Tag: Security Theater

TSA Gets Caught Stealing Again

Many employees of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) have sticky fingers. This shouldn’t come as a surprise since they work for the largest gang of thieves in the country, the state. What some of these TSA agents don’t realize is that many electronic devices can be easily tracked, which is who an agent who stole an iPad was caught:

In the latest apparent case of what have been hundreds of thefts by TSA officers of passenger belongings, an iPad left behind at a security checkpoint in the Orlando airport was tracked as it moved 30 miles to the home of the TSA officer last seen handling it.

Confronted two weeks later by ABC News, the TSA officer, Andy Ramirez, at first denied having the missing iPad, but ultimately turned it over after blaming his wife for taking it from the airport.

Not only was the agent willing to steal the iPad but he was then willing to throw his wife under the bus to cover up his misdeed. What a classy guy.

Who watches the watchmen? The TSA claims they are watching for terrorists but they themselves have proven to be a gang of criminals as well. Agents of the TSA have been caught stealing from travelers and sexually assaulting those travelers is part of their job description. How can we trust a gang of thieves to protect us from terrorists? We can’t. You cannot rely on one gang of criminals to protect you from another gang of criminals.

TSA Given Extension on Holding a Public Hearing Regarding Body Scanners

Approximately 14 months ago the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) were order to hold a public hearing regarding their use of body scanners. Needless to say they haven’t complied and were taken to court over their refusal to comply. Luckily for the TSA they are a part of the same state that controls the court system and therefore have been granted extra special privileges:

A federal appeals court on Tuesday said it was giving the Transportation Security Administration until the end of March to comport with an already 14-month-old order to “promptly” hold public hearings and take public comment concerning the so-called nude body scanners installed in U.S. airport security checkpoints.

The public comments and the agency’s answers to them are reviewable by a court, which opens up a new avenue for a legal challenge to the agency’s decision to deploy the scanners. Critics maintain the scanners, which use radiation to peer through clothes, are threats to Americans’ privacy and health, which the TSA denies.

By the time March comes around you can be assured that another extension will be given. The state has a great deal of interest in forcing its subjects to submit to pointless authoritarianism. A public hearing would likely reveal that the body scanners aren’t as safe as the TSA advertises and that would cause the proles to be less than happy about the dangers they’ve been put in in the name of security theatre. I doubt we’ll ever see an actual public hearing regarding these body scanners. At most the old models will be phased out for a new and improved model. After the new models are in place the TSA will claim all previous health concerns are even more misplaced than before and another long series of lawsuits will be required before the TSA is required to hold a public hearing on the new body scanners.

Naked Body Scanners Booted Out of Europe

It appears as though the Europeans are smarter than the Americans when it comes to airport security. While Americans are forced to either submit to sexual molestation or be dosed with radiation Europeans have decided to give the body scanners the boot:

The last remaining full-body X-ray airport scanners are to be scrapped within weeks.

The security systems, which have been tested at air terminals since 2009, scan through passengers’ clothes, creating a detailed ghost-like image of the naked body. The scan is then viewed by security staff.

Critics said the machines invaded passengers’ privacy and the radiation they generate raised the risk of cancer. Some Muslim groups also refused to walk through them on religious grounds.

The European Commission ruled that the cancer risk was ‘close to zero’ but, under Brussels legislation, the three-year trial period has elapsed and it has decided not to ‘prioritise’ them for permanent use across the continent.

Airport bosses who were waiting for the green light on the machines now say they have been left with no option but to remove them.

Of course the manufacturers of these scanners will soon arrive at the doorsteps of European politicians with suitcases full of money to ensure this decision is reversed. A temporary victory is still better than no victory at all.

The Proper Reaction to Terrorism

After 9/11 the United States government reacted by turning this county into more of a police state than it already was. The PATRIOT Act was hurried into law, National Security Letters commanded companies to hand over customer information and threatened prison time for even revealing that the letter was received, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) turned flying into a fiasco, and the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan began because those countries had oil and lithium respectively been accused of assisting Al Qaeda. How did Norway react to last year’s terrorist attack on their country? As Bruce Schneier points out, sensibly:

“The Norwegian response to violence is more democracy, more openness and greater political participation,” he said.

A year later it seems the prime minister has kept his word.

There have been no changes to the law to increase the powers of the police and security services, terrorism legislation remains the same and there have been no special provisions made for the trial of suspected terrorists.

On the streets of Oslo, CCTV cameras are still a comparatively rare sight and the police can only carry weapons after getting special permission.

Even the gate leading to the parliament building in the heart of Oslo remains open and unguarded.

“It is still easy to get access to parliament and we hope it will stay that way, ” said Lise Christoffersen, a Labour party MP.

