In-Flight Cell Phone Use

Subcommittee members complained that airplane passengers can already be loud or obnoxious, without mobile phones to aid them. How true.

As for the other shit in that article, well... THIS line set me off -

"There are some who would use this technology for criminal and sometimes lethal purposes," says Laura Parsky, deputy assistant attorney general in the DOJ's Criminal Division.

Let's think, what other technology could that apply to?
Guns.
Cars.
Hammers.
Knives.
Martial Arts Training.
AIRPLANES THEMSELVES!

I think that history has showed that every technology has a risk of misuse, but that rarely stops people from using it. I'm personally all for letting people use cell phones on airplanes. Also wireless internet. I think it would help business people finish their work, even with hectic schedules, and add to the pervasive theme of interconnectedness that society has always pushed for. I probably wouldn't use them myself, not all that much. Also, I agree that it can be annoying. Just like if there was a passenger or two who were having an unusually loud conversation on the plane, I wouldn't hesitate to ask a stewardess to stifle an obnoxious cell-phone-er.

Btw, I love Google news.