It still blows me away that it is said that we are hated for our freedom. Do you know how many free countries are out there that the terrorists could care less about, do not attack, etc?

The bottom line is that we are hated for our policies in the middle east and and for our use people when we need them to accomplish our needs, unless everyone has forgotten that at different times we helped and assisted Bin Laden and Sadam Hussain when it suited our political interests. We are wigging out and talking about military action in Iran, but only diplomatic solutions in Korea. Why? We need the oil and control in the Middle East and it is a great way to do it.

And in regards to the Australian stopping muslim immigration, again tell me how we know someone is muslim when they get on a plane? Oh thats right! It is country of origin.....gee maybe we should sit down with the Japanese who were in internment camps....must be nice to be a non descript white person so that you never have to face any type of ethnic, racial or religious descrimination out of fear, but can dish it out in the name of security.

It is time to use behavioral profiling (NOT RACIAL) on all passengers and go from there. That way not only do we catch the Attas, but we also catch the McVeighs.

I think we should do what Israel does. They have a form of profiling and their air transportation is very safe. People can take a drink or whatever on the airplane in Israel. But what about our borders? What about the Mexican drug smugglers? Are they going to be allowed to still bring in water when they bring their drugs? Or are they just going to be allowed to keep bringing in the drugs without water? Will their civil rights be violated even though they are not citizens? If a border patrol agent takes their water or drugs or shoots them when they are in fear of their life will the agent be sent to prison? We need to make things clear because a whole lot of things going on now in our country lately don't make any sense at all. WHAT IS WRONG WITH OUR COUNYTRY? WHY DO WE HAVE LAWS WHEN THE LAWS ARE NOT RESPECTED BY OUR OWN JUSTICE DEPARTMENT AND FEDERAL GOVERNMENT?

Have any of you people ever read the novel 1984?

You should, because you're living it. No BS.

How anyone could continue to fall for this nonsense, over and over and over and over and over again, is totally beyond my comprehension. It really is.

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me 50 times or more, and I might as well go jump off a bridge, because I am far too stupid to live.

Read this

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=MUR20060814&articleId=2962

They're playing for fools. Because you are.

“Belt Buckle” (for lack of a more appropriate name) I agree, as well, with most of what YOU say…with some exceptions. As I stated in an earlier posting, my feelings on security measures, prior to yesterday, were that they were topical and not terribly intensive. I fly in and out of the same airports, fairly regularly and the security checks run hot and very cold. Like you and your steel belt buckle, my sandals and I recently went through gate security (separately, of course; sandals rode through, I walked barefoot) and once I was tucked into my seat on the plane I realized that the metal medallions on my shoes had sharp edges that had the potential of hurting someone. If, as you stated, we were all made to really “jump through hoops” my sandals should have remained at the gate in New York as I took off into the sunset.
Your point with regard to alcohol has a lot of merit but what measures can bypass the threat for on-board Molotov Cocktail making…..surveillance cameras posted indiscreetly around the airplane’s cabin? Flight attendants standing over passengers, making sure they swallow every bit of their Jack Daniels?
How much can we “over-use” security or have we neglected to even scratch that surface yet, especially with respect for any foreigner coming into the U.S.? Do we, as Australia has done, pull up the hypothetical drawbridge whilst filling the moat with Piranhas? Perhaps America could impose limits on those who would emigrate here to a scant few each month and run necessary background checks. Might work, might not; seems there’s always a way for someone to manipulate, fabricate and cut through the so-called system. I won’t even mention the U.S. borders as an example…
All in all, my personal tolerance is still for more stringent security measures; orchestrated as a constant mode of operation with all necessary training and re-training of those individuals employed in airline security…..and under more U.S. Government supervision in imposing restrictions. Americans have jumped through hoops before, are doing it now and will do it again to retain that upon which this country is based….freedom!

Thomas Payne wrote: What we obtain too cheaply, we esteem too lightly. It is dearness only that gives everything its value. Heaven knows how to put a price upon its goods, and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as freedom should not be highly rated.

And as sad as my previous post may seem, I really don't think most people realize that this is a real war. It may not be composed of dog fights above the English countryside or opposing armored divisions doing battle in the African desert, never the less we are at war. Since this war's battlefields are spread across many countries I do believe this is a type of third world war.

