I passed through TSA with a pocket knife, a small pair of sewing scissors, and a Leatherman multitool I forgot I put in my work backpack, but had to throw away my solid hand lotion for being 3.4oz. Larger than 3oz was a potential explosive, they told me. I had to toss it in a trashcan filled to overflowing with other potential explosives, located in the most populated area of the airport. I guess so it would take out as many people as possible and do the most structural damage, if my sealed Working Hands lotion was to explode and set off the other containers of lotions, water, and sodas. TSA is a joke.
They are literally dealing with "The Most Armed Nation ... In The World." /clarkson And that is not often given to them out loud as the reality of their working parameters. Statistically that gives them a magnified margin of error by sheer volume of gun owners in the USA to my mind.
That said I have been terrorized by some TSA operators and patted down in the Denver airport without being asked or given a chance to have privacy by a TSA in the middle of line.
So won't you at least give the TSA a chance to go fuck themselves ?
you mean the devices that were stupid and no one wanted to buy because they were mostly useless, until suddenly 9/11 and the investors in the company Republicans demanded they be installed in every airport and bus station?
What's surreal is being in a security line that is so backed up that the TSA on duty decide to tell people to keep their shoes on, and they open up the old fashioned metal detector to supplement the body scanner just to get people through faster.
Straight up confirmation that none of what they do matters.
American border is like prison border with the world being the prison. They are more concerned about people getting out of the prison than people getting in.
It is a mix of "American tourists who are to stupid to consult government service pages about their destination" and "TSA is all about perceived security, but not real security".
With no actual oversight, requirements, or sanctions, that's just transfer of public money to some random wage-slaves and private subcontractors (like for the all-so-special equipment they must have, as well as tons of gloves and lube they consume daily).
Im sure AI could do racial profiling just as racially biased as them, and also fail at detecting any real threats. And Im sure I've seen some 'cavity search'-like robots online that could be deployed.
Just a few months ago, my wife and I went on vacation, and she had my mushroom hunting knife with like a 4 or 5-inch blade on it in her purse. The purse went through scanners and everything and no one said a fucking thing. Didn't realize we had the knife until we were on the plane in the air, and she went to get gum out.
