BootsnAll Travel Community

From this week's "Ask the Pilot"

You think this is silly, and it is, but a week ago my mother caused a small commotion at a checkpoint at Boston-Logan after screeners discovered a large container of homemade tomato sauce in her bag. What with the preponderance of spaghetti grenades and lasagna bombs, we can all be proud of their vigilance. And, as a liquid, tomato sauce is in clear violation of the Transportation Security Administration's carry-on statutes. But this time, there was a wrinkle: The sauce was frozen.

No longer in its liquid state, the sauce had the guards in a scramble. According to my mother's account, a supervisor was called over to help assess the situation. He spent several moments stroking his chin. "He struck me as the type of person who spent most of his life traveling with the circus," says Mom, who never pulls a punch, "and was only vaguely familiar with the concept of refrigeration." Nonetheless, drawing from his experiences in grade-school chemistry and at the TSA academy, he sized things up. "It's not a liquid right now," he observantly noted. "But it will be soon."

"I wonder if this isn't a test," murmured another guard. The dreaded, mind-bending, what-if-it's-frozen test.

"Please," urged my mother. "Please don't take away my dinner."

Lo and behold, they did not. Whether out of confusion, sympathy or embarrassment, she was allowed to pass with her murderous marinara.

My father, meanwhile, was at the adjacent checkpoint, arguing with a screener over a can of shaving cream and a small collection of fishing lures.

CNN: Homeland Security tracks travelers' meals

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Without notifying the public, federal agents have assigned millions of international travelers, including Americans, computer-generated scores rating the risk they pose of being terrorists or criminals.

The travelers are not allowed to see or directly challenge these risk assessments. The government intends to keep the scores on file for 40 years.

The scores are assigned to people entering and leaving the United States after computers assess their travel records, including where they are from, how they paid for tickets, their motor vehicle records, past one-way travel, seating preference and what kind of meal they ordered.


I wonder if my consistent pattern of 'western vegetarian' is raising any red flags?

This has been silent for ahwile, but I need more posts and more links for my research. Any more?

Unit 5: Lost Security

...
According to the agency's records from 2005-2006, TSA employees at airports throughout the nation have lost 1,183 badges and nearly 1,000 government-issued uniforms. In Chicago, TSA agents reported 131 missing badges and 11 missing uniforms , Rogers reported -- No. 1 among all U.S. airports.
...

That do ya well, Jedi?

Smuggling, theft, bribery at Homeland Security: Agency staff misconduct is outlined in a report...

...the report, released this week, also highlights a litany of staff misconduct: immigration officials demanding sex in exchange for visas, airport screeners stealing money from tourists' luggage, federal air marshals smuggling drugs, and employees from various DHS agencies committing sex crimes — including indecent exposure and distributing child pornography.
...
Two TSA screeners were caught pilfering jewelry from luggage, while another was found smuggling more than $80,000 in an attempt to avoid reporting income brought into the country. Another team of four screeners targeted Japanese tourists until one was caught stealing up to $1,800 from checked luggage.

Many of the offenses involved getting contraband past barriers. Two federal air marshals were snared by a DHS and FBI investigation that found the marshals had sought and accepted a bribe to shepherd 15 kilograms of cocaine through airports. Two guards at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement prison sold alcohol and cigarettes to the illegal immigrants in their custody.
...

Here's a good one.

12/6/06

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- An American Airlines flight was forced to make an emergency landing Monday morning after a passenger lit a match to disguise the scent of flatulence, authorities said.

The Dallas-bound flight was diverted to Nashville after several passengers reported smelling burning sulfur from the matches, said Lynne Lowrance, spokeswoman for the Nashville International Airport Authority. All 99 passengers and five crew members were taken off and screened while the plane was searched and luggage was screened.

The FBI questioned a passenger who admitted she struck the matches in an attempt to conceal a ''body odor,'' Lowrance said. She had an unspecified medical condition, authorities said.

''It's humorous in a way but you feel sorry for the individual, as well,'' she said. ''It's unusual that someone would go to those measures to cover it up.''

The flight took off again, but the woman was not allowed back on the plane. The woman, who was not identified, was not charged in the incident.

Baby put under airport X-ray (December 20, 2006)

LOS ANGELES -- A woman going through security at Los Angeles International Airport put her month-old grandson into a plastic bin intended for carry-on items and slid it into an X-ray machine.
...
Security experts said the incident underscored a more widespread concern about the screening process. "The screeners are still reporting that they're being pushed," said Brian Sullivan, a retired Federal Aviation Administration security agent. "If a baby can get through, what . . . else can get through?"