Someone once said “Know your enemy and know your self and you shall always be victorious”. The problem today is we haven’t admitted who the enemy is, in fact we are in complete denial about it because we are so politically correct. So unless we wake up soon we will lose this war. Islam is the enemy. They are the ones who aim to kill us and our way of life. As much as I do respect certain things that president Bush has said and done over the years, he really did a lot of damage in his speech right after 911 when he said Islam was not the enemy. Islam is the enemy as much as Japan was on December 8, 1941. Does that mean that every single Muslim on planet earth wants to blow up airlines operated by western countries? - No. No more than every single Japanese person believed it was a good idea to go to war with the United States. However I believe the majority of Muslims support the work that Islamic militants do, if not publicly, secretly. Never the less, it would seem Islam is our enemy and I think world war III has begun.

What will happen? How will it play out? Will they succeed in killing more people on planes? Will they kill more children in schoolyards as they have in Russia? Will they bomb more trains? Will they bomb more Australian hotel resorts? Will India feel more blasts? Will Iran build Nukes and use them on us and our allies? Will we let them build them? Who knows? Stay tuned for the climax of this exciting episode of human history! You too can play a role in this reality programming!

Patty Ann,

I agree with [most] of what you say. However I think you are off-base on your tolerance for the over use of 'security'. All the hoops that we (in Canada its the same) have been made to jump through in the past 5 year have really brought no more security. Think about it - they confiscate tweezers and nail clippers from people! But yet they let me bring my belt on board with a steel buckle. Let me tell you I can lay a lot more lickin’ on someone with that than I can with tweezers! Furthermore, they serve high alcohol drinks on the plane, which are flammable – hoard a few glasses of Vodka over the coarse of an 8 hour flight bring a flint and you can have a pretty good camp fire going. And both of these things could be done with the current restrictions in place no problem. So their security is a joke and I’m sure Islamic terrorists just laugh at it and all of us who are jumping through the hoops for no reason.

"Ignorance breeds fear and fear breeds hate"...a great summation of why the World Trade Center came down in a heartbreaking heap of rubble. That inbred ignorance of SOME Muslims and their fear of just what they would do with freedom IF they had it is why this thread of comments is continuing. Spare me the mundane "some of my best friends are..(fill in the blank)...spare me the perceived "embarassment" and spare, as well, any reference to the genecide Hitler and his henchmen so thrived on. If people hate Americans, it's due to the ignorance those particular people were raised with and their jealousies of the freedoms (however temporarily limited) we enjoy....as Americans.
Frankly, if American citizens have to deal with the scrutinous security checks in order to travel in and out of this country then the same should apply AND MORE for anyone coming here as well. Muslim, Mexican...pick a nationality. And, if said nationality doesn't like it, well, you CAN go back home again! The rest of us Americans will continue feeding the rest of the hungry, poor and tired massess that yearn to honestly be free!

You said "Muslims come in every color and shape for one."

You are 100% correct. Although most of them are of a different skin color, some are not. However this makes little difference. For immigration it's a simple matter of background checks and a few questions regarding religion. Remember, these people are NOT Americans if they are immigrating; so you don't have to grant them the same rights as American citizens - you can ask any question you wish and decide if you will let them in on that basis.

As I understand it, Australia has almost completely cut off Muslim immigration. It’s a start anyway.

To jazz who said: "Adding to the existing problem won't help us fix this. Cutting off Muslim immigration is the first step; dealing with those who are already here is the second step."

Muslims come in every color and shape for one.

And I am sorry, how do you screen someone in the US for being muslim so you can stop them or kick them out? Questionaire? Interrogation? Is there some sort of "what religion are you" meter that someone wears?

If Tom Cruise becomes muslim do we deport him or contain him in a camp? How about Muhammed Ali...he is a muslim....or Common, the rythym and blues singer. Or
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar? Malcom X? Cat Stevens?

Or are you going to assume, in the ever present american ignorant fashion, that only of middle eastern or asian descent (i.e. Phillipines and Indian) are muslim? (which many are not) OR that everyone with a middle eastern name is Muslim?

WAIT!!! Lets just go back to the crusades and do what they did! Kill all non christians!

NAH...lets just do it the easy way and be like Hitler.

Ignorance breeds fear and fear breeds hate.

