Slashdot Mirror
United Airlines Claims TSA Banned Comic Books In Checked Luggage For Comic-Con, TSA Denies It (boardingarea.com)
schwit1 shares a report: San Diego Comic-Con has become so much more than just a comic book convention. But comic books remain the heart and soul of Comic-Con. In addition to attendees being there to buy comic books, vendors flock to Comic-Con to sell their comic books as well. That's why participants in Comic-Con were shocked to find a notice waiting for them at the San Diego airport after Comic-Con: "COMIC-CON ATTENDEES: REMOVE ALL BOOKS FROM CHECKED BAGS." On Twitter, United Airlines confirmed the ban: "The restriction on checking comic books applies to all airlines operating out of San Diego this weekend and is set by the TSA. ^MD" Consumerist reached out to TSA and were told by a spokeswoman that the warnings about not allowing comic books -- or any kind of book -- in checked bags were simply not true. There is "no restriction on anything related to putting comics or any type of books" in baggage, and TSA never put out any guidance to that effect, she said. "In fact, they are allowed in both checked and carry-on baggage," the spokeswoman told Consumerist, adding that there were no delays in the processing of checked bags out of San Diego yesterday.
Can't wait for a few dozen comic books to include the evil organisation "United Airvillains" in their plot.
Books are heavy.
The comic book I bought is da bomb, dude!
Should be common sense not to leave related valuables when so many things come up missing in luggage, probably more so during any flying around a huge convention.
I think this was in the book of Revelations. Page 75, Paragraph 8b.
Sarbonn's blog: http://www.sarbonn.com/blog
Is there anything United can't screw up?
On the one hand, we have United Airlines. On the other hand we have the TSA.
Let's just assume they are both somehow lying, incompetent, or both.
First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out because I was not a Socialist.
Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out because I was not a Trade Unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for the comic books fans—and there was no one left to speak for me.
Where will it end?
As if millions of comic-book nerds suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced.
#DeleteChrome
they fell for that one hook, line, and Howard Stern's penis
On the one hand is a lazy, incompetent and mendacious corporation and on the other hand is a lazy, incompetent and mendacious government agency. Whom should I trust?
I was there the week before for the ESRI User Conference and the same signs were posted in the airport. They said something like all books from the ESRI UC must be removed from checked baggage. I flew American Airlines.
It appears this meant that books should be removed before the carry-on was scanned as part of the security check, and not that the books were not allowed back in the carry-on after the scanning and security check was complete.
It was likely a part of this pilot the TSA did, but United didn't get the message that the pilot was over with, or they didn't know the scope of the pilot:
https://www.insidehighered.com...
Better known as 318230.
"Hopefully those turds get flushed soon"
(You're not supposed to keep them with you)
One should realize that words with no pictures to aid understanding can confuse the attendees.
Yep, no ban. United's official Twitter first called it a "restriction on checking comic books...", then later clarified that "You can still place the books in your carry-on."
"National Security is the chief cause of national insecurity." - Celine's First Law
The stooges that were stated to be the hijackers on 9/11 (in the official conspircay theory) were almost all Saudi citizens, but the dumb dumb Americans have been mislead by zionist outlets like slashdot into thinking them Iraqis, or Libyans, or Syrians, or Palestinians (the owners of slashdot and other zionist outlets know that the sheeple never read the 'fine print'- so while the Saudi nationality of the 'hijackers' isn't a secret, post 9/11 zionist reporting tricks ensure few US sheeple know this fact).
9/11 led to the TSA, of course- and the TSA protects against nothing real. But like all Orwellian projects, the TSA exists to lay down an impression of something 'real' in the minds of the sheeple. And this wouldn't work unless the TSA was a constant irritant. So sexual assaults disguised as body searches. X-ray machines designed to damage people AND allow operators to see passengers naked. TSA agents dipping their 'probes' into the drinks of waiting passengers. TSA agents confiscating various laughable objects.
The point of a police state is that the citizen victims must feel the boot of the state on their necks every time they interact with the state.
Slashdot attempts to legitimise Orwellian security theatre by implying that it could be done 'right'. Standard apologist psy-op. The nazis aren't bad per se- it's just the bad apples and some poor management picks. Yeah- right. The owners of slashdot are sure the increasing small number of people here will fall for this garbage, just as they voted for the sick evil warmonger who destroyed secular Libya- Clinton.
Wow, with two such reputable entitles it's impossible to determine which is lying.
Every time an airline claims their policy is dictated by the TSA and it's not, they reduce respect for and confidence in the TSA. They're going to keep pulling this shit until they start getting some hefty fines, or the idiots behind it do some jail time.
Nope, no sig
They probably do not want to have to worry about being held accountable for potentially lost/stolen high-dollar merchandise.
