Thepurplem0nkey
New Member
So I went to San Francisco last weekend for vacation, and I witnessed some of the most bizarre, paranoid, and retarded activities tax money could buy. Arriving at LAX, I was instructed to take my shoes off, put all of my liquids into a plastic bag (not provided), and of course since I am disabled and look "strange", I was "randomly" selected for a search (just as I ALWAYS am, and I've noticed, everyone else with a disability). None of that bothered me, although I was aggravated that so many incompetent boobs would be paid tax payer money to basically fulfill the function of slowing down air travel and boosting profits of the shops/stores in the airport. Aparantly, their seald evian water bottles are more trustworthy than a sealed evian bottle bought outside the airport. Anyway LAX wasn't too bad. It was returning home from SFO where the real aggravation occurred.
So walking through security at SFO, my girlfriend was stopped. Her perfume bottles, face cream, and toothpaste were confiscated. The reason? They were not in a quart sized zip lock bag. The items were, in fact, in a completely clear bag the SAME SIZE as the zip lock....except it zippered shut, it didnt zip lock shut. This was good enoughy for LAX secutrity, but aparntly, Zip locks are magic, and so her make up bag, which was the same dimensions and opaquness as your regular zip lock, was unacceptable to SFO homeland security. My girlfriend was furious and began arguing with the person who said unless it was in a zip lock bag, she could not have the expensive items. SO, being the brilliant man that I am...I bent down, opened my zip lock bag with all my liquid crap in it, EMPTIED THE CRAP INTO MY LUGGAGE, and handed my girlfriend my plastic bag. "Here you go" I said....the security looked at my now empty zip lock bag, said "Oh, there you go" and gave her back most of her shit, to put into the now empty bag.
It was then that the stupidity of this whole situation hit me. In order to bring perfume, toothpaste, or anything on a plane...it needs to be put inside of a zip lock bag. It doesn't matter if it is removed after you bypass security, it doesn't matter what's actualyn IN the bottles. This magic zip lock bag will DE-TERRORIZE any potential terrorizing items. It doesn't matter if, say, you remove your shit from the bags right in front of security....AS LONG AS IT IS IN A BAG FOR A FEW SECONDS! It doesn't matter that my individual liquid items could have been explosive compounds and compiled in a bathroom after I got past security to make a potent explosive. It doesn't matter that with a 3 ounce maximum liquid allowance (what's the logic behind 3 ounces??? I know a few liquids that will demolish the first floor of a building with less than 3 ounces. WHy is 4 ounces more dangerous than three ounces? Who makes this shit up?????), my 4 buddies could meet up with me, after we pass the magic zip lock line, to combine all of our 3 ounces to make significantly more explosive liquid.
I also got to thinking why it is that we, as the public, are agreeing to this bullshit in the first place. I mean, basically you are agreeing to be treated like SHIT (and anyone who has been accosted at the airport or had to talk to ANYONE working at the airport or anyone who feels they have been mistreated or descriminated against and is seeking recourse knows what I mean), to be treated as a distrustful criminal instead of a paying customer, to WILLINGLY give up our protection from unwaranted search and seizure (And having toothpaste is NOT criminal, thus not waranting search and seizure. X-ray and bomb dogs are not intrusive and don't need to "search" or "seize" to detect bombs....so yes, you do willingly give up your civil rights...and if you refuse, than your civil right to travel, within your own country, unobstructed, is removed as well. Dwell on THAT) and finally to willingly give up our toothpaste, perfume, cologne, water, FOR NO FUCKING REASON WHATSOEVER. I mumbled this to my girlfriend; I asked "Why the fuck do we have to do this??" She responded "Well, because people tried to blow up a plane". Then it hit me, and I challenge anyone of you to answer these, factualy (IE Guessing the answers is not factual information but simply guesswork) right now, without doing research on the net....
1. Who, exactly, tried to blow up a plane? What were their names? Ages?
2. How many people were there?
3. Where, exactly, did this occur?
4. What, if any, group claimed responsibility?
5. What were the race, origin of birth, and genders of the person/people who tried to blow up the plane?
6. Where are those people now?
7. What court of law has demonstrated concrete evidence proving, beyond a reasonable doubt, the guilt of said liquid bombers? Specific court cases, rulings, findings?
