TSA to allow small knives, bats, clubs on planes

[jsr]

Source: Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Airline passengers will be allowed to carry small knives, souvenir baseball bats, golf clubs and other sports equipment on planes beginning next month.

That announcement Tuesday by John Pistole (PIH'-stohl), head of the federal Transportation Security Administration, drew an immediate outcry from unions representing flight attendants and other airline workers.

The unions said the items can be a danger to airline workers and passengers. They said TSA's decision to drop its prohibition on passengers carrying the items onboard was made for the convenience of the agency's screeners, not the safety of the traveling public.

TSA spokesman David Castelveter said armed pilots, federal air marshals and airline crew members trained in self-defense provide additional layers of security to protect against misuse of the items.

Read more: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/tsa-allow-small-knives-bats-clubs-planes

[llmart]

1. Now when can we start bringing toiletries in regular containers?

Eventually all these stupid "precautions" will go by the by. It was all window dressing anyway by the Bush/Cheney idiots to try to make us feel safer.

[markpkessinger]

34. Exactly . . .

. . . I had a Christmas gift confiscated by the TSA - a nice package of fine shaving cream, after shave, etc., because the individual containers exceeded TSA's size limit.

[SkyDaddy7]

40. Just wait...

Until another passenger gets unruly on a plane & everyone pulls out their trusty pocket knife & begin stabbing the unruly passenger.

It will happen...After 9/11 passengers feel they have a right to hurt or kill anyone they feel threatened by on a plane.

[former9thward]

49. Are the flight attendant unions 'Bush-Cheney idiots'?

They are the ones who promoted these restrictions.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

2. Unless it's a really nice knife

in which case the TSA will "confiscate" it.

I suppose we're still restricted to 3oz liquid containers that fit in a 1qt freezer bag, so we're still basically safe.

[meegbear]

3. Are they gonna put the golf clubs in the overhead?

Something like that should be required to fly with the luggage.

There are enough assholes already cramming their luggage into the overheads.

[valerief]

4. Knives, okay. Shampoo, verboten.

I guess they're just making it easier to bring firearms on planes by starting with small weapons, because, y'know, 2nd amendment bullshit.

[freshwest]

16. So long as you're a 'good guy,' what could possibly go wrong?

[George II]

28. The best defense against a bad guy with a knife is a good guy with a knife?

[demwing]

51. I was thinking a good guy with a putter /nt

[christx30]

56. I shouldn't limited to 2 golf clubs.

What if there is a professional golfer/terrorist? I need a high-capacity golf bag. If the only way to deal with a threat is a 5-iron, a sandwedge, AND a putter, we're all gonna die.

[demwing]

57. A high caliber, fully automatic putter

With hollow point balls

[shawn703]

5. Corners have to be cut somewhere

A reality of the sequester.

[SoapBox]

6. NO, NO, NO, NO!!!!!

What the fuck?!?!

NO! With all the batshit crazy bastards that are SO on the edge, when on the aircraft, this just invites problems. "Small" knives? A knife, is a knife...and it can be RAZOR blade sharp.

NO...FUCKING...WAY.

Come on ALPA and AFA, get this word out to the public.

p.s....

"TSA spokesman David Castelveter said armed pilots, federal air marshals and airline crew members trained in self-defense provide additional layers of security to protect against misuse of the items."

Armed pilots, are locked in the cockpit, nicely safe and secure. Air Marshals? There are hardly any out there, at least domestically. And "self-defense" traid FA's? Not a requirement...and in annual training, they get about 5 minutes of suggestions.

SOOOOO outrageous!

p.s.s....

Remember! One of the reported events on a 9/11 flight was that one of the terrorists, sliced the throat of the male passenger sitting in front of him, with a box cutter! ...to get the "shock and awe" thing going on board! Most box cutters I've ever seen have a very small "knife" (aka blade) and it's sharp, sharp, sharp.

So I guess the idea now is, well, there may be some deaths in the cabin but the pilots and ship are ok.

