TSA wrecks Texas caribou hunters meat

The Anchorage Daily News ^ | May 31st | Craig Medred

[Trust but Verify]

Let's just all ignore the fact that this was one screener who was going against TSA rules in manhandling this man's caribour.

There, now you can all have a go at ME and tell me how stupid I am for injecting a little truth into this harangue you all have going here.

[Vinnie]

........if the rental wannabe doesn't like the look of ya they trip it........

Some months ago I was at Denver airport.
I had carefully removed all metallic objects from my person in order to avoid setting off the metal detector.

The screener waves his magic wand over and around me, down my legs and 'BEEP'.

The eyelets on my shoes set it off.( there may be a 'beep' button on the wand)
Of course I now have to go over and remove my shoes.

He wanted my shoes off, one way or the other.

IMHO.. this security hoax is killing the airline industry. Searching baby diapers, old women, etc.

I can fly free but if I can drive where I want to go in a day, that's what I do.

[buffyt]

And that idiot who attacked the flight crew last week, I don't remember where, used two wooden steaks he had sharpened into weapons. All they are doing at airports is Window Dressing Indeed! If someone wants to attack you they will use a tennis racket, someone was killed by being beaten to death with one, here in this area of Texas. All the searches of luggage and people are smoke and mirrors, window dressing. You know who looks like a terrorist, search THEM MORE closely and leave mom and pop from small town USA the hell alone!

[buffyt]

I remember the last few times I flew, back and forth between Houston and LA last year, we had two homes due to job. I was a nervous wreck when they searched my bags. I about had a heart attack. I was thinking what if I forgot to remove my fingernail file or nail clippers, etc. Things I have had in my bags forever, flying around the world. But all of a sudden I am supposed to feel safer because they don't let me take my fingernail file on a flight...... SHEESH!

[Jarhead_22]

Let's just all ignore the fact that this was one screener who was going against TSA rules in manhandling this man's caribour

It doesn't matter what the rules are if no one enforces them.

[buffyt]

They almost undressed my husband at Denver airport, not in a private room, but right there in front of everyone in the lobby. His belt buckel beeped. They had his belt off and I thought he was going to be cavity searched. They made him leave his keys, cell phone, computer, wallet, briefcase sitting back at the area where the screeners were, which was pretty far from where he was standing. I got permission to stand guard over his belongings while they searched him. He is CAUCASIAN with very very BLONDE hair and pale skin - does not look like a Mid.Eastern terrorist. He is a chemical engineer, very conservative looking and acting, mild mannered man.

This was after we had waited two hours to go thru security. We missed our flight. You had to be there ten min. before take off so they could match bags with passengers. I recall the 9/11 terrorists didn't mind being blown up in the plane - what makes TSA think that future terrorists will try to blow up with plane with a bomb in their bag, without going on the flight. Terrorists don't mind being blown up, they are suicide bombers. What good would it have done to match bags to passengers on 9/11. Those guys planned to go down with the plane.

Then they not only took our bags off the plane, WE had to go find out what they did with them. The people working at the airport didn't know what to do.

I felt so sorry for the elderly people who had to use canes and walkers, and the young couples with crying kids, as we waited in line for two hours to go through security.

I WILL NEVER USE DENVER AIRPORT AGAIN. The next time we went to visit my father-in-law in Denver, WE DROVE, IN THE WINTER WEATHER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Vinnie]

I WILL NEVER USE DENVER AIRPORT AGAIN

There was an old woman in front of me that was so feeble she shouldn't have been travelling alone. She committed the heinous 'crime' of starting down the 'to be searched' line, then realized she was in the wrong line. Apparently starting down that line and turning around is a major no-no.
I could not believe the way they treated that lady. I was boiling mad, but just bit my tongue.

BTW.. did you happen to see the mural on the wall in the baggage claim area?
It looks like a cross between Star Wars and the Nazi invasion of Poland. I remember several threads on FR concerning this and other murals at DIA.

[4Freedom]

Finger nail files are no longer considered prohibited items by the TSA. Neither are cork screws or nail clippers as long as they're not the kind that have a knife blade built into them.

There are some cork screws out there that one could do some major damage with, but they're now allowed in your carry-on.

Cuticle clippers, eyelash curlers, tweezers and knitting needles are all ok. No pointy scissors of any kind are allowed.

Leave your fancy propane burning cigar and pipe lighting torches at home and don't buy one on vacation. They won't allow those even in your checked baggage. Those things cost $30 to as much as $400 and TSA will make a passenger surrender it. I saw one guy almost go nuts when TSA confiscated his $400 torch. At least they left him his cigars. ;)

A passenger can only carry-on 2 'Bic' lighters and 4 books of matches. The extras are confiscated.

