The Maginot Manitou* Line

Saw this on Daily Kos:

U.S. puts machine-guns on Great Lakes coast guard vessels

For the first time since 1817, U.S. Coast Guard vessels on the Great Lakes are being outfitted with weapons – machine-guns capable of firing 600 bullets a minute.

[...]

...they will be stored below decks on the coast guard's 11 Great Lakes cutters and will be mounted only when needed.

I understand sidearms and rifles, but a 7.62-mm light military machine-gun?

Meanwhile...

Newark airport security head bounced
March 10, 2006, 11:22 AM EST
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) _ Federal officials have ousted the head of security at Newark Liberty International Airport following four years of security breaches and staffing problems at one of the nation's busiest airports.

[...]

In October 2004, the newspaper reported that Newark screeners were missing one in four explosives and weapons in undercover tests of checkpoints. In December 2004, screeners lost a fake test bomb during a training exercise; it wound up on a plane to Amsterdam.

* Manitou Isle

Update 3/15/2006 7:51 PM: