day our government finds a way to keep us safe so we don't have to worry about things like this. And if it means dealing with a stupid rule because they think it'll work? Fine. Pat me down, scan me, I don't care. Just keep us safe.

Originally Posted by PM_Mama00

I had to go back and reread this thread to see where I started attacking her, and this is where it started. I said something made no sense cuz I actually didn't understand what she was saying. If anything, I got attacked...



What have I said, IN THIS THREAD, to make me look racist? And like a drama queen? I think if anything, homegirl needs to get off my back.

Yeah...you like to pretend you weren't being aggressive with what you said, but basically you accused me of taking terrorism lightly and not valuing human life. You got it back because YOU don't know me and presumed that your experience exceeds my own with regard to these topics. How do you know what I have or have not experienced? I know more about you and your opinions because unlike me, YOU have expressed your BIGOTRY and irrational thought processes on other threads. If you don't want someone to throw it back in your face, be a little more polite about expressing your opposition. Saying "What are you talking about?" would suffice. Adding, "you obviously don't take terrorism seriously" is inflammatory, so don't be surprised when you get an inflammatory response! By the way, living in Detroit doesn't give you a corner on the market of life experience.

[charlie2010]

Originally Posted by AGDee

You're right on target. As they noted, this guy went through screening in Nigeria but NOT in Amsterdam (where this would have been more likely to be detected too) because he never left the secure area once he landed in Amsterdam. Therein lies part of the problem. If someone flies from a country with little to security to another country and changes planes, they do not get screened again. Maybe they should be, but can you imagine how long a lay over you'd have to make sure you had to be able to get through security screening again?

Actually, I heard different reports here (i.e. Amsterdam). I think he must have gone through some sort of security procedure, as you're being questioned and your bags are being checked right before you actually get on the plane, at the gate (at least, that has been the case the past 10 (or so) Amsterdam-US flights I took). All US-bound flights leave from a certain section of the airport, and security there is tighter than anywhere else in the airport (except, maybe, the El Al departure gates)

Don't know how much of an exception is made if you are on a connecting flight but since a chain is only as strong as its weakest link.......

I also heard (but that may be rumors) that this guy managed to wiggle out of screening in Lagos altogether as he (or his family) knew people in "higher places".

[AGDee]

Originally Posted by charlie2010

Actually, I heard different reports here (i.e. Amsterdam). I think he must have gone through some sort of security procedure, as you're being questioned and your bags are being checked right before you actually get on the plane, at the gate (at least, that has been the case the past 10 (or so) Amsterdam-US flights I took). All US-bound flights leave from a certain section of the airport, and security there is tighter than anywhere else in the airport (except, maybe, the El Al departure gates)

Don't know how much of an exception is made if you are on a connecting flight but since a chain is only as strong as its weakest link.......

I also heard (but that may be rumors) that this guy managed to wiggle out of screening in Lagos altogether as he (or his family) knew people in "higher places".

But do you actually go through the metal detector, air blower thing, etc. if you're connecting? CNN gave the impression that you don't. I have absolutely no personal experience with traveling outside of North America.

[charlie2010]

Originally Posted by AGDee

But do you actually go through the metal detector, air blower thing, etc. if you're connecting? CNN gave the impression that you don't. I have absolutely no personal experience with traveling outside of North America.

Metal detector, yes, (hand) luggage screening, yes (both x-ray and manual), taking shoes, belts etc of yes, being 'searched' in person: yes.

Have seen the air blower in a few European airports, though can't say for sure I have seen it in Amsterdam. Have had the pleasure of being x-rayed there, although, as per last week, that wasn't standard procedure yet. They say it will be now...

All in all, most times it is pretty similar to American airports (although they clearly messed up somehow last week....) but it still could, and should, be tighter. Then again, once a friend of mine flew out of DC, a few months after 9/11, carrying a pocket knife... so mishaps happen anywhere. It's not for lack of money, or even lack of expertise. I guess a lot of people here still believe that 'stuff like that only happens in America', or maybe in England. Well.... dream on!

[AGDee]

Originally Posted by charlie2010

Metal detector, yes, (hand) luggage screening, yes (both x-ray and manual), taking shoes, belts etc of yes, being 'searched' in person: yes.

Have seen the air blower in a few European airports, though can't say for sure I have seen it in Amsterdam. Have had the pleasure of being x-rayed there, although, as per last week, that wasn't standard procedure yet. They say it will be now...

All in all, most times it is pretty similar to American airports (although they clearly messed up somehow last week....) but it still could, and should, be tighter. Then again, once a friend of mine flew out of DC, a few months after 9/11, carrying a pocket knife... so mishaps happen anywhere. It's not for lack of money, or even lack of expertise. I guess a lot of people here still believe that 'stuff like that only happens in America', or maybe in England. Well.... dream on!

See, now in my experience, I've only had to do all that at the first airport, not at every connecting airport. I've never ever had to go through security screening a second time, in the US when I was connecting flights. As long as I stayed in the "secured area" near the gates, it was all good.

[AOII Angel]

Originally Posted by AGDee

See, now in my experience, I've only had to do all that at the first airport, not at every connecting airport. I've never ever had to go through security screening a second time, in the US when I was connecting flights. As long as I stayed in the "secured area" near the gates, it was all good.

A lot of airports make you go out of secure areas to connect to international flights. LAX and O'Hare both do off the top of my head...I'm trying to remember where I connected when I went to Brazil...we definitely had to leave security. Usually this involves flying on a non-US carrier so you actually have to check-in, get your boarding pass, then go back through security. These are usually shorter lines, though, because not that many people travel internationally....lots more domestic traffic. I like to fly direct from DC if I can to avoid all of that upfront!