No tools allowed in your carry-on, nada, none, checked baggage only, unless it's for a prosthesis.

I hope this helps. Keep in mind that this could all change next week, though. ;^)

[verity]

''The value of this caribou meat is about $28 per pound...

What a bargain! Bwahahaha!

[_Jim]

the flight 800 explosion

a little D*MNED presumptious I'd say ...

[cardinal4]

We go twice a summer as well. The first salmon run is around the end of June then we go back in the end of July. What we did with the salmon is filleted it, wrapped it with a plastic sealer thingy that our friends had and then froze them. We put them in a cooler with dry ice and a note taped on the top: Frozen Salmon caught 2July 2002. and taped the cooler shut. When we got back to STL, the box was intact. Im really surprised that Alaska TSA would do something like this, it makes me think the guy wasnt from Alaska. I wouldnt put it past some of the TSA boobs here in the lower 48, though. Since we are airline employees we get the double whammy; our bags are automatically searched and we are put in the security line. Why? Who knows. I have been background checked at least three times since 9-11 and am drug tested every two months or so. Yet Im deemed the biggest risk, next to Mohamedd Atta. Another problem we have is that we would have no recourse since we are employees. Since we dont pay to fly, we wouldnt have been reimbursed for the fish. The TSA sucks.

[4Freedom]

Frozen food looks like a big opaque blob on an x-ray screen, especially if it's wrapped in tin foil. It would be hard to tell what might be frozen inside of it, or hidden amongst or behind the frozen packages, without physically inspecting the container.

I don't know who packed this meat or where, but if there was any way that these packages were placed on a surface that had gunpowder residue on it, at the hunting lodge, that might have been enough to trigger an alarm on TSA's ETD (Explosives Trace Detection) machine.

I've been in line when a passenger's computer gave a false positive for explosive residue on an ETD machine. Let me tell you, a lot of these Screeners may be none too bright, but even their neurons must screem 'Oh Shit!' when that machine alarms.

IMO, a terrorist doesn't have to get a bomb on a plane to cause another crisis. If a bomb went off in a busy checkpoint, with a thousand or so passengers standing in line at the ticket counter or waiting to enter the so-called sterile gate areas, it would be just as bad.

A bomb exploding in a checked baggage inspection area, fully staffed with TSA employees, would be equally as bad.

It would have the same negative impact on the traveling public's confidence in their ability to fly safely.

Wouldn't all of you agree?

[_Jim]

Wouldn't all of you agree?

You're asking for the impossible with a request/a question like that ...

[4Freedom]

You've been lucky with that dry ice. If someone with TSA ever believes you packed more than 5 lbs of it with your salmon, you could have big problems. Next time you have a chance, stop at the supervisor's desk and find out what they're SOP is for dry ice. I'll bet if you ask 3 different TSA employees, you'll get 3 different answers. Probably, none you'll like.

The supervisor I talked to showed me the book. He says it says no dry ice. He was looking in the wrong column!

It wasn't completely his fault. There were two pages and the columns were transposed from one page to another. I'll bet those 2 pages in their SOP books are messed up all over the country.

You've been real lucky up until now. :)

[4Freedom]

Thank Richard Reid, the shoe bomber, for that!

It's because of him that TSA wants all shoes with soles that are more than 1" thick, platform heels and athletic shoes passed through the x-ray machine and even ETD'ed.

[cardinal4]

We packed it at the terminal with the help of an AA employee reading out of some manual. And it was way less than 5 lbs. This month, however, we will go to Fedex and send it home that way. With our benefits, it will only cost 6.95. I would be livid if the TSA sliced open the sealed salmon.

[Trust but Verify]

And you know the rules are not being enforced, how? Do you know this person has not/will not be disciplined?

[4Freedom]

Well, let's start with you're opinion of the impact a bomb exploding in a crowded airport checkpoint would have on air travel.

I've seen terminals jammed with 2,000 domestic and international passengers, trying to catch connecting flights, at one time.

That would be a major catastrophe.

Wouldn't you agree?

[4Freedom]

If the investigation shows that this box triggered an alarm on TSA's ETD (Explosive Trace Detection) machine, the Screener and his supervisor will not be disciplined. Every alarm is documented.

There's a good chance this box had some explosive's trace (gun powder) on it, if it was packed at a hunting lodge.

[Jhoffa_]

Appeals to the airlines that hauled the meat brought no response, Williams added. They said it's not their fault.

It's not their fault.

It's our fault for over-reacting and putting un-accountable union jackboot's in charge of air travel.