TSA Searches For “Hair Bomb”

I think this woman’s Afro is bigger than the one who got the Guinness Record!

Anyway, in the never-ending search to prevent folks from coming up with even more ingenious ways to sneak something they are not supposed to, onto a plane…

The TSA is now searching Afros!

 

Don’t Touch My Internet “Junk”, Either!

“Don’t touch my junk, Bro!”

Seems even a former Playboy Bunny, now confined to a wheelchair, can’t wear little enough to get through airport security without a patdown!

The woman who wore only her bra and panties while going through security at Will Rogers World Airport is speaking out about why she did it.

Video of Tammy Banovac sitting in a wheelchair in just her underwear has made international news. She said after a bad experience with a Transportation Security Administration pat-down, she decided to strip down to her lingerie so security screeners could clearly see she was not a threat.

“The less of me that they had to pat down and check, the less invasive a search would be. And wearing a bra and panties was just about as minimal as I could get,” Banovac said.

Banovac said because of injuries she suffered, she must use a wheelchair. She said she’s been subjected to uncomfortable pat-downs because she cannot go through metal detectors.

In other news – similar to “Do Not Call” registries, Do Not Cookie may soon become a reality on the Internet…

FTC pitches do-not-track system to let consumers opt out of Web data collection

The Federal Trade Commission on Wednesday recommended creating a do-not-track system that would prevent Web sites from collecting unauthorized consumer data, part of a widely anticipated agency report on improving Internet privacy.

The FTC report, aimed at helping policymakers and lawmakers craft privacy rules, also calls for Web sites to disclose more about the information they gather on users, including what has been collected, how it is used and how long it is stored. It also recommended that companies offer users more choices for opting out of data collection schemes.

Regulators and lawmakers are focusing more closely on online privacy after a spate of high-profile data breaches, including Google’s recent admission that it collected personal data from Wi-Fi networks in several countries.

FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz said in a news conference Wednesday that the current, largely unregulated approach to Internet privacy has fallen short. That approach is favored by advertisers, social-network operators and Web search companies.

The agency’s recommendations – passed unanimously by the five-member commission – seek to balance the concerns of Web advertisers, media companies and retailers that have devised business models around tailored advertisements based on profiles of users. The agency is taking comments on its report until Jan. 31.

“The FTC wants to help ensure that the growing, changing, thriving information marketplace is built on a framework that promotes privacy, transparency, business innovation and consumer choice,” Leibowitz said. “We believe that’s what most Americans want as well.”

More Airport Insanity

Gotta love some of those TSA guys who are ON THE JOB!

Yeah…Security is serious. And it is a hard job.

But with 9.5% unemployment do you mean to tell me we can’t find some folks to work for TSA with common sense?

TSA Takes Nail Clippers From Gun-Toting Soldier

Another day, another tale of the seeming absurdity of airport security. This one comes from a soldier coming home from Afghanistan on a military charter plane. The troops aboard the plane all went through security at Baghram Air Field, the soldier says in an email to RedState, passing through full-body scanners and having their bags inspected by bomb-sniffing dogs. Yet when the plane stopped in Indianapolis to let 100 National Guard members off, the TSA insisted on re-searching all the passengers. “It’s probably important to mention that we were ALL carrying weapons,” the soldier writes.

“All of us were carrying actual assault rifles, and some of us were also carrying pistols,” though they weren’t loaded, and everyone had already been searched for ammo. Yet when the TSA found nail clippers on one of the soldiers, they insisted on confiscating them. “You can’t take those on the plane,” the TSA official said. “They can be used as a weapon.” When the solider replied that he was permitted to take an actual weapon on the plane, the agent replied, “Yeah but you can’t use it to take over the plane. You don’t have bullets.” Asked the soldier, “And I can take over the plane with nail clippers?” Apparently. He reboarded without them … but with his weapon, along with 232 other gun-toting fliers.

I don’t know about the modern-modern Army – but in my day everyone carried a knife, too! And a trenching tool, which soldiers are taught to use as a weapon…

Not even mentioning the absurdity of trying to hold off 231 other soldiers…

With a nail clipper.

Growing Pushback Against Airport Security Measures

Dealing with Airport Security can be a royal pain in the ass. The rules are confusing, sometimes seem trite and arbitrary, and the personnel could use some sensitivity training.

Case in point -

Airport pat-downs provoking backlash

New pat-down procedures at airports have prompted a growing backlash among pilots, flight attendants, civil-liberties groups and security-weary passengers who say the touching goes too far.

In the latest escalation of the debate over the balance between security and passenger rights, privacy advocates have enlisted consumer-rights activist and four-time presidential candidate Ralph Nader, who calls the screening techniques “extremely voyeuristic and intrusive.”

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) calls it the new reality of airport security.

The new TSA pat-down procedure is part of a general tightening of air security that includes new full-body scanners which use X-rays to see through clothing to detect suspicious objects. If a full-body machine — like those now in use at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport — shows something strange or a passenger declines to go through the machine, a TSA officer will perform a more personal search.

