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Talk About Tulsa => Other Tulsa Discussion => Topic started by: DolfanBob on December 01, 2010, 12:35:28 pm



Title: TSA
Post by: DolfanBob on December 01, 2010, 12:35:28 pm
Here is how we will all need to start showing up at the Airport. Well, maybe not all of us.
http://www.newsok.com/article/3519710


Title: Re: TSA
Post by: Conan71 on December 01, 2010, 11:58:28 pm
The more I read, the more it sounds like she might just become a poster child, or at least pin-up girl for how stupid and over-reaching our government trolls minions are.  If this is what it takes to get someone to realize the latest TSA policies are too far over the top then we owe her a debt of gratitude.  She's a retired surgeon and listed as owning an oil field trucking outfit in Hennesey, hardly a threat to national security.  But she does fit the profile of the sort of people who need to be harassed so we can be PC and not offend those who typically fit the mold of airline hi-jackers.

And more info:

This blonde bombshell wearing just black lace, a pearl necklace and a white dog is Tammy Banovac, a retired surgeon in a wheelchair. She got down to her lingerie while going through airport security and still got a pat down. Twice.

Dr. Banovac always refuses to go through the metal detector. She has to use a metal wheelchair and that means that she always gets a pat down no matter what. Lately, she says she feels violated because the pat downs have become increasingly invasive during the last few months. "If it happened anywhere else, it would have been sexual assault," she declared to a local newspaper.

She was so angry with the situation that she decided to change things. On November 30, the 52-year-old arrived to the Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City en route to Phoenix, wearing just a trench coat. When it was time to pass through the check point, she took off her coat, stripping down to her black lace lingerie. She hoped that, by showing that she had nothing to hide, she would not be hand-searched.

Sadly for her, things got worse: The perspicacious TSA agents wanted her to go through the metal detector, anyway. When she understandably refused, they decided to give her a pat down.

At this point, the quick-witted TSA agents said they found traces of nitrate on her body. Banovac claimed that it was probably her medication or a result of a hunting day. However, since it's obvious that the retired surgeon could be a secret Al-Qaeda terrorist carrying a bomb somewhere in her lace bra or panties, the astute TSA officials subjected her to a one-hour hand-search and interrogation. Yes, one hour.

As a result, she missed her flight to Phoenix and had to return home.

But hold on, because it gets even more surreal: She returned the next day and the same thing happened. She got down to her lingerie and got a hand-search anyway. This time, however, she could make her flight on time.

If this is not an example of everything that is foobared up with the TSA, I don't know what is.

http://gizmodo.com/5703878/the-most-stupid-tsa-action-to-date-defies-belief


Title: Re: TSA
Post by: dbacks fan on December 02, 2010, 06:04:50 pm
Here is an interview from last night with Tammy Bonavac:




http://www.azfamily.com/video/featured-videos/Phoenix-woman-wears-only-bra-underwear-through-airport-security-111169624.html (http://www.azfamily.com/video/featured-videos/Phoenix-woman-wears-only-bra-underwear-through-airport-security-111169624.html)



Title: Re: TSA
Post by: Townsend on December 30, 2010, 10:40:05 am
From "modern romance"

Quote
He grasped me firmly but gently just above my elbow and guided me into a room, his room. Then he quietly shut the door and we were alone. He approached me soundlessly, from behind, and spoke in a low, reassuring voice close to my ear.
   
    "Just relax."

    Without warning, he reached down and I felt his strong, calloused hands start at my ankles, gently probing, and moving upward along my calves slowly but steadily. My breath caught in my throat. I knew I should be afraid, but somehow I didn't care. His touch was so experienced, so sure. When his hands moved up onto my thighs, I gave a slight shudder, and partly closed my eyes.

    My pulse was pounding. I felt his knowing fingers caress my abdomen, my ribcage. And then, as he cupped my firm, full breasts in his hands, I inhaled sharply. Probing, searching, knowing what he wanted, he brought his hands to my shoulders, slid them down my tingling spine and into my panties. Although I knew nothing about this man, I felt oddly trusting and expectant.

    This is a man, I thought. A man used to taking charge. A man not used to taking `no' for an answer. A man who would tell me what he wanted. A man who would look into my soul and say ... "Okay, ma'am," said a voice. "All done." "You can board your flight now.


Title: Re: TSA
Post by: patric on March 28, 2011, 02:06:23 pm
The agency in charge of airway security declined to speak about "any security matters" last week, when:

WASHINGTON — The midnight landings of two jets at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport after the control tower mysteriously fell silent this week raises serious national security concerns, security experts and former air-traffic controllers say.

The two jets landed within a few miles of the White House, the Capitol, the Pentagon and other sensitive government buildings without clearance from the tower because the air-traffic controller on duty did not respond on the radio or telephone.

With no one answering in the tower, security layers designed to ensure that jets don't stray from their path and that passengers are protected from acts of terror are frayed, says Stephen Luckey, a former airline pilot who operates a security consulting firm.

The lone supervisor on duty in Reagan National's tower told investigators Thursday that he had fallen asleep while working his fourth consecutive overnight shift, the National Transportation Safety Board said.


So all that theater that's supposed to lead us to believe no one will ever be able to crash a plane into the nation's capital again, unravels when just one guy nods off. 


Title: Re: TSA
Post by: guido911 on April 30, 2011, 01:33:46 pm
TSA molestations, er pat downs, to become a felony in Texas?

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/04/29/texas-make-invasive-pat-downs-felony/


Title: Re: TSA
Post by: patric on April 30, 2011, 02:20:48 pm
TSA targets people who complain about TSA

http://www.cnn.com/2011/TRAVEL/04/15/tsa.screeners.complain/index.html

Complaining about airport security is one indicator Transportation Security Administration officers consider when looking for possible criminals and terrorists, CNN has learned exclusively. And, when combined with other behavioral indicators, it could result in a traveler facing additional scrutiny.

