Tag Archives: TSA

Jonathan Turley ~ Oregon Man Acquitted After Arrest For Stripping Before TSA . . . TSA Responds By Bringing Its Own Charge

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Jonathan Turley’s blog May 13 2013

I have previously written about how the Transportation Security Agency (TSA) set out to create a crime never approved by Congress: the crime of making a joke in an airport about security issues. The TSA has long appeared to chafe at the notion of an agency dependent on Congress or the public for its authority. That appears the message being sent to John E. Brennan. You may recall Brennan from a story last year when he stripped in the Portland International Airport in protest of increasing invasive TSA security measures. He was cleared by a judge who found his stripping was a form of protest. However, the TSA was clearly miffed by decision of the judge, so Brennan was pulled into the administrative abyss by TSA with an agency charge. It appears that, if the law will not punish a citizen, TSA will.

Agency fines and charges place citizens into a system that is heavily weighted in favor of the agency and denies basic due process protections found in courts. After the judge threw out the charge against Brennan, 50, the TSA got one of its administrative judges to fine him $1,000 for violating a federal rule stating passengers may not “interfere with, assault, threaten, or intimidate” TSA screeners. You may ask how stripping is an act of interference or assault or threat or intimidation. It does not matter. Once in the administrative process, the agency gets a huge degree of deference in determining violations with judges who are dependent on the agency for the very jurisdiction of their “court.”

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Robert Taylor ~ TSA Screening Lawsuit Helps Expose Government Abuse

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PolicyMIC April 2 2013

On April 3, the First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals will hear an appeal for a lawsuit against the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) filed by two Harvard law students in 2010 claiming that their Fourth Amendment rights were violated by “nude body scanners” and “enhanced pat-downs.” The First Circuit is also allowing Freedom to Travel USA, an anti-TSA advocacy group, to make an appearance and oral arguments.

A victory on the side of the two students, Jeffrey Redfern and Anant Pradhan, would definitely be a win for civil liberties and the Bill of Rights. But even if, however, the lawsuits are struck down, this case will help continue to highlight and expose one of the most pervasive institutions of government abuse that exists in America.

This case alone is just one of many that the Freedom to Travel USA, Redfern, and Pradhan have helped bring to the public’s attention. They have put pressure on the TSA for not disclosing enough information about the capability of its scanners and attacking them for their veil of secrecy and dismissive nature towards worries over the health effects.

While some may defend the TSA as supposedly “necessary” for security and many others may acquiesce to their civil liberties violations to go along with the crowd and not raise a fuss, the TSA is truly one of the most vivid examples of the cold, cruel nature of government power. Every time I have had the unfortunate experience of waiting in an airport (and now, even taking the train or bus), I see Orwell’s nightmares staring back at me: the latex gloves, the hideous uniforms, the omnipresent voice-overs, the sheep-like lines, the arrogance of undeserved authority. It truly is the purgatory of the national-security state.

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Michael Tennant ~ TSA Allowed People With Criminal Records To Get Airport Security Badges

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The New American March 9 2013

The federal government has entrusted the security of the nation’s airports to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). Yet according to a recent report from the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General (OIG), the agency’s bungling of an airport security badge vetting program allowed at least 11 individuals with criminal backgrounds to obtain access to secured airport areas. What’s more, says the OIG, because of the TSA’s lack of oversight, some individuals with criminal records may retain such access to this day.

According to the OIG, the TSA initially selected a single vendor, the American Association of Airport Executives’ (AAAE) Transportation Security Clearinghouse, to relay background check information to the TSA, which then submits the data for a Criminal History Records Check and a Security Threat Assessment. Only individuals who pass both screenings are to be given badges granting them unescorted access to secured airport areas.

Responding to requests from airports, the TSA created the Aviation Channeling Services Provider (ASCP) program in 2010 to offer them a choice of vendors for the badge vetting process. The next year it selected three vendors to participate in the program: AAAE, Telos ID, and L1 Identity Solutions (now MorphoTrust Enrollment Solutions).

This being a government project, it comes as no surprise that the OIG found that the TSA “did not properly plan, manage, and implement” it. In fact, the “project is still not completely implemented and continues to face challenges to accomplish its mission.” As of July 1, 2012, only a single airport had switched vendors (from AAAE to Telos ID), and MorphoTrust Enrollment Solutions was just beginning the testing phase of the project.

From the beginning, the project was doomed. “TSA did not have a written comprehensive plan for the ASCP project design and implementation,” noted the report. The agency has very little documentation on the project at all, and none about who made or approved project decisions. The project team supposedly made decisions, but no one can prove what they were because “TSA did not maintain team meeting minutes but relied on agendas as evidence of actions assigned to each responsible member of the team.”

The TSA also has no idea how much the project has cost thus far. Writes the OIG, “TSA did not track and report all project costs related to implementing the ASCP project.” As a result, it cannot say whether more than three vendors could have been acquired, and it “cannot be sure that it has not incurred unplanned additional costs.”

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Steve Watson ~ Man Sues Tsa For $5 Million Following Peanut Butter Arrest

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Infowars.com February 11 2013

Frank Hannibal

An Arizona man who was arrested at the behest of the TSA, following a wisecrack over a jar of peanut butter is suing the federal agency for $5 million.

