Has the DHS reached out and touched you?

I've been taking a fair number of trips lately. In the past year I've been to Mexico, the Antipodes, Spokane twice from Fargo in preparation for moving here, Santa Fe, Scotland. The TSA always leaves it's calling card in every bag I check. I never lock my bags, but they have broken off several zipper pulls and several name tags. I suspect it was the baggage handlers, rather than the TSA, who broke both the wi-fi and the DVD reader in my laptop, though it was well padded. I have only once been "randomly selected" for "special" treatment, which consisted of a more thorough than normal inspection of my carry-on and a going over with the electronic wand, but no crotch-grabbing (maybe I'm not as pretty as Jayman).

For all the hassle, I'd rather fly than have to drive all the way across country, and it's kinda hard to drive to NZ or Europe. I don't believe those bozos are making travel any safer, but if you make a fuss they make it even harder on you.

 

Actually I found it amusing. When I related the weird tale to my 2 gay neighbors at my high-rise condo, they both informed me that I have qualities that are "marketable" whatever that means.

It only reinforces my ego, like *that* needed it!

 

Marketable! :lol: :lol: :lol:
get over here and fix my chair! I broke it when I fell on the floor. Too funny

 

Frank:

Ok, for example:

Yesterday my 2 gay condo neighbors put on a Saint Paddy's bash, and I was invited. Since I *never* turn down free food/drink, especially when it's high quality, I went along. This was their typical "mixer" with plenty of straight people there too.

As soon as I walked in, one of them called for attention: "Ok sweeties, remember jay only likes girls."

They also made sure to invite some unattached women from the office where they work. So it ended up being a fun evening.

I'll fix that chair next time I'm in PoCo visiting my Aunt. I figure June, that work for you??

jay

 

She probably has had her phone calls analyzed by the computers. That's the extent of most of the "evesdropping" on international calls. They would need an army of people to actually listen to it.

If TSA was able to implement their original screening ideas for air travel, we wouldn't have to put up with half the BS we go through when traveling. Although, with your wife's family connections, you could have been on the targeted list. The frequent flyer clearance cards have also not been implemented. I'd certainly be willing to submit to background checks, etc., to speed my way through those lines.

That's one good thing about containers at ports ... you don't really need to inspect them 100%. You can profile a container Achmed, since a container doesn't have civil rights, and the person sending it has agreed to full search and confirmation of the contents. Containers from Sumitomo in Japan, and sealed at their factory, are probably a good bet to be A-OK. Containers inspected in the UAE by our customs guys are also a good bet. A container from a company that doesn't import a lot, that claims to contain clay pottery or some other natural material that gives off stuff that the radiation detectors pick up on, are not a good bet. But even if they aren't inspected, as they leave the port have them drive through one of those secret radiation detectors (shhhh!) that Los Alamos developed, and you have the bases covered.

Meanwhile, the TSA guys will occasionally stick their hands down my pants because while a white, middle aged fat Republican is usually not a terrorist, we don't want to upset a fanatical muslim extremist returning from a Madrassa in Pakistan.

 

I wouldn't know. When ever they call I just hear breathing
on the other end.

 

As a TSA screener, I can tell you that broken or stolen items are not necessarily the fault of the TSA screener checking your bag. After we check the bag, airport bag handlers transport the bags to the plane. During the time after the bag is checked til the time it gets on the plane, TSA can't control what those bag handlers do. The bag handlers that handle the bags after they are screened by TSA do not work for the TSA. There's a higher probabilty that one of those people stealing items from bags since they have more time around the bags in areas that are not filled with people.

When a bag goes on the conveyor belts, it takes some serious falls and the bags will tumble which results in broken items. And keep in mind that we search through a ton of bags any given day, and it's hard to pack everything back perfectly. Personally, I do my best to rewrap fragile looking items, but I can't speak for all the TSA screeners.

My suggestion is if you can carry the fragile item on with you, do so.

In regards for those selected for additional screening, people that are chosen are not necessarily on the government's watch list. Some of the people that are pulled for random screening are chosen by the airline for various reasons.

If there were no terrorism in this world, there would be no need for such security. And if you think the TSA doesn't do anything to make flying safer, keep in mind that a determined individual will do just about anything to try to get by security.

I've dealt with people who don't follow simple directions, and that leads to increased screening times. For example, people know they are going through metal detectors, yet I see teenagers wearing lots of chains and other metals on them. They don't take off the metal items until they get to the metal detector. And to make matters worse, they forget to take out all metal items and holds up the line. In contrast, frequent travelers are fully prepared before they reach the metal detector. Those are the people that spend the least amount of time being screened since they know what to expect. Believe me when I tell you that we don't want to slow down the process, but certain people do slow us down and holds up the line.

Although almost all people think that TSA screeners do nothing but slow them down, the good things that TSA screeners do that prevent a possible catastrophe go unreported. The news always repeat the bad things that happen and rarely mention the good things that happen. I have personally seen some of the items people have tried to bring through the checkpoint, it's quite a disturbing sight. Be thankful that the screening is now done under Federal control, I've been told what it was like before Federalizing the screeners, and it was out of control.

I'm dedicated to performing my duties to the best of my abilities and people have thanked me for doing a thorough job. Just remember not everyone working at the TSA are bozos. There are a good number of us who joined to help make air travel safer and are dedicated in doing our jobs.