"Expressing your contempt about airport procedures -- that's a First Amendment-protected right," said Michael German, a former FBI agent who now works as legal counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union. "We all have the right to express our views, and particularly in a situation where the government is demanding the ability to search you."

"It's circular reasoning where, you know, I'm going to ask someone to surrender their rights; if they refuse, that's evidence that I need to take their rights away from them. And it's simply inappropriate," he said.

"I think the idea that they would try to draw attention to themselves by being arrogant at airport security, it fails the common sense test," said CNN National Security Analyst Peter Bergen. "And it also fails what we know about their behaviors in the past."

In recent years, the TSA has also expanded the scope of the program. Originally intended to look only for suspected terrorists, the program now also seeks to ferret out possible criminals in airports.


Title: Re: TSA
Post by: guido911 on April 30, 2011, 02:37:39 pm
TSA targets people who complain about TSA

http://www.cnn.com/2011/TRAVEL/04/15/tsa.screeners.complain/index.html

Complaining about airport security is one indicator Transportation Security Administration officers consider when looking for possible criminals and terrorists, CNN has learned exclusively. And, when combined with other behavioral indicators, it could result in a traveler facing additional scrutiny.

"Expressing your contempt about airport procedures -- that's a First Amendment-protected right," said Michael German, a former FBI agent who now works as legal counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union. "We all have the right to express our views, and particularly in a situation where the government is demanding the ability to search you."

"It's circular reasoning where, you know, I'm going to ask someone to surrender their rights; if they refuse, that's evidence that I need to take their rights away from them. And it's simply inappropriate," he said.

"I think the idea that they would try to draw attention to themselves by being arrogant at airport security, it fails the common sense test," said CNN National Security Analyst Peter Bergen. "And it also fails what we know about their behaviors in the past."

In recent years, the TSA has also expanded the scope of the program. Originally intended to look only for suspected terrorists, the program now also seeks to ferret out possible criminals in airports.


About two months ago I was returning from a ski trip in Colorado. At the Denver airport, the line to get through security was very long and it took almost 40 minutes to get to the scanner. Just before I was about to go through scanner, a rude woman dropped her bags in front of mine and basically cut in front of me. I asked her to explain herself and she said she was entitled because she had a "badge". I asked her to show it to me, and, after she refused, I gave her both barrels. She "smartly" told me I should be more respectful, to which she received a gracious hand gesture.

The TSA stopped me just before I was enter the normal scanner and offered the full body/pat down option. I felt retaliated against.

The funny thing is the guy I was in line with went to a gift shop and bought me a kiddie Sheriff's badge with my name on it. I plan on carrying it with me just in case some other alleged government dooshbag thinks they are entitled to special treatment.


Title: Re: TSA
Post by: guido911 on May 09, 2011, 04:23:25 pm
What is this?

(http://a.yfrog.com/img611/8493/lb9nk.jpg)


Title: Re: TSA
Post by: heironymouspasparagus on May 09, 2011, 06:40:52 pm
You know full well what it is; child molestation!! 

And look how happy they are to be doing it!!  Big smiles!!

Yeah, the whole thing is so far gone, it's beyond ridiculous!



Title: Re: TSA
Post by: Gaspar on May 10, 2011, 07:24:54 am
I got a good grope last week on the way to AZ.  I more enjoyed watching the woman in front of me get felt up.  They really went to town on her, of course she was more attractive than I am.  ???


Title: Re: TSA
Post by: Conan71 on May 10, 2011, 08:27:32 am
I got a good grope last week on the way to AZ.  I more enjoyed watching the woman in front of me get felt up.  They really went to town on her, of course she was more attractive than I am.  ???

You weren't behind the blonde in the wheel chair were you?


Title: Re: TSA
Post by: guido911 on June 10, 2011, 06:06:31 pm
Great news. Mentally challenged special needs young man gets the TSA molestation treatment over a toy hammer he carried for 20 years.

http://www.hapblog.com/2011/06/searched-like-suspected-terrorist-tsa.html

When will this sh!t end?


Title: Re: TSA
Post by: guido911 on June 26, 2011, 02:43:48 pm
Here we go again. This time its a 95 year old woman with leukemia:

Quote
A woman has filed a complaint with federal authorities over how her elderly mother was treated at Northwest Florida Regional Airport last weekend.

Jean Weber of Destin filed a complaint with the Department of Homeland Security after her 95-year-old mother was detained and extensively searched last Saturday while trying to board a plane to fly to Michigan to be with family members during the final stages of her battle with leukemia.

Her mother, who was in a wheelchair, was asked to remove an adult diaper in order to complete a pat-down search.

http://www.nwfdailynews.com/news/mother-41324-search-adult.html


Title: Re: TSA
Post by: heironymouspasparagus on June 27, 2011, 11:58:22 am
It won't end. 
At least not until we elect different people to Congress.



Title: Re: TSA
Post by: moosedaddy on June 27, 2011, 01:30:01 pm
A couple of years ago when they were installing the second and third body scanners in Tulsa I ask a TSA agent if the scanners were better than what they had.  I was told of course, then I ask if she thought they were twice as good since they take at least twice as long, at that point she turned around and told a male agent that I should get a secondary screening.  All I could do then was roll my eyes at her and laugh.


Title: Re: TSA
Post by: Conan71 on June 27, 2011, 01:48:20 pm
Did you enjoy your secondary screening?


Title: Re: TSA
Post by: heironymouspasparagus on June 27, 2011, 01:55:56 pm
95 year old woman in Florida made to remove her diaper for the patdown.  In a wheelchair.  Woman has leukemia and is so weak she required a transfusion to build up the strength for travel.  Yeah, now there's a big threat!

