So I'm sick of the complaining about the TSA. It's so stupid to think we should tell them how they can pat people down. If we make the rules that they can't search certain areas, Where do you think a terrorist is going to put their bomb??:idea: I wonder, we would basicly be telling them where to hide it. If you don't want to be patted down, go through the scanner, don't like that either. DON'T fly. Thanks for letting me vent, just my rationalization.
Yes but what if the next person is caught with explosives shoved up their azz, are we then going to have cavity searches..
If you don't want to be patted down, just agree to the full body scanner. And if you think the TSA is harsh, read up on El Al airlines in Israel. They make the TSA look like Santa's Elves.
As inconvenient as it is, if these procedures keep just one terribly misguided individual from blowing himself up along with a plane full of innocent bystanders including me; then have at. We demand protection and then complain about the inconvenience ..... just crazy.
Personally, if the TSA agent is female and good looking, I would insist on the pat down. Maybe even a cavity search. And slightly off topic: [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHKTE75dgE4]YouTube - Family Guy - Prostate Exam[/ame]
Here is an interview with the guy who ran El Al's security. They never had a plane blown up and nobody got groped. Just my two cents. How the Israelis do airport security - CNN Cheers! Chris
You have a better chance of dying on the road to the airport than being killed in a terrorist attack on an airplane, even if they dialed back the draconian pre-boarding security measures significantly. I don't think the current scans and pat downs do anything but give a false sense of security to the flying public. I stopped flying six years ago, because of the intrusive airport security. Dave
Well, the Israelis have summarized this long time ago: Not all Muslims are terrorist, but all terrorists have been Muslims. LAX security traveled to Israel to asses their methods long time ago and concluded that while it is the most effective system they have seen, it could not be used on US shores without NAACP and the like crying foul. So, what do we end up with? For the fear of offending a few and bending their "human rights" by using profiling for what's ultimately is their own and everyone else's safety, we know bend everyone's rights with these scanners and intrusive pat down searches. Although I still would like one from a hot female TSA agent.
I honestly think it keeps the flights safer. If they are going to blow one up they are really going to have to work to get it done. This is why we differ so much from Europe. We want safety, security and well being, but are not will to pay the price that goes with it. Jim
Due to my ethnicity (I am not a Muslim) - I am always and I mean always searched when I travel.. is it a PITA - yes, but they are doing their job to try and head off a plane hijacking or worse then so be it. My goal when I head for a flight is to arrive at my destination, the TSA is just a little bump in the road.
Exactly! ......and if the peaceful folks in these groups get tired enough of being profiled, then maybe they will be more egar to clean up their own house.
Get used to it, everything changed on 9/11. There are a lot of people that hate Americans. Not sure that will ever change. Until it does, we may need do things a little different.
Your rarely hear the guys and gals that fly every week on business trips (I'm one of those) complain about security, patt-downs and all the other life changes brought about after the towers went down...it's now the cost of admission for what we do. The ones that fly once or twice a year find it inconvienent? TOO BAD !! If it keeps the sky safer I'm all for it.
I could not have said it better, Mark. The good ones need to step up and point out the bad ones, or they are no better. Jim
He who would give up essential liberty for a little temporary safety deserves neither liberty nor safety - Benjamin Franklin. Don't touch my junk and don't expose me to radiation. Period. I am sick and tired of the slippery slope of our civil liberties being encroached upon day after day in the name of "safety." That's the first time I've heard the IRA called Muslim...
