Latest TSA News 7/18/11

[Bob Hubbard]

Rather than do separate topics, I'm going to combine a few here.

Insert my usual "The TSA sucks" comments as appropriate.


TSA To Test Trusted Traveler Program With Certain Delta & American Airlines Frequent Fliers
By Chris Morran on July 14, 2011 2:41 PM

In May, TSA chief John Pistole said the agency was considering a program that would allow pre-vetted "trusted travelers" to get through airport security faster. Today, the TSA announced actual details of the program it will begin testing on a small group of fliers. More »




Woman Accused Of Groping TSA Agent -- Yeah, You Read That Right
By Phil Villarreal on July 18, 2011 9:15 AM
Accusations of groping involving Transportation Security Administration agents are far from unheard of, but it's rare that it's a security officer who's the one filing the complaint. Yet a Colorado woman stands accused of groping a TSA agent at Phoenix's Sky Harbor Airport Thursday. More »




Appeals Court: Feds Rushed To Roll Out Controversial TSA Scanners
By Chris Morran on July 15, 2011 3:21 PM
An appeals court panel in Washington, D.C., ruled today that the government jumped the gun by not seeking public feedback before rolling out airport scanners that see through travelers' clothes. Unfortunately for those opposed to these devices, the scanners are not going anywhere. More »



Reader: TSA Agent Cracks Timothy McVeigh Joke That Would Probably Have Gotten Me Detained
By Chris Morran on July 18, 2011 4:15 PM
For all the wise-cracking most of us do about the TSA and airport security procedures, we also know that when it comes time to actually pass through the checkpoint on our way to the gate, it's probably not the best time to be a jokester. But, says a Consumerist reader, there is at least one TSA screener who thinks it's perfectly fine for him to lightheartedly reference Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh. More »



Senator: Travelers Should Be Reimbursed Fees For All Lost & Mishandled Bags
By Chris Morran on July 18, 2011 1:15 PM
Even though a new rule is about to kick in that refunds airline baggage fees for any traveler whose luggage vanishes forever, New York Senator Chuck Schumer thinks it's not enough and that airlines should be reimbursing fees even if you get your bags back a day or two later. More »

 

[Bob Hubbard]

Airport security directors criticize TSA, offer Congress recommendations
'The TSA is so focused on protocols that they often lose sight of what is reasonable or even necessary'
http://www.securitydirectornews.com/index.php?p=article&id=sd201107kpfVId

The Transportation Security Administration is inefficient, inflexible, abusive of its power, and lacks separation of power, Jerry Orr, aviation director for Charlotte Douglas International Airport, told House members on July 13 during a hearing on airport perimeter security.“With these shortcomings, achieving security can be lost in the shuffle,” said Orr, in written transcripts of his testimony. “Security needs are dynamic and a security organization needs to be similarly flexible.”







TSA Agents Now Handing Out "Junior TSA Agent" Stickers To Little ...
www.godlikeproductions.com/forum1/message1566418/pg2
TSA Agents Now Handing Out "Junior TSA Agent" Stickers To Little Kids at the GodlikeProductions Conspiracy Forum.




Mom arrested in airport over protest of TSA agents groping her child
July 19, 2011

Now we hear the story out of a Nashville Airport that a mother was handcuffed and arrested for telling the agent that neither she nor her child were going through the x-ray machine and her child was not going to be groped.
From early infancy, we teach our children in the home and at school that no one should be allowed to touch them improperly and especially in “private places.” They are told no one is to touch them in any area that is covered by a swim suit.
Ann-Marie Murrell of “The New York Daily News reports:”

People are calling her ‘overprotective’—I call her a hero.
Andrea Fornella Abbott was arrested when she refused to allow her daughter (age withheld) to be sexually touched by TSA agents.

Hero.

 

[Bob Hubbard]

[h=5]Comedian tweets TSA woes
Posted July 18, 2011 at 7:45 pm by Eddie Scarry[/h] The TSA is on a roll! Last week, it was Donald Rumsfeld who got the touchy treatment at Chicago‘s O’Hare airport. Today it was Kathy Griffin‘s turn. The red-headed comedian immediately took to Twitter to gripe about the groping she received at an unspecified airport:

 

[granfire]

TSA Agents Now Handing Out "Junior TSA Agent" Stickers To Little ...
http://www.godlikeproductions.com/fo...age1566418/pg2
TSA Agents Now Handing Out "Junior TSA Agent" Stickers To Little Kids at the GodlikeProductions Conspiracy Forum.

