Steampunk art is now terrorism, according to the TSA [OAK]

Booby Bob is right to a point -- the watch needed to be examined and cleared. If protocol called for a bomb squad to investigate it, fine.

However, the description of McGann contriving to "conceal" the device by putting his coat on top of the bin (something many of us do everytime we pass thru on of their checkpoints) must have come from TSA. Clearly they were complicit in this smear and are only now trying to distance themselves form the debacle. In this early statement, at least, Nico "Pants on Fire" Menendez is fairly neutral:

However, there is also no evidence of TSA distancing themselves from the arrest of McGann until the case unraveled. I'd love to see the checkpoint video of the arrest -- I'd bet the screeners are giddy with glee and high-fiving one another after they caught the big one.

​

 

Bob has not posted my question, asking whether the TSOs at LAX and any other airport through which McGann had passed with his items will be reprimanded for not taking proper action to clear his watch. After all, if the Oakland TSOs acted properly, then clearly their LAX counterparts were remiss.

 

Translation: Our Airport Security Screeners have the IQ of a tapeworm, so if your cousin with Down's Syndrome thinks it's a bomb, so will we.

(Remember, this was the asstard who trumpeted a "terrorist plot foiled" when some Freedom Fluffers made a traveler to Hawaii give up the battery pack he made for his portable DVD player)

 

Mine has not. (Although this is my third attempt at posting a reply, due to unknown technical problems).

The actual "watch-bomb" article:

The AC Sheriff Dept, as you may remember, shot a round point blank at the head of a young veteran holding a flag in Oakland at a demonstration last year.

The AC Sheriff has a lot of DHS toys to account for-- including a drone, I believe-- that may factor into their decision to arrest and hold for "possessing materials to make an explosive device."

 

With a full head of steam...

 

Wait a minute, Blogger Boob! I thought that the pax tried to sneak the watch past the checkpoint by "artfully" concealing it beneath a coat and other items in a bin...not in his carry on bag. Or have you changed he original story to meet your propaganda specifications?

 

Some people just don't know when to give up & quit looking like asses.

L.A. Times: Traveler with unusual wristwatch gets TSA's attention

In hopes of stifling the uproar, the TSA released a photo of the watch last week. This is no ordinary timepiece. It includes a toggle switch, wires and what look like tiny fuses attached to the wristband. A TSA explosives detection team determined that the watch was not an explosive device.​

First point: At that point, if you had any brains, you'd shut up.

Second point: TSA is violating the passenger's privacy by taking and releasing photographs of his personal property, especdially after "a TSA explosives detection team determined that the watch was not an explosive device".

​

McGann’s attorney accused the TSA of being “hyper vigilant.” The TSA responded on its blog last week, saying: “Terrorists take everyday items and attempt to manipulate them to make improvised explosive devices. Our officers are trained to look for anomalies such as this one.”​

​

Translation: The stupidity will continue.

 

Of course it will. If it weren't for the TSA, where would the stupid get paychecks?

 

Does Warner Brothers know the Alameda County Sheriff's Department is using their old Roadrunner cartoons as bomb threat assessment training videos?

Bingo!

Have no fear, if you were working the checkpoint at LAX, where a TSA supervisor cleared it, I'm sure that same supervisor would've gotten you a fresh pair of shorts.

​

​

In other words, this is all SSI, so you'll just have to trust me on why this could be something that, you know, goes BOOM!

Actually, the TSA did know it was not a threat when cleared by a Supervisor in LAX.

Fascinating. In other news, the sky will get lighter early tomorrow morning.

At least the TSA employees in LAX didn't crap their pants when they saw it.

Oh, I do that all the time, which is why valuable items in my rollaboard are in a locked compartment before I get to the Trained Document Checker. Wouldn't want my fancy Android phone ending up in a screener's pants now, would I?

"I'm cool enough, I'm hip enough, and gosh darn it, people like me."

 

Not I. Perhaps only your mother, who will probably disinherit you once she eventually gets groped.