My brush with TSA

[dynasim]

And what are the rules that you are proposing to apply?

Chris

 

[ultrarunner]

Profiling seems to work well for the Israeli Airlines...

Some of the stupid rules have required mother's milk to be thrown out as well as prescription medication.

One of the patients we see needs a prescription mouthwash... she was in tears when the TSA inspectors tossed it... even with a prescription... they were ignorant having never heard of prescription mouthwash...

A big procedural issue for the medical staff is the calibration and training of those running the x-ray machines...

Hospitals have strict rules, requirements, maintenance, logs and government inspections for all x-ray equipment as well as the services of a radiologist...

Our radiologist objected and then presented his credentials and that stirred up a lot of commotion...

Interesting... a few months later, flight crews were no longer required across the board to by x-rayed.

Every non-government owned x-ray must have information on exposure and certification available upon request...

 

[dynasim]

ultrarunner,

Could you put "profiling" into a statement of policy/rule? If you can't, then it is not a proposal. If you can, I'd bet it is what is already happening. Do you think the Israelis let random 89 year olds through security without being checked? Seriously.

chris

 

[dynasim]

So in the case of you patient with the prescrition mouthwash, what rule would you give the TSA agent that would allow that situation to not occur?

Chris

 

[dynasim]

How is the TSA agent to determine that mothers milk is not the explosive that they are screening for? Are they going to taste it?

Chris

 

[ultrarunner]

ultrarunner,

Could you put "profiling" into a statement of policy/rule? If you can't, then it is not a proposal. If you can, I'd bet it is what is already happening. Do you think the Israelis let random 89 year olds through security without being checked? Seriously.

chris

No problem... here's a brief summary of EL AL and behavioral profiling

Security
As a target for many decades, El Al employs stringent security procedures, both on the ground and on board its aircraft. These effective, though sometimes controversial, procedures have won El Al's security reputation. In 2008, the airline was named by Global Traveler magazine as the world's most secure airline.

Airport security measures
Passengers are asked to report three hours before departure. All El Al terminals around the world are closely monitored for security. There are plain-clothes agents and fully armed police or military personnel who patrol the premises for explosives, suspicious behavior, and other threats. Inside the terminal, passengers and their baggage are checked by a trained team. El Al security procedures require that all passengers be interviewed individually prior to boarding, allowing El Al staff to identify possible security threats. Passengers will be asked questions about where they are coming from, the reason for their trip, their job or occupation, and whether they have packed their bags themselves. The likelihood of potential terrorists remaining calm under such questioning is believed to be low.

At the check-in counter, passengers' passports and tickets are closely examined. A ticket without a sticker from the security checkers will not be accepted. At passport control passengers' names are checked against information from the FBI, Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), Scotland Yard, Shin Bet, and Interpol databases. Luggage is screened and sometimes hand searched. In addition, bags are put through a decompression chamber simulating pressures during flight that could trigger explosives.

El Al is the only airline in the world that passes all luggage through such a chamber. Even at overseas airports, El Al security agents conduct all luggage searches personally, even if they are supervised by government or private security firms.

Flight security measures
An El Al Boeing 777 landing at London Heathrow Airport. (2005)Undercover agents (sometimes referred to as sky marshals) carrying concealed firearms sit among the passengers on every international El Al flight.

Most El Al pilots are former Israeli Air Force pilots. The cockpits in all El Al aircraft have double doors to prevent entry by unauthorized persons. A code is required to access the doors, and the second door will only be opened after the first has closed and the person has been identified by the captain or first officer. Furthermore, there are reinforced steel floors separating the passenger cabin from the baggage hold.

Following an attempt to shoot down an Israeli airliner in 2002, all aircraft in the fleet have been equipped with an infrared countermeasures system called Flight Guard, developed by Israeli Aerospace Industries to defend them against anti-aircraft missiles.

Although comparable systems such as CAMPS are now available for civilian aircraft, there is no information to date about any other airlines deploying such a system. Switzerland and other European countries have expressed concern that flares dropped by the Israeli system could cause fires in the vicinity of an airport.

Security controversy and passenger profilingSome critics of El Al note that its security checks on passengers include extreme racial profiling and have argued that such profiling is primitive, unfair, irrational, and degrading to those subject to such screening. El Al argues that it does not use racial profiling, but does use behavioral profiling, and that there is nothing inherently racist about behavioral profiling.

The airline was also criticized by the Hungarian courts for refusing to search luggage with the passenger present, acting against Hungarian domestic laws which stipulate that only authorized officials are able to undertake such searches. A civil case was brought to the Supreme Court of Israel on 19 March 2008 alleging that El Al's practice of ethnic profiling singles out Arabs for tougher treatment.

 

[dynasim]

So, you are insuating that some fella caused enough of a commotion that a protected class now does not have to go through security, even thought there is no scientific basis to back up the exemption.

Excellent thought process. The cascading decision process would lead one to the conclusion that xray machines should not be used at airports.

You have my my central point precisely(whiners are going to destroy this country, bit by bit). Without xray machines, everyone will need to be subject to thoroughly invasive pat downs. We will have the whiner to thank.

Chris

 

[dynasim]

I didn't ask for you to put down someone elses words. I asked you to state what our policy ought to be.

 

[ultrarunner]

How is the TSA agent to determine that mothers milk is not the explosive that they are screening for? Are they going to taste it?

Chris

Now that is being stupid...

 

[dynasim]

Again, you complained, and the person that complains is duty bound to propose and alternative. What is it. Of course, tasting it is stupid. That was the point.

Chris