Posted on 11/18/2010 12:55:19 PM PST by kingu
Airport passenger screening measures have become a touchy issue in the U.S. in the past week, but in the past year the controversial measures have detected more than 130 prohibited, illegal or dangerous items that otherwise would have made it onto airplanes, the Transportation Security Administration says.
The TSA now requires all passengers at some U.S. airports either to pass through a full-body scanning device, which reveals everything beneath their clothing, or to submit to a thorough pat-down inspection -- a choice that has some travelers livid about their loss of privacy.
But the TSA says keeping passengers safe is its top priority, and the new measures are necessary.
"This year alone, the use of advanced imaging technology has led to the detection of over 130 prohibited, illegal or dangerous items," TSA spokesman Greg Soule told FoxNews.com. The TSA would not disclose exactly what those items were, but it said they included weapons like ceramic knives and various drugs -- including a syringe filled with heroine hidden in a passenger’s underwear.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Hopefully more people will react the way you are reacting. Then the loss of business by the airlines just might get the to pressure Congress to pressure the TSA to rescind these ridiculous new procedures.
Really? I haven't seen any yet, but I take your word for it. Can you point me to a thread where these idiots have been posting?
I'd prefer that over the current system. I'd rather have people looking at my junk than touching it and blasting it x-rays.
People are so curious. If they would swear off flying completely for even a couple of weeks, this would be resolved to all our benefit.
People play along, and the government will not only continue what it’s doing, it will make it worse.
It’s only a matter of time before they interfere with travel by automobile so that folks will have choice.
They want TOTAL control. They won’t stop until they get it. People like this NEVER do.
Secret Agent Man: “Nothing that was found would have taken down a flight.”
You can bet we would have heard about it had they actually confiscated enough explosives to take down an aircraft. Unfortunately, they won’t tell us what they found, so these 130 items, a laughable amount given the number of searches performed, could be anything from fingernail clippers to a bottle of sunscreen.
Now that we have reinforced the cockpit doors, ceramic knives, box cutters, and hand guns almost certainly couldn’t be used to bring down an aircraft. Even explosives have to be powerful enough to damage flight-essential components, and that isn’t as easy as some might think. Terrorists could kill innocent passengers on an aircraft, but it would be very difficult to bring one down with a ceramic knife or another one of these prohibited items.
People seem to forget about the inherent weakness of defense, and we’re on defense. The offense gets to pick the time and place of their attack, and we’re busy playing security theater in airport check in lines.
Is that 130 items altogether?
Look back on any of the threads discussing it, you’ll find people complaining we’re whiners, they work in prisons and these searches are no big deal, they are doing worse to civillians in Iraq, etc. They fail to see the big picture. Just go back through my comments and you’ll find the threads.
Wonder if the can of shaving cream they removed from my carry-on last month was in the 130? I failed to remember the 3oz rule, but perhaps more importantly I recently moved from Barbasol to Gillette. Maybe they were questioning whether or not Gillette was in fact the best a man can get.
Anyone know of any good ways to use up ~98,000 Delta frequent flier miles besides actual air travel?
Fisher House Foundation accepts flyer miles for wounded military and their families
We've got to keep the pressure on our the TSA and our representatives. Everyone needs to opt out.
This kind of outrage cannot be allowed to stand!
I'd lean towards A, but you're welcome to re-read the Fox article and try to puzzle it out.
I don’t know if I called them idiots, but I am hoping they are not, but instead hoping they really just haven’t tried looking at this issue from a different point of view than they currently are. Try to get them thinking along a different train of thought.
I’d probably say they are looking at the issue from the wrong point of view, or may from too narrow a focus. I am hoping they are open enough to realize the arguments/objections we are raising are bigger than their arguments.
I have no problem with someone shooting heroin on my plane. One less loud-mouthed annoying passenger in my neighborhood of the cabin.
Now if they could eliminate all the drunks, loud women having tedious conversations about nothing, and crying toddlers, I would be even happier.
Maybe they could start selling those syringes on the drink cart...
130 prohibited, illegal or dangerous items””
Let’s get this in perspective:
how many flights?
How many passengers???
How many of those 130 prohibited items were bottle of water over 3 ounces purchases inside the ‘secure area of the airport???
IMO there are only 2 points of view on this issue:
Those who think it is OK for a government stranger to touch a child's private parts and those who don't
I fall in the 'It's not OK' category.
They got me for a highly dangerous 3mm allen wrench once. Actually, it was a full-auto, tactical assault allen wrench.
I know one of those items was my 6oz bottle of shampoo that had less than 3 ozs of shampoo in it.
Yeah, I’m guilty as charged, didn’t get my junk manhandled though.
Twerps.
Thank you both, very good suggestions! I have one other thing in mind that I just came up with of a similar nature, between the three I’m sure I can put them to good use.
The drunk lady then became belligerent. More comings-and-goings as we waited. A call went out for police, and a few minutes later a couple police officers came by and boarded. Ms. Problem Lady was throwing up all over and refusing to leave. She finally sobered up a bit when one of the officers reached for the cuffs, and walked out unmolested, followed by the officers. She was hammered.
Turns out it was all in the seats across the aisle from my seat. One guy who had been next to her had stormed off amidst the first, erhh, outpouring and been given first class on the next flight. A couple luckless workers were doing their best to clean everything, but it still stank the whole flight.
Then on my return I got hit with delays, cancellations and rerouting through Detroit (going from Atlanta to Indy, mind you). Convincing myself not to fly again was not exactly difficult...
I wonder what Congressional District she represents?
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