Privacy? Short of actual mind reading and precognition, it seems that the world security forces had all the information to detain this guy. All the information coming out makes TSA and Homeland Security look more and more stupid. Now the anti racial profiling group is the one that should be running for cover, but the privacy group are still okay.

Every moment spent feeling up a 70-something nun is a moment you could be spending sniffing out actual terrorists. What comes between Granny and her Calvins? Her Depends. And if they're loaded with something explosive, well, let's not go there...except to say it might blow a hole in your nostrils, but not sheets of steel.

Most people see the Pantybomber as a failure but is he really? John Robb over at Global Guerrillas has some thoughts on that.

http://globalguerrillas.typepad.com/globalguerrillas/2009/12/failure-as-a-strategy.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+typepad%2FrzYD+(Global+Guerrillas)

If a faith-based fruitcake with a bit of explosive in his sneaker excuses the TSA’s foot-fetish, imagine what Leviathan can accomplish in the wake of the Pantbomber. It's a near certainly fliers are going to get virtual strip-searches with millimeter-wave scanning and there are persistent rumors the TSA now wants to do away with carry on luggage.

Once the terrorists figure out how to hide explosives in the parts being "obscured" in the images or in body cavities, fliers can expect even more friendly inspections. Given enough time, the safety worshipers will have Americans stripping down, bending over for cavity searches and boarding the plane wearing only government provided disposable loincloths and, maybe, halters for the women.

The Pantybomber didn't kill any infidels but he sure has them running about in a tizzy looking for new ways to treat airline passengers as cattle. Give the almighty nanny state a few more failures like this and all those freedoms the Muslims supposedly hate us for will no longer be an issue.

He wasn't a failure at all. I see these types of attempts as probing attacks. They're trying to see what works. Now they know that there's a problem with detonating this type of bomb, but it can be smuggled aboard. This guy, like the shoe bomber, was a pawn.

This dude should be mocked mercilessly, and the fact that his undies looked like panties should be used to feminize him. And Napolitano probably needs to resign just so we don't have another heckuva job moment. And then we need to chill the fuck out and go on with our lives. Terrorism is a tactic. It's not going to be defeated, and planes are not going to be totally safe unless we want to scrap our Constitution and kill millions of people.

Mahrer makes a good point here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sG1xawxXzy0

Well, surprise, surprise. It turns out this same trick was tried just last month.

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1261364550496&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Funny how the same people who are such crazy activists for "privacy" are also the same people who plaster every waking moment on their facebook accounts. And if that wasn't too much information already, they then supplement that with down-to-the-second updates via tweeting...

Is is good to see them "running for cover"! Good blog Amy!

I fear that Kishke's comment above is correct: it was just a research attack. They will gather information for another attack later.

I think the answer is when flying becomes a big enough hassle then flights for the shorter distances drop off, and family travel by air ceases almost entirely. For instance I used to travel on business and got paid (or comp time) for my travel. In that case it was worth it because I was in the airport on someone else's dime. For the last few years I have had almost no business travel. The thought of being in the airport on my own time and dime is almost enough to make me physically ill. I am not a good traveler and tend to get sick on planes. The thought of being forced to stay in my seat for more than about a half an hour at a time if I am ill is enough to make me avoid planes altogether. I live about two hours away from the nearest hub airport. Two hours travel plus two hours for check in, 3 hours + on the plane, plus an hour and a half to collect baggage and rent a car, plus the cost of gas and renting a car I would have to be 1, by myself on the trip, and 2. going at least a thousand miles one way before I would even consider it. The TSA and the FAA are close to strangeling the airline industry in this country. It won't go out with a bang, it will be a whimper as more and more low profit short routes are shut down. Businesses don't need to spend their time and their money flying everyone on junkets for back slapping. 90 percent of what they do can be accomplised with a video conference or e mail and will be, when the price in time and money is too high compared to the alternatives. Expensive, inconvenient travel will be one of the first things to go in these tight times. The only thing that may save it is 5 bucks or more for a gallon of gasoline but that will have it's own damper on the economy. Isabel

>>>Every moment spent feeling up a 70-something nun is a moment you could be spending sniffing out actual terrorists.

That gave me a total 'flashback' of the Cheech and Chong movie Up In Smoke. Stacy Keach and his band of law enforcement idiots are vigorously feeling up a bunch of nuns in their quest to stop the threat of Pot (while the two stoners are right next to them watching the whole thing). Fortunately that kind of comical thinking/way of doing things is no where, ahem, near the truth....

Political Correctness be fucked! Profile, baby, profile!

Profiling is just one part of a larger issue - hiring intelligent people and training them to focus on people, not bottles of shampoo.

Americans are still using the McDonalds model for security - build a machine (physical or bureaucratic) and hire unskilled labor to run it.

Israeli airport security invests in the staff - highly perceptive, highly trained people actually interview every passenger.
Up close.
Several times.

They observe your reactions and behavior - even when you're on line. If you're suspicious, they pull you out for more screening.

All this IN ADDITION to the technical aspects of physical sniffing and searching. And data-mining to find likely risks.

Some will say this can't be scale up - but the irony is it takes less time than idiots looking for shampoo bottles. And is less intrusive for the innocent.

But to do this, you have to invest in your staff instead of hiring burger-flippers.

Actually, Isabel, what it will kill first is the business travel. For any domestic travel, a business will fly an employee instead of having them drive for two reasons: (1) it can get them there faster, and (2) they can do some work on the way.

(1) depends on the "curb to curb" time; that is, the time it takes from when you start out for the departure airport, until you arrive at your destination in the rental car. A lot of people in the airline industry are short-sighted and they only look at actual flying time without considering curb-to-curb time, which takes into account driving to and from airports, the amount of time it takes to park a car and get a rental car, and the amount of time spent waiting in airports and security lines. Where I live, we only have direct flights to a few destinations; everywhere else, it takes a connection. For any destination from here involving a connection, the absolute rock bottom curb-to-curb time is about 4-1/2 hours these days. Twenty years ago, it was about 2-1/2 hours. It used to be that I could fly from here to, say, Bowling Green, KY, and I'd save about an hour over driving. Nowdays, it's the opposite; it's an hour shorter to drive.

And as for (2), if we start having restrictions on what we can do during the flight, then there goes the advantage of being able to work on the way. Further: where I work, we are always told that we are not to check our laptops under any circumstances. If the TSA bans carry-ons, we're not flying any longer. You would realize the supreme irony of this if you knew who I work for.

You're bending over for the TSA so you can fly somewhere. It's a minor step now for you to bend over for the sheriff's deputy so you can walk somewhere.

Cousin Dave is correct. Although I think business travel is way down already. Were I worked we had been told for a number of years to make do with conference calls etc. In the first couple years I worked there I could count on being sent somewhere 2 or 3 times a year. In the last 3 years, only once.

Every company I have worked for has banned checking of laptops -- or even leaving them out of your care.

The US does use the interview process...it is just for bring food into the country. Last time I came back from Japan I was interviewed 6 times about it. They had two different dogs sniff my bags. Each person would ask my slightly different questions. Each time to longer then going through screening/metal detectors (actually go through, not waiting in line). I guess I just look like a food smuggler or something.

From a sheet of paper left at Starbucks:

Label: Headlines we hope not to see in 2010

4. Nude boarding requirement lifted for domestic flights.