She is convinced people do not want laws passed which would curtail their basic rights and impinge on their privacy despite the relative ease with which Breivik was able to plan and carry out his attacks.

If only the United States government had reacted the same way. Instead of sinking trillions of dollars into security theater and war we may have actually been able to redirect those squandered resources into something productive.

The TSA Obviously Has a Stringent Hiring Process

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is tasked with securing airplanes from those evil terrorists. In order to accomplish this they need good men and woman to sexually molest every air traveler before allowing them to board planes, which is why this man was more than qualified for the job:

The security checkpoint between Terminals D and E is a busy place where thousands of people – including lots of kids – pass through every day. But you might not believe who the I-Team observed working as a TSA supervisor at that checkpoint this week: Thomas Harkins.

Until 2002, Harkins was a Catholic priest working at churches across South Jersey. But the Diocese of Camden removed him from ministry because it found he sexually abused two young girls. Now, in a new lawsuit, a third woman is claiming she also is one of Harkins’ victims

Who better to work as a TSA agent? He’s obviously has previous experience at sexually abusing young girls, which is a necessary job requirement in the TSA.

TSA Caught Smuggling Drugs

Although bat shit crazy Torgerson believes we should be grateful to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) I would rather point out their failures to demonstrate why they should be disbanded. In the lastest scam the TSA were caught running a drug smuggling operation:

Four current and former security screeners at Los Angeles international airport have been arrested and charged with drug-trafficking and bribery.

The four accepted cash to allow large shipments of cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana through X-ray machines, the US justice department said.

[…]

Two of the four accused are current employees of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), while the other two used to work for the organisation.

The current employees, John Whitfield, 23, and Capeline McKinney, 25, are accused of allowing shipments of more than 20kg (44lb) to pass through a screening area while they were on shift.

Former TSA screener Joy White, 27, is accused of a similar offence, while Naral Richardson, 30, is alleged to have made arrangements for shipments to pass unhindered.

Other individuals named in the indictment are accused of being part of the smuggling ring, several working as drug mules.

Between sexually molesting young children, old woman, and anybody who piques the interest of an agent it’s nice to know the TSA still finds time to perform other acts of depravity. This also demonstrates the futility of the TSA since any terrorist wanting to blow up a plane just needs to find an agent willing to accept large quantities of cash to ignore any explosive device traveling through the scanner.

That’ll Fix the Problem

The Minneapolis Police Department, in their infinite wisdom, have finally released their idea to combat the recent attacks by gangs of unruly individuals. The solution? Enact a curfew:

According to the Minneapolis Police Department, there have been at least six incidents since early February where mobs of young people have randomly assaulted individuals on Nicollet Mall or nearby. The last attack occurred in mid-March.

So now police are proposing a new curfew for teens on Nicollet and also on Hennepin Avenue.

Sgt. Steve McCarty of Minneapolis Police said, “Certainly the vast majority of kids that come downtown are not creating these problems. But we have seen in the recent weeks, there have been some problems.”

The new curfew would ban teens age 17 and younger from Nicollet and Hennepin Avenues after 8 p.m.

Because kids who get their jollies off of beating the living shit out of random strangers are surely going to obey a curfew. Curfews are one of the dumbest strategies to deal with crime problems, namely because they don’t work [PDF]. Setting aside the fact that violent criminals aren’t going to obey a law against staying out past a certain hour we also have the fact that determining who is and isn’t under 17 is nearly impossible. Either the police will have to card every person they see that looks to be underage, something that is going to be hard to do because nobody has an obligation to present identification to the police unless they’re being arrested, or they’re going to have to hope that underage kids are going to obey this law.

Also notice that the curfew only applies to Nicollet and Hennepin Avenues meaning it will have the exact same effect as the mobile Orwellian cameras, it’ll just move crime somewhere else. Instead of Nicollet and Hennepin Avenues being scenes of rare gang attacks another street will be. I’m constantly amazed at how stupid an agency granted a monopoly on a large section of the security business can be when it comes to implementing security.

Bruce Schneier Removed from Invitee List for Congressional Hearing on the TSA

If this doesn’t reek of corruption and demonstrate how false democracy really is nothing will. Congress is holding a hearing on the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) naked body scanners. At first they invited security expert, and major critic of the TSA, Bruce Schneier but later told him not to come:

On Friday, at the request of the TSA, I was removed from the witness list. The excuse was that I am involved in a lawsuit against the TSA, trying to get them to suspend their full-body scanner program. But it’s pretty clear that the TSA is afraid of public testimony on the topic, and especially of being challenged in front of Congress. They want to control the story, and it’s easier for them to do that if I’m not sitting next to them pointing out all the holes in their position. Unfortunately, the committee went along with them. (They tried to pull the same thing last year and it failed — video at the 10:50 mark.)

