TSA bans reading on international flights

[Dennis Baron]

There's a new post on the Web of Language:

TSA bans reading on international flights

On Christmas day, a man from Nigeria tried to blow up NW 253, a
transatlantic flight about to land in Detroit, by using explosive
chemicals sewn into his underwear. The Transportation Security
Administration (TSA) immediately responded to this new terrorist
threat by ordering passengers not to read during the last hour of
their flight.

The bomb-maker sneaked his bomb onto the plane past tight security
checks in Amsterdam, and when his planned explosion fizzled, he was
subdued not by security officials (there were none on the plane) but
by passengers and the plane's flight attendants. But in order to
discourage similar attacks in the future, the TSA has seen fit to
order passengers to remain seated while the plane begins its descent,
to return their seat backs and tray tables to their upright position,
and to stow all personal items, including books and magazines.

read the full post at the Web of Language: http://bit.ly/weblan
____________________
Dennis Baron
Professor of English and Linguistics
Department of English
University of Illinois
608 S. Wright St.
Urbana, IL 61801

office: 217-244-0568
fax: 217-333-4321

http://www.illinois.edu/goto/debaron

read the Web of Language:
http://www.illinois.edu/goto/weboflanguage

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