Flying the unfriendly skies

Though I am a strong advocate of personal privacy rights, I don't have a problem with technologies being discussed for airport security in the wake of the failed terrorist attack on a Detroit-bound jet on Christmas Day. I don't think anyone has an absolute right to fly, and it seems to me that with the level of threat that especially faces airplanes, the greater good of security for all outweighs the inconvenience of a small invasion of one's privacy.

The technology that is now the focus of ideas to tighten airport security are backscatter X-ray machines, which show analysts an image of the body beneath clothes. Theoretically, explosives and other weapons are much easier to see using these machines. That's not to say that equipping all US airports with such machines would prevent harm from people flying in elsewhere, as was the case with the most recent attack.

The real question, as with many issues that nation faces, is whether elected officials have the political will and the citizenry has the attention span to completely review the process and to do what actually makes sense. A Canadian newspaper published an interesting story today that discusses the steps that Israel takes to ensure security in its airports and on its planes. Think about it: Israel is the #1 target for Muslim extremist terrorists, yet there hasn't been an airport attack there in many years. Read the story and ask yourself why the US doesn't adopt a system like Israel's, which is clearly effective.

The bully on the block

Ten days into Israel's attack on Gaza and 550 Palestinians have been killed, with the UN estimating that one-quarter of those are civilians. Many newspaper and television reports note that many children are among the dead. Meanwhile, Hamas rocket attacks have killed five residents of Israel. Nearly as many Israelis died in a friendly fire incident, when a tank killed three soldiers accidentally.

Rocket attacks by Hamas are dangerous, but their weapons are minuscule compared to the Israeli Defense Force. This response by Israel is extremely disproportionate, yet no American politicians (including Barack Obama) are stepping up to condemn Israel's actions -- actions with weapons purchased by US military aid. The American media is filled with officials telling us that Israel has a right to defend itself, but none with the courage and sanity to renounce what is going on right now.

I don't condone the actions of Hamas, but the Palestinians have had their land occupied for decades, have been treated like dogs by Israel, have had shortages of food and medicine in Gaza becuase of Israel's blockade in recent months, and now Israel is acting like a bully again, hoping to teach the Palestinians a lesson by kicking the crap out of them.

Glenn Greenwald is a blogger at Salon.com who I agree with on most issues. Recently he's weighed in on the attacks on Gaza.