Handsome Rob

Yeah...but then they built the cooper vane, they even named it after him. But I meant that in the sense of what it has morphed into in the last decade, we've gone far beyond the simple gateway metal detector and wanding. That being said, one could make a pretty strong argument that original airport security was the result of things like entebee? Can't spell that right.

Come on...that's a stretch. Today's level of security? Both the TSA & CATSA were directly formulated as a result of 9/11? Not advocating for Islamophobia, in fact I have muslim friends, well, smiley muslims, but that correlation is plain as day. Now we're tip-toeing, for fear of overstepping.

Does that mean we shouldn't be eating beef or pork? Isn't that insulting, depending on which particular flavor of fairy tale we're discussing? Isn't that hate speech right there? Fairy Tale? Wee bit of a difference between the kangaroo court and criminal code, uttering threats.

What I think would be more effective than anything else? Bring in the 17 year old high school drop-out single mother to grade 8 orientation. Have her describe how she was drunk and wasn't planning, how he is nowhere to be found and the child support program can't get a penny out, how she has to work three times harder just to achieve parity with everybody else.....that's deterrent. Bring in the reformed crackhead, complete with pictures, to explain what life turned into. Shock & awe, make them think for themselves, give them a window into others experiences so they don't have to pay for it themselves.

I don't really think they need it/care. Between Team America & South Park, they've got pretty much all the publicity they need. South Park enjoys Simpsons level, cultural icon status. Even those that don't watch, everybody knows what south park is, the market is 100% percent collected. It appears to be a well calculated political statement, and unnecessary one in my opinion, but that's all, I think at least.

Rex Murphy. Ex-CBC employee - Check. But he works for the post too. Ex-Liberal party candidate - Check. But both sides can respect his views.

If that is the case, and such information is readily available to us adults who are obviously far more adept at responsible decision making than those kids who need to be taught, then why do we still have issues with STD's & unwanted pregnancy beyond high school? Mandatory sex ed for the adults next?

By the same token, said cartoon shouldn't offend the entire group. I really don't think we should be worrying about offending people calling for our collective death, so not much of an issue.

In that sense, Ann Coulter is right. If somebody tried forming an airline that banned muslims from traveling, they'd have to turn away money when they put out the IPO.

It's a human system set within a pre-established set of guidelines. You query 15 people individually, you get a different response for each person. You train them all the same way, you still get 15 different individual responses. There is more than one way to skin a cat. People working on wall street are all trained within essentially the same guidelines, rules, and consequences, yet it is unpredictable. If a group of children are all taught within a similar set of guidelines, are we certain we can produce a predictable response? Is there nothing differing of things like economic status, peer groups, localized cultural factors, and about a billion other things? The living system with it's near infinite amount of interactions, all of which influence decision making in one way or another, can this be predicted?

I'll believe you when we get an atheist POTUS. They're still fighting strong, just look at what's happening in England. Looking for a link, the poor fellow that made the mistake of honking his horn at somebody of another religion, turns out he was guilty of 'discrimination.' Not hiring a hairdresser that refuses to expose her hair....pay up! England is well on it's way down that hill, Canada is just starting at the top. Thus is born things like white supremacy movements, the BNP, and our own local conservative federal government. People get fed up with the B/S.

If that were completely true, the same principals could be applied to something like the stock market, no? Human system, predictable system, semi-standarized rules. Shouldn't we have a lot more millionaires?

They use tomography, a CT scanner. It 'slices' the bag into sections, the scan takes seconds. They've spent hundreds of billions on this, theoretically every single piece of luggage is supposed to go through screening, and they seem to operate close to perfect. IMHO money well spent, the equipment has many uses from finding smuggled goods & drugs to things like large quantities of money. The usage needs to be broadened across law enforcement and customs bureaus though, it's too thin. Very efficient system though.

At the expense of comedy? After all, South Park's basic premise of existence is making fun of anything and everything. Which groups is next to be offended and respond with death threats? Now we're being imposed on, because all they have to do is switch off the television. How many members of these groups would ever watch South Park anyway?

