The Civilized Explorer aggregation

I linked to this story back when it was new: a Ron Paul aide was detained at an airport because he had too much cash; he recorded his interrogation on his cell phone.

The ACLU sued the TSA on his behalf, raising just the issues he brought up in his interrogation: by what right was the TSA asking him about money.

The TSA has settled the case and issued rules stating that security screening is not to be conducted to detect evidence of crimes unrelated to transportation security. The TSA has not published their directives and refuses to do so (although the ACLU did publish one of them).

There’s now a “surcharge” for flying at peak travel times. That way, the fare stays the same, but the airlines sneak in a fee on you. So now you have to figure out if your departure or return date is on a peak or non-peak travel day.

The fee is $20 each way for most airlines; it was $10.

This is from the end of 2008, but the charges still apply.

Scarier than the numbers is the distance: The airline operates in the Indian Ocean and plans to fly back and forth to France with the over-800 passengers.

Don’t mess with the police.

A woman who was formerly assistant chief of police for Montgomery County, Maryland, gets “randomly” selected for more than her share of secondary screenings at airports.

As a cop, she’s experienced in the way her secondary interview should be conducted and how random selections should be made. That’s not what she sees, however.

Photos and videos from our trip to Guadeloupe in 2008; includes Carneval

You think it’s hard for you in the airport? Read what it’s like for foreigners coming into the country.

Remember all the jokes about being glad the shoe bomber wasn’t the underwear bomber? Now it’s happened. Get ready for more jokes. And let’s see what the TSA does.

In the never-ending lemming race off the cliffs, British Airways is charging an extra 20 pounds (the British currency, not your excess baggage) for a reserved seat (but an extra 50 pounds for a seat in the emergency exit row, and 60 pounds in business class).

This is a charge for requesting specific seats. You used to be able to get a specific seat just for the asking, but not it’s extra: you want to sit next to your child? It’s an extra fee for the specific seats. Next to the window? The aisle seat? Extra fees.

BA says the extra charge gives customers more control over their seating options, although it’s not clear to me you get more control now than when it was included in the advertised price.

Question of the day: have you heard of a prison which has totally eliminated knives and other contraband from within it’s heavily fortified walls, even with total control over access? Why are we wasting time and money having our bags searched for knives and scissors?