And that my friends is the crux. We all have opinions, and as long as we can discuss them as reasonable adults, even when we disagree, then I'd like to leave threads like this open.

Yes of course, I completely understand now. That is why I asked for a little clarification :) And on the deployment photos I would be more than happy to dust off my laptop and throw a few of them on here... That is of course if the photos thread ever returns ;)

You guys ever read George Orwells 1984? Its a good book. It is about our draconian future. Liberals read it and say that will become the future if conservitives get thier way and conservitives say the same if liberals get thier way. It doesnt matter which one you favor though. Both groups have thier liberties they want to suppress and use fear to do it. 20th century history shows time and again fear will cause free people to give up thier freedom.

This seems like a good time to point out a really well done documentary on the use of fear to achieve power. It is called The Power of Nightmares you can watch all three 1 hour episodes here:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...21004838285177

Mike,

3/4 of the world wakes up every day and thinks- how am I going to eat today? Americans typically wake up and think "what am I going to overeat today?"

I'm not well traveled (at least not in third world countries) but I'm well read and have spoken to world travelers. Suffice it to say, any grinding poverty in the US is quite often many steps above poverty elsewhere.

When we speak about suicide bombers, etc. -remember, "people with nothing have nothing to lose."

That's said, to stay on topic- the girl's an idiot.

Jail time? Expulsion? Shot? For being a moron?

Was she stupid? Yes. Obviously. Was she acting maliciously? While we may have to wait for the facts to come out, I'm guessing not. When I was at Southern Cal I knew a lot of CalTech people and, well, wearing a hoodie like that is something many would have found quite humorous and wholly approved of. A hoodie with a totally useless circuitboard attached is good, nerd humor. Heck, I have one friend who carries around a circuitboard cigarette case--Heaven help him if he ever takes that to the airport.

Not everyone spends half their lives in airports. While professional pilots may be acutely aware of the differences between What's Okay Everywhere and What's Okay at the Airport, it's asking a lot to expect the same of people who only fly a couple of times a year.

This girl could have worn her hoodie every single day at MIT without a problem... and she was just going to meet her boyfriend, not take a flight herself. I find it easy to believe it didn't even occur to her she was wearing something provocative.

So while I think security did the right thing in detaining her--until they talked to her she was just Person Wearing Bomb-looking Stuff--I find the "string-her-up" attitudes of some on this board distressing. Does someone really deserve to have their life destroyed because they didn't actively think to themselves, "Gosh, my everyday clothes are unacceptable for meeting someone at the airport. I should wear something else."

You sound about as nutty as she is. Are you the boyfriend?:rolleyes:

Heh, no, not at all.

In the interest of full disclosure, I did, back in August 2001, get to spend some quality time with Ben Gurion security because I had been hanging around the airport waiting for my flight for about eight hours. This was, of course, during my previous life as an archaeologist (no, really...).

There was only one shuttle leaving the dig that day and I didn't feel like paying for a hotel in Tel Aviv for four dead-of-the-night hours before needing a cab to the airport. At the time, I failed to see the difference between an Israeli airport and the dozen or so other airports I had done similar at in the States, Oz and Europe.

I almost missed my flight... and I have a whole new understanding of El Al security. Needless to say, I won't be spending a millisecond longer than I need to at LBG if I ever go through there again.

Now I know.

But I understand that when people are put in an environment with unfamiliar rules, they make mistakes. Especially so when the environment, superficially, is similar to their usual one.

On the surface, an airport is not so different from any other public building or place of business. So if someone fails to notice themselves crossing the invisible line once, educate them and give them a pass. If they continue to flout the regulations, that's when you throw the book at them.

I'm a few days late to the discussion, but here's another angle.

If you read the text clipped below at the end from the posted picture of the actual device, ask yourself what it really was- I think it's a silly homemade way for a gal to have a lit-up star on her chest at night- maybe in a club in the dark where you don't notice how silly the oversized breadboard, taped down wires and 9-volt look. No excuse to not sober up/come off your red-bull buzz on the way to the airport and remember it's not a good idea to be seen w/ such an item. I've seen lots of gals w/ shirts w/ a star in just the place this gal had on, maybe she was trying to be cute.

On top of that, Her Name Was STAR, get it?! The breadboard has a green LED star on it! Geeky kids with poor judgement? Isn't that what a lot of jokes about MIT level brains centers on? Hit by a bus while crossing the street because she was doing quantum physics in her head instead of looking both ways?

A witty law enforcement caption would be- Freeze, tell me where I can find some ID, and your name had better be "Star" or I may just have to shoot you- I can just see Jack Bauer figure that one out, maybe Chuck Norris, maybe a ninja FAM... Maybe some FFDO.

Take it to the other extreme- attention getting or worse- I think every bomb maker in the world would chuckle. And just like the folks that hit those kids w/ their car- you would not be at fault, but I bet the feeling would stink after shooting a kid named Star, w/ an LED star on her chest.

I find the worst part is the caption doesn't seem to match the photo.

Caption below:


The front of a sweatshirt bearing a computer circuit board and wiring worn by Massachusetts Institute of Technology sophomore Star Simpson, 19, from Hawaii is shown at a news conference at Logan International Airport Friday, Sept. 21, 2007, in Boston. Simpson was arrested on charges of disturbing the peace and possessing a hoax device after being arrested at gunpoint at the airport while wearing the sweatshirt. (AP Photo/Lisa Poole)

Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All right reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

End Caption.

Final thought- Just like the average person knows that yelling "Fire" in a theater is bad, wrong, illegal, etc- there is probably a death behind it. Maybe a cap in Star would have helped stop what we live with at the airport.

Moose,

After seeing the picture, I tend to agree. While there needs to be some common sense (on both parties), I don't exactly see what she was wearing as threatening. My question is, how would have people reacted if the board and battery were on the inside of the jacket and only the lights (star) showed?

Note to self... don't wear my blinking red nosed rudolph christmas tie to the airport any more!