New TSA rules - No large ink cartridges, all belts must come off

[Liberal_in_LA]

TSA Bans Ink Cartridges, Belts

November 9, 2010 9:25 am by Carl Unger

The TSA announced it is banning all ink cartridges larger than 16 ounces from passengers' carry-on and checked bags. The move is a response to the recent attempt by Yemeni terrorists to bring down cargo planes using bombs hidden in ink and toner cartridges. The ban is part of a larger movement to strengthen security: Cargo from Yemen and Somalia has been banned, and no "high risk" cargo will be allowed on passenger planes.

In an unrelated move, it seems all belts must now come off during airport security checkpoints. Apparently, belt buckles, metal or otherwise, cause false positives on body scanning machines, and therefore must be removed. But instead of applying the rule only to passengers going through body scanners, the TSA decided to simply make it a blanket policy, meaning passengers nowhere near a body scanner still have to take their belts off. The rule even applies to pilots.

I have to be honest with you—writing about the TSA is exhausting. Each time word breaks of some new policy or other, I (and others) find myself asking, What on earth are they thinking? The problem here isn't ink cartridges, but rather that no one has found a surefire way to detect bomb materials passing through our air system. In fact, these bombs passed undetected through several layers of security. It was an intelligence win more than a systemic security win.

http://www.smartertravel.com/blogs/today-in-travel/tsa-bans-ink-cartridges-belts.html?id=6222891

[DJ13]

1. No large in cartridges

Huh?

[hlthe2b]

3. ink, I believe

[Liberal_in_LA]

4. ink

[ChairmanAgnostic]

6. Out of Ks, no doubt.

Large Out cartridges would be a hole udder issue.

[DJ13]

8. lol

:spray:

[Liberal_in_LA]

9. lol n/t

[Dappleganger]

29. duzy!

[rgbecker]

2. Drop Trow at port...Moon em!

[realisticphish]

5. I've read the opinions of multiple security experts

who state pretty flatly that such actions are useless, and the TSA knows it. It's all the assure the public that they're doing something, when the reality is that terrorists are ingenious, and preventing what they've already tried is pretty useless, functionally

[NotThisTime]

You are absolutely right... on an aside I never travel without a trusty ink cartridge in my carry on

j/k

[Warren DeMontague]

33. Couldn't they find another way to reassure us, that wasn't such a pain in the ass?

Really. Rather than making us disrobe, wait in long lines, unpack all our shit, etc. for no good reason, can't they just put up big signs that say "We're doing something!"?

[Ozymanithrax]

7. When flying, I've had to take my belt of now for years. n/t

[seabeyond]

10. a belt, tie and necklaces are pretty good weapons to strangle. why are you allowed to wear on plane

just saying

[Ozymanithrax]

11. I have long advocated flying naked.

I mean, really, if people want security, why let them take anything they weren't born with.

As long as they clean the seats inbetween flights.

[seabeyond]

13. lol. this is what i am saying. strip down, bag it, redress when arrive. BUTt, cavity

checks.... need those cavity checks. i have been rootin for those cavity checks (cause i dont fly anymore) every since posters started telling me i have no cause to be bothered with strip search. i just wonder if cavity checks go over their line

probably not

if they FEEL safer

[KamaAina]

36. Tom Friedman's Naked Air

Even a stopped clock is right twice a day, and a neocon NYT columnist... somewhat less than that.

http://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/26/opinion/26FRIE.html

In the wake of the attempted bombing last week of the American Airlines flight from Paris by a terrorist nut with explosives in his shoe, I'm thinking of starting my own airline, which would be called: Naked Air. Its motto would be: '"Everybody flies naked and nobody worries.'" Or '"Naked Air -- where the only thing you wear is a seat belt.'"

Think about it. If everybody flew naked, not only would you never have to worry about the passenger next to you carrying box cutters or exploding shoes, but no religious fundamentalists of any stripe would ever be caught dead flying nude, or in the presence of nude women, and that alone would keep many potential hijackers out of the skies. It's much more civilized than racial profiling. And I'm sure that it wouldn't be long before airlines would be offering free dry-cleaning for your clothes while you fly....

Well, you get the point: if the terrorists are just going to keep using technology to become better and better, how do we protect against that, while maintaining an open society -- without stripping everyone naked? I mean, what good is it to have a free and open America when someone can easily get on an airplane in Paris and bring a bomb over in the heel of his shoe or plot a suicide attack on the World Trade Center from a cave in Kandahar and then pop over and carry it out?

[Ozymanithrax]

54. There is not perfect security system...

What one human can think of to make things safer..
Another will find a way around.

The answer.

Freedom is dangerous.
Embrace freedom...
Live with danger...

[rfranklin]

14. Don't forget thongs...they are deadly if they get in a twist!

A sock full of coins is a great weapon...remember Death Wish?

