Another reason why not to fly
From Indianapolis, Indiana
station RTV6:
Confrontation With TSA Agent Leaves Grandpa's Ashes On Floor
A man's attempt to bring the ashes of his grandfather home to Indianapolis ended with an angry scene in a Florida airport, with the ashes spilled on the terminal floor.
John Gross, a resident of Indianapolis' south side, was leaving Florida with the remains of his grandfather -- Mario Mark Marcaletti, a Sicilian immigrant who worked for the Penn Central Railroad in central Indiana -- in a tightly sealed jar marked "Human Remains."
Gross said he didn't think he'd have a problem, until he ran into a TSA agent at the Orlando airport.
"They opened up my bag, and I told them, 'Please, be careful. These are my grandpa's ashes,'" Gross told RTV6's Norman Cox. "She picked up the jar. She opened it up.
"I was told later on that she had no right to even open it, that they could have used other devices, like an X-ray machine. So she opened it up. She used her finger and was sifting through it. And then she accidentally spilled it."
Gross says about a quarter to a third of the contents spilled on the floor, leaving him frantically trying to gather up as much as he could while anxious passengers waited behind him.
"She didn't apologize. She started laughing. I was on my hands and knees picking up bone fragments. I couldn't pick up all, everything that was lost. I mean, there was a long line behind me."
TSA rules say a crematory container in carry-on baggage must pass through the X-ray machine at the security checkpoint.
But the agency's own website says human remains are to be opened under, �no circumstances.�
And then of course, there is House Bill
H.R. 3140 -- the Mass Transit Intelligence Prioritization Act
From
Federal News Radio:
House bill extends TSA intel sharing to mass transit
The Transportation Security Administration already shares intelligence it collects with airports. Now a House bill would expand TSA's intel sharing to local mass transit systems as well.
Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.), the bill's sponsor, said the legislation is a "common sense approach" to fighting terrorism. The House passed the bill May 30 and the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs is now considering the bill.
More -- quoting Speier:
"We have put in place through TSA a very elaborate system [in airports]. We all go through those metal detectors and those secondary searches. And we've put a lot of focus on the airlines for good reason. But we have neglected the mass transit components, generally speaking," she said.
Speier said 2 million people fly each day, compared with more than 5 million who ride the subway each day in New York City alone. She pointed out that the most recent terrorist attacks have been on mass transit. Also, when U.S. Special Forces raided Osama Bin Laden's compound last year, intelligence gathered revealed the next attack was intended for mass transit.
Seriously? Hell No! These people are already too powerful -- need to have their wings clipped.
Richard Reid tried to blow up an airplane with a bomb in his shoe in 2001 and we are still having to take our shoes off eleven years later. (Reid's personal life is quite the story -- read the above link. Some people should just be shot at birth.)
The TSA is a perfect example of how not to run a security agency.
Posted by DaveH at June 26, 2012 9:41 AM