News roundup, 29 May 2026

- Just in case you needed another reason to think twice about taking an international flight, numerous people have fallen victim to "baggage tag switching", in which airline insiders switch the tags on baggage filled with drugs or other contraband with those of innocent passengers in case they get searched. The airlines are refusing to cover the huge expenses people have incurred in order to be exonerated. Maybe just stay home and read a book or play a video game; it's safer as well as greener.

- A Russian drone involved in the attack on Ukraine strayed across the Romanian border and crashed into an apartment building, injuring two people.

- Manitoba's health minister, Uzoma Asagwara, just returned from the UK where they have been recruiting healthcare workers. Asagwara says that as many as 24 doctors and 29 paramedics may be on their way to the province soon. Reportedly several of them almost didn't show up to the recruitment sessions because they thought it sounded too good to be true.

- The Unifor locals representing about 5,000 employees at TransLink, which provides transit services in Metro Vancouver, have voted 99% in favour of strike action. Affected services include buses as well as the SeaBus ferry service, though not the SkyTrain which is a different bargaining unit.

- Manitoba removed Tesla from the electric vehicle rebate program last year as part of efforts to "Trump-proof" the economy. The company is now threatening legal action in response. An awkward fact is that the province had previously signed IT contracts with SpaceX, and the amount was increased last year, although the province says that this was an emergency procurement related to last year's wildfire season.

- Ferrari has launched its first fully electric vehicle on Tuesday. In response, stock in the company dropped 8.4%. Evidently investors think that the kind of person who would buy a Ferrari won't be satisfied to just go fast, they want everyone around to hear how fast they're going.

- A daycare in southwest Winnipeg had to shut down due to the heat on Wednesday because its air conditioning system had been disabled over the winter by someone stealing copper wire. Some are calling for provincial legislation on scrap dealers to apply the same requirements for accepting wire as for accepting catalytic converters, something that has significantly reduced converter theft.

- The moribund town of Leaf Rapids, Manitoba, whose population has declined from 1,500 in the 1970s to no more than 250 today as a result of a mine closure, is losing its only grocery store. The local co-op is heavily indebted to Federated Co-operatives and seems not to be viable anymore. Employment and Income Assistance is offering to help welfare recipients move out of there, but many don't see that as a satisfactory solution, especially those who have lived there all their lives. I don't know what can realistically be done, though; the town is 1,000 kilometres from Winnipeg and over 200 kilometres from Thompson, and it's hard to salvage such an isolated community that has lost its raison d'être.

- The Transportation Safety Board of Canada has released its report on a 2023 accident in Smithers, BC in 2023 in which a helicopter undergoing ground tests suddenly rotated violently, causing the tail rotor to strike two workers, killing one and severely injuring the other. The TSB has concluded that the pilot skipped parts of a checklist because he was distracted by his cellphone, resulting in the antitorque pedals not being deactivated, and evidently he bumped one of the pedals, causing the rotation. I daresay this was not a good career move on the pilot's part.

News roundup, 19 May 2026

- Two armed teenagers attacked a mosque in San Diego on Monday, killing three people before turning their weapons on themselves. This is being investigated as a hate crime; the mother of one of the shooters found a note that he had left behind, though the content of the note has not been made public.

- Global Affairs Canada is warning Canadians to be wary about travelling overseas this summer, due to the possibility of flight cancellations as a result of skyrocketing prices of jet fuel due to the war in Iran. They also warn that fuel shortages could disrupt access to products and services at some popular destinations. 

- A Canadian who was a passenger on the plague ship MV Hondius has tested positive for hantavirus. Three others are in isolation after showing symptoms consistent with the virus.

-  An outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo has killed at least 131 people and may be spreading faster than originally thought.

- Manitoba is temporarily suspending the ban on sale of certain American alcoholic beverages, in order to sell off stock that expires in the fall.

- Keir Starmer is facing a direct challenge of his leadership of the Labour Party from Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester. Burnham is running in a byelection in the constituency of Makerfield, which was vacated by incumbent Josh Simons in order to make way for him.

- Thomas Massie, a Republican member of Congress from Kentucky, is facing a tough primary today as Donald Trump has aggressively endorsed his opponent. Massie drew the ire of Trump after pushing a bill to force the release of the Epstein files.

- A car crashed into a fireworks store in Toronto on Monday, starting what became a five-alarm fire. Nobody was in the vehicle by the time fire crews arrived.

