[clue-talk] national ID card

[dennisjperkins at comcast.net]

> 
> Security like the freedom baggies that all people need if they want to carry
> on any gels/liquids (due to the non-existent Hollywood-esque binary liquid
> explosive plot) comes in for frequent skewering on Boing Boing, too, and
> they often have postings for privacy issues, just like Slashdot. Of course,
> even if the supposed plot was tenable, they make people pour out their
> drinks in common areas? Anyone using their head has to realize that many of
> these "security measures" are for show and/or power trips.
> 
> What made me laugh was a Boing Boing comment that it's a good thing the fake
> plot didn't involve rectally-inserted bombs, as there would be a lot of
> vaseline being sold right now.

And the baggies must be the "proper" size.  Bigger won't do.  Smaller won't do.

When I was in the Virgin Islands in Nov 2001, the supposed security kept increasing every time we went thru the gate.  The first time, they just said hello and asked who we were meeting.  At 1:00, they wrote down our names.  The next day, we had to get out so they could inspect the car.  At 1:00, we couldn't park inside the facility.  The next day, they inspected anything we carried in.  And they asked questions because they thought I had an accent.  I told them that if they plan to do a cavity search, I'm leaving.  All this for a small power plant built from an old ship's boiler.

At airports, I was getting pulled off to the side about 50% of the time for about 6 months after 9:11.  That's not a random number.