Air Travel

Question:

[The culture of control continues to expand...] Saturday, November 16, 2002 Posted: 8:20 AM EST (1320 GMT) (picture of Massachusetts State Police Sgt. Peter DiDomenica questions air travelers at Boston’s Logan Airport, on Friday) BOSTON, Massachusetts (AP) — Airline passengers accustomed to having their bags, their pockets and even their shoes checked are now encountering state troopers trained to examine their heads.  Last week Logan International Airport began the nation’s first "behavioral recognition program," in which police give what they describe as a "human lie detector test" to passengers with odd or suspicious behavior. As they ask a series of basic questions, "We will be observing not only what is being said but how it’s being said, the body language, the words used, if they tend to be evasive or ambiguous," state police Sgt. Peter DiDomenica said.  The process, based on a program at Israel’s airports, takes only a few minutes if nothing seems out of place, said Maj. Tom Robbins, head of the state police unit conducting the behavioral profiling. "If someone’s intent on doing harm inside the airport or on the flight, and they want to pass through the security checkpoints or the terminals, their behavior is going to be different, than you or I who are planning to get on a flight to go on vacation to Disney World, and that is what our troopers are trying to catch," Robbins said. [I bet there was nothing unusual about the Sept-11 hijackers that would have been noticed.] He would not say exactly what type of behavior is considered odd or suspicious. Logan has sought to become a national leader in security since the September 11 attacks. The two airliners that flew into the World Trade Center towers took off from Boston.  The Logan program will be more selective than those at Israeli airports, which subject all passengers to behavioral profiling, but Robbins stressed that selection would not be based on ethnicity or race. "Quite frankly, if you’re looking at the race and ethnicity of a person, you’ll miss the terrorist," Robbins said.  The American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts said the program sounds good — as long as there is no racial profiling.  "The only legitimate way to profile is on a set of behavioral patterns. That sounds fine," said John Roberts, the group’s executive director. "Our concern is if at the bottom line, they are doing racial profiling," he said. "We just will have to wait and watch how they do it."

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>state troopers trained to examine their heads

Bout time they did that. No wait, maybe I misunderstood…..

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>>>> BOSTON, Massachusetts (AP) — Airline passengers accustomed to having

their bags, their pockets and even their shoes checked are now encountering state troopers trained to examine their heads. From every talk and news show on U.S. television to every ’security’ official at U.S. airports I wish they could go ahead and DO their jobs but just LIGHTEN UP a bit.  Somehow all these people learned that they aren’t serious and effective communicators and public defenders if they aren’t gruff, coarse, terse, and full of self-righteous indignation.  Somehow they think this makes them good at what they do–and it’s going to mess up their ‘profiling’ because they are going to make people feel attacked when they do their job, which is going to change people’s normal responses.  They should all have to train in Europe, where the people serving the same functions are casual, easy-going, and still understand that communicating and interacting with the public requires a certain courtesy and humanity–and you can STILL do and say exactly the same things and perform the same functions perfectly effectively.  Why is it the American officials feel they have to look and act aggressive? P.S. I’m American and live in Wisconsin

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>which police give what they describe as a "human lie detector test" to

passengers with odd or >suspicious behavior.

Oh, I have a feeling that they’d have a field day with me

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>>state troopers trained to examine their heads >Bout time they did that. No wait, maybe I misunderstood…..

Aren’t we all glad that the Mass. State Police Uniform, modeled on that of the German S.S., but in blue not brown, has not changed since the 1930’s?

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>[I bet there was nothing unusual about the Sept-11 hijackers that would >have been noticed.]

except that they had box-cutters, which was then as much as it is now, a prohibited item. Now, if they had just had competent security then, we would not have the jack-booted neo-facism today!

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> >[I bet there was nothing unusual about the Sept-11 hijackers that would >have been noticed.] > except that they had box-cutters, which was then as much as it is now, a > prohibited item.

Were disposable blades really prohibited then? I remember when airlines use to have slots in the lav for blade disposal. When were they outlawed?

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>[I bet there was nothing unusual about the Sept-11 hijackers that would >have been noticed.] > except that they had box-cutters, which was then as much as it is now, a > prohibited item.

Box cutters were not prohibited items prior to 9/11/01.  The rules allowed knives with blades up to 4 inches long.

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>>>state troopers trained to examine their heads >Bout time they did that. No wait, maybe I misunderstood….. > Aren’t we all glad that the Mass. State Police Uniform, > modeled on that of the German S.S., but in blue not brown, > has not changed since the 1930’s?

wait, it wasn’t the SS which wore brown, but an entirely different body, the SA ("Sturm Abeiltung"???), which a came a’crupper on the "Night of the Long Knives".. Once, as a city councilman, I was able, unsuccessfully, to vote against black uniforms for the local PD, preferring khaki, since the black uniforms (and their modern applications, the black BDUs favored by police tactical units) have always seemed an unnecessary reminder.

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>which police give what they describe as a "human lie detector test" to > passengers with odd or >suspicious behavior. > Oh, I have a feeling that they’d have a field day with me

Wonder what they consider odd or suspicious behavior.  If I ranted at the gate or ticket agent, I’d probably fit right in with many of the other air travelers these days.  The suspicious and odd ones are the ones that stay silent when confronted with incompetence.

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