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87-Year-Old World War II Veteran Takes On the TSA

McGruber writes "Orlando Sentinel columnist Lauren Ritchie has written about how Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoints handle her father Sam, an 87-year-old who has a propensity to question authority in a quiet way, and make his target feel stupid. Sam points to the signs that the TSA posts stating that those above the age of 75 don't have to take off their shoes for screening. Maybe the TSA thinks all old people wear floppy tennies, but Sam's favorite pair have metal. So every time Sam goes through the screening, an alarm goes off, and an officer makes him remove his shoes. And every time he feels compelled to test the TSA. Sometimes, Sam spots them a few points by warning them ahead of time that his shoes have metal.... it got to be a ritual for a while, ending with him throwing his hands up and remarking to the TSA person: 'Hey, something's not right here.'"

146 of 218 comments (clear)

  1. News for nerds by philmarcracken · · Score: 5, Funny

    Stuff that mattressssssss

    1. Re:News for nerds by nickserv · · Score: 5, Insightful

      This is a non-story.

      TFA says nothing like the guy ever challenged the TSA. It was his daughter he challenged pointing out the sign that people over 75 don't have to take off their shoes. He's just not taking his wallet out for anyone and therefore getting the full search but he doesn't resist or try to engage the TSA. The author / daughter even says he very likely can't hear a word the TSOs say to him. So, exactly how does that qualify as him taking on the TSA?

      Newsflash /. editors, yes we have no love for the TSA but, we're not stupid and don't appreciate totally misleading story titles!

      --
      Less *is* more.
    2. Re:News for nerds by daem0n1x · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I bet this guy's raves are more about the fact that they let ethnics on the force than they are about whatever injustices he imagines about having to take off his shoes like the rest of us.

      You have slave mentality. The injustice is anyone having to take off his shoes at all.

    3. Re:News for nerds by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Why do you despise the fourth amendment, and freedom in general? The fact that you would try to trivialize this speaks volumes about your character.

    4. Re:News for nerds by AHuxley · · Score: 4, Informative
      --
      Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
    5. Re:News for nerds by sI4shd0rk · · Score: 5, Insightful

      You have a suicidal mentality.

      Why, because he'd probably prefer to take the 0.0000000001% chance that a bomb would go off on a plane (most likely with or without the TSA) while he's on it than have everyone's freedoms be violated by slimy, worthless government thugs?

      The injustice is bombs on planes.

      But violating people's rights in an effort to keep people safe isn't an injustice?

      --
      Ignorance is a choice
    6. Re:News for nerds by smooth+wombat · · Score: 1

      The injustice is bombs on planes.

      Which has what to do with anything? Oh, you thought that moron who had a small amount of explosives in his shoes could somehow bring down a plane? Maybe he should have asked the folks on Hawiian Air flight 243 what happens when almost the entire roof of a plane comes off or the Southwest flight 281 which had part of its roof come off.

      Yeah, some moron with explosives in his shoes will be able to bring a plane down. It's not like he and others couldn't use their pens to attack people and cause havoc.

      --
      We will bankrupt ourselves in the vain search for absolute security. -- Dwight D. Eisenhower
    7. Re:News for nerds by MightyYar · · Score: 2

      Stories are voted on by users, ever heard of the firehose?

      Straight plurality votes are what brought us the American congress with it's 5% approval rating. The "democracy == good" equation is not as straightforward as they teach you in school. In this case, a hot issue for a vocal minority gets upvoted, no matter how stupid the content, just to make a political point.

      --
      W..w..W - Willy Waterloo washes Warren Wiggins who is washing Waldo Woo.
    8. Re:News for nerds by kilfarsnar · · Score: 5, Insightful

      You have slave mentality. The injustice is anyone having to take off his shoes at all.

      You have a suicidal mentality. The injustice is bombs on planes.

      Which bombs are these that the TSA has prevented from being taken onto a plane?

      --
      "What the American public doesn't know is what makes them the American public." -Ray Zalinsky (Tommy Boy)
    9. Re:News for nerds by SecurityTheatre · · Score: 2

      You must admit that there is a threshold where the damage caused by "preventing bombs by all costs" is outweighed by the damage caused by the prevention.

      Perhaps your line is different than others, but there IS a line.

      So, in order to have a semi-rational discussion about this topic, you must start from there.

      Accusing someone of encouraging the exploding of airplanes because he feels that line is near (or has been crossed) is an asinine and unintelligent straw man.

      I don't think the taking off of shoes crosses that line, personally, but I do feel that some other things they do (like no-fly lists that are impossible to appeal) does.

      But perhaps you're someone who values safety over freedom to a high degree. If children if Muslims were rounded up and sent to re-education camps in order to prevent "home grown terrorists" from blowing up planes, I suspect you might object. If so, then we found YOUR particular line.

      Think now, of where that line lies and how you reconcile that with others' views.

    10. Re:News for nerds by tompaulco · · Score: 1

      Yeah, I hate niggers too. Gosh damn Obama and his socialist policies. /republican-mode

      Oh, yes Republicans hate blacks, just ask National Black Republican Association chairman Frances Rice.

      --
      If you are not allowed to question your government then the government has answered your question.
    11. Re:News for nerds by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Do they have a warrant to take my shoes off and look inside? Or is this one of those blanket 'yeah we made a law to cover every aspect of that so deal with it' moments and to hell with the constitution? Even reading the *summary* you can see the guy is pointing out they do not even bother to follow their own rules.

      Its not a slippery slope. Its just against the spirit of the law all together, and you could argue the letter. If you do not understand that, you have not read your history and *why* they made those laws. Each of the things in the bill of rights happened, regularly. Not only did they happen they were sanctioned by the English Crown.

      IANAL, but its pretty clear you are not either.
      So we cant talk about the laws because we are not lawyers? I have known many lawyers. Most are full of a heaping helping of brown stuff. Some are very smart. But their job is to twist laws to suit their clients purpose (sometimes their own). Sometimes that means reading the law literally. Sometimes that means construing things that are not there. Sometimes that means combining 2-3 other bits of 'case law' to get what they want. They do not always succeed. Sometimes case law is wrong. It is why they can be overturned. For example slaves are considered property under previous case law. That can be forfeited. If slaves are property then by extension you can own property, they by extension again you can own slaves. However it took a constitutional amendment law to strike that down.

    12. Re:News for nerds by TheCarp · · Score: 5, Insightful

      > You think taking your shoes off violates your fourth amendment rights?

      No, only if taking off the shoes was ordered by a government agent or otherwise required by a federal law, then yes, yes it is a violation of fourth ammendment rights. A private airline may put whatever restrictions they like on passengers buying tickets. FFS if fubar airlines wanted to ask every passenger to submit to a strip search, and informed them of this before they bought their ticket... you wouldn't hear a peep from me. (except about why I wont fly on their airline)

      However, the government, very specifically, is bound to a code of civil rights which includes standards which, constitutes the agreement under which they operate, and especially conduct searches. If they do not respect civil rights, then they are acting beyond their agreed authority.

      As far as I am concerned, even a metal detector is more search than the constitution authorizes. Anytime you are looking for anything, its a search, and if you are looking on another persons person, aside from what is plainly visible without aid, you are searching them. Its pretty fucking simple.

      --
      "I opened my eyes, and everything went dark again"
    13. Re:News for nerds by tlhIngan · · Score: 1

      You think taking your shoes off violates your fourth amendment rights?

      No, only if taking off the shoes was ordered by a government agent or otherwise required by a federal law, then yes, yes it is a violation of fourth ammendment rights. A private airline may put whatever restrictions they like on passengers buying tickets. FFS if fubar airlines wanted to ask every passenger to submit to a strip search, and informed them of this before they bought their ticket... you wouldn't hear a peep from me. (except about why I wont fly on their airline)

      However, the government, very specifically, is bound to a code of civil rights which includes standards which, constitutes the agreement under which they operate, and especially conduct searches. If they do not respect civil rights, then they are acting beyond their agreed authority.

      As far as I am concerned, even a metal detector is more search than the constitution authorizes. Anytime you are looking for anything, its a search, and if you are looking on another persons person, aside from what is plainly visible without aid, you are searching them. Its pretty fucking simple.

      You're free to not take off your shoes - if you feel the metal detectors and x-ray machines are too much an invasion of privacy, you are completely free to turn back and exit the airport.

      You won't get on your flight, but that's a different matter.

