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From the TSA's own website they state that the requirement was for them to screen 100% of baggage/cargo, to date they have only managed to be able to screen 50%. They have had 10 years to figure this out - what a freakin failure.
TSA: Air Cargo (http://www.tsa.gov/what_we_do/layers/aircargo/index.shtm - broken link)
Baggage and cargo are totally different things and also, that link was from a while back. I do agree with you that not even screening 100% of cargo is not good, but it is not public whether that is still true or not. However, just understand that BAGGAGE and CARGO are NOT synonymous as your usage suggests.
I arrived in Vancouver Canada at the same time as 3 - full 747 flights from Hong Kong the eve of it reverting to Chinese rule and all the ones wanting out on a deadline to leave, were waiting to the last minute and I can tell you three dogs and their handlers were being kept very buy patrolling the arrivals and baggage pick-up areas but they sure weren't missing much by way of drugs brought in as those dogs were alerting every couple of minutes and the secondary inspection areas along with the detention rooms were packed solid with chinese attempting to smuggle their "stash" into Canada.
The dogs don't make any physical contact whatsoever and can smell drugs or explosives through plastic or metal sealed containers.
One guy was detailed to run his dog across/along the tops of the baggage turnstiles and that dog was spotting all kinds of stuff to need a second look at customs.
You could replace at least twelve of those TSA idjits with one good dog with it being able to walk a line of folks waiting to go through the scanners and alert on the bad stuff before they even get close to the things.
Dogs are smart enough to not grope 85 year old grannies with colostomy bags!
I was sitting at a coffee area having a coffee along with a couple of dog handlers when a passenger just walking through the food court area triggered one of the dogs and it simply started to walk beside the fellow as though they were both out for a stroll. Handlers had to forget their coffee break to corrall that one.
People are stupid; Dogs are brilliant as they don't care what you're wearing or if you're a member of a visible minority. They don't have to profile as they "smell" the stuff not the person! You cannot accuse a dog of being biased.
That's fine but do you believe that U.S. airports could be equipped with enough dogs to do this? You were talking about Canada, not the U.S. and also, I'm sure that only using dogs is NOT the norm for that airport.
Also, why are grandmothers with colostomy bags being groped? Where did this happen?
I agree with you that dogs are brilliant, but I just don't believe that a dog can replace TSA officers at the amount that would be needed in U.S. airports.
I am going to freak if some bxxxh with blue gloves sticks fingers inside my clothes or goes after personal parts. Not to mention I have a medical concern which means it would have to be an assualt. And if you stick your fingers between my legs and I don't want you to that is what it is. Since I don't choose to get arrested for defending my personal rights, I won't be going there.
What about those who have artifical limbs, or ostomies. Do you know how easy it can be to loosen and cause an ostomy to leak, as has happened numerous times, with NO consideration for the humiliation. Don't people with such conditions deserve respect and not abuse? Where is the ADA here? There must be a non-touching damaging and humiliating way to deal with this or those with conditions not of their chosing are being abused. A dog who's looking for the scent of an explosive isn't going to react to anything else. Problem solved.
The most important part is that the patdown won't work anyway. And we're being taught to be a good little prisoners. The need to search should be in large part based on the observations of those trained properly (ie, the ones with the degrees) who see a reason to for it.
And dogs would actually find the human bomb. A dog sitting by a gate trained to sniff out a scent would not be intrusive. I mentioned beagles in particular since the FDA trusts their noses already and their temperments in a crowd. Unless there are people with pets in carriers, the dogs are let loose with the baggage. The problem there isn't with the beagles but with the traveling pets.
When the neighbors dog jumps the fence and comes to my yard, my dogs don't have to see or hear him, they pick up his scent from inside the house and howl a hello. Scent is the newspaper of the dogworld and is used by people in multiple applications. Why not in airports in place of abusive patdowns?
And a pat down involves the forced touching of another person, which makes many people uncomfortable. Many people have tochiing issues, and for some its tramatic. What if we give people a choice, the dog or the blue gloves? Only problem is the dog will be accurate.
If the dog doesn't smell anything they won't have to do a close sniff anyway. You woundn't need a pack of them but just a few. The FDA uses groups of 20 but in an human situation you wouldn't need that many. And would you rather a dog sniff your carryone then have a human with a GED make you empty it on the counter? The dog is looking for something the human can't see and won't take stuff which does not NEED to be taken.
We teach our kids not to allow touching in the wrong places, and as adults we retain that right. Are we rewriting laws of decency and respect so the fear and panic machine can always be fully primed?
I was simply offering a suggestions on what would make security both effective and respectful of the public.
Calm down dude. Do you really think a TSA officer would "stick" their fingers in your clothes to touch your "private parts?" You are supposed to be told when something is going to happen and are offered a private screening. Also, if you have a medical issue then you are given the opportunity to voice your concern over the sensitivity of such.
Please see my post in reply to the other poster about this.
Also, I agree that being touched can be traumatizing for many and I respect that. However, there aren't dogs replacing TSA officers at the moment.
You talk about what kids are taught. Obviously a security checkpoint is a totally different environment than if a kid was playing in the playground or in their yard. Many parents will explain to their children why they are being patted down. Even then, however, that won't always prevent any negative memories or feelings and that is sad. However, let me ask you: Have YOU made the TERRORISTS feel guilty for this requirement? Did you post anything blaming terrorists for putting these measures in place?
Real behavoral and facial recognition of alarms is a very complicated science. Your saying that the TSA 'trains' the ged crew how to do this in a month or two? It's something you go to college and get a degree to learn. And yes, foreign countries do use observers who are trained to pick out the people who need to be watched. You don't need a lot with of them if they really are trained.
