Is it too much to ask...

I really like traveling. I think visiting other countries broadens a persons worldview. There are those in this country who believe sitting in front of the TV watching some infotainment of a "news channel" about foreign cultures, makes one an expert. In a country such as the US, where the population isn't very fond of wanderlust, or going walkabout, as some of my friends like to call it, todays events at Heathrow may have a great impact on our collective cultural ignorance. High gas prices, a weak dollar, our support for aggressive nations, our own warmongering around the globe, and now these new hurdles we must surmount just to get into the airport will probably turn alot of people off to foreign travel....just when we NEED more people to expand their thinking about the rest of the world.

Of course this is the definition of terrorism: the intentional use of violence or the THREAT of violence against one or more members of a general population to generate fear, cause disruption, and ultimately to cause the authorities of a population to comply with certain political, religious, ideological, or personal demands. So these guys plan some op around iPods and Gatorade, and now my two favorite travel companions will likely be banished to the checked luggage, where of course my Gatorade will be spilled onto my clothes and iPod, if it hasn't been stolen. So, hundreds of millions of people are affected by the actions of a very few, kind of sounds to me like the terrorists are accomplishing their objectives according to the above Wikipedia definition. Or, maybe somewhere in some cave in Tora Bora someones laughing his ass off at the gymnastics the rest of the world is now forced to perform each time we want to board a plane, because after years of being really thirsty and sick of hearing the same 4 worn out tapes in their 15-year old Walkman, they are jealous of our tasty thirst quenching drinks and little music machines.

Now security "experts" want to go all out. Eventually we'll all be riding buck naked, strapped to our chairs with Foley catheters in our bladders, and rectal tubes securely in place since now all bathrooms will have to be locked inflight. Of course the only people getting on the plane will be those who have undergone a colonoscopy, EGD, and small bowel follow through by TSA personnel before they are allowed to go to the gate, just to make sure they haven't "hidden" any bombmaking material anywhere on their person. Ladies, the bad news is...pre-flight pelvic exams.

Maybe now fewer people will travel abroad, leading to more ignorance about what's going on in the world. Is this in anyones interest?