Former Newark Airport TSA Screener Says the Job Does Little to Keep Fliers Safe … “I wouldn’t trust them to walk my dog”

A former Newark International Airport TSA screener comes out and says what many of us have thought for years,  the job does little to keep fliers safe.

In a revealing interview with the New York Post, the former TSA screener slammed the TSA’s efforts to keep the airways safe following September 11th and their focus on patty down small children and the elderly. The screener went on to say that you don’t need a high-school diploma or GED to be the first line of defense in the war on terror. Also for former screener went on to say, most TSA screeners know their job is a complete joke and their goal is to use this as a stepping stone to another government agency. Straight from the horses mouth … “I wouldn’t trust them to walk my dog”.

No truer words were probably ever stated as just last week  an undercover investigator with a fake bomb hidden on his body passed through a metal detector, went through a pat-down at New Jersey’s Newark Liberty Airport, and was never caught. I feel safe.

NY Post

A LOT of what we do is make-believe.

I’ve had to screen small children and explain to their parents I had no choice but to “check” them. I would only place my hands on their arms and bottom half of their legs, and the entire “pat-down” lasted 10 seconds. This goes completely against TSA procedure.   Because the cameras are recording our every move, we have to do something. If someone isn’t checked or even screened properly, the entire terminal would shut down, as this constitutes a security breach.

But since most TSA supervisors are too daft to actually supervise, bending the rules is easy to do.

Did you know you don’t need a high-school diploma or GED to work as a security screener? These are the same screeners that TSA chief John Pistole and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano refer to as a first-class first line of defense in the war on terror.

These are the employees who could never keep a job in the private sector. I wouldn’t trust them to walk my dog.

Several Injured by Turbulence Aboard American Airlines Flight from Aruba to Miami … “We were going to die. It was scary.” … I Wonder if that is what Natalee Holloway thought as Well?

I wonder if any of the passengers aboard the flight from Aruba got the bigger message?

Several passengers were injured, including two flight attendants, when an Aruba to Miami American Airlines flight 1780 experienced turbulence. The Boeing 757 experienced about 15 seconds worth of turbulence Tuesday afternoon while it was 30 minutes from  Miami International Airport. As reported at Fox News, one passenger said as they fought back tears during an interview shortly after the landing, “We were going to die. It was scary.” Hmm, rather ironic that the flight took off from Aruba … maybe those aboard this flight now know what Natalee Holloway must have felt like when she was about to die in May 2005 in Aruba? The only difference is that the Alabama teen was not fortunate enough (pic)to have her plane land on American soil and her walk off alive.

AA passengers, imagine how Natalee Holloway felt

Two flight attendants and a handful of passengers were injured when a Miami-bound American Airlines flight experienced turbulence Tuesday night.

American Airlines flight 1780 from Aruba to Miami experienced moderate turbulence which lasted for about 15 minutes before the plane landed at Miami International Airport shortly after 6 p.m., airline spokesman Matt Miller said.

Another TSA Fiasco … Confrontation with Florida TSA Agent Leaves Grandfather’s Ashes on Ground … TSA Website Says Human Remains Not to be Opened Under, “No Circumstances”

Hey TSA, NO, MEANS NO!!! If its a TSA story, its must be yet another TSA/airplane passenger nightmare … Ashes, Ashes, the TSA always seems to fall down.

When does the madness end when it comes to the behavior and actions of TSA agents?  John Gross was leaving Florida to return to Indianapolis, ID with his grandfathers ashes. He had the ashes in a tightly sealed jar marked “Human Remains.” Even though on the TSA’s own website that states, it states human remains are to be opened under, “no circumstances,” that did not stop the agent from doing exactly just that. TSA rules say a crematory container in carry-on baggage must pass through the X-ray machine at the security checkpoint. But no, the TSA agent had to open the container and about 1/3 of the contents spilled out on to the ground. GOOD GRIEF.

A man’s attempt to bring the ashes of his grandfather home to Indianapolis ended with an angry scene in a Florida airport, with the ashes spilled on the terminal floor.

John Gross, a resident of Indianapolis’ south side, was leaving Florida with the remains of his grandfather — Mario Mark Marcaletti, a Sicilian immigrant who worked for the Penn Central Railroad in central Indiana — in a tightly sealed jar marked “Human Remains.” [...]

Gross says about a quarter to a third of the contents spilled on the floor, leaving him frantically trying to gather up as much as he could while anxious passengers waited behind him.

“She didn’t apologize. She started laughing. I was on my hands and knees picking up bone fragments. I couldn’t pick up all, everything that was lost. I mean, there was a long line behind me.”

How is it that the TSA has agents who do not even seem to be aware of the TSA policies and procedures? It appears that TSA agents don’t even understand the basic knowledge of how to do their jobs and they might want to take a course on “humanity” as well. At what point do TSA apologies mean pretty much nothing?

More TSA Insecurity … JFK International Airport’s Terminal 7 Shut Down & Evacuated After Unplugged Metal Detector Causes Mass Chaos

UNREAL,  I feel safe that the TSA can protect us from terrorism when they cannot even figure out that a metal detector was unplugged.

