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So what do you think about all this hubbub surrounding the TSA's recent decision March 5 to allow small knives, along with some sporting equipment, to be carried on board airplanes?

The backlash has been robust. First it was the Flight Attendants Union Coalition, representing 90,000, that spoke out against TSA administrator John Pistole's announcement March 5 that knives with retractable blades less than 2.36 inches and narrower than a half-inch will no longer be banned from passengers' or their carry-ons as of April 25. The coalition has since launched an online petition.

That was followed by a letter of protest from bipartisan members of the House Homeland Security Committee. The Federal Air Marshals union soon followed suit, as did the union representing TSA screeners and Southwest Airlines' flight attendants. The Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association and the Coalition of Airline Pilots Association have issued protests. American, Delta and US Airways airlines have opposed the move. U.S. Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., introduced a bill to prevent it from going into effect.

Who has come out in support of the move? The Air Line Pilots Association, the largest airline pilots union in the world.

The TSA says it needs to put more focus on the primary threat to airlines--explosives--and has stood by its decision. That makes sense to me. Pistole is scheduled to defend his action before the House Committee on Homeland Security’s Transportation Security Subcommittee on March 14.

I usually carry around with me a small "jackknife," if that's even what you can call it. It's smaller than 2 inches. I'm sure you know the kind of thing I'm talking about. It includes tweezers, great for splinters my son may get and scream about; a nail file; teensy scissors that are great for cutting off loose strings on clothing or the occasional price tag on something my kid wants to wear out of the store, but not much else; and a little knife.

Because I only use said "jackknife" occasionally, I've had those tiny "weapons" taken away from me many times at airport security checkpoints because I just forget I have one in my purse--I'm not trying to smuggle it aboard. Although I am always dismayed at having to toss it to the TSA and then find a new one after, I have given kudos to the screeners for even seeing it amidst the junky jumble in my handbag.

But still? If I ever wanted to do harm to someone, and note that I said "if," it wouldn't be with that 1.5-inch blade, which I'm not sure could even penetrate skin, much less a locked cockpit door.

So I have mixed feelings. I'm all for great security when I'm flying, and I certainly don't want to see a fellow passenger wielding a knife, but 2.36 inches? I just don't know about that. The fear of golf clubs and lacrosse sticks being used as weapons? Seems to me it would be easy enough for me and my seatmates to grab one of those out of a terrorist's grasp, even without my little jackknife in hand.

What do you think?
 

Flight attendants aren't happy with John Pistole of the Transportation Security Administration. The TSA administrator announced this week that airline passengers soon will be allowed to carry on small pocket knives, golf clubs (two each), ski poles, billiard cues, toy baseball bats and hockey and lacrosse sticks.

The Flight Attendants Union Coalition, which represents 90,000 flight attendants, called the decision "outrageous and shortsighted, and asked Pistole to reconsider," according to a news report in the Philadelphia Inquirer. American Airlines' flight attendants union, with 16,000 members, agreed that knives of any kind should not be allowed on board.

Knives with retractable blades measuring less than 2.36 inches and narrower than a half-inch and the aforementioned athletic gear will be allowed as of April 25, bringing the United States in line with international rules.

"We believe that these proposed changes will further endanger the lives of all flight attendants and the passengers we work so hard to keep safe and secure," FAUC said, according to the news report.

The TSA said it was an "intelligence-based, risk-based decision." The biggest threat to travellers is explosives, not pocket knives or sports equipment, TSA spokesman David Castelveter told the Inquirer.

As we head into the weekend, here's some "Security Director News Lite," focused on pop culture.

First up, the now famous Gallon Smashing. Three young males in Virginia concocted what they describe as an innocent prank. They go into supermarkets, and, with a gallon of milk or juice in each hand, elaborately smash them onto the floor, slip and fall in the spillage and then struggle to get up, mostly unsuccessfully. Their goal is to dupe onlookers. Their video on You Tube—because they taped their exploits, of course—had more than 3 million hits in a week. It also has spurred copycat Gallon Smashings. In Utah, for instance, 10 juveniles were charged with disorderly conduct for perpetrating the same "prank." I saw one video where a copycat Gallon Smasher performed his antics while roller-blading. The fad, if that's what it's called, has even spread to the U.K.

Dana Cole, a legal analyst, told ABC News that there's a fine line between a prank and a crime in this case. Someone has to clean up the mess, he said. And, onlookers and employees could be injured.

On another note, and this isn't nearly as "innocent," two females were arrested this past week by the Nogales Border Patrol. Seems they might have been watching too many back episodes of the blockbuster AMC TV series, "Breaking Bad."

The pair allegedly tried to smuggle six bags of methamphetamine into the United States by concealing them in two buckets of chicken.

Those of you who are "Breaking Bad" fans—and I am among the hugest—know all about Los Pollos Hermanos (translation: The Chicken Brothers), the fictional New Mexico-based fast-food restaurant chain. Thing is, in the show the restaurant is used as a front to assist in the owner's supply and distribution of meth.

Apparently the two women weren't as savvy as the owner of Los Pollos Hermanos. Both face federal prosecution after being caught with 6 pounds of meth—in the chicken buckets— valued at $58,700. Their arrest was among a number of others this week for attempting to smuggle meth into the country.

More than 900 people died in mass shootings in the past six years, the majority killed by people they knew, according to a report in USA Today. The 934 deaths account for less than 1 percent of gun-related homicides, and nearly half involve a suspect slaying his or her family members.

USA Today examined FBI records and news accounts to identify 146 mass shootings since 2006 that matched the FBI definition of mass shooting, where four or more people are killed.

A separate analysis of 56 mass shootings since 2009 from a group of mayors promoting gun control reaches similar conclusions.

Fifty-seven percent of cases reported by Mayors Against Illegal Guns involved domestic violence. The group, co-founded by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, is made up of more than 850 U.S. mayors.