But now Canadian authorities are detaining a young Asian man who boarded an Air Canada flight wearing a high-quality head and neck mask which disguised him as an elderly white man. For whatever reason, he decided to take off the disguise mid-flight.
(CNN video.)
Well, there goes one argument for racial profiling. A high-grade silicone mask is all it takes to change your race or age and avert TSA scrutiny. But I'm sure our Homeland Security is already dreaming up countermeasures. Maybe in addition to the new freaky groin and breast pat-downs, TSA can also try to peal off your face!As many others have said before, all this airport hassle and humiliation is not making us safer. We already took the most important measure which was reinforcing cockpit doors. Passengers are also very alert now and will not let some idiot with a knife commandeer a flight. All this other expensive security theater can be bypassed by anybody who is marginally smart and highly determined.
Speaking of airport humiliation, EPIC, the Electronic Privacy Information Center, has filed a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security to suspend the deployment of body scanners at US airports, pending an independent review. They allege that the naked scans these machines produce violate the Fourth Amendment, the Privacy Act, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, and the Video Voyeurism Prevention Act.
Yep, our government is no better than a pervert with a web cam.
makes me afraid of flying now. not because the of the guy sneaking on board but because of the new pat down procedures. really? if i want a groin check, i go to my doctor for that.
ReplyDeleteAnd now Republicans are pushing racial profiling again because of the outcry over TSA. But racial profiling isn't perfect either -- that silicone mask being one example.
ReplyDeleteAnd on a side note, I was actually watching Mission Impossible last night, and there was a scene where a guy pulled off a rubber mask!