Another AOL Poll, this time on the proposed new airport screening measure

[Andrew (imported)]

What do you think of this plan?

29% It's a good security measure 51,489

28% I want my information kept private 48,289

24% I'm afraid of being falsely labeled a security risk 41,892

19% I'm concerned my information could be misused 33,700

Total votes: 175,370

Will it work to deter terrorism?

66% No 115,688

34% Yes 59,657

Total votes: 175,345

NOTE: Poll results are not scientific and reflect the opinions of only those users who chose to participate.

[Blaise (imported)]

on airline flights. They are simply a way to make the public feel safe without really doing much to protect the public. Our government had the terrorists surrounded and let them go. Leave airline customers alone.

[Losethem (imported)]

Airport security that they make the airline passengers go through is a joke. It is a visual presence meant to make the flying public feel good about doing so. The only thing it has done so far is find a new way for people to invade personal privacy. I remember I was flying through SFO (San Francisco) last May and had the displeasure of having the security screener put his hands down the front of my pants in full view of everyone in the terminal. He didn't ask permission until after his hand was there. If someone is going to do that to me, they need to at least buy me dinner and a show before they do it.

While on a trip out to California three weeks ago, they let a woman into the terminal at RDU (Raleigh-Durhham, NC) with knitting needles that looked like 2 ft. long nails. They had nice sharp points on 'em and everything. But if I want to take a pair of nail clippers through, well we can't have that as I might hijack a plane with 'em.

They made me take my shoes off that had little metal holders for the shoelaces and put them through the x-ray machine. They let everyone else that didn't have metal on their shoes go through. Excuse me, the shoe bomber didn't have metal clasps on his shoes... so there go the shoe bombs without detection.

All this stuff is just a public show. Want to blow up and airliner in flight? Send a package via airmail with a barometric (altitude) sensor attached to explosives in it. This is how the terrorists brought down PanAm 103 in Scotland 15 years ago. By and large, mail isn't checked before being boarded onto planes. Want to improve security on airliners? Don't let the mail go on them. My point with this is that air security isn't any better than it was 5 years ago, it's just a convenient way for the government to get more money out of us via user fees on airline tickets for so called security.

[MaxPgh (imported)]

well, i think security has improved.......but nothing is foolproof. someone suggested that the most vulnerable spot is the caterers; you could bribe a low-paid catering staffer to put a weapon in the food cart, say.

still, flying's safer than cars.

max