 

Great points all!

As an airline employee, I concur with you 100%. Here are a couple things from my point of view...
Broken items in luggage. When your bags are going down the belt, the bar code on the bag tag is read by a scanner to determine where it is going and determine which pier it is routed to. As the bag approches its assigned pier, a kicker will deflect it onto the pier. With baggage also being subject to Newton's laws, if something breakable is in the same bak as something heavy, well, don't pack the Waterford crystal in with the weight lifting set.
As for bag handlers lifting thinga from baggage, if anyone is caught, it's termination on the spot, no questions asked, then prosecution. Not to say it doesn't happen, but airlines have zero tolerence for this.

The reasons people are selected for screening cannot be disclosed, if the bad guy knew the triggers, he would just avoid them. But randomness does play a part, like I mentioned earlier, I have been selected myself and have had the complete background check.

To speed your way through the checkpoint, USE YOUR HEAD! Do not bring pocket knives, lighters, fireworks, firearms (fake or otherwise), and most of all NO STUPID JOKES! the TSA are not trying to be a$$holes, they want to keep everyone safe.

 

To add to what tleonhar said about speeding up the the checkpoint process, have your boarding passes in hand. I can't stress that enough. I keep reminding people to have their boarding passes in their hands before proceeding through the checkpoint, and they still leave the boarding pass in their bags.

To minimize the chances of your check-in bags from being opened, refrain from packing books, notably text books, and dense metal objects such as dumb bells. Dumb bells may seem far fetched, but I have seem quite a few. Certain food items may cause the TSA to open your bags as well. And I urge you not to check-in frozen or fresh meat. It's a headache for the TSA to check and not to mention it's a potential safety hazard.

Use your head. Don't overpack a bag. I've opened overpacked bags and sometimes I just want to tape the bag up because it is so hard to stuff everything back in. To minize the chance of breaking an object in a bag, I suggest the use of a hard sided luggage and heavy padding such as using a thick sweater. But the best solution is still to carry it on with you.

 

Homeland Security has never 'touched' me, But i got molested at the securty checkpoint at Heathrow airport in 2004... I love london!

 

LOL

No matter big you make that sign, some will still set off the metal detector and get upset at the TSA agent that they have to go back to the beginning of the line.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Sufferin' Prius Envy @ Mar 6 2006, 08:38 PM) [snapback]221415[/snapback]</div>

I couldn't open the image but here's my government story:

My son dropped out of the college he started at and came home to go to a community college.

One day the phone rang and Caller ID said "US Government" and I answered because we had a friend at the nearby naval base.

Sgt Someone asked me what Jason was up to. I said he's going to school at _______. Okay, thanks.

So they knew he was home and wondered if he was interested in the Army???? I had several responses that I fortunately did not use. B)

 

My bilateral knee replacements have made me a "ringer", so for the rest of my life I will be groped at the check-in. No wonder I prefer the train.

A dear friend of mine told of an incident when crossing back into the USA from Canada (driving). He was singled out for more inspection by customs, and as he was being groped he told the inspector that usually someone has to buy him dinner before they could feel him up like that. I suppose now he is condemned to being groped for the rest of his life, too.

 

When I was an undergrad in art school, in the late 80's, I used to carry my entire art bin onto the plane...spray cans full of fixative and paint, x-acto knives and blades, toxic markers and solvents, even a giant box-cutting knife that attached to this lethal-looking extension arm...no one ever said a word.

Those *were* the days.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Pinto Girl @ Aug 23 2007, 07:31 AM) [snapback]500594[/snapback]</div>

As a regular international traveller for the last 20 years, I also used to carry a small box with some railroad model work that I could work on at night in the various hotel rooms. This box had, like Pinto Girl's art supplies, a number of sharp instruments. Now I cannot carry my modelling stuff - it is too fragile to put into my checked luggage.

As a foreigner, and as a lot of my travel is across the US (only one way as I go around the world), I get pinged very often for the "random" extra search - so often that I know most of the triggers that the airlines use to indicate I have randomly been selected.

I find that by co-operating with the TSA team, never a problem - accept that I am going to get pinged, make sure I go through with plenty of time, co-operate, and life is really not that hard.

My biggest problem is with the checked luggage. Because I cannot lock my bags when travelling to/from the US, this gives me major concern. About 18 months ago, a girl was arrested in Bali (Indonesia) after she was found to have 5 kilos of hash in an unlocked bag. She copped 20 years jail for this. What has been found, however, is that the hash was being shipped from one Australian city to another, and the crims were using unlocked baggage to move the stuff, but, in this case, the receiver missed the bag, and it went on to Bali. They cannot prove that this actually happened, but the Australian police did find evidence that this sort of thing did go on.

After reading this thread, I am still concerned that my bag could be used to transport drugs, and that I could, accidently, end up holding those drugs while travelling through Asia, where most countries have the death penalty for drug traffickers. Whilst TSA are doing their best to stop dangerous items getting on planes, they still do not have a secure system between their search and you getting you bag off the conveyor at the end of the flight. I know that tleonhar said that airline employees getting caught pinching stuff get nailed very quickly, but moving drugs can mean some serious money, so payoffs can happen, and thus can occur.

Not going to stop me travelling, but does not stop me worrying.