TSA agent caught running a drug business on the side

by Scott Carmichael on

Look, we all know the economy is a little sour at the moment, so what do creative people do? They try and make a little extra cash on the side!

That is what entrepreneur Timothy Monroe did when his job as a TSA checkpoint agent didn’t pay enough.

So, Mr. Monroe picked a second job in a pretty stable kind of market – selling drugs.

During the daytime, Mr. Monroe protected our airports from deadly water bottles and nail clippers, and at night, he sold cocaine and marijuana to his customers.

Apparently this is against the law, because officers obtained a high-risk search warrant and raided his house.

In it, they found all the tools of his trade – guns, ammo, cash, cocaine and marijuana. A TSA spokesperson said they were “aware” of the allegations, and will take appropriate action.

Traffic Jam on the Highway of Death

by Kraig Becker on

Bolivia is home to a notorious stretch of road running through the mountains that is officially known as the Unduavi-Yolosa Highway, but has earned the nickname “the Highway of Death”. Widely thought to be amongst the most dangerous roads anywhere in the world, the route winds through the Andes, dropping more than 11,800 feet in just 40 miles. The twisty, narrow, mostly unpaved road, barely has enough room for two cars to pass one another, which often results in nasty accidents.

Recently, travel writer Patrick O’Neil, wrote about his first hand experience on the treacherous road for the Australian newspaper The Age. You can read his sometimes amusing, sometimes scary, account of the ordeal here and begin to get a good idea of what it’s like on this Bolivian highway.

O’Neil’s adventure started off as a way for him to get out of Santa Cruz and head towards the small town of Cochabamba, which was just a stop over on his way to his eventual destination of La Paz. The trip is suppose to take just five hours, but his ride turned into a much longer journey than that thanks to an accident on the road that caused traffic in both directions to come to a standstill for more than 24 hours.

The story offers some great insight into travel in remote areas of less developed countries, which can, at times, be both trying and and rewarding. In the end, O’Neil reached his destination 34 hours behind schedule, but in those hours on that road, he bonded with the Bolivian people and saw a side of the country that few visitors ever get to experience.

Play chicken in Helsinki traffic

by Tom Johansmeyer on

I was pretty impressed by Helsinki‘s public transportation, which was more than ample with trolleys, subways and buses. There were few SUVs, and the bike lane was rarely empty. While the Finns got the ingredients right, the mixing was … well … suboptimal.

The least menacing of the interesting transportation overlaps involves the bike lanes and sidewalk. Neither is clearly defined, and I almost got clipped by a cyclist my first day on the ground. And, that wasn’t the only Finn to take a shot at me. Of course, this is tame compared to the streets, in which cars, buses and trolleys jockey for position.

I actually saw a trolley, bus and car jammed in traffic, while a pedestrian walked straight into a guy wearing headphones while riding a purple woman’s bike. From my spot on the small patio in front of the Klaus K Hotel, I was able to enjoy the misfortune of others. But, I almost lost my arm at the hands of an errant cyclist while taking the few steps back to the front door.With Satan traveling the roads, what chance does any pedestrian have?

I snapped this shot with my Blackberry. This was the taxi in which I rode while in Helsinki over the summer. Needless to say, I did pause for a moment before getting in.

A nice roundup of some of the dumbest things the TSA did in 2008

by Scott Carmichael on

The TSA has made quite a name for itself when it comes to making stupid decisions. Whether it is forcing a mom to drink her own breast milk, or claiming a thin laptop could be a dangerous weapon, when the TSA screws up, they tend to screw up quite badly.

I’ve compiled some of the best TSA screwups we reported on here on Gadling in 2008.

Do not try and bring a gun through the checkpoint (unless you work for the TSA)

Can you imagine what would happen if you tried to sneak a gun past the security checkpoint? All hell would break loose, probably involving a complete terminal shutdown and a taser.

Unless of course you work for the TSA.

Back in April, Justin wrote about the TSA agent who smuggled a gun through the checkpoint. Instead of being fired, the agent was merely suspended for 30 days. Brilliant.

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Mock bomb passes through the checkpoint – CNN was there to document it

What is worse than an incompetent checkpoint that misses a mock bomb strapped to a TSA agent? Having the incident filmed on CNN!

When CNN got up close and personal with TSA undercover agent “Jason”, they probably did not expect to document someone sneaking a fake bomb past the security staff.

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1000’s of TSA uniforms and badges unaccounted for

October brought us the brilliant story of the TSA coming to the conclusion that they have lost track of thousands of uniforms and badges. Not just any old badge; these badges actually provide access to secure areas of the airport.

