blog » November 29, 2005/It's that time of year again...

It’s that time of year again. Yes, with the busiest travel season coming up quickly (I’m flying home on December 25), it’s time to talk about airline security again, one of my favourite topics. An Australian minister, Amanda Vanstone, in a speech points out that most security measures are just designed to make people feel safer, and don’t actually increase security. (Schneier) She’s absolutely right about that, and it’s something that I’ve been saying for a long time. They won’t let me take my mini Swiss Army knife on the plane, but they have no problems with glass bottles. I think that a big glass shard is a lot more effective for hijacking a plane than a tiny semi-sharp 1 inch blade.

Perhaps too predictably, some people didn’t like her speech, and are calling for her resignation. It kind of makes me glad that I’m not famous. I can say anything I want and make fun of security at the Parliament and, in this small corner of the Internet, nobody will notice and make a big fuss about it. Well, except for maybe CSIS, who are adding me to their watch list.