Anyone else been writing to their "representatives" over this crap??  Between that and molesting the 6 year old girls, this kind of stuff needs to be ended.  But just try to get Inhofe to agree, let alone actually DO something about it.



Title: Re: TSA
Post by: DolfanBob on June 27, 2011, 02:41:02 pm
TSA......Terminal Sexual Assault, that sounds about right.


Title: Re: TSA
Post by: patric on June 27, 2011, 02:48:31 pm
Such a mistrust of authority here. 
No one has any friends or family in the TSA?
(or do they just sprout from pods placed next to sleeping people?)


Title: Re: TSA
Post by: Conan71 on June 27, 2011, 03:32:06 pm
Such a mistrust of authority here. 
No one has any friends or family in the TSA?
(or do they just sprout from pods placed next to sleeping people?)

It's like trying to find anyone who admits to having voted for President Obama.


Title: Re: TSA
Post by: Ed W on June 27, 2011, 03:34:31 pm
It's like trying to find anyone who admits to having voted for President Obama.

I did, and I'll do it again when he wins next year...not that it matters with the Electoral College system and Oklahoma's propensity to vote Republican no matter what.


Title: Re: TSA
Post by: heironymouspasparagus on June 27, 2011, 07:17:46 pm
No friends OR family at TSA.

I started to make a snide remark about how no one I know or in family was that indecent, but then I thought, yeah, I got one guy who is.  But he doesn't work there either.  Maybe the repeated negative interface with law enforcement and the judicial system would preclude his employment...or not.

Actually, my real feelings on this are not all that much against the ones on the line - even if they do seem to get too much enjoyment from this at times - but with the clowns running their little goat rope.  And especially with a Congress that allows the whole "Patriot Act" thing to continue as practiced today.



Title: Re: TSA
Post by: patric on July 20, 2011, 08:07:34 pm
http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/taking_pictures.shtm

"TSA does not prohibit the public, passengers or press from photographing, videotaping or filming at security checkpoints, as long as the screening process is not interfered with or slowed down."



Title: Re: TSA
Post by: patric on May 29, 2012, 10:27:45 am
Since they have been doing so good, they deserve a raise:

(CNN) – At a time when airlines seem to be adding extra charges for everything from seats to snacks,  there’s another fee in the works.  This time, it’s transportation security officials who want you to pay more.

The TSA budget, like many in Washington, is set to be cut. The agency said boosting this fee would help cover the increase price of security like those costly scanners.
Republicans want to cut from social programs to pay for the security fee increase. All of this has to be worked out right now, so that the TSA can get its funding for next year.




http://www.huffingtonpost.com/christopher-elliott/5-things-the-tsa-doesnt-want-video_b_1551218.html


Title: Re: TSA
Post by: Townsend on May 29, 2012, 10:37:33 am
Since they have been doing so good, they deserve a raise:

(CNN) – At a time when airlines seem to be adding extra charges for everything from seats to snacks,  there’s another fee in the works.  This time, it’s transportation security officials who want you to pay more.

The TSA budget, like many in Washington, is set to be cut. The agency said boosting this fee would help cover the increase price of security like those costly scanners.
Republicans want to cut from social programs to pay for the security fee increase. All of this has to be worked out right now, so that the TSA can get its funding for next year.


Per NPR story from a couple of weeks ago:  San Francisco is the only major airport not using the TSA and numbers show people like the private company much better.  You have to apply to cancel TSA but the only way to do that is to get the TSA to approve it.  They say "no".


Title: Re: TSA
Post by: RecycleMichael on May 29, 2012, 11:39:02 am
I like the scanners. Last time I went to the airport I taped some of my kid's magnetic letters to my chest that said, "not a threat."


Title: Re: TSA
Post by: nathanm on May 29, 2012, 02:22:15 pm
If the TSA weren't mainly a vehicle for pork going to certain Bush-era cronies (I have no doubt the pork will be redirected soon, but the old contracts have to expire first!), it would cost a whole lot less and probably be a lot more effective. First off, we'd have bought more "puffer" machines that actually detect explosives rather than the nude-o-meters that take nude pictures of people that just so happen to be almost completely ineffective at detecting weapons (presuming the person bringing the weapon makes even a token effort to conceal it).

Personally, I take the pat-down and make it clear that touching my junk is not OK. They're usually reasonably careful to avoid molesting me, despite having a de facto exemption from the criminal code that allows them to molest people with impunity. I'd probably be more accepting of the scanners if they had been made to go through the FDA approval process to ensure they only emit the proper amount of (EM, not nuclear) radiation.

Theoretically, a backscatter X-Ray machine ought to be safe. As should a millimeter wave machine. They don't require dumping a lot of energy into your body. Problem is that they're very much capable of dumping lots of energy into your body, so they need to be regularly calibrated and checked, which is not done. Instead, they pretty much just turn them up if contrast is too low. Who knows by how much, or if it's ever dialed back down.


Title: Re: TSA
Post by: TheTed on May 29, 2012, 02:33:23 pm
Hate the scanners. Safe or not, it's just a matter of principle. I always opt out and get the freedom grope. I've never seen anyone else opt out.

Tulsa airport is the worst with the scanners, too. Maybe because it's a fairly small airport, they can use them on everyone without too much delay.

When I go to larger/busier airports, only a fraction of the travelers are forced to go through the scanner. They start sending folks through the metal detectors to prevent backups. At TUL, it seems everyone goes through the scanner.


Title: Re: TSA
Post by: heironymouspasparagus on May 29, 2012, 02:49:55 pm
Hate the scanners. Safe or not, it's just a matter of principle. I always opt out and get the freedom grope. I've never seen anyone else opt out.

Tulsa airport is the worst with the scanners, too. Maybe because it's a fairly small airport, they can use them on everyone without too much delay.

