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TSA Tests Automated ID Authentication
CowboyRobot writes "Last year, a Nigerian man boarded a plane from N.Y. to L.A. using an invalid ID and a boarding pass issued to another person. A week later he was caught again with 10 expired boarding passes. In response to this and similar events, the Transportation Security Administration has begun testing a new system at Washington's Dulles International Airport that verifies an air traveler's identity by matching photo IDs to boarding passes and ensures that boarding passes are authentic. The test will soon be expanded to Houston and Puerto Rico."
One person did this, and it seems he was caught both times. Wouldn't that mean that the original practices were working? I guess any way to strip our rights and waste money is a good one. Did all of you know there is a clause allowing airports to opt out and use private security firms?? San Francisco, crazy isn't it, is one of the few airports that has used the option; and guess what, the passengers applaud the effort and can't believe how friendly and quick they are.
So it's taken the TSA over 10 years after 9/11 to attempt to close this loophole? Good work guys!
There have been stories of people being denied ability to fly because their ticket didn't EXACTLY match their ID. I'm sure this will result in more of the same.
(note to Westerners: in many many parts of the world, people have names with no exact relationship to how it is put on official documents... some people also have two birthdays (one is based on the moon, one is based on the calendar))
Strict unbending rules are the bane of society.
You know, they could just *enforce the existing rules* instead of implementing new ones. Note the boarding was with an "invalid ID".
And boxcutters were not allowed in carryon luggage planes on September 10th, 2001, either.
AC
Weren't those called eyeballs on the first TSA person you run into? They wave the magic UV wand over your ID to make sure it's valid, then study the boarding pass, then the ID again, then look at you, scribble something on it, and then tell you to have a nice day.
Apparently you can and will get groped or cavity-searched for no reason, or denied clearance because your baby is on the no-fly list, but they do let you fly with a fake ID and invalid boarding pass. That's very sensible.
There doesn't seem to be any valid security reason to show ID at all before flying, much less proving that your ID and boarding pass match, any more than there is when you take a bus, ferry, subway, or train.
If TSA (or whoever would be there if we abolished this waste of an organization) is doing its job, explosives should be stopped using existing technology (x-rays, random chemical swabs, not to mention, you know, looking for nervous behavior or the wrong answers to a few basic security questions which has always worked for El-Al), and any other weapons are limited in their usefulness now that cockpit doors are secured and passengers know that "shut up and behave" no longer results in a safe landing in Cuba.
ID, matching or otherwise, doesn't matter. Most (all?) of the 9/11 hijackers had valid ID. The No-Fly list is a bloated joke. The only thing ID does is ensure that the airlines control the tickets more carefully.
Made-up crisis averted by more expensive technology that lines the pockets of some lobbyist. Woot!
Why stop at rape-gate? If they can confirm your name, address, and when you'll be back, they can visit your house and rape you again. Maybe steal some shit out of your house, not just your luggage.
Do you even lift?
These aren't the 'roids you're looking for.
They'll never use automation, no sport in it.
"The smallest minority on earth is the individual.
Those who deny individual rights cannot
claim to be defenders of minorities."
- Ayn Rand
First they came for the Jews and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for the Communists and I did not speak out because I was not a Communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak out for me.
Python: 'And then suddenly you have a language which says "we're all stuck with whatever the whiniest coder wants".'
They waste a fortune on scanners that can't see a gun if you strap it to your side then they screw up on the basics. It's like laws, they insist they need new laws when they don't enforce the existing ones. They need to actually enforce the existing rules before they add more bureaucracy that simply adds more holes to exploit.
I don't get why it matters who I am. As long as I am not carrying anything that is dangerous to the plane and its passengers, what difference does it make?
"The smallest minority on earth is the individual.
Those who deny individual rights cannot
claim to be defenders of minorities."
- Ayn Rand
I believe this statement ignores the possibility that the individual may be discriminated against for traits they share with other individuals who, collectively, do not make up a plurality or simple majority of the population.
That or it's a logically necessary starting point for Randian philosphy to work.
I'm inclined to suspect it's the latter, since Randian philosophy is full of assumptions that don't quite match the reality of human behavior.
Then they came for the Communists and I did not speak out because I was not a Communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist.
Didn't Rand hate unions and think Communists were evil?
[Fuck Beta]
o0t!
Don't forget: The system only costs 5 million dollars per gateway, per year.
If we only put this much effort into curing heart disease, we'd probably save a life or two.
The ______ Agenda
Terrorists don't have to bother getting on a plane anymore, and in fact they never did. The biggest, easiest target for mayhem is the crowd of people wrapped up in serpentine lines waiting to get to the obedience ritual machines.
The money spend on the entire TSA is a total waste. Put a tenth of that into bribing informants the way that Hoover did to the KKK, and what's left of Al-Queda will disintegrate.
-jcr
The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
sign of sensibility from TSA... the world will end in 2012
Not really. There's no sign that he was a threat to the safety of the aircraft, he's just an asshole doing illegal stuff.
The 'S' part of the TSA stands for 'safety'. They're not there to enforce laws.
No sig today...
Ummm ... I always assumed a suicide bomber would have a valid ID and matching boarding pass. It's not difficult.
This grand announcement is just another huge pile of TSA theater.
No sig today...