Sacramento-area pilot punished for YouTube video
More on that Sacramento-area pilot who is being threatened by the TSA for posting a video showing airport security flaws.
Tag: security
pilot exposes airport security flaws, gets threatened by TSA
A pilot videotapes what he thinks are serious airport security flaws and immediately gets threatened by the TSA for doing it. Key quote:
Three days after the pilot posted his airport security tour on YouTube, four federal air marshals and two sheriff’s deputies arrived at the pilot’s house, which he also recorded. They were there to confiscate his federally-issued handgun. A letter later arrived saying, “An FFDO [Federal Flight Deck Officer] must not engage in… conduct that impairs the efficiency of TSA… or causes the loss of public confidence in TSA…”
The pilot’s attorney believes the feds sent six people to the pilot’s house to send a message. “And the message was you’ve angered us by telling the truth and by showing America that there are major security problems despite the fact that we’ve spent billions of dollars allegedly to improve airline safety,” says Don Werno, the airline pilot’s attorney.
TSA’s airport security a failure
In a related note: Loaded gun slips past TSA screeners.
FBI accused of planting backdoor in OpenBSD IPSEC stack
This story should give everyone the willies: One of the developers of the OpenBSD operating system (an open source OS comparable but different than Linux) has admitted that ten years ago, in exchange for cash, he and others helped the FBI place “surveillance-friendly holes” in the operating system.
I wonder what part of this sentence the FBI does not know how to read: “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”
Doctors say avoid full body scanners
Opt out! Doctors say that, for health reasons, you should avoid the TSA’s full body scanners.
Study shows post-9/11 security zones blight landscape
Science discovers the obvious! Researchers at the University of Colorado have found that the post-9/11 security efforts — such as the TSA — do little to increase security and much to turn society into a police state.
“He said there was something suspicious hanging from between my legs,”
The TSA makes us all feel safer! “He said there was something suspicious hanging from between my legs.”
India “outraged” over TSA patdown of ambassador
More TSA absurdity, with video: Indian ambassador given full patdown by TSA.
Man arrested after bringing boat flying foreign flag with Arabic lettering into restricted area of Cape Canaveral
Those TSA patdowns sure are working, aren’t they? A unidentified man was arrested (not by the TSA) after bringing a boat — flying a foreign flag with Arabic lettering — into a restricted area of Cape Canaveral.
Orlando airport Considers Dumping TSA Screeners
Another airport is considering dumping the TSA.
NASA sold computers with sensitive data, report says
Our government in action! Inspector general notes that NASA sold excess computers without deleting the sensitive data still on them.
Muslim Brotherhood Front Group Trains Airport Screeners
What could possibly go wrong? A Muslim Brotherhood front group, hired by the TSA, has trained 2200 airport screeners.
CNN Reporter Put On Watch List After Criticizing TSA
Is this what we hired the TSA for? A CNN Reporter was put on the TSA’s security watch list after he criticized the security agency.
Woman Strips Down to Her Lingerie, Gets TSA Pat Down Anyway—Twice
More TSA abuse: A woman strips down to her lingerie and still gets a TSA pat down. And it happens twice, the first time forcing her to miss her flight!
TSA security harasses a mother over her breast milk
TSA security in Phoenix harassed this mother over her request that her breast milk not be sent through the x-ray machine, as per TSA’s own regulations. Though eventually backing down, the security personnel make her wait so long she misses her flight. The whole event, recorded on surveillance tapes that the woman demanded and got from the TSA, is so outrageous you have to watch it, even though it is long.
Wheelchair-bound nun searched by TSA
I feel so much safer! Wheelchair-bound nun searched by TSA. With a picture!
The radiation risks from the TSA scanners
The radiation risks from the TSA scanners.
Travelers shifting to charter jets and rental cars to avoid airport security
It seems I’m not the only one avoiding the airport security madness. A poll finds that travelers are shifting to charter jets and rental cars to avoid airport security.
Two TSA Agents Steal Pizza & Assault A Store Clerk
Thugs and boneheads: Two TSA agents steal a pizza and assault a store clerk, after using one of their credit cards to purchase liquor (which is how the police identified them).
Driving vs flying
After a twelve hour drive from Chicago, I am finally home. It might seem silly to make this trip by car when the plane is faster, but since Sept 11 I have found it actually makes more sense to drive when the trip is 12 hours or less. First, a door to door plane flight will take about 6 hours, so you don’t save that much time. Second, by driving I have access to a car in Chicago, and don’t need to rent something. Three, the total cost is significantly less, especially since we save two airfares.
And finally, neither I nor my wife Diane have to submit ourselves to TSA abuse. I consider myself a free American, and don’t take kindly to government officials abusing their power unconstitutionally. If the airlines haven’t yet realized that this security madness is losing them business, it ain’t my problem.