Fine? No... this needs to be handled the Chinese way... execution (which I'm heavily opposed to but in this case, I find myself in conflict) of the perps involved in said theft, or giving the government a bad name.

If you're going to isolate your electronics in baggies, I would suggest placing certain items (PCMCIA cards, memory sticks, anything with exposed connecting pins & circuitry inside) in anti-static envelopes & seal them with an appropriate label.

At least insist they not be standing on carpeting while they are inspecting electronics, and require that they touch a grounded surface first.

If you really want to be prepared, throw in a grounding wrist strap, since I doubt the burger flippers will be equipped with anti-static mats & wrist straps.

While I think this kind of stuff needs to be dealt with killing people is sorta of extremely so I'm hoping that you were only joking..

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows 98; PalmSource/Palm-D052; Blazer/4.5) 16;320x320)

It's all coming together now. I watched a fair amount of Kippie's testimony today before Waxman's committee. The GAO guys testified also - including one of the guys who was a penetrator.

A lot of the discussion was about carry-on baggage. kippie's main concern was that a lot of carry-on bags were too heavy for his screeners to safely lift, so his main priority is to reduce the weight limit. It was clear to me that he was headed down the path of "If I ban all carry-on bags, I can't fail any more tests where stuff is hidden in bags." Since Kippie could realistically never get away with a complete ban on carry-ons, the next best thing he can do is to make things as miserable and as inconvenient for those who dare carry on.

FYI - The GAO normally sends a draft of a report to the audited agency about 30 days before the public release, so Kippie knew what was coming. It was very easy for the TSA to plan for and implement this new policy to coincide with the bad press they knew would happen.

I carry several electronic devices either because I need them in flight, or because I cannot check them (for fear of theft or damage, neither of which the airlines or TSA will accept any liability for):

Camera + lenses; depending on the purpose and length of my trip, can be one or 4-5 lenses. Each one has electronics inside them, and I am NOT taking those lenses out and am going to demand the TSA handle each with care if they try to hand-inspect. Camera cables, battery chargers, spare batteries, extra CF cards. Flash.

Laptop; I use it in-flight to get work done, and require it at my destination 99% of the time. Includes external hard drives (1-2) and power supplies, cables, etc. Spare battery. USB thumb drive(s).

iPod + noise-cancelling headset. Unpowered earbud headphones for takeoff and landing (guess those are "electronics" since they have a cable. :rolleyes:

Cell phone + charger.

My company badge contains two microchips. Is it "electronic?" My RSA token to access the corporate VPN definitely is. Neither of these are supposed to be where someone can get at them, but I often need to travel with them, too.

These items are spread over my rollaboard and my laptop bag, and occasionally a camera bag if I am traveling with a lot of camera gear. Unpacking and re-packing those 2-3 bags at the checkpoint is going to be a pain.

Misc: GPS (sometimes--it's tiny, anyway); minature flashlight. Second watch (even the analog one is quartz-driven; guess that's "electronic.")

You know what? The TSA can do it. I'm darn well not going to unpack and tapdance for them. :mad: :td: :mad:

This is clearly CYA. Read the GAO report and read hearing transcripts. Most every member, Republican or Democrat, blasted Kippie for dragging his feet. This web page is a feeble attempt at another "Mythbuster" except that they didn't have the guts to poke Congress and the GAO in the eye by putting this on the Mythbuster page.

That would be great! Sign me up!

Wouldn't this statement be equally true of a police force in X city as well? I don't think it's just limited to the TSA.

It just that most of us have more contact with the TSA on a weekly basis that we do with the police.

You put 40K people in some position of authority and you're going to get the good, the bad and the ugly.

British Virgin Islands ;) mea culpa :)

I could theoretically say SIG-VIJ, SIG-STT, SIG-STX but that would be lying since I don't actually go to an airport for those flights, I go to the port of San Juan.

Ah, yes, the political way to get what you want, regardless of how stupid it is. Make it inconvenient for the public, when they complain tell everyone the way to fix the problem is to ban heavy bags or move to a one-bag limit. Make sure you implement the inconvenient policy at the worst travel time of the year.

It's about administrative convenience, NOT public service.

LAX Terminal 4 was not on the new policy yesterday.

As for Cincinnati, here's something that shows the attitude: Editorial Link

Put the Force in a bin, Luke
 

Read it and get more confused. They are bragging how they stop IEDs. Then "July 2007 Lighter Ban ends". Call me slow but I still do not understand how allowing lighters stops tewwowists from lighting their IEDs. :confused:

"August 2006 UK Liquid Explosive plot foiled" It bothers me when a government agency goes around "foiling things". Sounds too much like TPing a rival frat house. Or preparing the Thanksgiving main course. Besides, governments don't foil things,they FUBAR things.

OTOH, to wire from a battery to a detonator takes two three inch pieces of conductors. The gold plated temple pieces from some eyeglasses are all you need. Time for a Ray Ban :cool: Ban. Are you paying attention, Kip?

Then a major misspelling. "November 2006 EU adoption of 3-1-1 Protocols". It's not "Protocols" Kip, it's "Proctologicols." ^ (appropriate smilie, if gloved)

@:-) OTOH, they have now given us the perfect excuse to slow the line down with more secondaries than they ever dreamed of. I always carry my ID and BP thru the WTMD. Soon when the second checker asks for ID, it's time for "I was only following TSA orders. The moat dragon Ordered me to place ALL electronics in the bin, and my new passport has an RF chip, so it's over there in the xray with the rest of my electronics." @:-)

From that link - for those who have had difficulty there is someone who is interested in hearing about it...."Have you had a problem at an airport checkpoint? Send you experience to [email protected]. Include your name, neighborhood and day phone."

Don't know if they just want to talk about Cincinnati or not.

If they're like the screeners at BWI, they will use "you'll miss your flight" as a retaliatory cry, and assign only a single screener to do secondaries. As a way to "learn" us.

Despite more than 5 years of this nonsensical agency, the ONE thing I am willing to give them complete and total CREDIT for is the elimination of the lighter ban.
The ban was not their idea, it was that of 2 Congressional dimwits who decided it would help with security and didn't mind the fact that the ban was consistent with their personal feelings against smoking.

The ban took time, effort and attention from TSO's which was unneccesary and repealing it was a GOOD move.
Since they no longer have to concentrate on BicLighters, they are "presumably' more able to do other things. I suspect those "other things" aren't very popular here either. ;)

Best, Dave

That made me think of ole Scooby Doo..."...and I'da gotten away with it if those meddling kids hadn't foiled me..."