The TSA is doing *what*?! If you travel, You're being profiled....??

I read this gem last night, and the more I read, the more my jaw hung to the floor. "Quiet Skies" indeed...

You can still get to the article- click the almost invisible 'close' button

Just... WHY.

If I flew, I'd have a complete chorus of Air Marshals, simply because I'm sketchy of flying and my stupid health problems would tick off all of their boxes in one shot.

"The previously undisclosed program, called “Quiet Skies,” specifically targets travelers who “are not under investigation by any agency and are not in the Terrorist Screening Data Base,” according to a Transportation Security Administration bulletin in March."

Wonderful.
The article- which is pretty long- tells what fun one can expect if you're doing anything short of sitting stock still on the plane, and staring at the floor:

"Already under Quiet Skies, thousands of unsuspecting Americans have been subjected to targeted airport and inflight surveillance, carried out by small teams of armed, undercover air marshals, government documents show. The teams document whether passengers fidget, use a computer, have a “jump” in their Adam’s apple or a “cold penetrating stare,” among other behaviors, according to the records."

The list that is next is incomplete, according to the article, but after perusing it- If we were to fly, and our 5 (right now) year old were to come with us, We'd be followed round and round the airport, onto the plane, and probably into the bathrooms by the time we got to where we were going.

"“What we are doing [in Quiet Skies] is troubling and raising some serious questions as to the validity and legality of what we are doing and how we are doing it,” one air marshal wrote in a text message to colleagues."

Troubling? He should try flying as a member of the public, and have the sniffles or be jetlagged half to death to get the full effect, I think.

Seriously- what IS this?!

a reply to: wylekat


Does it say if they're watching guys who drink and flirt with the FA's?

a reply to: wylekat

But you KNOW what this is.

Its an extension of the mass surveillance program which has been enacted against your people, and against the spirit, if not the letter, of the US constitution, as well as any other laws and doctrinal limitations which are supposed to be placed upon the alphabet organisations. Its been going on for years, and everyone has known about it for years.

But no one is willing to do what is supposed to be done about these things, even those who claim their second amendment rights, appear unwilling to use them for their actual purpose.

originally posted by: AugustusMasonicus
a reply to: wylekat


Does it say if they're watching guys who drink and flirt with the FA's?

Yup. More than normal contact.

originally posted by: TrueBrit
But no one is willing to do what is supposed to be done about these things, even those who claim their second amendment rights, appear unwilling to use them for their actual purpose.

You want us to shoot the TSA?

As someone who flies weekly I don't think I can share my true feelings on that matter without issue.

Oh I know I have been watched many times while I have been in airports and on planes. I naturally have "the look" that make some security personnel nervous for some reason. I did nothing wrong but carry my demeanor minding my own business and keep to myself.

Should I be more happy or talkative and social? So I don't become a target to being surveilled?

I agree this is madness and what is more maddening is that almost everyone in the public thinks this is ok because (they have nothing to hide). I mean what the frak is wrong with everyone? These are the same people next to you that are willing to strip naked on demand if told to do so to think it was for their own safety. More importantly the federal government is acting like a paranoid Schizophrenic by mass surveilling the American populace because we cannot be trusted at face value but yet they expect us to vote for their officials and support their constituents.

Whoever put me on this alternate dimensional timeline is a complete a-hole. This is essentially the upgraded Patriot Act with a non-disclosure act and "I" the American citizen was NEVER NOTIFIED or even remotely agreed to support this. How is this legal and how is the TSA able to make policies on demand without congress or the courts??

a reply to: wylekat

Seems pretty simple to me. John/Jane Q Public are part of a new terrorist / troublemaker screening experiment, with such a large sample the outliers will be more obvious.

Being profiled? Shocking, I tell you, just shocking! You could knock me over with a feather!

Government paranoia and overreaching aside, like your proverbial strip searching Grandma I'm not certain anybody's ever seen, you would expect people tasked with detecting terrorists to not be profiling and not be watching you, just why? Is this supposed to be some shocking revelation, if you're part of the 21st century and simply know the TSA and air marshals exist? Do you think the marshals are on planes, because they like dry roasted peanuts? Oh! I get it. They should only be there, because they like dry roasted peanuts. Of course, I'm sure you'd all bitch up a storm, if they detected somebody with a weapon or bomb on your plane, in time.

Yes, everybody's the diabolical New World Order, until it's your ass on the line, until it's your 911 call. Bet you don't complain much, then.

a reply to: WarPig1939

what is more maddening is that almost everyone in the public thinks this is ok because (they have nothing to hide).

*I* have nothing to hide, but my reaction to flying, and health quirks, PLUS a kid who would be almost trying to hang from the overhead compartments by her feet (I would NOT be allowing it), I'd have them breathing down my neck to the point I'd ask for chocolates if they kept up.

I also see the potential for abuse: Say you ruffle an air marshal or a flight attendant's feathers, because you're in a bad mood, or it's the day nothing goes right- and they decide to roast you on a spit for it. WTH can you do about it?! You're effectively trapped on the ground, never to fly again.