Report Says TSA Violated Privacy Law

Passengers Weren't Told That Brokers Provided Data to Screening Program in '04

"Secure Flight, the U.S. government's stalled program to screen domestic air passengers against terrorism watch lists, violated federal law during a crucial test phase, according to a report to be issued today by the Homeland Security Department's privacy office.

The agency found that by gathering passenger data from commercial brokers in 2004 without notifying the passengers, the program violated a 1974 Privacy Act requirement that the public be made aware of any changes in a federal program that affects the privacy of U.S. citizens."

Ariel the Terrorist



Traveling out of Burbank airport yesterday, the day after Christmas, my 5 year-old daughter's new Ariel doll was confiscated by TSA officials as a possible forbidden explosive device. As her tiny backpack emerged from the scanner, the TSA guy asked, in his gruff official tone, "Whose bag is this?"

"It's mine," my 5 year-old responded.

"The scanner shows that you packed toothpaste in here."

"No, I didn't," she said.

"No, she didn't," I added.

As he searched her tiny 8"x8" backback, the TSA guy found this Ariel doll, with its gel bendable tail piece, and declared that the tail section violated the ridiculous "no-liquid-more-than-3-ounces" rule. He took it.

"It's not a liquid; it looks more like a gel," I argued. But arguing didn't help.

"You can put it in your checked backage," he offered.

"But you know that by the time we reach you, we've already checked our luggage," I replied.

"That's all I can offer you," he said. "If you don't check it, it has to remain with us."

Try explaining to a 5-year old why the Ariel doll she received as a present has been confiscated by a government official.

I went over to a local Burbank police officer and asked if he could do something to help. He politely deferred to TSA, saying that airport security was "All TSA's authority.....And they're nuts." Amen.

quote:

You think this is silly, and it is, but a week ago my mother caused a small commotion at a checkpoint at Boston-Logan

Some thoughts on the post by 2wander:

The key to the actions of TSA is the airport:

Logan.

Logan was one of the airports where the s_itbirds of 9-11 boarded aircraft.

Take a moment and empathize with the TSA personnel...and the other good folks who protect all who travel, not just TSA but also the "gatekeepers", ticket agents, gate personnel in particular.

Logan personnel will be FOREVER vigilant post 9-11. And, as a citizen who flies occasionally, I salute their vigilance.

On Oprah, was one of the ticket agents. He felt that of the s_itbirds of 9-11 was "hinky". It was nothing specific, just his "gut" told him this guy was not right. What did his "gut" tell him? He picked up on the dead, souless eyes of the s_itbird. He described his guilt as he described his "failure" (his word) to not alert airport law enforcement.

He also spoke of another ticket agent who felt the same way about the s_itbird. This agent, a woman, believed that had she listened to her "gut", the s_itbird would have been stopped from boarding. She took "internal ownership" for the series of events that began on 9-11 from her post. Several months later, she committed suicide.

Both of these agents had let "pc" ("political correctness") "override" their gut instincts.

Now, move on to 2006. Six imans rolled out their rugs to pray at their departure gate, post 9-11, to pray. Bad move.
Airport personnel would have been derelict in their duties had they not confronted these imans. The imans were denied access to their flight by airport personnel. Good move.
The imans could have had a "worse" day. They could have been subjected to strip and/or cavity search.

Those of you who fly perhaps consider that the sacred work of TSA is a "hassle". Someday, you might want to consider travel on El Al. Multiple layers of subtle and not so subtle security are in force there. You may be stopped, questioned and stopped from proceeding to the El Al airline counter. To date, there has never been a hijack that began at El Al. The good folks of El Al Airline are most definitely not concerned with "pc", your "instant umbrage", your sense of "entitlement", etc. They ARE, however, forever vigilant. It works.

They do use "profiles". Contrast the use of "profiles" in the USA. "Instant umbrage" again raised its ugly head courtesy of ACLU, et al when the use of profiles were disclosed and discussed. El Al does not comment, EVER, on its security procedures including its profiling.

Here is an idea...have some empathy for gatekeepers, TSA personnel and the law enforcement you encounter. When your toothpaste (metaphorical or actual) is confiscated, take ownership of your actions and tell the TSA worker, "I understand. You are just doing your job. Thank you."

quote:

Originally posted by Highcountry:
Take a moment and empathize with the TSA personnel...and the other good folks who protect all who travel, not just TSA but also the "gatekeepers", ticket agents, gate personnel in particular.
...
Here is an idea...have some empathy for gatekeepers, TSA personnel and the law enforcement you encounter.

