Reagan Control Tower Goes Silent, Planes Forced to Land Solo

Editor's Note:  Unmanned Control Towers? Naked Body Scanners and Intrusive Pat Downs are necessary but apparently the TSA doesn't consider airport controllers as important.  Do you still think the TSA is concerned about your safety?

PAT PAPERS-Pilots heard nothing but silence coming from Reagan Airport yesterday says the Washington Post. Two late-night flights were forced to land on their own after determining the control tower was unmanned. It’s still unclear where the air traffic controller on duty was, but one theory is that he got locked out.


Video: The air traffic control tower was unmanned at Reagan National Airport as an American Airlines pilot approached for a landing. (March 23)

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Panel: Don't treat fliers like terrorists

Travelers at the Denver International Airport line up
at the TSA checkpoint

Editor's Note:  Laughable!!!  The recommendations put forth by the U.S. Travel Association are laughable in that they are obviously intended to create unnecessary divisions within our society.  They want you to provide them with the ability to more easily invade your privacy by granting permission to access "everything" about you, which, in the end, will NOT guarantee you a place at the front of the line.  If you choose to participate in these tyrannical measures, you are contributing to the demise of our nation; to the enslavement of it's people.  They begin by alienating segments of society, similar to what happened to the Jewish people during WWII.  Eventually you will qualify for elimination, as well.  During the Holocaust, people did not speak up until it was too late.  Millions of people suffered and died at the hands of tyrants.  Stereotyping, Preferential treatment, etc.  Is this the society we want?  Are you willing to stand by while your fellow citizens are treated like terrorists simply because they don't have a perfect credit score or employment history?  When will you stand up?  Will you wait until they come for you and your children? Boycott the airports.  Don't travel by airplane.  Organize protests.

It is time to Wake Up!  You too, can join the Global Political Awakening!

"First they came…" is a famous statement attributed to Pastor Martin Niemöller (1892–1984) about the inactivity of German intellectuals following the Nazi rise to power and the purging of their chosen targets, group after group. The text of the quotation is usually presented roughly as follows:

First They came... - Pastor Martin Niemoller
First they came for the communists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a communist.

Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a Jew.

Then they came for me
and there was no one left to speak out for me.

CNN-Calling for an airport screening process that maximizes security but cuts down on passenger hassles, the U.S. Travel Association on Wednesday recommended key changes to the current system.

The group, along with a panel of experts, suggested creating a trusted traveler program that would allow fliers who volunteer certain information about themselves to go through less rigorous security before their flight.

It also proposed allowing each traveler to check one bag without a fee to reduce the amount of luggage going through security checkpoints.

"We need to do better," said Jim Turner, a former ranking Democratic member of the House Homeland Security Committee and co-chairman of the panel, during a news conference in Washington.

"We owe it to the traveling public to make the system make more sense."

Traveler frustration with the current routine -- which includes the familiar rules about taking off shoes, going through a metal detector or full-body scan (or both) and facing the possibility of a pat down -- prompted the report, titled "A Better Way," the U.S. Travel Association said.

What are the chances Congress would approve any portion of the plan? It's very difficult to get action in this area, Turner admitted.

But if implemented, the recommendations could shorten wait times at security checkpoints and allow the Transportation Security Administration to screen passengers based on risk, the report said.

'Shrink the haystack'

Right now, "everyone who checks in is treated as a potential terrorist," said Tom Ridge, the former secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and co-chairman of the panel.

The group called it a "one-size-fits-all solution" in which children and the elderly can be pulled aside for extra screening. But having everyone go through the system isn't the way to eliminate risk, Ridge said.

"If you want to find a needle in a haystack, you shrink the haystack," he said.

That's where the trusted traveler program would come in, designating some passengers as low-risk based on information such as a background check, employment history, lack of criminal record and other factors.

Once travelers enroll in the program and their identity is confirmed at the airport with the help of biometric information, they would be subject to less security, Ridge said.

The program should be extended to qualified international passengers, the panel recommends.

