How Stupid Are We Supposed To Be?

Unprecedented levels of security in major Western capitals appear to have provided a safe venue for millions of New Year's Eve revellers around the world with violent attacks limited to Indonesia and Iraq.

British Airways Flight 223 from London to Dulles airport, which was scheduled to carry 180 passengers, was cancelled on New Year's Day after BA received warnings from the British government. An earlier BA 223 flight to Dulles was shadowed by US fighter jets and quarantined on landing at Dulles on New Year's Eve. Homeland Security and other federal police boarded the intercepted flight and interviewed many of the 247 passengers over five hours during the earlier incident, which US authorities say was an action based on intelligence information and not just suspicious passenger names -- but without releasing details.

Another flight that seems to be attracting the special attention of security forces is Aeromexico's Flight 490 from Mexico City to Los Angeles, which was cancelled on New Year's Eve after the US advised the airline the flight was at risk. Earlier this week, the same flight was cancelled over security concerns -- and while early reports said the flight had been turned around in mid-air, spokesmen from both Mexico and the US now say it never took off.