      It's a fourth amendment issue only if they prevent you from voluntarily leaving after deciding that you'd feel violated. So you can get to the front of the security line, see the x-ray machines, metal detectors, scanners, etc., you're free to turn around and leave, and the TSA cannot prevent you from leaving.

    14. Re:News for nerds by sI4shd0rk · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Freedom is the issue here. Even if the security works, people's freedoms must not be violated.

      How many armed robberies occur in police stations?

      How many 9/11-scale attacks occurred before 9/11--and since we're talking about the TSA--in the US? Your chances of dying in a terrorist attack have always been infinitesimal.

      Might you be one of those people that is baffled and troubled by increased incarceration rates while crime is falling?

      Might you be one of those people who confuse correlation with causation?

      Proper security measures increase the risk of failure and detection for terrorists.

      And you assume the TSA is relevant here, or are you speaking of proper security measures like securing cockpit doors, which violate no one's rights?

      Which actual right, as defined in law as interpreted by the courts, is being violated?

      I'm not interesting in what your precious thugs have to say, bootlicker. From slavery to the internment of people of Japanese descent, the US government alone (as well as every other government) has committed many atrocities. Laws can be wrong. Interpretations can be wrong.

      As for what's being violated, it's the fourth amendment, as well as privacy.

      Absolutely nothing is a violate of people's freedoms to you if the government says it isn't. Do you even have a mind of your own?

      --
      Ignorance is a choice
    15. Re:News for nerds by serviscope_minor · · Score: 1

      Ah, it's slashdot's faviourite bootlicker!

      Which actual right, as defined in law as interpreted by the courts, is being violated?

      Genocide was legal under the Nazis. Mere legality is not a suitable way of determining rights.

      --
      SJW n. One who posts facts.
    16. Re:News for nerds by khallow · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Well that's it then, requiring people to take off their shoes one extra time a day is the first step on the path to genocide. Who knew?

      You do, now. Slippery slope is a real world problem not a fallacy when it comes to exercise of government power.

    17. Re:News for nerds by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      If you honestly believe that then try it. You will be arrested if you refuse the search. You are not free to refuse and if you try to leave that is seen as evidence that you are a terrorist with something to hid and you will be arrested.

    18. Re:News for nerds by CowTipperGore · · Score: 5, Informative

      So you can get to the front of the security line, see the x-ray machines, metal detectors, scanners, etc., you're free to turn around and leave, and the TSA cannot prevent you from leaving.

      I'm afraid you're wrong.

      It's a fourth amendment issue only if they prevent you from voluntarily leaving after deciding that you'd feel violated.

      "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. Such passengers will be questioned "until it is determined that they don't pose a threat" to the public.

      Once you are near the TSA security check points, you are not allowed to leave. The "Don't touch my junk" guy was told that he was being ejected from the airport while simultaneously being told that he would be arrested and fined $11,000 if he tried to leave. Not only was the underwear dude in San Diego arrested, another passenger who filmed the encounter on her iPhone also was arrested and had her phone confiscated for "illegally filming".

      What's your position on this now?

    19. Re:News for nerds by khallow · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Claiming that requiring people to take off their shoes once before boarding a plane is a movement down the "slippery slope" to genocide is ludicrous.

      Ok, why is it ludicrous? Twelve years ago Richard Reed tried to blow up a plane with plastic explosives which were fashioned into the soles of his shoes. Since then several hundred million people in the US have had to take off their shoes a few billion times. A small event led to a vast, harmful reaction that hasn't stopped.

      I see it as a haphazard acclimation to tyranny. There isn't a deliberate move to authoritarianism, it's just a natural consequence of these increasing constraints on our freedoms wordwide, with new constraints created as the public becomes accustomed to the older ones. Since the shoe thing, we have in addition, the backscattering x ray which effectively images us in the nude (and which incidentally has no security justification) and the unlawful NSA spying on all electronic communication worldwide.

      That's what makes slippery slope a real, live argument. We see here that the step historically is part of a huge landslide that is still sliding.

    20. Re:News for nerds by Control-Z · · Score: 1

      My position is people need to stop flying and putting up with this nonsense. Money talks.

    21. Re:News for nerds by the+eric+conspiracy · · Score: 1

      You can decide not to submit. That is not true of a warrant.

    22. Re:News for nerds by cold+fjord · · Score: 1

      I think Slashdot has already covered that question: TSA Reminds You Not To Travel With Hand Grenades . A hand grenade is a bomb, and TSA has kept both real and inert grenades off planes. I have little doubt there are more incidents of interest.

      --
      much of left-wing thought is a kind of playing with fire by people who don't even know that fire is hot - George Orwell
    23. Re:News for nerds by TheCarp · · Score: 1

      > It's a fourth amendment issue only if they prevent you from voluntarily leaving after deciding that
      > you'd feel violated

      No, its an issue if they prevent you from doing anything that you would otherwise do, otherwise you didn't really have the right to refuse the search, you just had an option on which unwarranted interference to accept.

      --
      "I opened my eyes, and everything went dark again"
    24. Re:News for nerds by chris_mahan · · Score: 1

      Actually, no. Once you enter the TSA screening area, you may not leave without going through with it...

      --

      "Piter, too, is dead."

    25. Re: News for nerds by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      How did they get the hand grenade in the shoe? That's what I want to know!

    26. Re:News for nerds by i+kan+reed · · Score: 1

      People have, and the airlines have handled this by merging more, and forming a stronger panopoly.

    27. Re:News for nerds by c++0xFF · · Score: 2

      This isn't about money. It's about votes. (Which is, in turn, about money I suppose...) The point being ... the TSA is all about politics and making the voters think the government is making them safer. Not flying won't change that one bit.

    28. Re:News for nerds by Reverand+Dave · · Score: 1

      God damn, I wish I had mod points, I would put you through the fucking roof. This is the most accurate thing ever posted on here.

      --
      I got here through a series of tubes
    29. Re:News for nerds by Solandri · · Score: 1

      No, only if taking off the shoes was ordered by a government agent or otherwise required by a federal law, then yes, yes it is a violation of fourth ammendment rights. A private airline may put whatever restrictions they like on passengers buying tickets.
      However, the government, very specifically, is bound to a code of civil rights which includes standards which, constitutes the agreement under which they operate, and especially conduct searches. If they do not respect civil rights, then they are acting beyond their agreed authority.

      The technicality the government uses to get around this is that the airports themselves are government facilities, and they have the right to impose whatever conditions they want on anyone wishing to enter certain parts of that facility. You're not being unwillingly searched in violation of your 4th Amendment rights, you're voluntarily agreeing to be searched in exchange for ingress into the airport terminal area.

      Of course then they have laws requiring airlines to use those government-owned terminals. The confluence of these two make it impossible for two private parties (passenger and airline) to conduct business without passing through the government facility. But government empires are built upon such subtle synergies between two seemingly unrelated laws.

    30. Re:News for nerds by serviscope_minor · · Score: 1

      Well that's it then, requiring people to take off their shoes one extra time a day is the first step on the path to genocide. Who knew?

      You are a very stupid person and apparently unable to comprehend basic logic.

      How are those boots tasting for you?

      lick lick

      --
      SJW n. One who posts facts.
    31. Re:News for nerds by Vegan+Cyclist · · Score: 1

      Err....isn't the TSA a government agency? It's not the airlines doing the screening, it's the US gov't.

    32. Re:News for nerds by tragedy · · Score: 1

      Claiming that requiring people to wear yellow stars or pink/red/black/brown/purple triangles is a movement down the "slippery slope" to genocide is ludicrous.

    33. Re:News for nerds by oursland · · Score: 1

      comment to undo mod

    34. Re:News for nerds by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      So in protest of an attack on our 4th amendment rights I'll give up our rights to Freedom of Movement?

      That'll show em.

      p.s. I'm middle aged and have a massive beer gut, I don't think I'm fit enough to swim my next international vacation.

    35. Re:News for nerds by TheCarp · · Score: 1

      That was my point actually. An airline should be free to implement whatever experience they want for their customer. The Government, on the other hand, is supposed to have restrictions on their powers, since they actually get to impose their regulations on everyone, regardless of which choices they make.

      So if the TSA was a division of some airline, it would be one thing, you could choose another airline, they aren't, they are with the government.

      This means their powers are supposed to be limited. It means they are supposed to operate as if they believe people deserve liberty until proven otherwise in a court of law and that they shouldn't be detained any more than is needed by reasonable standards like probable cause.

