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In an interview on "Fox News Sunday," [U.S. Homeland Security Secretary John] Kelly said the United States planned to "raise the bar" on airline security, including tightening screening of carry-on items.
"That's the thing that they are obsessed with, the terrorists, the idea of knocking down an airplane in flight, particularly if it's a U.S. carrier, particularly if it's full of U.S. people."
In March, the government imposed restrictions on large electronic devices in aircraft cabins on flights from 10 airports, including the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Turkey.
Kelly said the move would be part of a broader airline security effort to combat what he called "a real sophisticated threat." He said no decision had been made as to the timing of any ban.
"We are still following the intelligence," he said, "and are in the process of defining this, but we're going to raise the bar generally speaking for aviation much higher than it is now."
Airlines are concerned that a broad ban on laptops may erode customer demand. But none wants an incident aboard one of its airplanes.
Fox News has a transcript of the interview (archived copy).
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(Score: 5, Insightful) by Anal Pumpernickel on Monday May 29 2017, @11:14PM (6 children)
If you think security is more important than freedom in a country that is supposed to be 'the land of the free and the home of the brave', then your priorities are, to me, seriously out of order. I would rather risk more terrorist attacks than allow the government to continue violating the Constitution. There's nothing brave or free about allowing government thugs to harass and search everyone who wants to get on a plane; it is cowardly and authoritarian. People who feel otherwise have other countries they could move to that act more in line with their ideals, such as North Korea.
But I don't even accept the argument that all this security theater actually improved our safety by any significant amount. You would need to provide scientific evidence to prove it. Just saying 'But there haven't been more hijacks since 2001!' is not proof that the TSA is effective. There are other things that changed as well, such as cockpit door security and the fact that the public will fight back against hijackers now instead of meekly complying. Like I said before, though, even if it were absolutely true that the TSA was effective, I would still oppose it because I value freedom more than security.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 30 2017, @01:35AM (2 children)
That's quite a stupid comment about moving to other countries. It's really not that easy, those other countries usually don't want you either.
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Tuesday May 30 2017, @05:03AM
Unlike USA vis-a-vis muslims, almost all other civilized countries judge who they want or not on a case by case basis.
I'm sorry to hear that your personal experience tells you otherwise.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 2) by Anal Pumpernickel on Tuesday May 30 2017, @11:37PM
That's just one of the pleasures of an insanely authoritarian country, isn't it?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 30 2017, @04:31PM (2 children)
I would rather risk more terrorist attacks than allow the government to continue violating the Constitution.
Your view is anecdotal and statistically insignificant. The vast majority of people who vote (over 98%) disagree.
But I don't even accept the argument that all this security theater actually improved our safety by any significant amount.
Again you have it wrong. They aren't trying to improve 'safety'. They are selling an illusion, with high drama. Thanks to a submissive public, the campaign is a golden goose. It is business, plain and simple. And business is very good and expanding. That you cannot deny.
(Score: 2) by Anal Pumpernickel on Tuesday May 30 2017, @11:39PM (1 child)
If that is true, then people should stop with the 'land of the free and home of the brave' nonsense and just admit that they are reprehensible authoritarians.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 31 2017, @02:56AM
people should stop with the 'land of the free and home of the brave' nonsense
Why? It sells tickets... That's what flag waving is all about. If you don't keep the illusion alive, people will start thinking, *what's the point?*.