I'd like to hear more about this. Did you post about it? If not, would you? Thanks.

This is the thread detailing the incident:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trave...ographing.html

Epic thread. ^

+1

I just reread the entire report, and it's amazing what this country has turned into

I am returning the the Mother Ship (Israel) for a while, and I am connecting through Central and West Africa for business. If I said this at Ben Gurion, security guy wouldn't really care: he's observing how I act, not so much what I say. However, if they ever try to give me a hard time, I'll just start talking about Rambam and watch his eyes glaze over LOL

If I say this to a smurf at US airport, they think perhaps they can "bust" me. You see all the arrests TSA seeks to justify its existence, no?

The problem is, the TSA can't be trusted -- at all. In the US, you NEVER share info with police -- ever. Police and agents of gov are NEVER there to help you... it's just SOP. I have some American family in police, and trust me, they don't care!!!

I applaud the TSA for TRYING this method, but they need to:
1) establish that the info can't be used for criminal .... -- at all!
2) hire israelis: tons of israelis would LOVE this job. Getting paid to hassle Americans... I think that's called heaven
3) Accept the fact they'll have to pay more than 45k/yr to get someone reasonably capable for this job... that's the hard-bit.

Terrorism is a real threat, and I am sure there are guys frustrated with just stabbing American tourists in Jerusalem and want to take out a whole PLANE of us... I am beginning to think the TSA will figure it out, but it'll be painful process.

Till then, I fly in/out Canada

THAT'S EXACTLY THE PROBLEM with the Americans doing this: when someone gets INDIGNANT, TRULY INDIGNANT, it PROVES they're innocent.

El Al didn't want my fiance to take her computer once with her on a trip (this was a while ago -- forgot why). She told them, "I'm not flying without my lap-top." They let her go w/o a hassle. Another time, she got asked about some Jewish stuff, and she lost her temper and told them to get stuffed.

Again, they let her go on her way, straight-away.

In both cases, the TSA wouldn't budge, and they'd react as a stupid bureaucracy, rather than an intellgience(LOL!) agency of sorts.

And that would be a bad thing because.... ?

Note to Pistole: You're not a cop anymore, the primary purpose of the TSA is not to catch terrorists. Or criminals or deadbeat dads or underage college kids etc., etc.

Here's some suggestions for responding to behavior detection screeners.

Another idea is to ignore their questions and respond with a sales pitch for pre-need funeral insurance or a great business opportunity called Amway.

My response to strangers who probe me on a personal level is "I'm sorry, do we know one another?" Not that I'm sorry, and not that I care if we know one another -- it's just more polite than "Get lost."

That is good advice. I never talk to strangers. Never know their motives.
Another thing to do is have your MP3 player earphones in, and just ignore anyone talking to you. To add to the effect, be lip syncing the song and slightly dancing while standing in line.

If they touch you in any way, could assault charges be brought against them?

"Are you ready to accept Jesus Christ as your personal saviour?"

That might get them to run...I know I head for the hills when I hear it.

+1. got the chatty TSO working the line this morning while waiting for a checkpoint where NoS was roped off. all in all, that's a good morning. i think they should be using this tactic, and in the event congress / courts manage to relegate NoS to secondary use only, i would expect to see a lot more of it.

BDO's doing their best to keep us safe

No, you do not have to answer any questions and when I have been "asked" both by TSO's in uniform and plainclothes (the ear piece kinda gave it away ), I simply told them to "please use their BDO training to "spot" someone else". Took them a few seconds to pick their jaw up off the floor but that was it and they went away.

Do you believe that a dog will scare a determined terrorist? If you believe that, I invite you to see how some folks are able to beat polygraphs.

"Know your enemy" is very important. I don't think there are very many "determined terrorists". People who are getting mentally prepared to kill themselves aren't exactly in a great mental state and I don't think that comparing them to people who have learned to beat polygraphs is realistic. It won't take much to disrupt the delicate mental balance suicide bombers have formed.

I don't think there are very many "terrorists" period, but the few that actually exist I think are quite determined. There are plenty of people who are quite prepared to kill themselves. Even eager. A dog isn't going to stop them. And they certainly aren't going to be afraid of one no matter how large and ferocious. If you have no fear of death I think it's pretty reasonable to assume that you won't be too afraid of dogs either. I don't think a suicidal person has any sort of "delicate mental balance". It is a stable condition. They have committed to dying for a cause that they believe in. What they consider a noble cause. If they are discovered by a dog they can just blow themselves up, preferably in the most crowded area possible. A busy checkpoint could be even better in terms of casualties, fear, and potential political change than an airplane. I can just imagine that they would love to see the effect of that on security procedures. Pre-checkpoints would surely be the result. And then pre-pre-checkpoints ad infinitum. It would almost be funny if it weren't so ridiculous.