I just wanted to make a quick mention that as I checked the hit-o-meter (delete-o-meter's arch-nemesis) this morning I was surprised to see that the TSA Blog had passed its one millionth hit. Some folks were sure we wouldn’t last more than a month after the launch, but one and a half years and a million hits later, we’re still kicking. One million hits! That’s almost as cool as Jerry Reed costarring on Scooby Doo. Almost…
We launched the blog in January of 2008 and have since published 188 posts (this is 189) discussing everything from exploding chickens to the most recent post on the screening of powders.
The blog has been a great way for us to explain the why’s of security while also addressing current TSA related events and busting myths. Make sure you check out our archives for a complete chronological list of our posts.
Thanks to all of our readers for helping us reach this milestone and we look forward to the two millionth hit!
Blogger Bob
TSA Blog Team
48 comments:
Sweet! I want to thank the academy, my family, all my coworks, and of course, most of all the FANS for this award.... Wait, did we get an award?
Oh yeah, Puppy post! Saved you guys some time there!
West
TSA Blog Team
And this is a good thing? One million times someone was so irritated and frustrated by an agency consisting of their public servants that they came here to try to make sense of the mostly nonsensical?
If you were doing your job this joint would have crickets chirping. Maybe you need a better internal blog for your own employees, managers and masters.
"The blog has been a great way for us to explain the why’s of security while also addressing current TSA related events and busting myths."
Bob, this is not true: You have yet to "explain" peer-reviewed, independent research supporting the liquids nonsense, you refuse to acknowledge the fact that the mandatory shoe carnival is an absurd waste of time, unduplicated nowhere else in the world, that makes no one safer; you cannot explain why TSA is obsessed with checking IDs, even though identity has nothing to do with security; and you have been repeatedly dishonest about your desires to force passengers into machines that will virtually strip-search them.
That's not to say TSA's blog is not a public service: It is. It is a daily reminder of the arrogance and stupidity that makes Americans hate TSA, and why no one, anywhere, should ever trust TSA.
Congratulations and thank you for maintaining this blog, especially in the face of some of some of the juvenile criticisms you receive.
These posts have been a great and readable resource for announcing upcoming changes, clarifying policies, debunking myths, and explaining why you do some of the things you do.
I don't always agree with the TSA's policies and feel that some are more "security theater" than security. However, I fully believe that you are trying to look out for our safety. I also appreciate that in a bureaucratic system such as the TSA and our government, it is difficulty to ever roll back security features.
Thanks again and I look forward to the next 189 posts.
Jim
Anonymous said...
"Bob, this is not true: You have yet to "explain" peer-reviewed, independent research supporting the liquids nonsense..."
Can you explain to me what you would expect such a "peer-reviewed, independent" report to detail?
This is more propaganda than an intelectual discussion about the merits of the effectiveness of the TSA programs. At the end of the day, what price are we willing to pay for the illusion of security? Totaliranism is a very high price.
Anonymous said...
"Bob, this is not true: You have yet to "explain" peer-reviewed, independent research supporting the liquids nonsense"
yes ... the fact that at least one documented attempt by terrorists to use liquids in bottles as an explosive by no means indicates that any other terrorists on earth are smart enough to use anything other than large alarmclocks strapped to dynamite or the acme cannon ball with fuse... how dare those terrorists become innovative just to inconvenience you.
"you refuse to acknowledge the fact that the mandatory shoe carnival is an absurd waste of time, unduplicated nowhere else in the world, that makes no one safer"
you know why TSA makes everyone take off their shoes? Idiots like you. "He didnt have to take off his 1/4 inch sandals... why do i have to take off my platform heels? I mean some guy tried to blow up a plane with stuff thats non metallic in shoes but i dont look like a terrorist" so now everyone gets to do it
guess what bucko... everything that has changed recently with the TSA's policies is because someone has tried to kill someone with it. Imagine that... an entire government agency trying to keep someone from killing the likes of you... now that is a waste of time
Great job guys! I do not envy your job. I wonder how many hits the IRS blog, the FEMA blog, or the CBP blog has. That's right they don't have one. No other government agency has gone to such great lengths to interact with the public to receive our feedback. Thank you Bob and the TSA Blog Team
http://tinyurl.com/mamt5v
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This is how TSA protects law abiding citizens!
