evh347

From today's Star Tribune in Minny:

Report: MSP OKs passenger with fake pass, Bin Laden shirt

Report: MSP OKs passenger with fake pass, Bin Laden shirt

By PAUL WALSH, Star Tribune
Last update: October 20, 2008 - 9:52 AM

O.K., I'll be the one to say it . . .

. . . he would have gotten more attention in the bathroom if he would have had a wider stance





A first-class Twin Cities traveler was allowed to board a Northwest Airlines flight to the nation's capital this summer with a fake boarding pass, no photo identification and wearing an Osama bin Laden T-shirt under his coat as part of a test of airport security in this post-9/11 world.
The breach of security, assisted by longtime airport security critic Bruce Schneier, is outlined in a first-person account in the November issue of Atlantic magazine. The article was written to illustrate that the federal Transportation Security Administration "represents an egregious waste of tax dollars," author Jeffrey Goldberg wrote.
Goldberg added that he has circumvented security numerous times by "bringing bad things" through security at airports in Los Angeles, New York, Miami, Chicago and Wilkes Barre/Scranton. Among the items he said he brought on flights: pocketknives, matches from hotels in Beirut, dust masks, nail clippers, an inflatable Arafat doll and box cutters.
Arriving at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport for Northwest flight 1714 to Reagan Airport just outside Washington, D.C., Goldberg began his real-life experiment standing in a bathroom, ripping up fake boarding passes and "waiting for the social network of male bathroom users to report my suspicious behavior." No one piped up, he said.
From there, he said, his mission was to "try to pass through security with no ID, a fake boarding pass, and an Osama bin Laden T-shirt under my coat."
He splashed water on his face "to mimic sweat" and wore a coat on a summer day.
With driver's license hidden, he approached security with his bogus boarding pass and told security that he had lost his ID but still hoped to board.
The security employee called for a supervisor.
"I can't find my driver's license," Goldberg said.
After showing the supervisor his fake boarding pass, Goldberg said, "I need to get to Washington quickly."


He was asked for more identification. Goldberg said he produced a credit card with his name on it, a library card, and a health-insurance card. "Nothing else?" the supervisor asked.
"No," Goldberg said.
"You should really travel with a second picture ID, you know."
"Yes, sir," Goldberg said.
"All right, you can go," he said. "But let this be a lesson for you."
Twin Cities airport spokesman Pat Hogan said today that he has read the article but declined to comment, saying, "The things that [Goldberg is] calling attention to are more appropriate for the TSA to address."
Kip Hawley, head of the Transportation Security Agency, was quoted in the Atlantic article as saying: "There are vulnerabilities everywhere, in everything. The question is not 'Is there a vulnerability?' It's 'What are you doing about it?' "

kersplatt

And pilots in full uniform get interrogated on how much water they can bring through security.....

RmTrice

unbelievable. lol What suprises me is that someone had the nerve to try that, not that the TSA didn't catch him. It goes without saying that the TSA has a mostly negative reputation. One would think he'd get into some sort of trouble for that unless he was with a Gvt. agency, not just some TSA critic. Unless, of course, theres something I missed in that article.

BlueMoon

While the Pocket knives and Box cutters are kind of distrubing. Why would some care if you packed a blow up doll?!?! That is about the strangest thing to try to "smuggle" through security.

And I'm pretty sure matches are allowed (even ones from Beirut) and so are dust masks(every no and then you see people coming from Asia wearing these).

As for nail clippers...oh no!

freezingflyboy

What is even MORE disturbing than having a blow-up Arafat doll is that someone actually MAKES a blow-up Arafat doll. I would love to see the marketing study that led to that!

I see what this guy is getting at but he's trying to get the TSA to take action based on superficial things that most of us (and the ACLU) would cry bloody murder about. Wearing a t-shirt with a political message is considered free speech, even if Osama bin Laden is whats on the shirt. There are also no rules restricting the carrying of blow-up dolls, even if they are representative of someone many consider to be the former leader of a terrorist organization. As far as nail clippers and matches, those are allowed, aren't they? If not, I've violated TSA rules countless times. This guy better be careful about what he admits as far as the knives and box cutters though.

