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TSA / Airport Security / Airline Security / Rants / → All Tags

A Rant on the TSA and 'Common Sense'

As a rule we're unenthusiastic about ever defending the TSA, but these past few weeks have seen more than the usual inanity regarding the airport security agency. The most obnoxious statement - by far - was Geraldo Rivera claiming that he "got manually raped" by a screener who patted him down. No he didn't. That's not what rape is.

In between making stupid rape comparisons, Geraldo also complained about how he had once been on the no-fly list. At that time another story was going around about how TSA removed a toddler from a JetBlue flight for being on the no-fly (it turned out to be an airline screwup). Together these triggered renewed screaming at TSA agents for not using their "common sense."

This common sense debate has now gone from silly to aggravating. Allow us to explain.

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Travel Health / Rants / Travel Hell / Smoking / Cigarettes / → All Tags

E-Cigarettes on Airplanes: The Newest Big Debate

Famed Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Zizek tells us to be very suspicious of anti-smoking campaigns. Often what's at work has very little to do with improving individual and public health, and everything to do with just kind of making smokers miserable. Under this line of thinking people don't want to ban smoking because they're allergic to smoke or whatever - although some people undoubtedly are. What they're after is the thrill of denying smokers their fix. As non-smokers they don't enjoy nicotine in any way, so why should anyone else be allowed to?

Nonsense, you say? The people behind smoking bans are the most objective of public health professionals, driven purely by epidemiological data and not at all by an obnoxious busy-body urge to "protect the public" from anything they don't themselves personally like? Fair enough. But then please explain this travel health idiocy.

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Travel Hell / Brighton / Beach Travel / Rants / Beaches / Tourist Traps / Current / → All Tags

The British Seaside: Ocean Paradise, or Dirty Old Whore Who Smells of Fish?

Great Britain has 9,447 miles of coastline, and Current U.K. contributor Holly Walsh hates every inch of it. She makes her feelings known in a hilarious "pod" that calls out resort areas like Brighton, Blackpool, and Worthing as depressing, decrepit places that exist solely because people are convinced that they're supposed to enjoy them.

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