On The Media has been running an initiative to get lawmakers to answer basic questions about TSA and DHS policy. The agency has been stonewalling reporters so they've asked that citizens call lawmakers directly and ask a series of questions.
I recall one time I did a bag check on a man from Detroit, once the auto-making capital of the world. Having been informed by the x-ray operator that there was a bottle of water in the bag, I pulled it out and quickly sensed that something was slightly off. Then, I realized what it was: there was an enormous dildo rubber-banded to it. I then had an epiphany, spreading over me like a sunrise, beautiful and exhilarating: he wanted me to have to deal with the dildo. He did it on purpose. In rubber-banding that dildo to the water bottle he knew we would target, he seemed to say:
“Yes, I have a dildo, federal officer. Even after the horrors of 9/11, I am still alive; full of vitality, love, sex and, later tonight, that large dildo rubber-banded to the water you are about to confiscate from me. That bottle of water, bought with hard-earned American dollars to relinquish my bodily fluids, so as to make me strong and keep the wheels of commerce of this great nation turning. In taking my water, I want you, federal officer, to know that the terrorists have won, and that you are complicit. I want you to see my dildo. To hold it in your hand; to know that I, as well as my fellow passengers and countrymen, are strong and resilient.
That we, the people of this great nation, can, and will, snap back, like that rubber band.”
Why we don't take a page out of the Israeli's book is beyond me. They have been dealing with this for much longer, have made the mistakes we are currently making, and have learned from them.
Their airports don't have long lines and pat downs by ill-trained employees (lines of course exist, but they are shorter and not what we in the US are used to). Instead they hire fewer, educated and skilled persons, many of whom are, behaviorists to determine potential threats. It works; the last successful airport attack in Israel was in 1986, and they have prevented many since.
The profiling the Israelis do would never fly in the US.
Plus, all it would take is a few media reports about people missing or not being allowed on a flight and the system would come crashing down.
From what I've read, the Israeli system basically works like this:"if I'm not convinced I'm getting the entire truth, we're going to keep doing this until I do, plane leaving or not".
While I think the TSA is largely a sack of shit, Israel's solution is hardly a panacea.
Israel has basically 1 major airport, and 2 minor airports. They further are based heavily on profiling. I don't expect the Israeli model would fit well to the US, which has 19 airports with more traffic than Ben Gurion, and a much more dynamic set of threats.
Too true. I was in Israel just a few years ago visiting family and my cousin that is now out of the army, but still works for the army, told me the safest place in the world is the Israeli airport. Between the cameras the officers and the checkpoints it sure seemed that way.
From memory: there was a checkpoint driving up to the airport where my cousin had to tell the guy where he was from, purpose for going to the airport etc, that was brief. Then when I got into the airport there was just sorta a mash of people rather than a line and eventually there were 3 or 4 people taking id, and asking you questions about your visit. Again very brief. From there metal detector and then to the gate.
My fear is that the TSA does do a lot of the same camera stuff and the charade that they put on at the metal detector/body scanner is in fact just a charade.
Funny story: a professor I know was once asked at an Israeli airport whether he spoke any hebrew, when he answered: "no, but I would love to learn", the security officer didn't know what to do for a couple of seconds.
Anyway if what I hear from my friend who is a social worker in the Occupied Territories about security at Israeli airports I sure hope the US doesn't take a page from Israeli's book.
Among many other reasons, it's partly a question of scale. A quick Wikipedia check[1] shows Israel has 28 airports, the US has a few more than that, as of 2011 it was 19,782.[2] You just can't expect the same level of quality with the same policies with the difference in locations and passenger volume.
As a society, you have to allocate the limited supply of educated and skilled people wisely. I'd rather have them teaching, doing medical research, or starting startups than doing better traveler screening.
“I’m not trying to tread upon your First Amendment rights,” she said. “All I’m saying is: Couldn’t you have run those First Amendment rights past the legal department first?”
As usual, the issue is quite a bit more complex than presented here. In modern America, government employees' free-speech rights are broader than they used to be, not narrower. The underlying principle here is that when you identify yourself as a government employee, you are in some sense speaking on behalf of the government, and as your employer the government has an interest in regulating the speech of its officers, not least to ensure an accurate reflection of its legal position. The author would [edit: probably - I haven't checked] have been perfectly at liberty to express the same viewpoint without self-identifying as a TSA official. A century ago this would have been an open-and-shut case...in favor of the government.