The examinations routinely involve the touching of breasts and genitals, invasive searches designed to find weapons and suspicious items. The searches, performed by TSA security officers of the same sex as the passenger, entail a sliding hand motion on parts of the body where a lighter touch was used before, aviation-security analysts say. The areas of the body that are being touched haven’t changed.

“It’s more than just patting you down. It’s very intrusive and very insane. I wouldn’t let anyone touch my daughter like that,” said Marc Moniz, of Poway, Calif., who is planning to accompany his daughter’s eighth-grade class from San Diego to Washington, D.C., in April. “We’re not common criminals.”

Brian Sodergren, of Ashburn, Va., who works in the health-care industry, is organizing an “opt-out” day to encourage passengers to say no to advanced imaging technology, known to industry insiders as a “virtual strip-search.” He’s planning the protest for one of the busiest travel days of the year: Nov. 24, the day before Thanksgiving.

“Many people only fly around the holidays and may not be aware of the security changes,” Sodergren said. “I think once people are made aware of what is happening, they may have reservations about the new procedures.”

An activist group has launched WeWontFly.com, a website, and says it has gotten more than 70,000 hits a day since going online just a week ago. The site asks passengers to say no to scans and pat-downs and for TSA to remove its “porno-scanners” and “gropers.”

“We’re opposed to letting TSA treat us like criminals,” said James Babb, 42, of Eagleville, Pa., who is organizing the We Won’t Fly campaign.

 

 

 

 

Obama Nominates New TSA Head – Maj Gen Robert Harding

President Obama, after Republican obstructionism led to the resignation of his first TSA candidate has thrown down the gauntlet to Senator DeMint who blocked the appointment of Earl Southers. Republicans opposed Southers on what many suspect were largely on racial grounds. Put up or shut up time…

Obama nominates African-American to head the TSA

President Barack Obama said he wants a former senior Army official with a career in intelligence to lead the Transportation Security Administration.

The president announced his choice, retired Maj. Gen. Robert Harding, on Monday.

The decision to appoint someone with an extensive intelligence background comes after the attempted Christmas airliner attack. That attempt, foiled by passengers, led to scrutiny of government intelligence programs and criticism that the Obama administration wasn’t doing enough to foil would-be terrorists. The incident prompted a review of U.S. security policies.

“I am confident that Bob’s talent and expertise will make him a tremendous asset in our ongoing efforts to bolster security and screening measures at our airports,” Obama said in a statement.

Harding served in the Army for 33 years and retired in 2001. He has been the Defense Department’s top human intelligence officer and managed a $1 billion intelligence collection program. Between 2003 and 2009, Harding was a government consultant on human intelligence and counterintelligence issues. He sold his company in 2009, according to an administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly.

Obama’s original pick for the TSA job, Erroll Southers, withdrew from consideration in January when it became clear he would face a tough confirmation battle in the Senate.

The president has been criticized for leaving the TSA job open for so long. It took him eight months to nominate Southers.

Southers’ confirmation had been blocked by Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C. The senator said he was worried that Southers would grant collective bargaining rights to transportation security screeners, which Obama favors and Republicans oppose.

On Monday, DeMint said he looks forward to meeting with Harding.

“He’s had a distinguished career in the Army and I’m interested to hear how his military experience would inform his leadership of our nation’s transportation security,” DeMint said.

Harding would be the fifth man to run the Transportation Security Administration, which was formed after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.

Obama Wusses Out… Again

The chickenshit Dumbocrats gave the Rethuglys yet another victory yesterday – chickening out on what was a very important fight.

Rethuglys only care about winning political points…

And don’t give a damn how many Americans die as a result.

more about “Rachel Maddow: Erroll Southers on wit…“, posted with vodpod

Just Another Republican High Tech Lynching

Erroll Southers, Obama’s choice to head TSA, withdraws nomination

The Obama administration’s choice to lead the struggling Transportation Security Administration withdrew his name from consideration Wednesday, just weeks after revelations that he had provided misleading information to Congress prompted several Republicans to suggest that his nomination would not move forward without a fight.

Erroll Southers Lynched

Erroll Southers, a former FBI agent and homeland security specialist, was presented as a leader who would improve the TSA’s sprawling operations and enhance passenger screening to prevent such attacks as the attempted Christmas Day bombing of a Detroit-bound airliner.

My Ding-a-Ling

What’s with the Republican need to get swarthy men nekkid?

more about “My Ding-a-Ling“, posted with vodpod

Terrorism In the Senate

In case you are looking for some sort of Security system to be set up in response to the latest terrorist attack by the head of the Transportation Security Agency (TSA)…

There won’t be one, because currently – is no head of the TSA.

In yet another shining example of conservative politics trumping public safety, Republican Senator DeMint has held up President Obama’s appointment to that post.

Not coincidentally, Errol Southers – currently Assistant Police Chief in Los Angeles…

Looks like this -

Errol Southers, Nominated by President Obama to head TSA

Republican senator DeMint holds up nomination for TSA chief

An alleged attempt to blow up a transatlantic flight from Amsterdam to Detroit on Christmas would be all-consuming for the administrator of the Transportation Security Administration — if there were one.