Re: funny item from life after coffee ( oracle blog )

gazzag wrote:

> In all seriousness, just how agressive is airport security in the
> States these days?

Not so much aggressive as imbecilic. They might catch someone with an IQ equal to room temperature carrying a chain saw.

These people are not so much evil as they are a full employment program for the mentally challenged.

> We're contemplating going to Cuba instead. And I *definitely* won't be
> running the gauntlet with US Immigration with that stamp on my
> passport, I can tell you!

Good thinking.

> I can understand the need for security, but this seems to border (no
> pun intended) on the paranoid.

Every country has its share of morons with a badge. Travelling from the US to the UK I was allowed to carry a small pair of scissors in my hand luggage. At Heathrow they were confiscated when I tried to bring them back to the US. Of course that didn't stop those wonderful flight attendants on BA from giving us 5, count them 5, metal knives in first class to help us butter our bread. There I was at 39,000 feet with no way to trim my mustache and 5 metal knives. Go figure.

> It's a shame as I've always wanted to visit the States but with the
> amount of personal data they insist on harvesting off you, I'm not sure
> I want to. And before anyone pulls the "well, if you're innocent you've
> got no problems" argument, I just don't trust the relevant agencies
> involved not to misinterpret or inadvertently allow this data to be picked
> up by people who genuinely will you it for nefarious purposes.

A government misuse information? Really? Never heard of it! ;-)

Come on over and enjoy the place while some of us still live here.

-- 
Daniel A. Morgan
University of Washington
damorgan_at_x.washington.edu
(replace x with u to respond)
Puget Sound Oracle Users Group
www.psoug.org