I realized that, on the spot, I could only claim that sometime in the past I saw a news report alleging that a group of people tried to blow up planes using liquids in the United Kingdom. THAT'S ALL I KNOW. This is coming from the same fucks that lied about WMD's in Iraq, who lie daily about medical marijuana and marijuana in general, and who were responsible for FEMA's response to Katrina. It really bothers me that so many are so willing to be abused by airport staff/security yet know so little as to the reason, IF ANY, why it is we are doing this in the first place. Remember the media blitz a few years ago about the terrorist group that was going to blow up the Sears Tower alongisde Al Queda? When reporters actualy began investigating the story, it was learned that the people being charged where homeless, and to make matters worse, christian, and not islamist fudamentalists. The story has since been burried. The same has happened with the liquids story. I know NO solid facts, I have seen NO solid information. Only vauge news reports.
I am NOT SAYING that no threat exists. What I am saying is, that, if there is a threat (and I won't believe it until 90% of the answers above are answered, with evidence), the airports and government have royaly fucked up in their response. Instead of going after criminal's intent on harming others by hijacking or blowing up a plane, they have clumped everyone into that criminal category. Instead of taking a senesabal, rational approach, such as investing heavily in, oh I don't know, an army of bomb sniffing dogs and bomb detection equipment, they have invested in hordes of security and baggae check positions, positions of power over a traveling public, for people who don't even need to have a GED. They've spent money on baskets, security to oversee the baskets, personnel to throw perfectly harmless liquids, like the brand new tooth paste my girlfriend bought that was thrown straight into the GARBAGE (Yes, what a fucking waste...not only are all your possessions, including sealed drinks and items, TAKEN from you...but they don't even go to serve the homeless or those in need. THEY GO INTO THE TRASH!!!), and have caused delays and stress on all travelers, especially the elderly who have to take off their shoes. THIS IS INSANTIY! THIS IS PARANOIA!!! I am ALL FOR safety at airports, I am not naive that there are people in this world, AS THERE HAS A L W A Y S been and A L W A Y S will be, who wish to do us harm. I just feel the current response is completely ridiculous and ineffective. Id fly, ANY DAY, on an airplane where luggage has been scanned with a bomb machine and sniffed by a bomb dog INSTEAD of the "magic zip lock bag" approach. Am I the last sane person on this planet??? Does anyone else here see the futility and insanity of the current security measures at airports? Is anyone else pissed off that you personal possessions, such as lipstick, water, hair gel, and toothpaste are taken from you, without provocation and without reasons, and thrown into the trash? I keep hearing this bullshit excuse that we must do this for the safety of others, but how is safety improved by placing my liquids into a zip lock bag? How does that improve safety IN THE LEAST? They should fire, immediately, the extra staff they hire to man these ridicules security checks and hire ONE bomb dog. Eliminate this absurd "3 ounces only" rule. Who came up with that measurement? Why is 3 ounces less dangerous than 4 ounces? What is the logic behind that when the guy behind you, and the guy behind him, could all be working in collaboration thus giving you 9 ounces of liquid once you pass the screener and remove your items from the magic ziplock bag? I am at the height of frustration here. I am ALL FOR beefing up security at the airports.....I just don't see that happening. Putting liquids in bags improves N O T H I N G. I feel LESS SAFE, now that I have seen the security implementations at the airport, then I did right aftrer 9/11. To those that have family members as pilots, flight atendants, and what not; how do you feel about this? Would you rather have one bomb dog sniffing people/luggage before boarding a plane with your relatives on it, or 10 screeners who watch liquids (but don't chemicaly analyse it or even open them) in a clear bag pass on the screener, a bag that can be opened mere seconds after passing through security? As a traveler, I'll take the one dog over uneducated bozos running around like their heads are cut off ANY DAY. Short of tossing tooth paste and perfume into a trash bin (And heres some food for thought...lets say that the tooth paste and perfume ARE explosive....is tossing it in a tash bin near a massive line of people, all of whom must wait in line to even get into the main part of the airport, the smartest thing in the world to do?????), these people do absolutely NOTHING for our safety and are completely wasteful in their actions of tossing sealed goods.
