GAO: $1 billion TSA behavioral screening program ‘slightly better than chance’

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• TSA spokeswomyn warns that applying rape legislation to the agency will result in increased crime and terrorism, denounced prejudices contrary to the values of a multicultural society.

  "Rape shouldn´t be stigmatized since it is no longer a tool of the Patriarchy and like my cousines back in Pakistan likes to say, if you can´t prevent rape then you are clearly enjoying it!"

  • Fuck them and the horse (or airplane) they rode in on!

  • WTF?

• I don't know if you're aware of this, but every US Passport issued since 2007 has an RFID chip in it.
  ALL of your identifying info is on that chip, and the TSA and ICE aren't the only ones who can access it.
  You know the old joke about tin foil hats? Well, try putting one on your passport (wrap it in aluminum foil) to prevent others from accessing your info.
  Identity thieves can use a scan of your passport chip as a starting point to rob you.
  I have a PDF with tons of info on how to secure your ID, both online and off, but I need a place to post it. If anyone knows of a free online document storage place similar to photobucket, I will be glad to share this info with you.
  In the meantime, here is the info on passports from WIRED:

  All passports issued by the US State Department after
  January 1 will have always-on radio frequency
  identification chips, making it easy for officials – and
  hackers – to grab your personal stats. Getting paranoid
  about strangers slurping up your identity? Here’ s what
  you can do about it. But be careful – tampering with a
  passport is punishable by 25 years in prison. Not to
  mention the “ special” customs search, with rubber gloves. Bon voyage!
  1) RFID-tagged passports have a distinctive logo on the front cover; the chip is
  embedded in the back.
  2) Sorry, “ accidentally” leaving your passport in the jeans you just put in the washer
  won’t work. You’ re more likely to ruin the passport itself than the chip.
  3) Forget about nuking it in the microwave – the chip could burst into flames, leaving
  telltale scorch marks. Besides, have you ever smelled burnt passport?
  4) The best approach? Hammer time. Hitting the chip with a blunt, hard object should
  disable it. A nonworking RFID doesn’ t invalidate the passport, so you can still use it.
  – Jenna Wortham

  • Another trick you can try is when you go to Home Depot, the checkout registers have something in the counter that disables the anti-theft devices in the packages. try running your passport over that and see if it disables it.

  • Damn, thanks for the info Poppa. Guess I had better #4 my passport.

• WOW!!! The GAO gets something right.

  Remember that shooting at LAX a couple weeks ago? The TSA agent that was killed was a BDO.

  I don't want to be crass, but he obviously either didn't do his job very well or government training sucks.

• I don't think anyone in TEA is competent to do anything requiring common sense. Just sayin'.

• Sample TSA psychological test questions:

  Have you ever wanted to be a florist?

  Are you fascinated by your own Feces?

  Do you want to get naked when you watch Chris Matthews on Television?

  Do you enjoy grabbing peoples butts and crotches?

  Have you ever had the urge to belong to a gang?

  Do you want a powerful position where you can hassle people you don't like?

  Are you a registered Democrat? Communist? Green Party Member?

  Have you ever spent time at an Occupy rally as a participant?

  Do you like to consume alcohol on the job?

  Do you enjoy stealing cash and electronics?

  If you answered "YES" to all these Questions you should contact the Transportation Security Administration at grabyourballs.com

• The only way a program like that would work would be if the TSA used it on themselves. I bet that would raise the rate of discovering erratic behavior considerably.

  • They're good a groping poopy diapers and 80 year old white ladies and maybe even the poopy diapers of 80 year old white ladies, but I bet they rock when it comes to groping each other; I mean, they're already pretty good at kissing Quagmire's ass and licking his boots!

• Sounds like they're talking about the much vaunted "Israeli method" of spotting erratic behavior, rather than the whole TSA program itself. AND they are speaking of the training program and not the method itself:

  'Four “meta analyses” of more than 400 studies from the past 60 years reviewed by the GAO found that such training produced results that were either equal to or slightly better than those of non-trained observers.'

  So it isn't JUST TSA (and I'm guessing not even just US) training programs which are being criticised here.

  Bottom line -- in typical media fashion, a headline much more alarming and misleading than the substantive story. Mods, you got suckered, too.

  • The Israelis interview everyone personally before they let them board + have other intense security measures. The stuff the TSA is trying is a joke by comparison, especially considering the moron TSA agents doing it. I don't feel I got suckered. The point is it's another waste of tax dollars for nothing. Especially since they seem to ignore Muslims almost completely.

    Scroll down to security: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Al

• Right about now Team BO would gladly take slightly better than chance for the odds of signing up for Obamacare.