Here’s the scoop: Somebody tried to kill people on Christmas Day, so everybody else has to get punished for it. That’s the thinking behind the US Transport Security Administration in any case, for it is now considering a ban on all electronic devices brought aboard its planes.
Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was arrested after failing to ignite an explosive device on Christmas Day, and naturally that good old fashioned American paranoia has been increased tenfold. Following the incident, international flight passengers weren’t allowed any personal items on their laps an hour before flight, and full bag searches were instigated at boarding gates.
The ban on electronic devices is said to be a reaction to Abdulmutallab’s ability to smuggle an explosive onto the plane. This would of course mean that the traditional gamer tactic of loading an RPG into a DS or PSP to survive lengthy flights could become a thing of the past. If that is true, we are all doomed.
My initial reaction to this is cynicism. I don’t think the TSA would be able to get away with it, not without severe consequences. When I board a plane, I see electronic books, iPods, cell phones, gaming devices, and all manner of gadgetry surrounding me, many of which aren’t even turned off by the ignorant passangers when requested by staff. If the TSA tries to take those away, they’re in for a big fight.
Still, the very idea that it’s being considered just because some moron thinks Allah tells him to blow people up makes me feel rather disgusted.
TSA To Save Print Media? No Electronics On International Flights? What A Joke. [TechCrunch, via Negative Gamer]