In reading alot of these posts, it is no wonder so many people hate us...we look like a bunch of ignorant racists. And that is embarrasing.

Picking through luggage for little things is the most stupid way of trying to stop terrorism on planes. There are always more ways to do things.

We really should learn from the individuals that have never had an airline taken or bombed....

I flew in and out of Israel when I did study abroad and they put all their efforts into behavioral interviewing when you check in. They did not stop me from carrying any liquids but they sure asked alot of questions (which did not include the stupid list of questions our airports ask).

No they dont do racial profiling because guess what? Many Israelis look like paletinians, etc.

Rafi Ron, former head of security at Tel Aviv, Israel's Ben Gurion Airport, said screeners should focus more on finding suspicious people than on hunting for potential terrorist tools.

"It is extremely difficult for people to disguise the fact they are under tremendous amount of stress, that they are going to kill themselves and a lot of people around them in a short amount of time, and all the other factors that effect their behavior," Ron said.

Sheep?? A Canuck is calling Americans sheep? I, for one, take great umbrage at that statement. Any affinity for and to livestock lies with "that" segment of the world map who have perpetrated and continue their attempted barbaric assaults on the civilized population of our world!
This lady is fully empowered to exercise her Second Amendment rights and wouldn't hesitate to implant a choice hollowpoint or two where the proverbial sun never shines.....I just wouldn't do it on an airplane! Americans DO fight for what they believe in, shirking the controversies of debatable wars and their imposed sanctions. Americans do NOT board planes or cruise ships with the intent of killing innocent civilians! Americans are first in line to aid countries needing a helping hand during their particular time of crisis. All Americans quest to retain precious freedom will override the few minor inconveniences imposed with airline or any other travel which, by no means, is to be defined as going "belly-up!"
And that fact, my neighbor in Edmonton, is what separates myself and all Americans from the real sheep of the world.

I just have to laugh at all you sheep that just want to roll over for all the new restrictions. It will never end. The aircraft luggage bays will be empty by law and you will all be sitting naked in your seats at 38 000ft when the bomb goes off ripping the plane to shreds!

It so laughable how you wish to give up your freedoms and conveniences and gain nothing. I thought Americans were tough people that fought for what they believed in and held freedom as the most important thing! Boy was I wrong! Most of you are just a bunch of sissies!

"You did this before 1776! Maybe it was better for you to be rulled by some dough head accross the ocean. His name was still George, just it was King George!"

You might not believe this, but I am not over 200 years old - I never sent anyone anything in 1776. Further, no one is "rulling" over me - this particular "dough head" doesn't "rule," although he thinks he does.

Last, if Great Britain is protecting me, why the hell do I want my tax money going to Iraq?

Thanks, Brits!

To 'I say we start sending our tax dollars to Britain.'

You did this before 1776! Maybe it was better for you to be rulled by some dough head accross the ocean. His name was still George, just it was King George!

Its a good point of why do people wish to come to a country where they hate the values of those living there?? If find this to be true of most people coming from Islamic countries. They get here then they tell us how we should change our country because theirs was better in several aspects. To them I say if your country is so good and ours so bad the PLEASE - GO BACK THERE!

It would seem that the percentage of people posting comments has been focused in the area of agreeable compliance with regard to personal property restrictions; a necessary yielding of freedom imposed on humans, world-wide by these maggot-terrorists.
In reading over the various blogs, part of one paragraph (from a nameless contributor) sticks in my mind; “To those who say accept it and move on, I ask how much more of your freedom are you willing to give up to protect your freedom? When will it stop? We must demand changes in the security procedures, throw the randomness out the window and actually stop, oh, I don't know, terrorists”…. aren’t we in the process, once again, of doing just that, with much-needed refinement?
Also, the posting regarding pre-ordering infant formula…. very plausible idea! Think about it. Now, with the overhead space devoid of baby grand pianos and such, the respective airlines can take formula pre-orders from ticket holders traveling with babies…. diapers, too and store items in all the available free space in the cabin!
The airlines can certainly get the same perks for infant formula as hospitals do from companies like Mead Johnson and Ross as well as Proctor & Gamble for baby diapers. Of course, capitalism being what it is, the airlines could effect a “nominal” surcharge for providing this service AND take full responsibility for the security screening of the provided items.
Wherever this yellow-brick-road seeks to take all of us, I can only reiterate that life as we’ve come to know it will never again be the same. We live defensively each and every day, whether driving, walking or behind our closed doors; always on the lookout for those people or things that might harm us. Wary eyes will constantly be cast over both shoulders and no amount of political debate or finger pointing will change that fact that we just cannot let our guard down!
One last comment, again, to the media…Put a lid on it, will you? Your propensity to evoke hysterically written sensationalism is sophomoric at best. Do you think that accentuating the terror in everything you write and broadcast is honestly news to us out here? Here’s some news, rightbackatcha guys,. …We’re already there and, unfortunately, due to your reckless reporting, you’re giving the true infidels a good edge on the true scope of things! Shut-up and go get a real job….(but NOT with the airlines!)