It's the difference between a real trained police officer and a minimum wage rent a cop who took a class.
That is not what I asked. People are making claims without sources. Do you really believe that there are airports around the world that successfully prevent terrorist attacks simply based on behavioral science and psychology? I wanted to know where the source was that proved that there are countries which ONLY employ those with degrees in psychology as was stated in a previous post.
THIS IS A FIRST HAND ACCOUNT UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL TO WHAT I WITNESSED NOT 5 HOURS AGO. i WAS SO ASTOUNDED i STARTED A THREAD BEFORE FINDING THIS ONE. If we cannot find an alternative to this kind of gulag thuggery we are a dead society. Followinf is my thread lead.
Could I please have some expressions of opinion on something that should be apolitical a discussion that can be supported by all I hope with similar conclusions.
I was in the O'Hare Airport today and I witnessed the pat down and detaining of a small frame lady that appeared to be of oriental descent. She appeared to be about 70 years of age.She was brought up in a wheel chair and could barely stand. I stood and observed and was able to note she had information from Cancer Treatment Centers of America. She was required to stand with her hands over her head to be scanned and it was apparent she could barely stand.
Several TSA officers gathered around as if they really had a live one. They asked her several questions and she evidently had trouble answering but she never wavered trying to be polite the entire time. Two women then proceeded to take her into a room for further pat down. I was close enough to see her husband walk up to what appeared to be the line captain and i overheard the husband say very calmly that she had just had a serious operation with chemo and really needed to be seated.
This little hispanic line captain just glared at him as if to say who the hell do you think you are to approach me? During thid five to ten minutes at least five officers gathered round and they were in contact with someone by walkie talkie as if they had just caught a big one.
This is an absolutley true account. I sat down by the gentleman as he was putting on his shoes. This is what he said, "You see that little **** bastard strutting around here like a gulag thug. He was likely figuring out a way to swim the rio Grande about the time I was returning from Vietnam having served there beginning at the age of 17. These people are trailer park thugs and next year they are going to be unionized trailer park thugs and they are sanctioned by Amerika."
"I feel sorry for your generation young lady" He then wheeled his wife away from the scene. She was so weak she could barely keep her head off her chest. This is a 100 per cent truthful story.
Please comment.
I've observed many situations where people such as yourself like to listen-in on situations happening in an airport's check-point just so you can have something juicy to talk about on a message board or feel like you belong to those who have "witnessed an injustice by TSA." Many times, people such as yourself, will remain around just to see what you can witness happening by TSA. You are the people that are gathering your luggage, see an older person or maybe a disabled person given special attention and you immediately jump to conclusions and begin to create all kinds of thoughts in your mind about what is going on.
I seriously doubt that the gentleman with the lady said all of these things to you and that you remembered it line-by-line. I'm sure that it is possible that he said some things that showed his displeasure and that's fine, I don't blame him.
I will tell you that everyone has to be screened and often older people will say that they can stand just fine, but people such as yourself who are standing around attempting to watch something "go-down" don't know what has been said and communicated before hand.
Your comments about TSA officers "catching a live one," and your personal description about how they were acting show your biased opinions. Also, your reiteration about how this was a "true story" cause skepticism about your story.
you are the perfect example of the sheeple in this nation. people give up every right they have , all in the name of personal safety. What a crock of crap. This whole TSA thing is about control. Not about travel safety. The things they do, if done outside of the airports would be enough to put them in jail for child molestation. I have seen the vids myself. They are disgusting. Just to prove they don't discriminate, they stick their hands down the pants of little boys and girls. I'm sure one of these kids must be a terrorist. All common sense has gone, and we have turned over control of our lives to some fascist controlers, all in the name of, "it must be right, or they wouldn't be doing it". I would love to see you stand there, and let those animals put their gloved hand down your childs pants, all the while telling you it was for your own safety!
You just keep believing it's all for safety. If enough travellers said no, for just one day, these procedures would be stopped overnight, as it would put the airlines out of business if people refused to be subjected to these ridiculous searches.
America has turned into a bunch of sheep, that do whatever their controllers tell them to do. This will change one day. But for now, just keep believing it's for your own good.
When do TSA officers "stick their hands down the pants of little boys and girls?" What do you mean by "stick?" I know you're not being bold enough to even pretend that this has happened and that it was deemed OK. Really? You really want to act like TSA is doing stuff like this and getting away with it? I mean, think about what some of you are saying. Do you really think that there is not ONE person on staff at each airport that would NOT stand for something like this happening if it was really happening like you are trying to portray it as?
I have gotten on planes before without any sort of ID before. have not been on a plane in a couple of years, but still have done it. the TSA is just like any other thug enforcement agency of the federal goverment, nothing but jackbooted SS goons.
in fact if people started making the airlines feel the peoples displeasure by not taking flights, then the TSA would be nothing but a wayside agency.
the fact that the jackbooted thugs act like they can get away with it, is because nobody calls them on it, when people start calling them on it and embarressing them, then things will change, until then it will just be a status quo.
But, you did go through security screening, right? Yes, you did, I'm sure.
That video was interesting, but my opinion is that people should understand that if they do not choose an option available to be screened properly then they will not be able to fly. It seems pretty simple to me: if you can't be cleared and deemed safe for a flight, then you can't get on. I don't understand why the fact that TSA is doing it makes it any different than if it were private companies that administered the security measures.
Who wants to get on a plane where people could refuse security clearance and still get on the plane?
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