News roundup, 17 April 2026

- The continued war in Iran is causing serious concern for commercial aviation. Fatih Birol of the International Energy Agency warns that Europe has "maybe six weeks or so [of] jet fuel left" and that flight cancellations may start to occur if the situation isn't resolved soon. And John Gradek of McGill University calls the situation the "worst crisis we've had in aviation, ever", pointing out that with 9/11 and the pandemic there was never an issue with supply.

- Israel and Lebanon have agreed to a 10 day ceasefire, with the possibility of extension if progress is made in the meantime. 

- Canada's federal government is considering acquiring more office space in order to accommodate the employees that they're forcing back to the office. Anything to prop up the commercial real estate sector I guess...

- Residents of Winnipeg's West Broadway neighbourhood are creating a community land trust which will buy up land and rent it out at affordable rates.

- The RCMP detachment in Thompson evidently did a rather substandard job of searching a teen they'd taken into custody in December 2024. It seems that they somehow overlooked the fact that he was carrying a gun; fortunately the firearm was not used and was later discovered hidden behind a toilet while the suspect was in court.

- Former Virginia lieutenant governor Justin Fairfax killed his wife and then himself on Wednesday night. The two were going through what was describe as a "complicated" divorce.

- Some residents of Peguis First Nation may need to evacuate as early as this weekend due to flooding.

- The singer D4vd has been charged with murder following an investigation into the discovery of the remains of a teenage girl in a car he owned. Why it took as long as it did to press charges is an interesting question.

News roundup, 24 March 2026

- New York's LaGuardia Airport has reopened after Sunday's fatal collision between an Air Canada jet and a fire truck. The NTSB is investigating the accident; they are expected to scrutinize the role of the air traffic controller who cleared the truck onto an active runway as well as staffing levels that may have led to the controller being overworked.

- The funding shortfall for the Department of Homeland Security continues, with TSA workers still not receiving paycheques. Trump has insisted that any funding deal has to allow his "SAVE America Act", which complicates voter registration for many voters (significantly, those whose current legal name differs from that on their birth certificate, such as the majority of married women in the country) to move ahead. However, some Republicans in the Senate are getting antsy as more people's flights down to resorts get delayed or cancelled, fearing that said voters might turn on them.

- The European Union and Australia have signed a trade agreement. Negotiations on the agreement had been going on for eight years, but the rise of the Trump regime seems to have focused their minds on getting a deal.

- The Carney Liberals continue to lead the Conservatives by a significant margin. Of course, voters are a fickle lot, and this could change easily based on outside factors (e.g. high fuel prices resulting from the war in Iran).

- Amanda Lathlin, who represented The Pas-Kameesak in the Manitoba legislature for the NDP, has died at the age of 49. She was the first First Nations woman to serve in the legislature.

News roundup, 20 June 2025

- Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is now over budget by as much as a billion dollars and could run out of funds as early as July. This would run afoul of the law and raises obvious concerns about the sustainability of the current crackdown. Trump's "big beautiful bill" includes an additional $75 billion for the agency over the next five years, and the current situation may add to the pressure on Republicans to pass the bill. In related news, Florida's Attorney General, James Uthmeier, has called for ICE to build a detention centre in the middle of the Everglades, so that escapees would have to contend with alligators. It sounds like something inspired by the children's prison in Jacob Two-Two Meets The Hooded Fang that's surrounded by a moat full of sharks and crocodiles.

- The American Chestnut was driven to near extinction over a century ago by a fungal disease. Now, selective breeding (including hybridizing with a Chinese species) has produced blight-resistant trees, giving some hope for the reintroduction of the species to the wild.

- A Dutch environmental consulting firm has concluded that a tax on air travel could raise over €100 billion a year, which would hopefully be allocated towards efforts to limit climate change and its effects. It might be a hard sell, though; even many people who are otherwise progressive and well-informed seem to be in a state of denial about just how bad air travel is for the climate.

- Elisa Morgera, the UN special rapporteur on human rights and climate change, has called for disinformation about climate change to be criminalized. Some might feel uncomfortable about this, but it's worth considering that Holocaust denial is already criminalized in many countries, and climate change has the potential to make the Holocaust look like a picnic in comparison, so it seems justifiable.

- Honda has successfully tested a reusable rocket. Given that SpaceX's latest efforts on this front have not gone so well, it's probably a good thing for the space industry that another player is entering the field.

- Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is accusing the head of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Catholicos Karekin II, of fathering a child, in contravention of his vows. Pashinyan has also accused one archbishop of having an affair with his uncle's wife. This is just the latest chapter in the feud between Pashinyan and the Church, who have been calling for his resignation since the country's defeat in the 2020 conflict with Azerbaijan. Things like this probably will not help restore unity to a deeply divided country.