As another poster pointed out, it's different when you work for the government. If you have a clearance, you need to be careful about reading the news at work lest you open one of Snowden's classified slides on an unclassified workstation.
She clearly has a point there. When a person identifies himself as TSA employee he is using TSA brand to say something that is his personal opinion. I dont think TSA can prevent him expressing his own opinion, they have all the right to prevent him from using the word TSA whenever he speaks.
At least in US they are still scared of the First Amendment. In UK, for example, they just say "You've had your debate. There's no need to write any more."
And how eager are those responding to this comment to use their analytic understanding of the world to apologize for and rationalize the position of government or other heavyweight institutions? Cookies all around for being so smart - while you give away your power to institutions that don't give one fuck about you. All I can imagine are a line of poindexters pushing their glasses up on their nose, saying, "Well, actually, an informed reading of the constitution reveals that you are a peon, which is actually as it should be..."
Do government employees enjoy full protection from the First Amendment? It's not a simple yes or no answer. Whether a given utterance is protected depends on a variety of factors, but probably the most important one for low-ranking TSA employees is that the speech must be of public concern to be protected. I suspect that a front-lines TSA officer who writes a letter to the editor about the TSA would be entitled to First Amendment protection, per Pickering v Board of Education.
Here's a bit more info, with summaries of relevant cases:
I do urge participants to look into this, because the 'bill of rights > everything else' viewpoint frequently expressed on HN (and the US internet in general) is both fairly recent and misguided in that it implicitly assumes a two-tier constitution.
The bit about racial profiling is spot on, but heavily understated. People who are clearly U.S. citizens are merely inconvenienced and embarrassed by the TSA's shenanigans. If you know somebody from either the middle-east or a country noted for supplying narcotics (e.g. Mexico) who has flown through the U.S., even just to transfer to a connecting flight, ask them what their experience was like. The TSA treats U.S. citizens like Hollywood celebrities by comparison! The stories I've heard frequently cross the line into what any reasonable person would define as outright abuse. Obviously, few victims stand up for themselves.
The terrorists didn't win. The TSA became the terrorists.
I feel like TSA is relaxing some of the security measures, just a bit - perhaps so there is no major media outrage so people will still trust them. Here and there there have been times my fiancé has not been made to take everything off and get a patdown. Scanners feel like they're decreasing in number so you can at least try to pick the metal detector lines again.
That might just be me with my TSA PreCheck and recent international non-US-destined flying talking though. Protip: fly business/first class or be part of PreCheck and revel in the pre-9/11 style of security. You know, the one where I wore all my jewelry, a sweater, and my boots through the metal detector, set it off, and the TSA agent just waved me through with a smile. Where I also didn't empty my water bottle or unpack anything at all - in fact, told not to even think about unpacking. Oh I feel so safe!
I traveled in mid-December (between the holiday peaks) and I was able to enjoy a new "expedited security process we're testing" that was essentially the old metal detector only screening.
The TSA removed the backscatter machines as of June 2013. There are millimeter wave machines in use but I've only seen x-ray machines lately. (And not one terrorist incident on any of those flights...)
Some of their rules are dumb but that was my biggest complaint.
i went through the airport yesterday on my way to watch the Broncos win the super bowl. TSA had a new procedure which required travelers to touch a screen and give up their fingerprints then get their hands swabbed in order to collect DNA. later in the procedure travelers are asked to show their ids, which are then placed under 'infrared' scanners. given all the recent discussion about the pseudo anonymity of our interactions with various software services i found this to be more almost as intrusive as body scans. essentially, the tsa could be doing the following:
1. touch screen so we have a fingerprint
2. touch again if it didn't work the first time so we potentially have 2 fingerprints
3. swab finger for DNA sample that we'll link to step 1 and/or 2
4. place id under scanner which we'll link to steps 1-3
5. triangulate all these data points over many years until the TSA has a complete database with everyone's unique identifying info...
