You don't honestly believe that any employee of the TSA (up to and including Pissy) wants to be held accountable for their own actions or statements, do you?

But it is a TSA plank.

+1 ^

The "secret" SOP is the biggest problem I have other than WBI right now.

Release the SOP. It can't be THAT big of a secret.

I would be willing to bet the mortgage on my house that release of the unadultered SOP would no NOTHING to increase security risk at our airports.

If it is so secret, it would not be given out to 65,000 high-school dropouts who couldn't get a better job if their lives depended on it. If it were that secret, it would require high level security clearances WELL beyond what is required for a blue shirt and a tin badge.

The only thing the release of the unadultered SOP would do is open doors for utter humiliation of this inept agency for failing to follow their own procedures and for spelling out in words on a page exactly how to violate honest citizens. You can bet your bottom dollar they will fight tooth and nail to keep it classified. I will bet my bottom dollar that the day when it is required to become public will occur sooner rather than later.

+100 ^^^

Another gem from the interview:

But whether the controversial AIT machine would even spot an underwear bomb is a matter of debate. TSA "never put it on someone and tested it," Mr. Pistole says.

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The very thing we're sacrificing our liberty for, and they didn't even test it.

Wow!

If I were this bad at my job, thousands would die every day.

Why am I not a manager or higher-up in the government? Because I would be embarrassed to tell people what I do for a living.

Dude, you should be ashamed to accept even 1 dollar from the American public. But you're not, because you have no conscience.

SR

But he draws the line at giving TSA officers the right to choose passengers for closer inspection based on their age, ethnicity, religion or sex. In other words, to profile.

----

But it's OK to select skirts, 99% of which are worn by females. And even though running your hand up the inside of the thigh of a skirt-wearing female is a provocative and sexual act in and of itself.

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Mr. Pistole says that the U.S. concern about bombs hidden on bodies goes back to 2004, when two Russian planes were brought down midair by female Chechen suicide attackers.

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Mr. Pistole says that the U.S. concern about bombs hidden on bodies goes back to 2004, when two Russian planes were brought down midair by female Chechen suicide attackers.

Mr. Idiot, in 2002, FEMALE CHECHEN REBELS took over a theatre in Moscow wearing bombs. Did your Mom drop you on your head when you were a baby, or are you just naturally a retard?

My f'in God, I apologize to the rest of the world, as an American, for allowing this total f'in Idiot to be born and represent the USA.

We don't do this. We respect the rights of individuals. We support our constitution. God help us, please.

SR

Fully agree ^

but, Pissy is correct about the 2004 event in which two female individuals belonging to a group that is a small component of the Chechen independence movement targeted two Russian passenger aircraft in a self-sacrifice operation. This, however does not change the fact that the vast majority of female or male passengers are going to board planes wearing explosives.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3612150.stm

The thing that pisses me off about this is that IIRC they bribed their way into getting tickets w/o ID and then bribed their way past all the security measures so it wouldn't have mattered what type of security existed to get on the plane!

Oh, relax. No child-molesting baggage-thieving employee of the TSA would ever do something so morally reprehensible as accepting a bribe to let someone past the checkpoint...

(This post closed-captioned for the sarcasm impaired.)

Don't worry. Corruption or ineptitude does not exist in the US, so you are in good hands with TSA.

You're correct. I was pointing out that female chechens had already committed some terrorist acts prior to that. With that being a known conflict area, why wouldn't you be profiling them?

Yes, I am in favor of profiling.

SR

Ummm...:rolleyes:

I understand your point of view, but I do not have the ability to change it, nor do I have all the information that goes into SOP/SSI decisions.

I do not necessarily disagree with you on the inconsistencies, but I have noeugh information to see that there is some merit in how TSA describes it. I do not necessarily agree with that decision, but I can understand how they reached it.

I agree that ATR is the next logical step, but TSA HQ has to evaluate it and develop it accordingly to make certain it is up to snuff for our purposes. I want this advancement to be applied, but I want it right before they do it so we do not have another puffer incident.

I can quote the links on TSA Blog to dispute this, but I have already done that. I do not have all the information on the machines, but according to HQ and the other government sources, the machines are safe.

I can't comment any further on the patdown because of the dreaded SSI rules, but I just wanted you to know that the actual name is "Standard", not enhanced.

The cargo has become more of a focus of the organization of late. All cargo on commercial air here is screened before it is placed on the bird, so we have actually achieved the 100% threshhold. I understand that great advancements have been made in the last few months. I hope we reach (or have already reached) the 100% level on a national basis.

I don't get to address management problems, I am a front ender with little or no impact on management.

I agree that the way I would deal with it should be the standard, but I am unable to force that issue past my airport. I wish I could, but I am simply not high enough up the food chain.

I see plenty of light! Somedays too much, especially when I want to sleep in.

The issue with Negrin was his own inability to deal with co-worker problems. The underlying commentary of the imagery has nothing to do with it. Using Negrin as a poster boy for the "imagery is too detailed" argument is not an accurate usage. It would be the same if a co-worker commented on him wearing pants that were fairly tight and he obviously was lacking in the size depratment. The imagery on the TSA Blog site shows how detailed it can be - at a minimum. You can base the argument on those images (or any of the others found throughout the blogosphere), but to use Negrin is comparing apples and oranges.

The term "threat items" is a generic term that I use to cover the dual use items found many times - like lacrosse sticks, baseball bats - things that are on the prohib list simply because of their possibel use as a dangerous item. I understand completely the distinction you are making on this - the planes are mechanically safe because folks like you work on them and do the maintenance and upkeep that is required to make them safe for flight. From my point of view, the planes are "less dangerous to be on" because of the TSA screening, so you have a valid point. I believe both actions make the plane safer for the passengers, so we have different vocabulary based on our points of view.

I think we're going to have to simply agree to disagree, here.

Most of the items on the prohibited list aren't there because they're really dangerous. They're there because sheeple find them to be scary.

A baseball bat? On an aircraft? It's probably one of the *least* dangerous items you could consider for prohibition because it's nearly useless in close quarters - and there's no room to take a swing with it.

I do wish you had taken the opportunity to explain why you don't have a problem with your family members being sexually assaulted in the name of "safety," though.

As a TSM I would think you have a fair amount of input into local implementation of TSA policy plus the ability to provide feedback to your chain of command who communicates with superiors.


So are we in agreement that TSA should back off on the inconsistent screening and get standardized?

ATR will be right once the proper people are in place to benefit financially, like Chertoff and the Backscatter Strip Search Machines.


Several responses have been made public recently that indicate what TSA has released is just not factual.

Well if using the TSA blog is ok by you then TSA used the word "Enhanced" so I will stick with that term.

If TSA is relying on the "Trusted Shipper Program" then we all know how effective that is with at least one shipper not inspecting cargo for the last several months. Until TSA brings Cargo Inspection in house I will consider no cargo as inspected.

I think you underestimate how much impact you may have on policy formation. There are ways to get your thoughts in the mix, but you do have to be willing to take a bit of risk to do so.


The issue with Negrin was exactly how the Strip Search Machines reveal personal details about a persons body. The other main issue was that at least with that group of TSA employees they could not train or work in a professional manner.

TSA's use of Strip Search Machines is a problem proven by its on employees.

Why should a lacrosse stick be a threat when a six inch screwdriver is not? Or a pair of scissors?

I was actually fired for refusing to do something illegal. It was a very interesting day at the UI hearing when I played the audio tape. :D

Once the White Rose were executed they didn't have to worry about such things.