Chaos ensued yesterday at New York City’s JFK International Airport when Terminal 7 was shut down and evacuated after it was determined that a metal detector was unplugged. Hundreds of passengers were forced to redo the security screenings as well as two airplanes were called back from the runway as they were preparing to take off. WTF!!! Can you imagine what the hostility must have been like all caused by complete incompetence from the TSA and one of their agents.

From Airplane, looks like the TSA picked the wrong week to quit checking unplugged metal detectors

The TSA’s bungling reached a new low yesterday when a JFK Airport terminal had to be evacuated and hundreds of passengers marched back through security screening all because one dimwitted agent failed to realize his metal detector had been unplugged, sources told The Post.

The stunning error led to hours of delays, two planes called back from the runway and infinite frustration for furious passengers.

“The truth is, this is the failure of the most basic level of diligence,” a law-enforcement source said.

“How can you expect the public to feel confident of the mission of the TSA if they don’t even know if the lights are turned on?”

This incident is simply beyond comprehension. Its one think to fondle little boys and girls and frisk granny like a common perp all in the name of national security … but to be so incompetent that you do not realize that the friggin “on” light was, um, on? Seriously! The TSA agent actually had no idea that the metal detector was not plugged in as hundreds of passengers went thru the machine with not one light flashing. At what point does common sense take over and one think that something might be wrong? Good grief!

The chaos at Terminal 7 was caused by screener Alija Abdul Majed, who had manned Lane No. 1 during the morning shift with no idea his metal detector had no juice, sources said.

Amazingly, he failed to realize that alert lights never flashed once as streams of passengers filed through the dead detector, the sources said.

Majed was so clueless that he couldn’t even tell police how long the machine had been shut off or how it happened, the sources said.

Two American Male Tourists Kidnapped by Armed Bedouins in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula (UPDATE: Victims Identified as Jonathan Shizarlasky & Carter Brabon)

As reported at the AP, two American tourists have been kidnapped as they were traveling by car from Dahab to the resort of Nuweiba by armed Bedouins in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula. Two American men in their early 30s, names not released, were believed to have been abducted by Bedouins in response of the previous arrest of fellow tribesman Eid Suleiman Aytawi on suspicion of trafficking in drugs.

Armed Bedouins kidnapped two American tourists in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula early on Thursday, security officials said.

The Bedouins snatched the two as they were traveling in a car from Dahab to Nuweiba, resort towns on the Red Sea’s Gulf of Aqaba. The two Americans are men in their early 30s, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

UPDATE I: Local media identified the two Americans kidnapped as as 31-year-old Americans Jonathan Shizarlasky and Carter Brabon.

Local media have identified the men as 31-year-old Americans Jonathan Shizarlasky and Carter Brabon, with some outlets even reporting their passport numbers. CBS News has not been able to confirm the identities of the abducted men.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak to the media.

Senate Democrats Want to Increase Air Travel Fees So that the TSA Can Continue to Grope Granny & Little Children

Because the Democrats never met a tax or fee increase the did not like …

The TSA is such a broken and inflated department with a failed groping policy that even the individual who created it thinks it should be scrapped; however,  Senate Democrats want now want to increase the travel fee. Presently the fee is $2.50. Democrats want to double the fee to $5.00. Are you serious? Why would such a failed agency more known for groping and fondling little girls, considering  disabled 7 year old’s terrorists, humiliating cancer patients and strip searching granny be provided more money?

The Senate Appropriations Committee on Tuesday moved forward with legislation to increase airline passenger security fees, beating back a GOP attempt to keep them at current levels.

The 2013 Homeland Security appropriations bill would increase one-way fees for passengers from $2.50 to $5 in order to close a budget shortfall at the Transportation Security Administration.

Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) said the $315 million in funding would otherwise come from taxpayers and argued it is better to stick passengers who rely on TSA with the bill.

Geraldo Rivera was unavailable for comment whether he thought there should be an increase in fees to be manually raped.

TSA Strikes Again … Family Misses Flight from JFK Because TSA Thinks 7 Year Old Developmentally Disabled Dina Frank is Public Enemy #1 and Terrorist …

Welcome to an Obama world … what ever happened to the America I grew up in that would never, never have done this to a disabled child? Then dare try and defend their actions. UNREAL.

The incompetence of the TSA Strikes again. The brain surgeons at the TSA at JFK International Airport actually considered 7 year old Dina Frank a “security risk”. Oh, did we say that 7 year old Dina Frank is developmentally challenged with cerebral palsy and crutches. WTF is wrong with these people? Seriously, these TSA folks need to be slapped and beat with a common sense stick. This BS has just gotten out of control.

Four months after the Transportation Security Administration launched a program to help airline passengers with disabilities, a New York family found out just how little “TSA Cares.”

Traveling from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport to Florida, the Frank family was yanked out of line as it boarded the plane in a dispute over how 7-year-old Dina had been screened. The little girl, who has cerebral palsy, walks with crutches and leg braces.