Shall we empathize with TSA personnel violating privacy laws, stealing from passengers, losing 1,000 badges and nearly 1,000 uniforms, barring travel by unlikely terrorists, failing consistently screening tests, and cheating on security tests???

The TSA, as a bureaucratic whole, behaves as if it is more concerned about the perception of security than security itself. The poorly paid front line staff are notoriously inconsistent and prone to power tripping. I struggle to understand how you can comfortably defend an incompetent Orwellian system that is so fundamentally flawed.

TSA staff are worthy of the criticism the flying public dishes out.

Airport glitch sends 3,000 through screening again

Transportation Security Administration officials are investigating what led to the "improper screening" of some passengers at the Nashville International Airport and the evacuation and re-screening of about 3,000 passengers Thursday.

The easy out is to paint the TSA with a very broad brush based on a few isolated instances of theft, etc.

On Nashville incident: Perhaps there was "improper screening" which did result in rescreen of 3,000.
If so, 3,000 folks were inconvenienced. Big deal.

Courtesy still does count even in our current neoplastic age of self-entitlement and instant umbrage.

Here is a suggestion for the year 2007 for any of you down on the TSA: After you go thru security with or without a secondary search, say "Thank You" to a TSA employee as you move on to your gate. Whether you care to believe or not, that employee "has your back". This is congruent with the work of incredible men and women who serve in harm's way each day.

Recently, a small group of Marines boarded a commercial aircraft enroute back to the "world" after a year in Iraq. All of the first class passengers gave up their seats and concommitant priveleges to these Marines and took their coach seats. These passengers truly felt a gratitude and a debt to these young Marines that could never be repayed.
They did, however, find a way to show their gratitude.

I leave you with a question: When was the last time you showed gratitude to someone who is employed in the air transport industry? Did you take the time to "get a name" and a supervisor's name so that you could send a thank you note? I have and do so just about every time I fly. Know why? I choose to open my eyes and see the "little kindnesses" and recognize them.

If any of you have had similar moments of gratitude, feel free to share them on this thread. Yes, it would be a different kind of "tale from the TSA".

Good luck, God Bless and don't forget to leave that toothpaste at home

[QUOTE]
Now, move on to 2006. Six imans rolled out their rugs to pray at their departure gate, post 9-11, to pray. Bad move.
Airport personnel would have been derelict in their duties had they not confronted these imans. The imans were denied access to their flight by airport personnel. Good move.[/QUOTE}

Hello Highcountry.
Why?
Just wondering your reasoning. I don't understand this part of your post. Perhaps you left something out.

Please explain.
Thanks.

Highcountry, you're failing to see the big picture. You're one of those people who can be heard in the hour-long lines saying things like "better safe than sorry."

If it really were a question of safety, I might agree. But stripped of emotion and looked at logically, you'll find that the long lines at the airport are not making you any safer.

Consider for a second four major changes that have taken place in airport security since 9/11, and consider what works and what doesn't, and what's had the biggest impact the flier's experience.

• Individual airport security authorities are disbanded and replaced by the TSA. Results - negligible. The TSA continues has much the same flaws as the independent authorities had (underpaid staff doing a repetitive job don't always catch everything), just with more overhead to maintain a national bureaucracy. There may be some benefit to increased standardization of training and hiring practices, but the big thing here is that front-line people have less discretion than they've have had before, so the 8 year old's pocketknife is treated as as big a threat as the big burly biker guy's dagger.
  
  Results, positive, negative - not much
  
  Effect on security - no conclusive data, but appears to be very little.
  
  
• In immediate aftermath, common items such as pocket knifes, butterknives, safety razors, knitting needles and other common items were confiscated by the millions.
  
  Results, positive: major sales boost to manufacturers of newly banned items. People feel safer.
  
  Results, negative: long lineups, major hassles, flying becomes a less pleasant experience, and you often end up with the incidental cost of replacing items which are now banned.
  
  Effect on security: negligible. Many people report not having recently banned items actually confiscated, and any sufficiently creative terrorist could easily fashion a substitute using materials freely available in the secure area.
  
  
• Cockpit doors are replaced with armoured models, and new procedures require that they be kept locked as much as possible, and should hijackers get on board, not to open them at all. This is a huge mental shift from before, where a hijacking was just thought of as kidnapping a plane, and thus the procedure was to follow the demands of the hijackers.
  
  Results, positive - 9/11 style hijacking become essentially impossible, as long as the pilots keep the door closed.
  
  Results, negative - no more cockpit tours.
  
