Commenters attack snarky TSA blogger

by Aaron Hotfelder on

The TSA blog: I read it so you don’t have to.

Yesterday I highlighted some fun bits from the Q&A over at the TSA blog about the new ID requirements for flying. As promised, here are some entertaining and insightful posts from the comments following that exchange.

  • One commenter wonders whether the “No Fly List” isn’t more trouble than it’s worth: “What kind of threat do they pose if they have already been screened for weapons? They going to punch a hole in the plane?”
  • Chris (the TSA blogger) writes in the comments that his original snark was merely an attempt “to bring some levity to a long drawn-out discussion of a serious matter while providing some insight into why we think ID is important.” Another commenter responds: “Christopher, while I understand your intent, you did not succed at either of your goals. Address the hard queston with some real answers, let Leno and Letterman handle the comedy.”

Questions to ponder next time you’re waiting to hand over your ID at the airport:

  • “Why is a guy who says he lost his ID less dangerous than a guy who says he prefers not to show his ID?”
  • “I show up a the airport and say I forgot my ID, because I have memory loss. You ask me questions I can´t answer because I have memory loss. Can I fly?”
  • “Let´s say I turn up at an airport and say I forgot my ID, and that my name is John Smith. There are probably a few thousand John Smiths. How will you ‘establish my identity’?”

Finally, here’s a lengthy but incisive comment from one Trollkiller.

“If the TSA lawyers are so cock sure of the legality of this new policy then that means they have done the research on it. The information I am asking for should be on hand and easily retrievable.

All I am asking for is the TSA lawyers to show their work. Believe it or not, I would much rather be proven wrong than to think that an agency of MY government is knowingly perpetrating an illegal act on 2,000,000 people a day.

I have repeatedly stated my argument clearly, citing the section of the law that I believe disallows the forced ID check to be used as a criterion for granting access to a sterile area.

You are pretending that I am just sitting on the web with my tin foil hat screaming “it’s wrong, just wrong, it’s a conspiracy man, they are out to get us….” That is just silly, we all know it is the tin foil underwear that protects us.

All silliness aside, Christopher, I have done all the work for the TSA lawyers. They don’t have to guess at what I am asking…

The definitions in Title 49 Part 1540 § 1540.5 limit screening to a search and inspection FOR weapons, explosives, and incendiaries as THE condition for granting access to a sterile area.

Adding a forced ID check as a criterion for granting access to a sterile area is not permitted as it falls outside the search and inspection FOR weapons, explosives, and incendiaries.

I am going by the section of law that YOU cited as justification for the TSA’s illegal act. You can not keep part of the law and discard the part you don’t like.”

Well said! This is, in case you couldn’t already tell, the best comment thread ever. Sorry, Gadling faithful.

Snarky TSA blogger answers all your stupid questions about the new ID requirement

by Aaron Hotfelder on

Grant reported a couple weeks ago on the TSA’s new ID requirement for airline passengers. In case you missed it, last week the snark-tastic security whiz named Christopher over at the TSA’s Evolution of Security blog (sort of) answered your questions about the new rule. Here are some highlights from the Q&A:

Q: So it only took 48 hours before the first reported instance of a question about political affiliation being required [to verify identitiy after a passenger forget his ID]. I’ll make two predictions: 1) The TSA employees who did this will never be reprimanded in any serious manner; the worst thing they will face will be some additional “training”.

A. Nostranonymous, I think Kip [Hawley, TSA’s head honcho] was pretty clear when he wrote, “It’s unequivocally not our policy to use political, religious, or other sensitive personal topics as identity validation. If it happened, it was wrong and will not be repeated.”

The person that did this made a mistake and has been corrected. Hope you never make a mistake at your job.

[The person has been corrected? If that’s not accountability, what is? Also, “hope you never make a mistake at your job”? What the hell kind of a statement is that? If an employee in any other job responded in such a flippant way to a customer complaint, you can be sure he’d be “corrected” by his boss real quick.]

Q: If requiring ID is truly instrumental in keeping the flying public safe, why did it take the TSA until June of 2008 to institute that policy?

A: Good question. We’ve been increasing layers of security for years and now that TSA officers check documents at every airport in the country, we’ve effectively moved the issue and are trying to address this threat.

[Wait, what? What does that mean?]

Q: ONCE AGAIN, I CHALLENGE THE TSA TO PROVE THE TWO SECTIONS OF 1540 THAT THEY CITE (§ 1540.107 & § 1540.105 (a)(2) ) GIVE THEM ANY AUTHORITY OR RIGHT TO DEMAND AN ID AS A CONDITION OF ACCESS TO A STERILE AREA .