I have to throw in, although I think religion is the dumbest thing since Jim Jones, there is a faint hope that they may be correct. What we're doing, energy needs, mass consumption, idolizing a culture that spends much of it's time in drug rehab & counseling (Hollywood), placing value on one's possessions over one's personal wealth, the sexual openness possibly coming too far, etc. Our moral & rational high ground isn't without question greater than theirs. At what point does one draw the line though? Do we get to the point where we're watching every step, treading carefully to not step on toes? Will we be surprised if the amount and size of toes increases exponentially? There are dozens of groups that take no end of satire without a word of reprisal, what makes any particular group different? I agree, as a political statement from Stone & Parker, this was pointless. Re-confirming what everybody knew, and further polarizing the Us VS Them mentality. But how much do we share the blame? How much is our fault for bending too far, and how much is theirs for not bending enough. If such a problem cannot be solved, then perhaps the two cultures truly cannot mesh? I don't know. The results from this are going to be interesting, I'm guessing South Park will escalate, and interested to see what the long term internet response is. The collage of obesity jokes & pictures on the internet disagrees. We may not do it to their face, but most all of us do it in our minds.

We're both wrong. You're right, they're trying to offset the cost, I'm right, they won't be able to. The capital funding will never end, nor will CATSA's as of now, 234.4 million. The operating contribution is peanuts for what they do though, the capital costs are not.

http://pr-canada.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=183528&Itemid=59 You will find that capital funding was supposed to have been cut-off: http://www.catsa-acsta.gc.ca/File/Library/16/English/amendment_2007-08_2011-12.pdf However the above PR and acquisition of full-body scanners completely through that out the window. I don't believe for one second that CATSA will ever be independent of government funding.

http://www.catsa-acsta.gc.ca/File/Library/9/English/Annual%20Report%202009.pdf Page 62.

Entirely true. I'd agree that some elements of screening are absolutely necessary, but the road we're going down...billion dollar budgets, we have to recognize placebo when we see it or it will never stop. The full body scanner...it's rather convenient that manufacturers will not release the output power, and we're still studying the effects of such radiation on our bodies. It's entirely possible that such equipment will pose far more danger that what's it's apparently in place to prevent. Binary explosives(The underwear bomber), full body scanner is useless, none of our technology stands a chance against something like this. Things like profiling & the further use of trained dogs will do far more to secure aviation than any technology, but our cultural & human rights barriers will never allow it. Us VS Israel - A place with far more signifgant threats. The Fifth Estate Does Airport Security Oh yeah, they'll background check you. You walk in, fill out an extensive application, 5 years of passed history, addresses, employers, educational institutions....hand the form in and it goes off to Ottawa for extensive background check, but before you leave they print you the pass, and you're given complete access while they run their checks. No idea. Completely agree.

Seen this? Crack Shack or Mansion?

To add: You're statistically far more likely to be struck by lightening or eaten by a shark than fall victim of violence in the sky's before even talking about airport security, it doesn't change those odds much. You're far more likely to fall victim to mechanical failure than anything else.

Locking the flight deck door is the single biggest measure in these preventions. The individuals were under surveillance and stopped before getting anywhere near airport security barriers. They don't really need to invent new ones, one need only apply for a job as a baggage handler to be handed a pass and given access in the same day. Success rate of screening is less than 60%, and no I can't source that, such materials aren't to be released.

You really had to throw this in, didn't you. Wasn't the point. It would appear that the individual deaths are insignificant to your agenda, where as the mass murders generate far more publicity. Less than 5% of gun crime is committed with registered long guns. Gun crime represents circa 2.5% of violent crime in the country. Those figures have been stagnant for 15 years, please provide any evidence that the registry is doing anything to prevent gun crime in this country. It agree's exactly. Why do you keep putting this in my mouth? I'm for not nickel and diming the budget to death, 10 & 20 million dollars at a time. Justification of feel-good legislation like this is exactly what's causing the ever expanding bureaucracy and deficits. Money gone is money gone, let's stop wasting it in the future.

I see. So a mass shooting of 20 people is somehow more significant than 100 fatal stabbings? I can't wait for that knife registry, what a wonderful police state you're advocating. La la land? Criminal doesn't fear punishment of committing assault with a weapon, but they're supposed to fear punishment for failing to register their weapons? Or are you suggesting we're going to be any more successful at stopping smuggled guns as we are at stopping smuggled drugs? Right, doesn't agree with you, therefore it's wrong. Absolutely not. I'd like to see the poor fed, and housed, the education mess cleaned up, and the mental health care system cleaned up. With the monies allocated to the registry thus far, actions like this could have accomplished 10-fold more. Continuing this debate is pointless, you're not open to reality. Said logic sounds great in the classroom, but doesn't function outside.

This pleases me, knowing I'm no longer alone with this idea. Individuals with this POV are difficult to find.