-PM
So walking through security at SFO, my girlfriend was stopped. Her perfume bottles, face cream, and toothpaste were confiscated. The reason? They were not in a quart sized zip lock bag. The items were, in fact, in a completely clear bag the SAME SIZE as the zip lock....except it zippered shut, it didnt zip lock shut. This was good enoughy for LAX secutrity, but aparntly, Zip locks are magic, and so her make up bag, which was the same dimensions and opaquness as your regular zip lock, was unacceptable to SFO homeland security. My girlfriend was furious and began arguing with the person who said unless it was in a zip lock bag, she could not have the expensive items. SO, being the brilliant man that I am...I bent down, opened my zip lock bag with all my liquid crap in it, EMPTIED THE CRAP INTO MY LUGGAGE, and handed my girlfriend my plastic bag. "Here you go" I said....the security looked at my now empty zip lock bag, said "Oh, there you go" and gave her back most of her shit, to put into the now empty bag.
It was then that the stupidity of this whole situation hit me. In order to bring perfume, toothpaste, or anything on a plane...it needs to be put inside of a zip lock bag. It doesn't matter if it is removed after you bypass security, it doesn't matter what's actualyn IN the bottles. This magic zip lock bag will DE-TERRORIZE any potential terrorizing items. It doesn't matter if, say, you remove your shit from the bags right in front of security....AS LONG AS IT IS IN A BAG FOR A FEW SECONDS! It doesn't matter that my individual liquid items could have been explosive compounds and compiled in a bathroom after I got past security to make a potent explosive. It doesn't matter that with a 3 ounce maximum liquid allowance (what's the logic behind 3 ounces??? I know a few liquids that will demolish the first floor of a building with less than 3 ounces. WHy is 4 ounces more dangerous than three ounces? Who makes this shit up?????), my 4 buddies could meet up with me, after we pass the magic zip lock line, to combine all of our 3 ounces to make significantly more explosive liquid.
I also got to thinking why it is that we, as the public, are agreeing to this bullshit in the first place. I mean, basically you are agreeing to be treated like SHIT (and anyone who has been accosted at the airport or had to talk to ANYONE working at the airport or anyone who feels they have been mistreated or descriminated against and is seeking recourse knows what I mean), to be treated as a distrustful criminal instead of a paying customer, to WILLINGLY give up our protection from unwaranted search and seizure (And having toothpaste is NOT criminal, thus not waranting search and seizure. X-ray and bomb dogs are not intrusive and don't need to "search" or "seize" to detect bombs....so yes, you do willingly give up your civil rights...and if you refuse, than your civil right to travel, within your own country, unobstructed, is removed as well. Dwell on THAT) and finally to willingly give up our toothpaste, perfume, cologne, water, FOR NO FUCKING REASON WHATSOEVER. I mumbled this to my girlfriend; I asked "Why the fuck do we have to do this??" She responded "Well, because people tried to blow up a plane". Then it hit me, and I challenge anyone of you to answer these, factualy (IE Guessing the answers is not factual information but simply guesswork) right now, without doing research on the net....
1. Who, exactly, tried to blow up a plane? What were their names? Ages?
2. How many people were there?
3. Where, exactly, did this occur?
4. What, if any, group claimed responsibility?
5. What were the race, origin of birth, and genders of the person/people who tried to blow up the plane?
6. Where are those people now?
7. What court of law has demonstrated concrete evidence proving, beyond a reasonable doubt, the guilt of said liquid bombers? Specific court cases, rulings, findings?
I realized that, on the spot, I could only claim that sometime in the past I saw a news report alleging that a group of people tried to blow up planes using liquids in the United Kingdom. THAT'S ALL I KNOW. This is coming from the same fucks that lied about WMD's in Iraq, who lie daily about medical marijuana and marijuana in general, and who were responsible for FEMA's response to Katrina. It really bothers me that so many are so willing to be abused by airport staff/security yet know so little as to the reason, IF ANY, why it is we are doing this in the first place. Remember the media blitz a few years ago about the terrorist group that was going to blow up the Sears Tower alongisde Al Queda? When reporters actualy began investigating the story, it was learned that the people being charged where homeless, and to make matters worse, christian, and not islamist fudamentalists. The story has since been burried. The same has happened with the liquids story. I know NO solid facts, I have seen NO solid information. Only vauge news reports.
