Another brilliant move by the TSA. They posted their Screening Management Standard Operating Procedure manual online. Since this contains a bunch of stuff that needs to be kept from the citizens for “National Security Purposes”, they drew big black boxes over the sensitive bits for redaction purposes.
Unfortunately, they don’t seem to know that this doesn’t work for PDFs. Just highlight the document, paste it into a text editor, and the text that was “under” the boxes comes along for the ride. What redaction?
No wonder DHS is looking so hard for infosec people. They seem to have no earthly idea what they’re doing.
@ Matt
These TSA people aren’t in charge of anything important right?
@Kevin
Just my shoes, apparently.
PDF = Pretty Dumb Fuckers?
When I flew up to NY for Thanksgiving, I brought up the carburetors from the racecar on the airplane. One of the team members lives up there, and he’s going to rebuild them. I was going to check them, but figured I’d try to cheap out and avoid the $15 checked bag fee and see if I could get them through security. I didn’t think they’d actually let me, but I was early for my flight and figured what the hell.
Despite being complicated-looking aluminum assemblies, covered in soot and smelling (in one case, dripping slightly) of gasoline, and with a purposely-vague description (Volvo car parts) on my part when questioned about them, they let me carry them on. But, I did have to take my shoes off and toss out my bottle of water. As a result, I felt much safer on the plane, my gaosline-soaked carburetors nestled safely in the overhead compartment above my dehydrated, loafer-wearing self.
WOW That should have never made it on th plane. Dripping gasoline should have set off the explosive testers. Did you have to walk through the machine that puff air at you to try to detect explosive residue? What a joke airport security is.
On one trip out to Cali I had my carry on packed with the usual extra set of clothes, some supplies and my Oakleys with the built in MP3 player. I figured that the mess of wires showing up in something shaped like sunglasses would at least get a second look, but no. I was kinda disappointed.
They did pop my bag years (pre 9/11) for some bike parts I had inside. Might have used those pedals to cut people’s shins!
I have a money clip with a tiny knife blade in it. And by tiny, I mean tiny — couldn’t be more than an inch and a quarter, and it’s too dull to spread butter.
Last time I flew out to San Francisco (2004, maybe?), they wanted to take it away from me on the flight back. Apparently nobody noticed it at all on the flight out. I ended up having to buy a padded envelope at the post office branch by the security checkpoint and mail it to myself.
(Normally, I wouldn’t have bothered, but it was a gift from Sue and I didn’t want to just hand it over to the goons.)
@Matt re: “just my shoes”
Ha Ha. And even baby shoes!
Even bigger fear this year, we’re going to Korea and facing swine flu paranoia. They have IR cameras set up in the airport to detect people with fevers, who will be either sent back, or quarentined. How many days out of the winter are kids NOT sick with something other than swine flu?
@matt,
Back in MD, there was a government-owned “store” that resold the confiscated items from airports. You could buy all sorts of knives, leathermans, etc that the goons stole (probably from people who forgot they even had those itrems with them) at about half or less retail. The store also sold state surplus items- office furniture and the like. I picked up some nice rolling metal vertical files for like 10 bucks each.
What’s the difference between us and Russia, again?
@Pitt
Shut up and show me your papers, serf. And take off the shoes or you’re getting extra-special searching today.
@Pitt
In America, you take plane
In Russia, plane take you. Ha Ha
Oh, an extra-special search. Well, big boy, give me your best treatment, and be gentle
/end lisp
Please to be taking plane today. Vill there be wodka on board?
The last Burning Man I was at (2008 I think) a group set up a “checkpoint” that was supposed to be parody of airport security. It was hopelessly arcane and complex, required mounds of paperwork and randomly inappropriate and irrelevant questions. A think a few people got body cavity searched and there was a closed room where screams and sounds of whippings could be heard. The “officials” wore uniforms and dark glasses, bore toy firearms, and all spoke in short, terse, eastern-europe-sounding sentences. It was…memorable.
@Pitt
There was a great post on the Interesting People mailing list last week:
http://www.interesting-people.org/archives/interesting-people/200912/msg00013.html
Essentially, this guy wondered what happened if you refuse to submit to a “puff test” search. The answer seems to be that nobody knows.
“She responded defensively, “It sounds an alarm!””
I nearly fell out of my seat laughing.
Perhaps it needs the entire context:
“I repeated my inquiry regarding whether or not I had the right to refuse this search, especially since it was my understanding that the equipment did not work. She responded defensively, “It sounds an alarm!””