Federal air marshals have had over 200 mishaps

[SoonerP226]

Correlation does not equal causation. Besides there are other security measures that can put in place other than subjecting citizens to full body searches and even more invasive searches at the whim of a TSA worker.

The TSA is all security theater, anyway, and an overreaction to the last incident.

Back around the time the TSA was created, more than one person pointed out that the Israelis had a much more effective solution in place, one that didn't inconvenience travelers and was actually effective at preventing problems: they had trained professionals who looked people in the eye and knew how to read the signs of impending trouble.

It's a funny thing: we had a bunch of people who also had that kind of training and had hard-won experience at implementing it, and quite a few of them were coming back home and looking for jobs in the civilian world. Funny how that solution to two problems never even got considered.

 

[tRidiot]

I got "randomly" selected twice on my way home from Rome for "additional screening". I have my own suspicions about the "randomness" of it, but hey...

First time, in London, they pulled me out of the boarding line when I got ready to board the plane, spent about 3 minutes going through my carryon bag and checking for explosive residue with those little strips and what I assume is a portable mass-spec type sniffer at the gate. Not a major inconvenience.

The second time was in Dallas, going through security to get back into the terminal after claiming my luggage for customs and rechecking it. This time, I got pulled out (family was sent on into the terminal, we had no contact), they took my passport and boarding pass, put me a small 5x4 or so section that was separated INSIDE the line of people walking through security. I stood there watching people go through security for 20 minutes. There were 4 of us in that little section by the time I got there - during the entire time I went through the process, I didn't see a single other person get pulled out of line, probably more than a thousand people went through after me and no one else got pulled. The other 2 with me were 2 foreign-appearing women, wearing garb and looking like they were from India or Pakistan or somewhere similar. The other one was a largish (like me, belly, not height) white guy from Scotland probably. Turned out, after all was said and done and I got every item in my bag scrutinized, the most thorough "pat-down" I've ever experience, waited in another chair for another 20 minutes while they checked all my stuff - this guy from Scotland was on the same flight as me coming to Tulsa, sitting in the row behind me. Out of thousands going through at the same time, and NO ONE else was pulled out. I think he also flew in from London on the same flight.

So that was weird... but... coming in from London, there were a couple of weird things. They kept checking over the intercom during boarding for a guy with a Mid-Eastern sounding name, he was supposed to be in the same row as us, one seat down from my son - he never showed. Ok, no biggie. Then, when we land in Dallas, they start checking over the intercom for "Ahmad Hussain" or something. I know it was Hussain. They asked for him repeatedly, he never answered. So this slows down deplaning SIGNIFICANTLY, as they tell everyone they need their passports out and ready for inspection on DEPLANING. I have never had this happen, and we've traveled fairly extensively. About halfway through deplaning, they tell everyone they can put their passports away, literally, "We found the person we were looking for." WTF???

So I take all this together... a Middle Eastern-sounding passenger who doesn't show up for his ride, another person who doesn't identify themselves when asked, but then is detained upon deplaning, then me and another guy on the same flight of similar height and weight (he was clean-shaven, I have a big ol' bushy beard, though) both "randomly" detained twice (he got it in London, too, I think)... it was a little weird.

Makes me think they had some additional information they didn't share, of course.

I managed to make my flight to Tulsa, thankfully, in spite of about a 40 minute delay. Barely. But... I realize the guys were just doing their job, they were polite, and the guy going through my things made sure I watched him as he went through my wallet (I had a couple hundred in cash in there), etc. They handled it well, it just slowed things down considerably. I didn't get angry or pissy or whatever, I just sighed and accepted it. No point in making things harder for them and for me.

So that's my story. And I'm sticking to it.

 

[sanjuro893]

The TSA is all security theater, anyway, and an overreaction to the last incident.

Back around the time the TSA was created, more than one person pointed out that the Israelis had a much more effective solution in place, one that didn't inconvenience travelers and was actually effective at preventing problems: they had trained professionals who looked people in the eye and knew how to read the signs of impending trouble.

It's a funny thing: we had a bunch of people who also had that kind of training and had hard-won experience at implementing it, and quite a few of them were coming back home and looking for jobs in the civilian world. Funny how that solution to two problems never even got considered.

Malls of America uses this technique and I had the privilege to learn from them. "Look for the bomber, not the bomb." TSA looks for the "bomb" and fails the majority of the time. I know a guy that works at a 7-11 that did some tours in Afghanistan. He can pick out shoplifters, kids about to wahoo beer when they walk in the door. Even foiled a potential armed robbery just because he spotted the guy blading his body and was watching him so close that the guy left. Clerk called OCPD and they picked the guy up just down the street, sure enough, had a gun in his pocket looking to score some quick cash.

 

[MacFromOK]

I got "randomly" selected twice on my way home from Rome for "additional screening". I have my own suspicions about the "randomness" of it, but hey...

Maybe ya shouldn't wear those red high-heels on international flights...

 

[tRidiot]

Maybe ya shouldn't wear those red high-heels on international flights...

They're easier to get off and back on for the screening lines! lol