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Old Aug 8, 2011, 7:04 pm
  #1  
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Travel Tip: Don't Tape Your Cell Phone to a Container of Paste-Like Substance

There is a bizarre story posted on the MyFoxPhoenix website that describes the arrest of a woman who tried to bring a fake bomb thru a TSA checkpoint. Here's the link:

MyFoxPhoenix.com story - Police: Woman Tries to Bring Fake Bomb on Plane - Claims she was testing airport security

Here is a short three sentence quote from the article:
On Friday, TSA agents found a simulated explosive device inside a carry-on bag at the Terminal 2 checkpoint. Police say the device they found looked just like a homemade bomb.

What raised suspicion was a container filled with some sort of paste-like substance, with a cell phone taped to the top.

Quick, somebody call 3M and tell them that TSA is trying to ban Scotch tape from onboard planes...
RatherBeOnATrain is offline  
Old Aug 8, 2011, 7:08 pm
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Hasn't this happened at least once before?
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Old Aug 8, 2011, 7:08 pm
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That woman is a moron.
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Old Aug 8, 2011, 7:10 pm
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In the some of well-deserved disdain for the TSA comes a set of blinders to most people in this forum.

It's a special TS/S style that fails to notice when the TSA does its job.
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Old Aug 8, 2011, 7:18 pm
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Originally Posted by RunsWithScissors
In the some of well-deserved disdain for the TSA comes a set of blinders to most people in this forum.

It's a special TS/S style that fails to notice when the TSA does its job.
Harassing a few law abiding BILLION to find one non-threat equals a win in my book.
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Old Aug 8, 2011, 7:27 pm
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Originally Posted by RunsWithScissors
In the some of well-deserved disdain for the TSA comes a set of blinders to most people in this forum.

It's a special TS/S style that fails to notice when the TSA does its job.
The article concludes with this sentence: "Daman is facing a charge of knowingly giving a false impression."

When did it become TSA's job to catch people who give a false impression?

(In other TS/S threads, TSOs have stated that TSA's only job is to keep prohibited items off of planes.)
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Old Aug 8, 2011, 7:43 pm
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Originally Posted by RunsWithScissors
In the some of well-deserved disdain for the TSA comes a set of blinders to most people in this forum.

It's a special TS/S style that fails to notice when the TSA does its job.
Yes.

They did an excellent job of stopping toothpaste, tape and a phone from being admitted on an aircraft.

Kudos TSA!

All that crotch rubbing of children has paid off!
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Old Aug 8, 2011, 7:47 pm
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Originally Posted by FlyingHoustonian
That woman is a moron.
+1. Stupid move.
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Old Aug 8, 2011, 7:52 pm
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Originally Posted by jtodd
+1. Stupid move.
Auditioning for the Red Team?

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Old Aug 8, 2011, 8:08 pm
  #10  
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As much as I think TSA is the most useless agency conceived by man, I have to say that, this time, they have, apparently done their job (shocking as it may seem). The woman may, indeed, be an idiot (along with, apparently, two accomplices). Perhaps there's something more, here. At least, for once, TSA detected a credible simulation of a bomb (and without groping or nude photography).
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Old Aug 8, 2011, 8:25 pm
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Originally Posted by RatherBeOnATrain
The article concludes with this sentence: "Daman is facing a charge of knowingly giving a false impression."

When did it become TSA's job to catch people who give a false impression?

(In other TS/S threads, TSOs have stated that TSA's only job is to keep prohibited items off of planes.)
The woman stated it was her intent to test the system. Guess what? She found out her answer.

She (allegedly, legally speaking) made a jar of opaque material. Screeners have been saying for a very long time, long before you created your FT login, that opaque will always set off the attention of x-ray operators and CTX machines. Not only that, this woman was stupid enough to (allegedly) attach a cell phone (trigger device) to that container in order to see if it would be caught.

What this woman, aptly described earlier as a moron, at best, yelled "fire" in a crowded theater.

Are you seriously saying that what she did was not stupid nor should go unpunished?

Can you say honestly with a straight face that someone from another country with no fixed U.S. address and a stated desire to test airport security is someone that should be given a pat on the back and let go?


Originally Posted by TsaAbuseWatch
Yes.

They did an excellent job of stopping toothpaste, tape and a phone from being admitted on an aircraft.

Kudos TSA!

All that crotch rubbing of children has paid off!
Take this piece of advice from someone who loathes stupid TSA procedures just as much as you do: take a deep breath and think objectively for a moment.


Originally Posted by FlyingHoustonian
That woman is a moron.
Exactly.
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Old Aug 8, 2011, 8:37 pm
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The thing that bothers me about this is that the contents of my carry on could conceivably be described as "a credible simulation of a bomb" if one wanted to ascribe to their own definition of "credible simulation."

9V batteries, multiples thereof. Check.

Little electronic boxes that look like they could be detonators, each powered by 2 9V batteries. Check.

Mysterious electronics with scary sounding names like Data Physics, Mechanalysis, PCB and Connection Technologies. Check.

A Monarch strobe light. (Has a pistol grip and a trigger) Check.

Lots of wire and cables. Check.

Lot's of Velcro holding things together. Check.

Small tools and gages. Check.

A single cake of nice smelling soap to knock the edge off the industrial smell. Oops. May look like explosive. Better trash the soap.
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Old Aug 8, 2011, 8:44 pm
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Sounds like a dry run. Good catch.
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Old Aug 8, 2011, 8:53 pm
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I suppose silly putty is a no-no, too.
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Old Aug 9, 2011, 12:39 am
  #15  
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Just as I was about to get a patent for this. Darn it!
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