At least your iPad is not part of the farce:
...
Reed Saxon, via Associated Press (Vita)
The T.S.A. doesn’t ask for a special look at devices like smartphones, tablets and netbooks that work much like a laptop computer but are smaller.
...“Excuse me, does the iPad come out too?” I asked.
“Not here,” she said. “Other airports might be different.”..
...I happened upon a security expert who asked that he not be identified because he has worked on related issues with the Department of Homeland Security. He said that the laptop rule is about appearances, giving people a sense that something is being done to protect them. “Security theater,” he called it...
Well from all indications the TSA's invasive security theater is comming to a Highway or mall near you. They apparently are stocking up on bullet proof booths for their personel to hide behing at thee improptu security shake downs -- and oh yeah they recently purchased 450 million rounds of hollow point ammo.
Und jer Papers pleeze hier!
Not long ago my work-supplied laptop computer was a large widescreen Dell. Between the user-accessible battery compartment and the removable drive dock, there was room enough inside the thing to pack toiletries, stockings, and scanties for a long weekend away.
Some laptop computers are also large enough that they obscure the x-ray image of whatever might be packed beside or underneath them.
I've certainly had hand inspections of my carry-on baggage each time I've carried a laptop-sized bundle of academic journals to read on the journey.
So I read the above and think "are they really saying that the class "tablets, netbooks and smartphones" is exactly the same from an airline security perspective as the class "laptop computers"? I don't know, perhaps with a lot of concerted thought someone really intelligent might come up with some attribute that is different between the two classes...
TSA is an acronym for a political pork-barrel make work project, but I don't know what it stands for...
“Security theater,” he called it...
How do you spell "kabuki"?
Occam --it is Homeland Security that purchased all that ammo (apparently) not the TSA --so being wrong I sentence you to 'two veeks....cooler'.
It's an odd story, isn't it? Why so much 40 cal pistol ammo? It seems an odd round to stock up on, given that most police/military appear to use 9mm.
I figured as much. Half the time (I don't fly very often) the "security" staff, the people checking your carry-on luggage, seem to be asleep at the wheel.
Honest, prayer is your best defense against being blown up -- and, if it's your time, it's helpful for that too.
Heh. One airport didn't care about my android tablet, the next one on the itinerary did. It's the lack of consistency which makes me giggle
Isreali airport security works...is polite and non-invasive.....they profile you ask a few questions.....
I got pulled out of line once.....they had an issue with my checked luggage.....they were very nice about it....but were quite firm that I remove the offending article and wear it, take an aisle seat, stay awake, refrain from alcohol....half fare.....
The cabin staff were very aware of who was who but the amateurs aboard would never notice......
Went though security in Cedar Rapids, Iowa last year with my (large screen) Magellan GPS. I pulled it out of my pc case along with the laptop to show the dude. He just said - "don't need to see it". Went through Toronto, Chicago and Cedar Rapids and back again in Feb this year. The GPS was in the pc case again. Nobody said a word. The pc still had to come out though.
To grope, or not to grope? It's all security theater with kink thrown in for free.
Good post ..... that reason is that the rules are made by bureaucrats ..... not by security experts.
Need I say more?
As more than one security expert has pointed out, you can make a dandy bomb out of a fully charged laptop battery just by properly shorting the terminals.
I suspect what originally happened here was that the original directive pertained to laptops because they are large enough to contain nasty things, easily disassembled by the consumer, and a quick visual inspection will not reveal this. None of these things are true for tablets or smartphones. They might be true for netbooks, but the average TSA groper doesn't understand enough about how the devices are put together to make the distinction between a sealed case tablet and a netbook of similar size.
Security Theater. No, really?
Haven't I been saying that -exact- phrase since like 2002? That's when they x-rayed my Starbucks almond croissant and metal-tested my coffee. Which the sonsabeatches WATCHED ME BUY at the friggin' coffee stand right across from Security at Sky Harbor in Phoenix. On a -domestic- flight.
Of course its theater. Duh.
"TSA is an acronym for a political pork-barrel make work project, but I don't know what it stands for..."
It stands for
Thousands
Standing
Around
mhb23re
T&A-er TSA and its Canadian counterpart drive me nuts. Having my netbook scanned and swabbed is so over the top. Their European and Asian counterparts are, for the most part, much more relaxed and far less paranoid. And at Narita (Tokyo) you can take your bottled water through - just run it through a refractive meter of some kind. And gels and other liquids? No problem. It's theatre, alright. Theatre of the absurd.
There are goofy security decisions made every day, not just by TSA. A number of years ago (pre 9/11) I flew from Ottawa to Toronto to give a speech to a large group. I was a member of the RCMP at the time. As is usual for any speaker, the group gave me a letter opener emblazioned with their logo as a token of appreciation. Fine.
On the return flight, given that I was just down there for the day and had no luggage to check in, when I got to security I realized that the letter opener, although not sharp but looked like a dagger, would present some clear problems. I quite liked the letter opener, and still use it today, and was not inclined to discard it.
