The TSA is useless

Here's the story, copied and unedited from the source.

TSA slams pilot for criticizing security

Officers dispatched to home after video reveals gap in procedures

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Posted: December 23, 2010
11:07 am Eastern

By Bob Unruh
© 2010 WorldNetDaily

The Transportation Security Administration is investigating a California-based pilot for revealing a gap that allows airport and airline maintenance workers to access secured areas – which pilots and passengers reach only after nude full-body scans or invasive physical pat-downs – simply by swiping a card.

The report by KXTV-TV in Sacramento did not reveal the name or airline of the pilot but confirmed he had posted videos on YouTube.com documenting his concerns.

The station reported a federal investigation has been launched, and the pilot said he may go public with the dispute.

Join tens of thousands of Americans in a petition demanding action against the intrusive airport screening procedures implemented by Janet Napolitano and send a letter to Congress, President Obama and others telling them exactly what you think about the issue.

The pilot, 50, lives near Sacramento. He has been a test pilot in the Army Reserve, has flown missions for the United Nations and has been deputized by the TSA to carry a gun in the cockpit.

It was his right-to-carry status that changed suddenly when he posted a series of six video clips he recorded on a cell phone camera at San Francisco International Airport, the report said.

(Story continues below)

The videos, posted Nov. 28, revealed what the pilot described as the irony of flight crews passing through TSA screening while ground crew members who service the aircraft have full access to the secured areas just by swiping an ID card.

"As you can see, airport security is kind of a farce. It's only smoke and mirrors so you people believe there is actually something going on here," he narrated.

The television station's report includes segments of the pilot's videos:

Another image was of a "medieval-looking rescue ax" available on a jet's flight deck.

The station reported the pilot's comment was, "Looks a little more formidable than a box cutter, doesn't it?"

The report said the pilot was told by the TSA a week after the videos first appeared that the TSA had launched an "administrative review" into his status as a "federal flight deck officer."

The TSA warning letter said the videos "may have violated regulations" over disclosing information to the public.

Among the information disclosed was video of a door and a card reader, which the pilot described as the "security for ground crews."

The pilot's attorney said that the officers were sent to the pilot's home to confiscate his government-issued handgun and deliver a message.

"The message was you've angered us by telling the truth and showing America there are major security problems despite the fact we spent millions of dollars allegedly to improve security," the attorney said.

The pilot said his airline asked him to remove the videos, and he apparently is facing civil penalties from the TSA, the KXTV report by George Warren said.

On the station's forum page, the sentiment fell on the side of the pilot:

• "The only thing sensitive here is the TSA not liking people pointing out what a waste of money their entire organization is," said one participant.
  
  
• "He is showing that THE SECURITY MEASURES ARE USELESS," wrote another.
  
  
• "As for this pilot, he and his attorney should brush up on and make themselves familiar with the Federal Whistleblower Protections Act. Six U.S. Marshals to confiscate one man's single firearm and revoke his CCW Permit? That's like calling the entire New Orleans P.D. to surround and ticket a pickup truck for parking in a Handicapped Spot at Piggly-Wiggly," said a third.

Controversy over the invasive searches has erupted into headlines and protests during the last few weeks as the agency has rolled out new requirements. The new equipment produces essentially nude images for TSA agents to screen. Passengers who choose not to go through the scanner must submit to a full-body pat-down that includes agents touching private areas of the body.

Several lawsuits have been filed over the procedures, and some states have announced plans to prosecute TSA agents who violate state pornography or sexual assault laws. Also, doctors have warned of a long list of contagious diseases agents could pass from one passenger to another in the process. And there have been warnings the scanning machines could cause cancer.

Further, a petition, already signed by tens of thousands, was launched demanding action against the intrusive airport screening procedures implemented by Janet Napolitano, and a campaign enables Americans to send a letter to Congress, President Obama and others telling them to "stop airport humiliation now."

Monsanto and the Terminator seeds

I stole this from a post on CafeMom. It is unedited :)

Imagine this: You have a garden from which your family gets most of it's food. One year, in Spring when you plant the seeds you saved from harvest, they simply do not geminate, they do not grow. You try your other seeds, and half of them are dead, they simply won't germinate, no sprout, no plant, no food, no life. Imagine that this takes over and everyone begins to have these issues; their seeds won't grow. Soon you hear yourself saying to your child, "No honey you cannot grow that seed from the orange you ate, seeds don't grow anymore unless we buy them from the store."

The story is about a farmer who fought with Monsanto. It illustrates how the above scenerio is very likely to happen if we do not stop the current way we produce our food. This does not only impact the producers, it impacts those who eat the food as well.

Most poingnantly our children's health and their children's health is linked to how we produce food. Chemicals and hormones in meat and dairy are alarming. Growing cancer and birth defects are a result amongst other issues with toxicity. For example, non-organic strawberries have so much chemical on and in them that most of them are toxic when tested.

Monsanto is in the business of creating Terminator seeds, which have a gene in them that prevents the seeds collected from harvest from ever germinating again. Not only does this force farmers to continue buying seeds, there is another layer of horror: these seeds easily cross pollinate with other seeds and render them infertile as well. So if you are a next door neighbor, and you do not buy the Terminator seed, you are still termiated. What kind of future do you envision with this information?

Do you know that already, these genetically modified seeds have altered our ecosystems around the world to a detrimental and horrible extent? For example, just from the top of my head, in Hawaii, almost all non GMO mangos have completely been wiped out. This allows only one type of mango to grow there, one that has less nutrition and wipes out a variety of different species of mango and other companion plants, which work symbiotically together.

Already our food supply has been contaminated just with cross pollination with Monsanto seeds. Many farmers' livelihood, built over generations, have been completely destroyed because Monsanto sued them after they contaminated their fields. It is amazing and crazy.

Many people do not know about Monsanto. Yet, it has a large impact on our lives. It is a multinational agricultural biotechnology corporation. It owns an obscene amount of land all over the world. They produce agricultural products amonst other things. They take chemicals and mix them up to make the things that nature already provides. They make things like hormones that are injected into cows so they produce more milk, pesticides like Roundup, genetically modified organism (GMO) seeds which they can engineer to act certain ways. All of these products disrupt the ecosystem and that is very very bad for our children's health.

Corporate media, all the news we watch basically, do not touch Monsanto because if they do, Monsanto will not sponsor their programs. That is the problem with corporate news.

Even NPR, to a large extent is funded by them so the public does not hear anything about Monsanto unless it sounds positive. If you know about Monsanto, you must make others become aware of it.

Please watch this story about a Canadian farmer who was sued by Monsanto and then threatened. This is the story of many small farmers, many many American farmers as well.

Their GMO products ruin the environment by reducing biological diversity and decreasing the strength of the ecosystem to protect itself from disease such as H1N1.

Please watch this story (not funded by powerful giant corporations) from democracynow.org the largest independent daily news program in America and around the world. You will become familiar with so much that is valuable to know if you want to have a hand in creating a better future for your children.

Percy Schmeiser vs Monsanto: The Story of a Canadian Farmer’s Fight to Defend the Rights of Farmers and the Future of Seeds