TSA Blogger Bob Watched Closely By Readers – NextGov
The Transportation Security Administration came under fire from Internet users on Nov. 17 for being too slow to moderate and post readers’ comments onto its blog, a sign the site is being read closely.
The results are in from our reader survey. Have a look at what other readers think about TSA pat-downs and Advanced Imaging Technology (AIT). Where do you come down on the issue?
The uproar or apparent uproar of scores or maybe even several hundred travelers, several of whom may have actually visited a TSA checkpoint recently, has refocused media attention on full body scanners. Those worried that TSA really wants to see or feel their junk should take pause. The narcissistic paranoia gripping the country, fueled by cable news, has distracted us from the reasons for the more thorough screening. Finding new, creative ways to deliver opinions helps to cut through the noise and get noticed. Animated bears – or dogs, I can’t tell – seems to be the latest fad. All the kids are doing it. Now for something completely different here is an attempted defense of TSA in animated form. Enjoy.
I was thinking about going out and looking for a hooker, but then I realized it was a bad idea. It’s exploitative. I don’t have the money. Should my wife find out, she would have rusted debris surgically inserted into uncomfortable places around my body. And, what’s more — why pay for a prostitute when the TSA will give you the same very personal attention for free?
We have all heard that the best leaders in the private sector, as well as those in government, are those who “lead by example.” That thought sticks in my mind as DHS and TSA attempt to defend the use of advanced imaging technologies or, in the alternative, more thorough physical inspections. One way Secretary Napolitano and TSA Administrator Pistole could help allay the public’s fear would be for each of them to go through the enhanced screening process and do it in front of the television cameras for the whole world to see.
There has been an active and passionate public debate over the use of Advanced Imaging Machines (AIT) and TSA pat-down techniques at airport security checkpoints. Some think the whole body scanners and pat-downs are just what’s needed for aviation security; others think the pat-downs and imaging machines infringe on personal privacy and may not be safe (the machines, that is). But which side holds the majority? Are the machines and pat-downs keeping us safe or do they tread on personal liberty? Take this anonymous Security Debrief survey, and let us know where you stand.
Considering cargo in the larger terrorism scheme – Daily Breeze
Thwarted plots or successful rehearsals? Operator failure or lesson learned? The answers to these counterterrorism questions may depend on your relationship to the bomber.
In watching the news stories, one has to wonder if the TSA is doing Security Theater or do they really believe they are protecting our nation. The basic flaw I see with today’s screening system is that we are looking for bad things instead of bad people. Our focus is on many inanimate objects, which in and of themselves are not likely to pose a threat to airliners. The terrorists of 9/11 did not carry any banned items onto their flights. In fact, the only illegal thing they carried was the intent to do grave bodily harm.
TSA works on alternative airport screening process for pilots – NextGov
The Transportation Security Administration is working to create an alternative screening process for pilots, the agency’s chief said this morning, amid mounting protests by airline pilots over new airport scanners criticized as invasive and hazardous to health due to radiation exposure.
Renewed Calls for Cargo Screening Brings Familiar Obstacles – CQ Homeland Security
West Virginia Democrat John D. Rockefeller IV, chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, took a moment last year during a hearing on post-Sept. 11 security issues to summarize the problem with international cargo security.
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