security theater

The Barbaric Thieves and Sexual Assailants

"Shortly after 9/11, [renowned Polish pianist Krystian Zimerman’s Steinway] was confiscated at JFK Airport when he landed in New York to give a recital at Carnegie Hall. Thinking the glue smelled funny, the TSA decided to take no chances and destroyed the instrument.' Yes. A Steinway. Which Mr. Zimerman had modified himself. It has now broken 'a rare Heinrich Knopf bow belonging to [cellist] Alban Gerhardt … In what the cellist called ‘an act of brutal and careless behaviour’, the bow stick … was snapped in two, over the bridge of the cello, by air security staff at O'Hare International Airport, Chicago, as they examined the case’s contents.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe Barbaric Thieves and Sexual Assailants

Man Sues TSA For $5 Million Following Peanut Butter Arrest

"An Arizona man who was arrested at the behest of the TSA, following a wisecrack over a jar of peanut butter is suing the federal agency for $5 million. Frank Hannibal, 50, was detained and dragged from LaGuardia Airport recently by police after a run-in with TSA agents over the jar of gourmet sandwich spread. 'The liquid oil that separated from the peanut butter had them baffled,' Hannibal told the New York Daily News. Hannibal spent the next 24 hours in a cell, during which time he was fed a peanut butter sandwich by cops who later charged him with the felony of 'falsely reporting an incident'." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMan Sues TSA For $5 Million Following Peanut Butter Arrest

Washington state prepares to take on TSA

"HB 1454, The Washington State Freedom Of Travel Act, uses clear and commonsense language to point out the illegal activities which the TSA is already carrying out on a regular basis and sets penalties for violations within the state. The bill goes on to mention the illegality of groping and removing children from parental custody without permission, important sections in light of the TSA's apparent policy of hiring criminals, including a former Catholic priest who was defrocked for sexually abusing young girls." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWashington state prepares to take on TSA

California Man Taken Down at Gunpoint for Photographing Airplanes

"Larry C. was two weeks into his new job at a software security company in Northern California when he was confronted by six armed police officers pointing guns at him within seconds after entering work Monday. 'They kept calling my name and ordering me to get down on the floor with my hands in the air,' Larry said in a telephone interview with Photography is Not a Crime Tuesday morning. 'I was thinking it was some weird training exercise.' But he realized it wasn’t a training exercise after the six Santa Clara police officers handcuffed him, marched him into a room and frisked him." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCalifornia Man Taken Down at Gunpoint for Photographing Airplanes

Mandatory TSA Pat Downs At Super Bowl

"The Super Bowl’s designation as a level one National Special Security Event (NSSE) means that the spectacle is now an annual showcase for America’s post-9/11 descent into a security-obsessed police state, despite the fact that statistically, Americans are more likely to be killed by peanut allergies, bee stings and bath tubs than they are by terrorists. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano also indicated that TSA 'screeners' would conduct at least some of the pat downs. Mobile gamma ray scanners will also be used to check truck deliveries just as they were last year at the Lucas Oil Stadium." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMandatory TSA Pat Downs At Super Bowl

Man With 4th Amendment Written on Chest Wins Trial Over Airport Arrest

"Among other things, the federal lawsuit claimed wrongful detention and a breach of the First Amendment and Fourth Amendment. Tobey was on his way to Wisconsin for his grandmother’s funeral. Despite his detainment, he made his flight. According to the suit, while under interrogation, the authorities wanted to know 'about his affiliation with, or knowledge of, any terrorist organizations, if he had been asked to do what he did by any third party, and what his intentions and goals were.' Two weeks later, Henrico County prosecutors dropped the misdemeanor charge against him, and he sued the Transportation Security Administration and others." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMan With 4th Amendment Written on Chest Wins Trial Over Airport Arrest

At Davos the Elite Ponder Stale Cybersecurity Issues—and Charlize Theron

"Cybersecurity is on the minds of the Davos-ians because it could cost them money. Apparently they have just learned that 'there is barely a large company out there today which has not had its infrastructure and systems breached.' They have also realized that this is going to require some sort of collective action–and the private sector does not do collective action well. Australia and the United Kingdom are actively forcing companies to work together. Last week the European Union proposed a law that would require tech companies to report server issues and security breaches to the government." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAt Davos the Elite Ponder Stale Cybersecurity Issues—and Charlize Theron

X-ray full-body scanners to be taken out of U.S. airports

"According to Bloomberg News, OSI Systems, the company that makes the scanners, was unable to write a software program that would cover passengers’ genitals. The TSA has terminated its $5 million contract with OSI’s Rapiscan unit, which was awarded to the company with a software fix in mind. The TSA removed 76 of the Rapiscan machines from the nation’s busiest airports in 2011. The remaining 174 machines will now be decommissioned. The TSA plans to switch over to scanners manufactured by a company called L-3 Communications Holdings, which use radio signals rather than X-rays to scan passengers for weapons." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingX-ray full-body scanners to be taken out of U.S. airports

Rapid DNA analyzers coming to every police station and TSA checkpoint in America

"According to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, 'In the amount of time it takes to get lunch, the government can now collect your DNA and extract a profile that identifies you and your family members' using a device called a Rapid DNA Analyzer, which can 'process DNA in 90 minutes or less.' The EFF says these machines are not the imagination of science fiction writers. Rather, the group says they are 'an operational reality' and are currently being marketed to federal, state and local law enforcement agencies all around the nation. Well, what's the big deal? After you, you haven't done anything wrong - have you?" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRapid DNA analyzers coming to every police station and TSA checkpoint in America

Another woman arrested for defending herself against the TSA

"A South Korean woman visiting this country and, of course, having no idea that she was required to undergo physical assault as a condition of getting on a plane, was arrested at Orlando International Airport. 39-year-old Hyunjoo Kim was being groped by a TSA agent when she allegedly 'slapped' said agent." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAnother woman arrested for defending herself against the TSA