So should a white middle class fat IT manager from the home counties be subject to the same security procedures as others who may appear to pose more of a risk?

Is a high and low risk system workable or desirable?

Would it speed things up?

Could it be made to work? Worth the time, pain and effort?

Whaddya think?

white middle class fat IT manager

shouldn't be allowed to travel anywhere – stay in slough

all humans are equal so yes, everyone flying on a public flight should be subject to the same conditions.

i personally disagree with the conditions but think there should be no special treatment.

FFS! Have you never seen Total Recall????

how fat are you? Would you spill in to my seat?
If so, I reckon you should have a special queue marked "Oversize Luggage" or something…

BTW, did you know that:

Mr. Abdulmutallab [Delta airways bomb suspect, Detroit] was added to a government database of about 550,000 names in November 2009. He said the suspect wasn't on the 400,000-person watch list, which the U.S. uses to compile the 14,000-person "selectee" list and the "no-fly" list of 4,000. "The investigation will look backwards and figure out if any signs were missed, if any procedures can be changed about how names are watch-listed,"

Of course everyone should be subject to the same security procedures,and if it holds up your journey,so what?

So should a white middle class fat IT manager from the home counties be subject to the same security procedures as others who may appear to pose more of a risk?

Which "others" would these people be then?

sofatester – Member

Which "others" would these people be then?

Pre-menstrual women?

Pre-menstrual women?

😆

I'm sorry, but I don't see anything racist about profiling potential terror suspects. Doesn't anyone remember how anyone with an Irish accent was treated 15 years ago? Ultimately, if profiling led to a surface-level X-ray of the suspect then the bomb would have been spotted.

I think the question that should be asked is why he was allowed on the aircraft in the first place given the information already available to the USA. I mean, he had a visa for crying out loud. I spent a miserable 4 hours waiting in the US embassy last year simply because my dad had once been to Algeria and they were checking up on it.

because of all this kind of grist to the security service's mill, I refuse to fly anymore.

Maybe one day, someone will launch an airline with a mandatory papersuit and no hand luggage so that you can check in and board in 15 minutes…then Ill start flying again. Except to the US because I refuse to go through their arrivals systems.

Anyone on this "list" should be specially checked, and if they are all brown, white or yellow so be it.

because of all this kind of grist to the security service's mill, I refuse to fly anymore.

Maybe one day, someone will launch an airline with a mandatory papersuit and no hand luggage so that you can check in and board in 15 minutes…then Ill start flying again. Except to the US because I refuse to go through their arrivals systems.

Your loss buddy 8)

possibly.

But Id rather take the ferry to the continent and continue exploring round here than endure the torture of close proximity to the multitude of smelly oiks and bullied-at-school officious security arseholes that make up the mostpart of air travel these days. Thank you very much 😉

😆

not at all.

If you saw a group of thugs, in caps and kappa, clearly pissed and out to make trouble, would you cross the road for the sake avoiding any hastle?

if you saw a 90yr old dear, doddering along with a zoomer-frame would you cross the same road?

to frisk a 90 yr old woman for the sake of equality, when the same time could be spent searching someone from a country where there is current turmoil, a member of a group of people, SOME of whom are undoubtably out to attack other people with such dirty tactics, would be /is an irresponsible waste of time

its PC out of control again

Balls to human rights, you have no rights, and your a fool if you think you do (IMO)

its PC out of control again

I agree. Only people who look like terrorists should be searched. Anyone who doesn't look like a terrorist should be simply waved through and, allowed to have whatever they want in their luggage.

Its PC out of control, and just more 'anti-racism' and 'human rights' nonsense.

And………….. the Nanny State and Health and Safety gone stark raving bonkers as well. Probably.

Bet the EU is behind it all.

I am a fat IT specialist and I fly a lot! I spent around 25 weeks out of last year in the US and I am VERY happy they have thorough screening.

To be frank, I don't care who they screen. A fat man, a black man, a muslim, a christian, a member of the Krankies fan club! It only takes one **** to crash a plane – and I'd rather not be on it.

It is a pain in the arse – but less of a pain then being dead.

and Thatcher e_l, Don't forget Thatcher 😆

What type of people should be stopped? I'm guessing you're thinking Arab looking people? What about people who don't look like that who carry bombs (like the Oklahoma bomber in the USA), or people who don't have big beards or look obviously Arabic (like the shoe bomber guy).

If they started having no security for people who didn't look Arabic, it'd just be inviting people to bomb planes.

