FlyerTalk Forums - Thought I'd seen it all until today....

FlyerTalk Forums (https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/index.php)

- Checkpoints and Borders Policy Debate (https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/checkpoints-borders-policy-debate-687/)

- - Thought I'd seen it all until today.... (https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/checkpoints-borders-policy-debate/1499643-thought-id-seen-all-until-today.html)

Here's a so-called STSO texting at DFW E. Whenever a passenger would walk up to him with a question, he'd casually put the phone down on the podium and place the screen facing down.

9/1/13, 0640hrs

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-o...s144/photo.JPG

Whatever. They're just as useful texting on their cell phones as they are X-raying bags and groping pax.

Quote:

Originally Posted by txrus (Post 21381064)

You have to hand it to the moat dragon, hope s/he doesn't drop it, then get it back, put it in the dog food dish, & then go back thru either the WTMD or NoS. Sad to say I'd gotten used to seeing lines 6-8 deep for the NoS, because of how long those things take (plus the requisite false+'s they generate) but @ EWR, you see the same thing for the WTMD's because of this BP stupidity.

As someone posted on TSAstatus.net, this place, hands down, is the worst when it comes to the TSA Dog & Pony show-after a year of monthly treks out of there, I've reached my limit & will go out of LGA from now on (which also has the benefit of Pre-check).

I have never handed my phone to anyone. I fly from EWR frequently and I always use a mobile boarding pass (even though I also always have a paper one to use in case of missing miles) because it amuses me to deny the TSA their little scribbling ritual. After scanning the phone I invariably put it in my bag before walking through the NoS or WTMD. Never had anyone object, even when they're yelling the "keep your boarding pass in your hand!" instructions.

Quote:

Originally Posted by tommyleo (Post 21378528)

He's likely not compromising safety at all. From what I understand, the decision as to whether a pax needs to be detained for further search after going through the scanner is made by a TSA worker who is away from the scanner, in another room. So the guy you saw simply sees something like "Go" and "Stop" on his screen. That's a very easy command to follow -- leaving plenty of time for texting.

The OP said x-ray, not body scanner, so I believe that he's talking about the x-ray belt through which carry-on items are scanned.

Also, your information about the body scanners is out of date. All current body scanners are the millimeter wave variety, which use microwaves, not x-rays, to scan the body. And all of the MMW units have been upgraded to include Automated Target Recognition software (ATR), which replaces the perv in a box with a piece of software which looks at the scanner returns and determines whether there is an anomalous item on your person. The way it has been explained, an ATR-equipped scanner doesn't even create an image from the scan returns; it sends the raw scan returns directly to the ATR software, which looks them over, and if the ATR decides that there is an anomalous return, it lights up part of the stick-figure light box on the scanner itself.

Notice, I said "anomalous", not "prohibited", because while ATR software is far less of a personal invasion than an actual person looking at naked images of you, the ATR software is also far less accurate and reliable than a human eye, and causes a huge number of false positives from things as harmless as sweat, folds of body fat, and multi-layer clothing. And all positives, false or not, are resolved by some form of pat-down, usually starting with a targeted-area feel-up and escalating only if something is felt by the perv in the blue shirt.

Sorry if I seem hostile toward you, that is not my intent at all. I am simply bitter at the horrendous violations of civil rights, unbelievable waste, and astounding incompetence of the TSA, particularly when it comes to passenger screening.