News roundup, 12 June 2025

- An Air India Boeing 787 with 242 passengers and crew on board has crashed in a residential area shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad airport on a flight to London. This is the first crash of a 787; video here.

- California governor Gavin Newsom is warning that other states may soon see troops deployed as is happening in Los Angeles.

- Teachers in Alberta have overwhelmingly approved a strike mandate. Given the Smith government's unwillingness to be reasonable (indeed, their base probably considers unreasonableness to be a virtue) it seems unlikely that a strike will be avoided. Education in the province is not in good shape in any case; one school in Airdrie has closed its library and music room in order to convert those spaces into classrooms.

- Saskatchewan is following Alberta's lead in putting American booze back on the shelves. I guess it's too traumatic for the people of those provinces to not be able to get the Jack Daniels and Jim Beam they need to drink while listening to country music. Meanwhile, the return of the booze to Alberta shelves might not get as many takers as they're hoping; demand is down.

- A new law introduced by the Ford government in Ontario holds landlords, both residential and commercial, liable for drug offenses that occur on their premises. Penalties include fines of up to $250,000 and/or up to a year in jail. There are fears about the potential impact on homelessness, if people with addiction issues are denied leases, for instance. It may also pose a risk to music venues and nightclubs.

- When the EPA introduced a rule in 2009 that required industries to report their carbon emissions, this in itself led to a drop in emissions. Of course under the Trump regime this rule is being dropped.

- In addition to consulting AI chatbots about mental health matters, people are asking them for dating and relationship advice. I daresay this isn't such a great idea either. On a related note, Canadian AI researcher Yoshua Bengio is warning that current AIs seem to be putting their own interests ahead of ours, using things like deception. One AI apparently was observed to covertly insert its own code into another system to avoid being replaced. Bengio has founded a nonprofit called LawZero which he says will build AIs that don't do that stuff. Some folks in the related Reddit thread wish to remind us that OpenAI was originally founded as a nonprofit, then essentially said "Just kidding!" and became a for-profit company.

News roundup, 17 April 2025

- There were nearly 900,000 fewer border crossings into the US last month than there were in March of 2024, suggesting that Canadians take the travel boycott very seriously indeed. California governor Gavin Newsom is begging Canadians not to boycott his state, essentially saying that Trump's tariffs and annexation threats are not his state's fault. Now to be fair, the state is taking measures to fight the Trump regime, including suing the federal government for the impact of the tariffs on their economy, but it's worth noting that a recent survey found that average Californians are increasingly wanting to make nice with the regime, which tells me that they haven't learned their lesson. Keep boycotting, folks.

- Meanwhile, the folks at Forbes are suggesting that the travel boycott could end up leading to higher carbon emissions, because people are traveling to other overseas locations in lieu of the US, meaning longer flights. Now Forbes is hardly an impartial observer here, and there are doubtless ulterior motives in sowing the seeds of doubt in the minds of Canadians, but I can kinda, sorta see the point. However, the solution here is not to stop boycotting, it's to find a way to fill the void in your life closer to home, not further. Go somewhere in Canada, or do a "staycation". Spending a week in a resort doesn't make you more worldly in any meaningful way anyhow.

- The Leaders' Debates Commission, which governs the debates in Canadian federal elections, has dropped the Green Party from the debates due to the party's decision to withdraw candidates to avoid vote-splitting that might favour the Conservatives.

- Pierre Poilievre is the most unpopular leader of a federal party in Canada, according to a new poll from Angus Reid. 60% of respondents have a negative opinion of him, while only 34% have a positive one. It's worth noting, of course, that the kind of person who would support Poilievre is also probably the kind of person who would avoid answering polls because they're associated with the woke libtard media or something like that, but those numbers are pretty stark.

- Wab Kinew is reconsidering his decision to cancel a proposal to build a second port on Hudson Bay, saying that the issues with the US are forcing the province to look towards other markets, such as in Europe. He says that the busiest part of the shipping season coincides with whale migration in Churchill, and wants to avoid conflicts with the whales and the tourists who go there to watch them.

- The Bank of England fears allowing autonomous AI to trade stocks could lead to disaster, as bots might learn how to profit from volatility and how to create more of it. And if an AI autonomously does something to manipulate stocks, which would be illegal if a person did it, how do you prosecute?

