USA: TSA to Swab Airline Passengers' Hands for Explosives

[MustavaMond]

TSA to swab airline passengers' hands in search for explosives - CNN.com

>>>>>>>>>>>>>

TSA to swab airline passengers' hands in search for explosives

By Jeanne Meserve and Mike M. Ahlers, CNN
February 17, 2010 4:54 p.m. EST

A TSA officer demonstrates swabbing at Washington's Reagan National Airport.










Washington (CNN) -- To the list of instructions you hear at airport checkpoints, add this: "Put your palms forward, please."
The Transportation Security Administration soon will begin randomly swabbing passengers' hands at checkpoints and airport gates to test them for traces of explosives.
Previously, screeners swabbed some carry-on luggage and other objects as they searched for the needle in the security haystack -- components of terrorist bombs in an endless stream of luggage.
But after the Christmas Day attempted bombing of Northwest Flight 253 over Detroit, Michigan, the TSA began a program of swabbing passengers' hands, which could be contaminated by explosive materials, experts say. The TSA will greatly expand the swabbing in the coming weeks, the agency said.
"The point is to make sure that the air environment is a safe environment," Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano told CNN. "We know that al Qaeda [and other] terrorists continue to think of aviation as a way to attack the United States. One way we keep it safe is by new technology [and] random use of different types of technology."



Video: TSA swabbing for explosives


Security experts consulted by CNN said swabbing hands is a good move, and privacy advocates said they support the new swabbing protocols, provided the agency tests only for security-related objects and does not discriminate when it selects people to be tested.
It's a "very good idea," said security expert Tony Fainberg. TSA screeners currently swab luggage handles and parts of bags that are likely be contaminated by human hands, he said, and swabbing a person's hands increases the chances of finding explosive materials. "Looking at the hands means you will probably get a better dose," he said.
Under the new protocols, tests will be conducted at various locations -- including in checkpoint lines, during the screening process and at gates. Newer, more portable machines make it easier to conduct tests away from fixed locations such as the checkpoint.
The TSA has more than 7,000 explosive trace detection (ETD) machines and has purchased 400 additional units with $16 million in federal stimulus money. The president's fiscal 2011 budget calls for $60 million to purchase approximately 800 portable ETD machines.
Napolitano said the tests will not significantly increase wait times at airport checkpoints.
The American Civil Liberties Union has "always supported explosive detection as a good form of security that doesn't really invade privacy," said Jay Stanley, an attorney and privacy expert with the organization.
Stanley said the ACLU is chiefly concerned that the TSA does not discriminate when selecting people for enhanced screening -- something the agency said it does not do -- and that it treat people with dignity.
"We would not want to see it implemented in a discriminatory fashion, for example, in a disproportionate way against Muslims and Arabs or, for example, people with red hair or anything else. Security experts from across the spectrum will tell you that that's not just unfair and unjust and not the American way, it's also a terrible way to do security," Stanley said.
Swabbing also should not be used to test for nonsecurity-related contraband, such as drugs, he said. "Under the Constitution, searches in airports are only for the purpose of protecting the security of airline transportation; they are not general law enforcement stops. And so it wouldn't be permissible for the government to use these trace portal detectors to look for drugs," Stanley said.
The TSA said the machines test only for explosives. It declined to specify which explosives, citing security reasons.
Because some legal substances -- such as fertilizers and heart medicines -- can result in "false positives," Stanley said the ACLU also wants to ensure that people who test positive be treated respectfully.
"It's important that the government treat people who do show up as a positive -- fairly and with dignity -- and not parade them off in handcuffs and treat them as terrorists, but do rational things to investigate what the problem might be," he said.
But swabbing hands does not, by itself, raise civil liberty problems, Stanley said. "There's really not a big privacy interest at stake here," he said. "They are basically looking for particles of explosives, which is not something that people normally have."

[BobR]

And meanwhile the real terrorists are laughing themselves silly at the pure stupidity and arrogance of the American Government and the sheep like cowardly behavior of the American people. The US Gives victories to terrorists even in defeat. The Christmas day bombing was a complete and utter failure until the Government used it as an excuse to further harass the public, then it became a complete success.

[Davis Knowlton]

TSA and Homeland Security - what a pathetic laughingstock - worldwide. Amateur hour personified. Guess we need to go out and buy another thousand or so SWAT jumpsuits for the next set of Burger King drop-outs we hire to do this new, and totally idiotic, series of checks. Minimum wage dipshits - even they should be embarrassed to be a part of this travesty.

[Begbie]

Griess test - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[ItsRobsLife]

$60 million to purchase approximately 800 portable ETD machines

Nice! Homeland Security the biggest growth industry in the USA.

Well I'm not a citizen so it doesn't affect me, but as a precedent it is quite disturbing.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/TRAVEL/02/12...ces/index.html

James Carafano, a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation, said it is a good idea to increase the number of aviation security officials with access to intelligence.

The move could decrease the chance that information will be leaked because employees who are given clearance are trained to treat the information appropriately, he said.

That's some skewed Orwellian logic at work. Go back to sleep America, your government has it all under control.

[raycarey]

this new, and totally idiotic, series of checks.

why is this test 'idiotic'?

wouldn't you want to know if someone about to get your plane was recently exposed to explosive materials?

i would.

and considering that a lot of the security decisions made by the govt. in the last few years have infringed upon the privacy of citizens, i'm happy to see them move in this direction.