When I go to larger/busier airports, only a fraction of the travelers are forced to go through the scanner. They start sending folks through the metal detectors to prevent backups. At TUL, it seems everyone goes through the scanner.

I escaped the scanner on my last trip for some reason.  Wasn't that big a crowd, either.  Maybe I just look old enough to not be a threat?  Geez,...when they disrobe a 95 year old...I must look REAL old!!



Title: Re: TSA
Post by: custosnox on May 29, 2012, 04:24:03 pm
I escaped the scanner on my last trip for some reason.  Wasn't that big a crowd, either.  Maybe I just look old enough to not be a threat?  Geez,...when they disrobe a 95 year old...I must look REAL old!!


I think I got sent to the scanner two of the last three times I flew.  Maybe when I fly here in a few weeks I'll take the opt out option, and put on the biggest flaming act of my life, and see how uncomfortable I can make it for the person violating me.


Title: Re: TSA
Post by: dbacks fan on June 02, 2012, 12:45:26 am
I like the scanners. Last time I went to the airport I taped some of my kid's magnetic letters to my chest that said, "not a threat."

When I went through the scanner in Portland, and asked if I could have a copy of my first acting appearence in a porno.


Title: Re: TSA
Post by: patric on September 27, 2012, 10:06:29 am
In the latest apparent case of what have been hundreds of thefts by TSA officers of passenger belongings, an iPad left behind at a security checkpoint in the Orlando airport was tracked as it moved 30 miles to the home of the TSA officer last seen handling it.

Confronted two weeks later by ABC News, the TSA officer, Andy Ramirez, at first denied having the missing iPad, but ultimately turned it over after blaming his wife for taking it from the airport.

The iPad was one of ten purposely left behind at TSA checkpoints at major airports with a history of theft by government screeners, as part of an ABC News investigation into the TSA's ongoing problem with theft from passengers.

According to the TSA, 381 TSA officers have been fired for theft between 2003 and 2012.

In the ABC News investigation, TSA officers at nine of the ten airport checkpoints followed agency guidelines and immediately contacted the owner, whose name and phone number were displayed prominently on the iPad case.
But in Orlando, the iPad was not immediately returned and two hours later its tracking application showed the device as it moved away from the airport to the home of the TSA officer.

After waiting 15 days, ABC News went to the home and asked Ramirez to return the iPad.
Ramirez produced the iPad only after ABC News activated an audio alarm feature, and turned it over after taking off his TSA uniform shirt.

http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/abc-news-tracks-missing-ipad-florida-home-tsa/story?id=17331937


Title: Re: TSA
Post by: nathanm on September 27, 2012, 12:26:37 pm
Wow, he blamed his wife...

More generally, this is why I don't let my belongings out of my sight while they grope me. They get a little shouty sometimes when I have to stand in the way waiting on the "male assist," but I don't really mind. Whatever helps them get through the day. I would also be stressed if I had to spend every working day abusing people. Having been subject to their maximum possible escalation in 2002, I'm not terribly concerned with a few words.


Title: Re: TSA
Post by: TheTed on September 28, 2012, 12:00:08 pm
The TSA types here at our local airport always seem to be pretty good about letting me watch my belongings while they grope me.

It may be harder to watch your belongings at some busier airports with less open floorplans, but all the busier airports I've been to don't have time to make everyone go through the nude-o-scope (and opt out in favor of a grope) like we do.


Title: Re: TSA
Post by: nathanm on September 28, 2012, 12:09:52 pm
I have the best luck. I'm always directed to the strip search machine. Orlando, Miami, Dallas, doesn't matter. I suspect my long hair makes them think they can get a free bag of some illegal drug if they send me through the machine.


Title: Re: TSA
Post by: DolfanBob on September 28, 2012, 12:23:10 pm
I have the best luck. I'm always directed to the strip search machine. Orlando, Miami, Dallas, doesn't matter. I suspect my long hair makes them think they can get a free bag of some illegal drug if they send me through the machine.

And what drug might that be, pray tell. ;D


Title: Re: TSA
Post by: nathanm on September 28, 2012, 12:38:22 pm
And what drug might that be, pray tell. ;D

If only I knew. :P


Title: Re: TSA
Post by: Ed W on September 28, 2012, 04:12:16 pm
A photographer said that he found the ideal way to provide enhanced security for his checked luggage.  He purchased a starter pistol that has to be declared as a firearm when flying, and he puts it inside his locked camera case. Firearms receive special attention from the airlines and he never worries about them losing the case, though he has to pick it up at the ticket desk or baggage claim office.


Title: Re: TSA
Post by: shadows on September 28, 2012, 10:56:24 pm
I have seen children with green plastic toy guns sent back to the desk.  I have had to check my Boy Scout knife at the court house.  I had a new coat with brass buttons on the sleeves that would not scan until I took it off along with the tie clasps.  If it stops another 9/11 it is worth the inconvenient.       


Title: Re: TSA
Post by: nathanm on September 28, 2012, 11:07:49 pm
If it stops another 9/11 it is worth the inconvenient.       

Box cutters were allowed on planes before 9/11. Airport security was not the failure.


Title: Re: TSA
Post by: heironymouspasparagus on September 28, 2012, 11:10:01 pm
I have seen children with green plastic toy guns sent back to the desk.  I have had to check my Boy Scout knife at the court house.  I had a new coat with brass buttons on the sleeves that would not scan until I took it off along with the tie clasps.  If it stops another 9/11 it is worth the inconvenient.       



All of which has either been shown NOT to be of any consequence or totally irrelevant to the security of the nation.



