================================================= Expat Worlds Bi-Monthly Digest ================================================= 22 September, 2004 Vol. 6, Issue 15 .....IN THIS DIGEST..... ==== THE STORY =================== (Compliment from the Expat World Newsletter) -=AMERICA -- This Airport Security Doesn't Fly=- ==== OTHER EZINES ================ ==== EW SPECIAL ================== -=Prestigious Mail Drop Address=- ==== HUMOR, TRIVIA, NEWS AND MORE... == -=Trivia=- -=News Story=- -=Traveller's Tales=- -=Jokes=- ==== THE RESOURCE TIP ============= -=HDCleaner 2.360=- ==== INSIDE THIS MONTH EXPAT WORLD == -=Table of Content=- ==== THE STORY ================================== AMERICA -- This Airport Security Doesn't Fly I am a security screener at Dulles International Airport. When I started my job with the Transportation Security Administration in November 2002, I and the other just-hired employees of the newly federalized airport security force believed we would be doing something important in the wake of Sept. 11, 2001. Now, some of us aren't so sure. Although management likes to refer to the screeners as "Team Dulles," in reality many of us believe we are working in a dysfunctional environment. We've come to question the value of what we do. A running joke at the checkpoints in the main terminal at Dulles is, "Guns, bombs and common sense are prohibited by the TSA in the airport." TSA policies at Dulles often seem to do little more than improve the appearance of security. For example, the agency allows foot-long knitting needles and bottles of wine and liquor to be carried aboard planes, but not scissors for clipping fingernails or nose hair. A broken bourbon bottle can be a lethal weapon. How does a pair of tiny scissors become deadly? The TSA requires all laptop computers to be removed from their cases and X-rayed separately, but its policy is to allow DVD players and other electronic devices to remain inside suitcases to be X-rayed. Why are laptops categorized as suspect while other electronic devices are not? It wasn't a laptop bomb that destroyed Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. TSA' s shoe policy also has bounced back and forth between silly extremes. As screeners like to say, "At TSA, consistently we're inconsistent." In my early days as a passenger screener, for example, we were forbidden to mention the word "shoe" to the flying public. Now we are to tell passengers that removing their shoes before they walk through the metal detectors is "recommended." We can't tell them to remove their shoes, however. We also can't tell them that if they don't remove their shoes -- even if they are wearing rubber flip-flops – they will be subject to "continued screening," which means being screened individually with a handheld metal detector. In fairness to the TSA, the airlines operating out of Dulles share some responsibility for long lines and missed flights. For instance, the airlines continue to use outdated criteria -- such as buying one-way tickets or paying in cash -- to single out passengers for more time-consuming screening. But, surely, terrorists know these practices bring about extra screening, so the only people being screened – and delayed -- are regular travelers caught in the airlines' obsolete "selection" criteria. Once these passengers become "selectees," TSA policy requires that screeners inconvenience them further by searching their carry-on luggage even though the bags already have been cleared by the X-ray operators. Such policies aggravate already frustrated passengers and don't make our skies any safer. They are about as useful as screeners being told to be "extra vigilant" when the threat level is raised. Does that mean that when it is lowered, we can relax? I have seen six-inch muskets, bought in Williamsburg as souvenirs for children, confiscated because they were replicas of firearms. I have seen a gavel nearly taken from a circuit judge because it fit the description of a hammer. These examples of overreaction by screeners have been fostered by the TSA's aversion to common sense. I have voiced my concerns to my superiors. I have written my senators and my congressman. I have even written to the Government Accountability Office. To date, I have received replies from one senator and one member of Congress -- nearly identical letters saying that my concerns will be reviewed by "the appropriate division within TSA." Uh-huh. Is the TSA doing any good? Its supporters would say that no jets have been hijacked and turned into missiles since Sept. 11, 2001. For that we all are thankful. But is that because of the TSA or because the day of the box-cutter has passed, with terrorists moving on to other nefarious plots? The House recently backed a bill to authorize $5.7 