Widespread TSA Failures in Latest DHS Tests
Jun 2, 2015 | 5:31 am
#31
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Select rate (~5%) ≠ catch rate (~0%).
Jun 2, 2015 | 5:37 am
#32
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There is a news blurb that DHS has reassigned Carraway out of TSA.
http://mobile.reuters.com/article/id...50602?irpc=932
http://mobile.reuters.com/article/id...50602?irpc=932
Jun 2, 2015 | 7:50 am
#33
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There is a news blurb that DHS has reassigned Carraway out of TSA.
http://mobile.reuters.com/article/id...50602?irpc=932
http://mobile.reuters.com/article/id...50602?irpc=932
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015...a-checkpoints/
I think of more important note is who is now the acting administrator - former
Guess he finally made it out of EWR and on up the ranks.
Jun 2, 2015 | 7:55 am
#34
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The big problem with this report is that it is going to be leveraged by the gov't/DHS/TSA to justify additional "security operations", which means more invasion of privacy and less rights for passengers.
And the crackdown that will be coming on TSA personnel is going to make them even more difficult to deal with at checkpoints.
In other words, the total opposite of what the reaction should be - which is to acknowledge that all the expense and invasion upon rights hasn't achieved anything and go back to what works and is realistically achievable.
And the crackdown that will be coming on TSA personnel is going to make them even more difficult to deal with at checkpoints.
In other words, the total opposite of what the reaction should be - which is to acknowledge that all the expense and invasion upon rights hasn't achieved anything and go back to what works and is realistically achievable.
Jun 2, 2015 | 8:03 am
#35
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The big problem with this report is that it is going to be leveraged by the gov't/DHS/TSA to justify additional "security operations", which means more invasion of privacy and less rights for passengers.
And the crackdown that will be coming on TSA personnel is going to make them even more difficult to deal with at checkpoints.
In other words, the total opposite of what the reaction should be - which is to acknowledge that all the expense and invasion upon rights hasn't achieved anything and go back to what works and is realistically achievable.
And the crackdown that will be coming on TSA personnel is going to make them even more difficult to deal with at checkpoints.
In other words, the total opposite of what the reaction should be - which is to acknowledge that all the expense and invasion upon rights hasn't achieved anything and go back to what works and is realistically achievable.
TSA's failures will be seen as a need to make screening more invasive not to review the process and fix an already broken system.
Jun 2, 2015 | 8:05 am
#36
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There is a news blurb that DHS has reassigned Carraway out of TSA.
http://mobile.reuters.com/article/id...50602?irpc=932
http://mobile.reuters.com/article/id...50602?irpc=932
I'm not expecting it'll happen, but hope springs eternal.
Jun 2, 2015 | 8:27 am
#37
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Apparently, the guy in charge of that operation has lost his job over this scandal:
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015...a-checkpoints/
All I can say to him is.....Bon Voyage! Don't let the door hit you in the butt on the way out!
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015...a-checkpoints/
All I can say to him is.....Bon Voyage! Don't let the door hit you in the butt on the way out!
Jun 2, 2015 | 10:14 am
#38
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Fox too:
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015...a-checkpoints/
I think of more important note is who is now the acting administrator - formerMinister of Propaganda TSA spokeshole Mark Hatfield.
Guess he finally made it out of EWR and on up the ranks.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015...a-checkpoints/
I think of more important note is who is now the acting administrator - former
Guess he finally made it out of EWR and on up the ranks.
Today [May 12, 2006], Hatfield is the acting federal security chief at Newark Liberty International Airport, where five years ago hijackers boarded United Flight 93.
<snip>
"How do you put the security of a major New York airport in the hands of
someone who has absolutely no security training?" said Michael Boyd, an
aviation industry consultant. "This guy has no security background at all --
none. He has no business being in that job. He should be removed
immediately."
<snip>
Before joining TSA, Hatfield worked in public relations, as a lobbyist and
as a White House event planner in the administrations of Ronald Reagan and
George H. W. Bush. Hatfield also worked on the campaigns of those
presidents, and once helped plan a summer concert tour for the Beach Boys.