A. MY VOICE IS GETTING TIRED FROM SCREAMING. Our attorneys interpret ATSA as saying we can do this, we think it’s important so we’re doing this. I’m not an Internet-based attorney but I probably could play one on TV.

[Oh, your attorneys said it was ok? I’m sure it’s fine then.]

The voluminous comments, as you might expect, are even more entertaining. More on that later.

Update: Dept. of Homeland Security weighs forcing passengers to wear stun gun bracelets on airplanes

by Jeffrey White on

Back in March, Gadling blogged about a firearm training system, Lamperd, which had patented a bracelet that worked like a stun gun when activated.

At the time, Lamperd was lobbying the Transportation Security Administration to make it mandatory for all airline passengers to wear one, with the thinking that it was the best way to thwart a terrorist.

Well, here’s an update.

The Department of Homeland Security, ever the shepherds watching over their flocks, appears to be seriously weighing making this bracelet mandatory and has sent a letter to Lamperd encouraging the company to draft a formal proposal for integrating its bracelet into flight security.

That’s right. Your tax dollars are funding the R&D arm of DHS, which wants to develop technology that acts essentially as a GPS attached to your wrist, allowing the government to track pretty much everywhere you go once you check in for your flight, and giving the flight crew the ability to waylay you if you get out of hand.

O.K., that might be overstating it: Officials say the bracelet would only be activated in the event of a terrorist attack. But still….

Here is a promotional video for the bracelet that piqued DHS’s interest.

The Washington Times today quotes a letter from DHS’s Paul S. Ruwaldt, of the Science and Technology Directorate, in which he writes to Lamperd saying, “To make it clear, we are interested in…the immobilizing security bracelet and look forward to receiving a written proposal.”

The Times says the letter was written on Federal Aviation Administration letterhead.

The Times goes on to detail what the bracelet could do. It would:

  • Eliminate the need to carry a boarding pass
  • Contain personal data about you, including your travel history
  • Monitor the whereabouts of both you and your luggage after check-in
  • Employ Electro-Musclar Disruption technology that could immobilize a passenger for nearly 10 minutes

Now, with all the idiotic things passengers have been doing on planes of late, I could maybe get behind employing some kind of bracelet stun gun.

But seriously, I consider all this with some foreboding. I mean, slipping a bracelet on a little kid that could deliver a shock powerful enough to make an electronic dog fence zap seem like a pinprick is a scary thought. What if a flight attendant accidently activates one of them?

What do you think? Would mandatory bracelets like these make air travel safer, or is this just another way for the government to look over our shoulders?

What other strange things have been found on planes?


Click the image to read the bizarre story…

US airports lose 12,000 laptops every week!

by Abha Malpani on

A recent study revealed that about 12,000 laptops are lost or stolen every week at US airports, with LA Lax Airport having the highest number (1,200) going missing every week.

I’m baffled at how so many laptops can go missing! A laptop is hand-luggage. The only time your laptop is out of sight is when you are putting it through security check, or while you’re asleep; even then, the sheer quantity of laptops missing is beyond comprehension.

Apparently, the main problem has to do with people forgetting to repack their laptops after they’ve been taken out for screening. What world are you in to forget your laptop at a check point!? And how do the airport thieves flick your laptop at a security point!? Oh it’s because they are the security! Tutut.

Also, items in your checked luggage have a higher probability to get stolen, especially when your bag is not locked, which makes me wonder — are people checking-in their laptops!? If so, why? They are fragile, expensive, and often have confidential information!

Something else to add to the befuddlement: Over 60% of the missing laptops at the lost and found, are not being reclaimed. How lazy can you get!

Anyway, for those who need written advice on not losing your laptop while traveling, check out these tips from Network World.

Baggage carousel ads: coming to an airport near you

by Grant Martin on

As our good friend Blogger Jeremy can probably tell you, one of challenges to marketing research is finding a good medium on which to deliver your ad. If you can find a way to acutely deliver your message to your target demographic, you’ve done your job well. For example, you don’t see many ads for GI Joes or Depends on Gadling.

And where else are you intensely focused and forced to watch than on the baggage carousel? Double Take marketing unfortunately just figured out that the perfect way to deliver advertisements to a select demographic (business or leisure travelers) is down where you get your luggage. You’re staring at the rotating metal blades, waiting for you luggage with nothing to do, and out pops an ad. You have to look, right?

Lucky for me, I still don’t check luggage. But the rest of you may soon have to put up with advertisements on your baggage carousels — installation begins this August. Take a look at the video below to see the ads in action.