billion for the TSA next year, $2 billion of which will be for airline passenger screening. Significantly less -- $1.4 billion -- has been allocated for baggage screening. How wise is this? My experiences as a TSA employee relate to only one airport. Dulles, though, is regarded as a flagship airport, and I suspect that my experiences are mirrored at other airports across the country. I don't know the answers to the big questions. But what I have seen at Dulles is mismanagement, plunging morale and constantly changing policies and procedures. Someone with governmental oversight authority needs to take a closer look at the goings-on at the TSA. The security pageant we now put on at Dulles may be more of a charade than anyone wants to admit. -- Scott Wallace ==== OTHER EZINES =============================== ASIAN TIMES ONLINE Asia most trusted source for news, business,commentary and analysis from throughout Asia and our world. (www.atimes.com). ----- Subscribe now to the "Timely Time Management Tips" newsletter. Free tips sent to you to help you get more done in less time, with less stress. Send your email now to: mailto:timemanagement-subscribe@topica.com ----- japan-guide.com Extensive, up to date online guide on Japan living and travel related information. http://www.japan-guide.com/ ==== EW SPECIAL ================================= PRESTIGIOUS MAIL DROP ADDRESS YOUR NAME COULD BE HERE -> Your Name The White House Street address Singapore 99999 Expat World is offering you a prestigious mailing address, mail drop, for less than US 1.00 per day (US $350 per year inclusive of set up charge) We will set up your personal OR business address in SINGAPORE with "The White House" being the prominent standout part of your address as illustrated on our home page. In today's world with the obliteration of one's personal and financial privacy one needs to get an offshore mail drop/mailing address to protect one's self from bureaucrats, ex-wives, asset reducers, etc. The White House makes the set up procedure, through Expat World, very easy and as least privacy intrusive as possible. All we really need is the personal name OR business name (one only) you want the account in, your email address (so you can control the account and the White House can notify you of the mail you received) and the address where you would like your mail forwarded to. Start the first step in beating the bureaucracy with your own prestigious mailing address. Email: office@expatworld.net with the word WH MD in the subject heading. We will return you the complete application and details. DO IT NOW! ==== HUMOR, TRIVIA, NEWS AND MORE... ================ NEWS STORIES Boss, Maybe You Should Use My Phone for a Minute... BERLIN (Reuters) - A German telecommunications company said on Tuesday it is developing the first mobile phone that will alert users when their breath is bad or if they are giving off offensive smells. The phone will use a tiny chip measuring less than one millimeter to detect unpleasant odors, a spokeswoman for Siemens Mobile said. A research team in the southern city of Munich is developing the device using new sensor technology. "It examines the air in the immediate vicinity for anything from bad breath and alcohol to atmospheric gas levels," the spokeswoman said. "Some people take smelling good rather seriously." --- Japanese centenarians skyrocket THE number of Japanese aged 100 or older is set to top 23,000 by the end of September, up 12 per cent from a year earlier, in another sign of the nation's rapid transition to a greying society, officials said. The centenarian population, barring sudden deaths, is projected to reach 23,038 by the end of this month. It has grown by more than 10 per cent every year for the past 12 years, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare said. Women make up nearly 85 per cent of the total, the ministry said, adding that the average number of centenarians per 100,000 people was at an all-time high of 18.05 in Japan. The southern island of Okinawa has the highest proportion of centenarians, with 47.07 per 100,000 people. Some researchers say a combination of diet, lifestyle, environment, low stress levels and genetic factors are the main reasons behind the high proportion in Okinawa. A 114-year-old woman, Ura Koyama from Fukuoka, 900 km west of Tokyo, is the oldest person in the country, while the oldest man is 109-year-old Kohachi Shigetaka, who lives in Hiroshima, in western Japan. Koyama, born in August 1890 in Hiroshima, is bedridden in hospital but enjoys three meals a day using her own chopsticks, according to Kyodo News. "She is interested in everything and always thinks positively. I think her personality has contributed to her longevity," Takeshi, her 59-year-old grandson, was quoted