[George II]

29. The September 11 hijackers used box cutters, barely a half-inch long.

[Kablooie]

47. When was the last time you heard of a small switchblade shiving someone? Be reasonable.

[KamaAina]

7. But when can I bring on a container of microwave beef stew?

Srsly. I was actually jacked up at the San Jose airport for having one of those containers of microwave beef stew in my carry-on. You see, it has more than three ounces of liquid in it.

Never mind that the container was sealed at the factory. Clearly I had infiltrated a microwave beef stew factory, poured some liquid explosives into the container, then let the machine seal and timestamp it so that it looked like actual beef stew.

[bobclark86]

8. Or you could have tampered with it after sale...

not exactly out of the realm of possibility, actually.

[KamaAina]

12. And resealed it?

And put it back in (an exact replica of) the original cardboard packaging?

Well, it is San Jose. I suppose I could have been a "maker" and done it at Tech Shop.

[shanti]

9. But not a large bottle of shampoo

[LeftInTX]

10. Isn't this what the 9/11 hijackers used?

Why is this stuff so hard for the screeners?

[SoapBox]

14. Yes...basically. They carried Box Cutters.

And why the fuck box cutters and knives were even allowed in the first place, is beyond us.

[dipsydoodle]

21. They've excluded box cutters and razor blade

Last edited Tue Mar 5, 2013, 08:11 PM - Edit history (1)

and knives that don't fold.

The TSA said effective April 25, it would allow small knives with blades that are 2.36 inches or less in length and less than 1/2 inch wide. Other items that will be allowed on board again as part of a passenger's carry-on luggage include billiard cues, ski poles, hockey sticks and lacrosse sticks.

Items that had been prohibited like razors, box cutters or knives with a fixed blade are still not allowed on board.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/05/us-usa-transportation-security-idUSBRE92414120130305

[former9thward]

50. The planes have been 'hardened' now.

No one can get at the pilots.

[City Lights]

54. Yup. My first thought was that box cutters started all of this.

We've come full circle.

[Brigid]

11. This has all been nothing but security theater anyway.

[whatchamacallit]

60. Ever notice

how confused the "sane" (people who buy the official stories) are by our post 9/11 world? For them, it's been a decade of perpetual head scratchers in regard to the actions taken by the US government. "I know there's terrorism and all, but why the hell are we doing this?" is the oft heard refrain. For the "insane" (people who don't buy the official stories), it all makes perfect sense. Funny that.

[uppityperson]

13. Do I still have to take my shoes off to get through security? Can I carry a bottle of water through?

[wtmusic]

15. And in the blink of a jihadist's eyes, our defenses are down.

It's been 12 years! They'll never attack again.

[Robb]

17. Souvenir baseball bats? What of my zombie-knocker??

[wtmusic]

18. The NRA answer would be to GIVE all passengers boxcutters nt

[Fuddnik]

19. How about my spear gun?

[wtmusic]

20. If it's a souvenir, you're good. nt

[Revanchist]

22. So they're going to let the guy with the knife ....

stroll on through the checkpoint but give granny a strip search because of a metal hip or colostomy bag? This is why I'd rather drive than fly.

[Ian David]

23. This is good news! We might need those things on the plane...

[Chakab]

24. What about spiked maces?

I'm lost when I can't travel with this bad boy:



It's like a security blanket for me.

[smirkymonkey]

25. Great, knives, bats & clubs ok, but I can't bring my iced water bottles on the

flight to keep me hydrated. They never give you enough water.

What am I going to do, drown somebody with it?

[oldhippydude]

30. us dependant on oxygen can't carry the bottles, and they are going to allow golf clubs ?

current regs will allow concentrators but not bottles... concentrators start at $5k

[Bay Boy]

62. Did you know...

...you can buy water after you pass the security check and bring that on the plane?

[Purveyor]

26. No worries, all US flights will be brought down at any hint of 'terrorism' by the drones we have

assigned to each and every flight.

[alarimer]

27. Two golf clubs?

Who uses only two golf clubs? That might be the stupidest part of the whole thing. Don't you usually bring a whole set and if you do, don't you usually check them because it takes up a lot of space?