Really, nobody's gonna say it? Okay, fine. YOU ARE THE PROBLEM. You, guy wearing the uniform, you the mindless meat puppet acting out nonsensical policy directives. Without you, there is no system, yet you choose to participate in it, you enable it, you make it real.
I understand some people have no choice, family to support, made bad choices in the past that limit their opportunities now.. but you, good sir? You get no pass whatsoever. Young, male, educated -- one would expect you'd try harder than to settle into a TSA job.
Thought this was a great website with great content, reading this interesting article without annoying pagination (though the option was there if I had wanted it) at a comfortable font size.
I started questioning all the TSA security after I recently watched a demonstration on how you could make dangerous weapons with items you can purchase after you go through security. It is quite scary. The people that want to cause harm will always find a way.
I have not been outside the US, I am curious on the security around the world. Namely, flights headed towards US airports. Do they have to go through body scanners?
I'm a US citizen and I don't believe that when I flew from Berlin (TXL) back to the States a year ago that I had to go through a body scanner. It was quite relaxed. Likewise, my prior arrival in Frankfurt was like getting off a domestic (US) flight. Go straight to baggage. Stop at customs IF you have anything to declare, then off you go. In contrast, re-entering the States in Seattle was an appalling bit of theater. Crotch-sniffing dogs, long lines waiting to be interrogated and to have my Papiere scrutinized, then re-scanning of checked luggage (I had a connecting flight). I'm traveling again to .de in March and it will be very interesting to see what, if anything, has changed.
I've flown to the USA from the UK twice, once in 2012 and again in 2013. It was notably different from most of my other flying experiences, but only on the US side - UK side was BAU. Both times I had to give fingerprints and answer a bunch of questions which is a lot more than I'm used to. In 2013 I was directed to go through a MW scanner, but it was a very casual thing, everyone was going through them as they had placement similar to metal detectors (i.e. you couldn't really go through security without going through them). They were actually very cool in a way, very small, very fast, very futuristic. It was all such a rush, and with such an assumption that you were going to go through this thing, that it didn't even occur to me to opt-out. I think next time I will, just to see what that is like.
The only other place I've been that was similar at the border was Russia (I haven't flown into Russia, but flying out I went through.. some sort of scanner. They didn't tell me what it was, it was about 10x the size of the US ones, big white metal box, covered in radiation warnings, totally dark on the inside) Actually, the USA reminded me more of Russia than any other country I've been to, with the questioning, the scanners, being given grief if you questioned anything, and of course - the paperwork.
I fly to the US a few times a year. Until a year ago from Switzerland either direct or London, now from Tokyo. Never seen a full body scanner outside the US. There is a bit of security theater though, which might pale in comparison to the TSA, like a security officer at ZRH giving me a 'old school' (read: no private areas) pat down because, as he told me, "I was the 12th guy in a row". At NRT they check your ID or passport prior to entering the airport and may glance at your bag, due to the troubles when they opened the airport. HND doesn't have that IIRC. TL;DR, this seems mostly limited to the US from my experiences.
If you're flying from Amsterdam to the US, you do. They have usually blocked off the metal detectors and claim that you have to use the body scanners (you do have the right to opt out, but it's not stated there).
I always opt out from the body scanners, and I have yet to see another person do it (which implies very small number do, otherwise by pure chance I'd see somebody do it by now). Looks like most of the Americans just don't care. BTW, never took me excessive time and I've never been harassed or inconvenienced in any unusual (as opposed to usual for TSA) ways for opting out.
Also, from this article, next time TSA employee tries to feel my ass looking for a bomb, it would be interesting to think about him as an aspiring satire writer. I wonder if that would change the experience.
Our government does so much propaganda in collusion with the media. Every time anything happens, we are treated to news stories about how security is being beefed up. The reality is that there reality isn't much they can do except show more security on TV and hope you'll conclude "ah, they are on top of things."
I wasn't a bit surprised to read any of this. Even the candor with which the author shows himself to actively and tacitly promote and sustain the unprofessional and compromising conduct in which he and his colleagues engaged.
I'm not sure if that transparency is due to his arrogance, or ignorance of how much he contributed to the problems we all deal with. No matter. Business as usual.
Ballsy? Maybe. 'Hey everybody! I'm a self-identified slacker, unqualified to be entrusted with responsibility. Here's my name. Here's my picture.'
