I missed this when it came out, but it is still on the button.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2010/jan/04/us-airport-security
Image via Wikipedia
America, with many more airports to worry about than Israel, focuses on quantity over quality in its security agents. To fill its ranks quickly and cheaply, the TSA doesn't even require a high school diploma. (Note to American school students: You know those inspirational posters you see where famous athletes and celebrities exhort you to "Stay in school?" You can totally ignore those if you want to work for TSA when you grow up.)
We aren't willing to buy security that works, so we settle for illusions that don't. No reading books when your plane approaches its destination, no tweezers in your carry-on, shampoo's a threat when there's more than three ounces – that's how America responds to threats against it. The terrorists don't even need to succeed anymore, my country has already failed.
Its true - the aim of terrorism is as much to disrupt and create an atmosphere of terror as it is to inflict it in reality. The TSA is doing the terrorists' job for them.
It's not hyperbole to call the enhanced patdown a low-grade sexual assault; if you don't believe me, go find some woman's boobs or man's balls, start cupping and squeezing them according to new TSA standards, and count how many offences you're charged with. Last month, an agent openly admitted that the purpose of the aggressive new patdowns was to intimidate people into choosing the nude scanners instead.
[EDIT - changed the image. The previous one related to rail travel]
