Vanity Fair On the TSA and Security Theater

Posted by Soulskill on Friday December 23, 2011 @05:01AM from the keeping-the-terrists-from-winning dept.

OverTheGeicoE writes "Perhaps it's now officially cool to criticize the TSA. Vanity Fair has a story questioning the true value of TSA security. The story features Bruce Schneier, inventor of the term 'security theater' and contender for the Most Interesting Man in the World title, it would seem. With Schneier's mentoring, the author allegedly doctors a boarding pass to breach security at Reagan National Airport to do an interview with Schneier. 'To walk through an airport with Bruce Schneier is to see how much change a trillion dollars can wreak. So much inconvenience for so little benefit at such a staggering cost.'"

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A non story by DerekLyons · 2011-12-23 07:48 · Score: 0, Troll

"Vanity Fair has a story questioning the true value of TSA security."
Well, no, it doesn't question the value of TSA security. It's regurgitates Schneier's propaganda line without question, analysis, or critical thinking. It's great publicity for Schneier, without which he (as a consultant and pundit) cannot survive. Otherwise, it's pretty much useless.
It's funny, if Vanity Fair parroted Dvorak, or Cringely, or any of Slashdot's other whipping boys - they'd be taken to task for crappy journalism and reprinting press releases. But, once again, the double standard rears it's ugly head - parrot someone (undeservedly) regarded as an 'expert' and beloved of Slashdot, and they get a free pass.