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Old Dec 6, 2016, 2:30 pm
  #106  
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It's been documented the TSA does indeed search for drugs... in order to receive cash informant payouts from the DEA:

http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulli.../12/snoop-case

Edit: Sorry, looks like someone already posted this
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Old Dec 6, 2016, 3:50 pm
  #107  
 
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Originally Posted by Loren Pechtel
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Use_forms_of_explosives

Just because you can do a Google search doesn't mean you actually accomplished much. Your hit #1 links to the page I linked above--note there is no "powder" category.

The only powders on that first hit are black powder--which I dismissed as without confinement it's not useful, flash powder--again, not useful, and ammonal--you need a hefty blasting cap for that.
I am not going to do all of the work for you. Powdered explosives exist, they are a dangerous and they are a possible threat. If you wish to learn more, the link I gave you above would be a decent starting place. Suffice to say, there are some powdered explosives that are more dangerous than others, just like liquid explosives and plastiques.

Dismissing them, and making assumptions (as was done at the beginning of this thread), only make the discussion and many points represented , much less of a discussion and much more of a bashing without factual basis. Unless that was the whole point of the thread?
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Old Dec 6, 2016, 3:51 pm
  #108  
 
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Originally Posted by FliesWay2Much
I know -- As you pointed out above, if allowed to train themselves, some will become counternarcotics experts via The Google, some by watching Cops; and some by personal hands-on experience. I just can't believe that they "accidentally" discover drugs or illegal cash. Maybe I'll start carrying a Zip-lock bag of oregano and see what happens.
You may or may not experience a change in what happens, it all depends on what it looks like on the xray.
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Old Dec 6, 2016, 5:42 pm
  #109  
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Originally Posted by gsoltso
I am not going to do all of the work for you. Powdered explosives exist, they are a dangerous and they are a possible threat. If you wish to learn more, the link I gave you above would be a decent starting place. Suffice to say, there are some powdered explosives that are more dangerous than others, just like liquid explosives and plastiques.

Dismissing them, and making assumptions (as was done at the beginning of this thread), only make the discussion and many points represented , much less of a discussion and much more of a bashing without factual basis. Unless that was the whole point of the thread?
Bashing the TSA's fishing expeditions -- and its being rewarded for fishing expeditions -- for items that don't directly impact flight safety/security isn't a point? It certainly seems to have furthered the discussion.

The fact is that administrative searches at US airports weren't legally justified on the basis of making airports a place for government to operate dragnets for law enforcement unrelated to flight safety. And yet that has been increasingly what the TSA is doing. And that is what is getting the TSA the criticism it deserves.

The TSA needs to focus better in order to execute better on delivering security for flights. Part of that focus improvement can only happen if the TSA stops being distracted, and rewarded for being distracted, by things that don't physically endanger the flights.
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Old Dec 6, 2016, 5:47 pm
  #110  
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Originally Posted by gsoltso
You may or may not experience a change in what happens, it all depends on what it looks like on the xray.
I posit that oregano, or pot, never looks like WEI on xray.
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Old Dec 11, 2016, 3:56 pm
  #111  
 
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Originally Posted by Boggie Dog
I posit that oregano, or pot, never looks like WEI on xray.
And exactly what training/life experience gives you the ability to posit that as more than just a guess?
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Old Dec 11, 2016, 4:16 pm
  #112  
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Originally Posted by gsoltso
And exactly what training/life experience gives you the ability to posit that as more than just a guess?
Expeirence with xray equipment and illict drug identification training.
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Old Dec 11, 2016, 6:26 pm
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Originally Posted by Boggie Dog
Expeirence with xray equipment and illict drug identification training.
I will not comment on your training, I will not comment on your abilities - as I have no idea what they actually entail. I will say that in this case you are mistaken in your positing.
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Old Dec 11, 2016, 6:36 pm
  #114  
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Originally Posted by gsoltso
I will not comment on your training, I will not comment on your abilities - as I have no idea what they actually entail. I will say that in this case you are mistaken in your positing.
Explain why I'm mistaken.
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Old Dec 12, 2016, 6:37 am
  #115  
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Originally Posted by gsoltso
I will not comment on your training, I will not comment on your abilities - as I have no idea what they actually entail. I will say that in this case you are mistaken in your positing.
Which WEI ever look like oregano, or pot, on an X-ray image?
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Old Dec 12, 2016, 8:58 am
  #116  
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Originally Posted by Boggie Dog
Explain why I'm mistaken.
Originally Posted by GUWonder
Which WEI ever look like oregano, or pot, on an X-ray image?
In terms of his explanation, I offer the following:

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Old Dec 13, 2016, 3:58 pm
  #117  
 
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Originally Posted by Boggie Dog
Explain why I'm mistaken.
Originally Posted by GUWonder
Which WEI ever look like oregano, or pot, on an X-ray image?
There are several E and I items that are similar in composition to oregano, thus they give the similar appearances.

I will not do all of the research for you, but looking up powdered and some other formats of explosives, and reviewing them closely, can give you an idea.

I can not go into specifics, but I have given you enough information in this one post, that you can do a comparison of items and find the correlations.
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Old Dec 14, 2016, 4:01 am
  #118  
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Originally Posted by gsoltso
There are several E and I items that are similar in composition to oregano, thus they give the similar appearances.
Which explosives and incendiaries look like oregano on the x-rays used by the TSA? If there are several that do -- and I don't know that there may be -- I would be surprised if those several explosives or incendiaries known by TSA screeners are classified as secret explosives or incendiaries.

Last edited by GUWonder; Dec 14, 2016 at 4:06 am
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Old Dec 14, 2016, 7:28 am
  #119  
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Originally Posted by gsoltso
There are several E and I items that are similar in composition to oregano, thus they give the similar appearances.

I will not do all of the research for you,
but looking up powdered and some other formats of explosives,
and reviewing them closely, can give you an idea.

I can not go into specifics, but I have given you enough information in this one post, that you can do a comparison of items and find the correlations.
But we are not talking about explosives. Apparently some people think Oregano or MJ look like explosives on x-ray. I don't think so. MJ is generally not a powder. Oregano is typically found only in small quantities. Neither have the earmarks of an explosive.

I haven't asked anyone to do research for me but an earlier comment said I was wrong. I only ask for a demonstration of how I am wrong. That hasn't been given.
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Old Dec 15, 2016, 9:54 am
  #120  
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Here's Why It's Tough to Get TSA Drug Searches in Front of a Judge!

People are stupid!

A member of the all-female pop group Fifth Harmony was taken into custody at Dulles International Airport Tuesday night after authorities say they found marijuana in her bag.

Lauren Jauregui was catching an international flight when an X-ray machine detected a knife and torch lighter in one of her bags, a law enforcement official said.

Jauregui agreed to a search of her bag and a "green leafy substance" was found.

Source: Fifth Harmony Singer Lauren Jauregui Found With Marijuana at Dulles Airport, Officials Say | NBC4 Washington http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/lo...#ixzz4SvQ7nYHQ
Follow us: @nbcwashington on Twitter | NBCWashington on Facebook
Stupidity factors (bolded above):

1. Taking pot on an international flight;

2. Providing a ready-made excuse for the TSA to search a bag and "accidentally" discover a "green leafy substance."

If this mission creep is ever going to see its day in court, somebody has to do a better job making sure ensuring that there is no reasonable "WEI" explanation for a bag search. I would do my baggie of oregano experiment by putting the baggie in a separate closed paper or plastic bag that I would put in the bin separately. So, the only reason to look in the bag would be to "discover the green leafy substance." And, the search and everything else that happens at the checkpoint must be filmed.
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