      The TSA is little more than job creating fear mongering. Creating a federal job is no reason to detain or arrest someone for being a private person who wants to go about their business unmolested. Its a basic denial of civil rights, exactly what the government was founded to defend against.

      --
      "I opened my eyes, and everything went dark again"
  2. Missed opportunity by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2

    The TSA missed an opportunity here for further insulting the general populous. They could have applied logic and come up with the reasoning that old people have less years to live, therefor less to lose and are therefor are more likely to be a suicide bomber. The logical consequence would be that old people need more and closer inspection. not less.

    1. Re:Missed opportunity by SJHillman · · Score: 4, Funny

      Yeah, but then someone would point out that old people just don't give a shit. It's what makes them so endearing.

    2. Re:Missed opportunity by FriendlyLurker · · Score: 1

      Yeah, but then someone would point out that old people just don't give a shit. It's what makes them so endearing.

      I am sure they give a shit, watching their nieces and nephews get blown to bits by remote control, from the link:

      A report by the Bureau of Investigative Journalists has uncovered Pakistani government documents suggesting the civilian death toll from US drone strikes is higher than previously thought. In a three year period 147 people were killed, including 94 children. Adam (@adamsich) takes a look at how many kids have been killed in Pakistan by US drones. See below for sources and extra links.

      So yeah, I'd say old people are just as/more likely to want revenge (i.e a threat) as any other age range,,,

    3. Re:Missed opportunity by Darinbob · · Score: 1

      The problem here is that it's unfair for an old guy to have a battle of wits against the TSA, because the TSA is defenseless in that arena.

  3. Aaaah TSA by zippo01 · · Score: 1

    I almost only read /. for its plethora of TSA stories and comments. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy i'm not the only one who gets love from the TSA. They love me so much that every time I fly, they give me a quick chop to the crotch and all I have to do is refuse the all seeing scanners.

    1. Re:Aaaah TSA by Thanshin · · Score: 5, Funny

      It's unfair and unconstitutional.

      I shouldn't have to lose my right to be seen naked just to get the groping.

      Both the groping and the nude pictures are paid by my taxes! If I want them both I should get both!

    2. Re:Aaaah TSA by Virtucon · · Score: 1

      Or as a cartoon character. I refuse to be a caricature for their amusement.

      --
      Harrison's Postulate - "For every action there is an equal and opposite criticism"
    3. Re:Aaaah TSA by turp182 · · Score: 1

      Do this every time. And pack a large foot powder (for the drug screening, takes 5 minutes!).

      Slow the system down. Always request to be manually searched.

      I do.

      --
      BlameBillCosby.com
  4. Exaggerated headline by SirGarlon · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Here the headline led me to believe a member of the Greatest Generation was stepping up *again* to defend American freedom. You know, maybe filing a lawsuit or something. But no, TFA is just about the author's father being a passive-aggressive jerk in the airport security line. As if that helps anyone. If all you are accomplishing is to make yourself feel smarter than a TSA screener, you are not accomplishing much at all.

    --
    [Sir Garlon] is the marvellest knight that is now living, for he destroyeth many good knights, for he goeth invisible.
    1. Re:Exaggerated headline by SJHillman · · Score: 3, Funny

      The man might have dementia and think he's playing "Are You Smarter Than A First Grader?" at the airport. I can see how the TSA would fuel that delusion.

  5. Yea by cdrudge · · Score: 1

    Between 87 year olds taking on TSA and 90+ year olds storming the steps of the closed WWII memorial, I feel my rights and liberties are well protected. Well, at least until Social Security and Medicare run out of money then we're screwed.

    1. Re: Yea by O('_')O_Bush · · Score: 4, Insightful

      What amazes me is that we have a raging younger generation upset about loss of freedom, but it is the oldest generations that are actually standing up to the system.

      I guess you could count Snowden and Wikileaks as contributions from the tech generations.

      Sign of the times and our culture. I'd certainly support more civil disobedience, as long as it wasn't me... and I feel that is why big brother is still doing what they are.

      --
      while(1) attack(People.Sandy);
    2. Re: Yea by nedlohs · · Score: 2

      Blindly following the rules doesn't seem like standing up to the system.

      He doesn't take his shoes off because the sign says he doesn't have too even though he must know that his shoes will set of the metal detector he is about to walk through. So he blindly obeys the commands on the sign - "yes sir, how high sir".

      He then consents to the more thorough search without raising any complaints - civil obedience if anything.

    3. Re: Yea by sI4shd0rk · · Score: 1

      What amazes me is that we have a raging younger generation upset about loss of freedom

      What, you mean... a minuscule amount of the younger generation is raging about the loss of our freedoms? They're a vocal minority. They're right to be mad, but most people either are simply apathetic, or support this garbage because they think it keeps us safe, and safety is obviously the most important thing in the 'land of the free.'

      --
      Ignorance is a choice
    4. Re: Yea by Pete+(big-pete) · · Score: 3, Interesting

      I do my part, as a European I actively boycott travel to the USA. There have been several opportunities for both myself and others to take trips to the USA, and I have proposed and worked with alternative plans every time. It's not a lot, but it's what I can do.

      As long as the USA has insane paranoid immigration policies and the TSA I will not travel there, and neither will my immediate family. (I did go to Miami many years ago for a conference, but that was back when things were still sensible)

      "Visa Waiver" my ass, that's just a visa-lite. If I need to apply to enter, they can forget it. The last countries I needed to request a visa to enter were Mauritania, Mali, and Burkina Faso, and as far as I could tell that was just a glorified way of squeezing extra cash out of visitors - and at least they didn't demand fingerprints and invasive grilling by border-guards. Mauritania border guards just wanted a small cash donation, and the others were happy with a ballpoint pen, an apple (he actually wanted sweets, but all we had was fruit) and an empty fuel-canister.

      -- Pete.

    5. Re: Yea by Ogive17 · · Score: 2

      Let's be honest with ourselves, that generation doesn't have much to lose at this point. Who wants to be the guy that puts a WWII vet in jail for stupid shit like this? An elected official's career would be over at that point.

      I'm 34 with a wonderful family and a good job. No one is going to care when they throw me in jail and charge me with a few lame charges.. and that will follow me around for the rest of my life. Even if the charges are dropped, they'd be associated with my name via the internet.

      Also remember which generation most of the politicians represent. I feel that our country will continue going backwards until the baby boomers are gone... then we can start making positive change.

      --
      "Action without philosophy is a lethal weapon; philosophy without action is worthless."
    6. Re: Yea by dyingtolive · · Score: 1

      That's the fun thing, no matter how bad things will get, you'll always have too much to lose. As long as you have a family and a job that is even just barely good enough to get by, you'll never stick your neck out.

      --
      Support the EFF and Creative Commons. The war is coming, and they're supporting you...
    7. Re: Yea by operagost · · Score: 1

      The problem is that the millennials, and some of my fellow Gen-Xers, established early on that if you disagree with Obama you're a racist, and if you disagree with Democrats in general you hate poor people. So now they've backed themselves into a corner: they'd like to criticize the regime in the hopes of making a positive change, but by their own rules they would be racist elitists.

      --

      Gamingmuseum.com: Give your 3D accelerator a rest.
    8. Re: Yea by dyingtolive · · Score: 1

      Frankly, I hope they do. I don't think you're giving them nearly enough credit though.

      --
      Support the EFF and Creative Commons. The war is coming, and they're supporting you...
    9. Re: Yea by Sardaukar86 · · Score: 1

      Good for you, this is exactly the right way to go: vote with your feet.

      My business policy is "No US travel until TSA (as we know it today) goes". I don't for one second imagine The Powers That Be give a toss but it is about the only way I can protest this outright descent into thuggery. The only alternatives such as legal inquiries, sit-ins, violent protests, guns and freedom-fighter antics all just play straight into their hands.

      --
      ..Mullah or Pope, Preacher or Poet, who was it wrote: "Give any one species too much rope and they'll fuck it up"?
  6. What's the "news"? by fatphil · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Am I right in thinking that whole jabbering mess could be condensed to "my deaf relative annoys TSA people in airports"?

    --
    Also FatPhil on SoylentNews, id 863
    1. Re:What's the "news"? by Vozmozno · · Score: 2

      The article reads like it was written by a 13 year old with a fuzzy idea for an "interesting" story...

