more on FBI Issues Alert Against Almanac Carriers

[Dave Farber <dave () farber net>]

Delivered-To: dfarber+ () ux13 sp cs cmu edu
Date: Tue, 30 Dec 2003 11:28:43 -0500
From: Gene Spafford <spaf () cerias purdue edu>
Subject: Re: [IP] more on FBI Issues Alert Against Almanac Carriers
X-Sender: spaf () dorsai cerias purdue edu (Unverified)
To: dave () farber net

Gee, I wonder what would happen if someone with swarthy features and 
carrying an almanac were to try to go through a TSA checkpoint at an 
airport and refuse to remove his shoes?   Probably be taken to Guantanamo 
without a second thought!       This generation needs an Arlo 
Guthrie...."Alice's TSA."


Two stories:

1) On a recent trip, I was standing in line to go through the 
magnetometer.  The TSA guy on the other side said, pointedly, "We recommend 
you take your shoes off."   I replied "These have no metal in them -- they 
don't set off the alarm."    He glared at me, waved me through, and even 
though the alarm didn't sound, he sent me to the line for the manual 
check.    The line had several people in it, all with shoes, and all from 
the same guy's line.   When it was my turn, the check found nothing, and 
the guy watched me struggle to get my shoes back on (I have arthritis in my 
hips, and shoes can be a challenge on occasion, which I explained to 
him).   He apologized, sheepishly.  As I was getting my bags off the 
conveyor, I noticed him talking to the person who I assumed was the shift 
supervisor.   He and the guy at the magnetometer then changed places.   I 
sort of hope that mostly the people who look like they had suspect hygiene 
were being sent over for the pat-down search thereafter, rather than people 
who have chosen to fly with shoes that don't set off the alarm. :-)

If nothing else, there seem to be some reasonable people inside who are 
applying a little pressure within the system to moderate extreme behavior.

2) I recently was speaking to someone associated with the TSA.   I asked 
why they didn't understand the differences amongst identification, 
authentication, and authorization, with the repeated showing of an ID at 
the airport a classic example of lack of clue. I was told that some of the 
TSA procedures were not decided by security experts, but by others.  No 
further information was forthcoming.  I assume that some political 
appointees were involved, which is not terribly reassuring if true.

I have noted that at most airports, the people who are checking the IDs 
before you even get in line are the same people who use to screen your 
carry-on baggage with X-ray before TSA.   I wonder if one of the reasons to 
force showing IDs at the airport was to keep jobs for some of these 
contractors, and thus soften the potential economic and political fall-out 
when TSA took over?

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