Forgive me for injecting a little twisted-humor (I hope).....Has anyone checked eBay for new auctions of toothpaste, over-priced suntan lotion as well as Mario Badescu skin care? I'll just bet all of the airport personnel are having a field day with all of these, potentially-usable, confiscated items! At least it might keep them out of snooping in people's checked-in luggage...for a while, anyway.

The White House is already using this as an example of how good a job they do protecting us. I say we start sending our tax dollars to Britain.

you people need to lay off of Breanne. Although she does not always explain herself very well she has a lot of the right ideas when it comes to indigenous Muslims and those who wish to visit our countries.

I feel we do not want any more immigration of these people to our countries period. Their culture mixes with our Christian-Jewish culture about as well as oil and cold water. They don't want to have anything to do with our way of life. They hate us! So we don't want them here.

Note of Interest:

News agencies state that it was a British Muslim that tipped off the government as to the aiplane plot.

So all the patriot act stuff, spy stuff, all the things that the givernment said they are doing to uncover trerrorism by looking at everyones banks, phone records, etc. produced nada.

If it were not for the snitch, who knows.

Sounds like old time gumshoe works better than all this other stuff.

OK, for all you folks that have such a hard time accepting that there was politically motivated timing in the breaking of the news, this from BushCo mouthpiece (and former FauxNew mouthpiece) Mr. Snow:

"Meanwhile, in today's White House press gaggle, spokesman Tony Snow was asked directly whether the Administration knew of this terrorist plot beforehand (he said yes), and whether they knew the news about it would break today -- just after they had whacked Democrats on Lamont's victory. Snow's answer raised our eyebrows. "Let me put it this way, I don’t want to encourage that line of thought. I don’t think it's fully accurate, but I also don’t want -- I know it's frustrating, but we really don’t want to get too much into who knew what, where, when."

Putting trust in a morally bankrupt administration has it's costs. Please, all of those that would blindly follow power because it's easier than thinking for yourself, put forth the extra effort for the good of the country.

Quite frankly, I'm more concerned about flying with the poster who "has a dreadful cold" than a kid with a juicebox.

Alright, quit picking on Breanne -she didn't get us here.

A couple of posters on different threads have said it pretty well: we have to face the that we don't know our enemy, and we're fighting shadows, and each other - total victory for the enemy.

We need to all calm down. NBC needs to cancel:
WAR ON AMERICAN! DEATH IN THE AIR! or whatever that fear mongering crap was - extremely unproductive, Today show. All you're missing is a graphic of a 747 splitting in two. It sucks. Really.

America needs to take a few collective deep breaths and separate the well-meaning (but extremely mis-guided) from the the ones that mean us harm.

WARNING: LIBERAL IDEA!

If we had spent 1/10th the money we've spent on Iraq on
airport security
bomb detectors
bomb-sniffing dogs
cops in general
background checks on port workers
port screening technology
complete review of every commercial driver's license
complete review of all pilot's license holders (includes me)
Border co-operation programs with Mexico and Canada
Bribes for informants
bribes for peace

I could go on....
we'd be 100% safer.

Terrorists don't give a damn who is in office be it Democrat, Republican or Independent. Terrorist activity was an issue even during the Clinton era, and everyone knows his foreign policy for dealing with such issues was a joke.

I'm proud to have a president who has the guts to stand up to the radicals that have declared Jiihad against the Western world. These Islamic facists all have one agenda and that is to wreak havoc and death on innocent Americans and our allies in the free world who get in their way. Perhaps it's time to turn that region into a giant sheet of glass and rid the world of such pests.