Title: Re: TSA
Post by: patric on October 19, 2012, 06:32:37 pm
Feds strand NDAA critic in Hawaii using 'No-Fly' list, no explanation given
http://www.examiner.com/article/feds-strand-ndaa-critic-hawaii-using-no-fly-list-no-explanation-given

Wade Hicks, Jr., a Mississippi man who simply wanted to visit his wife in Okinawa, Japan, learned earlier this week that he is on a "No-Fly" list after flying from Travis Air Force Base, California, to Hawaii.
"They have given me no reason," Hicks told Canada Free Press reporter Doug Hagmann. They just basically are telling me, 'You can't fly because we said so.'"

Hicks, who is a member of “Patriots for America” and the Mississippi Preparedness Project, told Examiner that "it is quite possible" he ended up on the list because of his political views.
"He is openly vocal about the erosion of our rights - and it certainly looks like he has been proven correct," Hagmann added.

As of Thursday, Hicks is still stranded in Hawaii, but despite being on the list usually reserved for terrorists and others deemed to be national security threats, he is allowed to stay on a military base, but has to pay for his own lodging.
Hicks told Examiner that authorities did not detain him, nor did they take any of his credentials. He is also free to leave Hawaii any time wants - as long as he doesn't fly.

According to Business Insider, Hicks "holds a Transportation Workers Identification Credential (TWIC), a security card issued by the TSA for transportation personnel."  He has also passed extensive background checks and holds an enhanced concealed carry permit.

“I feel like a prisoner in my own country, but no one will tell me what I’ve done to be placed on the ‘No-Fly’ list. I’m not allowed to know"


Title: Re: TSA
Post by: heironymouspasparagus on October 19, 2012, 06:55:24 pm
And Oklahoma in it's infinite wisdom of electing the current idiot governor, will no longer be able to use your driver license as ID for airplane travel, after the first of the year.  (This is one of those 'lost freedoms' I ranted about elsewhere that is useless, but makes the bureaucracy happy.)


Title: Re: TSA
Post by: Hoss on October 19, 2012, 06:58:44 pm
And Oklahoma in it's infinite wisdom of electing the current idiot governor, will no longer be able to use your driver license as ID for airplane travel, after the first of the year.  (This is one of those 'lost freedoms' I ranted about elsewhere that is useless, but makes the bureaucracy happy.)


???  What did I miss here?  having a hard time tracking that down on the inturhtoobz.


Title: Re: TSA
Post by: heironymouspasparagus on October 19, 2012, 07:02:50 pm
???  What did I miss here?

We refused to get on board with the "real id" thing the Fed is pushing through...to "protect" us.  Will need a valid passport if don't have an approved state ID and Oklahoma is not gonna comply (last I heard - couple weeks ago).  Fun times coming.

I am curious if a CDL from OK will be ok with TSA, since the Dept of Homeland Security does what amounts to an alien abduction probing for hazmat endorsement.  Background check, fingerprints, etc.  May have to ask them next time I fly.  I don't expect any of them to have that level of comprehension, though.





Title: Re: TSA
Post by: Hoss on October 19, 2012, 07:06:30 pm
We refused to get on board with the "real id" thing the Fed is pushing through...to "protect" us.  Will need a valid passport if don't have an approved state ID and Oklahoma is not gonna comply (last I heard - couple weeks ago).  Fun times coming.

I am curious if a CDL from OK will be ok with TSA, since the Dept of Homeland Security does what amounts to an alien abduction probing for hazmat endorsement.  Background check, fingerprints, etc.  May have to ask them next time I fly.  I don't expect any of them to have that level of comprehension, though.





Wonder if my CCL will suffice...


Title: Re: TSA
Post by: heironymouspasparagus on October 19, 2012, 07:19:20 pm
Wonder if my CCL will suffice...


They may change their mind between now and then....

Hey, I wonder what our magnificent Senator is doing to help Oklahoman's with this unwarranted intrusion??  (I bet I can guess....)



Title: Re: TSA
Post by: nathanm on October 19, 2012, 10:02:54 pm
I already enjoy a TSA "massage" every time I fly, so the TSA's approval or disapproval of Oklahoma's IDs is completely meaningless to me. After all, why would I want to forgo part of a service I'm paying for? ;)

Other than the other passengers staring at me like I'm Richard Reid, anyway...


Title: Re: TSA
Post by: patric on October 20, 2012, 01:48:25 pm
I already enjoy a TSA "massage" every time I fly, so the TSA's approval or disapproval of Oklahoma's IDs is completely meaningless to me. After all, why would I want to forgo part of a service I'm paying for? ;)
Other than the other passengers staring at me like I'm Richard Reid, anyway...

I think Tulsa was among the first to get the old-style X-ray machines.  Anyone know for sure?





The Transportation Security Administration has been moving its X-ray body scanners from LAX, O'Hare and JFK, and putting them in less-busy airports.
http://www.propublica.org/article/tsa-removes-x-ray-body-scanners-from-major-airports

The Transportation Security Administration has been quietly moving its X-ray body scanners from major airports over the last few weeks and replacing them with machines that radiation experts believe are safer.

The TSA says it made the decision not because of safety concerns but to speed up checkpoints at busier airports. It means, though, that far fewer passengers will be exposed to radiation because the X-ray scanners are being moved to smaller airports.

The backscatters, as the X-ray scanners are known, were swapped out at Boston Logan International Airport in early October. Similar replacements have occurred at Los Angeles International Airport, Chicago O'Hare, Orlando and John F. Kennedy in New York, the TSA confirmed Thursday.
The X-ray scanners have faced a barrage of criticism since the TSA began rolling them out nationwide after the failed underwear bombing on Christmas Day 2009. One reason is that they emit a small dose of ionizing radiation, which at higher levels has been linked to cancer.

In addition, privacy advocates decried that the machines produce images, albeit heavily blurred, of passengers' naked bodies. Each image must be reviewed by a TSA officer, slowing security lines.
The replacement machines, known as millimeter-wave scanners, rely on low-energy radio waves similar to those used in cell phones. The machines detect potential threats automatically and quickly using a computer program. They display a generic cartoon image of a person's body, mitigating privacy concerns.