I am NOT SAYING that no threat exists. What I am saying is, that, if there is a threat (and I won't believe it until 90% of the answers above are answered, with evidence), the airports and government have royaly fucked up in their response. Instead of going after criminal's intent on harming others by hijacking or blowing up a plane, they have clumped everyone into that criminal category. Instead of taking a senesabal, rational approach, such as investing heavily in, oh I don't know, an army of bomb sniffing dogs and bomb detection equipment, they have invested in hordes of security and baggae check positions, positions of power over a traveling public, for people who don't even need to have a GED. They've spent money on baskets, security to oversee the baskets, personnel to throw perfectly harmless liquids, like the brand new tooth paste my girlfriend bought that was thrown straight into the GARBAGE (Yes, what a fucking waste...not only are all your possessions, including sealed drinks and items, TAKEN from you...but they don't even go to serve the homeless or those in need. THEY GO INTO THE TRASH!!!), and have caused delays and stress on all travelers, especially the elderly who have to take off their shoes. THIS IS INSANTIY! THIS IS PARANOIA!!! I am ALL FOR safety at airports, I am not naive that there are people in this world, AS THERE HAS A L W A Y S been and A L W A Y S will be, who wish to do us harm. I just feel the current response is completely ridiculous and ineffective. Id fly, ANY DAY, on an airplane where luggage has been scanned with a bomb machine and sniffed by a bomb dog INSTEAD of the "magic zip lock bag" approach. Am I the last sane person on this planet??? Does anyone else here see the futility and insanity of the current security measures at airports? Is anyone else pissed off that you personal possessions, such as lipstick, water, hair gel, and toothpaste are taken from you, without provocation and without reasons, and thrown into the trash? I keep hearing this bullshit excuse that we must do this for the safety of others, but how is safety improved by placing my liquids into a zip lock bag? How does that improve safety IN THE LEAST? They should fire, immediately, the extra staff they hire to man these ridicules security checks and hire ONE bomb dog. Eliminate this absurd "3 ounces only" rule. Who came up with that measurement? Why is 3 ounces less dangerous than 4 ounces? What is the logic behind that when the guy behind you, and the guy behind him, could all be working in collaboration thus giving you 9 ounces of liquid once you pass the screener and remove your items from the magic ziplock bag? I am at the height of frustration here. I am ALL FOR beefing up security at the airports.....I just don't see that happening. Putting liquids in bags improves N O T H I N G. I feel LESS SAFE, now that I have seen the security implementations at the airport, then I did right aftrer 9/11. To those that have family members as pilots, flight atendants, and what not; how do you feel about this? Would you rather have one bomb dog sniffing people/luggage before boarding a plane with your relatives on it, or 10 screeners who watch liquids (but don't chemicaly analyse it or even open them) in a clear bag pass on the screener, a bag that can be opened mere seconds after passing through security? As a traveler, I'll take the one dog over uneducated bozos running around like their heads are cut off ANY DAY. Short of tossing tooth paste and perfume into a trash bin (And heres some food for thought...lets say that the tooth paste and perfume ARE explosive....is tossing it in a tash bin near a massive line of people, all of whom must wait in line to even get into the main part of the airport, the smartest thing in the world to do?????), these people do absolutely NOTHING for our safety and are completely wasteful in their actions of tossing sealed goods.
-PM
I wanted to take the trolley cars, but at 5 bucks for a one way trip, thats too much of a rip off. 
I know, as a patient I can legaly traevl with my medicine on flights....but just because I CAN doesnt mean I wont get stopped, hasstled, delayed and interrogated by every law enforcement agent in the vacinity as soon as my bag is discovered to have medicinal pot inside. But anyway, imagine if I had had some C4 or some other explosives (yikes my poor balls if it goes off!!) tucked under there. WHile Gomer Pyle is asserting his masculinity and tossing my dangerous looking half empty tube of Crest into the trash, I could have bombs under my balls. The money that would have gone to the bomb dog, who could detect my explosive testes, is isntead going to pay Gomer Pyles morgage, so he can effectivly rid the world of half used tooth paste recepticals. Funny imagry (or disturbing, depending on who you are), but an effective point. CUrrent security measures are an absolute joke and do NOT provide security, but rather a nice paying job for people who get paid to throw shit away and be ass holes to paying customersbecause...THEY CAN BE.