We should remember what has happened since 9-11!
"It's SSI" or "because we think so" is not an explanation. And your myth busting is often aimed at strawmen.
This blog is the advertising wing of the TSA security theatre.
If you were serious about security, we'd have spent TSAs 60B$ on more intelligence, investigation, and emergency response rather than putting more layers of TSA locks on the already armored cockpit (barn) door.
"the fact that at least one documented attempt by terrorists to use liquids in bottles as an explosive"
The plot was purely aspirational, the plotters themselves did not even have plane tickets or passports. Liquids present no more inherent threat than any other state of matter. Next!
"I mean some guy tried to blow up a plane with stuff thats non metallic in shoes but i dont look like a terrorist" so now everyone gets to do it"
Well, gee. No other country has a mandatory shoe carnival, and yet they are not beset by planes being brought down by shoe bombs. That's because shoes are a lousy delivery device for explosives. TSA's policy is a hysterical over-reaction to one incident that took place over a half-decade ago, and does nothing to make anyone safer.
Anything else? Didn't think so.
Anonymous said...
"The blog has been a great way for us to explain the why’s of security while also addressing current TSA related events and busting myths."
Bob, this is not true: You have yet to "explain" peer-reviewed, independent research supporting the liquids nonsense, you refuse to acknowledge the fact that the mandatory shoe carnival is an absurd waste of time, unduplicated nowhere else in the world, that makes no one safer; you cannot explain why TSA is obsessed with checking IDs, even though identity has nothing to do with security; and you have been repeatedly dishonest about your desires to force passengers into machines that will virtually strip-search them.
That's not to say TSA's blog is not a public service: It is. It is a daily reminder of the arrogance and stupidity that makes Americans hate TSA, and why no one, anywhere, should ever trust TSA.
----------------
Actually we have explained all of those and I will explain them again. IED's made from liquids are too difficult to detect with our current explosive detection technology, which is why they are limited and restricted from carry on luggage. You can have liquids in checked baggage where we have time to perform better screening procedures on liquids. X-raying shoes is not a waste of time at all. People hide objects in their shoes all the time, and Richard Reids shoes didn’t have any metal in them at all. The reason we check ID is to prove that you are the person that paid for a seat on that airplane, you are the person you say you are, and that you aren't a person on a terrorist watch list. Also every passenger has the OPTION to be scanned by the full body scanner or they can instead choose a hand held metal detector search followed by a LIMITED pat down.
Instead of the puppy posts, how about doing something about about idiot employees like the ones at PHI who made the news.
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20090911_Dave_Davies__Student_air_passenger_handcuffed_to_echoes_of_9_11_fears.html
Five hours of unlawful detention for Arabic/English flash cards? What kind of morons train your airport personell?
TSOWilliamReed said... in part....
The reason we check ID is to prove that you are the person that paid for a seat on that airplane, you are the person you say you are, and that you aren't a person on a terrorist watch list.
................................
How does doing these things improve safety if the person has been screened and divested of dangerous items?
That is a question that TSA has not and will not answer.
Anonymous said....
""It's SSI" or "because we think so" is not an explanation. And your myth busting is often aimed at strawmen.
This blog is the advertising wing of the TSA security theatre.
If you were serious about security, we'd have spent TSAs 60B$ on more intelligence, investigation, and emergency response rather than putting more layers of TSA locks on the already armored cockpit (barn) door."
Locked cockpit doors, or "armored cockpit (barn) door[s]", as you put it, are only somewhat effective. They do not remained locked the entire flight. They are opened from time to time, and all it takes is someone willing to wait close by to rush the door when its opened, like to serve the flight crew dinner/lunch or ask them a question. Planes have been hijacked this way.
Layers of security are needed because nothing is perfect.
RB said...
TSOWilliamReed said... in part....
