<p>One area of concern that I would worry about is the pat down in a private room, when you can’t collect your belongings. Who watches them? </p>
<p>I was at a TSA line at the airport a couple of years ago and saw a woman being put through the wand because she set off the metal detector. When she was finished her bag was there, but her shoes were missing. They couldn’t find them. Someone stole them.</p>
<p>I know people who have lost laptops stolen off the conveyor belt. My sister’s camera was stolen out of her carryon bag. It was in the pocket of the bag before it went through xray at the station. It was gone afterwards. </p>
<p>There will always be people who take your personal belongings. It could have been a thief who was ahead of you in the security line - or, gasp, a TSA agent. </p>
<p>The worry I have is less about the private room patdown - it’s gross, but I could deal with it - but to not be able to keep an eye on my things.</p>
<p>^^^ Yup – I had some stuff taken from my checked bag by TSA agents several years ago. I actually filed a claim and got half of the value back – I had the original receipts. TSA said they’d only give me half since the stuff could have been taken by baggage handlers/non-TSA personnel. The reality was, given the scenario, it could ONLY have been TSA – but I took the money and ran, so to speak.</p>
<p>rom828 -Thanks for my laugh of the day. Too funny!</p>
<p>“Yes Sir, it’s plain that you’re not carrying any weapons or explosives. That’s beside the point. Your choice was irradiating your testicles, or having us fondle them. You chose neither, so you’re under arrest. You too lady, for recording my comments.”</p>
<p>I read that this is a different Deepak Chopra- not the spiritualist, but the CEO of this company. And yes, this Chopra, the CEO of the Rapisan machine company was on the India trip with the President.</p>
<p>Sanjay Gupta/CNN is on at this moment, and what he says is very disturbing: there are two GAO reports that say that the body scanners are useless at detecting “pancakes” of explosives (as the one used by the Underwear Bomber), because the scanners are tuned to “see” sharp edges. Nice!</p>
<p>I read just a little about the Israeli airport security system. It’s a shame that our government back in 2001 didn’t bother to consult the world’s best before they built the ridiculous Rube Goldberg system that we now have.</p>
<p>From what I read, their system’s effectiveness rests on several factors. First, there are multiple layers of security, beginning when you drive onto airport property. Second, they do smart profiling. Dumb profiling would be to suspect someone based on race, religion or national origin. Smart profiling emphasizes psychological screening, and then more aggressive screening for those who are deemed suspicious. </p>
<p>The benefits of smart profiling and multi-level security are obvious. Time and money would not be wasted treating Granny as if she were the 20th highjacker. Passengers in Israel are not subjected to nude-scans or having their privates groped. Everyone gets to keep all of their clothes on. It’s alot quicker. And it actually works – Israel has a perfect security record in the 35 years that they’ve been doing this.</p>
<p>I read someplace today that the difference between the Americans and the Israelis is that the Americans look for* things *-- pocket knives, shampoo bottles, something in your underwear. The Israelis look for people. Under our system, we’re always fighting the last war, always trying to anticipate what method the bad guys will use next. The Israelis recognize how fruitless that is, and understand that bad guys will always find a method. The key is to find the bad guy, and they are damn good at that.</p>
<p>LasMa, What you read is absolutely correct…the U.S… are looking for things, not people…</p>
<p>All the shampoo bottles in the world are not a problem unless they are in the hands of the wrong people. But of course the wrong people will continue to change their tactics. And oh yeah, the amount of wasted money is staggering. Not to say anything of the absolute humiliation the TSA worker bees have inflicted on U.S. citizens who just need to get some place via plane.</p>
<p>“I read that this is a different Deepak Chopra- not the spiritualist, but the CEO of this company. And yes, this Chopra, the CEO of the Rapisan machine company was on the India trip with the President.”</p>
<p>Okay, I’m glad it wasn’t the spiritualist, because that would just turn my world upside down (not that I’m a huge fan, but it would be too weird). But your second sentence kind of concerns me too.</p>
<p>God help us all when we travel over the Thanksgiving holidays. Like we needed more stress!</p>
<p>Yes, could we PLEASE learn from Israel? That makes so much sense and would put intelligence back into the process rather than nonsensical rules “just because.” It would also save us from so much wasteful machinery that does nothing to improve our safety but just makes travel much more tiring and stressful.</p>
<p>The last trip I took from HNL to SFO to Vancouver YVK to LAX to HNL, for all 4 flights, I just went thru the regular metal detector. They did check my medical equipment to see if it had traces of explosives. My S was selected to go thru the scanner at two of the 4 airports–don’t know why–maybe because he’s a young man & had his own itinerary? </p>
<p>Have heard very nasty things about the groping screenings. ICK! Makes me glad I won’t be flying for a while.</p>
<p>One more thing–this could SERIOUSLY affect our state, which relies heavily on tourism–brought by airplanes. It sounds like a LOT more people are opting to drive instead of fly over Thanksgiving. D is going to stay in LA and NOT fly–hopefully things will be worked out before the masses fly home for Christmas holidays, but who knows? When I flew from LA to HNL, I just went thru the regular metal detector.</p>
<p>Had my second “enhanced” pat down yesterday (replaced hip) when flying. Come on guys, how sensitive can you be. I was treated professionally and courteously. How does lightly touching your inseam of your pants and above and below your breasts remotely resemble anything lurid is beyond me. I can imagine someone feeling slightly uncomfortable, but I have much more discomfort than that on a daily basis. I would have no problems if my teenage daughter went through such a search. Grow-up everyone.</p>