Sorority girls hate America!
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 4,786
Sorority girls hate America!
http://m.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Thick-books-prompt-fears-of-explosives-at-Hobby-6415830.php?cmpid=hpfc
Fair use quote...
The Delta Sigma Theta Sorority held a convention in Houston this week, with about 13,000 sisters in attendance. On Thursday morning they headed home through Hobby.
"Apparently at the convention there were items they were given, which they had packed in their bags," said airport spokesman Bill Begley. "And as they were going through a check in process prompted a secondary search by the TSA."
That turned into a lot of secondary searches conducted by hand by the Transportation Security Administration. Begley could not say what the item was, and the TSA did not immediately respond to an inquiry.
Fair use quote...
The Delta Sigma Theta Sorority held a convention in Houston this week, with about 13,000 sisters in attendance. On Thursday morning they headed home through Hobby.
"Apparently at the convention there were items they were given, which they had packed in their bags," said airport spokesman Bill Begley. "And as they were going through a check in process prompted a secondary search by the TSA."
That turned into a lot of secondary searches conducted by hand by the Transportation Security Administration. Begley could not say what the item was, and the TSA did not immediately respond to an inquiry.
#2
Join Date: Jun 2007
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Ok, so the book is unusually long and narrow, but dude... If I were stopped every time I had a book with me, I'd be stopped every time! Did they think it was a mass terrorist attack with thousands of people coming in with explosives packed obviously into their bags so they could blow up the entire airport? And how does this book look any different from any other book? Nope, this was definitely profiling and I'd be willing to bet that they were all instructed to do secondaries.
#3
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Ok, so the book is unusually long and narrow, but dude... If I were stopped every time I had a book with me, I'd be stopped every time! Did they think it was a mass terrorist attack with thousands of people coming in with explosives packed obviously into their bags so they could blow up the entire airport? And how does this book look any different from any other book? Nope, this was definitely profiling and I'd be willing to bet that they were all instructed to do secondaries.
A raft of LTSOs, STSOs and suits standing around and this is the best they could do?
A single nursery school teacher could have figured out a better approach.
This really gives me confidence that this airport is equipped to handle a genuine catastrophe. Not.
#4
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Join Date: Mar 2002
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Many of the attendees fit a certain profile and were wearing red shirts. Once TSA figured out what the suspicious item was, it shouldn't have taken hours and hours to decide to ask pax in line who were carrying the book to remove it and put it in a separate bin. That would have eliminated the need for secondaries (unless someone also had an 'artfully concealed' cupcake or bottle of nitro pills or bottle of water).
A raft of LTSOs, STSOs and suits standing around and this is the best they could do?
A single nursery school teacher could have figured out a better approach.
This really gives me confidence that this airport is equipped to handle a genuine catastrophe. Not.
A raft of LTSOs, STSOs and suits standing around and this is the best they could do?
A single nursery school teacher could have figured out a better approach.
This really gives me confidence that this airport is equipped to handle a genuine catastrophe. Not.
1. I wonder how many points they earned on the SPOTNik terrorist checklist?
2. I wonder how many of them were groped (OOPS! "received a pat-down) in order to clear the book?
I'll bet the checkpoint scenery was a field day for the male clerks (and some of the female clerks as well).
#5
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Houston, Texas
Posts: 959
Many of the attendees fit a certain profile and were wearing red shirts. Once TSA figured out what the suspicious item was, it shouldn't have taken hours and hours to decide to ask pax in line who were carrying the book to remove it and put it in a separate bin. That would have eliminated the need for secondaries (unless someone also had an 'artfully concealed' cupcake or bottle of nitro pills or bottle of water).
A raft of LTSOs, STSOs and suits standing around and this is the best they could do?
A single nursery school teacher could have figured out a better approach.
This really gives me confidence that this airport is equipped to handle a genuine catastrophe. Not.
A raft of LTSOs, STSOs and suits standing around and this is the best they could do?
A single nursery school teacher could have figured out a better approach.
This really gives me confidence that this airport is equipped to handle a genuine catastrophe. Not.
...oh, never mind!