[ItsRobsLife]

James Carafano, a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation.

Heritage Foundation.

The Heritage Foundation - Conservative Policy Research and Analysis

A conservative think tank promoting public policy research and analysis based on free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, ...

Circles within circles.

[ItsRobsLife]

this new, and totally idiotic, series of checks.

why is this test 'idiotic'?

wouldn't you want to know if someone about to get your plane was recently exposed to explosive materials?

i would.

and considering that a lot of the security decisions made by the govt. in the last few years have infringed upon the privacy of citizens, i'm happy to see them move in this direction.

Because some legal substances -- such as fertilizers and heart medicines -- can result in "false positives," Stanley said the ACLU also wants to ensure that people who test positive be treated respectfully.
"It's important that the government treat people who do show up as a positive -- fairly and with dignity -- and not parade them off in handcuffs and treat them as terrorists, but do rational things to investigate what the problem might be," he said.

Yup, I'm sure they might treat them with dignity, but they're still gonna miss their flight by a long stretch.

It's not a foolproof system, but if you are a terrorist intent on carrying a bomb onto a plane, you would certainly use every possible procedure to fool the system. There are evidently enough security procedures in place that trying to blow up a plane is passe, the only one to try it recently was a fruitcake that didn't have enough explosive to blow his nose, yet we are led to believe that he was a major terror threat at the heart of an international anti US conspiricy, bullshit.

Why bother blowing up planes full of Americans when there's enough of them these days in the ME to kill off on a daily basis?

[Davis Knowlton]

^^^Because the test is so general, you are going to get thousands of false positives. And, it has just about as much chance of actually preventing an attack as having people take off their shoes. If you want to get explosives on a plane, you don't send them on with the guy who mixed/handled them. Just more jerking off by so-called security experts.

[robuzo]

And meanwhile the real terrorists are laughing themselves silly at the pure stupidity and arrogance of the American Government and the sheep like cowardly behavior of the American people. The US Gives victories to terrorists even in defeat. The Christmas day bombing was a complete and utter failure until the Government used it as an excuse to further harass the public, then it became a complete success.

The Christmas Day bomber was stopped by passengers, so naturally the TSA response is. . .to make life more difficult for passengers.

[Begbie]

this new, and totally idiotic, series of checks.

why is this test 'idiotic'?

wouldn't you want to know if someone about to get your plane was recently exposed to explosive materials?

i would.

and considering that a lot of the security decisions made by the govt. in the last few years have infringed upon the privacy of citizens, i'm happy to see them move in this direction.

Without knowing how this technology works I wouldn't have a lot of confidence in the results. Do you want to get hauled off and water-boarded because you'd recently been playing cards or handling fertiliser ?

Another reason not to fly.

[BobR]

This whole system assumes the terrorists are not smart enough to have their martyr not touch the bomb or even be around where it was mixed and wear plastic bags over his hands while someone else mixes the bomb, plants it in his underwear and puts his underwear on his soon-to-be-dead body. That would work, wouldn't it???????

Sadly I've reached the point of being a refugee from my own country. I have an 80 year old father and a daughter I've not seen in 3 years and a grandson I've never seen. I'm not afraid of being killed or of terrorists but the thought of flying into and out of the USA and having to subject myself to this nonsense is enough to make me dread the trip or not go at all.

[dirtydog]

America, The Land of the Free, do Americans actually still say this?

[robuzo]

America, The Land of the Free, do Americans actually still say this?

When they sing the national anthem. They also seem to think they are "brave," but since 9-11 (at least) that has been in doubt.

[SunTzu]

do they use GT2000 for hand swapping ?

[blackgang]

America, The Land of the Free, do Americans actually still say this?

Most of you fuckers ain't even old enough to have known what freedom means, let alone have ever seen it, or been in a place where it was at..

[jandajoy]

Most of you fuckers ain't even old enough to have known what freedom means, let alone have ever seen it, or been in a place where it was at..

That's silly, mate.

[BobR]

Most of you fuckers ain't even old enough to have known what freedom means, let alone have ever seen it, or been in a place where it was at..

That's silly, mate.

Not really. I'm 52 and I am old enough to remember when you actually had rights in America. Back in the 70's before Reagan flooded the courts with right wing idiots. Also, if someone had told me 10 years ago today (when I was still practicing law) that we would have a prison like Guantanamo I would have said that was impossible.

[crippen]

Imagine the chaos if one was to wander round the airport with a little fertiliser,smearing a trace on trolleys,door handles,tables ect. The whole place would grind to a standstill.

[dirtydog]

You know where all this is leading of course, now lets get to the facts.
1 Americans are aliens, some are lizard shape shifters and the others anal probing aliens.
2 recently there was that attack in the middle east (probably CIA) where the guy hid explosives up his bum and detonated it at a meeting.
3 most likely more (CIA) attacks with people hiding explosives up their bums will happen.

In the end it will be quite acceptable, as acceptable as a hand shake or a wai to ask to probe someones bottom, same as taking your shoes off to get on a plane was unheard of 20 years ago.

Remember, you heard it here first

[SunTzu]

1 Americans are aliens, some are lizard shape shifters and the others anal probing aliens.

I'll have two right now, long time . . .




. . . for BG