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

32. Oh no...

They'll bring the fucking things on the plane. Count on it.

Grrrrr...

[dipsydoodle]

42. Maybe they meant

Augusta National and Pine Valley.

[DRoseDARs]

31. "for the convenience of the agency's screeners, not the safety of the traveling public"

I... wait... lolwut?

[fantase56]

33. yeah but leave the fingernail clippers at home....nm

[Tx4obama]

35. Kick. n/t

[Nevernose]

36. They should have an airline with no passenger safety inspections whatsoever

Make sure the plane won't crash and reinforce the cockpit door so that it can't be crashed, but don't inspect the passengers at all. I'd be willing to take my chances, and I'll bet a lot of other people would, too.

[Rhiannon12866]

37. How about shampoo?

[Sophiegirl]

38. God Forbid!!!

That I bring my fingernail clippers or that 4oz bottle of really expensive perfume on board! They are very, very intimidating.

[truthisfreedom]

39. I can only shake my head. Knives were the way the terrorists of September 11, 2001

Last edited Wed Mar 6, 2013, 07:31 AM - Edit history (1)

gained control of the planes. "TSA's decision to drop its prohibition on passengers carrying the items onboard was made for the convenience of the agency's screeners, not the safety of the traveling public. "

OMFG. For the CONVENIENCE of the TSA. While they completely inconvenience us. INSANE.

[Prog_gun_owner]

41. Do I still have to take off my shoes?

What a f__ing joke.

[no1dolo]

43. But what about the toothpaste?

All I want to know is can I now take my toothpaste on the plane! We can carry knives but my toothlpaste was confiscated the last time I flew.

[valerief]

45. Aha! I see a market for toothpaste tubes with blades!!!! nt

[CountAllVotes]

48. the thugs needed to brush their teeth I guess

n/t btw ...

[valerief]

44. Why can't they tell people to just mail those things home? nt

[CountAllVotes]

46. still no marmalade?

Drat!

Dummy me bought a jar of it at the airport on a recent overseas trip only to have it confiscated by the thugs at that same airport.

I hope they enjoyed all 5 oz. of it!

& recommend.

[BadgerKid]

52. Could've sworn this was a public-endearing PR move in the face of budget cuts.

Shirley, I am that cynical.

[jsr]

53. New TSA policy on knives, bats sparks backlash

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_KNIVES_ON_PLANES?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-03-08-06-30-29

Mar 8, 6:30 AM EST
New TSA policy on knives, bats sparks backlash
By JOAN LOWY

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Flight attendants, pilots, federal air marshals and even insurance companies are part of a growing backlash to the Transportation Security Administration's new policy allowing passengers to carry small knives and sports equipment like souvenir baseball bats and golf clubs onto planes.

The Flight Attendants Union Coalition, which representing nearly 90,000 flight attendants, said it is coordinating a nationwide legislative and public education campaign to reverse the policy announced by TSA Administrator John Pistole this week. A petition posted by the flight attendants on the White House's "We the People" website had more than 9,300 signatures early Friday urging the administration to tell the TSA to keep knives off planes.

"Our nation's aviation system is the safest in the world thanks to multilayered security measures that include prohibition on many items that could pose a threat to the integrity of the aircraft cabin," the coalition, which is made up of five unions, said in a statement. "The continued ban on dangerous objects is an integral layer in aviation security and must remain in place."

Jon Adler, national president of the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association, whose 26,000 members include federal air marshals, complained that he and other "stakeholders" weren't consulted by TSA before the "countersafety policy" was announced. He said the association will ask Congress to block the policy change.

[Poll_Blind]

55. Great, my 3rd Level Half-Orc Barbarian can finally fly to DragonCon again. nt

PB

[hedgehog]

58. Wait until the next person reclines his seat into my lap!

[Locrian]

59. "Get ahold of yourself!!!!"

[panzerfaust]

61. Land of the Free, Home of the Brave

Be afraid, be VERY afraid.