The United States remains one of the only countries in the world to X-ray passengers for airport screening. The European Union prohibited the backscatters last year "in order not to risk jeopardizing citizens' health and safety," according to a statement at the time. The last scanners were removed from Manchester Airport in the United Kingdom last month.

Here's a side-by-side comparison of the two types of body scanners the TSA uses.

The X-ray scanner looks like two blue refrigerator-sized boxes. Unseen to the passenger, a thin beam scans left and right and up and down. The rays reflect back to the scanner, creating an image of the passenger's body and any objects hidden under his or her clothes.

The millimeter-wave scanner looks like a round glass booth. Two rotating antennas circle the passenger, emitting radio frequency waves. Instead of creating a picture of the passenger's body, a computer algorithm looks for anomalies and depicts them as yellow boxes on a cartoon image of the body.


Title: Re: TSA
Post by: nathanm on October 21, 2012, 12:40:11 am
I think Tulsa was among the first to get the old-style X-ray machines.  Anyone know for sure?

First to have millimeter wave. AFAIK, there have never been any backscatter x-ray machines here. First to do away with the WTMD for passengers, also.

Not that the TSA uses it for opt-outs anyway, stupidly enough. Only about 25% of the time is the patdown actually as thorough as it's supposed to be. Even when they do it mostly correctly, including the cuff, collar, waistband, and hair(!) search they fail to touch my genitals, as is required by procedure. I usually get the old style cursory frisk, though.

What's really stupid is that it's not actually that difficult to defeat the scanner if you know which kind you'll be subject to. And the TSA further compounds it by not fully patting down passengers that fail the MMW. They only pat down an area of interest. Since the MMW machines have a false positive rate over 25%, full patdowns for folks who fail the MMW machine would deter people from trying to game the scanner. As it is, if the machine generates a spurious alert, it won't likely identify the area with the artfully concealed item.

We basically have one machine that is more window dressing than actual security and another that is known to have fewer safeguards against overexposure and less frequent testing/calibration than the x-ray in your dentist's office, so gives you an unknowable dose of x-rays. The one machine that did work, the explosives trace detection portal, was deemed to be too expensive to maintain and scrapped.


Title: Re: TSA
Post by: heironymouspasparagus on October 21, 2012, 01:34:20 am
Last flight (week and a half ago), my leg didn't pass the xray machine, so when I got through, the TSA person had to rub it for me....er, uh, inspect the calf area.



Title: Re: TSA
Post by: patric on October 21, 2012, 10:13:15 am
First to have millimeter wave. AFAIK, there have never been any backscatter x-ray machines here. First to do away with the WTMD for passengers, also.

Do we have Active or Passive?  Active is believed to corrupt DNA
http://epic.org/privacy/airtravel/backscatter/
and are neither regulated nor approved by the FDA (as the X-ray scanners would be).


Title: Re: TSA
Post by: patric on October 21, 2012, 10:19:06 am
First to do away with the WTMD for passengers, also.

A TPS instructor once told me that TIA sends all it's broken Walk-Thru Metal Detectors to the schools for window dressing. 


Title: Re: TSA
Post by: nathanm on October 21, 2012, 02:54:15 pm
Do we have Active or Passive? 

I'm pretty sure the L3 machines we have are active MMW scanners.

Quote
and are neither regulated nor approved by the FDA (as the X-ray scanners would be).

The x-ray scanners aren't actually regulated by the FDA. They should be, but aren't.


Title: Re: TSA
Post by: patric on November 17, 2012, 12:37:56 am
Man with strange watch arrested at Oakland airport
     
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) - A Southern California man was arrested at Oakland International Airport after security officers found him wearing an unusual watch they said could be used to make a timing device for a bomb, authorities said Friday.

Geoffrey McGann, 49, of Rancho Palos Verdes was taken into custody Thursday night after he tried to pass through airport security with an ornate watch that had switches, wires and fuses, according to Sgt. J.D. Nelson, a spokesman for the Alameda County Sheriff's Department.

A bomb squad arrived within five minutes and determined there were no explosive materials in the watch, Nelson said. The checkpoint was closed while officers secured the area.  McGann was taken to Santa Rita Jail in Dublin where he was charged with possessing materials to make an explosive device, sheriff's officials said. He was still in custody Friday night and could not be reached for comment.

McGann told Transportation Security Administration officers that he's an artist and the watch is art, Nelson said.

A profile for a person named Geoffrey McGann on the website LinkedIn.com lists him as the owner and creative director of a media production company called Generator Content. He attended the Art College Center of Design in Pasadena from 1984 to 1987, according to the website.


Title: Re: TSA
Post by: custosnox on November 17, 2012, 03:16:50 pm
Man with strange watch arrested at Oakland airport
     
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) - A Southern California man was arrested at Oakland International Airport after security officers found him wearing an unusual watch they said could be used to make a timing device for a bomb, authorities said Friday.

Geoffrey McGann, 49, of Rancho Palos Verdes was taken into custody Thursday night after he tried to pass through airport security with an ornate watch that had switches, wires and fuses, according to Sgt. J.D. Nelson, a spokesman for the Alameda County Sheriff's Department.

A bomb squad arrived within five minutes and determined there were no explosive materials in the watch, Nelson said. The checkpoint was closed while officers secured the area.  McGann was taken to Santa Rita Jail in Dublin where he was charged with possessing materials to make an explosive device, sheriff's officials said. He was still in custody Friday night and could not be reached for comment.

McGann told Transportation Security Administration officers that he's an artist and the watch is art, Nelson said.

A profile for a person named Geoffrey McGann on the website LinkedIn.com lists him as the owner and creative director of a media production company called Generator Content. He attended the Art College Center of Design in Pasadena from 1984 to 1987, according to the website.

