Friday, September 29, 2006

Stupid, just stupid

If you've seen the Daily Show video below, I believe that a lot of fear mongering related to travel happens. This CNN article is just another case of rampant stupidity gone wrong. I don't begrudge the TSA for having the job it has to do; however, your job is to make sure that the people getting onto airplanes are not threats to fly. I'm also not going to get outraged over some idiot that thinks that 1st ammendment rights only apply in certain areas, but WTF? I grew up in Wisconsin and was schooled there, but this is quite an embarrassment for the educational system.

A couple years ago, I was flying to see my parents over the holidays and was waiting in line for an early morning flight domestically. I was told after a short wait that I was on the 'no fly list'. About a week before that I was in Southeast Asia for a three wek vacation. I stated this fact to the person at the airline counter, but was just mildly amused at how truly laughable airport security can be. After a quick phone call to who knows where, I was given my boarding pass and allowed on my way.

On a Thailand related note, Suvarnabhumi (����รณ���, pronounced "soo-wanna-poom") airport began fulltime operations yesterday (September 27th) replacing Don Muang airport which had been in operation for 92 years. I'll be arriving there on November 19th and I'm a little excited to see it. The airport is about 19 miles east of Bangkok and still is waiting to have the skytrain linked to it (best reports are that this is still 2 years away), but Bangkok has needed this airport for quite some time and being the hub for Southeast Asia travelers a new modern airport will only help travelers to the area.