Sorry for the rant...I think I'm begining to sound like I'm working for FOX!? +1 But in the US profiling is not politically correct....so we pat down 90 year old NUN's, grandmothers, and toddlers, while allowing young, strong 20 somethings through...even those exhibiting signs of being under-stress....a trained observer can watch a persons mannerisms and determine which folks are stressed out...sure it might be to things unrelated to blowing up a plane...but I bet those with those ideas are pretty "stressed". Sure, you would not get every person....that is why security is multilayer..or should be...should a person who has been to Yemen, or Packastan in the last few years be question more thoroughly?! Yes...but under the current system...they are not. I can tell you that current X-ray scanning is next to worthless....I travel frequently (I'm a Corporate pilot), and I must travel to meet/leave my plane weekly...and the number of folks that I work with who have gotten to the hotel/our plane and be like "CRAP!!...I had my Leatherman/pocket knife in my bad and I forgot to take it out...and TSA missed it! (in a carry-on...most of us rarely check bags)". TSA IMO is like most government agency with minimally trained, poorly paid folks...they do their best...but are prevented from doing their jobs by rules, regulations, and their own management.... Like 4 different folks pretend to look at my ID...none of them actually check in the data base to see if it is real....and I can check THE DAY/NIGHT BEFORE to see if I have been selected for additional security....look at your pre-printed boarding pass....if you know how to read it...and are a terrorist...you can say...WHOA!! I better wait another day! Or let guy #2 carry the stuff...I'm gonna get more full check!! They have gotten better at "random-ness" when it comes to picking folks at the line...but do terrorists really want to commandeer an airplane anymore? Their goal is to instill fear, and change the way we live, and cause economic destruction...they are doing that with airplanes...just by trying something 2 times a year.... Other industries are very "soft".....even in the transportation industry..think trains, trucks, PIPELINES (all have minimal/no security, and are vulnerable), but HIGH profile things like flying get the $$ cause so many folks are scared of it...sure it has proven vulnerable,but it is just a distraction to what the government is doing (while saying it is for your own good).....the simple fact is WE DO NOT LIVE IN A POLICE STATE (YET..here we come 1984!!). Camera's on telephone poles..(opps we have it) Government monitoring peoples Credit Card bills..We HAVE IT..they monitor certain items, if sold together, will trigger alerts, documented... Security codes printed on almost every inkjet printer page printed so authroites can track it back to the printer sold thanks to you getting a rebate! Documented.http://www.eff.org/pages/list-printers-which-do-or-do-not-display-tracking-dots Government monitoring the movement of Private citizens moving around as passengers in Private planes (within the US, just like you do in your own car!)...they are trying to do it this moment!! The government printing money, and buying it own debt...so called "easing"...already done...just like Germany Post WW1, where a wheelbarrow of money was needed to buy a loaf of bread, or Zimbabwe more recently....! billion bills became common..then the currency was re-aligned...remember, the GOLD standard has been gone for a long time....the price of gold is not going up as much as the value of the $$ used to buy it is going down...:idea: The government is just doing things so when it DOES HAPPEN, they can say we tried....in the meantime, industries are damaged, jobs are lost, liberties are taken away, and Pedophiles can get jobs at the airport feeling children s genitals.....:nonod: I hate to sound like a nut...but things are getting pretty crazy!!
The sad thing is is that someone in power, and desperate to hold on will call anybody who wants to reduce or take away their power a terrorist...or at least they do in a fascist state....and we seem to be dangerously close to that, by definition, and moving on to socialism.... :eek6: Sounds amazing like government bailouts....government ownership....and what have "they been saying?" Partnership with the government...that and add "wealth transfers" and "social Justice" to the list!
Those that travel on a regular basis, like myself, don't seem to have an issue. Those that have not been to an airport since 9/11, well let's just say they need to get up to speed on how things NEED to be done now. Nothing wrong with a well placed grope...er, I mean pat down:devil: Mark
Next time they do that...just remember, if the GAY/Straight ratio of TSA agents are anything like the male flight-attendant ratio, maybe you should ask for a goodbye kiss, cause you just gave the checker a cheap thrill!!!!:lol: The fact they are now "actively" grasping to ensure it is a ...er....part...:blush2: has been the change in the last few weeks....the previous method was a typical police style pat down... I think I'm hearing the Taco-Bell Song....It might be time to run for the border!!:ihih:
I worked in an airport for 5 years for a restaurant that was beyond security. So everyday, to go to work, I had to go through the TSA screening, and as an employee my screening was rarely very thorough. Most of the time the TSA agents weren't even paying attention to the x-ray as my stuff went through. But as a concession employee I was required to go through everyday. I was allowed to bypass the security checkpoint if I was carrying something not allowed through security, but only if it was necessary for business. If I bypassed the checkpoint there was never anyone to check whatever I was carrying. I had a badge that let me go pretty much anywhere in the airport. Other airport employees, like the baggage handlers and some of the aircraft support people were not required to go through security. So basically, they could walk into the airport, onto the Tarmac and onto an airplane without ever being checked. So I don't think it is the other fliers that always need to be worried about.