Gropers in training?

 

[Bob Hubbard]

Conditioning.

 

[granfire]

You grope me and I grope you?

I am sure the groping would go over easier if they had some young and handsome gropers of the opposite sex though...

Or pick your groper....

But then again, when I travel I am not in the groping mood....

 

[Bob Hubbard]

The TSA recently announced it caught someone bringing a small quantity of the explosive C4 on a plane.
They did not mention catching anyone else.
They didn't mention detonators, timers, remote triggers, etc.
The explosive was in checked, not carry on baggage.
All of these are crucial omissions.

Some are suggesting that it was a 'test', considering the TSA's track record of failing to find the vast majority of planted 'intended to be found' test items.

The theater, continues.

 

[Bob Hubbard]

Woman Gets Knife Past TSA Checkpoints Not Once, But Twice!
July 19, 2011

What with reports indicating a plethora of security breaches at U.S. airports, why not check out some of those statistics in action? Two such breaches may have occurred recently, as an Indianapolis woman claims she made it through security twice with a knife in her carry-on. More »

 

[Bob Hubbard]

TSA Reportedly targeting those critical for retaliatory 'extra' screening.
http://www.murfreesboropost.com/burriss-appreciate-free-speech-tsa-has-different-opinion-cms-26895

Keeping track of what passengers say is part of a program called SPOT, Screening Passengers by Observation Techniques, where agents observe passengers and create a numerical score for who might be a terrorist.

But here's something interesting: captured terrorist training manuals specifically tell recruits not to be critical or belligerent, so as to avoid attracting attention.

So the only people who are going to be affected by this program are unsuspecting passengers who are not terrorists.

In other words, if you act like a law-abiding citizen, you are more likely to be a terrorist, but also more likely to escape detection.

TSA Charges Congressman With Violating Federal Law For Exposing Security Breaches
July 18th, 2011
http://www.realnewsreporter.com/?p=6436

Hypocrites: At same time appeals court confirms TSA itself broke federal law

Officials at the Department of Homeland Security, the parent agency of the TSA, have claimed that a Congressman violated federal law by disclosing to the press details of 25,000 security breaches over the past ten years, despite the fact that the documents from which he gleaned the information were non-classified.
Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) received a letter last week outlining the charge from Homeland Security Deputy Counsel Joseph B. Maher, following a Congressional oversight hearing on the TSA last Wednesday.
During the hearing Chaffetz disclosed information about the security breaches, which made headlines in USA Today and several other newspapers.

 

[Bob Hubbard]

TSA agent sentenced as sex offender
www.myfoxorlando.com
A former Transportation Security Administration worker was sentenced to ten years of sex offender probation


NH bill would put TSA agents on sex offender registry | Ron Paul 2012 | Sound Money, Peace and Libe
www.dailypaul.comBut that man should play the tyrant over God, and find Him a better man than himself, is astonishing drama indeed!~~D. Sayers


TSA Moron Mistakes Ipod Charger For Bomb Equipment www.wired.comIf ever you needed evidence that airport security is theater, here you go. A TSA guard at JFK refused to let a frequent flyer through because he didn't like the looks of a DIY charger.


Man gets through security with gun at Montana airport (TSA strikes again)
www.freerepublic.comThe Transportation Security Administration said Wednesday that screeners at Gallatin Field near Bozeman inadvertently allowed a passenger with a firearm in his carryon luggage through security last month.


New TSA Report: Every Test Gun, Bomb Part Or Knife Got Past Screeners At Some Airport | Techdirt
www.techdirt.comWhile the TSA is still fighting as hard as possible to be able to either see you naked or touch your private parts, apparently it hasn't spent that much time actually figuring out how to look for people carrying weapons onto planes. A few folks have sent in this ABC story about a man who boarded a


Man passes through TSA security with loaded gun in carry-on bag, boards plane | abc13.com
abclocal.go.comYou expect TSA to prevent contraband from getting on planes, but as we've learned, that doesn't always happen


John Lott's Website: TSA made mistakes with X-ray body scanners, subjecting people to 10x the radiat
johnrlott.blogspot.comTSA commanded radiation exposure is 10X what an individual was intended to receive.Miayagiken-Oki earthquake/Fukushima accidental exposure will compare how, absolute, relative, policy, et cetera?If 10X TSA is OK, how does that compare to an accidental exposure?A benefit of the recent 'news' may be t


Woman whose breasts exposed in pat-down settles with TSA
www.msnbc.msn.comA woman who claims Transportation Security Administration officials exposed her breasts during a pat-down in 2008 will receive compensation from the agency, the Daily Mail reported.