The TSA screens more than 628 million airline passengers every year at U.S. airports, and the vast majority present little to no risk of committing an act of terrorism, TSA Administrator John Pistole said in a speech earlier this month.

In response to Wednesday's report, TSA spokesman Nicholas Kimball said Pistole's vision for the future of airport security screening is "one that is more risk-based and intelligence-driven, shifting away from a one-size-fits-all approach at checkpoints."

"Last fall, [Pistole] directed the agency to explore ways to further develop this strategy, with plans to announce more details this year. We welcome dialogue with stakeholders and the traveling public as the process moves forward," he said.
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The Perils of International Travel

Going along with the theme of travel warnings, another unfortunate quote from a tourist information guide to Japan caught my eye: “The Ministry of Justice of Japan amended the 'Law on immigration control and refugee status' to prevent terrorist threat. All foreigners will have to leave their fingerprints and be shot (full face) while passing immigration control… Entry to Japan for foreigners who refuse passing the above mentioned procedures will be prohibited.” Some relief will be felt by parents that “kids younger [than] 16” will be spared this feature of Japan’s war on terror.

While the above may be a slight misapplication of the English language, it does bring up the question of just how much of the security regime introduced in our post-9/11 world is actually meant to increase the safety of the traveling public. Are we any safer now that our flip-flops go through x-ray and all piercings are removed before boarding? Are we reassured to see Arabic-looking men pulled aside for further scrutiny? A Quinnipiac University National Poll says we are.

In public the TSA assures us all precautions necessary are being taken, yet new ones keep being introduced. The most recent addition to a long and growing list of prohibited items are spare lithium rechargeable batteries. Over a year ago we were told deodorants and mascara are a threat to national security. I am waiting for the day my glasses are taken away for their potential to become “weaponized” as sharp, compact projectiles (let us hope TSA is not reading).

The inconvenience to the public is of course not a loss to all. Since the ban on liquids, airport concessions have been doing brisk business in bottled water and toiletries. Mailing companies, seeing great potential in the oops factor, have installed self-service mail-back kiosks at some airports that allow those without enough foresight to mail their nail clippers and skin creams just before going through security. Some companies have even started re-selling the confiscated items on eBay.

That, however, is America. Once abroad, rules seem to change dramatically. Japan, of all places, introduced a regulation banning all sharp objects on their planes over a year before 9/11. Back in 2000, having just arrived in Tokyo, I was surprised when the Swiss Army knife I was able to bring with me from Seattle was taken away before boarding my connecting flight. The difference between that experience and the one thousands of people go through every day in the US is that that knife was handed back to me in a sealed envelope upon arrival in Sapporo. My shoes, rather bulky-looking things, were also x-rayed. I was given slippers to wear through the ordeal.

On a recent trip to China I realized only too late that a bottle of water remained in my carryon. The Chinese, not fooled by such subversive behavior, recovered the bottle from my bag. Apologies, in this case, did not suffice. On the spot, and in public view, I was subjected to beverage consumption. After two or three sips, the bottle was again taken away, to undergo a sniff test by one of the security personnel. Satisfied that I was not smuggling some potent baijiu on board, I was sent away – with the bottle.

Of course not all airports are so easy. Leaving Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport I, and many of those before me, breezed through security with my shoes on, and a mostly symbolic pat-down. The Indian gentleman behind me, however, was not so lucky. Reminiscent of a scene from ”Airplane II,” the cleanest-looking fellow got the not-so-clean treatment.

Which bring back the notice on Japan first mentioned. Much has been written on Japanese xenophobia, and the country’s reluctance to accept immigration to bolster its falling working population. The reaction of the expat community in Japan upon the introduction of this new law was highly critical, blaming said xenophobia as the main driver behind the initiative. In an increasingly globalized world, in which the traveling public has choices about where to travel, will countries such as Japan succumb to self-isolation? One can imagine travelers to Asia flying over the archipelago and looking down, curious about the culture and the sights, yet highly reluctant to experience a shot to the face.

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photo by thepartycow (CC)