- The FAA has issued an emergency order grounding New York Helicopter Tours, the company that operated the helicopter that self-destructed over the Hudson River last week killing all 6 people aboard. The company's Director of Operations, Jason Costello, had agreed to a voluntary pause in operations while the accident is being investigated, and emailed the FAA to that effect, but 16 minutes after he sent that email, CEO Michael Roth sent another email to the FAA saying that he did not authorize Costello to agree to this and adding that Costello was no longer employed by the company. Thing is, the director of operations is a required position in order for the company to be allowed to operate, and with the sudden vacancy of the position the FAA ruled accordingly. In related news, the main rotor was found with the mast and the entire main rotor gearbox still attached. This appears to rule out the mast bumping theory, suggesting that the pilot did nothing wrong except perhaps in his choice of employer.

- A woman showed up at an elementary school in Decatur Township, Indiana to complain about the fact that her daughter's teacher mentioned a rainbow flag in an assignment about flags. She was carrying a handgun in a holster, and police were called; the gun was confiscated but she was initially released. However, her luck ran out soon after when she sent a threatening (and very poorly spelled) message to the teacher, and she was charged with harassment as well as possession of a firearm on school property.

News roundup, 11 Dec 2024

- Not surprisingly, it appears that Luigi Mangione, the suspect in the death of the UnitedHealthcare CEO, had suffered some medical issues, including a back injury that required spinal fusion surgery; he had also experienced "brain fog" and suspected that he might have irritable bowel syndrome. He came from a very wealthy background; family and friends report that he suddenly stopped communicating with them about 6 months ago, and his mother reported him missing in November. Many have pointed out that Mangione is 26, which just happens to be the age when people are typically removed from their parents' health insurance coverage. His social media accounts seem to have been shut down, though one Redditor seems to have found his old Reddit posts and summarized them before they could be removed. One thing that's clear in any case - an awful lot of Americans think that the CEO got what was coming to him. Some people have been selling merchandise with the words "deny", "defend", and "depose" (words which were written on shell casings found at the murder scene), though Amazon removed them from sale as soon as they clued into what it was about.

- The Canadian Union of Postal Workers says it met with Canada Post for the first time in two weeks, submitting their latest proposal on Friday. The corporation says it is "extremely disappointed" with the proposal, suggesting that it may be quite some time before the dispute is settled.

- The BC Conservative caucus is in turmoil over the aftermath of the resignation of the vice-chair of the Vancouver Police Board. The board member, Comfort Sakoma-Fadugba, had made worrying remarks on social media about immigration and LBGT* issues; after Surrey-Cloverdale MLA Elenore Sturko (a former RCMP officer) told the media that she agreed with the resignation, much of the caucus turned on her. Then she defied a request from party leader John Rustad that she meet with Sakoma-Fadugba. I guess after losing an election that they think they should have won they're taking out their anger on each other, which is more than fine by me.

- A new solar farm and energy storage facility in California combines 384 MW of solar generation with 600 MWh worth of battery storage; this will increase to 758 MW of generation and 1,200 MWh of energy storage when the second phase is completed next year.

- I know nobody wants to hear this, but current levels of air travel are not sustainable. Emissions from tourism have surged in the last decade and now account for 9% of the global total. To be fair, on a per capita basis the owners of private jets are considerably worse, but people need to get it through their heads that you don't have to fly down to Mexico or Cuba every year. On a somewhat more promising note, researchers in Sweden are looking at ways to replace coal with hydrogen as the reducing agent in steel production.

News roundup, 13 Aug 2024

- The Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA) has received numerous complaints about unprofessional actions by their staff at Ottawa International Airport. This includes overly invasive searches, sometimes conducted in front of other passengers, as well as damage to items carried and general power-tripping behaviour.

- Tim Walz has a history of relatively progressive economic policies (for the US). Interestingly, unusual for American politicians he's not a big investor; he owns no individual stocks or bonds, or really anything except his pensions from his careers in politics, the National Guard and as a teacher. To those want to avoid politicians who can take part in insider trading without consequence, this is a good thing, and in keeping with legislation he co-sponsored as a member of Congress in 2011 that would prohibits legislators and staffers from trading on non-public information. Interestingly, some in the r/austrian_economics subreddit think it's a sign of "financial illiteracy". Because of course it couldn't be integrity...

- The Manitoba government has reduced the number of moose hunting licenses to be issued to hunters from out of the province by 75% until 2030. Actual biologists think that this is a necessary (and in fact overdue) move, but outfitters really have their knickers in a knot.