So I went back to the check-in, spoke to the very nice lady, and explained the situation. I posed the situation that, as a member of the RCMP, I routinely flew armed with a handgun, the procedure is to fill out the appropriate form which is delivered to the Captain of the aircraft, and it is completely up to him as to whether he wishes me to relinquish the firearm to his custody. In several hundred flights, the pilot wished to take control of the weapon on two occasions, although I made a point of retaining the ammunition. No harm, no foul.
So on this occasion, I suggested to the nice lady that we just pretend that the letter opener is a 9mm handgun, I'll fill out the form, the Captain will be suitably notified, and I'll take it on board, no problem.
Nope. That didn't cut it.
A staff member was called to seize custody of the letter opener, sealed it in a supposed tamper-proof envelope, transport it to the Captain, and I was informed that it would be returned to me only when the aircraft had landed.
Halfway through the flight the Captain came to my seat, handed me the package, and commented that the whole thing was bull$hit.
I had to agree...
The war on terror is much the same as the war on drugs. For some reason we never could win the war on drugs, although I thought it was patently absurd that law enforcement were unable to catch people who were publicly selling banned substances.
So to keep the steroid monkeys employed they dreamed up the war on terror. Never mind the fact you are more likely to die from slipping on a fabric softener sheet than a Jihadists bomb we have created a monstrous division of the state who are quite willing to burn up billions of your tax dollars.
Of course it is theatre.
Kinda reminds of earth hour - theater for the ignorant.
Homeland Security.
wasnt that set up under Dubya's tutilage?
And ours was set up under Chretien.
And your point is?
Either just before or just after 9/11, I can't remember which at this point, I went through security in Saskatoon with a small, but very sharp, folding knife in a fanny pack (mock as you will). The fanny pack went through the scanner, partly because I used it as a way to put all my metals through at the same time for convenience.
I realised it was still in the pack on the jetway, as I pulled it out into my hand. Fortunately, it was a late flight and no one else saw, but seriously.... Through the scanner, and no one said "boo". Since then, I don't trust the equipment at all, but the screeners still scare me. Especially since the metal detectors are inconsistent: sometimes, it'll catch my watch or my pants zipper, but usually, not a peep.
Security theatre indeed.
@the other James:
The US military adopted the 9mm because it was a standard European round, and we are in NATO. It permitted high capacity. Volume of fire and weight of ammo load were the prime considerations.
Police adopted it because the military contracts made the pistols and ammunition cheap. But the 9mm has terrible stopping power. One guy took 17 rounds of 9mm and survived.
The .40, while not much bigger than the 9mm in diameter packs a lot more punch. Especially with hollowpoints (which are illegal for the military), the .40 cal is on par with .357 magnun in deadliness. It's not as good as .45, but you can have twice the capacity of a .45 in a weapon the size of a 9mm.
Police forces are quickly abandoning 9mm in favor of .40 cal, and federal law enforcement has been leading the way for years.
I have no idea why TSA bought that quantity of ammo, but you can go through a lot in training, especially if the weapon is new for them. Guess about 100 rounds per person per year just for annual training and more during FLETC. I don't know if all of it was bound for TSA. Other parts of DHS use pistols too.
Reginald:
Fortunately sometimes the .45 doesn't provide the needed stopping power; the fortunate part being when the good guys are the target.
In April 1956 a bank robbery occurred in metro Vancouver, it was the first time an auto weapon had been used in this locale...in this case a Thompson sub-machine gun.
A young RCMP Constable, Bud Johnstone was sprayed and received 8 bullet wounds, two of which were in the chest and one in the hip area, the other five hwere through&throughs through his extremities.
Even after that he managed to kill one robber and wound the other seriously enough that he was immobilized...with a lousy .38.
Bud survived nicely, and was forever known as "Bullets Johnstone". I was in the swimming pool with him a couple of times...the bullet scars were indeed something to behold.
Bruce, I personally know a guy who shot -himself- through the descending aorta with a .38 and lived. Nice scar there too.
FBI went to 9mm autos when female agents came on line and "gee whiz!" large capacity magazines became popular. the .45 kicked too hard and the old standby .38 revolver just wasn't cool enough. Or so I hear.
FBI went to the 10mm after the Miami Shootout, when they lost two agents to a couple bank robbers. Shortly after they decided it was a little too "manly" in the recoil department. [Chicks don't like recoil.]
The .40S&W is the lighter pressure round they finally settled on, same diameter just less kick. All the other federal agencies buy what the FBI buys, and Homeland Security just bought a buttload.
Personally I preferred a .380 when I used to carry in Arizona, as a civilian all I want a pistol to do is keep their heads down until I can get to a real gun.
In Canada I don't keep a pistol at all, because I don't want to be on the Dangerous Maniac list down at the cop shop. In Canada the police are a hugely greater potential threat than robbers will ever be. Don't tell me it ain't so, I live 10 miles from Caledonia. I've seen that elephant.