His resume is not without some law-enforcement experience: For three years
in the 1980s, he was a sworn reserve officer for the Portland, Ore., Police
Department, where he made arrests and carried a gun, he said.
<snip>
"How do you put the security of a major New York airport in the hands of
someone who has absolutely no security training?" said Michael Boyd, an
aviation industry consultant. "This guy has no security background at all --
none. He has no business being in that job. He should be removed
immediately."
<snip>
Before joining TSA, Hatfield worked in public relations, as a lobbyist and
as a White House event planner in the administrations of Ronald Reagan and
George H. W. Bush. Hatfield also worked on the campaigns of those
presidents, and once helped plan a summer concert tour for the Beach Boys.
His resume is not without some law-enforcement experience: For three years
in the 1980s, he was a sworn reserve officer for the Portland, Ore., Police
Department, where he made arrests and carried a gun, he said.
Ha! From April 20, 2005:
Another inspector general report released yesterday found that security screeners continue to miss knives, guns and other prohibited items in tests conducted at security checkpoints and recommended better technology to help screeners detect weapons and explosives. The TSA has said it has been constrained by its limited budget to deploy new technologies.
Yesterday, the agency said more could be done.
"We will continue to seek incremental gains in screener performance through training, testing and management practices," Hatfield said.
Yesterday, the agency said more could be done.
"We will continue to seek incremental gains in screener performance through training, testing and management practices," Hatfield said.
Edmund S. "Kip" Hawley, an assistant secretary of homeland security, directed his staff to propose changes in how the agency screens 2 million passengers a day. The staff's first set of recommendations, detailed in an Aug. 5 document, includes proposals to lift the ban on various carry-on items such as scissors, razor blades and knives less than five inches long. It also proposes that passengers no longer routinely be required to remove their shoes at security checkpoints.
<snip>
"The process is designed to stimulate creative thinking and challenge conventional beliefs," said TSA spokesman Mark O. Hatfield Jr. "In the end, it will allow us to work smarter and better as we secure America's transportation system."
<snip>
"The process is designed to stimulate creative thinking and challenge conventional beliefs," said TSA spokesman Mark O. Hatfield Jr. "In the end, it will allow us to work smarter and better as we secure America's transportation system."
Security at U.S. airports is no better under federal control than it was before the Sept. 11 attacks, a key House member says two government reports will conclude.
<snip>
The TSA won't comment on the specifics of the reports until they are released, spokesman Mark Hatfield Jr. said.
But, he said: "When the political posturing is over, rational people will see that American screeners today are the best we have ever had and that they are limited only by current technology and security procedures that are significantly influenced by privacy demands."
<snip>
The TSA won't comment on the specifics of the reports until they are released, spokesman Mark Hatfield Jr. said.
But, he said: "When the political posturing is over, rational people will see that American screeners today are the best we have ever had and that they are limited only by current technology and security procedures that are significantly influenced by privacy demands."
Jun 2, 2015 | 10:21 am
#39
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American screeners today are the best we have ever had and that they are limited only by current technology and security procedures that are significantly influenced by privacy demands
What he means is there needs to be a renewed focus on people's privates. Security and privacy are incompatible and 'everyone' knows terrorists' favorite hiding places are breasts, buttocks and crotches.
They'll probably modify the SOP to say that when they karate chop you in the groin, if you don't wince, either 1) they didn't encounter your resistance with enough force to clear you or 2) your resistance is shielded by contraband and further investigation is necessary.
Jun 2, 2015 | 10:24 am
#40
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This started out as a fluff piece about the original TSA Spokeshole, but it didn't end that way:
Actually, I started Googling to find some of his Spokeshole statements. Google News Custom Range is your friend:
Ha! From April 20, 2005:
Kippie's first day on the job, Aug 2005:
And, from the first GAO report on TSA incompetence (April 2005):
Wonder if Nico will be his chief of staff???
Actually, I started Googling to find some of his Spokeshole statements. Google News Custom Range is your friend:
Ha! From April 20, 2005:
Kippie's first day on the job, Aug 2005:
And, from the first GAO report on TSA incompetence (April 2005):
Wonder if Nico will be his chief of staff???
