Former Newark Airport TSA screener says the job does little to keep fliers safe

A LOT of what we do is make-believe. Yep, you got that right. Like most of government, make-believe.

I’ve had to screen small children and explain to their parents I had no choice but to “check” them. I would only place my hands on their arms and bottom half of their legs, and the entire “pat-down” lasted 10 seconds. This goes completely against TSA procedure…

Read more at nypost.com …

Do you think that anybody but those on the airplanes could have made a difference? And banning box cutters did what?

TSA REPLACING CONTROVERSIAL X-RAY MACHINES AT SOME AIRPORTS — BUT IT’S NOT WHY YOU MIGHT THINK

ProPublica pointed out this week that the Transportation Security Administration has been switching out some of its controversial backscatter X-ray machines, replacing them with other technology at some of the nation’s largest airports.

TSA confirmed with ProPublica that it was in fact replacing some — but not all — of the devices, which have worried some individuals and advocacy groups about health and personal privacy. The replacement security technology is millimeter wave scanners. TSA spokesman David Castelveter told ProPublica they are not being installed in response to health concerns or privacy uproar though. He said some of the busiest airports are getting them for speed.

Some areas that already have the new scanners installed are Boston Logan International Airport, Los Angeles International Airport, Chicago O’Hare, Orlando and John F. Kennedy in New York.

Castelveter said the replacements are being made “strategically” and is often done to replace older equipment that is then being relocated to smaller airports:

He said the TSA decided to move the X-ray machines to less-busy airports after conducting an analysis of processing time and staffing requirements at the airports where the scanners are installed.

The radiation risk and privacy concerns had no bearing on the decision, Castelveter said.

The new machines are expected to speed up lines by relying on a computer program, not necessarily a TSA agent, to sense threats on a person’s body. ProPublica found that this technology though could lead to false alarms:

But tests in Europe and Australia suggest the millimeter-wave machines have some drawbacks. They were found to have a high false-alarm rate, ranging from 23 percent to 54 percent when figures have been released. Even common things such as folds in clothing and sweat have triggered the alarm.

The backscatter variety have been criticized before for emitting a small amount of radiation, which can cause cancer at higher levels. The millimeter-wave scanners use low-energy radio waves.

In December 2011, ProPublica profiled both of these types of scanners and the differences between them.

ProPublica emphasized that by no means are all backscatters being replaced by these millimeter wave scanners, nor are they stopping new ones from being installed. It reports TSA saying they hope using of a variety of machines encourages competition, which could result in improved technology and lower prices.

According to ProPublica’s post last year, there were slightly more millimeter wave scanners installed at the time than backscatter. The two have similar costs as well.

(H/T: Gizmodo)

TSA Let 25 Illegal Aliens Attend Flight School Owned by Illegal Alien

Good thing our borders aren’t cluttered with TSA agents. Else how would this happen?

No wonder TSA doesn’t want border agents tracking down Illegals and deporting them. How else would we train the latest crop of illegals. This is quite some racket we got here.

This is just special:

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) approved flight training for 25 illegal aliens at a Boston-area flight school that was owned by yet another illegal alien, according to the Government Accountability Office.

The illegal-alien flight-school attendees included eight who had entered the country illegally and 17 who had overstayed their allowed period of admission into the United States, according to an audit by the GAO.

Six of the illegal aliens were actually able to get pilot’s licenses.

Discovery of the trouble at the flight school began when local police–not federal authorities–pulled over the owner of the school on a traffic violation and were able to determine that he was an illegal alien.

Maybe they wanted to fly home, my pretties.

Teaching Illegal Aliens To Fly Airplanes: Wasn’t that a Problem We had Before.

Bonus points: The flight school was also owned by an illegal alien.

From CNS News:

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) approved flight training for 25 illegal aliens at a Boston-area flight school that was owned by yet another illegal alien, according to the Government Accountability Office.

The illegal-alien flight-school attendees included eight who had entered the country illegally and 17 who had overstayed their allowed period of admission into the United States, according to an audit by the GAO.

Six of the illegal aliens were actually able to get pilot’s licenses.

Discovery of the trouble at the flight school began when local police–not federal authorities–pulled over the owner of the school on a traffic violation and were able to determine that he was an illegal alien.
[...]
Stephen Lord, who is the GAO’s director of Homeland Security and Justice Issues, testified about the matter Wednesday in Rogers’ subcommittee. Rogers asked him: “Isn’t it true that, based on your report, the Transportation Security Administration cannot assure the American people that foreign terrorists are not in this country learning how to fly airplanes, yes or no?”