Read more

Daily Commentary – Wednesday, April 25, 2012 – TSA Treats 4 Year Old Isabella Like a Terrorist & “high security threat” … The Old Gun in the Teddy Bear Threat …

• A 4 year old girl was considered a “high security threat” when she hugged her grandmother at a security checkpoint at Wichita Mid-Continent Airport.

One might want to call this the mother of all over-reactions. Just how ignorant is the TSA? A 4 year old girl considered a terrorist and a high security risk by the brain surgeons of the TSA. UNREAL. The four year old Isabella was subjected to a full body pat down and accused of carrying a gun in an airport. The TSA threatened to shut down the entire airport. The TSA has refused to apologize and stated they followed procedures. What are these people ever going to do if they ever run across an actual credible threat?

And a recent incident in Wichita, Kansas has reinforced that argument, as a four-year-old girl was apparently subjected to a humiliating ordeal after she hugged her grandmother while she was waiting in line.

The girl was accused of having a gun and declared a ‘high security threat’, while agents threatened to shut down the whole airport if she could not be calmed down.

When asked about the overbearing treatment the girl received, a TSA spokesman did not apologize and insisted that correct procedures had been followed.

Daily Commentary – Wednesday, April 25, 2012 Download

Jet Blue Pilot Clayton Osbon Goes Nuts on Plane Shouting to Passengers, “You’d better start praying right now.”

A JetBlue pilot freaks out on plane.

It was an airline passengers worth nightmare in a post 9-11 world, a pilot freaking out and spewing comments like, “You’d better start praying right now,” and according to accounts referencing Al Qaeda, a bomb, and threatening that the plane is going down. That is exactly what occurred during a flight from NYC to Las Vegas aboard a JetBlue plane.  Captain Clayton Osbon began acting erratically and was locked out of the cockpit by a fast thinking co-pilot. Osbon then began going nuts in front of the passengers before he was tackled by some heroic individuals on board.

VIDEO of pilot flipping out

The JetBlue pilot who was restrained Tuesday aboard a Las Vegas-bound flight had a panic attack, according to law enforcement sources, while the FAA called the incident a medical emergency.

Unruly captain Clayton Osbon, with 131 passengers and six crew members aboard flight 191, was subdued by at least five passengers after his co-pilot reportedly locked him out of the cockpit when he displayed potentially dangerous behavior. The flight from Kennedy Airport in New York was diverted to Amarillo, Texas.

Thankfully, there was an off duty JetBlue pilot traveling on the flight who helped land the plane.  Once on the ground, Osbon was taken off the plane in handcuffs and a wheelchair by Amarillo police and is now in FBI custody.

Who finds it a tad bit bizarre that of all the things that a pilot would say would be “bomb” and “Al Qaeda”?  According to news accounts pilots are required to have medical check ups, but not mental evaluations. The airlines might want to add those the the list after this bizarre event.

TITANIC PART DEUX … Titanic Memorial Cruises Offers “disaster voyeurism” For 100 Year Anniversary Travel of Ill Fated Titanic Voyage

Do you feel lucky, you certainly are if you score one of these tickets  …  ICEBERG DEAD AHEAD!!!

Do you want to be “the King of the World”? Now you have the opportunity to travel on a cruise ship on the centennial anniversary of the ill-fated Titanic voyage.  A British company, Titanic Memorial Cruises, has almost sold out two cruises for individuals to mark the 100 year anniversary on April 15, 1912 by following the route of the Titanic to where it struck an iceberg.  Well, let’s hope they do all the same as the original voyage minus that “ICEBERG” thing.  Some are calling this “disaster voyeurism”; however, I must admit, this is a rather cool promotion. The MS Balmoral will be the vessel retracing the journey of the maiden voyage of the Titanic.

For some, it might sound too much like tempting fate – and for others, it smacks of “disaster voyeurism”. But for more than 2,000 Titanic enthusiasts, the chance to mark the centenary of the maritime disaster by sailing on a large cruise ship to commemorate the sinking on the very spot of the tragedy is proving difficult to resist.

A British company has almost sold out two cruises for people to mark the anniversary on 15 April by following the route of the Titanic to where it struck an iceberg. The booming demand for Titanic-related travel has led to another travel company offering the chance to explore the wreckage of the ill-fated vessel in a Russian-built submarine next summer at a cost of $59,000 (£37,000) per person. Places for that voyage are already “very limited”.

Actual Titanic Footage & Survivors Interviews

The voyages: Then & now itinerary:

RMS Titanic

Day 1: Departs Southampton.
Day 3: Sails through calm waters.
Day 4: Passengers in first class enjoy 13 courses including oysters, roast duckling, foie gras.
Day 5: Seven iceberg warnings. Hits iceberg at 11.40pm.
Day 6: Sinks at 2.20am.

Memorial cruise

Day 1: Departs Southampton.
Days 3 and 4: Gym, spa, history talks.
Day 5: No collisions scheduled.
Day 6: Memorial service at 2.20am.
Day 7: Arrive at Halifax, Canada, and visit Fairview Lawn Cemetery, where victims are interred.
Day 8: Arrive in New York – the Titanic’s intended destination.