#6
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: San Francisco Bay Area
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Sorority book causes massive delays at TSA checkpoint at HOU
On Thursday (7/30) a book given out at a sorority convention in Houston resulted in massive delays at Hobby Airport (HOU) when the book caused TSA to do secondary searches of many of the sorority sisters bags because the book looked "suspicious" in TSA's eyes.
“Security lines left the doors of Hobby Airport and traced part of the building's perimeter this morning as thousands of departing sorority sisters raised TSA suspicion with large books.”
http://www.chron.com/news/houston-te...by-6415830.php
“Security lines left the doors of Hobby Airport and traced part of the building's perimeter this morning as thousands of departing sorority sisters raised TSA suspicion with large books.”
http://www.chron.com/news/houston-te...by-6415830.php
#7
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 4,786
Many of the attendees fit a certain profile and were wearing red shirts. Once TSA figured out what the suspicious item was, it shouldn't have taken hours and hours to decide to ask pax in line who were carrying the book to remove it and put it in a separate bin. That would have eliminated the need for secondaries (unless someone also had an 'artfully concealed' cupcake or bottle of nitro pills or bottle of water).
A raft of LTSOs, STSOs and suits standing around and this is the best they could do?
A single nursery school teacher could have figured out a better approach.
This really gives me confidence that this airport is equipped to handle a genuine catastrophe. Not.
A raft of LTSOs, STSOs and suits standing around and this is the best they could do?
A single nursery school teacher could have figured out a better approach.
This really gives me confidence that this airport is equipped to handle a genuine catastrophe. Not.
If they didn't diligently grope everyone, the bad guys win.
#8
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: LAS
Posts: 1,279
Two questions:
1. I wonder how many points they earned on the SPOTNik terrorist checklist?
2. I wonder how many of them were groped (OOPS! "received a pat-down) in order to clear the book?
I'll bet the checkpoint scenery was a field day for the male clerks (and some of the female clerks as well).
1. I wonder how many points they earned on the SPOTNik terrorist checklist?
2. I wonder how many of them were groped (OOPS! "received a pat-down) in order to clear the book?
I'll bet the checkpoint scenery was a field day for the male clerks (and some of the female clerks as well).
#11
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: Finally back in Boston after escaping from New York
Posts: 13,644
I applaud the TSA for their diligence at the checkpoint. I once heard a story about some guy who tunneled out of prison using a rock hammer that he hid in a Bible (which is also a thick book!) before escaping to meet Morgan Freeman in Zihuatanejo. Guys, if just one of these women had a book with a rock hammer in it, they could have taken over the plane and forced it to go to Mexico or something. I know that standing out in the Houston heat for three hours may have represented an inconvenience for certain passengers, but I believe that it is necessary to remain as vigilant as possible in this day and age when bad people are trying to destroy our freedoms.*
Mike
*My apologies to those of you who are new 'round these here parts and not used to my occasional sarcasm. I figured the emoticons weren't necessary in this post, but just in case here's a for good measure.
Mike
*My apologies to those of you who are new 'round these here parts and not used to my occasional sarcasm. I figured the emoticons weren't necessary in this post, but just in case here's a for good measure.
#12
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: MSP
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I applaud the TSA for their diligence at the checkpoint. I once heard a story about some guy who tunneled out of prison using a rock hammer that he hid in a Bible (which is also a thick book!) before escaping to meet Morgan Freeman in Zihuatanejo. Guys, if just one of these women had a book with a rock hammer in it, they could have taken over the plane and forced it to go to Mexico or something. I know that standing out in the Houston heat for three hours may have represented an inconvenience for certain passengers, but I believe that it is necessary to remain as vigilant as possible in this day and age when bad people are trying to destroy our freedoms.*
Mike
*My apologies to those of you who are new 'round these here parts and not used to my occasional sarcasm. I figured the emoticons weren't necessary in this post, but just in case here's a for good measure.
Mike
*My apologies to those of you who are new 'round these here parts and not used to my occasional sarcasm. I figured the emoticons weren't necessary in this post, but just in case here's a for good measure.
#13
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#14
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: Finally back in Boston after escaping from New York
Posts: 13,644
Mike
#15
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: MSP
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I always imagine a different ending in which Red forgets the name of the town that him and Andy talked about. Then he just takes the money and finds somewhere else to go.
"What was the name of that town? Xylophone, Zebra, Zee-something, oh heck, I'm just going home".