Philadelphia TSA screener arrested on child exploitation charges - by Bruce Tyson
news.helium.comA TSA screened was arrested for sexual exploitation of children after he was found distributing child pornography from his Facebook page. The man, pictured in his TSA uniform


The Journal of Plymouth Rock Ranch » My 2nd Personal TSA Story
plymouthrockranch.comYou can read about my 1st encounter with TSA here. But that wasn’t my only encounter with TSA during my 14 months of flying back and forth between San Antonio and Seattle. The TSA Agent told me, "I only chose you because you looked like you wouldn’t give me any problems!" That's how they target their victims.


Bruce Schneier on TSA
www.youtube.comAn excerpt from the upcoming documentary "Code 2600"Famous security guru and philosopher Bruce Schneier deconstructs the TSA masterfully. Well done Bruce!Not everyone in this county is a sheep willing to trade in their freedom for "security theatre" ie., all show without any real security. For some discussion on just what a fraud TSA is see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v​=3VA4EyT4ezE








Update:
No Felony Charges For Longmont Woman In TSA Groping Case:LONGMONT, Colo. (CBS4) – No felony charges will be filed against the Colorado woman who allegedly sexually assaulted a Transportation Security Administration agent in Phoenix.
On Tuesday the Maricopa County district attorney decided to turn the case of Yukari Miyamae, 61, of Longmont over to city prosecutors. She could still be charged with a misdemeanor.

Yukari Miyamae Won't Face Felony Charges For TSA Grouping 7/19/11
Prosecutors have decided they will not press felony charges against a woman accused of groping a female Transportation Security Agent.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/19/yukari-miyamae-wont-face-_n_904045.html

 

[Bob Hubbard]

TSA agent arrested, accused of theft at Bush Airport
www.khou.comA TSA agent accused of stealing money at Bush Airport made her first court appearance Friday.


private invesigations: Flier's TSA 'grope' nightmare
privateinvesigations.blogspot.​com


TSA agent plunders $50K in electronics, caught shoving iPad in pants
www.digitaltrends.comHave you ever lost something from your bag after checking it at the airport? The TSA gives us another reason...


- Hot Air
hotair.comTSA Theft of Passenger Valuables a Nationwide Problem






Newark TSA officer pleads guilty to theft from passengers
www.reuters.comNEW YORK (Reuters) - A federal security officer at Newark Liberty International Airport pleaded guilty on Monday to accepting bribes and kickbacks from a colleague who regularly stole money from passengers


Former TSA employee admits to theft
www.khon2.comFormer Transportation Security Administration supervisor Dawn Nikole Keka, 35, pled guilty to one count of theft Friday in Honolulu District Court for stealing $200 from an undercover agent at Kona International Airport.


TSA Under Fire for Rising Theft by Baggage Screeners
abcnews.go.comTSA Under Fire for Rising Theft by Baggage Screeners

 

[Bob Hubbard]

Those last 2 posts are all from the last couple hours. More are coming in as I type this. Like I think I said...if I did each one as an individual topic, I'd have to change the name of the site. LOL.

Going to do 1 thread a week, unless it's major, to cut down on the 'noise' as it were.

Feel free to break anything out that seems to warrant it.

 

[Bob Hubbard]

New TSA software to end naked scanner images
latimesblogs.latimes.comSay goodbye to naked scanner images. The Transportation Security Administration announced Wednesday that it will begin installing software to allow airport scanners to show objects hidden under the clothes of passengers without creating what appears to be a naked digital...


New software to end naked airport scanner images
www.chicagotribune.comSay goodbye to naked scanner images.