Doesn't anyone remember how anyone with an Irish accent was treated 15 years ago?

Yeah anyone vaguely Irish sounding / with an Irish name was harassed by the police, and in one case some poor unarmed drunk guy who just happened to have an Irish sounding accent was shot by the police. Oh and we locked up a few groups of random innocent Irish people for several years just because they happened to be nearby when a bomb went off. What a great advert for racial profiling that was.

Joe

Only people who look like terrorists should be searched. Anyone who doesn't look like a terrorist should be simply waved through and, allowed to have whatever they want in their luggage.

Of course that was exactly what was suggested, GG. Nice strawman.

Perhaps take a leaf out of the customs and excise channels at the arrivials gate and have a "not a terrorist" and "Terrorist" green and red channels to go through?

I am happy to be searched at the airport and have not had an issue having my bags opened (including bike bag in Colorado 2 weeks after 9/11)

As to airport screening "because of all this kind of grist to the security service's mill, I refuse to fly anymore"? WTF? You think that all of MI5 and 6 are sitting in the departure lounge watching for people "looking funny"?

SSP

I agree. Only people who look like terrorists should be searched. Anyone who doesn't look like a terrorist should be simply waved through and, allowed to have whatever they want in their luggage.

"are they shifty? are they beige?!"

Of course that was exactly what was suggested, GG. Nice strawman.

Oh I'm sorry ……….wasn't that what was being suggested ?

Well OK, maybe we could have token searches for people who don't look like terrorists – but nothing too "intrusive" like. And have proper searches, including for example full anal inspections, for people who look like terrorists.

I have to say I like SSP suggestion of "Not a Terrorist" and "Terrorist" green and red channels at airports. Maybe to make it easier for everyone to understand what is expected, they could have a "I'm middle-aged white" channel, and a "I look like a foreigner" channel ?

Of course customs also rely entirely on which channel you select, and only bother with those going through the red channel, not having any particular people they're picking out going through the green channel. It's a sure way of smuggling without being caught – along with being a middle class IT manager obviously.

Nah, nutters come from all creeds. I think all people should be subjected to the same controls and restrictions. I therefore think it's entirely unfair that if I fly to America, I have to go through a huge range of questions and checks but if americans come to the UK they can be stood on UK soil in a matter of minutes from landing.

Here's my suggestion. If you're American, you be put in the 'american' channel. Where you have to wait for 2 **** hours while some monkey asks you stupid questions and scans your fingers and face really slowly. If you even suggest that this is not acceptable then two great big massive blokes will grab you by the arms and drag you to a room where you will be interrogated for 17 hours with no poo or wee breaks. I know it's not the british way but I'd also like a bloke with a gun on his hip to be available for when any 'Americans' do not say *exactly* the right thing, so he can put his hand on the gun and unclip it.

That way the American experience of Britain can be exactly the same as the British experience of entering America.

Get a **** grip you stupid bastards. If undesirables on your list want to get in, they won't fly in from the UK, they'll fly to ooooh, Mexico and then let me guess, drive across the border with no checks whatsoever.

Flaperon wrote, "I'm sorry, but I don't see anything racist about profiling potential terror suspects."

There isn't. But such profiling will never lead to anyone saying "Lets search arab-looking people", because the hit rate is so astronomically low. There's no statistical difference between the likelihood of a wasp or an arab committing an act of terror on a plane, because the incidence is too low to get any statistical significance.

This is why arabs/coloured people/angry young men shouldn't be treated differently at customs- not because it's unfair but because it's moronic. 1.09 billion people (estimated) fly every year, how many turn out to be terrorists?

Any profiling method with such a ludicriously low signal/noise ratio is worthless. Exactly what profile do you intend to use that'll get less than, oh, a 1-1 million hit rate?

I think the solution is roughly along Singlespeedpunk's suggestion, execept what we need is two forms of flight desiginations, you have 'Ultra Secure' where everyone get's stripped naked has a full body cavity check and can't take anything onto the aircraft and are handcuffed to the seats. And you have 'Lucky Dip' which treats you like a human being but you need a certain lackadaisical view of risk to use.

Maybe one day, someone will launch an airline with a mandatory papersuit and no hand luggage so that you can check in and board in 15 minutes…then Ill start flying again

Good idea 🙂

Ooh Stoner and I agree on something. My objection is due to the lack of equality in systems, the Merkins objecting to extradition etc. on the same terms as they demand from us.

A complimentary full english breakfast in the departure lounge would be a good start to the screening process.

"He's vegetarian, he must be a terrorist!"