- The Manitoba government has extended the funding for the retail theft initiative in Winnipeg, following positive results. The hard part, of course, will be changing social conditions so that the crime doesn't just surge back once suppression efforts are reduced.

- A woman was run over by a car and killed while lying on the road at 1:45 AM on Winnipeg's Harry Lazarenko Bridge. There have been a lot of accidents involving pedestrians and cyclists in the city lately, some of them fatal, but this one sounds more like a suicide than an accident.

- A 15 year old boy suffered life-altering injuries after being attacked with a machete by another 15 year old over the weekend, in an apparent robbery.

- A man in Cairns, Queensland was celebrating a recent promotion to a ground crew position with a helicopter tour company when made the rather curious decision to steal a helicopter from his employer. He subsequently crashed it into a hotel, killing himself and injuring two hotel guests.

News roundup, 19 Feb 2024

- Sio Silica is exploring their legal options following the Manitoba government's decision to disallow the sand mine in Springfield. The government, however, may well come out ahead because of their handling of the issue.

- A resolution calling for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza will be voted on by the UN Security Council tomorrow; the US is expected to veto it, however. Meanwhile Israel has been accused of opening fire on civilians rushing towards aid trucks, while Egypt seems to be building containment facilities for potential refugees. And the International Court of Justice is now looking at the broader question of the consequences of the half-century long occupation of the West Bank and Gaza.

- Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is facing what could be his last shot at avoiding extradition to the US; the UK's High Court will hear arguments tomorrow on whether he can ask an appeals court to block his extradition; his wife claims that he would not survive incarceration. Not sure what his chances are given the fabled "special relationship" between the US and UK.

- Volodymyr Zelensky is in a rather tight spot, since Ukraine's summer offensive produced no significant gains and the Russians have a numerical advantage that favours them in a war of attrition. Gwynne Dyer suggests that the calculation Zelensky has to make is "how much more territory Ukraine would lose in a ceasefire in 2025 than it would lose by making some kind of peace right now." Not an easy judgment to make.

- The new Polish government is trying to undo years of far-right control of the country's public broadcaster, TVP. It won't be easy or clean. 

- A man in Cumberland, BC was killed in a hit and run while cycling last week; now a suspect has been charged, not only with failure to remain at the scene but with first degree murder. The details of why this charge was laid have not been stated so far, but a charge like that normally means that the death was intentional and preplanned. Even a typical road rage incident would likely only have led to a charge of manslaughter, or second degree murder at most.

- When Jake Moffatt's grandmother died, he asked the chatbot on Air Canada's website about bereavement rates for such travel, and was advised that he should pay the full fare for the ticket and claim reimbursement after the fact, contrary to Air Canada's actual policy. The airline tried to argue before a small claims tribunal that the chatbot was a separate entity and thus not their responsibility, but the tribunal wasn't having any of it and ordered them to pay Moffatt the difference.

News roundup, 18 Feb 2024

- Donald Trump, his company, and two of his sons have been hit with a $364 million judgment in the civil fraud case, most of which is owed by Trump himself and the company. This is on top of the $83 million he owes to E. Jean Carroll as a result of last month's ruling by another court. While he's expected to appeal, he could well have to front the money. No doubt he can find someone, somewhere, who will help him out, but there will likely be conditions on that assistance, and that could get mighty awkward for national security if he regains the presidency (and the associated access to state secrets) while owing large amounts of money to shadowy operatives somewhere.

- Professors at Brandon University have voted 87% in favour of a strike, with a 76% turnout. Pensions are one of the biggest issues; retirees currently receive between $30,000 to $40,000 a year, a figure unchanged in a decade in a half despite recent inflation.

- Besides the devastating consequences for Gaza, the conflict there has inconvenienced Israeli businesspeople who depend on Palestinians for cheap labour. So they're hiring migrant labourers from overseas to make up for the loss.

- The Philippines is accusing China of using cyanide to destroy the fishery at the Scarborough Shoal, which falls into the Philippines' 200 NM exclusion zone but is claimed by China as their own territory. After all, they need those pesky fishers to go away if they want to be able to "properly" make use of their claim.

- Controversy has arisen over the 2023 Hugo Awards, which were held in Chengdu, China. It has come to light that the organizers of the event excluded numerous authors, including Neil Gaiman, R.F. Kuang, Xiran Jay Zhao, and Paul Weimer from the awards, despite getting enough fan votes, out of fear that honouring them and/or their works could upset the Chinese authorities.