      She could have at least detailed *what* the man said to make them feel stupid, it would have at least been humorous.

      --
      I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts...
    2. Re:What's the "news"? by hduff · · Score: 1

      The article reads like it was written by a 13 year old with a fuzzy idea for an "interesting" story...

      She could have at least detailed *what* the man said to make them feel stupid, it would have at least been humorous.

      I think it was -her- that actually felt stupid. Any dad worthy of the name can do that to his kid.

      --
      "I believe in Karma. That means I can do bad things to people all day long and I assume they deserve it." : Dogbert
    3. Re:What's the "news"? by intermodal · · Score: 1

      No. You'd be correct in thinking that her World War II veteran relative recognizes that the country for which he once fought is very different from the one that is feeling him up at the airport today, and refuses to make it easy on them.

      --
      In SOVIET RUSSIA... erm...NSA AMERICA, the Internet logs onto YOU!
    4. Re:What's the "news"? by squiggleslash · · Score: 1

      That may or may not be true, but TFA does not, in any way, substantiate that view of events, even if the summary claims it does. I think that's what the grandparent (the post before yours, not the WW II Veteran...) was getting at.

      --
      You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
  7. Don't poke the peons by Drewdad · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Poor schlub is just trying to take home a paycheck. He (or she) did not make the stupid rules; she (or he) just has smell feet all day.

    Take the TSA to court, or send letters to your congresscritter, or something. Don't make life more miserable for the privates.

    (Did I mention that the TSA is just a depression-era jobs program wrapped up in patriotism and fear?)

    1. Re:Don't poke the peons by Virtucon · · Score: 2

      Shaddup and get off my lawn you whippersnapper!

      --
      Harrison's Postulate - "For every action there is an equal and opposite criticism"
    2. Re:Don't poke the peons by bill_mcgonigle · · Score: 2

      Irony is these are the guys who were dodging bullets from Germans who were "just following orders" too.

      --
      My God, it's Full of Source!
      OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
    3. Re:Don't poke the peons by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Poor schlub is just trying to take home a paycheck. He (or she) did not make the stupid rules; she (or he) just has smell feet all day.

      People who mindlessly go along with abusive authoritarianism are part of the problem. Maybe not the largest part, but they do hold some of the responsibility for the problem.

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milgram_experiment
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_prison_experiment
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Third_Wave
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/League_of_German_Girls
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hitler_Youth

    4. Re:Don't poke the peons by pngwen · · Score: 5, Interesting

      They did willingly sign up to work for the TSA. They have also witnessed and participated in violations of American's rights, and they remain at their posts. Therefore they are culpable as traitors to the cause of liberty. Should justice ever prevail, their heads will line the streets of our free cities!

      --
      I am the penguin that codes in the night.
    5. Re:Don't poke the peons by sI4shd0rk · · Score: 2

      Poor schlub is just trying to take home a paycheck. He (or she) did not make the stupid rules; she (or he) just has smell feet all day.

      "Just following orders" is not a valid excuse for violating people's freedoms and the constitution.

      --
      Ignorance is a choice
    6. Re:Don't poke the peons by fnj · · Score: 1

      People who mindlessly go along with abusive authoritarianism are part of the problem. Maybe not the largest part, but they do hold some of the responsibility for the problem.

      Damn right. I'll take it further though.

      People who go along to get along in the face of tyranny just make me sad. People who think tyranny is just fine are another thing entirely. They make me violently ill. They are true scum.

    7. Re:Don't poke the peons by omnichad · · Score: 1

      If they were just following orders, then they shouldn't have expected him to take his shoes off. It's what their own signs said.

    8. Re:Don't poke the peons by houghi · · Score: 1

      When that process starts, their first line of defense will be "We were just following orders."

      --
      Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
    9. Re:Don't poke the peons by squiggleslash · · Score: 1

      Unfortunately, your list of experiments (and worse) demonstrates the opposite. That people mindlessly go along with abusive authoritarianism as a matter of human nature.

      The experiments such as Stanford Prison didn't suggest that people are voluntarily sadistic, it suggested that, dropped into a suitable social framework, people find it difficult not to be. To actually observe yourself dropping into a state where you consider maltreatment of others requires a certain amount of positive effort and logical detachment that isn't going to come naturally except through luck.

      How you overcome this is a great question that, to the best of my knowledge, has not been answered yet. Perhaps because those with authority will never want it answered.

      --
      You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
  8. Big deal by msobkow · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Cranky old man causes shit in lineups. News at 11.

    WTF is this doing on Slashdot?

    --
    I do not fail; I succeed at finding out what does not work.
    1. Re:Big deal by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      If nothing else it can be said that this guy is actually doing what all the Slashtards claim they'd do in the same situation. A lot of jaw wagging around here about standing up to authority and their "draconian" ideas but not a lot of action.
       
      If the average loud mouth from these forums would have 10% of the integrity of this old man we'd have more entertaining stories of this nature.

    2. Re:Big deal by McGruber · · Score: 1

      WTF is this doing on Slashdot?

      It's on slashdot because you failed to submit something better: http://slashdot.org/~msobkow/submissions

  9. Re:Its only a sensible precaution by Virtucon · · Score: 3, Funny

    Damnit now you've given them another attack vector to explore! You've helped the terrorists win, are you happy now?

    --
    Harrison's Postulate - "For every action there is an equal and opposite criticism"
  10. Re:Its only a sensible precaution by Thanshin · · Score: 3, Funny

    Muzzie heaven, were all the terrorists are disappointed and all the virgins are male.

  11. Save yourself and the tsa the hassle by zwarte+piet · · Score: 1

    If he knows he's goin to fly, maybe just bring the metal shoes in the suitcase and get some 'flying shoes' for the trip.

  12. Re:Its only a sensible precaution by Chrisq · · Score: 1

    Muzzie heaven, were all the terrorists are disappointed and all the virgins are male.

    According to "the innocence of Muslims" Muhammad wouldn't have been

  13. Pro tip: Things people don't like by OzPeter · · Score: 4, Insightful

    People don't like having pointed out the logical inconsistencies of the way the do things, and it has a tendency to piss them off. This is not limited to TSA personnel. However the consequences of pissing off certain people (especially those who hold power over you) is something that you need to take into consideration before you do so.

    --
    I am Slashdot. Are you Slashdot as well?
  14. Re:Read TFA, wtf slashdot? by jalopezp · · Score: 1

    Cause we all hate the TSA.

  15. Re:Read TFA, wtf slashdot? by SJHillman · · Score: 2, Funny

    Why is this comment here? It's not contributing, it's barely a comment at all - this isn't a comment, it doesn't matter, and it's not for people.

    Why is this here?

  16. Re:Its only a sensible precaution by TWiTfan · · Score: 5, Insightful

    You can bet there are some 87-year old Muslims out there who would love to take a shoe-bomb if they thought they could get through.

    Radical Islam specializes in young men for their operations, not old. It's only logical for a polygamous religion. Allowing men to marry as many women as they can afford means that you're going to have a lot of horny, angry young men on your hands who don't get ANY wives (or even get laid, since they don't like that either). So, assuming a equitable birthrate of males and females, you need some way to get rid of all those angry young men. So either you have a war or you con them into believing that they can have all the wives they want in heaven if they'll just walk into the nearest mall and blow themselves up. Sure, it's dumb as shit. But when you're talking desperately horny, poor, illiterate goat farmers--you can talk them into pretty much anything.

    If someone has made it to 87 in this environment, odds are that they're one of the smart ones at the top of this big religious pyramid scam who actually have something to lose. Notice that Osama Bin Laden wasn't one of the 9-11 hijackers. He was sitting back safely in his bunker with his several wives, while the young saps killed themselves for Allah.

    --
    The cow says "Moo." The dog says "Woof." The Timothy says "Thanks, valued customer. We appreciate your input."
  17. Gotta search 'em all! by Chelloveck · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I'm all for baiting the TSA. Most of their security measures are just plain ridiculous. I swear that after the shoe bomber got them to make us take off our shoes, the underwear bomber was sent in to see if they'd strip search us. (And they responded with backscatter scanners. Discuss.)

    But, applying the same security measures to everyone -- old, young, crippled, whatever -- is not among their failings. That's the only part of what they do that makes sense. Once you declare a "safe" class of passengers who get waved through the searches, you're tempting The Bad Guys to enlist members of that class. Do 90 year old guys get a pass? I'm sure The Bad Guys can find some disgruntled nonagenarian to stuff some C4 down his pants or carry the dreaded 3.1 ounces of liquid explosive. The only way security searches work is if they're applied to everyone.