The reason we check ID is to prove that you are the person that paid for a seat on that airplane, you are the person you say you are, and that you aren't a person on a terrorist watch list.
................................
How does doing these things improve safety if the person has been screened and divested of dangerous items?
That is a question that TSA has not and will not answer.
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The reason we do this is because, only the people that are flying on a plane that day are allowed into the sterile area. Also employees that have a need to be in the sterile area are allowed through security. We determine these people are who they say by checking their ID. The airline checks their ID, and we check their ID. It is a group effort to make sure only people that have business being in the sterile area are the people that are in the sterile area. Plus it is just one more hurdle for bad guys to jump over and trip up on.
No Rememeber 9/11 post?
I'm betting we'll see one around quiting time.
Actually checking a piece of plastic to compare it to a piece of paper doesn't "determine" anything more than the two match.
ID checking isn't worth the trouble. Focus on preventing the carrying of weapons, explosives and incendiaries.
TSOWilliamReed said... -----------------
The reason we do this is because, only the people that are flying on a plane that day are allowed into the sterile area. Also employees that have a need to be in the sterile area are allowed through security. We determine these people are who they say by checking their ID. The airline checks their ID, and we check their ID. It is a group effort to make sure only people that have business being in the sterile area are the people that are in the sterile area. Plus it is just one more hurdle for bad guys to jump over and trip up on.
September 11, 2009 2:32 PM
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Your first two sentences conflict with each other.
You still didn't answer the question.
How does doing these things improve safety if the person has been screened and divested of dangerous items?
That is a question that TSA has not and will not answer.
Bob
What happened to the 9/11 post this year
Oh thats right TSA just does not like wasting time on non-puppy posts
Bingo!!
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RB said...
No Rememeber 9/11 post?
I'm betting we'll see one around quiting time.
September 11, 2009 2:39 PM
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Thanks for all you do to help TSA keep the aviation system safe. And if you’d like, share your 9-11 story in the comments section.
Lynn
TSA Blog Team Member
Labels: 9-11, Lynn
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posted by Bob at 7:02 PM
"Five hours of unlawful detention for Arabic/English flash cards? What kind of morons train your airport personell?"
The State Department has a language program for students to go to the middle east to study Arabic. I guess TSA and the FBI didn't get a memo.
TSOWilliamReed said... in part....
"The reason we check ID is to prove that you are the person that paid for a seat on that airplane, you are the person you say you are, and that you aren't a person on a terrorist watch list."
Just one problem Mr. Reed...no two. First of all, what does proving that I am the person that paid for a seat have to do with anything. Who says it was me who paid for it? Second, I routinely purchase tickets, print a boarding pass and cancel my ticket only to have access to the "sterile" area. The TSA "officers" (a designation that is a 100% worthless only to permit law enforcement wannabees who desire to wear a badge) put their "mark" on my boarding pass and off I go through security. I have NO intention of getting on an airplane those days...none! The TSA's program is flawed. It always has been and always will be.
Dear TSA,
Why are you trying to feed us with total nonsense about why Mr. George was detained because he was behaving like a terrorist? The TSA's so-called "behavorial specialists" are only out to harrass innocent people...no..innocent Americans! Let's face it; let's admit it. The terrorists won! They have us scared of our own shadows. I routinely cannot conduct my job or hobby because the TSA thinks it is illegal! Thank God my behavior has never been tagged as "suspicious". So what if a person is studying Arabic? Seems to me that thousands of young people and old are studying Arabic in college. I guess ALL of these individuals are guilty [of being a terrorist] until they prove they are not.
Explain to us what really happened and do NOT use some well thought out words from the press release. The TSA is lying when they said he was not handcuffed the entire time. The TSA knows otherwise. Why won't the TSA issue and apology to the gentleman? That is the question I really want answered!
Anonymous wrote in response to TSO William Reed:
"Just one problem Mr. Reed...no two."
Actually, there are 3 problems with Screener Reed's response:
The TSA can't tell from looking at your ID and BP if you are on the terrorist watch list or not.
Anonymous said… “Dear TSA, Why are you trying to feed us with total nonsense… The TSA is lying when they said he was not handcuffed the entire time. The TSA knows otherwise…”
I think you are a little off base with this argument.
