My daddy toldme; "If you throw the first punch, make sure he doesn't get back up.<BR><BR>Well, we've gotten back up.<BR><BR>Jack, get your head out of your ass and stop whining. Life doesn't come with a money back guarantee.

Wow Jack... you are pretty funny...<BR>Nearly every country in the world had more stringent airline/travel security measures then we did until 9/11.: Long lines for a long time have been a fact of life for anyone going overseas.<BR>The stock market was hitting a down cycle as it does every 10 years or so anyway.. (oh and the big corporations didn't help it any)<BR>Media will talk about anything to make a dollar.<BR>There have always been travel warnings. We just got back from Amsterdam, Kenya, New York.Already booked, Las Vegas, London, Paris and Peru... <BR>I guess you are the only person those terrorists actually beat.

Jack<BR><BR>I'd like to slap the you know what out of you.......you little wimp.

Jack<BR><BR>Next time you start with the little self pity routine, you know, the poor, poor me routine, think about those men on United flight 93 that crashed in Pennsylvania on September 11. They gave their lives so others could live. They are what 9/11 is all about, their courage and sacrifice will never be forgotten.<BR><BR>When I think of them and then see your pitiful self pitying post it makes me want to kick you worthless ass from one end of this country to the next.

The one thing I really disagree with are the incessant lines at the airport. It is a waste of time and money to search Grannies from Idaho and Ari Fleischer, for God's sake. We should definitely profile people in the airports, and not waste everyone's time searching the majority of people, whether it's politically correct or not. This current system is ridiculous, in the name of being PC. All the terrorists were Islamists from a particular region of the world.........get real, people!!!

Since you haven't mentioned that any terrorist attack of any sort over the last few decades has impacted you personally in any way whatsoever, it is all too curious that you could be so pessimistic. <BR><BR>The "terrorists" have "won the war" when idiots such as yourself have allowed whoever is doing whatever to impact your life.<BR><BR>That you are alive, breathing, seemingly not going to bed hungry or in terminally ill health, and have the time to post such nonsense herein, I would mention:<BR><BR>1) We wait in lines a security checkpoints at airports for "alleged" improved security. Utter nonsense. Have you seen the latest reports on airports with percentage of folks with weapons who get through?<BR><BR>2) As always, no one will ever acknowledge a crash, recession, depression, until is it unmistakably well underway. Until then, it's all just "speculation".<BR><BR>3) If the airlines and hotel chains are near bankruptcy, you'd never know based upon the ridiculous increase in rates everywhere since 9/11.<BR><BR>4) If "most people" are truly afraid to go to July 4th activities this year, this is definitely the year to go - for lesser crowds and traffic. Anyone who's studied terrorist activites knows that they never strike when you most expect them to. But, then, you never know...<BR><BR>5) The media cannot stop talking about anything at all. To wit: The ever despicable OJ will never, ever, be ignored.<BR><BR>6) There are always travel warnings. None advise not to travel or be with crowds, rather advise "caution".<BR><BR>Obviously, you have no aspirations whatsoever and the best sex you've ever had is with yourself.<BR><BR>

US airport security still isn’t very good (or consistent), but it’s not particularly inconvenient or time-consuming in most cases, either. I’d be happy to wait in line for far longer, if that’s the price to pay for moderately effective security. <BR><BR>I fly about 4-6X per month on business, into and out of various US airports, and within the last six months I’ve never had to wait in line at security for more than about 10 minutes. Most delays I’ve seen are caused by the lack of preparation of a lot of people who simply don’t think before they try to go through security – like the guy I had the bad fortune to be standing behind in a security line the other day who had change, keys, or other metal objects in every one of the several pockets of his cargo pants and only removed the offending articles one by one as the security officer’s wand went off in each successive search. If I were in charge, I would have taken the guy aside and had a long talk with him about common sense and responsibility. <BR>

An even better sign that they've won:<BR><BR>McDonald's has not only removed the serrated edge from their plastic knives they give you with your hot cakes and sausage, but they've also blunted the tip so a PlayDoh knoife is more dangerous. It's like using a popsicle stick to cut rubber pancakes.