San Diego woman with large knife is latest TSA lapse - Worldnews.com
article.wn.com/.../San_Diego_woman_with_large_knife_is_latest_TSA_lap...
27 minutes ago - Jennifer Morgan from San Diego, CA was able to accidentally carry a switch blade knife with a four inch folding blade in a zippered purse compartment ...


Libertarian Party of Florida plans TSA protest at Florida sheriff ...[
www.examiner.com/.../libertarian-party-of-florida-plans-tsa-protest-at-flori...
25 minutes ago - The Libertarian Party of Florida is planning a protest of the Transportation Security Administration's blatant disregard for the U.S. Constitution's 4th ...


Napolitano's VIPR Vows to “Dominate, Intimidate, Control” the ...
floydreports.com/napolitanos-vipr-vows-to-dominate-intimidate-control-th...
26 minutes ago - Indeed, the Gestapo-like tactics of one of the Department's better known masters of overreach–the TSA–are responsible for countless examples of the ...

 

[Bob Hubbard]

If you pack a vibrator, don't get shaken by TSA
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/06/19/TRHF1JL2NM.DTL
Summary: Pocket Rockets are ok, but the John Holmes Special should be packed in checked baggage, lest it be confused with a billy club.

 

[Bob Hubbard]

Military men and women do not face the same security checks you do at the airport
Some servicemen and women are excluded from removing their shoes.
http://www.wtvr.com/news/wtvr-tsa-m...s-military-personnel-20110719,0,1476178.story

 

[Mark Jordan]

This TSA procedure is really disappointing. How long should we play along for our supposed security and the safety our country?

 

[Bob Hubbard]

This TSA procedure is really disappointing. How long should we play along for our supposed security and the safety our country?

Until someone remotely starts blowing up planes again due to the TSA's continued failure to properly screen checked baggage while being busy stealing ipods from it.
Then they'll start requiring a pap smear and prostate check of all passengers.
Won't fix the security hole, but will deflect attention from it while they shuffle some cabinet heads around.

 

[David43515]

Sorry Bob, I had to.

 

[Bob Hubbard]

TSA Screener Brings Woman To Tears Through Aggressive Body Search
At least the Transportation Security Administration official didn't prevent the man from videotaping a screener running her hands up and down the body of a female passenger to the point that she was in tears. So maybe TSA is finally learning that videography is permitted at security checkpoints. But now it begs the question to what extent must we go through in order to enjoy the privilege of flying


Woman Found Guilty in TSA Patdown Case
www.myfoxaustin.com/.../woman-found-guilty-in-tsa-patdown-...
9 hours ago - An Austin woman had her day in court Thursday after a big blowout with TSA workers last year at Austin Bergstrom International Airport.


Prison Planet.com » Man Harassed By TSA Over Urostomy Bag Targeted ...
]www.prisonplanet.com/man-harassed-by-tsa-over-urostomy-bag-targeted-...
2 hours ago - Man Harassed By TSA Over Urostomy Bag Targeted Again ...
The bladder cancer survivor says he endured a second inappropriate pat down at Detroit Metropolitan Airport.


News : Laura Ingraham claims TSA agents stole her jewelry from her ...
www.radio-info.com/.../laura-ingraham-claims-tsa-agents-stole-her-j... 6 hours ago - Conservative talk show host and author Laura Ingraham recently flew out of Newark's Liberty International Airport, and while she isn't claiming TSA agents .


SC man: TSA failed to detect knife in carry-on luggage - WIS News ...
www.wistv.com/.../passenger-tsa-failed-to-detect-knife-in-carry-on-luggage
15 hours ago - When a local police officer arrived in his Miami hotel room on vacation, he was shocked to find what was in his bag. A knife. A very large and lethal knife.

 

[Bob Hubbard]

A nice roundup of some of the dumbest things the TSA did in 2008
www.gadling.comThe TSA has made quite a name for itself when it comes to making stupid decisions. Whether it is forcing a mom to drink her own breast milk, or claiming a thin laptop could be a dangerous weapon, when the TSA screws up, they tend to screw up quite badly.

TSA screwups
tsascrewups.wordpress.comOn the heels of yesterday’s story that TSA assaulted a 6-year-old girl in New Orleans comes a reports from a mother from Clackamas, Oregon, that a similar thing happened to 8-year-old son. Spencer Sheahan and his family were on their way to Disneyland at the time.