First, TSA decided to give this guy a closer look because of some behavior that made him look suspicious. Who knows what that means but I do know when I travel I have seen some strange behaviors that people engage in. I would hope that TSA had given them a closer look before those oddballs got on the plane with me.
Secondly, TSA did NOT handcuff the guy. TSA was NOT with him when the police took him to the holding cell. TSA did NOT sit with him until the FBI came out to speak with him.
Third, the last time I checked police officers have to be very intelligent people. If this guy wasn’t doing anything wrong or acting in some manner that didn’t seem suspicious the police would not have decided to take him into custody and the FBI would not have wasted their time coming out to talk to him.
This guy was up to something. Maybe he was just looking for his 15 minutes of fame or maybe he was just hoping nobody found the weed stuffed into his shorts or maybe it was something totally different. The point is that the story that this guy is telling does not make sense, so why would you jump on his bandwagon?
At TSA, we act swiftly and with integrity to:
Discover and stop emerging transportation
security threats, utilizing state of the art
technology
Educate and provide friendly customer service
to travelers
Screen passengers and gather intelligence
Coordinate security involving aviation, rail,
and other surface and maritime transportation
Oversee most transportation-related
responsibilities of the Federal government during
a national emergency
....................
The above is part of the job description for a TSO.
So using 1970's xray equipment is state of the art.
Not being able to screen liquids as the Japanese do is state of the art.
Educate and provide friendly service must mean being asked DYWTFT since that is the result of asking questions at a checkpoint.
This is my first post and I'll refrain from chiming in on the imaging issue. I am a frequent flyer, I'm in the air about 45 weeks per year with 4-6 boardings per week. In general, I have few complaints about TSA, but there is one thing that I wish you would address.
Your procedures are NOT consistent from location to location and that, more than anything else, is what drives frequent flyers insane. For example, screeners in MKE insist that I put my shoes directly on the belt. In Louisville they must be in a bin. Louisville has no problem with the practice chanter (a musical instrument) in my bag. At Reagan the screener has to hold me up and call over a supervisor who must consult a fellow supervisor before letting it through. My belt sails through 5 checkpoints and yet the same belt sets off the alarm at the 6th. At one checkpoint I had stripped every piece of metal from my body and was still setting off the alarm (after passing through many checkpoints earler in the week. I finally took off my eyeglasses (which I've had for years) and the alarm stayed silent.
Please get your procedures standardized and your metal detectors all on the same setting. If you pay attention to the small things, the larger ones won't be as big a problem.
Look the bottom line is this. The ID checking is simple and fast. One more hurdle to jump over, one more river to cross before anything bad happens to a plane. If the ID check position was removed you would save about 30 seconds tops going through security, trust me I know we record this information DAILY. It is a simple fast security measure that doesn't take any time at all, won't keep you from boarding a plane, and is just one more trip wire for the enemy to foul up on.
You still didn't answer the question.
TSOWilliamReed said...
Look the bottom line is this. The ID checking is simple and fast. One more hurdle to jump over, one more river to cross before anything bad happens to a plane. If the ID check position was removed you would save about 30 seconds tops going through security, trust me I know we record this information DAILY. It is a simple fast security measure that doesn't take any time at all, won't keep you from boarding a plane, and is just one more trip wire for the enemy to foul up on.
September 12, 2009 1:55 PM
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Come on give it a try.
How does doing these things improve safety if the person has been screened and divested of dangerous items?
That is a question that TSA has not and will not answer.
Well, as an internet marketing agency, I only want to add that congrats on hitting 1 million visitors in 1.5 years. That is very fast and clearly you have interesting content that warrants such a high number of followers.
Keep up the good stuff.
RB said...
Come on give it a try.
How does doing these things improve safety if the person has been screened and divested of dangerous items?
That is a question that TSA has not and will not answer.
