Tsa confiscates juice box and baby food
May 13, 2011, 7:05 am
#1
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Tsa confiscates juice box and baby food
http://www.matchdoctor.com/blog_1303...t_airport.html
So this TSA ETD testing is that good, eh?
Security officers at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport confiscated a jar of baby food and a juice box when they tested positive for trace amounts of explosives, officials said.
"It just didn't clear," said Transportation Security Administration spokesman Luis Casanova. "We tried to clear it because we wanted to give the baby food back to the mom, but it wouldn't clear. The only alternative was to hold it."
"It just didn't clear," said Transportation Security Administration spokesman Luis Casanova. "We tried to clear it because we wanted to give the baby food back to the mom, but it wouldn't clear. The only alternative was to hold it."
So this TSA ETD testing is that good, eh?
May 13, 2011, 7:12 am
#2
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Tested positive, and they just threw it away. If it was artfully concealed explosive, they missed their chance for the big one. If you don't investigate positives, and just assume all are false positives, what's the use in the first place? TSA logic fails again.
May 13, 2011, 7:14 am
#4
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The TSA threw away the food and juice without letting the bomb squad blow 'em up? That ain't no fun! 
Suspicious item in Ohio luggage: Pickled mangoes detonated
Suspicious item in Ohio luggage: Pickled mangoes detonated
May 13, 2011, 7:17 am
#5
Join Date: Jan 2011
Posts: 353
But but but--it tested positive for EXPLOSIVES! The only right thing to do is
*flash of common sense*
realize that it's goddamn BABY FOOD and let them through with it anyway.
This seems to me like a really good case for advocating screened and unscreened flights and letting passengers decide.
A baby food jar with trace amounts of explosives is acceptable risk. I don't care what the TSA says about that, they're wrong. Period. Because I say so, so there, shut up, go to hell, not listening. (See, we can use TSA logic too.)
Acceptable risk.
ACCEPTABLE.
As in, I would gladly fly on a plane with this person and their magical nuclear exploding Gerber jar. And I would sit right next to them too and talk about the weather, or whether Canonical should have made Unity the default UI for Ubuntu 11.04, or who would seriously consider buying some of the stuff that SkyMall sells.
And when I get off the plane, alive and well because the "red flag" that was the explosives traces on the baby food was actually just a red herring, I'd wish them happy travels and go on my merry way.
Stealing baby food, how low can you get? I mean, they'd have to literally take candy from a baby and swab it, see that the baby's saliva was actually some rare form of highly-volatile chemical like something out of Farscape and confiscate the candy "out of an abundance of caution" Then again, what if the baby vomits during the flight? That could be even worse than the atomic baby drool they just bravely did their patriotic duty in defending the flight against. Better to confiscate the whole baby just to be sure. Abundance of caution, after all. *sniff* So patriotic. USA TSA! USA TSA! USA TSA!
*flash of common sense*
realize that it's goddamn BABY FOOD and let them through with it anyway.
This seems to me like a really good case for advocating screened and unscreened flights and letting passengers decide.
A baby food jar with trace amounts of explosives is acceptable risk. I don't care what the TSA says about that, they're wrong. Period. Because I say so, so there, shut up, go to hell, not listening. (See, we can use TSA logic too.)
Acceptable risk.
ACCEPTABLE.
As in, I would gladly fly on a plane with this person and their magical nuclear exploding Gerber jar. And I would sit right next to them too and talk about the weather, or whether Canonical should have made Unity the default UI for Ubuntu 11.04, or who would seriously consider buying some of the stuff that SkyMall sells.
And when I get off the plane, alive and well because the "red flag" that was the explosives traces on the baby food was actually just a red herring, I'd wish them happy travels and go on my merry way.
Stealing baby food, how low can you get? I mean, they'd have to literally take candy from a baby and swab it, see that the baby's saliva was actually some rare form of highly-volatile chemical like something out of Farscape and confiscate the candy "out of an abundance of caution" Then again, what if the baby vomits during the flight? That could be even worse than the atomic baby drool they just bravely did their patriotic duty in defending the flight against. Better to confiscate the whole baby just to be sure. Abundance of caution, after all. *sniff* So patriotic. USA TSA! USA TSA! USA TSA!
May 13, 2011, 7:20 am
#6
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Security officers at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport confiscated a jar of baby food and a juice box when they tested positive for trace amounts of explosives, officials said.
Hasn't Bloghdad Bob been telling us that the TSA doesn't "confiscate" things?
And when are they going to admit that the ETD swabs are pure theater, and have never actually detected a threat to an aircraft?
May 13, 2011, 7:29 am
#8
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I've always wondered how the TSA can safely work in the vicinity of the "explosives disposal containers" (aka Trashcans). If the waterbottle (or other confiscated article) is supposedly an explosive, how can they justify casually throwing it in the trashcan?
May 13, 2011, 7:53 am
#9
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To make logical sense, (I know, it's the TSA, but hang with me a second) if they really suspected the material to be bomb residue, the family and the baby should have been isolated and the source of the explosive material found before being allowed to proceed. LEO's should have been called and probable cause evidence should have been gathered. The family, except for the baby of course, should have been processed for illegal possession of explosive material. The baby would be turned over to social services until the family could post bail. There would be a trail and a jury would decide guilt or innocence.
Absent probable cause after a thorough legal, warranted search, give back the food, process a reimbursement for any added expenses from the TSA incompetence, and send the family on their way.
They knew it was not dangerous, yet they took it anyway.
They knew the family was not dangerous as they let them go ahead, but they took the food anyway.
They knew there was no problem as the checkpoint and the airport were not evacuated because of the "potential" bomb.
