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Post by dgriffin on Jan 7, 2010 12:20:16 GMT -5
 "Shock" U.S. report due on attempted airline attackWASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House was poised to release a report on Thursday that top aides said will shock Americans about security lapses that allowed a Nigerian man to come close to blowing up a Detroit-bound airliner on December 25. President Barack Obama was to outline steps the U.S. government is taking to try to shore up airline security, mindful of the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States involving hijacked airliners. An administration official said on Thursday that Customs and Border Protection officers had planned to question Abdulmutallab upon arrival in Detroit, acknowledging that they had found a record about him in an intelligence database. An administration official said on Thursday that Customs and Border Protection officers had planned to question Abdulmutallab upon arrival in Detroit, acknowledging that they had found a record about him in an intelligence database.
"They were going to ask him a few additional questions after he landed before allowing him admission into the country," the official said, noting that no new information about Abdulmutallab had emerged while the plane was airborne.
The official said Abdulmutallab would not have been barred from boarding the plane in Amsterdam or selected for additional screening because he was not on any of the government's watch lists.www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE60342S20100107 |
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Post by Clipper on Jan 7, 2010 12:33:18 GMT -5
Gee, it would have been a rather redundant point if he had succeeded in blowing up the jet and killing a couple of hundred people. I can see the newpaper now. "Customs agents intended to question him when the plane landed". Now THAT would surely be a great consolation to the families of the dead passengers.
Now on the other hand, if any had survived, they MIGHT have qualified for a government run health plan to cover their treatment, and be consoled in knowing that the Obama adminstration was busy taking care of the healthcare issue, with every intention of getting to the Homeland security thing sooner or later.
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Post by Swimmy on Jan 7, 2010 12:47:37 GMT -5
Or, "Customs is questioning the dead body to gather any information; details at 11."
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Post by bobbbiez on Jan 7, 2010 13:09:51 GMT -5
 Wow, all this going on and yet Joan Rivers was just denied entering the plane she was suppose to board because her name didn't match her passport.  Sh*t, I better check my passport before I take my trip in February. 
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Post by bobbbiez on Jan 7, 2010 13:12:28 GMT -5
Wow, all this going on and yet Joan Rivers was just denied entering the plane she was suppose to board because her name didn't match her passport. Sh*t, I better check my passport before I take my trip in February. But am looking forward to the "pat-down" we'll have to go through now. |
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Post by bobbbiez on Jan 7, 2010 14:08:32 GMT -5
Think this whole situation boils down to the people hired and doing the security at the airports are not all doing their jobs properly. It only takes one person to screw up and cause the deaths of many. Then again, can we honestly prevent all from not happening. When it comes down to human judgment there will always be errors.
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Post by dgriffin on Jan 7, 2010 16:35:26 GMT -5
Think this whole situation boils down to the people hired and doing the security at the airports are not all doing their jobs properly. It only takes one person to screw up and cause the deaths of many. Then again, can we honestly prevent all from not happening. When it comes down to human judgment there will always be errors. That's true. It can be a mechanic who forgets to tighten the bolts on a critical part. Or a crew member who misinterprets the instruments. Still, to have a known or suspected terrorist flying into Detroit is a real screw-up. |
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Post by bobbbiez on Jan 7, 2010 16:59:26 GMT -5
Think this whole situation boils down to the people hired and doing the security at the airports are not all doing their jobs properly. It only takes one person to screw up and cause the deaths of many. Then again, can we honestly prevent all from not happening. When it comes down to human judgment there will always be errors. That's true. It can be a mechanic who forgets to tighten the bolts on a critical part. Or a crew member who misinterprets the instruments. Still, to have a known or suspected terrorist flying into Detroit is a real screw-up. No matter what the error is all can be deadly or a "real screw up," especially if we're on the plane.  Still all boils down to someone is not doing their job properly at the airports. In my travels, especially out of the US, I find the people in customs as some are very serious about their jobs while others are not or as thorough. There have been two occasions when I did bring back items I was not suppose to have and it always left me thinking, "what if I were a terrorist?" I guess the point is proven when Joan Rivers traveled back and forth on a trip out of the US recently and only one custom's person caught her ID did not match her passport, which is very serious and can as in Joan's case, be something where they do detain you and will not allow you to board your plane. |
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Post by corner on Jan 7, 2010 20:43:39 GMT -5
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Post by bobbbiez on Jan 7, 2010 21:55:40 GMT -5
All this talk about national security at airports is a lot of hot air when in fact 65% of checked luggage loaded on a plane is not scrutinize or physically examined, so if someone wants to cause a disaster that would be the way to go. How easy is that?