  Effect on security - huge. A repeat of 9/11 becomes effectively impossible. Traditional hijackings are still possible, since with the right weapons you could still take the passengers hostage, and the pilot would be likely to accept your demands so long as he remains locked in the cockpit, in control of the plane.
  
  
• In the wake of uncovering an immature, unrealistic, Hollywood style plot in London, liquids and gels are banned on all flights (some countries allow liquids purchased past security to be carried on, others don't make any changes except for US/UK/Israel bound flights). Later refined to the even stranger rule involving 100 mL bottles.
  
  Results, positive - again, the unthinking mob feels safer.
  
  Results, negative - Long security lineups, people suffer from dehydration on long flights, people chug drinks before entering security, resulting in long lineups of people who really need to go at the bathrooms shortly after takeoff. Flying becomes a positively embittering experience.
  
  Effect on security - ZERO. Anyone who took the time to read up on the "threat" would have realized the guys planning it took it out of a movie, not out of a chemistry text. To mix two liquids together to form an explosive would require a heat source, and a few hours cooking time, probably suspiciously locked in the can. Additionally, there's a high probability that an amateur, or anyone without proper breathing equipment, would be either overcome by fumes, or would trigger a premature explosion which might destroy the bathroom, but wouldn't have the power to do any significant damage to the plane's airworthiness.
  
  With the the refinement to allowing 100mL bottles, the zero security effect becomes even more zeroish, since you can now quite legitimately bring liquids-that-can-be-mixed-to-form-explosives-with-the-right-time-and-equipment on board again, so long as they're divided into 100mL bottles.

Now from your posts, I think that you're interpreting us as having ill-will toward the front line TSA agents. I don't think that's true. We may be bitter at them from time to time, but we all realize that it's that idiots above them who make stupid policies and then don't allow the front line people to exercise any discretion.

Highcountry, your TSA cheerleading skills are impressive. Very. Now put down your "I (heart) TSA" flag now and pay attention to what is going on in air travel today.

My brush of cycism is just as broad as your brush of support. And isolated? Boo sheet. 1000 lost TSA badges is not isolated. When the TSA officials at SFO coluded with each other to pass the security test, well, that was not just one lone bag inspector up to no good.

The point is that there are systematic problems at TSA...problems that endanger the flying public. Pretending they are just one-offs, slapping the TSA on the back and saying "heck of a job", etc. is actually counter productive to improving air travel security.

quote:

This is congruent with the work of incredible men and women who serve in harm's way each day.¨

The flying public is in more danger than TSA bag screeners. Seriously. I suspect night clerks at gas stations are in more danger.

And that Marine's in 1st class tale...what are you saying? That TSA bag screeners are worthy of the same honor we bestow onto Marines? Nice attempt at emotionally linking combat worn Marines with Ariel-the-terrorist confiscating bag screeners...but no go.

I'll second 2wanderers post and leave it at that.

US 'licence to snoop' on British air travellers

Britons flying to America could have their credit card and email accounts inspected by the United States authorities following a deal struck by Brussels and Washington.

By using a credit card to book a flight, passengers face having other transactions on the card inspected by the American authorities. Providing an email address to an airline could also lead to scrutiny of other messages sent or received on that account.

Wow, looks like the poster that feared that this thread was going moribund should now be quite happy!

And now a response to those who posted since my last post on this thread:

Nope, I am not a TSA cheerleader. Got a chuckle over that one. TSA has its issues. No argument there. However, overall, when you do a nationwide take on TSA, it does a pretty good job.

No, I do not equate a TSA screener with a US Marine. In a fight, I would hope that a Marine would have my Six as I would have his or hers. Their is one exception to this: If the screener is a Marine!

1000 lost badges? Have not heard that one. My bad. I suspect that they were not badges but standard TSA patches that go on the shirts. Do correct me if I am wrong on this one.

Yes, pay is an issue but TSA screeners are payed more, even at entry level than entry -level private screeners pre-9-11.
They are also federal employees subject to background, fingerprinting, etc prior to hire.

Re the imans who "chose" to throw down their mats at their gate to address the query by another poster. Did they do anything "illegal"? Probably not though a case could be made for interference with commercial air traffic, a federal offense. Did they, however, act in a way, in a post 9-11 world that was certain to bring INTENSE attention to themselves? Damn right they did. Given their subsequent "instant umbrage" in their media interviews, I sense that it was less a freedom of religion issue and more a challenge to authority. An "I-can-pray-anyway-anytime-I-want" attitude seemed to be what was conveyed. It was a bad move. It was an insensitive move given the post 9-11 world. These imans, would never had made to an El Al gate. The "Hinky" alarms would have been going off LONG before they made to the gate. Strip/cavity searches probably would have been done. So, damn right, the gate folks, airport cops, etc did the right thing and denied them their flight.