- Australia's new government is following France's lead in giving workers the "right to disconnect" so as not to be bothered by their bosses once they finish work for the day. The opposition is already vowing to support those poor beleaguered bosses by repealing the legislation if they regain power in the next election, but the claims that this will destroy productivity are very much open to question.

- A WestJet flight from Vancouver to Toronto was forced to divert to Winnipeg after a passenger decided they couldn't take another minute in the air and tried to open a door. This seems to be happening a lot nowadays. It's as if the people who were freaking out at the height of the pandemic because they couldn't travel are losing their minds now when they discover that flying isn't the pleasant experience that their rose-coloured nostalgic memories tell them it is.

Biofuel for aircraft

The gas turbine engine (be it turboshaft, turboprop, or jet) has a number of virtues, one of which is the ability to run on pretty much anything that burns. When Chrysler built a series of experimental gas turbine cars in 1963, diesel was the recommended fuel, but drivers experimented with numerous other fuels, including gasoline, kerosene, jet fuel, tequila, and reportedly Chanel No. 5 with success. For this reason, turbine engines are good candidates for biofuel substitution. And it's happening:

The Australian airline Qantas will this month announce a deal to build the world's second commercial-scale plant to produce green biojet fuel made from waste for its fleet of aircraft.

Its proposed partner, the US-based fuel producer Solena, is also in negotiations with easyJet, Ryanair and Aer Lingus about building a plant in Dublin, although this project is less advanced.

Airlines are trying to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels ahead of their entry into the EU's carbon emissions trading scheme in January 2012 and the introduction of other new environmental legislation. Under the scheme, any airline flying in or out of the EU must cut emissions or pay a penalty.

Solena's joint venture with Qantas – which could be announced within the next fortnight – follows a tie-up with British Airways, signed in February last year, to build the world's first commercial-scale biojet fuel plant in London, creating up to 1,200 jobs.

Once operational in 2014, the London plant, costing £200m to build, will convert up to 500,000 tonnes of waste a year into 16m gallons of green jet fuel, which BA said would be enough to power 2% of its aircraft at its main base at Heathrow. The waste will come from food scraps and other household material such as grass and tree cuttings, agricultural and industrial waste. It is thought the Qantas plant, to be built in Australia, will be similar.

From the Guardian. The fact that it's waste that they're using, as opposed to food crops, is a very good thing; however I wonder just how much fuel can be produced that way. I suspect that future generations will fly a lot less than we do. Or, they'll make it out of palm oil, which is actually even worse than petroleum in terms of its climate effect, owing to the amount of rainforest that is typically cleared to produce it.

Has the TSA finally gone too far?

The recent intensification in US airport security has gone over extremely poorly, and with good reason. Consider what they did to this woman:



Now truth to tell, I'm not sure whether or not X-rays are actually harmful to breast milk. X-rays are a form of ionizing radiation, and not good for living tissue, but I'm not sure how much effect they'd actually have on the milk. Still, I can't blame anyone for preferring to be safe than sorry, especially if it says in the rules that breast milk doesn't have to go through the X-ray. And for trying to point out what the rules actually say, she was put through hell. And I'm sure this is far from the only example of such harassment; if there's anything unusual about this case it might be the fact that the victim was white.

The thing is, even when the rules are followed things are crazy enough. Consider this point raised by Roger Ebert:

It appears that not a single TSA agent has declined to perform a full-body pat down of airline passengers. That includes patting down small children. They're not patted down on a routine basis, but on some occasions they can be and they are. A child under 12, sometimes way under 12, may be required to remove outer clothing and be touched on such areas as the genitals.

This is so high on the WTF scale that it beggars the imagination. All this makes me wonder, though, if there might not be a silver lining of sorts to this very dark cloud. While I'm not sure I'd go so far as the Bishop of London, England in saying that flying is a sin, it is the worst form of travel from a climate perspective, and I suspect that a lot of people will start to think hard about whether they really need to fly after being submitted to indignities like this a few times. It would be interesting to track Greyhound and Amtrak ticket sales before and after the new policies came into place. Of course, if there are signs of a major shift, the airlines will start to lobby for the TSA to be put into the train stations and bus terminals too; can't have unfair competition after all.

And what will happen to tourism? Even if the Americans eventually submit meekly to this stuff, will people whose own countries don't put them through this stuff every time they fly want to visit a place like that? I certainly have no enthusiasm for flying to the US any time soon, that's for sure.

And, predictably, a lot of people are saying that the solution to this problem is to only do it to brown people.