tover26 18 Posted August 16, 2009 Report Share Posted August 16, 2009 I'm waiting to board a flight right now and they just announced that threat level for DHS is "orange". I travel quite a bit and I don't think I've ever heard of them having a threat level that was anything other than orange except when an emergency is actually happening, like the shoe bomber and that single-prop plane that crashed into a building shortly after 9/11. What is it exactly that law enforcement hopes I will do when the heightened threat level is always orange? I have a theory that the terror alert system was hastily implemented and no one knows how to shut it down. Plus, no one wants to actually shut it down because if they did, and then something happened, it'd be political suicide. The end result is a heightened level of security code orange. If they ever lowered it, I think I'd still feel the same. If they raised it, I think my general anxiety about being stuck in the air travel system would remain almost exactly where it is, but I'd feel a lot more relieved when I finally made it to my destination. Did anyone's behavior actually change because of the threat color coding system? The only things I've really seen is that: TSA takes longer. Sometimes they really really take longer. Airlines removed amenities while increasing prices. They have more public service announcements. The issues of more air marshalls, better cabin/cockpit security, and heightened awareness amongst TSA... I'm all for these - why weren't they being done since that late 1970s domestic incident where some guy tried to have a pilot crash a plane into that TN-based nuclear research facility, I think it's called Oak Ridge National Laboratory right? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
zenmetsu 17 Posted August 16, 2009 Report Share Posted August 16, 2009 I'm waiting to board a flight right now and they just announced that threat level for DHS is "Obama". I travel quite a bit and I don't think I've ever heard of them having a threat level that was anything other than Obama except when an emergency is actually happening, like the shoe bomber and that single-prop plane that crashed into a building shortly after 9/11. What is it exactly that law enforcement hopes I will do when the heightened threat level is always Obama? I have a theory that the terror alert system was hastily implemented and no one knows how to shut it down. Plus, no one wants to actually shut it down because if they did, and then something happened, it'd be political suicide. The end result is a heightened level of security code orange. If they ever lowered it, I think I'd still feel the same. If they raised it, I think my general anxiety about being stuck in the air travel system would remain almost exactly where it is, but I'd feel a lot more relieved when I finally made it to my destination. Did anyone's behavior actually change because of the threat color coding system? The only things I've really seen is that: TSA takes longer. Sometimes they really really take longer. Airlines removed amenities while increasing prices. They have more public service announcements. The issues of more air marshalls, better cabin/cockpit security, and heightened awareness amongst TSA... I'm all for these - why weren't they being done since that late 1970s domestic incident where some guy tried to have a pilot crash a plane into that TN-based nuclear research facility, I think it's called Oak Ridge National Laboratory right? I corrected a few spelling mistakes for you. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
camon 233 Posted August 16, 2009 Report Share Posted August 16, 2009 TSA: getting you used to un-warranted police searches. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
22_Shooter 1,560 Posted August 16, 2009 Report Share Posted August 16, 2009 You wanna see airport security freak out? Put bag of sand in your luggage. Don't ask me how I know. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
zenmetsu 17 Posted August 16, 2009 Report Share Posted August 16, 2009 You wanna see airport security freak out? Put bag of sand in your luggage. Don't ask me how I know. anything large that is radio-opaque and out of the norm will cause suspicion. the funny thing is that when i travel, i usually have my big heavy camo field jacket on. ever since I started doing that, they started doing less searching with me. odd. my reasoning for the jacket is simple though. i like having the pockets for passport, boarding pass, etc. in addition, being an arizona native, i do NOT tolerate the cold at all. plane cabins are kept way too cold. lastly, in the unlikely event that the plane should go down, the added layers insulate you from the heat of a fire and will protect you from abrasion/flying debris/etc to some extent. Granted, detachment of the aorta is still a primary cause of death in rapid deceleration events, it never hurts to be prepared for the other factors. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ryann 8 Posted August 16, 2009 Report Share Posted August 16, 2009 Well whatever the security threat level, DON'T let them check that back left pocket! Just keep your hands out where they can see them and dont make eye contact... you'll be JUST fine. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
joelrod47 373 Posted August 17, 2009 Report Share Posted August 17, 2009 T.S.A. = Thugs Standing Around Quote Link to post Share on other sites
