They all attempted murder?

No, now I recognize one of the women in the first photo. They are all Muslims.

Forgive my ignorance, but what exactly is the procedure for getting through security in a US airport these days?

In Canada it's still mostly the metal detector, with a few random searches. I always think that taking a non-metallic weapon- for example, a knife made of hard plastic or ceramic- on board would be pretty easy.

I flew to Florida last year and was esposed to US style security, and it seemed pretty rediculous. I don't remember a full body scan, but there was a whole bunch of metal detectors and some pat downs and in between them, people inspecting my hand luggage with some kind of wand I assume detects explosive. It seems pretty random and haphazard, to be honest, with a lot of redundancies.

Final question: why is it that the US won't allow you to forward baggage? We always have pick up our baggage from one carousel and put it on another about 5 feet away when we transfer through the US. How is this more safe than the baggage handlers just doing it (as happens in non-US airports?)

Originally Posted by Schlottke

Do you really believe they don't profile at the airport?

Just because they don't say "Hey, pull that guy out of the line, he's wearing a turban" doesn't mean they don't profile. Stick a million common muslim names on a watch list and tell me the 99% that do nothing wrong but have the same name aren't being profiled.. its obviously an option since we do exactly that.

I got profiled at an airport a while back, but not for Muslimness (I'm a white guy with a German name). I was flying back from Africa after throwing up all night my last day there (note to self: do not go to a restaurant that serves "all you can eat goat"). By the time I arrived for my layover in Minneapolis, I must have looked- and smelled- pretty wasted. They pulled me out of the security line and asked me a bunch of questions about my drug taking habits. I told them I didn't take drugs, but I'm not sure they believed me, especially after I told them my occupation was tree planting.

arm-spin brings up a good point. Since not every country has the same security systems in place, what is stopping a terrorist from boarding a plane, bound for America, in a foreign country? If they hop on a plane in Heathrow that is headed for NY and they didn't have to go through the scanner, would you all still feel safe?