as if taking your shoes off wasn't knee-jerk enough...

I'm sure you've been hearing about all the heightened security at airports and on planes lately in light of the foiled terrorist plot in Britain. But with all the heightened security, have you seen the list of new items that are now prohibited in carry-on baggage? Even rougher is the British list of allowed items (and my favorite quote "nothing may be carried in pockets"). Note that books and children's toys will not be allowed. There are going to be some REALLY cranky airline passengers in the air over the next few days. Imagine the screaming infant that just can't be soothed/distracted from crying it's head off - all the way across the Atlantic.

It's like the whole taking-shoes-off-at-security-checkpoint thing. After Richard Reed (shoe-bomber) did his thing, now we've got thousands of people taking their shoes off at X-ray checkpoints - but if shoes are such a threat, where was the TSA in thinking of that threat beforehand? It's a response to something, not actual prediction/prevention.

Now that you can't bring toothpaste on the plane, and you probably can't brush your teeth with baking soda ('cause they'll probably think it's cocaine or anthrax)... there's gonna be a bunch of people on long international flights that are going to arrive at their destination with some fuzzy teeth and stinky breath. Of course, maybe this is an opportunity for a new product - toothpaste in dissovable tablet form. And the prohibition against gel shoe-inserts? Bummer for Dr. Scholl's... "you gellin'?" "nope."

Funny consequence - among those who travel as part of their job, one trick is to pack luggage/clothing so that everything fits into carry-on-able luggage to avoid having to check baggage. Now, the simple toothpaste prohibition means that everyone traveling overnight has checked baggage. Stupid Conspiracy: it's all a plot by the baggage handler's union and cosmetics/toiletries industries to either make jobs for the bag throwers, or sell more travel-sized toiletries when arriving at one's destination. Gotta wonder - will the increase in checked baggage mean that the amount of luggage that gets lost will increase, or decrease? hmm....