[Dan Evans]

From 1984:

"Surveillance 4: Winston thinks about how dangerous it is to allow your thoughts to wander when you are in public or facing the telescreen. Your facial expressions are watched closely and the wrong expression can have dire consequences. For example, looking disbelieving when a victory is announced would be facecrime."

[Ramius]

Sounds like we’ve been getting some training from El Al security.

Good.

[rocksblues]

American officers receive 16 hours of training — far less than their Israeli counterparts_ because U.S. officials want to be less intrusive.

I feel safer already.

[theFIRMbss]

>New airport agents check for danger in fliers' facial expressions

I guess from now on John will have to get around on a Greyhound bus!

[USMCWife6869]

Frightening stuff. What if someone is having a really bad day. Besides, since traveling these days is usually a nightmare to begin with, how could they even tell?

[Dan Evans]

"It was terribly dangerous to let your thoughts wander when you were in any public place or within range of a telescreen. The smallest thing could give you away. A nervous tic, an unconscious look of anxiety, a habit of muttering to yourself -- anything that carried with it the suggestion of abnormality, of having something to hide. In any case, to wear an improper expression on your face (to look incredulous when a victory was announced, for example) was itself a punishable offence. There was even a word for it in Newspeak: facecrime, it was called.

-- George Orwell, 1984

[theFIRMbss]

>facecrime

[CholeraJoe]

Subversive terroist:

No threat:

[E. Pluribus Unum]

The thought-police have arrived.

What's particularly galling is none of these TSA measures make anybody any more safe than merely allowing fellow passengers to notify somebody of suspicious activity.

The biggest danger to commercial aircraft is shoulder-fired missiles, but good luck getting them to admit.

The TSA is as useless as mammary glands on a boar hog.

[Reeses]

Why is the family newspaper describing new airport security methods in detail? This is mostly a heads up for terrorists and other Democrats.

[dfwgator]

Not to worry, TSA is on the job!

[pierstroll]

My wife and I boarded a flight from Palermo to Milan shortly after 9-11. We sat in the front row and noticed immediately that the cockpit door was open and left open after take off.

We asked one of the fashionable dressed attendants about the open door.

He said that he looked at each passenger when they boarded and if he was comfortable he left the door open.

I guess flights in and out of Palermo probably have additional insurance from local community groups.

[Uncle Miltie]

Anyone with these "facial expressions" should be strongly considered for a the full frisking.

[wbill]

This program sounds Orwellian, but I don't think that it is. I think that it's the way the article is written.

The Isrealis have been doing this a whole lot longer than we have. Right now, the controls that we have in place are really just designed to annoy people (I've never heard of anyone being attacked with nail clippers, for instance....). Bringing in some people that really know what they're doing is a good start, IMHO.

Analyzing the people that are actual threats (PROFILING!!!) is a good, IMHO. Maybe this will introduce a little sanity....searching little old ladies and 6 month old babies because people "need to be randomly selected..." might finally go away.

Of course, this *is* the TSA. I'm not sure that some the people I've dealt with in Airport Security could find their own ass with both hands and map in broad daylight.

[TheSpottedOwl]

Yikes. What happens when you have been standing in a 2 hour line, and finally get to the checkpoint? Your face might not be so happy. How about adding that you’re flying to a relative’s funeral?

Who knew how prescient ‘1984’ would be?

[Don W]

American officers receive 16 hours of training — far less than their Israeli counterparts_ because U.S. officials want to be less intrusive.

Isn't that counter-intuitive? Wouldn't MORE training make you better at detecting without being detected?

[7thson]

This person should be charged with a facecrime.

[Mr J]

Oh joy! Surely these agents will protect us from the danger of the 80-year old granny from Oklahoma who’s nervous and apprehensive about being screened by a bumbling, surly TSA thug.

If granny flinches the wrong way for a millisecond, it’s a cavity search and a waterboarding.

Whew, I feel safer already!

[1Old Pro]

They were flickers of expression that lasted no more than a fraction of a second.

And the human eye after 16 hours of "training" will be able to pick up on this?

[technomage]

As one that flies many times a month and having dealt many times with the mental midgets the TSA has hired to do security, this will only give them one more reason to screw with everyday passengers.

It is one thing to teach sophisticated techniques to enhance our security. This assumes those you are teaching have the mental capacity to truly understand and implement these techniques.

It is quite another thing to attempt to teach these techniques to the low IQ boobs they have working at the TSA.

This will do nothing to enhance security unless the very first thing they teach is to focus attention on middle eastern males. But, political correctness will not allow that. So, they will be using these face reading techniques on grandma, babies in strollers, priests, old white men, and hot looking babes they just want to impress with their power.

[Dick Vomer]

ping