So now steampunk is on TSA's watch list?  Nevermind that you can make a timer with a cheap watch from Walmart


Title: Re: TSA
Post by: Ed W on November 17, 2012, 03:49:38 pm
Terrorists prefer the Casio F91W.  Honest.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Guantanamo_Bay_detainees_accused_of_possessing_Casio_watches (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Guantanamo_Bay_detainees_accused_of_possessing_Casio_watches)

(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9a/Casio_F-91W.jpg/220px-Casio_F-91W.jpg)

I want one for Christmas.


Title: Re: TSA
Post by: Townsend on November 20, 2012, 11:42:21 am
The TSA Is Killing Us

http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2012/11/20/counterproductive_airport_security_does_tsa_cause_more_deaths_than_it_prevents.html (http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2012/11/20/counterproductive_airport_security_does_tsa_cause_more_deaths_than_it_prevents.html)

Quote
Complaining about airport security is basically universal at this point, but I think people actually continue to underestimate how terrible the status quo is. I'm not sure that a "no security whatsoever" policy would be optimal, but I'm fairly confident it would be superior to what we're doing. As Charles Kenny notes a big part of the problem here is that driving a car a long distance is incredibly risky compared to flying on a plane:

"There is lethal collateral damage associated with all this spending on airline security—namely, the inconvenience of air travel is pushing more people onto the roads. Compare the dangers of air travel to those of driving. To make flying as dangerous as using a car, a four-plane disaster on the scale of 9/11 would have to occur every month, according to analysis published in the American Scientist. Researchers at Cornell University suggest that people switching from air to road transportation in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks led to an increase of 242 driving fatalities per month—which means that a lot more people died on the roads as an indirect result of 9/11 than died from being on the planes that terrible day. They also suggest that enhanced domestic baggage screening alone reduced passenger volume by about 5 percent in the five years after 9/11, and the substitution of driving for flying by those seeking to avoid security hassles over that period resulted in more than 100 road fatalities."

Something that I would love to see the Transportation Security Administration, the FBI, the CIA, and whoever else do is pull together an estimate of how many airplanes they think would have been blown up by terrorists if there was no passenger or baggage screening whatsoever. One way of thinking about it is this. If commercial airplanes were no more secure than your average city bus, planes would be blown up as frequently as city buses—which is to say never. I've heard some people postulate that terrorists have a special affection for blowing up planes, but I'm not sure that's right. In the not-too-distant past, Israel had a substantial terrorists-blowing-up-buses problem and had to take countervailing security measures. But unlike Israel, we're not doing anything to secure our buses. It's at least possible that nobody blows up American buses because nobody is trying to blow anything up.

Maybe they have some persuasive argument that zero is too low an estimate. But what's the right number? And does it outweigh the deadly impact of inducing additional highway driving? Outweigh it by enough to be worth the money and the hassle?


Title: Re: TSA
Post by: Red Arrow on November 20, 2012, 12:11:43 pm
The TSA Is Killing Us

http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2012/11/20/counterproductive_airport_security_does_tsa_cause_more_deaths_than_it_prevents.html (http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2012/11/20/counterproductive_airport_security_does_tsa_cause_more_deaths_than_it_prevents.html)


Quote
But unlike Israel, we're not doing anything to secure our buses

I believe the Israelis allow profiling.


Title: Re: TSA
Post by: Townsend on November 20, 2012, 12:16:03 pm
I believe the Israelis allow profiling.

So does the USA...just quietly.


Title: Re: TSA
Post by: Red Arrow on November 20, 2012, 01:11:21 pm
So does the USA...just quietly.

The Israelis don't really try to hide it.   The USA tries to deny it.


Title: Re: TSA
Post by: patric on December 09, 2012, 07:04:44 pm
CLEVELAND — A Transportation Security Administration officer was fatally shot by her husband Sunday before he killed himself on an off-site parking lot at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, authorities said.

Before turning the gun on himself, the husband fired at a second TSA employee but missed, police spokesman Sgt. Sammy Morris said. The late morning shooting at an airport employee parking lot was an apparent homicide and suicide, Morris said.


Title: Re: TSA
Post by: Townsend on January 18, 2013, 01:36:31 pm
T.S.A. to Remove Controversial X-Ray Scanners

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2013/01/18/business/ap-us-airport-scanners.html?partner=socialflow&smid=tw-nytimesbusiness&_r=0 (http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2013/01/18/business/ap-us-airport-scanners.html?partner=socialflow&smid=tw-nytimesbusiness&_r=0)

(http://consumermediallc.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/backscatterimg.jpg?w=610)

Quote
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Transportation Security Administration confirms that it is getting rid of airport body scanners that produce a naked image of travelers.

Right now the TSA uses two types of scanners. One makes a generic image showing where agents should look for an object on the traveler's body. Those scanners are staying.

The other kind of scanner uses X-rays. They raised privacy concerns because they show metal objects on the traveler's body — along with every other detail, too. Congress has mandated that those scanners be changed or removed by June.

TSA says the X-ray scanners will be gone by June. It says the company that makes them, Rapiscan, was not able to come up with a software fix to make the scanners comply with the Congressional mandate.


Title: Re: TSA
Post by: patric on January 18, 2013, 01:40:08 pm
http://www.tulsanow.org/forum/index.php?topic=16728.msg255753#msg255753


Title: Re: TSA
Post by: patric on March 15, 2013, 02:37:23 pm
On a story about what TSA will allow on planes, there were baskets of all sorts of confiscated things -- a horseshoe caught my eye.

...But in the same basket was one of these shake-dumbells:

(http://i2.cdn.turner.com/money/dam/assets/121205054244-gallery-tsa-weapons-shake-weight-large-gallery-horizontal.jpg)
http://money.cnn.com/gallery/pf/2012/12/11/tsa-weapons/12.html

For real?  Hijacking an airliner with one of those would have to be epic...

