December 31, 2009 Security Theater 'R' Us - Daily roundup
The TSA is expected to release another round of security changes today in the wake of the terror scare.
The flight crews on individual airlines can decide if they’re going to enforce some of these rules TSA put in effect since the Christmas Day bombing attempt…
Among the precaution, once the flights take off, airlines have the option of taking the following precautions:
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Queue for up to three hours to be “patted down,” go through additional scans and physical searches of hand luggage, one hand carry item only, be told to stay in your seat for an hour before a plane lands, note that flight trackers are switched off (along with all other IFE which is integrated, no pillows to be hugged, no blankets to be worn on top, and no crew announcements to hint as to location or landing schedule. This is how the USA has responded to a lunatic who set himself on fire in a plane. But the over-reaction is already wearing thin.
The USA’s Transportation Security Administration or TSA has said that the new rules - at least insofar as they relate to what happens on an aircraft - are now to be regarded as a matter for the discretion of the crew. - Chief Officers Network
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NYT “Room for Debate” on the Israeli security model.
NPR on roughly the same subject: behavioral screening/analysis as opposed to “profiling.”
Daily Tech: Obama Could Decree Wider Use of Full-body Scanners in Airports
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Obama’s options:
But broader policy changes have greater ramifications — tradeoffs that the Bush administration was well aware of. And while increasing security may seem like a political no-brainer, some frequent travelers have become so incensed at what they call “security theater” that they are recoiling at steps already taken, such as banning the use of blankets and personal items in the last hour of some flights.
“I flew 265,000 miles last year,” said Bruce Schneier, a cryptographer and security analyst. “You know what really pisses me off? Making me check my luggage. Not letting me use my laptop, so I can’t work. Taking away my Kindle, so I can’t read. I care about those things. I care about making me safer much, much less.” - Politico
(Schneier implies on his own blog that this quote is a little misleading as to emphasis)
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Was the crotch bomber a loner? It gets curiouser and curiouser, as Alice was wont to say in Wonderland. Wouldn’t she have loved security theater?
Frank@OBOW
Frank@OBOW
Reader Comments (1)
http://www.house.gov/apps/list/speech/ny03_king/ptkrecs.html
Included are these gems:
5. END POLITICAL CORRECTNESS. Excessive concern about anti-Muslim discrimination has hobbled authorities, and prevented them from taking action on disturbing communications by Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan - the Fort Hood killer, King argues.
7. USE ETHNIC AND RELIGIOUS PROFILING OF MUSLIMS. "Odds are, a Scandinavian grandmother is not coming to bomb the U.S."
8. USE WATER BOARDING. "We did it three or five times and got a lot of information out of Khalid Sheik Mohamed. ... That has saved hundreds, if not thousands, of lives."
9. ADOPT FULL BODY SCANNING AT AIRPORTS. "There is a brief violation of privacy with the full body scan, but on the other hand, we can save thousands of lives," King said.
and the great catch-all
10. BE MORE SUSPICIOUS. Only 14,000 people are now on the "selectee" list, a subset of the nation's intelligence database that targets travelers for more careful searches at airports. More of the people from the big database should be selected for that level of closer scrutiny, King said.