    Of course, the TSA can't even get that right. They introduced their Pre-Check program which reduces the checks to pre-9/11 levels for pre-approved travelers. So how hard would it be to recruit some guy who qualifies for the Pre-Check lane to be the bomb mule?

    Psssst! Hey Bad Guys! Want to cripple air travel in the US? Just bomb a couple airport security checkpoints. Lots of people, tightly packed together, all standing in a nice line, and no chance of being discovered early. Hit a couple of those and we'll shit ourselves trying to figure out how to strip-search passengers without causing big, vulnerable holding areas. It's a pretty damned obvious target. The fact that it hasn't happened in the past 12 years is the best evidence that there really isn't a legion of Bad Guys out there just waiting for the chance to attack. They've had the chance. We've gift-wrapped it for them. Now let's just admit that the bogeyman is mostly in our imaginations.

    --
    Chelloveck
    I give up on debugging. From now on, SIGSEGV is a feature.
    1. Re:Gotta search 'em all! by cdrudge · · Score: 1

      or carry the dreaded 3.1 ounces of liquid explosive.

      3.1 ounces of liquid explosives actually is fine. It's when you cross the 3.4 ounces that they have a problem with it.

    2. Re:Gotta search 'em all! by AthanasiusKircher · · Score: 1

      I swear that after the shoe bomber got them to make us take off our shoes, the underwear bomber was sent in to see if they'd strip search us. (And they responded with backscatter scanners. Discuss.)

      Yeah, there were even people who predicted that this would happen.

    3. Re:Gotta search 'em all! by jasenj1 · · Score: 1

      I suggest Denver. Huge open area where people are herded into a giant square of snaking lines. And the queue of people is separated from the totally uncontrolled space by a few flimsy mobile walls.

      It's a ridiculously soft target. To think that any real terrorist would risk getting on a plane rather than hit the juicy target the security screening line presents is stupid.

    4. Re:Gotta search 'em all! by Jason+Levine · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Psssst! Hey Bad Guys! Want to cripple air travel in the US? Just bomb a couple airport security checkpoints. Lots of people, tightly packed together, all standing in a nice line, and no chance of being discovered early.

      A thousand times this.

      Pre-911 hijackings weren't a huge issue. You played along, kept your head down, and eventually you'd be released after the hijackers made their statement. It was a huge inconvenience and I'm sure scary at the time, but playing along meant you were safe.

      On 911 passengers played by the pre-911 rules assuming they would just be diverted to Mexico or something. The last plane got word of what happened to the previous 3 and fought back.

      Post-911 security improvements have made another 911 virtually impossible. And by security improvements, I mean locked, reinforced cabin doors. Not TSA "security theater" checks. In addition, passengers won't trust any potential hijacker who says everyone will live if they just stay in their seats. A hijacker will quickly find himself outnumbered 30-1 by people who are facing death if they don't take him down and who, unlike the hijacker, don't want to die.

      This isn't to say that no terrorist will ever bring a plane down again. Just that it will be extremely difficult for them to do so. They can get more bang for their buck (pun intended) by switching to other targets. Crowded airport security lines in major airports. (A few of these hit at the same time will ground all flights.) Crowded malls during the Christmas rush. Big sports events. These would all cause a lot of chaos and would be more likely to succeed than an airplane attack.

      Of course, even then terrorism would be rare in the US. Look at the number of people who have died from terrorist attacks in the US over the last 15 years. Going by Wikipedia, that's about 3,038. This is only 203 people per year. If we don't count 9-11 (as it is obviously not a normal occurrence given the death tolls of the other terrorist attacks), we're down to 3 people per year. More people die from nut allergies each year (about 150) and I don't see us declaring a War on Nuts.

      This terrorism-paranoia is ridiculous. We need to stay alert, yes, but we don't need to give up our freedoms to ensure our safety.

      --
      My sci-fi novel, Ghost Thief, is now available from Amazon.com.
    5. Re:Gotta search 'em all! by 10101001+10101001 · · Score: 1

      The fact that it hasn't happened in the past 12 years is the best evidence that there really isn't a legion of Bad Guys out there just waiting for the chance to attack.

      Or it's exactly what the legion of Bad Guys want. They've felt the groping touching of the the US government for decades. Now US travelers get to feel it too. And the only way it goes away is if the very core parts the fuel it--the TSA, NSA, etc all thrive on a government ecosystem that values "owning" the world in some fashion--which can only reasonably happen by a US uprising, peaceful or violent, against it.

      Is it any wonder that those is the government ecosystem think the terrorists have done the very opposite of winning while so many American citizens feel the terrorists did win?

      --
      Eurohacker European paranoia, gun rights, and h
    6. Re:Gotta search 'em all! by omnichad · · Score: 1

      If you're going to apply it universally, then you really ought to make sure it's something a 90-year old can handle. Taking off shoes and putting them back on isn't exactly always easy at 90. They should be ready to offer an effective alternative anyway.

    7. Re:Gotta search 'em all! by Registered+Coward+v2 · · Score: 1

      I don't see us declaring a War on Nuts.

      Thank god or else /. Would be high on the target list...

      --
      I'm a consultant - I convert gibberish into cash-flow.
    8. Re:Gotta search 'em all! by Quixadhal · · Score: 1

      "Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." -- some old guy nobody remembers these days.

    9. Re:Gotta search 'em all! by Chelloveck · · Score: 1

      My only argument is that *if* the security measures are actually effective they need to be applied to everyone. Perhaps they could give the elderly assistance removing their shoes, putting them back on, or whatever. But if removing one's shoes is important enough to require it of most people, it's important enough to not make a known gaping security hole by allowing a class of people to skip it.

      I don't claim there's any benefit at all in removing one's shoes. Quite the opposite, I think that allowing the elderly to avoid it is an admission by the TSA that it's a pointless exercise. Ditto everything that's skipped by the Pre-Check line. They ought to just give up all the nonsense.

      --
      Chelloveck
      I give up on debugging. From now on, SIGSEGV is a feature.
    10. Re:Gotta search 'em all! by omnichad · · Score: 1

      Or, removing the shoes is just faster than any alternative. The alternative could be effective but slow. If they're not actually taking an alternative inspection when someone can't remove their shoes, then that's the real issue.

    11. Re:Gotta search 'em all! by FuzzNugget · · Score: 1

      I don't see us declaring a War on Nuts.

      Must be nice not knowing any feminists.

    12. Re:Gotta search 'em all! by GuB-42 · · Score: 1

      Terrorists, by definition, want to terrorize people, not necessarily a high body count.
      Bombing a crowded mall will kill a lot of people but it will result in more anger and sadness than terror.
      Effective terrorism is much more subtle. Killings are kept to a minimum : enough to prove one's point but not so much as to turn fear into anger and sadness. Anthrax letters are a good example : only 5 people died, 17 others infected, yet it had massive repercussions.
      As for 9/11, I consider it more like a declaration of war than a pure terrorist act.

    13. Re:Gotta search 'em all! by Jason+Levine · · Score: 1

      It's all in the timing. What if the hypothetical mall bombings took place at a few malls around the country during the Christmas shopping rush? You'd have people scared to go shopping in stores and the economic fallout of stores counting on Christmas rush revenue that didn't appear.

      --
      My sci-fi novel, Ghost Thief, is now available from Amazon.com.
  18. So ..... by hymie! · · Score: 1

    Old guy with nothing better do harasses TSA agents over loophole, wasting the time of innocent people trying to catch their planes.

    1. Re:So ..... by sI4shd0rk · · Score: 3, Insightful

      wasting the time of innocent people trying to catch their planes.

      Blaming the victim, are we? Who's really wasting everyone's time here (and violating everyone's freedoms)? The government thugs who harass people who simply want to get on a plane, or the innocent people who... simply want to get on a plane. Heaven forbid anyone even do so much as slightly question evil authority figures; that might inconvenience the people in line behind you! Woe is them!

      --
      Ignorance is a choice
  19. Re:Its only a sensible precaution by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    You can bet there are some 87-year old Muslims out there who would love to take a shoe-bomb if they thought they could get through.

    But when you're talking desperately horny, poor, illiterate goat farmers--you can talk them into pretty much anything.