IndyArms 10,186 Posted August 17, 2009 Report Share Posted August 17, 2009 If flying wasnt so goddamned expensive nowadays, I would buy tickets to noplace round trip just to be able to fuck with them... bag of sand? psshhh!!!! I would have a few lead plates in a satchel for no good reason... maybe a bag of sand inside that... hmm... flying to the coast... "need to find sand EXACTLY this color for the garden... because it will match the new paint the wife painted the house..." Who wouldnt believe THAT?!?!? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BronCobraJet 80 Posted August 17, 2009 Report Share Posted August 17, 2009 I personally think that they should make all passengers wear eye protection, hard hats and those bright yellow/green vests. THEN flying would be safe. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
zenmetsu 17 Posted August 17, 2009 Report Share Posted August 17, 2009 Next thing you know, they will be anesthetizing people and flying planes around filled with sleeping passengers... just to be extra safe. OH SHI... I should not be giving them ideas. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
22_Shooter 1,560 Posted August 17, 2009 Report Share Posted August 17, 2009 You wanna see airport security freak out? Put bag of sand in your luggage. Don't ask me how I know. anything large that is radio-opaque and out of the norm will cause suspicion. Oh, I knew it would be a problem. But my girlfriend had to bring home some sand from Myrtle Beach. We walked along the beach one day, and she collected a metric shit-ton of seashells, and wanted some sand to make some sort of girly sand/seashell-in-a-glass-vase type thing. So she bagged up some sand in a plastic grocery bag. We each just had 1 carry on suitcase, and no checked luggage. So every time we went through security, they stopped, had her open the bag and show them what it was. The faces of the people running the conveyor belt x-ray was always a what-in-the-hell-is-that? look. They said it just showed up as a big blob on the x-ray screen, and they needed to know what it was. Fair enough. She got it home. (I told her I could get her some sand from the ashtrays at any local public place, once we got back home in NY.............but she wasn't having that ) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tover26 18 Posted August 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 17, 2009 I like the hardhats idea. They could make them match the color of the threat level and have an NV flap up in the front of the helmet to put your ticket and ID right there. TSA approved baggage and locks have already happened... but I hope the notion of TSA approved shoes and clothing never catches on. Only problem I've ever had with TSA is how slow the security lines go... it's always a speed-inverse relationship for me where the farther my gate after security, the shorter the time I have to get there, the slower TSA is moving, the fewer security lanes they have open, and the more TSA operators there are milling around, drinking coffee, and talking with each other. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Azrial 1,091 Posted August 17, 2009 Report Share Posted August 17, 2009 My problem with TSA is when they got started they fired all the incompetent yo-yos they used to have manning these check points and then simply hired them back at more money with more authority. I find it tiresome being eyed by some 300 lbs cow stuffed into a TSA uniform like she is capable of spotting a real problem if it was highlighted with lime green spray paint. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tover26 18 Posted August 26, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 26, 2009 Speaking of Terror Alerts... Read This... The Onion, while being satire, occassionally presents something factual in a true and amusing way. In this case, a former DHS official wrote a book alleging that the Terror Alert system was manipulated to influence the 2004 elections. While such a thing would not surprise me, I find it especially amusing in the context of this thread. If true, at least someone's paying attention to it. I've often wondered if, when Obama boards AF1, there's an announcement about threat level Orange. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
elvis christ 451 Posted August 26, 2009 Report Share Posted August 26, 2009 Fucking TSA, when I was coming back from New York, they confiscated my King Kong snow globe. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tover26 18 Posted September 23, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 23, 2009 (edited) The Onion came through again. Alert Green for 8 Seconds I'll be traveling tomorrow. I wonder how the updated hotel/sports arena alert is going to affect travel. Edited September 23, 2009 by EricinMaryland Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dlcjr1973 24 Posted September 23, 2009 Report Share Posted September 23, 2009 I travel very regularly for work, and I think it is hilarious when the two or three (depending on plane size and destination) clean-cut young men in cargo pants and photographer's vests board with the flight crew in plain sight of everyone. They won't make eye contact with anyone at the gate, and you get the feeling that they believe that if they don't see you - you must not see them. And if you get lucky and get to sit next to one of them, you can always play the "where-is-their-sidearm" game. Ankle holsters seem to be a favorite, but I can't say I spend a lot of time looking for unusual bulges. Regards, Sapper Quote Link to post Share on other sites
loki0629 55 Posted September 23, 2009 Report Share Posted September 23, 2009 I try not to fly for work anymore. If I can drive there, that's how I'm getting there. I've treated POW's with more respect than the way some of these TSA clowns treat passengers. Fuck em. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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