McDonald's has removed the serrated edge from their plastic knives? My G-d! it's all over! the end is here. I never thought it would come to that.

Well,I guess that says it all! When McDonalds starts changing your "cutlery" you might as well give up.<BR><BR>

Seems that an earlier post failed to make the screen. However, for all who are worried about the markets please note that the Dow is, today, 2.6 times its level 10 years ago (that's about a 10% compound annual return excluding dividends). The Russell 2000 is 2.2 times the level of 10 years ago. The 'recent' downturn actually began in late 1999 (find any 10 year plot of the Dow or Russell 2000 and you'll see this) and corresponds to the collapse of the dot.com bubble. Enron, WorldCom, Arthur Anderson etc are all terrible but a periodic brushfire can clear away the deadwood and undergrowth allowing for better faster growth in the future

I am so scared I am only going on 3 trips this year. But my fears are focused mainly on the declining stock market and declining exchange rates which threaten to wipe out my travel capital.

This is such a sad thread. Jack, hang in there and not to be ugly, I really think you should find professional help.

Jack, you're bound to be scared, it's only natural. When the IRA was bombing London back in the 70's, we were all scared as well, but you didn't any empty pubs in the evenings.<BR>We can't crawl away because the follow. Those poor souls in September were at work, AT WORK!The thing that undermines these people, as with any bully, is to get on with your life, don't let them get to you, don't let them see that your scared. So what, there's longer queues at the airport? The price of security is eternal vigilance.<BR><BR>The stockmarket was waaay overdue for a slump anyway.<BR><BR>If it's any consolation we know and understand what you're going through.<BR><BR>Chin up and don't let the Blighters get you down.

Beyond a doubt, of course, the world has changed since September 11th. As a New Yorker, I realize that every time I look at my city. <BR><BR>We lived in a bubble before 9/11. On 9/11, the bubble burst. Jack misses the point. The threats of terror were present far before 9/11. They continue to be present, whether seen or unseen. That is why security is not a capitulation to terror, but rather is a recognition: yes, unfortunately, people who will kill themselves to kill others do exist, and we must take necessary precautions.<BR><BR>I disagree with the profiling point in that I feel that EVERYONE, ideally, should be intently scrutinized and searched. Israel's security system largely started because an Irish woman was found to have a bomb in her luggage placed there (without her knowledge) by her Palestinian boyfriend. I do not think that this kind of scrutiny is possible in the US, though, for our travel to have the level of efficiency which it has in the past, but I think it is necessary and that the current system of spotty checks (Anne Heche was on my friend's plane and they made sure to search her - is that really for security purposes?) is laughable.

Jack, you thinker, you. What did we ever do without your sharp as a tack summary of modern life. Have you been working on that synopsis for a while, Jack. It does seem a tad tired, you know. And just so obvious to be boring. Drop back and think some more, but don't injure yourself. I love a nitwit, don't you.

I'm betting Jack is under 40 years old. If he were older, he'd be familiar with the saying "This too shall pass."<BR><BR>Our reactions to 9/11 aren't a lot different from our reactions to Pearl Harbor. But we preserved and got past it. Jack will be fine as soon as he grows up.

Jack, you may be responding to this attack as if it were the worst time in our history because you are young but you really need to be a student of history to understand that the US has had far greater periods of extreme danger. Take the late 50s for instance. The second greatest super power, USSR, was our enemy, they had alies and their leader publically professed to bring down the US. They had atomic and nuclear weapons at their disposal. The cuban missle crises was one of the most dire events in recent history for the US. For us it had a positive outcome but the potential for disaster was extreme.<BR>Now we have this bunch of terrorists with no nation (but some money)to back them. It's still not nearly as serious as what we went through with USSR and China 50 years ago.

Boy, Jack's sure having a bad day.

Jack <BR><BR>What a weanie you are. <BR><BR>You need a 4 year course in "How to be a Man"! <BR><BR>Study hard.