[Ruby the Liberal]

34. And shoelaces. Don't forget that lethal weapon!

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

52. True story...

At one point in time, the ATF classified Shoelaces as a machinegun componet. No joke.
Soneone had rigged up a rifle to shoot automatically with a shoelace.

Therefore owning a shoelace and a firearm made one in possession of an illegal machinegun.
LOL... needless to say, the rediculous ruling has since been rescinded.

[ixion]

37. And fingernails! Why do they allow fingernails!

Everyone should have their fingernails removed by the TSA.
:sarcasm:

[Liberal_in_LA]

48. a bra too

[RC]

18. My belt has snaps to secure the buckle. I just remove the buckle.

[gort]

12. The great Merle Haggard said it best

I paraphrase, but in an interview on TV he said Stop making Americans hide under the porch. The government needs to do it's job defending us, but at the same time they need to stop scaring us.

I think Merle is right on and this ridiculousness needs to stop.

BTW I know most people here may think Merle is just a redneck from Bakersfield, but he is the type of American who Dean was talking about appealing to and I think we need to find more common ground with the fans who listen to him.

Merle is a big Hillary Clinton fan and endorsed her during the primaries.

[seabeyond]

16. i lived in bakersfield for a decade. i liked him. good ole guy. nt

[some guy]

20. Merle doesn't seem to understand

the War of Terror is not meant to be won; it's meant to increase Authoritarian power around the world.

It incrementally strips the rights and self-esteem of subject peoples.

If you were walking down a long hallway and the ceiling was sloped at a very slight angle, you wouldn't immediately notice, but after a time you would be walking hunched over, then eventually crawling on your knees, then on your stomach.

The War of Terror is meant to strip away your humanity bit by bit.

[KamaAina]

32. Some people still don't get that "Okie from Muskogee" was meant as satire

kind of like the many conservatroids who think that Colbert really is their hero.

[treestar]

42. Well I think he's trying to have it both ways there

either live with the risk (and don't expect the government to protect you) or expect the government to protect you and live with what it does in that effort.

[Warren DeMontague]

15. The real problem is, in my experience 90% of airport "security" is either for show

or trying to find the person with the bag of weed in their carry-on.

[immoderate]

28. I almost always have a bag of weed on me.

The metal detectors can't find it. Thing to remember: Don't put it out on the conveyor belt. :)

I have not seen anything about how a bag of weed in your pocket appears in a body scan. Anybody know? :shrug:

--imm

[Warren DeMontague]

31. And I haven't smoked it in decades, yet for some reason whenever I'm on the East Coast

I get singled out for all sorts of "special" attention. This was even worse before 9-11, probably because with all the gray hair, I look more respectable, now.

But seriously. Every fucking time I'd be in Newark or JFK, I could see it with the security people. A MAN! With LONG HAIR! FLYING TO CALIFORNIA! WOOO-HOOO!!!! WE GOT ONE!! :eyes:

Like I said, it's been a verrrrrry long time sine I've smoked it, much less traveled with it. They were always so crestfallen and disappointed after the elaborate "random" (yeah, right) searches turned up nothing. I missed more than one plane that way, but there you go.

[immoderate]

50. Did they make you empty your pockets?

That's the only place I haven't had checked. (Non-metallic things fly free.)

But it's been a couple of years since I have flown.

--imm

[Warren DeMontague]

53. I don't remember. All I know is, there were about 5 times in a row on the East Coast

when I was told I was selected for a "random" bag search. This was years ago, I haven't had the occasion to go back that way lately. But at the time I was convinced it was the hair.. I was looking especially hippie-like at that point in my life.

This was the same time that I noticed that people seemed extra uptight about the hair on the east coast in other places, oddly enough - so maybe my antennae were already up. In other parts of the country, no one ever seems to care.

FWIW, like I said, I haven't smoked in many, many years- but as a friendly piece of advice: if I still did, there's no way I would get on a plane these days carrying any pot. It's definitely not like the old days, and I wouldn't be surprised at all if someone asked you to empty your pockets, now.

[Speck Tater]

17. How long before "ATTENTION: ALL PASSENGERS MUST REMAIN HANDCUFFED TO THEIR SEATS".

For the duration of the flight.

[Ian David]

19. The belts are coming off because they can be used to hold a strap-on dildo stuffed with C4. n/t

[guardian]

21. 'Go To Meeting' and Driving are looking better and better

When you combine the pain in the the ass security procedures, long wait times, increasing costs, decreased service, on top of the standard weather and mechanical delays I find fewer and fewer reasons to fly these days. Pretty much if I can drive somewhere in under 8-10 hours it just isn't worth flying any more.

I think the most frustrating part is that the silly ass TSA 'security' procedures that are mostly symbolism and not substance. I don't feel they make anything safer. The need to start profiling PEOPLE not banning eye lash curlers or a pen knife or making people remove their flip flops. Like someone is really going to stab a pilot with an eyelash curler, or hide a bomb in their flip flops.

The Israelis got airport security right four decades ago. We should adopt their model.

