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30 Jun 2011 10:56

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U.S.: Dude who managed to stow away on flight passed security check

  • fail Last Friday, some dude managed to stow away on a Virgin America flight from New York to Los Angeles; he was only caught after passengers started telling flight attendants that his seat was supposed to be empty.
  • double-fail However, Olajide Oluwaseun Noibi’s total security breach went undetected by TSA officials — in fact, despite holding an outdated ticket that wasn’t in his name, he passed through security checks with no issues. *facepalm* source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink


15 Jun 2011 11:32

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Tech: Texas Rep. David Simpson gets a high-five over his anti-TSA bill

  • Right now, searches are proceeding under the object of preventing terrorist activities. But we’ve got to draw a line. You’ve got to have reasonable cause to touch people’s private parts.
  • Texas State Rep. David Simpson • Discussing his bill to prevent the TSA from intrusively groping people in the name of national security. (Which, as you might know, is kind of a pet issue for us.) The bill actually went somewhere last month — it passed the state’s legislature. However, it stalled in the senate because the state got pushback from the federal government, who threatened to stop flights into Texas if the bill became law. Simpson (a Republican), however, notes that the law doesn’t prevent these searches, but forces a good reason for them to happen: “But what we’re basically saying is, ‘Show me the law that says you can touch my private parts in order to travel and I’ll let you do it.’” This guy deserves a high-five. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink


16 Mar 2011 10:59

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World: Airline security: Could the TSA get a “frequent-flyer” program?

  • cause In an effort to improve our country’s air security after the 9/11 attacks, the Transportation Security Administration came to being. They’ve tightened security repeatedly over the years.
  • effect The most recent major tightening they’ve made forces people to either walk through a metal clap trap, get felt up by people with latex gloves, or play civil disobedience like this guy did.
  • solution? A way to prevent this type of annoyingness for frequent flyers — which would require the exchange of personal info — is on the table. The travel industry wants to see this, stat. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink


07 Jan 2011 22:09

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Politics: TSA: Don’t try to be cute with your underwear choices, terrorists

  • Passengers should be aware that the use of these types of products will likely result in a pat-down. Some might think this is TSA’s way of getting back at clever passengers. That’s not the case at all. It’s just security.
  • The TSA’s ultra-friendly PR blogger, “Blogger Bob” • Telling people that they can’t wear underwear cleverly designed to block nether-regions from full-body scanners without risking a pat-down. Which is a clever idea, but apparently too clever for the TSA. One commenter put it like so: “Bob, how does it feel telling citizens what kind of panties they should wear?” We’d like to buy that commenter a beer. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink


01 Jan 2011 20:06

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U.S.: Good: Some airports replacing the TSA with private firms

  • If you look at [the TSA’s] performance, have they ever stopped a terrorist? Anyone can get through. We’ve been very lucky, very fortunate. TSA should focus on its mission: setting up the protocol, adapting to the changing threats and gathering intelligence.
  • Rep. John L. Mica • Arguing that the TSA should go away in some of the nation’s largest airports. Some of them have already made the decision on their own – sixteen separate airports have switched to private firms since 2002, some in cities as big as San Francisco and Kansas City. And DC’s two main airports are thinking of getting rid of the TSA, too. Not that we’re going out of the way to agree with GOP members, but we think that Mica is absolutely right that the TSA was “never intended to be an army of 67,000 employees.” The private firms, by the way (so we don’t get too crazy effusive with our praise here), have to provide the same level of security and must use the same tools (including the pat-downs and the full-body scans), and must follow TSA guidelines … so it’s not that different. But they can provide a personal touch that a blob like the TSA might not. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink


27 Dec 2010 08:03

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U.S.: Will the TSA’s body scans and pat-downs continue after the holidays?

  • YES because it's "objectively safer" or something source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink


23 Nov 2010 21:01

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U.S.: TSA topic du jour: How much we pay for the body scanners

  • $130k+ the cost of buying a new TSA scanner – they sell for as much as $170,000
  • 500 number of new scanners that Obama wants to buy next year alone
  • $88M the amount set aside in his budget for such invasive things source
  • » A big business: A lot of money is going towards these devices – $80 million has been paid already for the ones already in use, most of that coming out of the stimulus. The effect has been that many firms are trying to get on what’s proving to be very fruitful business.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink


 

23 Nov 2010 09:03

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U.S.: With the TSA, huge fines threatened, but not forthcoming

  • $11,000 the fine passengers could face by walking away from the enhanced security checkpoints
  • $0 the amount people have been fined so far for refusing the controversial procedures source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink


22 Nov 2010 10:53

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Politics: TSA Chief John Pistole sounding meeker in each new TV appearance

  • There should never be a situation where that happens. The security officers are there to protect the traveling public. There are specific standard operating protocols which they are to follow.
  • TSA Chief John Pistole • In response to a situation that an ABC News employee went through in an airport yesterday, around the time that Pistole was embarrassing himself on CNN. Here’s what she said: “The woman who checked me reached her hands inside my underwear and felt her way around. It was basically worse than going to the gynecologist. It was embarrassing. It was demeaning. It was inappropriate.” So yeah, try to defend that, TSA Chief. You can’t. You’re in the middle of a PR nightmare. Enjoy. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink


21 Nov 2010 21:57

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U.S.: Thanks Candy Crowley: The no-waver TSA begins to waver

  • Ah boy … Here comes the backtrack. Just hours after their leader, John Pistole, embarrassed himself on CNN’s “State of the Union” by suggesting that feeling people up was OK (thanks to some very tough questioning by host Candy Crowley), the TSA released a statement suggesting that they may in fact bend their policies. “This has always been viewed as an evolving program that will be adapted as conditions warrant,” the statement said, “and we greatly appreciate the cooperation and understanding of the American people.” How far will they bend? How much will they adapt? We’ll find out in the next episode of “TSA Chief Goes on Television and Comes off Looking Like a Jackass.” source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 1 Comment • Permalink


 
 
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