The first rule of Security Theatre is never to talk about Security Theatre. (ruidh)
Foot-in-mouth Vanstone ‘must resign’
ASTOUNDING comments from Amanda Vanstone ridiculing federal airline security measures and questioning increased spending on national security warranted an apology and the Immigration Minister’s resignation, Labor frontbenchers said last night.
In a wide-ranging speech to Adelaide Rotarians, Senator Vanstone dismissed many commonwealth security measures as essentially ineffective. “To be tactful about these things, a lot of what we do is to make people feel better as opposed to actually achieve an outcome,” Senator Vanstone said.
Like Bruce Schneier I don’t know who she is but I also happen to think Amanda Vanstone is right about airline security.
A lot of what is presented as security measures are mere shams to create the illusion of security to make it look to the paying customers that the airlines value their lives and are doing what they can to ensure safe travel.
During her Adelaide speech, Senator Vanstone implied the use of plastic cutlery on planes to thwart terrorism was foolhardy.
Implied? I’ll say it outright. It’s stupid. For all its faults, I’m always pleased when Northwest Airlines gives me a real metal knife, and I am always annoyed when American Airlines still gives me a plastic one.
As one commenter wrote in Schneier’s blogpost the replacement of real cutlery with plastic knives and forks is more likely due to a financial motive than a question of security.
Senator Vanstone has a great grisly turn of phrase also.
I asked him if I was able to get on a plane with an HB pencil, which you are able to, and I further asked him if I went down and came and grabbed him by the front of the head and stabbed the HB pencil into your eyeball and wiggled it around down to your brain area, do you think you’d be focusing? He’s thinking, she’s gone mad again.
I’m liking her more and more. As you might expect opposition politicians are calling for her resignation because as I wrote at the start: The first rule of Security Theatre is never to talk about Security Theatre.
