You know all those time-wasting stupid human tricks you have to perform in the airport? Full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.
A team at the Harvard School of Public Health could not find any studies showing whether the time-consuming process of X-raying carry-on luggage prevents hijackings or attacks.
They also found no evidence to suggest that making passengers take off their shoes and confiscating small items prevented any incidents.
TSA’s response:
“Even without clear evidence of the accuracy of testing, the Transportation Security Administration defended its measures by reporting that more than 13 million prohibited items were intercepted in one year,” the researchers added. “Most of these illegal items were lighters.”
That’d be neat if their purpose was to confiscate stuff. Maybe if they prohibited more stuff, they could intercept more stuff. Intercept . . . the fluffy pillows!
someone is making a killing off selling the confiscated lighters!
They might come in handy if an impromptu concert broke out in an airport;-)
Here’s what got me: I was flying to Vegas – the first time I flew since 9/11. This wasn’t very long after the guys in britain were arrested for the “liquids plot” (that may have all been a CIA based fantasy and entrapment) and everyone was still confused about the rules.
So, the TSA was confiscating everything, and making people throw away their liquids in these convenient trash cans right next to security. People, who were obviously pissed off, weren’t being careful with what or how they threw it in the trash cans, resulting in a lot of broken and open bottles, and basically a trash can full of ooze.
Now, the Ministry of Information told us that the reason we can’t take these liquids on the plane is that, while they are innocuous on their own, if we mix them we might blow a plane out of the air.
So instead, they have us MIX THEM ON THE GROUND in giant trashcans right next to a security station that is CROWDED with hundreds of people packed into a tiny area. If a bomb were to go off there, it would kill hundreds.
The whole campaign of misinformation and scare tactics surrounding flying is unacceptable, along with the perversion of actual statistics and risk factors. I’m much more worried that someone will walk into my shopping mall, during Christmas, where there is NO security, walk over to the Santa display and blow up a couple hundred people there. Hell, look at the mall shootings this year – how many people died there? And compare that to how many people died thanks to a tube of lipstick and a can of deodorant at 20,000 feet?
And what’s worse is the amount of money we spend on these hysterical non-threats while the REAL threats are left untended.
Argh! It’s really sickening to me how we turn into sheep at the first utterance of the “T-word.”
The best TSA confiscation story was the one where an agent tried to hijack a Congressional Medal of Honor from an 86-year-old veteran because they thought it was a threat (or more likely something that could be sold on eBay).
Dave-I flew to Phoenix the night that terror threat happened. Luckily we were there long enough (five days) to figure out that we might as well pack all liquids in our checked luggage. At the rental car place, they had a trash can full of perfume, deoderant, toothpaste, etc from the last five days of people saying, “Oh well…too late to pack it now.”
At the airport, security told us we couldn’t even bring drinks on board that we purchased at the airport AFTER the checkpoint. Felt really sorry for the poor girl working at the Hot Sauce store in our terminal! Wonder if that store is even open anymore?
Where are the Libertarians to tell us how private security firms provided superior aviation security?
One of my old colleagues had to throw away the special scissors she used to cut the stick-on stuff for her ileostomy bag (she has Crohn’s Disease). They were small, blunted on both ends, looking like a kindergartner’s first pair of scissors. They wanted to know if she had a doctor’s excuse. She presented her medical license to no avail. Imagine wanting to blow up a plane so badly that you would go through medical school and residency, and also have your intestines diverted to empty into a bag on your side, just so you could have a cover story to get your vicious pair of scissors on board. She must really hate America.
On the plus side, my wife found a Cross pen she had lost in the lining of her purse. It kept showing up on the x-ray; even after she had removed all items from her purse. Took me about ten minutes to find the hole it had fallen into and push it out of the lining.
What happened to your colleague, T, is sick and wrong! Didn’t the iliostomy bag count for something? Next thing you know they’ll be making dad take out his artifical hip.
Dad gets wanded every time. Cracks me up. I want him to recreate that scene from Spinal Tap and wear a metal codpiece.
During the “remove your belt” phase of the War on Terror, I was always tempted to wear overly loose-fitting pants and a thong. There aren’t enough pratfalls or accidental nudity episodes in the security area for my taste.
Loose belt – check
Big pants – check
Banana hammock – check
Crotch rot – check
Secure *this* my friends!
I’m sure I crossed a line there, but I’m not quite sure where exactly it was — probably between the big pants and the banana hammock.
Yeah…that image is burning in my mind like a bad infection!