In Reply to: Airport Security posted by yippeedoodle on Wednesday, 26. January 2005 at 15:57 Bali Time:
It's there to make you feel safer. It doesn't really do anything. If the 9/11 dudes can take over a plane with box-cutters, I'm pretty sure some well-trained guys could do the same with the steel forks they give us. Once I even got a steak knife (on Garuda, I think).
Besides which, there are two very common substances which, when combined, create a very powerful explosion -- certainly strong enough to blow a hole in a plane and bring it down. Neither would show up in an x-ray or set off the magic beep-beep machine. Failing that, there's also a simple way to kill everyone on board that requires nothing but one willing hand.
More security does not make anyone safe. Check the stats on nightclubs with bouncers vs nightclubs without bouncers. That's another scam, brought on by a threefold increase in public liability insurance rates and dodgy local legislation.
The only way to be safe is to create an environment in which rampant nutters don't feel the urge to kill everyone. This environment is not created by depriving people of civil liberties, having a cop on every corner, bugging everyone, monitoring private emails, and bombing the crap out of a few countries. And hassling old ladies with knitting needles at airports is definitely not going to help.