    If someone has made it to 87 in this environment, odds are that they're one of the smart ones at the top of this big religious pyramid scam who actually have something to lose. Notice that Osama Bin Laden wasn't one of the 9-11 hijackers. He was sitting back safely in his bunker with his several wives, while the young saps killed themselves for Allah.

    While OBL wasn't one of the 9-11 hijackers, some of the ones who were were university educated.

    This meme that the archetypical Muslim terrorist is poor, illiterate, and has no other options needs to go away. We can't address the problem with incorrect presumptions floating around.

  20. Haters will hate. by Fuzzums · · Score: 1

    It really shouldn't matter what you are. If the metal detector goes off, you have to take off the shoes and every thing else that could cause the alarm. I don't see any reason for exceptions. What's the point of having a metal detector if you're not acting on an alarm...

    You can hate the TSA, but at least they're doing their job.

    --
    Privacy is terrorism.
  21. Score one for hacking the TSA. by pholus · · Score: 3, Informative

    The guy has a point about his wallet. I "lost" a $10 watch (really nice looking, but a cheap birthday gift from my daughter, bought with her allowance money) on their belt. When I complained, everyone claimed ignorance and with the clock ticking and the line stopped I became aware of one interesting social feature in the security line system design: With the level of inconvencience already high, the impatience of your fellow travellers is a very effective cudgel that the TSA uses as a resource.

    As I tried to plead my case I noticed the uninvolved TSA folks were playing to the crowd with how they talked and their body language -- "look guys, it's THIS guy who is gumming up the works and making you late." And I could certainly feel the love...

    In the end, regardless of the sentimental value it was just a $10 watch. I think the entire affair lasted a bit under a minute and a half, but I knuckled under and the TSA thief won. I sometimes wonder how much of this was anticipated by the thief -- that at some set rate you can just snag an item of not much consequence and let the time pressure work for you...

    Just remember, while you arguably benefit from their services, these people are not actually on your side here (you *are* the suspect after all) and it's not like their uniform implies any particular level of integrity.

  22. Re:Its only a sensible precaution by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    all the virgins are male.

    When it comes to the Pashto terrorists the US loves to target with drones in Afghanistan and Pakistan, this wouldn't be so much of a disappointment. In their culture, it is not contrary to Islam to engage in anal sex with another male provided that one is the active partner and provided that the passive partner is a minor. Pederasty is historically very popular even among hardliners.

  23. Re:Its only a sensible precaution by sI4shd0rk · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Violating people's freedoms and the constitution is not and never will be "sensible." Even if this nonsense did make us safer (And it doesn't; secured cockpit doors and the willingness of passengers to fight back are the important things that have changed, and neither violate anyone's rights.), freedom is more important than safety from some bogeyman.

    --
    Ignorance is a choice
  24. aha by slashmydots · · Score: 1

    So that's the asshole ahead of me slowing down the line.

    1. Re:aha by Culture20 · · Score: 1

      No. The only reason the line exists and can be slowed down is the TSA. Blame them fully, especially because he's following their slapdash rules.

    2. Re:aha by Duhavid · · Score: 1

      I would say blame us ( US citizens ) fully, for we, as a society, are allowing it.

      --
      emt 377 emt 4
  25. Re:Profiling is smart by sI4shd0rk · · Score: 1

    Honestly, profiling is smart.

    No. You know what's smart? Leaving people alone. Government thugs should not harass everyone, and they shouldn't selectively harass people, either; just leave people alone. I want the TSA gone, and I don't want it replaced with more government thugs; I want it 100% gone.

    --
    Ignorance is a choice
  26. Can we mod the article down? by sl4shd0rk · · Score: 1

    This has no geek content whatsoever. In order to keep myself from slashing my wrists out of boredom I had to wonder about how hearing aid technology could be improved.

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    Join the Slashcott! Feb 10 thru Feb 17!
    1. Re:Can we mod the article down? by omnichad · · Score: 1

      News for nerds. Stuff that matters.

      Maybe you don't live here, but I do. It's important to keep up on the state of this mess.

  27. Re:Its only a sensible precaution by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    While OBL wasn't one of the 9-11 hijackers, some of the ones who were were university educated.
     
    Maybe because you can't exactly have dirt farmers who can hardly read and do any math beyond the 2nd grade level flying planes that they've hardly ever seen the sight of? By and large, most people fighting The West(tm) in the name of AlQuada are the same kind of ragtags that extermist groups pick up on everywhere else in the world. There are doubtlessly well educated, highly employable people in the Klan too, does that mean the core membership of the KKK has their BS or better? Hardly.

  28. Re:Its only a sensible precaution by Guru80 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Being university educated doesn't necessarily mean you aren't gullible and stupid.

  29. Removing shoes was never about safety by Sir_Eptishous · · Score: 1

    The removal of shoes was never about safety and we all know that. It was and continues to be a tool used by the TSA to cow the American public into submission. It is a successful tactic in that the "think of the children" crowd will always side with more and more intrusions all in the name of some vague notion of security. If 9/11 did anything, it turned the U.S. into a nascent police state.

    --
    We play the game with the bravery of being out of range
  30. Re:Its only a sensible precaution by X0563511 · · Score: 1

    They actually go for engineers, from my understanding.

    Here's my "theory" why: once they are convinced there is a problem, they have a need to fix it. All they have to do is make them believe there is a problem, and offer a convenient way to "fix" it.

    Note: by theory I mean "thing that I just made up, now, on the spot"

    --
    For large sets, this will be our guide even unto death, for the LORD will work for each type of data it is applied to...
  31. Pick a better battle... by Biologist · · Score: 1

    So, harassing low paid workers at the bottom of the food chain who are performing their jobs in good faith, slowing and inconveniencing all the other travelers with energetic 3-year-old kids and crotchety 85-year-old grandparents who all have to pee, and further diluting an already strained and minimally beneficial system to "buck authority" just doesn't seem to be the best way to address this. Sure, this reporter got to write a really "witty" article. But, this kind of episode just seems really self-serving and inward focused. You want to gum up the system? Spend some time organizing and do it in a concerted, organized fashion where it could actually make a change. Haphazardly slowing things up just ticks people off and makes many more complacent about "let's just get on with it so I can get on my vacation/get home/get to my meeting." Separate issue: Since when does having served in any military capacity provide carte blanche for any behavior and imbue one with near mystical wisdom about life?

    1. Re:Pick a better battle... by omnichad · · Score: 1

      It may have been a reporter's father, so the benefits are skewed enormously. But it did gain national recognition, so I'd say it did a little more than harass someone at the bottom of the chain.

      Since when does having served in any military capacity provide carte blanche for any behavior and imbue one with near mystical wisdom about life?

      Obviously you can't rely on that, but it does highlight that everyone's treated as an enemy combatant - even those that have fought for our side.

    2. Re:Pick a better battle... by ClintJaysiyel · · Score: 1

      And what did you do to help? Make armchair comments about how what other people did isn't the right thing? What did you do that *was* the right thing?

  32. Fun with the TSA and similar clows elsewhere by Confused · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Those passenger screenings are as we all know a big charade. Here's an anecdote of Munich Airport in Germany - probably the most idiotic airport in Germany I had to travel through.

    While most airports in Germany don't care about cameras, Munich airport has a special fetish for controlling cameras. 2 times out of 3 they want me to take my dSLR out of my Backpack to finger it. Usually they want me to turn it on and look through it, but my friendly offers to take an image to prove it works usually ends it panicky horror. Whatever.

    So I got a little pissed of and decided the next time to take out the battery of the camera. And sure enough they wanted to to search it again and asked me to turn it on. As usual, I turned the Power switch to on, but without battery nothing happened, and handed the camera to the goon. I don't know what he ascertained with his ritual, but after looking through it, he was happy the camera without power is real.

    As at that time I was playing around with long-exposures during daytime, I carried with me an ND1000 filter. This is basically a piece of black glass that lets through only minimal light. It's about as dark as welders glasses or those things you used to observer the sun during an eclipse. In the rather low light at the airport, you don't see anything through that filter. So evil me removed the battery again and screwed that filter on in front the next times I flew out of Munich. Out of about 5 manual checks, here's the breakdown:

    2 checked the camera after the power-up without battery and the black glass in front of the lens the usual way by looking through it and doing their magic ritual. The fact that the camera was dead as a brick and the didn't see anything didn't faze them to hand it back satisfied without comment.