Lord responded: “At this time, no.”

CNS notes that the TSA’s program for foreign flight students does not check for immigration status. Well that’s stupid… how else is the administration supposed to know who needs a waiver?

Additionally:

The GAO’s Stephen Lord, in his prepared remarks, told lawmakers that the TSA does not screen new and existing FAA pilot license holders against the Terrorist Screening Database until after the foreign national has completed flight training.

“Thus, foreign nationals obtaining flight training with the intent to do harm, such as three of the pilots and leaders of the September 11 terrorist attacks, could have already obtained the training needed to operate an aircraft before they received any type of vetting,” warned the GAO.

Well this is a fine mess. They can feel up up, but somehow doing their duty is beyond them. Hey guys, maybe the Muslim Brotherhood can help?

Major US Airport To Evict TSA Screeners

One of America’s busiest airports, Orlando Sanford International, has announced it will opt out of using TSA workers to screen passengers, a move which threatens the highly unpopular federal agency’s role in other airports across the nation.

TSA Junk Screener At Work

“The president of the airport said Tuesday that he would apply again to use private operators to screen passengers, using federal standards and oversight,” reports the Miami Herald.

With Sanford International having originally been prevented by the TSA from opting out back in November 2010 when the federal agency froze the ability for airports to use their own private screeners, a law passed by the Senate last month forces the TSA to reconsider applications.

Ron Paul on son’s detention by TSA: ‘Police state’ is ‘growing out of control’

In case you didn’t know, Rand Paul, Senator and son of Rep Ron Paul, refused the TSA pat down search this morning. He was led away by the TSA.

Republican presidential candidate and Texas Rep. Ron Paul issued a sharply-worded statement in reaction to the detention of his son, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, by Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents in Nashville on Monday.

“The police state in this country is growing out of control,” Paul wrote in a statement provided to The Daily Caller. “One of the ultimate embodiments of this is the TSA that gropes and grabs our kids and our seniors and does nothing to keep us safe.”

Paul has been a vocal critic of the TSA, and is the sponsor of the “American Traveler Dignity Act,” which would remove TSA agents’ immunity from prosecution for implementing invasive pat-down procedures.

In Paul’s Monday statement, he noted, “my ‘Restore America Plan,’ in additional to cutting $1 trillion dollars in one year, eliminates the TSA.”

“We must restore the freedom and respect for liberty that once made America the greatest nation in human history,” he continued. “I am deeply committed to doing so as president of the United States.”

Rand Paul was detained on Monday after refusing a pat-down by TSA agents while attempting to board a flight to Washington, D.C.

No Racism To See Here, Move Along: DHS Video Characterizes Terrorists as White Americans

Hey someone wants to talk with you …

A new promotional video released by the Department of Homeland Security characterizes white middle class Americans as the most likely terrorists, as Big Sis continues its relentless drive to cement the myth that mad bombers are hiding around every corner, when in reality Americans are just as likely to be killed by lightning strikes or peanut allergies.

DHS has confirmed this is their video but adamantly deny there are any racial or politically correct overtones to it.

Watch video here:

Obama’s TSA Wants to Search You Even When You’re Not in an Airport

On today’s edition of Coffee and Markets, Brad Jackson is joined by Pejman Yousefzadeh and Elizabeth Blackney to discuss TSA’s growing search efforts outside of airports, state efforts to restrict intrusive airport searches, and Tim Geithner’s call for new taxes.

Submit Or Pay

Government and the governed have parted ways. Our government is no longer operating under the consent of the governed. Read history, the original Tea Party signaled an event, which came to fruition in 1776 when British soldiers fired the shot heard round the world.

If you don’t want to pass through an airport scanner that allows security agents to see an image of your naked body or to undergo the alternative, a thorough manual search, you may have to find another way to travel this holiday season.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is warning that any would-be commercial airline passenger who enters an airport checkpoint and then refuses to undergo the method of inspection designated by TSA will not be allowed to fly and also will not be permitted to simply leave the airport.

That person will have to remain on the premises to be questioned by the TSA and possibly by local law enforcement. Anyone refusing faces fines up to $11,000 and possible arrest.

“Once a person submits to the screening process, they can not just decide to leave that process,” says Sari Koshetz, regional TSA spokesperson, based in Miami.