Reader Survey Results: Your Take on TSA Pat-downs
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?
TSA Screening Procedures: Protecting Your Junk
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.
A suggestion for how DHS can allay fears about TSA pat-downs
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.
Reader Survey: Do TSA Pat-Downs and Scanning Machines Cross the Line?
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
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.
TSA: Looking for Bad Things, Not Bad People
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.
DHS intel reports way too slow, local officials say
DHS intel reports way too slow, local officials say – Washington Post SpyTalk
The Department of Homeland Security is so slow getting intelligence bulletins to state and local police “fusion centers” that they are nearly worthless, according to an internal audit released on Monday. The bulletins, called Homeland Intelligence Reports, or HIRs, are “used to share information quickly with state and local personnel on suspicious activities prior to being fully vetted,” the inspector general’s report explained.
Renewed Calls for Cargo Screening Brings Familiar Obstacles
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.
Understanding the history, politics and security of Africa: We Need Serious, Sustained, Systematic and Scholarly Study
Fall is the time, in the academic world, of conferences and annual meetings of high-minded associations. At the beginning of this month, I had the privilege to attend and participate in a conference that is rooted not in the ideals of ivory towers but in the realities of the history, politics, and culture of two important regions related to the defense of the United States, namely, the Middle East and Africa. my own paper was a modest initial attempt to build on past research performed on Africa. While much attention has been paid to China’s “new” presence on the continent since about 2004, less attention has focused on other influential nations’ activities in Africa. One such nation is Japan.
Shippers campaign against full screening of cargo on planes
Shippers campaign against full screening of cargo on planes – Homeland Security Newswire
Despite knowing for decades that terrorists could sneak bombs onto planes, the U.S. government failed to close obvious security gaps amid pressure from shipping companies fearful tighter controls would cost too much and delay deliveries.
