I’ve cancelled my Thanksgiving trip, so will not see my daughters and grandson as I’m NOT flying and putting up with the BS at the airports. I will also opt out of any MM wave or backscatter scanners, since I cannot get the details on the amount of radiation each one puts out. I rather pointedly asked that question last Sunday at Tulsa and was told by a supervisor, “you don’t need that information”. It seems to me if they were really that safe, there would be Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) available… We’re ALL required to have those in our workplaces for any materials…

I fully support the plans of Opt Out and National Opt Out Day doing this on a mass scale on the 24th of November, but I would also propose a separate and comprehensive ongoing No Fly project.

I’d propose that EVERY WEDNESDAY all travellers than can REFUSE TO FLY, either by rescheduling their trips, or taking other means of transport. And that we CONTINUE this until the airlines get tired of losing money and force TSA drop the BS politically correct screening and start profiling and actually searching for the bad guys (and when they find suspicious persons, THEY get the full treatment).

I’d also be more than willing to see ALL of the US airlines adopt El Al’s procedures (unclassified data shown below) as they DO WORK!!!

Security
As a target for many decades, El Al employs stringent security procedures, both on the ground and on board its aircraft. These effective, though sometimes controversial, procedures have won El Al a reputation for security. In 2008, the airline was named by Global Traveler magazine as the world’s most secure airline.

Airport security measures-
Passengers are asked to report three hours before departure. All El Al terminals around the world are closely monitored for security. There are plain-clothes agents and fully armed police or military personnel who patrol the premises for explosives, suspicious behavior, and other threats (including US airports). Inside the terminal, passengers and their baggage are checked by a trained team. El Al security procedures require that all passengers be interviewed individually prior to boarding, allowing El Al staff to identify possible security threats. Passengers will be asked questions about where they are coming from, the reason for their trip, their job or occupation, and whether they have packed their bags themselves. The likelihood of potential terrorists remaining calm under such questioning is believed to be low (see microexpression).

At the check-in counter, passengers’ passports and tickets are closely examined. A ticket without a sticker from the security checkers will not be accepted. At passport control passengers’ names are checked against information from the FBI, Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), Scotland Yard, Shin Bet, and Interpol databases. Luggage is screened and sometimes hand searched. In addition, bags are put through a decompression chamber simulating pressures during flight that could trigger explosives. El Al is the only airline in the world that passes all luggage through such a chamber. Even at overseas airports, El Al security agents conduct all luggage searches personally, even if they are supervised by government or private security firms.

Flight security measures-

Undercover agents (sometimes referred to as sky marshals) carrying concealed firearms sit among the passengers on every international El Al flight. All El Al pilots are former Israeli Air Force pilots. The cockpits in all El Al aircraft have double doors to prevent entry by unauthorized persons. A code is required to access the doors, and the second door will only be opened after the first has closed and the person has been identified by the captain or first officer. Furthermore, there are reinforced steel floors separating the passenger cabin from the baggage hold.

El Al is my airline of preference when I’m overseas and having been through both US and El Al procedures, I MUCH prefer the El Al procedures, and I feel a hellva lot safer on one of their birds (and I don’t have to get groped to get on the airplane)… Just sayin…