Now that the current head of TSA is also not a Security Expert wondering if those kind of remarks will cease?
Jun 2, 2015 | 10:37 am
#41
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Despite the abysmal nature of this report, I must admit that I'm surprised to see Melvin get the sack. He was only the interim administrator and he'd only been in the job for six months. Even I can't put the blame for this on him - the agency has been a joke from the start, and got progressively worse under each administrator, especially Pistole. I don't recall hearing of any major shifts in policy or procedure under Melvin that could possibly lead to more than a sliver of blame being legitimately placed on him.
And the new guy is a propaganda professional with no security experience. I suppose it might be a step up to have an interim administrator who hasn't had his entire professional career shaped by the search for terr'ists and crinimals, but going to a mini-Goebbels can't be any more than a marginal improvement.
And the new guy is a propaganda professional with no security experience. I suppose it might be a step up to have an interim administrator who hasn't had his entire professional career shaped by the search for terr'ists and crinimals, but going to a mini-Goebbels can't be any more than a marginal improvement.
Jun 2, 2015 | 10:57 am
#42
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Despite the abysmal nature of this report, I must admit that I'm surprised to see Melvin get the sack. He was only the interim administrator and he'd only been in the job for six months. Even I can't put the blame for this on him - the agency has been a joke from the start, and got progressively worse under each administrator, especially Pistole. I don't recall hearing of any major shifts in policy or procedure under Melvin that could possibly lead to more than a sliver of blame being legitimately placed on him.
And the new guy is a propaganda professional with no security experience. I suppose it might be a step up to have an interim administrator who hasn't had his entire professional career shaped by the search for terr'ists and crinimals, but going to a mini-Goebbels can't be any more than a marginal improvement.
And the new guy is a propaganda professional with no security experience. I suppose it might be a step up to have an interim administrator who hasn't had his entire professional career shaped by the search for terr'ists and crinimals, but going to a mini-Goebbels can't be any more than a marginal improvement.
Jun 2, 2015 | 11:01 am
#43
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Despite the abysmal nature of this report, I must admit that I'm surprised to see Melvin get the sack. He was only the interim administrator and he'd only been in the job for six months. Even I can't put the blame for this on him - the agency has been a joke from the start, and got progressively worse under each administrator, especially Pistole. I don't recall hearing of any major shifts in policy or procedure under Melvin that could possibly lead to more than a sliver of blame being legitimately placed on him.
And the new guy is a propaganda professional with no security experience. I suppose it might be a step up to have an interim administrator who hasn't had his entire professional career shaped by the search for terr'ists and crinimals, but going to a mini-Goebbels can't be any more than a marginal improvement.
And the new guy is a propaganda professional with no security experience. I suppose it might be a step up to have an interim administrator who hasn't had his entire professional career shaped by the search for terr'ists and crinimals, but going to a mini-Goebbels can't be any more than a marginal improvement.
Melvin was only a stand-in placeholder anyway, but I don't see that he deserves the sack for what was going on long before he took over.
I think it's very telling that the new appointee has no security background. Presumably we won't count his abject and on-going performance failures at EWR against him.
He isn't being hired for security experience or to bring new ideas to the agency. He's being hired for his (perceived) public relations abilities.
Don't worry about making TSA function better. Just make it appear to work better.
Jun 2, 2015 | 11:01 am
#44
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I was actually wondering whether Pistole knew that the administrator might be blamed for failure and picked a smart time to leave the agency. Perhaps he was feeling pressure and felt that it was a good time to go into the private sector.
Jun 2, 2015 | 11:09 am
#45
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The entire agency is a pathetic waste of time and money.
a 95% failure rate is extraordinarily bad. ITs not even in the realm of what you'd expect security theater to achieve. IF you hire nearly brain-dead front-line staff, and supervise them with incompetent morons, what do you think is going to happen?
a 95% failure rate is extraordinarily bad. ITs not even in the realm of what you'd expect security theater to achieve. IF you hire nearly brain-dead front-line staff, and supervise them with incompetent morons, what do you think is going to happen?