The Oakland airport pot conundrum

by Scott Carmichael on

Airports in California are in a bit of a pickle – their state allows the medicinal use of marijuana, but until last year, no airport in the nation allowed users to legally carry their stash on a plane.

Oakland airport is the only one with an official policy permitting pot carrying passengers to fly, though officials do point out that they run the risk of being arrested if they are searched at their destination (if they are flying somewhere medicinal marijuana is not recognized).

Pot for medicinal use has been approved in California since 1996. Until 2008, any marijuana found at Oakland airport meant the cops would be summoned, and the stash thrown away – even though it was obtained legally. FAA regulations ban people from carrying marijuana on a plane – unless it is authorized by a Federal or State law.

According to a local Sheriff, some other Californian airports have an unwritten tolerance policy, while others like Burbank, Ontario and San Diego do not. The Sheriff says all airports in the state should have an official policy supporting the state law, but at the moment, Oakland airport is the only one.

Obviously this does not mean that any pothead can fly in and out of Oakland with a couple of baggies, the distribution and use is still regulated, but those people that need their daily joint to relieve pain can fly knowing they won’t be harassed.
%Gallery-38511%

%Gallery-73517%

TSA disproves blogger’s claim that agent took her baby

by Katie Hammel on

On Friday, a blogger reported a harrowing tale that would make any parent furious with the TSA. She claims that, while going through security, she was detained because her son’s pacifier clip set off the metal detector. When she was pulled aside for a search, her son was taken away from her by a male TSA agent and was out of her sight for several minutes.

On her blog, she recounts the story of how she was so upset that she screamed obscenities, almost blacked out, and frantically phoned her husband and mother over the course of the nearly ten minutes that her child was out of her sight. She says when the agent finally returned with her son, she ran to him. Once she was allowed to leave, she headed to the bathroom, again nearly blacked out, and took the “emergency Xanax” that she keeps with her at all times because she suffers from severe anxiety.

Well, she might want to take a few more Xanax, because it sounds like this whole episode may have been the result of anxiety-induced hallucinations. The TSA has released proof that the incident, as the blogger claims, never happened.

The video of the blogger and her son going through security has been posted on the TSA website. The nearly 10-minute long video clearly shows that not once was her son out of her sight, that she never picked up her cellphone and that a TSA agent never held her child (though one did pat him down for about 10 seconds). While she is being patted down, her son is visible no more than three feet away, siting in his stroller. Even her claim that her belongings were left on the conveyor belt is false. A TSA agent brings them to the search area shortly after she walks over.

It’s easy to get mad at the TSA, with their frequent fumbles and ever-changing rules about liquids, powders, and shoes. Who likes being forced to walk barefoot (or in my case, often in mismatched socks) around an airport or to have to wait (as she did) ten minutes to be cleared through security? But if you’re thinking of getting even with a falsified account like this, just remember: when dealing with the TSA, you’re always on camera.

Child pornography law may put an end to UK airport x-ray machine plan

by Scott Carmichael on

In the US, full body imaging machines met fairly little resistance. Of course, when something is being done in the name of anti-terrorism, people tend to just go with the flow.

In the UK, similar machines are not being accepted that easily. Manchester airport is the first in the UK to install the machines, and the airport authority issued the same kind of reassuring statements as in the US. Screens will be in a locked room, images will not be stored, and access to the screening equipment is limited.

Those arguments are not enough to satisfy UK civil rights groups. One group has a very strong reason to be against the machines – they are against the law. The UK Protection of Children Act prohibits any kind of naked images being made of children, including those made with backscatter x-ray equipment. Exceptions are only in place for medical imaging.

The images made by these machines are very clear, and show every detail of your body, including your genitals.

According to the group “Action on Rights for Children”, the law is so clear, that the airport won’t stand a chance of changing it. At the moment, the airport has had to cease screening children with the new equipment.

So, what do you think? Personally I think the risk of a screening agent taking photos of the x-ray monitor with his or her (camera) phone is too great to accept any of their reassuring words. I’m not afraid of photos of my willy showing up somewhere, but I’ll not accept the risk of that happening to my child.

I’m sure the vast majority of TSA employees are loyal and trustworthy people, but the risk of running into one bad apple is just too much. Sooner or later someone will violate our trust, and photos of naked children will show up online.

%Poll-35648%

EU rules on liquid carry-ons may become “fluid”

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Grab a drink, if you feel inclined … in Europe, at least. The European Union is getting ready to lift the ban on liquids in carry-ons. The target date is still pretty far in the future, because the technology the EU plans to use isn’t widely available yet. Originally, the prohibition was supposed to expire in April, but now it’s looking like no later than 2014.

Okay, so don’t rush to celebrate the change.

That being said, the EU’s transportation officials are pressuring the technology companies involved to move quickly.

The rules against liquids in containers larger than 100 ml and not in clear bags have been in effect for three years, after a terrorist plot was uncovered in Britain. The perps were planning to use liquid explosives in soda cans.

Now that everyone’s safe, we’re also free to gripe about what we can’t take on board – not to mention longer waits at security checkpoints. Progress may be slow, but at least it’s happening. Let’s give a nod to innovative thinking, with a technological solution being devised to give us back some of our time without compromising our security.

If you need action sooner, there’s a chance that the rules may be eased a bit for duty-free liquids bought outside the EU.

New FAA plane tracking computer off to a bad start

by Scott Carmichael on

For years, the Federal Aviation Administration has been working on modernizing the computer systems that keep our skies safe.

Many of these systems have been in operation for over 30 years, and while the old “it it ain’t broken, don’t fix it” saying may apply to a lot of stuff, it isn’t really applicable to air traffic control.

One of the new systems being tested by the FAA is actually live in Salt Lake City. The “En Route Automation” computer system provides better flight management, and allows flight controllers to handle more aircraft, in a wider range than the current systems.

Sadly, the system is not entirely free of glitches, as a controller at Salt Lake City airport encountered last weekend. When monitoring a flight on its way to Texas, the screen suddenly changed the plane to one that had just landed.

The new system was immediately taken offline, and all planes were told to increase their distances between each other while the backup air traffic control computers were brought online.

The glitch has been identified and a fix will be applied. Obviously, a new system is needed to reduce delays in the sky, but if basic things like aircraft identification do not work correctly, there may be quite a bit of work necessary before the new system goes nationwide.