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Post by dgriffin on Jan 7, 2010 22:04:49 GMT -5
There have been two occasions when I did bring back items I was not suppose to have and it always left me thinking, "what if I were a terrorist?" Coming back from Italy a couple of years ago, airline personnel wouldn't let Mrs. Dave on the plane with a bottle of hand lotion, but they let her bring a crossbow on as carry-on luggage! She had it listed as an antique and it was wrapped up pretty good. An inspector pulled back the corner of the package and saw the shaft of the arrow mounted in it, and said, "Is that an arrow?" Mrs. Dave replied, "No, it's an antique." He let her go. I'm not making that up. It's true! I shot it once, the arrow flew a good 150 feet. It could easily put a hole in you at close range, and removed from the wrapping, it would have looked like nothing other than a crossbow. |
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Post by bobbbiez on Jan 7, 2010 22:48:58 GMT -5
Corner, I really don't know what people want or expect any more. We're all crying that there isn't enough security and quickly willing to point fingers when something disastrous happens but we still knit-pick at some things that happen.  Honestly, as in this video if it were me, I wouldn't make sure a big deal out of being asked any question. Right or wrong, what harm is done by simply just answering the question? I guess I'm just sick n tired of hearing people complaining about things that aren't a matter of life or death. When do we begin to stop taking things too far off the deep end? 
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Post by bobbbiez on Jan 7, 2010 22:54:00 GMT -5
There have been two occasions when I did bring back items I was not suppose to have and it always left me thinking, "what if I were a terrorist?" Coming back from Italy a couple of years ago, airline personnel wouldn't let Mrs. Dave on the plane with a bottle of hand lotion, but they let her bring a crossbow on as carry-on luggage! She had it listed as an antique and it was wrapped up pretty good. An inspector pulled back the corner of the package and saw the shaft of the arrow mounted in it, and said, "Is that an arrow?" Mrs. Dave replied, "No, it's an antique." He let her go. I'm not making that up. It's true! I shot it once, the arrow flew a good 150 feet. It could easily put a hole in you at close range, and removed from the wrapping, it would have looked like nothing other than a crossbow. Dave, they did the same thing to me with a bottle of perfume that I purchased right there in the airport, but neglected to see the lighter that was in my cigarette case. |
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Post by Swimmy on Jan 8, 2010 0:16:15 GMT -5
There have been two occasions when I did bring back items I was not suppose to have[. . . .] Perhaps that's because you do NOT fit the profile of a terrorist... |
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Post by Ralph on Jan 8, 2010 2:10:17 GMT -5
I can remember one of my first flights in October right after 9-11, pretty scary, but everyone cooperated. I do remember that coming back from Frisco the next year I forgot my laptop when I got out of security screening to go towards the boarding area. I turned and trotted back to get it only to turn around and find three National Guardsmen with arms “at ready” confronting me. Nice thing about that flight was when we finally got off the ground, we circled the airport and landed again. Seems they found two stray bolts in a mechanics tool box after his shift. They called back every plane he had worked on that day…..all five of them. We didn’t get out of San Fran for six more hours. Small wonder that people parted like the Red Sea as my partner and I walked back and forth through the terminal! We must have looked really pissed! I to this day can’t figure out why they let some of the people on the planes I flew, without so much as a “pat”, and why I and some of the people I was traveling with were detained for extra screening……and mind you, this is when I was going to DOJ conferences and we were all traveling with DOJ ID’s and LEO’s carrying their ID’s and badges. Still scratching our heads over that one. Then we zip ahead to 2003 when Betty and I went with a group to a NRC conference in Puerto Rico. It was harder to get out of the US then back into it. On the way there they made her get out of her scooter and get in a wheelchair, damn near tore her scooter apart to look for a bomb and when we got to San Juan the thing was pretty worse for wear. However, on the way back she got to ride it right to the boarding ramp. When we were seated on the plane we could see them loading it into the plane without so much as a passing thought….right from the boarding area! On my last trip for DOJ, I felt like a terrorist. They did everything but strip search me and do an autopsy on my damn laptop!  Me……glad I’m not flying anymore right now………probably gnaw on some stupid TSA’s leg in the process. |
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Wow, all this going on and yet Joan Rivers was just denied entering the plane she was suppose to board because her name didn't match her passport. 