------------------
I did answer you RB, please listen. TSA has to watch the amount of time the process can take, they don't want to make people late. So any additional layers of security added to the process can not take up a lot of time. ID checking is fast, easy, and lots of organizations do it so its not uncommon. So it can be used as a "Tripwire", one more layer for the bad guys to foul up on.
http://lesstroud.ca/videoblog/strouds-blog-026-yogurt-rant
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Good job TSA.
I really feel safer with you guys on the job!
@TSOWilliamReed said...
Look the bottom line is this. The ID checking is simple and fast. One more hurdle to jump over, one more river to cross before anything bad happens to a plane. If the ID check position was removed you would save about 30 seconds tops going through security, trust me I know we record this information DAILY. It is a simple fast security measure that doesn't take any time at all, won't keep you from boarding a plane, and is just one more trip wire for the enemy to foul up on."
####
ID checking for 30 seconds times 2,000,000 people per day is 2.6 years of wasted lifespan each day. In terms of productive time, (2000 hours/production year), each day the TSA keeps checking IDs is 8.3 years worth of labor down the drain. 19 hijackers times 40 years would be the equivalent labor that TSA takes in every three months though this 30-second security tax.
TSOWilliamReed writes:
ID checking is fast, easy, and lots of organizations do it so its not uncommon. So it can be used as a "Tripwire", one more layer for the bad guys to foul up on.
But that doesn't answer the question. All of the 9/11 hijackers presented valid ID, identifying themselves properly. That didn't change what they did. So, that "layer" of security wasn't terribly effective. What's any different now?
ID checking tells you who I am, not what my intentions are.
I just deleted a fairly long description of the problems I have experienced.
Why bother. It would fall on deaf ears anyway.
http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local-beat/American-AIrlines-Workers-Arrested-in-Drug-Smuggling-Bust-59330412.html
Airline Workers Arrested in Drug Smuggling Bust
..........
A common topic on this blog is why everyone who enters the secure area are not screened.
TSA keeps telling us it's because all of these airport/airline workers have been vetted by background checks.
I suggest if a group of people can smuggle drugs on commercial airplanes then as good a chance is available to place a weapon on the same aircraft.
So again TSA, tell me why some people are not screened each and every time they enter the secure area?
Second question, why didn't the BDO's take note of these people violating the law?
@TSOWilliamReed said...
#####
ID checking for 30 seconds times 2,000,000 people per day is 2.6 years of wasted lifespan each day. In terms of productive time, (2000 hours/production year), each day the TSA keeps checking IDs is 8.3 years worth of labor down the drain. 19 hijackers times 40 years would be the equivalent labor that TSA takes in every three months though this 30-second security tax.
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Wow, that's genius math there. What you completely fail to take into account, though, WilliamReed, is that the ID checking is prior to the X-ray screening, which is a bottleneck. Whether you get your ID checked or not, you're still going to be waiting the same amount of time in the X-ray line, waiting for people and bags to go through the two screening devices.
What they should be working on is improving THAT bottleneck while still maintaining the same level of security.
And there are good reasons to check an ID even when you're still going to have to go through the X-ray and have any dangerous weapons/items removed from you.
1) So if there is an accident, authorities will have a better idea that it is you that got on that plane and not some random.
2) It's an extra checkpoint a potential threat has to get through. For example, a terrorist on the watch list can't buy a ticket in his name, so it won't allow a terrorist to just wander into the secure area with someone else's ticket.
3) Just in case something DOES slip through the X-ray/screening process, it's an extra check (see #2 above) against someone coming in with someone else's boarding pass. That person would also have to go through the additional hurdle of getting a real government ID made in a fake name with his picture. Might not be a huge extra step, but every extra step can help divert problems.
RB aka Robot Baby said...
So using 1970's xray equipment is state of the art.
Not being able to screen liquids as the Japanese do is state of the art.
How does doing these things improve safety if the person has been screened and divested of dangerous items?
-------------------------------
First and foremost I would like to thank RB for the thousands of witty, wonderful, and uplifting post. I do not look at these often because of my busy life, but as I scan the post I keep seeing two letters, RB. Everyone on this post should be glad that someone like you has enough time in your, busy and I'm sure important, life to teach everyone the marvelous knowledge that someone has bestowed upon you.
