Laugh (if you can)

[Slobodan Blagojevic]

Andrew, those "occasional" explosions you are referring to would be much less "occasional" in the absence of those pesky authorities.

[SZRitter]

From the article:

He showed it to his engineering teacher first thing Monday morning and didn’t get quite the reaction he’d hoped for.

Anybody wanting to do harm isn't going to march up to the teacher and show them what he made. This was a smart kid trying to impress his teacher. A little common sense would tell you it wasn't a bomb, and never should have been treated as such.

[Slobodan Blagojevic]

... informally a lot of people seem to think the shoe thing is annoying and idiotic...

Count me in. And it is idiotic precisely because we are not allowed to use a common sense and profile.

[Slobodan Blagojevic]

From the article:

Anybody wanting to do harm isn't going to march up to the teacher and show them what he made. This was a smart kid trying to impress his teacher. A little common sense would tell you it wasn't a bomb, and never should have been treated as such.

No doubt that the whole affair could have been handled differently, with more common sense and more discretely, both by the school and by the police. They erred, but they erred on the side of caution. Too many similar things going on almost daily now to turn a blind eye and not err on the side of caution.

[amolitor]

Andrew, those "occasional" explosions you are referring to would be much less "occasional" in the absence of those pesky authorities.

Actually, terrorism is surprisingly rare in this country. Apparently we're doing a pretty good job of keeping busy in other countries the very small cadre of people who possess, all at once: the will, the organizational skill, and the resources.

The TSA and the rest of the security apparatus in this country has proven itself, repeatedly, to be completely incapable of preventing terrorist attacks. The TSA fails tests constantly. Until recently there were trivial, obvious, openings in their procedures. They had fancy microwave body scanners, but they could not reliably connect a boarding pass with a person. Bruce Schneier used to (and perhaps still does) take great delight in pointing these out. The FBI is unable to find a single domestic terrorist plot that is not made up almost entirely of FBI agents. Nobody knows what the CIA is up to, but we can take it as given that they're doing it very very poorly and with great violence because this is their unbroken track record.

We find out about credible plots, 100% of the time, after they are carried out.

[Slobodan Blagojevic]

Actually, terrorism is surprisingly rare in this country...

But school shootings (or bombings, god forbid) are not.

... The TSA fails tests constantly...

True, unfortunately. But it is the possibility that it might work that acts as a deterrent. Right now it is, what, 50/50? But still, that means there is a 50% chance you'd be caught.

[Slobodan Blagojevic]

"White House on security lockdown over unattended package nearby"

Relax, Mr. President, it was just Ahmed sending his clock in advance, in response to your kind invitation.

[Eric Myrvaagnes]

At least the engineering teacher should have known that it couldn't have been a bomb.

Or, do you now teach engineering, Slobodan?   

[Slobodan Blagojevic]

At least the engineering teacher should have known that it couldn't have been a bomb.

Or, do you now teach engineering, Slobodan?   

I think it is clear by now that the issue was a perception of a bomb hoax, not a bomb threat. Apparently, schools take those things seriously. Whether they should or shouldn't is a different issue. When my daughter was in kindergarten, I got a call that she is inappropriately dressed. She had a dress with spaghetti shoulder straps! No, seriously, kindergarten! Some high schools do not allow girls to show... shoulders! Bringing a plastic gun will get you suspended or perhaps expelled. Coming with a t-shirt with an image of a gun will get you sent home to change.

Not saying these things are right or wrong, just putting things in perspective. Under those circumstances, coming to school with a ticking backpack sounds like a bad idea.

[Justinr]

Actually, terrorism is surprisingly rare in this country. Apparently we're doing a pretty good job of keeping busy in other countries the very small cadre of people who possess, all at once: the will, the organizational skill, and the resources.

The TSA and the rest of the security apparatus in this country has proven itself, repeatedly, to be completely incapable of preventing terrorist attacks. The TSA fails tests constantly. Until recently there were trivial, obvious, openings in their procedures. They had fancy microwave body scanners, but they could not reliably connect a boarding pass with a person. Bruce Schneier used to (and perhaps still does) take great delight in pointing these out. The FBI is unable to find a single domestic terrorist plot that is not made up almost entirely of FBI agents. Nobody knows what the CIA is up to, but we can take it as given that they're doing it very very poorly and with great violence because this is their unbroken track record.

We find out about credible plots, 100% of the time, after they are carried out.

Jobs for the boys by the sound of it.

It's an interesting point, how many would suddenly become unemployed if the war against terrorism was declared as being won?