by Kyodo as saying. --- What Next? Uzi Bourbon? LONDON (Reuters) - The creator of one of the world's most famous guns, the AK-47 assault rifle, launched another weapon in Britain Monday -- Kalashnikov vodka. Lieutenant General Mikhail Kalashnikov, who invented the AK-47 after being shot by German soldiers during World War II, said he wanted to continue "the good name" of his gun. "I've always wanted to improve and expand on the good name of my weapon by doing good things," he told Reuters Television. "So we decided to create a vodka under my name. And we wanted that vodka to be better than anything made, up until now, in both Russia and England." The Kalashnikov rifle has become the weapon of choice for guerrillas and gangsters across the world. But Kalashnikov said his original intentions for the gun were purely patriotic. "I did not create the gun for international conflicts, I created it to protect the borders of my country," he said. "It is not my fault that it has been spread all over the world. It is its reliability and its simplicity that have taken it all over the world." Promoters of Kalashnikov vodka say it is "made from grain harvested in Russia and water drawn from Lake Ladoga north of St Petersburg" and is best drunk with friends. ----- TRAVELLER'S TALES DATUK DATA: Malaysia has been hit by a plague of datuks, the local press reported. The list of individuals with titles such as "datuk" and "tan sri" (roughly equivalent to "sir" and "lord" in Britain) is growing by hundreds a year. In some areas, you throw stones and half the people you hit are datuks, the magazine Massa suggested. Pahang state alone added 93 in a year, Mingguan Malaysia journal added. Not everyone believes it is a bad thing for the country to be swarmed by people with titles. "It would be another entry in The Malaysian Book of Records," one interviewee commented. ----- Oxymoron: almost safe ----- If I had no sense of humor, I would long ago have committed suicide. -- Mahatma Gandhi ----- Condoms aren't completely safe. A friend of mine was wearing one and got hit by a bus. -- Bob Rubin ----- Three men in a bar discussing who designed man. 1st man, "It must be a computer scientist, because of the brain." 2nd man, "It must be an engineer, because of all the joints." 3rd man, "It must be an architect, who else would put a leisure centre next to the sewage outlet. ----- AVOIDING DUCKS Three women die together in an accident and they go to heaven. When they get there, St. Peter says, "We only have one rule here in heaven: Don't step on the ducks!" So they enter heaven, and sure enough, there are ducks all over the place. It is almost impossible not to step on a duck, and although they try their best to avoid them, the first woman accidentally steps on one. Along comes St. Peter with the ugliest man she ever saw. St. Peter chains them together and says, "Your punishment for stepping on a duck is to spend eternity chained to this man!" The next day, the second woman steps accidentally on a duck and along comes St. Peter, who doesn't miss a thing. With him is another extremely ugly man. He chains them together with the same admonishment as for the first woman. The third woman has observed all this and, not wanting to be chained for all eternity to an ugly man, is very, VERY careful where she steps. She manages to go months without stepping on any ducks. One day St. Peter comes up to her with the most handsome man she has ever laid eyes on ... very tall, great smile, long eyelashes, muscular-- a real dream-man hunk. St. Peter chains them together without saying a word. The happy woman says, "I wonder what we did to deserve being chained together for all of eternity?" 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Get it at . ==== INSIDE THIS MONTH EXPAT WORLD =============== EXPAT WORLD NEWSLETTER (VOL.16 ISSUE 07) Table of Content: - LIVING, WORKING, RETIRING, INVESTING OVERSEAS - NICARAGUA SIMPLIFIES RESIDENCY - COSTA RICA BACKSLIDES - PANAMA'S A BARGAIN - MALAYSIA RELAXES FOREIGN INVESTOR, RETIREMENT SCHEMES - RETIRE IN SLOVAKIA BY BUYING A MEDIEVAL CASTLE FOR LESS THAN 1 US DOLLAR - BELIZE -- LIVE ON AS LITTLE AS $450 A MONTH - CROATIA--EUROPEAN INSIDER'S CHOICE FOR EASY RESIDENCY OR YACHT PARKING - AROUND THE WORLD WITH EXPAT WORLD - KOREANS GO TO USA TO GIVE BIRTH - ONLY IN NOVA SCOTIA DO THEY ARREST HORSES! - OFFSHORE NEWS - SIMPLETONS AT THE OECD - A SECRET BANK - INTERNATIONAL SNIPS AND CLIPS - EXPAT WORLD'S WORLD OF TRAVEL - AMERICA -- THIS AIRPORT SECURITY DOESN'T FLY - CRAPPER RAPPER - THE TRUTH ABOUT AMERICA YOU MISSING SO MUCH Each week the EXPAT WORLD DIGEST gives you just a smattering of what you can find in the EXPAT WORLD newsletter that we produce once a month. 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