    2 wondered why the didn't see anything and looked if the lens-cap was still on. After they saw that no it isn't on and the front is some kind of glass, they relooked through the camera - without seining anything more - and were happy with the results.

    Only one out if the 5 asked why he can't see anything and when I told him, that this is a special filter for long exposure was also happy to let me pass. Asking to remove it for the check wasn't in his book.

    So 5 out of 5 weren't bothered by the fact that turning the camera on has no visible effect and the same 5 in the end were also happy that they didn't see anything when they looked through the camera.

    What a strange world we live in!

    1. Re:Fun with the TSA and similar clows elsewhere by SecurityTheatre · · Score: 1

      To be fair, even with a strong ND filter, it's pretty apparent that you're looking into a reflective prism.

      meh...

      I've never had that issue in Munich... (for what it's worth).

  33. On a somewhat related note... by rnturn · · Score: 1

    News story came up on the radio a couple of days ago while I was getting ready to enter the rat race. The interviewee was complaining about how Americans are so-o-o un-stylish when they travel -- wearing sweats and flip flops -- while the Italians, on the other hand, wear expensive suits and look so snazzy. And I thought: Let's see how long those Italians continue to wear their fancy suits while traveling when they start having to take off half their clothes before getting on the effin' plane.

    If we shut down all the scanners and fired all the TSA gropers and spent 10% of that money to hire more air marshals and another 10% to police the airport ground crews we'd probably be way ahead on airliner security than we are today.

    --
    CUR ALLOC 20195.....5804M
    1. Re:On a somewhat related note... by squiggleslash · · Score: 3, Insightful

      The real difference is more likely to be that Italians don't have to fly everywhere as they have a functional rail system and a relatively small country. So it's probable that at any one time, most haven't (yet.)

      My experience is that people who "dress up" to fly either have to, because they're flight attendants (or whatever - I feel for you), or they're unfamiliar with flying, how uncomfortable it is, and think it's realistically portrayed in commercials as some kind of high living sorta-good-taste-in-a-Donald-Trump-would-say-its-classy-way activity epytomized by the term "jet set".

      Americans, thanks to the destruction of the rail network in the 1950s and 1960s, really don't have any alternatives, so most Americans have flown at least once, so most Americans know you wear loose or stretchy clothing, comfortable footwear, and leave the uncomfortable suits at home.

      The TSA's security checkpoints really haven't made much difference to anything. I flew in the 1990s. I flew after 9/11. There always were security lines. They're just worse - more invasive, with nastier consequences for being suspicious - than they were then.

      --
      You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
  34. Re:Its only a sensible precaution by Mr.+Slippery · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Radical Islam specializes in young men for their operations, not old.

    As opposed to the imperialism of western, mostly Christian nations, which is noted for sending women in their 50s off to invade other countries.

    The use of young men as cannon fodder is unrelated to polygamous religion.

    But when you're talking desperately horny, poor, illiterate goat farmers--you can talk them into pretty much anything.

    Some of the 9/11 hijackers were married. Some had been to college. Most were middle-class.

    But don't let facts get in the way of your ignorant Islamophobia.

    --
    Tom Swiss | the infamous tms | my blog
    You cannot wash away blood with blood
  35. Re:He's wasting hiw time. by fnj · · Score: 1

    If your job is to wear a badge or gun, you are nothing but a grunt. You have to follow orders - as the TSA people do.

    Yeah, following orders .. jawohl mein herr. Sorry. The Lieutenant can order you to smash the baby's skull against the tree, but following orders is not a defense. The puppet masters whom you are right to hold at fault would be nowhere if there weren't people willing to take their orders and play their part in tyrranizing the people.

    Can't find a single thing to argue about in your point that the dumb boobs who don't value liberty are both contemptible and at fault.

  36. Re:Its only a sensible precaution by omnichad · · Score: 1

    So either you have a war or you con them into believing that they can have all the wives they want in heaven if they'll just walk into the nearest mall and blow themselves up.

    So these wives must be soulless or never lived on earth or essentially "newborn." Or where would they all come from? I guess a wife is not a companion in Islam so maybe it wouldn't matter. Just a bunch of heavenly Realdolls that move.

  37. Re:Its only a sensible precaution by TWiTfan · · Score: 1

    As opposed to the imperialism of western, mostly Christian nations, which is noted for sending women in their 50s off to invade other countries.

    I don't recall making the assertion that the West was perfect (most certainly not).

    But on a very real-world level, who would you rather be ruled by--the Taliban or the U.S. government? If your argument for equivalency is valid, you shouldn't be able to answer that question. But I bet if you're being honest that you can, can't you?

    --
    The cow says "Moo." The dog says "Woof." The Timothy says "Thanks, valued customer. We appreciate your input."
  38. Re:Its only a sensible precaution by Chrisq · · Score: 1

    And most of the July 2005 London bombers were doctors.

    University educated, but not doctors.

    He's probably thinking of the Glasgow Airport attack

  39. Re: War on nuts by Jabrwock · · Score: 1

    More people die from nut allergies each year (about 150) and I don't see us declaring a War on Nuts

    Tried to pack a kid's lunch lately? Or held a birthday party? Or baked anything for a bake sale?

    Nuts are the new communism party. "Are you or have you even been in contact with nuts?"

    --
    Magic doesn't work in my presence. My power of disbelief is too strong.
  40. Re:Its only a sensible precaution by thoromyr · · Score: 1

    maybe I shouldn't bother, but your statement "Allowing men to marry as many women as they can afford" betrays you lack of knowledge about Islam. I'll give you a hint: that practice is what is forbidden by Islam.

  41. Re:That is misleading by Reverand+Dave · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Neither does histrionics and paranoia. The simple fact is that airport security has nothing to do with keeping you safe and has been shown to be highly ineffective at stopping any real attempt to circumvent them. It's security theater, not actual security. Terrorism and the war on terror isn't about saving lives or fighting bad guys, it's about suppressing freedom and oppressing the populace. If you think otherwise, you're ignorant to reality.

    --
    I got here through a series of tubes
  42. Re:Drama by ClintJaysiyel · · Score: 1

    Sounds like he's more willing to fix the problem than you are.

  43. Re:Its only a sensible precaution by Nidi62 · · Score: 1

    Notice that Osama Bin Laden wasn't one of the 9-11 hijackers. He was sitting back safely in his bunker with his several wives, while the young saps killed themselves for Allah.

    Hell, even in Afghanistan in the 80s bin Laden sat back in the safety of Pakistan. He was always the radical Islamic version of an REMF.

    --
    The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for it to be pitted against a slightly greater evil
  44. Re: War on nuts by sconeu · · Score: 2

    I'd like to address this, as I have personal experience.

    First of all, nut allergies are not caused by crazy overprotective parents (yes, I know he didn't say that, but it was kind of implied). When our daughter was 4, she ate some pecan turtles, and swelled up like a balloon. We took her to the doctor who tested her and said, "Nut allergy".

    Second, nut allergies can be deadly. Anaphlactic shock can kill someone fairly quickly.

    Third, I never tried to regulate what other kids brought to school for *their* lunch. My only request -- stated to the teacher and to other parents -- was that if they are bringing goodies *to share with the class*, that they avoid nuts in such items.

    As for the "no nut/peanut zones" in schools, I think they're CYA for the schools.

    --
    General Relativity: Space-time tells matter where to go; Matter tells space-time what shape to be.
  45. Re:Its only a sensible precaution by Chrisq · · Score: 1

    Being university educated doesn't necessarily mean you aren't gullible and stupid.

    But being University educated and still a Muslim does.

    Surely you have this the wrong way round!

  46. 87-Year-Old World War II Veteran by the+eric+conspiracy · · Score: 1

    People like this grew up during the Great Depression and lived through a time when America achieved greatness.

    No wonder they have a low BS tolerance.

  47. Re:That is misleading by cold+fjord · · Score: 1

    The facts are still the facts.

    --
    much of left-wing thought is a kind of playing with fire by people who don't even know that fire is hot - George Orwell
  48. Re:Its only a sensible precaution by TWiTfan · · Score: 1

    It's sad that so many fools went to their deaths following a spoiled, rich poseur. Ironically, he was a lot like George W. Bush in that regard--the rich boy who's more than happy to send everyone else out to fight and die, but who runs and hides when it comes his time to fight.