Personally, I have little tolerance for those with "instant umbrage/attitude/entitlement issues". My bad.

Respectfully, I disagree. We are safer now with TSA. If you look back years before 9-11, several flights were compromised in the past that would not be compromised today.

One other point: Is Freedom relative or absolute? To me, it is relative, not absolute. Tom Clancy wrote in one of his novels about hijackers flying planes into NYC buildings. He made a good chunk of change. Here is a thought: Don't write that s*it!!!

"News" organizations today love to play tape given to them by insurgents showing hostages with knives to their throats. These hostages were somebody's son, father, husband, daughter, mother, wife. News HUMPS do not realize/cannot process/cannot accept that they are mindless dupes and have given terrorists a free, worldwide "press release". Hey, here is a thought: Don't show these tapes!
Instead, oh-news-HUMP, Ask yourself, If MY loved one was being held by insurgent punks, would I want his/her face of fear splashed across the screen?

CNN, in particular, felt the need to show tape of insurgents opening up on US soldiers. Correct if I am wrong but Atlanta, GA, home of CNN is within the USA. To paraphrase a very noble First Lady, "Show some respect, CNN". One must keep in mind, that, until recently, Ted Turner, CNN head, was married to Hanoi Jane Fonda. Yes, you have, I am sure, seen the photos of Hanoi Jane, posing on NV antiaircraft gun. What many of you may not know was this was not her most egregious act that day.

Earlier, as she shook hands with American POWs, each palmed her a small piece of paper with his name and SSN on it. Coyly, she collected these papers THEN gave them to NVN!!!! The POWs took a helluva beating after she left.

One final note on the CNN broadcast of insurgents opening up on US troops: To his great credit, a midwesterner who owns several hotels here in the midwest, when he learned of CNN's broadcast , removed CNN from the cable feed of all his hotels. He held CNN accountable. And, no, this owner, was not a vet.

Of course, you have the NY Times who insisted to USMC Commandant that Americans had a "right to know" that there was a weakness in USMC body armor for IQ and AF and so published it over the vehement objections of the Commandant who had explained that this weakness was already being addressed and that by publishing this "tidbit", this word-bite, this byline, this 15 lines of (in)fame(y) PUT US MARINES AT EVEN GREATER RISK.
Publication of this weakness was TREASON.

Here is a final thought...most of you, I sense, are quite a bit younger than me. You "grew up" with cell phones, pagers, fax, the 'net, IM, etc. You get your news in sound bites, video bites and you make your decision. You do not take a step back and say...Wait, wait...is that right? That does not sound right.

Example1: You have Iran's leader who wants to nuke something so bad he can taste it yet guess what has happened in Iran? His party pics were sounded defeated in recent elections. Guess where young Iranians men and women want to study: the USA. What do they want to study: English.

Example2: How many of you believe that no WMD exists in IQ?
Then, ask yourself why you believe this. You believe this, I suspect, because mouthpieces like Matthews, et al, have "told" you there are no WMD. Now, take a step back.

You KNOW the Kurds were gassed.

Gulf War Syndrome among returning vets is, very sadly, very, very real.

You KNOW the Israelis hit Dimona, IQ's nuke site, after it was successfully infiltrated and exposed by a very courageous Israeli technician.

Ask yourself, has every square foot of IQ sand been excavated to 30 feet down? Nope. IQ was, and still is, a very big sandbox. Chances are that at least some of IQ WMD are now in Syria given recent reports. After all, the diplo(door)MATS gave Hussein three months to get them out before the Coalition went into IQ.

Learn to be independent thinkers. Question authority for sure. But in the end, I hope you can come to believe what I believe:

Freedom and security trump everthing else esp now in a world with WMD.

Without freedom or security, education is moot, health care is moot, family is moot.

On a closing note, should you ever be passing thru the midwest USA, do please PM me. I would invite any and all of you to share my humble home. If eight or more of you show up, I will take the floor. After all, I have, in my lifetime, seen more floors than Johnsons Wax (joke).

I will ask only four things of you: Do not badmouth the US flag that flies in my front yard, do not badmouth the USMC, do not smoke and don't upchuck in my house.

Other than those "restrictions", I would put the pot of coffee on and we could talk, argue, debate but I do hope that we would, in the end, respect each other. If any of you enjoy being in nature, I would be happy take to any of several parks in the area or we could go on "walkabout" in my neighborhood.

Highcountry out