Apparently the TSA did not have a suitable system in place to check that retiring (or fired) agents were actually returning their stuff. So, while they are busy making sure you don’t bring dangerous bottled water on the plane, potential terrorists might be out there buying real TSA uniforms.

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Is that an Apple branded bomb in your bag?

When Apple released their new ultra-thin laptop, I doubt anyone at the design department ever thought that the TSA might confuse the sleek lines of the Macbook Air with a bomb.

Apparently the TSA had not been keeping up with the latest technologies enough to understand that a thin computer does not always have to be an explosive device.

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Breasts + nipple rings + pliers = TSA embarrassment

One of the more high profile stories involving the TSA this year, was an incident involving breasts and nipple rings.

While these 2 usually make for a steamy story that beings with “Dear Penthouse…”, this incident was quite embarrassing for the TSA.

When Mandi Hamlin passed through the checkpoint, she set off the handheld metal detector wand. Instead of just asking for a manual search by a female agent, the male TSA agents decided it would much more fun to give Mandi a pair of pliers and demand that she remove her nipple rings.

Once Gloria Allred go involved, the TSA announced it would change the way it screens passengers with body piercings.

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Greed knows no boundaries with this TSA agent

In September, I reported on a TSA agent who was helping himself to goodies from our luggage. Not content with low priced items like MP3 players and digital cameras, this idiot thought it would be cool to snag himself a $47,000 HD video camera from HBO.

As with most thieves, this guy got caught when he became too greedy. The FBI purchased one of his items off Ebay, and apprehended him.

* * *


TSA behavior detection, detects not much more than that

In 2006, the TSA started a highly promoted “behavior detection program” which involved training their agents to detect terrorists based on nothing more than suspicious behavior.

In total, 160,000 people were flagged by this method, resulting in just 1,266 arrests. Aaron covered this waste of time and tax money in November including a priceless quote from a Carnegie Mellon professor who calls the program “a sham”.

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Sprained ankle? Prove it!

It’s bad enough when the antics at your checkpoint are merely annoying, it’s another when the screeners actually cause bodily harm.

That is what happened to Lorna Dunlap at Pasco, WA airport and Jeffrey wrote about this insane incident back in October.

Poor Lorna has sprained her ankle, forcing her to travel with a leg brace. Apparently, the screener wanted more proof of this injury, so told her to remove her leg brace and stand on one leg.

The stupidity caused her to fracture her leg in 2 places, but I’m sure she’s relieved to hear that the TSA is “looking into it”.

* * *


Another breast related incident

The TSA really seems to have a problem with breasts. When you read what happened to Nancy Kates, you’d probably suspect that the TSA agents all received a memo warning about boobie bombs.

Nancy is a big-busted woman, but when her underwire set off the metal detector, it was the beginning of a 40 minute dispute that resulted in her having to explain to a TSA supervisor how the Constitution works.

In the end, the TSA was so kind as to let her simply remove her bra and go through the checkpoint again, but that didn’t stop her from making sure the entire world got to read her story.

Despite the TSA’s best intentions, what strange things have been found on planes?

Bike sharing comes to Honolulu

by Brenda Yun on

If there isn’t enough to cheer about already, there will be plenty to cheer about in Hawaii come early summer 2009. Bike sharing, a venture that is quite popular in European cities like Barcelona, Paris, and Dusseldorf, will take shape along the south shore of Oahu! Even though I already own a bike, this makes me (a Honolulu resident) giddy as a schoolgirl because I can’t wait to people watch (in other words, check out the hot surfer dudes biking to and fro) and I am hoping this will make the horrendous traffic in town a little more bearable.
Designated bike racks will be placed in Waikiki, Ala Moana, Aloha Tower, and Downtown, and bikers pay on a sliding scale (there is a daily to yearly pass, as well as a usage fee up to $8 for two hours). The proposed bike sharing plan comes from Momentum Multisport Hawaii owner in Kaimuki who wanted to capitalize on the successes of similar programs on the mainland and abroad.

Transportation options are changing here in Honolulu with the Super Ferry to Maui, the Boat to Kapolei, the Rail in the works, and now Momentum B-Cycle ready to coast in the year. It’s no wonder that, according to the United Health Foundation, Hawaii consistently ranks among the top five healthiest states in the U.S. This year it jumped to number two behind Vermont.

Find out more about the Momentum B-Cycle sharing project and check out a map of proposed rack locations by clicking here.