 


Title: Re: TSA
Post by: Gaspar on March 15, 2013, 02:38:53 pm
On a story about what TSA will allow on planes, there were baskets of all sorts of confiscated things -- a horseshoe caught my eye.

...But in the same basket was one of these shake-dumbells:

(http://i2.cdn.turner.com/money/dam/assets/121205054244-gallery-tsa-weapons-shake-weight-large-gallery-horizontal.jpg)
http://money.cnn.com/gallery/pf/2012/12/11/tsa-weapons/12.html

For real?  Hijacking an airliner with one of those would have to be epic...

 

Could cause the pilot to fall out of his seat laughing?


Title: Re: TSA
Post by: patric on September 11, 2013, 04:32:48 pm
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A Los Angeles International Airport security screener arrested on suspicion of making threats appears on a website that contains rambling letters criticizing America and a promise of something more devastating than the 9/11 attacks.

Nna Alpha Onuoha, 29, was arrested late Tuesday, hours after he quit his Transportation Security Administration job. He was being interviewed by federal investigators and charges could be filed Wednesday.

The website shows Onuoha posing with crosses and includes several letters filled with religious references. An Aug. 25 posting attributed to him said a message would be released on Sept. 11 and America "will be reduced to nothing."

"Do not expect another 9/11," it said. "What will unfold on this day and on the days ahead will be greater than 9/11."

On Tuesday, federal officials said Onuoha made two calls to LAX after resigning and told officials to evacuate terminals. Parts of the airport were cleared and searched. Nothing was found.

Onuoha, originally from Nigeria, had worked for TSA since 2006 but was suspended recently, FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said.

U.S. Army records show that Onuoha was deployed to Kosovo from 2005 to 2006 — where he earned the rank of specialist and a handful of medals. He participated in the U.S. Vets initiative in Los Angeles, which offers services to service members adjusting to civilian life.

It was unclear when exactly Onuoha first joined U.S. Vets, but officials said he got his job with the TSA six years ago through the program.


Title: Re: TSA
Post by: Vashta Nerada on November 15, 2013, 08:27:16 pm
Power struggle between Police and TSA led to agent's death:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/11/15/lapd-investigates-delay-in-help-for-tsa-worker/3600363/


Title: Re: TSA
Post by: patric on July 17, 2014, 01:56:37 pm
Last week TSA screeners didnt know that a Washington D.C. drivers license was an American credential,
this week's story is much more creepy:


Law enforcement sources tell us the incident started when Eric Slighton entered the security area wearing khaki pants, a blue polo shirt and blue rubber gloves - an outfit that might have been mistaken for those worn by screeners with the private Covenant security firm.

Slighton, apparently without saying much, steered a woman into one of the private screening booths used to pat down selected passengers, our sources say. What happened inside isn't known, because the woman, who was Asian, soon disappeared to catch an international flight.

A few minutes later, Slighton allegedly directed a second woman toward the booth, our sources say. This time, however, he caught the attention of real screeners, who figured something was wrong because male screeners are prohibited from taking women into the booth for a pat-down without a female screener also being present.

Covenant screeners detained Slighton until San Francisco police officers arrived. Because officers couldn't find any women who had actually entered the booth with the fake screener, they booked him only for alleged public drunkenness.

Besides facing the public drunkenness charge, authorities say, Eric Slighton could be booked on other counts, such as false imprisonment. However, the case has largely gone hush-hush since the federal Transportation Security Administration, which oversees airport security, took over the investigation into how the breach happened.


Title: Re: TSA
Post by: patric on June 09, 2015, 01:17:08 pm
Following the revelation that investigators were able to slip through airport security with weapons and phony bombs more than 95 percent of the time, Homeland Security has vowed to get to the bottom...of whoever leaked this bad publicity.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/homeland-security-looking-for-leaker-of-report-on-airport-checkpoint-failures/2015/06/09/570ede22-0eb3-11e5-adec-e82f8395c032_story.html


Title: Re: TSA
Post by: patric on June 09, 2015, 01:24:42 pm
Could cause the pilot to fall out of his seat laughing?

Oh for got about this one.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQj0zlnZqvU[/youtube]


Title: Re: TSA
Post by: Jammie on June 14, 2015, 02:25:52 pm
http://www.travelpulse.com/news/airlines/tsa-fails-to-identify-73-employees-with-terrorism-ties.html

I didn't find this info posted on here so I thought I'd through it out there. Kinda scary!


Title: Re: TSA
Post by: patric on June 08, 2019, 10:01:29 pm
Woman sues over strip search at Tulsa International airport

(AP) – A Las Vegas woman has sued the Transportation Security Administration after she says they made her strip down in Oklahoma before a flight back to Nevada, KTNV reports.

Rhonda Mengert says in her lawsuit she was traveling through Tulsa International Airport on Mother's Day when an implant in her hip set off the metal detector, The TV station reported.

Mengert said she agreed to be pat down by a TSA agent. During the search, the agent found a "common feminine hygiene product" that she was wearing underneath her clothes.

Mengert told KNTV that TSA agents then took her to a private room and asked her to strip down and expose her genitals. The lawsuit says they then instructed her to remove the feminine hygiene product.

"I was told I needed to pull my pants and my underwear down to my knees and remove the item and show it to them for inspection," Mengert said, "it was horrific. It was horrible. It was degrading."

Mengert said she is suffering severe emotional distress and says the search violated her rights.

The TSA issued the following statement about the lawsuit: "Due to pending litigation, we cannot comment on the specifics of this case. TSA does not conduct strip searches and is committed to ensuring the security of travelers, while treating passengers of all ages with dignity and respect."


https://www.foxnews.com/us/woman-sues-tsa-over-strip-search-at-oklahoma-airport