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Since the attempted bombing of a Detroit bound airline on Christmas Day, the tightened security has us wondering which is worse - airline security or the terrorists.

Recent stories about airline ineptitude make flying one of the least desirable modes of transportation.

For example

• A series of missteps unnecessarily added to the mayhem at Newark Liberty International Airport on Jan 3rd.  An unidentified man breached a secure area delaying thousands of passengers for over 6 hours, The TSA cameras weren't working, so there was no surveillance video. That set off a chain reaction of even more missteps that caused needless chaos and inconvenience for several thousand hapless passengers.

• Dozens of body scanners will be installed in Canadian airports to comply with new U.S. security protocols. The machines, which can scan through clothing, be installed in Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Halifax. The system, tested over the last year in British Columbia at the Kelowna Airport, allows a screening officer to see whether someone is carrying plastic explosives or other dangerous items. The plan to use the technology has stirred controversy because the scanner produces a three-dimensional outline of a person's naked body.

• A routine swabbing of a bag's exterior at the Bakersfield airport returned positive results for TNT. Seemingly suspicious pieces of luggage delayed flights and prompted evacuations and the closure of an  airport when authorities discovered what turned out to be  ... honey. FBI said  that  investigators analyzing the liquid said the honey tested negative for explosives and narcotics.

• An 85-year-old white haired woman was terrorized by airport security thugs at an Ottawa Airport. The disabled, four-foot-10, 90-pound grandma was treated as a possible Al-Qaeda suicide bomber.  The woman was made to remove her boots and then unzip her pants. A female inspection officer poked at her abdomen to make sure she wasn't carrying an explosive.

So here we are, the holidays are over, and everyone is back to work. That is, unless of course you're a member of parliament. Stephen Harper has decided to suspend parliament so we can all focus on the Olympics.

On February 12, the 21st Winter Olympic Games will open in Vancouver. In a time of economic hardship and government cuts to many social programs across Canada, huge sums of public money have been spent to stage this  spectacle.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not against the athletic competitiveness of the Olympics just the political manoeuvring  and out of control spending.

Billions of dollars have been spent constructing venues, an airport terminal and a convention center,  road repairs, a new rapid transit line connecting the city’s airport to its downtown etc, etc etc. The government claims we will make it back in long-term tourism dollars, though this has never happened in other host cities.

When Vancouver first submitted a bid for the Winter Olympics, the budget for security was said to be $175-million. The final cost will exceed $1-billion.

VANOC has given over 1000 communities across Canada  between $4000 and $12000 each to host a little celebration when the Torch passes through. Thousands of dollars are being spent on Olympic flags and banners that will end up in the next days trash.

In addition to the out of control spending,  two special laws have been adopted by the provincial government that, will “clean up” the city and curtail visible expressions of opposition to the Games.

The Assistance to Shelter Act  permits police to remove the homeless or other “undesirables” from streets surrounding Olympic venues and dump them at housing shelters or in other municipalities and Bill 13 which regulates public signage. It is designed to protect the Olympic trademark and those of Games sponsors, but critics say it will also be used to censor public expressions of opposition to the Games. Duh...can you say freedom of expression??

What's your opinion?

So long for now!!! See ya next month.

If you have any comment or criticism you would like to share, or your own view you would like us to publish, Send Email to soundoff@barefacts.ca.

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