Frank Hannibal, 50, was detained and dragged from LaGuardia Airport recently by police after a run-in with TSA agents over the jar of gourmet sandwich spread.

“The liquid oil that separated from the peanut butter had them baffled,” Hannibal told the New York Daily News.

Hannibal then commented to his wife and children that “They’re looking to confiscate my explosives,” as TSA agents inspected the 16-ounce jar of “Crazy Richards” chunky peanut butter.

TSA screener Edwin Sanchez, overheard Hannibal’s remark, did not see the funny side, and immediately called the cops, according to the court complaint.

Hannibal spent the next 24 hours in a cell, during which time he was fed a peanut butter sandwich by cops who later charged him with the felony of “falsely reporting an incident”.

“It sounds laughable now but at the time to be led out of there like a terrorist was unbelievable,” Hannibal tells the Daily News. “My whole life was up in the air. It was a nightmare. My children were overwhelmed. It was crazy.”

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Mike Adams ~ 100% Foolproof Solution To Stop The TSA From Stealing Valuables Out Of Your Carry-On Bag

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Natural News | January 9 2013

I keep hearing horror stories of people getting things stolen out of their carry-on luggage by the TSA. Thefts of valuable electronics, precious coins, cash and other items by TSA agents are ridiculously common, and seemingly countless numbers of TSA employees have been caught red-handed stealing from travelers (see headlines, below).

I’ve never had anything stolen by the TSA thanks to a foolproof anti-theft system I developed when I used to travel to South America, where theft of valuable electronics is also extremely common.

Headline: Convicted TSA agent who stole more than $800K worth of goods from passengers says stealing from bags is very common

My TSA anti-theft method allows you to travel safely and securely with all the following items in your carry-on luggage, without them being stolen by TSA thieves!

• Thousands of dollars worth of gold coins
• Cash
• Jewelry
• iPads, iPhones and other electronics
• Laptop computers
• Valuable optics such as rifle scopes

… and so on.

I explain it all in this simple video you can view here

Headline: TSA agent admits to stealing cash from passenger as punishment

Another headline: Top 20 airports where TSA thugs are most likely to steal your stuff

How it works

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TSA Cares About Self-Preservation More Than Security [Video]

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RTAmerica | December 21 2012

Two new developments are coming out of the Transportation Security Administration this month. First a new government report has painted the agency black making some say that the TSA’s main concern is self-preservation. Second, the administration has agreed to contract The National Academy of Sciences to study the health effect X-pay scanners have on passengers and whether they could cause cancer.

Baruch Feingenbaum of the Reason Foundation joins us to break it down.

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Anthony Gucciardi ~ Why I Always Opt Out Of The TSA’s Naked Body Scanners

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Natural News | December 20 2012

The TSA’s naked body scanners have created mass congestion and humiliation within every major airport at which they are installed, but leading radiation experts say that they are also causing mass waves of cancer — the exact number of which is impossible to calculate. You may or may not remember, but in November of last year a bombshell report linking the scanners to cancer actually led to a TSA press response in which they promised to re-test the scanners through independent trials.

As you may have guessed, they of course decided not to proceed with the testing after promising to do so. If they had actually done so, of course, then it would reveal to travels just how much radiation they are being blasted with when travelling through the ‘harmless’ scanners.

It was actually back in 1998 that radiation experts, much like one leading radiation expert I spoke with in a video below, actually projected that the scanners were causing cancer deaths thanks to the emission of radiation. This of course was back in 1998, long before the widespread usage of the scanners. With these machines being rolled out nationwide and having millions pass through each year, the estimate of 100 or so deaths per year back in 1998 can actually be expanded to the thousands (if not more). Even John Hopkins scientists warned similarly that the scanners can wreak havoc on the body.

I spoke with Dr. Edward Group, a practicing radiation expert of over 20 years and the founder of Global Healing Center specifically to address the dangers of the TSA’s naked body scanners:

TSA Scanners Emitting Around ‘Three CT Scans’ Each

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Miami TSA Screening Chief Was Fired From Police Force For Trying to Buy Sex

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theintelhub.com | December 13 2012

cartoon_tsa_sex_deviantA recent investigation by the Miami New Times has uncovered the fact that Miami TSA Screening Chief Juan Garcia was fired from the police force in 2000 after he attempted to buy sex from an undercover prostitute while on the job.

The New Times investigation started after a stunning ABC News report revealed that Miami International Airport had fired more TSA agents for theft than any other airport in the country and, after some investigation, revealed the startling fact that once again a head supervisor in the TSA is a sexual deviant.

Juan Garcia

Juan Garcia is the assistant federal security director for screening at TSA’s Miami headquarters, charged with overseeing the metal-detector-operating, body-patdown-performing agents outside the gates. But until 2000, he was an 18-year veteran of the Miami Police Department who’d worked his way up to major. That all changed the night of June 24, 2000.

