You already probably knew this, but the TSA will counter by saying "we're not looking for explosives when we x-ray your shoes. We're looking for knives and other weapons hidden inside them."

To be really safe, shoes should be x-rayed, swabbed with the ETD, placed in the "puffer" machine and maybe then sent thru the CTX. Only then should those scary menaces we call "shoes" be allowed on board.

To be fair, the x-ray machines aren't detecting explosives so much as looking for cavities in shoes where explosives might have been placed.

However, I agree completely that the shoe carnival is a farce.

If they wanted to effectively look for explosives, then they'd have something that works similarly to the puffers they're experimenting with. Then, the WTMD would catch embedded contraband other than explosives (which presumably will need to be metallic to make much of a threat on a plane), and the ETD machine of whatever sort would catch the explosives.

Everything is now being done "out of an abundance of caution." That means "you're right, we have no reason for what we're doing, can we move on to the next question please?"

I saw this article this morning and couldn't help but have the reaction, "Duh! We have been discussing this on FT for over a year."

At least there is finally some media coverage of the ineffectiveness of the shoe carnival. If TSA wanted to swab my shoes every time I would be the most cooperative passenger they have ever had.

Life involves much give and take, and I'm willing to give some time and convenience in exchange for real security (ETD), but not for the dog-and-pony show presently on offer.

You have said exactly nothing in this post.

Can to expand your thoughts and rebut our arguments? Or would that be SSI?

Oh, you guys will LOVE this.

From the same page as the OP... ( http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060815/..._plot_security )

How I love the media!

Imbeciles.

Edit: Google cache of the original article http://66.102.7.104/search?q=cache:m...ient=firefox-a

Already posted here.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=590864

The fact that the article in the OP was sanitized is not exactly the same thing as DHS and TSA warring. Such sanitization is just despicable.

Yes, it is. I didn't know there was sanitization going on.

CNN did an interesting piece on this topic tonight. Apparently TSA has back-pedaled and is now saying that they were never looking for explosives in your shoes (!!!) but rather for "anomalies" that could be indicative of explosives. Trust me, I almost fell out of my chair when I heard that, but it got even better from there.

So the CNN folks got a smaller-sized but functionally equivalent version of one of the the X-ray machines the TSA uses (made by the same manufacturer) and showed right on camera how if there's no metal and you do a good job of putting it in, you can easily put explosives into the shoes with no "anomaly" visible on the screen. (and yes, they had the appropriate expert verify this, etc. etc.)

I'm not sure where eyecue is coming up with his "not devastating" comment, but what I saw on CNN tonight, combined with the original AP report, sure seemed pretty darn devastating to me.

What can we do when we have a government bureaucracy that has no compunction whatsoever about lying to our faces?!?

Saw a pretty frightening news story on CBS in San Fran tonight:

The TSA came on, and showed x-rays of shoes with explosives and shoes without explosives. The photos reminded me of a Wily E Coyote and Road Runner cartoon, were ol, Wily E Coyote has the big ol rocket from ACME jammed up his arse. Same thing with the photos of the shoes, the photos were so pain fully obvious. . . I don't believe for a minute these TSA screeners even know what they are looking for, even if it did look like a bomb from ACME.

Secondly, they announced that Air Cargo is not screened for explosives. Is this possibly true? if so. Why aren't the terrorists using the good ol mail bomb? Something does not seem right with that.

Finally, they did a piece on "Facial Profiling". I quit, if the TSA expects me to believe that they will be able to interpret and detect facial cues indicative of someone under stress. Besides how are the going to tell the difference between,
1. Stressed because you hate to fly
2. Stressed because you have to get on a plane do a pitch in the same day
3. Stressed because it is your 10 segment that week, and you have pretty much had it.


No way, they simply are not trained well enough. DHS/TSA are getting a little scary at this point. I can't wait to see this develop. In the mean time, try not to look suspicious.

Deleted

We're all shocked, shocked to learn of this mega security flaw. Someone needs to tell TSA immediately. With last weeks practice, they should be able to ban air cargo by 4 AM tomorrow in the name of Our Safety.

I don't know about the rest of you, but I have heard more people on the radio -- talk shows of all political leanings, disc jockeys, sports talk shows, etc -- all talk about this. The common theme was "If they can't find explosives in shoes in the x-ray, why do I have to take them off???"

By contradicting each other and generally coming across as blithering idiots, Hawley and Chertoff themselves may ulimately succeed in doing what the public has been unable to do for at least a couple of years -- end the shoe carnival.

So can I and those I work with.