When I went through, I was interviewed by three different officers: two male, one female. Each asked me a set of questions that was partially repeated by those following.

I expect the most innocuous questions are likely the ones that would trip you up if you were lying: Where did you stay last night? What was your room number in the hotel? What did you have for lunch on Tuesday? etc.

I think this type of interviewing could be added to the process for secondary screening of those passengers identified as higher risk. That said, our major airports handle much higher volumes of traffic than in Tel Aviv.

Travelling by air in or from Pakistan, typically involves two or three “mag and bag” checks and at least two physical pat down searches by friendly, but thorough, police officers wearing plastic gloves. It’s a very quick and impersonal process that also allows the officer to assess your behaviour. I did not find it offensive or bothersome and it’s a normal practice in many Islamic cultures. As in all Islamic nations I’ve travelled to, there is separate draped-off lane for women and children to be processed by female officers. Of course, the human resources there are very inexpensive and electricity is not predictable so technological solutions are not always reliable.

The best physical searching I’ve seen is the new process at Kabul International Airport which was done in a highly professional manner last August.

I see on WaPo’s web site that Tiger’s looking at a reckless driving summons for $164 - that’s probably considerably less than the value of his time to write the check.

Television turns everything into entertainment. The candidate who blathers stupidly (Bush) becomes more of a celebrity than the one who speaks sensibly but boringly (Kerry). “Entertainment news” (oxymoron no longer) crowds out stuff that might actually matter to someone. And real events are reduced to nothing more than than an opportunity for excitement, a means of injecting some purpose into peoples’ stunningly meaningless lives. Consider e.g. the obscenity that was September 11, 2001: I swear I encountered so many, a sickening number of, people who couldn’t wait for another attack, who trembled with anticipation that maybe, if they were really, really lucky, some such horrible thing would happen close enough for them to watch and, safely, pick up the pieces.

Television is the great trivializer, Do not expect it, at least not in the USA, to add anything of real value to the community discourse.

Your blog is much better for that purpose.

If it’s so clear what the Taliban strategy is, why don’t the allies see it and respond to it? It’s so frustrating!

Patrick