After all the worries, posting from various places, TOR, and in the end from home, no one went after him even though he clearly ridiculed the TSA. It's kind of sad that we even have to consider that, but in these days of NSA abuses it's nice to see democracy at work.
[+] [-] nostromo|12 years ago|reply
http://project.wnyc.org/otm-detain/
[+] [-] tptacek|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] avalaunch|12 years ago|reply
http://takingsenseaway.wordpress.com/2012/11/12/confession-x...
I recall one time I did a bag check on a man from Detroit, once the auto-making capital of the world. Having been informed by the x-ray operator that there was a bottle of water in the bag, I pulled it out and quickly sensed that something was slightly off. Then, I realized what it was: there was an enormous dildo rubber-banded to it. I then had an epiphany, spreading over me like a sunrise, beautiful and exhilarating: he wanted me to have to deal with the dildo. He did it on purpose. In rubber-banding that dildo to the water bottle he knew we would target, he seemed to say:
“Yes, I have a dildo, federal officer. Even after the horrors of 9/11, I am still alive; full of vitality, love, sex and, later tonight, that large dildo rubber-banded to the water you are about to confiscate from me. That bottle of water, bought with hard-earned American dollars to relinquish my bodily fluids, so as to make me strong and keep the wheels of commerce of this great nation turning. In taking my water, I want you, federal officer, to know that the terrorists have won, and that you are complicit. I want you to see my dildo. To hold it in your hand; to know that I, as well as my fellow passengers and countrymen, are strong and resilient.
That we, the people of this great nation, can, and will, snap back, like that rubber band.”
[+] [-] EpicEng|12 years ago|reply
Their airports don't have long lines and pat downs by ill-trained employees (lines of course exist, but they are shorter and not what we in the US are used to). Instead they hire fewer, educated and skilled persons, many of whom are, behaviorists to determine potential threats. It works; the last successful airport attack in Israel was in 1986, and they have prevented many since.
I remember reading about this in an interview with an ex Israeli defense minister years ago, but I couldn't find that article. This one sums it up though: http://www.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/01/11/yeffet.air.security.is...
[+] [-] refurb|12 years ago|reply
Plus, all it would take is a few media reports about people missing or not being allowed on a flight and the system would come crashing down.
From what I've read, the Israeli system basically works like this:"if I'm not convinced I'm getting the entire truth, we're going to keep doing this until I do, plane leaving or not".
[+] [-] michaelkeenan|12 years ago|reply
Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11...
[+] [-] chmullig|12 years ago|reply
Israel has basically 1 major airport, and 2 minor airports. They further are based heavily on profiling. I don't expect the Israeli model would fit well to the US, which has 19 airports with more traffic than Ben Gurion, and a much more dynamic set of threats.
[+] [-] rickdale|12 years ago|reply
From memory: there was a checkpoint driving up to the airport where my cousin had to tell the guy where he was from, purpose for going to the airport etc, that was brief. Then when I got into the airport there was just sorta a mash of people rather than a line and eventually there were 3 or 4 people taking id, and asking you questions about your visit. Again very brief. From there metal detector and then to the gate.
My fear is that the TSA does do a lot of the same camera stuff and the charade that they put on at the metal detector/body scanner is in fact just a charade.
[+] [-] carlob|12 years ago|reply
Anyway if what I hear from my friend who is a social worker in the Occupied Territories about security at Israeli airports I sure hope the US doesn't take a page from Israeli's book.
[+] [-] jbigelow76|12 years ago|reply
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Israeli_airports
[2] http://www.rita.dot.gov/bts/sites/rita.dot.gov.bts/files/pub...
[+] [-] tlb|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] rosser|12 years ago|reply
Welcome to modern America.
[+] [-] anigbrowl|12 years ago|reply
http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/conlaw/publice...
[+] [-] jff|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] tn13|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] MBCook|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] smsm42|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] baddox|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] benched|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] jarrett|12 years ago|reply
Here's a bit more info, with summaries of relevant cases:
http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/conlaw/publice...
