In Defense of Full Body Scanners at Airports

Neal Bortz has up an interesting post in defense of the use of full body scanners to screen people at airports. He recently was put through one in Atlanta after the metal from his knee replacement surgery set off the traditional metal detector. He says usually when this happens it takes quite a while to have someone check him manually, where as with the scanner it was very quick.

Score One for Airport Security

With all the bad press that airport screeners have gotten, we should applaud them when they get it right. A carry-on screener at the airport in Tampa Florida noticed something in the shape of a boxcutter when he was looking at the X-Ray of a backpack. He opened the backpack and found a boxcutter in a hollowed out book. The person who was going through security said they "forgot it was there". The man was arrested and charged with multiple crimes including carrying a concealed weapon. Good Job Tampa International Airport security. Keep up the good work.

Extra Lithium Batteries Banned from Checked Baggage

Not sure how this one slipped by without anyone noticing. Apparently, it is not illegal to have an extra battery in your checked baggage for your laptop or digital camera or pretty much anything else. Apparently, it is permitted in unchecked luggage, but only if carried in a plastic bag and even there limits exist.

The claim is that this is to reduce the chance of fire, as lithium batteries have been blamed for a number of otherwise unexplained fires. But I can't help wondering if this is really to discourage use of laptops as entertainment devices on long flights, so people will pay for the little video screens and other extras.

Sir, Put the Spaghetti Sauce Down

As I was going through the security screening at JFK on my recent trip home I noticed a box that of items that were apparently confiscated by TSA. In the box were TWO JARS OF SPAGHETTI SAUCE! Horrors. The person might have taken over the plane by dumping the sauce over peoples' heads. I'm guessing this was confiscated because it was over the three ounces of "gels or liquids" and not in a plastic bag. I've recently wondered if the terrorists might not be better off just coming up with ridiculous plans aimed at making our security measures even more invasive. That way they don't have to worry about losing any of their own people and can sit back and laugh at us when we have restrictive security that doesn't protect us one bit.