If the people in power that search/handle luggage are under-paid or over-worked (relative terms, I know) there is probably a better chance that they will steal the high-dollar luggage. Perks of the job I guess. People are people, I don't care what outfit they are wearing.
If such a sign existed, could it have been more of a reminder not to check valuables? I'm assuming at a comic book convention there is trading of what might be semi valuable editions of comic books, which are probably better off left in your carry on rather than in your checked back where TSA or airline bag handler goons could pilfer such valuables?
If this was at a TSA check point, well its common knowledge that such bulky items need to be removed from bags and run though the xray scanner in their own bucket. Just as you have to unpack your laptop and put it in its own bucket.
Reduce it from what? It started at zero for me. I'm not sure what negative respect means , physically speaking , so I just keep it at zero.
It appears that United Airlines posted a statement retracting the ban before the Slashdot article was posted.
From United Airlines spokesperson earlier this afternoon:
“While TSA is recommending that customers keep their comic books in their carry-on bags, there are no restrictions on packing them in checked luggage,” reads the statement. “We misunderstood TSA’s instructions and regret any inconvenience this may have caused our customers.”
At 4:55 PM:
https://consumerist.com/2017/0...
At 5:15 PM:
https://www.theverge.com/2017/...
In the uk the term seems to apply to a cosplay and specialised toys/jewelery fair...
But can I keep them in my carry-on? Or should my turds be checked?
If you think I voted for Trump because of this post, you're wrong. I voted for Dr. Jill Stein of the Green Party. Again.
Remember the occasion when a male passenger was allowed a full can of beer, but the female passenger sitting beside him denied a full can of cola for security reasons.
The real reason UA banned comic books was the weight and balance. People were trying to check 150lbs of comic books in their standard-sized luggage, and the planes cannot handle that kind of density for any additional cost. $1M in luggage fees can't make a 737 haul 5 tons of comic books in the luggage hold, not to mention the wear and tear on baggage handlers.
I wonder just which "instructions" the TSA gave them, and if they would be willing to produce a copy of these alleged "instructions" so that we may understand how they might have been "misunderstood."
Why are airlines such douche bags?
The entire regulator system over air travel needs to be revamped.
1. No over booking. You buy a seat, you own it. If you don't show up, you still own it.
2. No moving passengers around to different seats without their agreeing. You buy a seat, you own it....unless you are fat, filthy fuck that affects the other passengers.
3. No bumping passengers or ejecting them unless you are a stupid, disruptive fuck...like Cenk from the Young Turks.
4. No cancelling flights. You buy the seat, they fly the seat. Weather and other safety factors of course excepted.
5. No holding people hostage. If you pull away from the gate, you taxi for take off. If you can't due to air traffic backups, you have to keep the engines running and the AC on and make services available. There are rules about providing AC, food, and water for animals being transported, why not people under these circumstances?
Feel free to add on.
Knowing comics in transit could be valuable, and fear that their agents may steal at an abnormally higher rate than their normally high rates of theft. So the instruction was really meant to be...
"Please keep any valuable comic books in your carry-on baggage and avoid placing valuable items in checked baggage as our agents are known to steal them."
I thought comic con was about non-comic book related celebrity appearances and dressing up like a dalek?
People are actually still taking comic books to these things?
This may be a bizarre article, but it's about a bizarre thing that actually just happened, and which affects nerds.
Hand them to the TSA, they need more personnel anyway, and with a week of training or two...
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
It's purely security theater. The web and my personal connections are replete with former TSA people and the stories they tell of managerial ineptness is astounding.
And the federal side has no clue as to what's going on. They're just propagating edicts and so rank and file TSA employees are interpreting those edicts and coming up with ridiculous rules.
I hate to burst the bubble for all of you snowflakes out there, but the truth is the TSA was not put in place just to stop terrorism. That's just the cover story they used to convince the public to put up with the delays and intrusive searches. The same way they sold us the draconian drug laws with the promise they would be used to stop the big dealers, then using them to lock up millions of harmless users, creating profit for cities, states, and prison corporations at the expense of the public they swore to protect. No, the truth is they want to stop smuggling and money laundering. Comic books, like stamps and rare coins can be extremely valuable and a great way to launder and transport money. This is what they want to control. If you cannot put them in your checked baggage, now they can tell who is carrying what without having to search every checked bag.
This is a secret you are not supposed to know, so I will be surprised if this post makes it past the censors.
Quotes from the TSA:
We are always testing procedures to help stay ahead of our adversaries. We were testing the removal of books at two airport locations and the testing ran its course.
So, with that out of the way, you might be wondering why we were interested in books. Well, our adversaries seem to know every trick in the book when it comes to concealing dangerous items, and books have been used in the past to conceal prohibited items.
Let's make like a bird... and get the flock outta here.