RB if they did change this or answer your question that doesn't make any sense you would still complain because that’s what you have been programmed to do. What do you do for a living? Your day to day life must be so difficult for you. Why don’t you make things easier on yourself? It could mean a longer and healthier life.
andyhoo25 said...
@TSOWilliamReed said...
#####
ID checking for 30 seconds times 2,000,000 people per day is 2.6 years of wasted lifespan each day. In terms of productive time, (2000 hours/production year), each day the TSA keeps checking IDs is 8.3 years worth of labor down the drain. 19 hijackers times 40 years would be the equivalent labor that TSA takes in every three months though this 30-second security tax.
----------------------------------
Wow, that's genius math there. What you completely fail to take into account, though, WilliamReed, is that the ID checking is prior to the X-ray screening, which is a bottleneck. Whether you get your ID checked or not, you're still going to be waiting the same amount of time in the X-ray line, waiting for people and bags to go through the two screening devices.
What they should be working on is improving THAT bottleneck while still maintaining the same level of security.
And there are good reasons to check an ID even when you're still going to have to go through the X-ray and have any dangerous weapons/items removed from you.
1) So if there is an accident, authorities will have a better idea that it is you that got on that plane and not some random.
2) It's an extra checkpoint a potential threat has to get through. For example, a terrorist on the watch list can't buy a ticket in his name, so it won't allow a terrorist to just wander into the secure area with someone else's ticket.
3) Just in case something DOES slip through the X-ray/screening process, it's an extra check (see #2 above) against someone coming in with someone else's boarding pass. That person would also have to go through the additional hurdle of getting a real government ID made in a fake name with his picture. Might not be a huge extra step, but every extra step can help divert problems.
September 16, 2009 6:43 PM
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Just wanted to say Andyhoo that I didn't post that math, some random anon did. Also everything you posted about the TDC is 100% true and I actually already made all those points up top on the blog. No one seems to care though that what I said is the answer and what you and I both said DOES increase security. Also a good point about the bottleneck but not allot can be done about that since the x-ray/bag search/and pat down TSO's really truly are as busy as the passengers make them. It isn't the X-ray persons fault if 10 people in line in a row did not take their baggy of liquids out of their luggage and the baggage TSO has to go in and find each individual bag and run them through the x-ray properly. So while that area is bottlenecked and people are just standing in line waiting anyways does the TDC really use up any additional time? In our checkpoint I have had the same guy standing in front of my podium for at least a minute because of that bottleneck. I checked his ID already but he can't move forward so I really did not waste any of his time. But I did do a real quick additional security on that guy which makes the plane a little bit more safe. I don't understand why that is such a big deal?
ID checking = smoke and mirrors.
TSA failing to twice detect a woman flying with a loaded pistol magazine before she found it herself and disposed of the live ammunition on board the aircraft. Oh, and FYI, she flew out of Logan, and if memory serves me correctly was one of the airports involved in 9/11.
Keep screening for shoes, liquids, pastes, and gels, while ignoring your primary job of keeping weapons, explosives and incendiaries off of aircraft. A big thumbs down to TSA and the billions spent on security theater.
Well I am shocked at some of the juvinile comments posted above. You guys provide a great service despite the negativity displayed above. Well done and congratulation on reaching your milestone.
Ava White
pictures of warts
Congratulations to TSA! More power! Needless to say, you guys have improved through the years so keep it up!
Maybe a bit late for it but here it goes CONGRATS on making 1 mil.
Just goes to show that the blog is needed regardless of some nay-sayers
Kudos TSA
To follow up on my last comment, i gotta say, that providing a blog like this rally is a way of acknowledging that there is a problem, and you are adressing it. Again regardless of nay sayers who actually don't even dare to put their name on their "naying"
Great blog on TSA .. keeping us secure
TSA is getting better and better. The threats do not seem to end. Keep up the good work.
Does the agency outsource the webmastering for this project? Does the entire website supported inhouse?
One million hits is very impressive. Do you use Google Analytics?
Daniel M. Tetreault.
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