All stories about "Tsa"

X-ray imaging may be coming to an airport near you. Whole Body Imaging Technology, which uses millimeter wave imaging, is a sophisticated scanning system that will allow TSA officials to see through clothing in order to search for weapons and explosives. One of the scanners was unveiled last week at LAX's Delta Airlines terminal. [LA Times]

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Mandi Hamlin, the woman whose nipples were seen round the world when she challenged TSA authorities after being forced to remove her nipple rings in order to fly, was honored yesterday. Hamlin, 37, was given the Bold Spirit Award by the Women's Leadership Exchange --"a social networking and professional group that helps women with new or small businesses" -- in Frisco, Texas. You go girl. [Dallas News]

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An Airline Pilots Security Alliance Press Release from Friday claims blame is shifting to the TSA in last week's accidental discharge of a gun in the cockpit of a US Airways flight. "Airline pilots and federal flight deck officers (FFDO) say ill-conceived TSA weapons handling rules were to blame" for a pilot's having accidentally fired his gun. Supposedly the pilot was stowing his gun prior to landing in accordance with TSA regulations, when it accidentally fired. [via]

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Last month, everyone's favorite government organization/blogger, the TSA, began to organize a small portion of itself along ski-hill technology. At the Salt Lake City and Denver airports, passengers are asked to "self-select" into three groups based on their knowledge of security procedures -- and ski hill nomenclature. Because the westerners were so good at this special form of self-knowledge, the TSA plans on expanding the trials to Boston, Orlando, and Spokane. But when it comes time to segregating yourself, will you know where to stand, or will you have to just get right back on that lift and go back to your squalid split-level in defeat? Some sorting tips after the jump.

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The TSA's Blogger Bob "came into work one day, browsed the blogosphere and read about the Macbook Air having problems at a checkpoint," so he decided to investigate further. The TSA acquired one of the laptops and x-rayed it. They won't release the x-ray as it's considered "sensitive information." Essentially, the inner workings of the Macbook Air look entirely different from any other laptop since it's uses "a solid state drive instead of a traditional hard drive." [via]

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Over the past three years, domestic travelers have reported about 31 million dollars worth of stuff stolen from their luggage. Where'd is all go? You can start by looking at the baggage handlers -- and the TSA.[Fox KC]

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TSA (which, btw, stands for "Taking Suckas Assets") Gangstaz Zach is the latest in wannabe Internet stars. He's the face and misogynistic lyricist behind the TSA Gangstaz video, which hit the web running two days ago and piqued a lot of juvenile dude's interest thanks to its "tight hook" and cheap boob and ass shots. Now, Gangstaz Zach is calling his fellow outraged travelers to arms. Not only has he parodied the painful airport security check process with his mock music video, now he wants you to reply with your own stories of shitty times at the checkpoint (no matter if you're telling your story while playing Wii). While the whole thing seems a bit like getting your panties in a twist for nothing, I'm perpetually surprised by the number of people that never seem to tire of telling, or giving audience to tales of trials and tribulations at airport security. In less than 24 hours the video has garnered dozens of comments and a handful of video responses.

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Bloggers are gluttons for self-congratulation and petty ingratitude. Many remarked on the recent maneuver by our despised Transportation Security Administration to establish a somewhat freewheeling blog, though tagged with a clunker of a name ("Evolution of Security"). Now, bloggers are falling all over themselves with glee for having pointed out a foolish TSA screening process taking place at some airports, then wringing a blog apology from the TSA. Except it wasn't an apology, but a surprisingly forthright admission of a mistake. And even that gets mocked, ridiculed, and somehow also considered further proof of the TSA's incompetence. Bloggers! I'm here to tell you: Hang up thy swords, stow thy muskets, and relax. The TSA blog is the best thing to happen to American air travel since the noise-canceling headphone.

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Given the TSA's restrictions on bringing carry-on liquids aboard planes, the mini-sized hygiene industry has predictably exploded. (Maybe a bad choice of words.) But why just pack a collection of tiny personal-care products into your handbag when you can dodge the restrictions entirely with space-age rehydration technology? What if you could bring aboard soap, shampoo, conditioner, and shaving cream without actually carrying any liquid at all? Welcome to the future!

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An entry from the "draw your own Eustace Tilley" contest commemorating the anniversary of the New Yorker magazine. I'm also partial to the jihadist. [via]

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If you're planning on traveling with homemade Christmas treats, you might think twice after reading this harrowing tale of one woman's struggle smuggling a Thanksgiving pie through Portland International Airport. Although the TSA recently created kinder, gentler holiday food rules, the security goons in Oregon confiscated between 20-25 pies on Thanksgiving. Specifically, they were on the lookout for pumpkin pies, which PDX personnel claim have "the same consistency as certain plastic explosives." [SF Chronicle]

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The AP just released a survey ranking the TSA as one of the least liked federal agencies in the US. Only beleaguered FEMA scored lower, meaning Americans prefer the IRS, the FDA, and TSA's parent body, the Department of Homeland Security. The biggest complaints are the obvious ones: rude and incompetent security personnel, long lines, and unpredictable enforcement of rules. [AP]

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Murdered by the Americans! From a couple months back, but still funny: The Sunday Times' Waldemar Januszczak bemoans the death of his beloved Globe-Trotter suitcase at the hands of callous TSA agents. [Sunday Times]

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Back in August, the Transportation Security Administration started shunting anyone wearing "bulky headwear" into an automatic secondary screening, usually requiring the removal of said headwear. This was particularly irritating to Sikhs, since doffing their turban is considered embarrassing, not to mention time-consuming in both the removal and rewrapping. After a public outcry from Sikhs and others, the TSA yesterday revised its rules, now merging turbans and everything else above the neck into the "bulky clothing" category, which means it can be sufficiently checked with a patdown at a security checkpoint (though screeners can still request, i.e. demand, that the headwear be removed in a private area for inspection). Wary of getting into endless debates about other fixed headgear, the TSA issued a blanket amnesty for anyone who doesn't want to bare their pate for any reason, religious or otherwise. As this AP story notes, this ruling covers not only turbans, but also "cowboy hats," not to mention "berets," answering protests from ornery gunslingers and puckish mimes -- all of whom have just as much reason to keep their hats as those irritable Sikhs, certainly.

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We receive our share of irrelevant press releases ("PROMOTE YOUR SPORTS BUSINESS!"), plus almost as many ostensibly relevant PR emails that are simply boring. Then there's the steady stream of press releases out of Las Vegas promoting this or that washed-up entertainer "headlining" at such-and-such small-time casino. Here's a somewhat unusual one though, and not just because it addressed us an "esteemed member of the media." Linda Smith of Vegas charity "Opportunity Village" used a publicist to send out a diatribe about her recent mistreatment at the hands of the TSA. They took her plum pudding, man! Still, one has to marvel at the TSA's paranoia, not to mention the inherent comedy of American Airlines issuing a toiletries kit that the TSA screeners immediately confiscate.

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Dear esteemed member of the media,

As a frequent air traveler, I am as concerned as anyone with security. I know that certain safeguards and measures have had to be put in place in this dangerous new century. But, given the importance of the security measures air travelers must now comply with, I don't understand how the employees of an agency as vital as our government's Transportation Security Administration (TSA) can be so, well, clueless.

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