The claim that he was removed for his involvment in an ongoing lawsuit is nothing more than a convenient excuse. In all likelihood he was removed because Congress doesn’t want to hear any criticisms on the body scanners as they’re very useful for our trip down the road to fascism. There is too much money involved in the body scanners for them to ever go away, in fact they only thing we’re likely to see is an expansion of their use at locations beyond airports. Let’s also not forget the fact that the body scanners are worthless.

New Method of Bypassing TSA Security Discovered

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has had a bout of bad luck as of late. First a blogger demonstrates a method of getting devices through their TSA’s body scanners without detection and now the Wall Street Journal has discovered yet another way to bypass TSA security, give them $100:

Hate the full-body scans, pat-downs and slow going at TSA airport security screening checkpoints? For $100, you can now bypass the hassle.

Want to avoid TSA pat downs, long lines and waltz through security with shoes and jackets on, laptops stored and all the soft drinks you can carry? As Scott McCartney explain on The News Hub, there is a way, and it costs just $100. Photo: Reuters

The Transportation Security Administration is rolling out expedited screening at big airports called “Precheck.” It has special lanes for background-checked travelers, who can keep their shoes, belt and jacket on, leave laptops and liquids in carry-on bags and walk through a metal detector rather than a full-body scan. The process, now at two airlines and nine airports, is much like how screenings worked before the Sept. 11 attacks.

To qualify, frequent fliers must meet undisclosed TSA criteria and get invited in by the airlines. There is also a backdoor in. Approved travelers who are in the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s “Global Entry” program can transfer into Precheck using their Global Entry number.

[…]

Enrolling requires a $100 application fee for a background check, plus a brief interview with a Customs officer.

If this doesn’t demonstrated the absurdity of the TSA nothing will. Like every state agency they claim to be absolutely necessary for public safety. Talking to most TSA agents will lead you to believe they single handedly stop 500 terrorists a day and if they weren’t doing security every plane would be hijacked and crashed into buildings. The protection they offer is so critical that nobody may be allowed to bypass sexual assault by TSA agents… unless you have $100, then you’re cool.

Government agencies always work off of this principle: they claim their absolutely necessary to protect something but if you pay them enough money you can bypass whatever protective measures the agency has claimed to put into place. My favorite example of this is the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) who claim to be necessary to protect the environment from evil polluters but will let anybody pollute so long as they pay the EPA enough money to buy a permit.

State protection is a scam designed to give the state another mechanism to take your money without increasing taxes.

Security Theater at Hennepin County Suburban Courthouses

Here in Hennepin County we’ve had a recent kerfuffle surround the security as suburban court houses. OK, the kerfuffle was stated by one judge who refused to hear any cases as suburban courtrooms because he didn’t feel they screened for weaponry enough. Instead of firing him the county eventually caved and spent major money on nothing:

“We don’t know that anybody will ever be injured in our courthouses, but we don’t want it to happen,” said Commissioner Jan Callison, who sponsored the resolution. “And we know that they are places that are high stress, with people under a lot of pressure. And people under pressure who have access to weapons do things they shouldn’t do.”

[…]

After considering closing the Southdale court in Edina — where it would cost about $900,000 to rebuild the entryway to accommodate a walk-through detector — the board decided to have visitors there screened with handheld devices for now.

A permanent solution for Southdale and the other two courts will have to await conclusions of a $150,000 study on court security that the board ordered Tuesday from the administration.

That report is due Nov. 1; in the meantime, a $77,000 security report commissioned from the National Center for State Courts will be finished this spring.

Emphasis mine. While nobody has actually been harmed in a Hennepin County courthouse they’re spending in excess of $1 million to boost security because of one whiny judge who was probably lazy and figured bitching about the lacking security at the suburban courthouses would get him out of working for a while.

But hark, a case proving the necessity of these additional security measures has appeared in Texas! Except, it hasn’t:

A man has opened fire outside a court in the US state of Texas, killing one person and injuring three, say police.

Again the emphasis is mine. Some people have been brining this case to my attention and claiming it as justification for spending money on additional security at the suburban courthouses here. Here’s the problem, the shooting at the Texas courthouse took play outside. Do you know what metal detectors and screening people entering the courtroom will do to secure the exterior of the building? Jack shit.

This case does bring up the fact that security the interior of the courthouse does nothing. If somebody means a prosecutor, judge, or other individual harm they will just wait for that person to exit the building. Once again the state is putting on security theater to solve a nonexistent problem.