Armed and dangerous : GI joe

[Technoid]

On L.A. International Airport an English woman was delayed from boarding her flight until she packed a GI Joe toy she bought in her suitcase instead of her carry on bag.

The GI joe's 5cm plastic rifle was also confiscated.

"We have instructions to confiscate anything that looks like a weapon or a replica.

"If GI Joe was carrying a replica then it had to be taken from him."

Link


And to think I thought the terrorist scare was insane in '93 when I (while waiting for the rest of my luggage on Heathrow airport) got told that I had to be in almost constant physical contact with my carry on bag least it be seen as abandoned and a potential terrorist bomb

[VJ]

GI Joe without his gun... Explain that to the kid who will receive it!

But it is getting ridiculous... A lot of the measurements taken now are just an overreaction to what happened:

• not allowed to access carry on luggage on hour before landing: if one manages to get a device on board, he/she can just use prior to this arbitrary chosen one hour period (which was just chosen because of that failed attempt). And if the device is small, you can carry it maybe in your pockets, or just take it out beforehand.
• no information on the whereabouts of the plane: if the primary goals of a terrorist is to blow up a plane, its location is of no importance. And there are these transparent things called "windows"!
• even more limited use of electronics: the failed attempt did not involve electronics (I assume this is linked to the second point, to prevent people from using a gps)

Basically, the only sensible measurements are better security checks to verify what people carry with them (bodyscans, ...). All the rest just won't help security and just provide more annoyances.
(just my 2c)


Jörg