This editorial from the Savannah Morning News makes the tongue-in-cheek suggestion that all the stories about the incompetence of Mineta’s TSA must be a disinformation campaign to confuse terrorists and lull them into false bravado. There was the security screener at Los Angeles International Airport who confiscated a 2-inch toy gun that belonged to a G.I. Joe doll carried by a child. This followed a report that government testers had successfully smuggled REAL weapons past security checkpoints at major airports one out of every four attempts. Days later, a mother carrying an infant through security at Kennedy International in New York was forced to drink the breast milk she had pumped into bottles for the baby’s flight. Despite the fact that drinking directly from the bottle could contaminate the milk with germs and make it…
About Gary Leff
An Air France
An Air France flight has made an emergency landing in Belgium after a naked passenger tried to force his way into the cockpit.
Starbucks is adding wireless
Starbucks is adding wireless internet to over 1000 stores. Your first day of use is free. This could change my life forever.
Aviation lunacy isn’t just limited
Aviation lunacy isn’t just limited to the TSA. Crain’s Chicago Business reports that United airlines may face a fine of up to $1.5 million for failure to replace a nut on 3 engines in 1999. Why is this lunacy? If there’s a safety issue at United, it’s 3 years old. This suggests FAA isn’t doing a very good job at finding and resolving current problems. There were no accidents or engine failures as a result of the nut. United replaced them. The paperwork is in order. United should have replaced the nut with a stronger one as dictated by the FAA. Maybe they should have done it faster. But this is three years old and not a current safety problem. Why is the FAA examining such old records? Why aren’t they more concerned with guaranteeing…
AmericaWest has a new policy
AmericaWest has a new policy that lets you buy space available first class upgrades from any fare from $50-$200 depending on the length of the flight.
Study: Alcohol Makes
Study: Alcohol Makes Other People Better Looking.
The New York
The New York Post reports on a lost note in a taxicab which may outline the coming executive reshuffling at United Airlines.
The U.S. government
The U.S. government spent $250 million on a military exercise that was rigged to ensure a victory. (Link via Slate.)
Prosperity For All: things are
Prosperity For All: things are better than they’ve ever been. “For many people, owning a home defines the American Dream, and 68 percent of families now do — the highest percentage on record. Three-quarters of Americans drive their own cars. The vast majority of households possess color televisions (98 percent), videocassette recorders (94 percent), microwave ovens (90 percent), frost-free refrigerators (87 percent), washing machines (83 percent), and clothes dryers (75 percent). In the past decade or so, computers and cell phones have become commonplace. . . . 135 million Americans now own mobile telephones.” — from “Off the Books” in the August 2002 issue of Reason. (Link via Dan Pink’s Just One Thing.)
The Comedian is
The Comedian is covering the story with two posts on the failing air marshall program and impending airport delays due to the federalization of security. Check it out.
