"A frustrating chat with two TSA guards"
Sep 11, 2009 | 11:08 am
#1
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"A frustrating chat with two TSA guards"
"Ask the Pilot" Patrick Smith uses the occasion of the 8th anniversary of 9/11, and the recent release of Lockerbie bomber Abdel Baset Ali al-Megrahi, to blast TSA's whole approach to security: "If you ask me, every last dime currently being spent looking for pointy objects, triple-checking people's IDs, and confiscating harmless liquids needs to be redirected."
Read the whole thing.
http://www.salon.com/tech/col/smith/...333/index.html
Read the whole thing.
http://www.salon.com/tech/col/smith/...333/index.html
Sep 11, 2009 | 11:20 am
#2
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"Ask the Pilot" Patrick Smith uses the occasion of the 8th anniversary of 9/11, and the recent release of Lockerbie bomber Abdel Baset Ali al-Megrahi, to blast TSA's whole approach to security: "If you ask me, every last dime currently being spent looking for pointy objects, triple-checking people's IDs, and confiscating harmless liquids needs to be redirected."
Read the whole thing.
http://www.salon.com/tech/col/smith/...333/index.html
Read the whole thing.
http://www.salon.com/tech/col/smith/...333/index.html
What I think should be taken from the article is that the Pam Am bomb was placed onboard by insiders. That's those people that TSA permits into the secure area without screening on a regular basis.
I know, I know, they have had a background check.
Sep 11, 2009 | 11:25 am
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Last week, traveling as a passenger, I boarded a U.S.-bound flight at a foreign airport. I will leave the airport nameless; it really doesn't matter because it's the same situation at many, if not most, of them. <snip> Once at the gate, I had to hoist my bags onto a table in order to let a gloved lackey paw through my laundry in an eagle-eyed search for toothpaste (which, for the record, I also could have sneaked through merely by slipping it into my pocket). And that's not the worst of TSA's let-me-get-this-straight policies. How about the fact that although crew members are subject to the same rigmarole as passengers, other airport workers are not. Caterers, cleaners, mechanics, fuelers, et al., are hit only with occasional random searches.
Sep 11, 2009 | 11:27 am
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How about the fact that although crew members are subject to the same rigmarole as passengers, other airport workers are not.
Sep 11, 2009 | 12:00 pm
#5
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Sep 11, 2009 | 2:52 pm
#7
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I'm curious as to the previous criminal histories of those who have been arrested for crimes related to their airport access.
Sep 11, 2009 | 3:26 pm
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The "security" we were subjected to: swiping his badge and saying hello to the guard by the airline ramp.
Sep 11, 2009 | 4:26 pm
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Sep 12, 2009 | 9:17 am
#10
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From the letters at the end of the article:
Bolding mine. Upper level TSA managment reads FT? They must avoid the security section like the plague.
The dog and pony show continues
"Weren't no bombs that knocked down the World Trade Center," he replied. "It was those knife things..."
Indeed. While riding the Blue Line here in Chicago, one end of which connects to O'Hare, I'm saddened by the outward appearances of those who I see commuting to and from the airport in their TSA outfits. Don't judge a book by its cover and all that, but I'd be surprised if these were the sorts of people who were well-trained to look for all likely threats. They unfortunately don't appear to be any more experienced than the people from whom I occasionally order a chalupa at 1 am.
If I were the sort of person who opposed healthcare reform, I'd hold the TSA up as a prime example of a government operation that is run poorly, expensively, and ultimately fails to achieve its goals. Meanwhile they continue to work on the same premise--that we've gone back in time to September 10th, 2001, and we have to stop that horrible event from happening again. And so it goes.
I happen to be "Muslim-looking" with a foreign name, and someone who travels a fair amount both for work and for vacation. As a tip, I've found that knowing the drill ahead of time--shoes, jacket, wallet, phone, keys, belt, liquids bag, and laptop in bin, and ID and boarding pass in hand--while going through the process with your best Pan Am smile will help prevent you from being singled out. Knock on wood.
Is it sad to have to go through this process? Of course. But it's what we're stuck with for now.
"Weren't no bombs that knocked down the World Trade Center," he replied. "It was those knife things..."
Indeed. While riding the Blue Line here in Chicago, one end of which connects to O'Hare, I'm saddened by the outward appearances of those who I see commuting to and from the airport in their TSA outfits. Don't judge a book by its cover and all that, but I'd be surprised if these were the sorts of people who were well-trained to look for all likely threats. They unfortunately don't appear to be any more experienced than the people from whom I occasionally order a chalupa at 1 am.
If I were the sort of person who opposed healthcare reform, I'd hold the TSA up as a prime example of a government operation that is run poorly, expensively, and ultimately fails to achieve its goals. Meanwhile they continue to work on the same premise--that we've gone back in time to September 10th, 2001, and we have to stop that horrible event from happening again. And so it goes.
I happen to be "Muslim-looking" with a foreign name, and someone who travels a fair amount both for work and for vacation. As a tip, I've found that knowing the drill ahead of time--shoes, jacket, wallet, phone, keys, belt, liquids bag, and laptop in bin, and ID and boarding pass in hand--while going through the process with your best Pan Am smile will help prevent you from being singled out. Knock on wood.
Is it sad to have to go through this process? Of course. But it's what we're stuck with for now.