TSA does not make anyone safer.

[Will E Worm]

Smoke Screening
As you stand in endless lines this holiday season, here’s a comforting thought: all those security measures accomplish nothing, at enormous cost. That’s the conclusion of Charles C. Mann, who put the T.S.A. to the test with the help of one of America’s top security experts.


Not until I walked with Bruce Schneier toward the mass of people unloading their laptops did it occur to me that it might not be possible for us to hang around unnoticed near Reagan National Airport’s security line. Much as upscale restaurants hang mug shots of local food writers in their kitchens, I realized, the Transportation Security Administration might post photographs of Schneier, a 48-year-old cryptographer and security technologist who is probably its most relentless critic. In addition to writing books and articles, Schneier has a popular blog; a recent search for “TSA” in its archives elicited about 2,000 results, the vast majority of which refer to some aspect of the agency that he finds to be ineffective, invasive, incompetent, inexcusably costly, or all four.

As we came by the checkpoint line, Schneier described one of these aspects: the ease with which people can pass through airport security with fake boarding passes. First, scan an old boarding pass, he said—more loudly than necessary, it seemed to me. Alter it with Photoshop, then print the result with a laser printer. In his hand was an example, complete with the little squiggle the T.S.A. agent had drawn on it to indicate that it had been checked. “Feeling safer?” he asked.

After a public outcry, T.S.A. officers began waving through medical supplies that happen to be liquid, including bottles of saline solution. “You fill one of them up with liquid explosive,” Schneier said, “then get a shrink-wrap gun and seal it. The T.S.A. doesn’t open shrink-wrapped packages.” I asked Schneier if he thought terrorists would in fact try this approach. Not really, he said. Quite likely, they wouldn’t go through the checkpoint at all. The security bottlenecks are regularly bypassed by large numbers of people—airport workers, concession-stand employees, airline personnel, and T.S.A. agents themselves (though in 2008 the T.S.A. launched an employee-screening pilot study at seven airports). “Almost all of those jobs are crappy, low-paid jobs,” Schneier says. “They have high turnover. If you’re a serious plotter, don’t you think you could get one of those jobs?”

The full-body-scanner program—some 1,800 scanners operating in every airport in the country—was launched in response to the “underwear bomber” incident on Christmas Day in 2009, when a Nigerian Muslim hid the plastic explosive petn in his briefs and tried to detonate it on a flight from Amsterdam to Detroit. It has an annual price tag of $1.2 billion. The scanners cannot detect petn directly; instead they look for suspicious bulges under clothing. Because petn is a Silly Putty–like material, it can be fashioned into a thin pancake. Taped flat to the stomach, the pancake is invisible to scanning machines. Alternatively, attackers could stick gum-size wads of the explosive in their mouths, then go through security enough times to accumulate the desired amount.

Article

You're not safe. :elaugh: TSA is a smoke screen to take away more of your freedoms. TSA has to go.

 

[lurkingdirk]

You tried this bullshit about the TSA a few months ago, and got no traction. Having another go at it in order to do some fear mongering for holiday travellers?

Don't bother responding. You're on ignore. It's a great feature, as I can choose to look at your responses if I want to. In general, I don't. I just thought I'd stop in here to say the above.

Cheers, and happy holiday travel.

 

[Will E Worm]

You tried this bullshit about the TSA a few months ago, and got no traction. Having another go at it in order to do some fear mongering for holiday travellers?

If you would have read the article you would know the truth. There's far too many ways to bypass them and do what you want. It's just another hassle and control grab. You can be a good farm animal and be herded. I will not be.

If I am on ignore than you wouldn't be commenting to me. This is twice in two days.

 

[No_Man]

We'd be far better off spending all this money on teaching some Israeli behavioral profiling to our agents. Israel has some of the most effective security methods in the world, and their record proves it. Surrounded by hostile governments, with terrorist organizations on their doorstep, and Ben Gurion International Airport is one of the safest in the world to fly out of.

 

[Will E Worm]

We'd be far better off spending all this money on teaching some Israeli behavioral profiling to our agents. Israel has some of the most effective security methods in the world, and their record proves it. Surrounded by hostile governments, with terrorist organizations on their doorstep, and Ben Gurion International Airport is one of the safest in the world to fly out of.

We are fine. TSA can go. We do not need anything from Israel.

 

[Mayhem]

Dirk, you can say what you want, but Will is absolutely correct to criticize and condemn the TSA and Homeland Security. They are a waste of billions that should have gone into the DoD, CIA and FBI. Our country is weaker because of the TSA, not stonger.

 

[Supafly]

I remember reading an article on similar tests, with firearms instead, to see if they can get through the new bodyscanners that should be installed at every german airport. They were tried in Hamburg Airport for a while.

The testers were able to smuggle revolvers through the bodyscanners, by putting them under a large steak or other meat, and being warmed up to body temperature before.

And as for the procedure of groping and molesting passengers, be they wheelchairbound grandmothers, little children or whatever, that is just overboard, in my opinion.

 

[feller469]

Who is benefitting from the Department of Homeland Security? Guaranteed, there were lots of high-dollar contracts rolled out in many a no-bid situations. the rich get richer, the poor suffer more indignity. sad part is, many people believe the propaganda that it is in their best interest.

 

[ragincaucasian]

Who is benefitting from the Department of Homeland Security?

this guy

 

[Hypergalaxy]

this guy

*Puts in application at TSA*

 

[pete rose]

You're not safe. :elaugh: TSA is a smoke screen to take away more of your freedoms. TSA has to go.

Funny how you don't seem up in arms about NDAA. Where's the outrage?

 

[Will E Worm]

Who is benefitting from the Department of Homeland Security? Guaranteed, there were lots of high-dollar contracts rolled out in many a no-bid situations. the rich get richer, the poor suffer more indignity. sad part is, many people believe the propaganda that it is in their best interest.

Many people are benefiting from this garbage.

Michael Chertoff made a lot of money with the body scanners.

Dirk, you can say what you want, but Will is absolutely correct to criticize and condemn the TSA and Homeland Security. They are a waste of billions that should have gone into the DoD, CIA and FBI. Our country is weaker because of the TSA, not stonger.

Take that Lurkingtroll. :tongue:

Funny how you don't seem up in arms about NDAA. Where's the outrage?

That was just passed?

 

[pete rose]

Seriously? SERIOUSLY?

 

[zeeblofowl_1969]

Its cold and boring in the midwest right now and the cupcake had nothing better at the moment.

 

[feller469]

Who wrote the proposed NDAA? Who sponsored it? Or did it just magically appear on the docket?

 

[Will E Worm]

Its cold and boring in the midwest right now and the cupcake had nothing better at the moment.

 

[zeeblofowl_1969]

Sweet sweet music wormcake.

 

[Will E Worm]

Sweet sweet music wormcake.

:nono: