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Today, DHS's Napolitano's response to the crotchbomber: "We're looking to make sure that this sort of incident cannot recur." But the TSA's response to Abdulmutalib's attempt makes one thing clear: We must stop pretending the TSA is making us safer. -- Gizmodo
(Read the whole thing, I couldn't have said it better myself.)
It seems like a day can't go by without yet another absurd TSA story [TSA FAIL blog] hitting the news. And if it's not the TSA, it's something else that happens -- the power goes out, a passenger thinks he's funny, a guy won't leave the airplane lavatory... We're all so tightly wound that digestive distress or senior citizens wielding canes turn in to threat level: insanity.
As a frequent traveler, I really do want to respect the organization that's meant to be keeping me secure. I do my part and pack my three ounce containers, take off my shoes, and keep my head in the line, it would be nice if the TSA would do their part by acting the part of an organization worthy of our respect. But another day, another comedy. And with that... to the round up.
That's you, naked:
You know those airport scanners that can see through your clothes, offering an intimate look at your junk and your love-handles and every other part of you that you keep between you, your spouse, your doctor and the bathroom mirror? You know how the TSA swore up and down that these machines didn't store and couldn't transmit the compromising photos of your buck-naked self?
They lied. --Boing Boing
Sweet nothings:
In Minnesota, the investigations surrounded the luggage of Francisco Ramirez. Inside his suitcase, a few Gatorade bottles were filled with a thick amber liquid that Ramirez, a gardener, identified as honey. When TSA officials opened the bottles, the fumes nauseated them. The suitcase itself was tested and resulted positive for both TNT and an organic explosive called acetone peroxide.
Investigators are still determining whether the liquid is actually honey, and whether Ramirez’s gardening chemicals could have ended up in the bottles. The man cooperated with authorities and was not arrested, according to USA Today.--Cheap Flights
Looking sharp:
An accessory popular with aristocratic gentlemen in the 1800s is freaking out TSA screeners nationwide...--Pop News Daily
Step away from the child:
A five-year-old boy was taken into custody and thoroughly searched at Sea-Tac because his name is similar to a possible terrorist alias. As the Consumerist reports, "When his mother went to pick him up and hug him and comfort him during the proceedings, she was told not to touch him because he was a national security risk.--Boing Boing, again.
The guy who's supposed to head up the TSA and fix all this is was Erroll Southers. The right seems to hate this guy (sorry, no links, I can't stomach the vitriol from either side) and has blocked his nomination (as I read, it could change tomorrow.)
In case you got this far without reading the Gizmodo post, here it is again, with plea from the author.
Americans of all stripes and affiliation standing up to say, "This isn't working. We gave you our money. You're not making us safer." We appreciate the attempt to make us safer and acknowledge that it came from an honest attempt to protect American (and the rest of the world's) lives.
But it's a failure. It's wrongheaded. It's a farce. Tear it down. Put the money towards the sort of actions at which our government excels, like intelligence. The failure of the TSA leaves us no choice, but it's okay. The American people are ready to take back the responsibility for our own safety. Really, we already have. --Gizmodo
On the backchannels, American travelers chatter about the TSA All. The. Time. It's the common obstacle course we navigate in our attempt to get out there in the world. I'm tired of it. I'm tired of talking about it, I'm tired of dealing with it, I'm tired of being expected to believe that the TSA works. I'm NOT staying home, I hope that I will never be that person who the government gets the better of, but I know people who are talking about it. I plead with them to keep traveling, but more than that, I pray for common sense to return, for the establishment of policies that are driven by facts, not fear.
Nerd's Eye View
@nerdseyeview
