As in all wars, generals tend to fight each battle as if it was the previous one. So it is in the current war on terror. The US is imposing all sorts of regulations and planes and passengers entering the country, including fingerprinting and photographing. Of course the fact that all of the Sept 11 murderers were legally in the USA under normal visas is besides the point. It looks like the Government is "doing something" and that's the main thing.

But sometimes it goes too far. Like this latest gem:

Qantas passengers have been ordered not to queue outside toilets while making the 14-hour flight to and from the US. The directive was issued late yesterday by the US Transport and Security Administration, which is demanding pilots make a pre-flight announcement banning passengers from "congregating in groups around toilets or anywhere else in the aircraft". Flight attendants will be expected to police the toilets, including checking every two hours for "suspicious packages".

Very messy.

"Passengers are caught between a rock and a hard place. On one hand, they are advised to move around an aircraft during flights for health reasons; but now they are being told not to congregate. It doesn't make sense."