 

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Alex Newman ~ TSA Blasted For Exposing Breasts Of Congressman’s Teen Grandniece

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The New American | November 27 2012

TSA Blasted for Exposing Breasts of Congressman’s Teen Grandniece

The Transportation Security Administration is under heavy fire after publicly exposing the breasts of a teenage girl during its controversial “screening” procedures. Of course, passengers routinely complain of TSA abuse and molestation — some 17,000 formal complaints have been lodged against the widely ridiculed and despised unconstitutional Homeland Security agency just since 2009, documents show.

The latest scandal, however, has turned into an international firestorm for the embattled bureaucracy, largely because the then-17-year-old victim was the grandniece of Rep. Ralph Hall (R-Texas). More than a few analysts noted that countless regular Americans suffer similar abuse and humiliation every single day; virtually nothing is ever done.

Now, though, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are crying foul while demanding investigations. Rights activists from across the political spectrum, meanwhile, have jumped on the opportunity to rein in the federal abuses once and for all.

According to official documents obtained by reporter Scott MacFarlane with an Atlanta TV news station, the girl was traveling to Australia on a trip with her classmates at Southwest Christian School in Texas. An internal investigation by TSA noted that after being selected for “secondary screening” and a so-called “pat-down,” which critics regularly equate with sexual molestation and assault, the screener “removed minor passenger from the corral.” Yes, the report uses the word corral, defined as an enclosure or pen for domesticated animals.

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Steve Watson ~ TSA Claims It Is Above Congressional Oversight

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Infowars.com | November 28 2012

The TSA has refused to attend a House Transportation hearing this week, with agency head John Pistole personally refusing to appear and declaring that the Congressional Committee has “no jurisdiction over the TSA”.

The hearing, schedule for Thursday, will be held by the Subcommittee on Aviation, a part of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee (TIC). It is titled How Best To Improve Our Nation’s Airport Passenger Security System Through Common Sense Solutions.

Headed by Rep. Thomas Petri, it will “examine the impact that the regulations and policies of the Transportation Security Administration have on aviation passenger experience and the free flow of aviation commerce,” according to a brief on the subcommittee’s website (PDF).

The TIC’s website indicates that TSA head John Pistole has been asked to testify at the hearing. However, a statement issued on the TSA’s website made it clear that neither Pistole, nor any TSA official intends to attend the hearing.

The statement reads:

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Mike Adams ~ Cuba, Venezuela, Russia And China Now More Free Than America In Notable Ways

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NaturalNews | November 26 2012

In reviewing all the breaking news over the last few months and looking for the “big picture” of where America is headed, one pattern has emerged with striking regularity: America has quietly become less free in many ways than nations like Cuba, China and even Venezuela.

This is especially true in California, where “justice” has become a joke, and the power of the state is unleashed in personal vendettas against innocent citizens who have done absolutely nothing wrong other than refuse to bow down to state-run tyranny.

In California, the most freedom-crushing region of America, a man was recently thrown in jail for four days for photographing police. Photographing or video recording police is not a crime if done in a manner that does not directly impede their actions. But California police simply don’t “like” being photographed, so they throw people in jail, without charge, and let them rot in California’s third-world prisons for a few days as a form of retaliation.

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Jonathan Benson ~ Texas Congressman Reintroduces Bill To Stop TSA Molestation At Airports

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Natural News | November 21 2012

Once again leading the charge to restore freedom and end the incessant reign of federal terror on American citizens is the state of Texas, which recently initiated the process of effectively castrating the U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA), and stopping the rogue agency from freely molesting travelers at airports throughout the state in the name of national security.

Representative David Simpson, a Republican from Longview, Texas, has successfully filed House Bill 80, also known as the Texas Travel Freedom Act, which would prohibit government agents from touching the private areas of individuals and travelers without probable cause. It would also restrict the TSA from requiring full-body pat downs as a security requirement for travel, as well as prohibit TSA agents from separating minors from their parents during the screening process.

Simpson sponsored a similar bill known as HB 1937 back in 2010, which at that time passed both the Texas House and the Senate Transportation and Homeland Security Committee. But after a U.S. attorney stepped in and threatened to shut down air travel if the bill was passed, it was placed on hold. Texas Governor Rick Perry immediately called the bill into a special session, but it was already too late to reconcile the House and Senate versions of the bill before the close of the session. (http://www.naturalnews.com/032869_TSA_Texas.html)

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Steve Watson ~ TSA Issues Warning Over Opt Out And Film Week

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InfoWars | November 20 2012

The TSA has officially acknowledged the Infowars Opt Out And Film week protest, and warned that despite the fact it is not prohibited to film at TSA checkpoints, local laws may allow police to intervene and prevent such activity.

On its official blog, TSA official Bob Burns notes:

“TSA has given passengers the option of opting out of imaging technology. If you choose to opt out, simply let the officer know you would like to opt out of the body scanner, and you will receive a pat-down instead.”

Burns then states:

“We’re also aware of the Opt Out and Film week, where some are planning on opting out of the body scanner and then filming their experience. TSA respects passengers rights to exercise freedom of speech as well as the rights of fellow travelers trying to get to their destination safely and without unnecessary delay. While the TSA does not prohibit photographs at screening locations, local laws, state statutes, or local ordinances may.”

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