More importantly the federal government is acting like a paranoid Schizophrenic by mass surveilling the American populace because we cannot be trusted at face value but yet they expect us to vote for their officials and support their constituents.

Ain't full corruptible power a fun kick in the nuts? :/

a reply to: wylekat


That is what it could come down to is a gestapo style mob rule, start flagging certain flyers that pose a threat based off of a one time altercation or argument. Heck even making fun or mocking at a TSA agent or law officer could get you put on the list too.

Why stop at the airports and train stations. Why not follow these potential threats to their own homes and asking them questions. Why stop there? Lets start recording their family members names and locations and interview them too and creating a record similar to what Nazi Germany did in their occupied countries. Why stop there? Let's get their blood type and hair samples and dental records just to be sure...


Just let the TSA become another arm of the FBI/NSA/CIA. Just make them all the DHS SS.

My local airport is a regional airport, so my normal flight itinerary is a two-leg flight -- i.e., my first flight is from my regional airport to a large airport, from where I then take a second flight to my destination.

Anyway....I often have layovers of 90 minutes or more between flights, and I take brisk walks through airport concourses to (1) waste the time between flights, and (2) to get my exercise -- often walking from one end of the concourse the other, and then maybe doing it again.

I sometimes wonder if the guys on the other end of the security cameras are noticing me all over the airport, sometime twice (actually, I'm sure they are noticing, or else they wouldn't be doing their job).

a reply to: wylekat
I have had the TSA constantly go through my checked in baggage.
I know this because they leave an official slip in your luggage so when you get to your destination and open your bag there is a TSA flyer staring you in the face.
I used to think maybe I am always being checked because I carry quite a few electronics but you would think after constantly checking my stuff they would know I am not a terrorist nor a drug smuggler.
It has not really bothered me until my last flight coming back from the U.K. when I opened my luggage with only a go pro camera in it in terms of electronic equipment and found another slip and my go pro missing,this has really really pissed me off.
It is difficult to point the finger at who stole the camera as in reality some dodgy wanker could have taken it in Manchester U.K. but when I travel now I am not only getting a bit irritated for being profiled but also there is a possibility my stuff will go missing.

But we are "The Land of the Free and Home of the Brave", right? The joke is on us at this point.

originally posted by: TrueBrit
a reply to: wylekat

But you KNOW what this is.

Its an extension of the mass surveillance program which has been enacted against your people, and against the spirit, if not the letter, of the US constitution, as well as any other laws and doctrinal limitations which are supposed to be placed upon the alphabet organisations. Its been going on for years, and everyone has known about it for years.

But no one is willing to do what is supposed to be done about these things, even those who claim their second amendment rights, appear unwilling to use them for their actual purpose.

I certainly agree with you on this matter. London is completelly under surveillance.

Link

Caught on Camera 300 Times: It is also a well known fact that the average person living in London will be recorded on camera 300 times in one day; an individual doesn’t need to go far without being caught on camera.

i don't fly. When they started grope and rope, i alerted my employer i'd no longer be flying.

a reply to: wylekat

FWIW, I read this yesterday as well and its just damned creepy. And its why I avoid flying at all costs; I hate it.

Actually, with each passing year, life in the US just gets ever more creepy.

More ridiculousness. By the time the federal government cannot trust the general population, there should be no paranoia or questions as they will know we are openly revolting.

Until that time, they need to just chill the hell out. Once that time does come, the reckoning will be unstoppable.

These are only fantasies I am aware, weve already been preemptively neutered.

a reply to: Soylent Green Is People

Oh I am sure you are correct. A few months back I had a flight out of Denver International at like 5:30 AM. Well to save money, i took a bus and then the lightrail to the airport and got there about 11pm the night before the flight.

Anyways, I am a deep sleeper, I didnt trust myself to wake back up for my flight if I slept. Because of the above, i basically just got some food and walked around the concourses, riding the tram between them and checking them all out just to see what eatieries or coffee joints might be open before the flight.

After about an hour of this, I became aware of not one but at least two undercovers who were following me around and observing my actions from afar. They were pretty smooth about it, until at one point going up an escalator when I turned around to stare at one of the guys.

He looked back at me, stopped walking, pulled a phone up to his ear, and acted like he wasnt about to tail me up the escaltor.

It was humurous really because it was so obvious. After that, I realized I was attracting unwanted attention, and I needed to not miss my flight in an interrogation room.

So I promptly went to my gate and remained there on my laptop for the remainder of the time. The UC's eventually left me alone there and went back to the hole they crawled out of.

Their appearences gave it away too, tan pants, boots, shaven heads, a ball cap, and only a black backpack on each of em.

Is anyone really shocked?

Traveling expert here. Lost my ID on the outbound leg of a trip. On return I found that having a credit card and prescription with an address got me through a 45 minute line ahead of everyone, a pat-down instead of microwave, and a hand swab to test for explosives etc, then I was on my way. Saved me time and I didnt get cooked. Not recommending it... just saying I preferred it. When the RealID Act takes effect in 2020 I think travel is gonna be difficult for a while again.