I'm also kind of curious how he "faked" his boarding pass. If it was forged on airline card stock using a similar printing process, then getting past the intense scrutiny of the TSA is no great feat. If it was hand written on a napkin and said "Joe Bob, flight to Washington, DC" and the TSA allowed that through, then that's a different story. I'm not sure of the TSA requirements for photo ID. Are children required to have photo ID?

HoboPilot

My biggest concern is where did this guy find an inflatable Yassir Arafat doll?

On a more serious note, just the other week while going through security at BOS I saw a young TSA agent wearing a fitted baseball cap working the checkpoint next to the one I was going through. But at least he had that professional looking blue uniform with a shiny badge

The TSA should be renamed the Transportation Safety Administration, because all they really do is present an image to the public that something is being done to keep them safe. Unfortunately I don't have enough faith in the organization to believe that they're doing anything, covertly or overtly, worthwhile for them to earn the right to have "Security" in their official name.

BlueMoon

No kidding. As for wearing an "Osama Bin Laden" T-Shirt. I'd be more worried about some passengers in the boarding area or on the plane kicking his ass, than the TSA.

grdownflaps22

Honestly, the TSA isn't there to ACTUALLY keep people and things from boarding airplanes that shouldn't be. They are solely 100% there to project a psychological effect over everyone that they are in a "secure" area, and that you can't cross unless you have proper credentials, etc. Walking around in IAH, every couple of minutes or so, you hear that the threat level is "orange." WFT does that mean? Nobody knows, and I am sure the TSA doesn't either, but it sure makes you feel like you're being watched over.

I mean come on, I've jumpseated, non-rev'd, deadheaded plenty of times with just a collared shirt on, and everyone is like "how do you get your stuff through TSA?" To be honest, I've never taken anything out or acted any differently because I have NOT ONCE had them question anything that I brought through because I was not in uniform. Also, I have noticed quite a few times coming back from international flights from Mexico and having to go through "security" I have not once had my badge even glanced at. I don't care because this agency doesn't do anything anyway.

But like I said, everything they do is completely psychological. Everyday when you go to work all you see is people getting completely stressed out over things they "can and can't bring" through "security." I mean people literally freak out and feel nervous as heck just going to go on vacation, and if what they do freaks out the moms and dads and families going on vacation, it just heightens the awareness of the rest of the general public that is flying and keeps them on their toes. I seriously think that is all they really are meant to do.

DublinFlyer

They always give me **** when I attempt to go through security when I'm not in uniform. It's so bad I always travel in uniform.

The TSA is useless.

TurboFan

I'm going to call B.S. on this post. I assume when you say "I have NOT ONCE had them question anything that I brought through because I was not in uniform." you are referring to the liquid restriction. If this is the case, you must not travel much. TSA agents might not be the sharpest tools in the shed, but they have some pretty high-tech software on their side. Sure it's possible every now and then to sneak a few ounces here or there, but it's been my experience (and I've been dealing with TSA for years) that if I forget to take my shaving cream, toothpaste, etc. out when jumpseating, I get busted.

You sound like a conspiracy theorist and after writing a college paper on 9/11 conspiracy theorists I can't stand you people. Actually TSA is there to keep, to the best of their ability, prohibited items from entering the sterile area. All this "psychological effect" stuff is ridiculous. As for the color coded alert levels, let me assure you TSA knows what the current level is and what that means. Color coded alert levels are something many militaries, including the U.S. military, have been using for years and the TSA system was developed from them. Most civilians might not have a firm grasp on exactly what each color means (although there is a detailed description on dhs.gov), but most people know that green is better than red, or low is better than severe. Hence the simplicity of a color coded alert system, it gives everyone at least a clue as to what is going on and more detail is available should one want it.

"...the threat level is "orange." WFT does that mean?" - Well, now you know .

Just because you're scared of the big, bad, TSA doesn't mean everyone else is.