Moments such as this one are why Salon.com’s “Ask the Pilot” has articles about how Air New Zealand is deliberately going out of its way to advertise flights that avoid the US. Can’t say I blame them. If I’m flying anywhere that has a transit through the US, I now re-route my flight to go through somewhere else. It’s just too much bullshit to deal with.

However, I think if the TSA applies a little bit of common sense that just might help the situation quite a bit.

Yeah, and here’s what happens when agents in the field are hamstrung by bureaucratic paper pushers …

Report Details F.B.I.’s Failure on 2 Hijackers The report provides new information about the bureau’s mishandling of a warning from an agent in Phoenix in July 2001 about Middle Eastern extremists connected to Osama bin Laden using American schools to receive aviation training. Those agents who did see the warning did not have the time to follow it up, or disregarded it because they felt the presence of Middle Eastern flight students was already commonly known. The agents were also concerned that racial profiling had become so “hot” an issue that they could not pursue the Phoenix agent’s suspicions, according to the report. link

Here’s some information. Don’t know how much this applies to countries other than the US.

A more specific profile of a serial killer has been presented by Apsche (1993) stating that most are white males in their twenties or thirties, who target strangers near their homes or places of work. “According to criminologist Eric Hickey, who has assembled the most extensive database on demography of serial murder states that, 88% of serial killers are male, 85% are Caucasian, and the average age when they claim their first victim is usually around 28.5. link

Vikram, Interesting observation. 1) Is this in the USA only? Since this is still White majority nation , I would not read too much into gross numbers 2)Another intersting fact: Serial killers- usually they kill within their own racial group .Don’t know if taht has any bearing on the dicussion on terrorists though

You’re stretching far beyond the scope of my comment. Sure, if information is gathered earlier, and investigated and vetted, and data much beyond visually identifiable criteria is taken into account, then sure, some degree of profiling would be useful.

i am with you both. for millenia, humans have been fooled into awwwing and cuddling the little monsters. time to show them! even while posing for the picture above, i am sure javaid is thinking of his secret nook lair stash.

I like it.

Somebody should build a Voight Kampff machine…