It serves to prove what we say here concerning security theater and the farce that it is.
Of all the things that the TSA does, this one, a government taking without compensation is the most ridiculous. It may not be the most egregious constitutional violation, but it is the most foolish-looking action they do because it is so obviously idiotic. If they wanted to be treated seriously, this denies that opportunity.
Absent probable cause after a thorough legal, warranted search, give back the food, process a reimbursement for any added expenses from the TSA incompetence, and send the family on their way.
They knew it was not dangerous, yet they took it anyway.
They knew the family was not dangerous as they let them go ahead, but they took the food anyway.
They knew there was no problem as the checkpoint and the airport were not evacuated because of the "potential" bomb.
It serves to prove what we say here concerning security theater and the farce that it is.
Of all the things that the TSA does, this one, a government taking without compensation is the most ridiculous. It may not be the most egregious constitutional violation, but it is the most foolish-looking action they do because it is so obviously idiotic. If they wanted to be treated seriously, this denies that opportunity.
May 13, 2011, 8:07 am
#10
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I think of this every time I go thru the line at DEN and see TSA chucking things into the garbage can that stands right there BESIDE them! If it were really so dangerous, wouldn't you want it far away?
May 13, 2011, 8:31 am
#11
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Seems to me that TSA has bought a bunch of expensive gear none of which seem capable of reliably detecting explosives.
Billions of dollars on Strip Search Machines that do not discriminate on detecting dangerous things, untold amounts of money on Explosive Test Devices that from all accounts detect many things including some drugs and baby food but do not reliably detect explosives and the magical Behavior Detection Officers that apparently detect nothing.
So the only tool TSA has that actually works is the old fashioned metal detectors and TSA inherited those devices from the prior screening companies.
Are we really any safer with TSA Airport Screening?
Billions of dollars on Strip Search Machines that do not discriminate on detecting dangerous things, untold amounts of money on Explosive Test Devices that from all accounts detect many things including some drugs and baby food but do not reliably detect explosives and the magical Behavior Detection Officers that apparently detect nothing.
So the only tool TSA has that actually works is the old fashioned metal detectors and TSA inherited those devices from the prior screening companies.
Are we really any safer with TSA Airport Screening?
May 13, 2011, 8:36 am
#12
Join Date: Feb 2011
Posts: 642
To make logical sense, (I know, it's the TSA, but hang with me a second) if they really suspected the material to be bomb residue, the family and the baby should have been isolated and the source of the explosive material found before being allowed to proceed. LEO's should have been called and probable cause evidence should have been gathered. The family, except for the baby of course, should have been processed for illegal possession of explosive material. The baby would be turned over to social services until the family could post bail. There would be a trail and a jury would decide guilt or innocence.
Absent probable cause after a thorough legal, warranted search, give back the food, process a reimbursement for any added expenses from the TSA incompetence, and send the family on their way.
They knew it was not dangerous, yet they took it anyway.
They knew the family was not dangerous as they let them go ahead, but they took the food anyway.
They knew there was no problem as the checkpoint and the airport were not evacuated because of the "potential" bomb.
It serves to prove what we say here concerning security theater and the farce that it is.
Of all the things that the TSA does, this one, a government taking without compensation is the most ridiculous. It may not be the most egregious constitutional violation, but it is the most foolish-looking action they do because it is so obviously idiotic. If they wanted to be treated seriously, this denies that opportunity.
Absent probable cause after a thorough legal, warranted search, give back the food, process a reimbursement for any added expenses from the TSA incompetence, and send the family on their way.
They knew it was not dangerous, yet they took it anyway.
They knew the family was not dangerous as they let them go ahead, but they took the food anyway.
They knew there was no problem as the checkpoint and the airport were not evacuated because of the "potential" bomb.
It serves to prove what we say here concerning security theater and the farce that it is.
Of all the things that the TSA does, this one, a government taking without compensation is the most ridiculous. It may not be the most egregious constitutional violation, but it is the most foolish-looking action they do because it is so obviously idiotic. If they wanted to be treated seriously, this denies that opportunity.
May 13, 2011, 8:48 am
#13
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May 13, 2011, 8:59 am
#14
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if they really suspected the material to be bomb residue, the family and the baby should have been isolated and the source of the explosive material found before being allowed to proceed. LEO's should have been called and probable cause evidence should have been gathered.
...
They knew it was not dangerous, yet they took it anyway.
I agree, a LEO should have been called. In fact, I believe the appropriate passenger response to these situations is for the passenger to politely demand that they either be allowed to proceed with the item or that the TSO swear out a formal statement to a LEO saying that the passenger is carrying explosives, followed by the LEO arresting the passenger.
IMO there should be no middle ground whatsoever on these issues. Either let the passenger and the item through, or arrest them. But if the arrest turns out to be false, then the TSA and the TSO should have to pay compensation and face criminal charges of harassment, filing a false complaint, and abuse of authority.
I wonder what a LEO would have done in this situation? A bad one probably would have threatened to arrest the passenger for trespass or disturbing the peace. But what about a good one?
May 13, 2011, 9:07 am
#15
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http://www.matchdoctor.com/blog_1303...t_airport.html
So this TSA ETD testing is that good, eh?
Security officers at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport confiscated a jar of baby food and a juice box when they tested positive for trace amounts of explosives, officials said.
"It just didn't clear," said Transportation Security Administration spokesman Luis Casanova. "We tried to clear it because we wanted to give the baby food back to the mom, but it wouldn't clear. The only alternative was to hold it."
"It just didn't clear," said Transportation Security Administration spokesman Luis Casanova. "We tried to clear it because we wanted to give the baby food back to the mom, but it wouldn't clear. The only alternative was to hold it."