UA923 from Heathrow has been diverted to Boston with a fighter escort.
If a flight can be rendered suspect because a cantankerous woman—who simply MUST have her moisturiser on a dehydrating long-haul—ignores already over the top boarding restrictions, then the whole concept of national security is proven to be a farce.
Was she EVER considered a threat? Or were the crew merely following the letter of the (hastily scribbled) law as it stands THIS week. We now have a situation where no-one wants to take any risk of incuring the wrath of Rumsfeld, lest their career takes a dive. And this includes the British Aviation Authority.
How much does it cost to scramble two fighters? What was the point of spreading out the luggage on the runway?
This is weakness on the part of the executive, and illustrates just how confused their thinking is.
Even the BBC foolish allowed itself to publish an unsubstantiated claim that the passenger had " a screwdriver, Vaseline, matches and a note referring to al-Qaeda ", but it then continued to refute the allegation for the rest of the day.
If it was unsubstantiated, why print it at all?
Because that's what the government would approve of. It's scene setting, it's softening the public up.
Is our civilisation eating itself?
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