[+] [-] anigbrowl|12 years ago|reply
I do urge participants to look into this, because the 'bill of rights > everything else' viewpoint frequently expressed on HN (and the US internet in general) is both fairly recent and misguided in that it implicitly assumes a two-tier constitution.
[+] [-] unknown|12 years ago|reply
[deleted]
[+] [-] beloch|12 years ago|reply
The terrorists didn't win. The TSA became the terrorists.
[+] [-] thorntonbf|12 years ago|reply
"The thought nagged at me that I was enabling the same government-sanctioned bigotry my father had fought so hard to escape."
[+] [-] malandrew|12 years ago|reply
On a different not, I'm certain that I'm not the only one who read the Selectee Passport List in the voice of Yakko, Wakko and Dot.
[+] [-] ck2|12 years ago|reply
Barely saw anything about them. So even the media is looking the other way now.
[+] [-] silencio|12 years ago|reply
That might just be me with my TSA PreCheck and recent international non-US-destined flying talking though. Protip: fly business/first class or be part of PreCheck and revel in the pre-9/11 style of security. You know, the one where I wore all my jewelry, a sweater, and my boots through the metal detector, set it off, and the TSA agent just waved me through with a smile. Where I also didn't empty my water bottle or unpack anything at all - in fact, told not to even think about unpacking. Oh I feel so safe!
[+] [-] unknown|12 years ago|reply
[deleted]
[+] [-] Consultant32452|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] jonknee|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] ksherlock|12 years ago|reply
Some of their rules are dumb but that was my biggest complaint.
[+] [-] hisabness|12 years ago|reply
1. touch screen so we have a fingerprint 2. touch again if it didn't work the first time so we potentially have 2 fingerprints 3. swab finger for DNA sample that we'll link to step 1 and/or 2 4. place id under scanner which we'll link to steps 1-3 5. triangulate all these data points over many years until the TSA has a complete database with everyone's unique identifying info...
[+] [-] btbuildem|12 years ago|reply
I understand some people have no choice, family to support, made bad choices in the past that limit their opportunities now.. but you, good sir? You get no pass whatsoever. Young, male, educated -- one would expect you'd try harder than to settle into a TSA job.
[+] [-] lucb1e|12 years ago|reply
Clicking through to the homepage, it turns out they also feature a call to censor Snowden: http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/01/edward-snowde...
Never mind. This makes me doubt what I just read.
[+] [-] harryh|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] deadfall|12 years ago|reply
I have not been outside the US, I am curious on the security around the world. Namely, flights headed towards US airports. Do they have to go through body scanners?
[+] [-] brightsize|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] ZoFreX|12 years ago|reply
The only other place I've been that was similar at the border was Russia (I haven't flown into Russia, but flying out I went through.. some sort of scanner. They didn't tell me what it was, it was about 10x the size of the US ones, big white metal box, covered in radiation warnings, totally dark on the inside) Actually, the USA reminded me more of Russia than any other country I've been to, with the questioning, the scanners, being given grief if you questioned anything, and of course - the paperwork.
[+] [-] ojii|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] tigerente|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] nowigetit|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] geophile|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] rmchugh|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] gavinpc|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] smsm42|12 years ago|reply
Also, from this article, next time TSA employee tries to feel my ass looking for a bomb, it would be interesting to think about him as an aspiring satire writer. I wonder if that would change the experience.
[+] [-] stretchwithme|12 years ago|reply
Our government does so much propaganda in collusion with the media. Every time anything happens, we are treated to news stories about how security is being beefed up. The reality is that there reality isn't much they can do except show more security on TV and hope you'll conclude "ah, they are on top of things."
[+] [-] Intlrnt|12 years ago|reply
I'm not sure if that transparency is due to his arrogance, or ignorance of how much he contributed to the problems we all deal with. No matter. Business as usual.
Ballsy? Maybe. 'Hey everybody! I'm a self-identified slacker, unqualified to be entrusted with responsibility. Here's my name. Here's my picture.'
Still, very disappointing.
[+] [-] siculars|12 years ago|reply
Truth will out.
[+] [-] dror|12 years ago|reply
After all the worries, posting from various places, TOR, and in the end from home, no one went after him even though he clearly ridiculed the TSA. It's kind of sad that we even have to consider that, but in these days of NSA abuses it's nice to see democracy at work.