Short of that just put a 38 special in the front seat pocket of every seat. Someone stands up to hijack the plane 20 people just shoot the bastard and get back to watching the movie.

[Ian David]

23. It was so much different when I was a kid.

Grandpa would get us to the airport a couple hours before our flight.

He'd leave us in the smoke-filled Eastern Airlines Ionosphere Club, in front of the TV, while he went off to fuck a female flight attendant.

We'd get all the sodas we wanted, and if they had a full bar, we'd beg the bartender for maraschino cherries.

Then, Grandpa and the stewardess would come in and lead us through the security checkpoint and to the front of the line to get on the plane.

Oh, what has happened to THAT kind of service?

[guardian]

25. That must have been

when all the stewardesses (i.e., flight attendants for you youngsters) were

1. young
2. pretty
3. wore miniskirts
4. would hang up your coat
5. bring you a hot meal with metal utensils
6. would give you the whole can of coke without having to ask

[Ian David]

27. I remember how mortified I was the first time they wouldn't let me put my Mac in the coat closet. nt

[Ian David]

22. Try getting THIS dude through the airport...

[Gin]

24. it's a wonder we can all wear underwear since that fool loaded his undies

up with explosives..

[TheWatcher]

26. He would get an Armed Escort aboard the Plane and likely receive the Medal OF Freedom.

Once again kids, this has nothing to do with stopping "Men In Caves" from "Getting Us."

But keep telling yourselves that it's all to "Keep You Safe" from the invisible bogeyman.

Maybe even the biggest lies somehow become true when the cowed population keeps going along with it.

[drmeow]

30. Upcoming TSA rules

No humans, luggage, or cargo allowed on flights.

All "passengers" will just come to the airport, wait in stupidly long lines to be humiliated, sit in overcrowded waiting areas with passengers from 2 other large flights in an area designed for one airplane, eat over-priced mediocre food, then try to find a taxi home at 2 am in the pouring rain! All for just $500 NT (as opposed to RT - roundtrip ... non-trip instead).

[Ikonoklast]

35. But in First Class, your headphones are free!

Now, go catch a bus.

[WinkyDink]

38. Napolitano is certifiably insane. AKA: Paranoid. A SICK PUPPY, OKAY??

How about a watch?

Dentures?

Eyeglasses?

[Stinky The Clown]

39. People actually get angry with me when I call them Keystone Kops

They define inept.

[Atypical Liberal]

40. Fly in pajamas

When I fly (which thankfully is rare - maybe once every 3 years) I now basically wear pajamas. Sweat pants and a shirt, with slip-on shoes. Takes 30 seconds to dump my cell phone, wallet, keys, and shoes into the bin, and then I go through the detector clean.

[pitohui]

45. a lot of people fly in pajamas now

esp. since they are not supplied for you in business class, let alone coach...

hard to understand the purpose of wearing a belt on the plane in the first place if you're planning to get any sleep

[NuclearDem]

41. Damn...

Just when I was about to fly in my hemp underwear with an ink cartridge shoved up my butt.

[seabeyond]

49. you got a chuckle from me... nt

[treestar]

43. Seems like they can only approach it from how it specifically

has been done - shoes, ink cartridges.

It will be better if technology can advance to find the bomb materials themselves. Is there a way to detect the substances that can make up a bomb? Not being much of a terrorist, I don't know how one can do it.

[pitohui]

46. yes they can use a swab which tells if you've been handling explosive materials

it takes a few moments to be "swabbed," i've had multiple "swabs" on hands, camera, etc. at frankfurt, the largest airport in europe

i don't know why they don't just swab suspicious people and random people and forget the rest of the nonsense

either you've been handling explosives or you haven't...if you haven't what's the point of the rest of the nonsense?

i've heard of a "false" positive from a lady who worked in a fireworks factory, not sure what to do about that, but i think it makes more sense to give a lady who works in that type of factory extra screening rather than giving extra screening to everyone who happens to own a belt buckle!

[unblock]

44. someday, a terrorist will try to hide on a bomb into an artificial nut sack, and tsa will respond

by requiring all men to remove their nutsacks for inspection.

women will have to submit to a corresponding cavity search just because that's the tsa's idea of being "fair".

[Atypical Liberal]

55. Why not cram it up their bums?

Why not cram the bomb up their bums? Or have it surgically implanted?

[Stevenmarc]

47. As much as I hate the TSA and their phoney bullshit I can't ever recall needing to pack

a honking huge ink cartridge considering I tend not to pack a printer.

[Norrin Radd]

51. What about dot matrix printers?

They might be handy in drowning out screaming children.

[ReverendDeuce]

56. GREAT! Now the terrorists will wear suspenders!

Who are they doing this security theater for? Nobody gives a shit. Nobody I know does anything but roll their eyes when they hear about these sort of stupid, impractical, time wasting measures.

[madinmaryland]

57. Soon to be announced: All passengers and crew must fly naked.