    --
    The cow says "Moo." The dog says "Woof." The Timothy says "Thanks, valued customer. We appreciate your input."
  49. Re:Its only a sensible precaution by tgd · · Score: 1

    Being university educated doesn't necessarily mean you aren't gullible and stupid.

    Thankfully, or I would've never gotten laid in school.

  50. mentality by Atmchicago · · Score: 1

    This is the mentality which is being perpetrated by these idiotic checkpoints:

    • Compromise
    • Conformity
    • Assimilation
    • Submission

    Now all we need is to promote ignorance, hypocrisy, brutality, and the elite. Oh wait, we're already there...

    --

    You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it dissolve.

  51. Re: War on nuts by Jason+Levine · · Score: 1

    I have two kids so, yes, I'm very familiar with nut allergy issues. Thankfully, my kids don't have nut allergies. My wife has a walnut allergy so we need to watch for that, but that's pretty easy to handle. It's also not so bad that she'll get a reaction if she touches something that was touched by someone who touched a walnut. Some allergies are that bad. There are kids who will go into anaphlactic shock if they touch a pencil that another kid touched after eating peanut butter.

    If a school has to guarantee the safety of a child with a severe nut allergy, I see nothing wrong with setting certain rules for food coming into the building. Yes, they can go overboard, but for the most part these rules (unlike the TSA's rules) actually do help keep kids from having severe allergic reactions. My boys bring peanut butter sandwiches to school but know not to give their food to other kids.

    My oldest will actually get very worried about kids eating food that they might be allergic to. He used to grill the waiters at restaurants about food his cousin would order when she had an egg allergy. He also wouldn't order a food he really wanted because he was sitting next to her and his food would contain eggs. Even if we said it was fine (as long as she didn't eat from his plate), he'd refuse and would order something else.

    --
    My sci-fi novel, Ghost Thief, is now available from Amazon.com.
  52. Re: War on nuts by Jason+Levine · · Score: 1

    I'd only add that kids should know to wash their hands after eating. This is especially true if a child in their class is extremely allergic to the point that Child A touching a crayon after eating a PB sandwich causes Child B to go into anaphlactic shock when he picks up that same crayon. My kids have been in those situations. This happened to be at a daycare where they all ate together so they banned nut products entirely. We gladly altered our kids' lunches to suit this other child's needs knowing that this was a minor inconvenience to us but life and death to the child.

    Do some schools go nuts (pun intended) over these bans? Sure. But that doesn't mean all requests to avoid nut products are overreactions.

    --
    My sci-fi novel, Ghost Thief, is now available from Amazon.com.
  53. Re: War on nuts by Jason+Levine · · Score: 1

    I'd also like to add that these "nut bans" are taking place in local schools. If you don't like it, you can talk to your superintendent or local school board to get them changed.

    Who would you talk to to get the TSA's practices changed? Until the federal government begins confiscating all products with nuts in them and arrests people who peddle black market pecans, I don't think we have a "War on Nuts."

    --
    My sci-fi novel, Ghost Thief, is now available from Amazon.com.
  54. Most TSA peons are bullies by billstewart · · Score: 1

    Yes, I've met a few decent people working for the TSA, but the vast majority have been bullies. Whether they started out as bullies who couldn't find better jobs, or who consider the SHOUTING to be one of the benefits, or whether they started out as average people put into confrontational jobs with bullies for supervisors and start bullying people habitually, they're still bullies.

    --

    Bill Stewart
    New Fast-Compression-only CPR http://preview.tinyurl.com/dy575ks
  55. Metal IS why TSA banned shoes in lines by billstewart · · Score: 1

    If you were paying attention back when the TSA started telling people to take their shoes off, it wasn't because of the Shoe Bomber incident, which hadn't happened yet. It was because a lot of mens' shoes have metal shanks in them and were setting off the metal detectors, and they didn't want the lines getting held up sending people back to run their shoes through the X-Ray machine.

    At first it was a "Please take off your shoes" request, but if you knew you had non-metallic shoes they didn't force you to take them off (I tended to wear Teva sandals, and lots of people in Hawaii wear flipflops, especially inter-island.)

    Then a few airports started saying "Everybody must take your shoes off, it's ALWAYS been the rule", because it's easier to have the grunts think it's always been the rule than have them actually have to think or do different things for different people (and realistically, a lot of travellers don't realize they have metal in their shoes, and sometimes there's just a bit of metal like shoelace hole reinforcers in sneakers, so it only sets it off if the metal detectors are turned up high and not if they're set lower.)

    Then the shoe-bomber idiot did his thing, and after that the TSA started making everybody take off their shoes, and then they started making videos for people to watch when they're stuck in unreasonably long lines, which dishonestly tell people that the shoe rule was made for our safety.

    --

    Bill Stewart
    New Fast-Compression-only CPR http://preview.tinyurl.com/dy575ks
  56. Metal IS why TSA started making us take shoes off by billstewart · · Score: 1

    If you were paying attention back when the TSA started telling people to take their shoes off, it wasn't because of the Shoe Bomber incident, which hadn't happened yet. It was because a lot of mens' shoes have metal shanks in them and were setting off the metal detectors, and they didn't want the lines getting held up sending people back to run their shoes through the X-Ray machine.

    At first it was a "Please take off your shoes" request, but if you knew you had non-metallic shoes they didn't force you to take them off (I tended to wear Teva sandals, and lots of people in Hawaii wear flipflops, especially inter-island.) Or sometimes they'd yell at you for not doing it, and they really dislike being challenged by anyone, such as being told "If it were actually a TSA rule, it'd be on the sign", which often got me an honest response of "we can take you in the back room and search through all your stuff long enough that you'll miss your flight, so obey orders or we'll do that."

    Then a few airports started saying "Everybody must take your shoes off, it's ALWAYS been the rule", because it's easier to have the grunts think it's always been the rule than have them actually have to think or do different things for different people (and realistically, a lot of travellers don't realize they have metal in their shoes, and sometimes there's just a bit of metal like shoelace hole reinforcers in sneakers, so it only sets it off if the metal detectors are turned up high and not if they're set lower.)

    Then the shoe-bomber idiot did his thing, and after that the TSA started making everybody take off their shoes, and then they started making videos for people to watch when they're stuck in unreasonably long lines, which dishonestly tell people that the shoe rule was made for our safety.

    --

    Bill Stewart
    New Fast-Compression-only CPR http://preview.tinyurl.com/dy575ks
  57. The Russian way... by RandySC · · Score: 1

    In Moscow, after you go through the back-scatter machine, there is an attractive middle-aged blonde lady who uses her hands to touch the suspicious areas. I didn't even begin to think about complaining about this treatment. For some reason I fantasize about taping my spare kopecks to strategic locations on my body :)

    --
    Organization: alphabetical, sometimes numerical or messy
  58. Re:Metal IS why TSA started making us take shoes o by kermidge · · Score: 1

    This deserves up mod informative. Or deserved, since I'm two days late reading it.

    Thanks, Bill, for the fast-compression thing - it's well worth the reading; I think it would be good general knowledge compared to what many of us carry around in our heads concerning CPR.

  59. Constitutional Conflict by jhumkey · · Score: 1

    Many above mention the 4th amendment.

    In general, the older I get, the more I become a "strict constitutionalist in favor of small federal government", but . . . while I respect the constitution more, it does seem to lag in one aspect . . . when your rights are tempered, because others have rights as well.

    The constitution doesn't seem to address the distinction when one persons "right" comes into conflict with others "rights".

    As in . .

    If I walk out into the desert, away from all other people and property, with 20lbs of explosives strapped to myself and detonate it . . .
    That's quite different, than if I walk into a crowded room and do the same thing.

    The first, simply exercises my rights . . . the second, disrupts (in a violent and irreparable way) the rights of others.

    The aspect most leave out of the discussion about searching your person . . . it isn't being performed to "find out" something "about you" . . . its to "protect others" rights.
    In an odd way, in this case . . . the searching of "you" has nothing to do with "you".

    Having said that . . . (though I flew lots earlier in my career) I don't think I've flown commercially in the "scope or grope" era. Partially because I think I'd feel "violated" to do so . . . I'm just not sure (in light of the fact that its being done to protect "others rights" . . .) even though its being done "to me", that it technically is a violation of "me".

    --
    No, I don't remember your name. But the memory mapped screen on a TRS80 from 1977 is from 15360 to 16383 if that helps.