Slog
News & ArtsThursday, August 19, 2010
News Goldy al-Hmār
Posted by Dan Savage on Thu, Aug 19, 2010 at 2:07 PM
How long until Goldy gets arrested?
2
I can't believe that the possibility of a fake web check-in boarding pass never occurred to me. He's totally right, that would be so easy to do.
Though, if TSA was really concerned, wouldn't they just need to install scanners at the point where your ID/boarding pass are checked at security? Of course, that would require whatever system that is scanning the passes be linked up with the airlines' information....
Though, if TSA was really concerned, wouldn't they just need to install scanners at the point where your ID/boarding pass are checked at security? Of course, that would require whatever system that is scanning the passes be linked up with the airlines' information....
3
A few years back some airline's web check-in -- was it Northwestern? -- was a widdershin, meaning the info that was to be encoded was right there in plain text in the URL, so all you had to do to print a fake boarding pass in any name you wanted was just type over it in the URL. People had great fun printing absolutely authentic Northwestern boarding passes for Osama Bin-Laden, Adolf Hitler, Mohammad Atta, et al. They fixed that, but still -- easy as pie to anyone with Times New Roman on their computer.
TSA security is a joke. Security is not the goal there, obedience is (to be fair, obedience is extremely important in a major emergency).
If you wanted to take out ten times as many people as a plane, you could always take your bomb to a crowded airport at the busiest time of the day, when ten planeloads are lined up trying to get through security all at once, and detonate it right there in the security line.
TSA security is a joke. Security is not the goal there, obedience is (to be fair, obedience is extremely important in a major emergency).
If you wanted to take out ten times as many people as a plane, you could always take your bomb to a crowded airport at the busiest time of the day, when ten planeloads are lined up trying to get through security all at once, and detonate it right there in the security line.
4
No clothes, food or luggage are allowed on the plane and all flight attendants must be robots. Oh, and nobody should be allowed to own or pilot an airplane if you are not in the army. That will be safe. Not 100% but a little better.
6
I have a friend that works for Homeland Security and part of their job us to train and test TSA and irregularly set up TSA in the airport to see if a person or persons with weapons can pass security. Homeland Security tested this scenario a few years ago. They've got it more together than you think.
7
Well, if there's even the slightest possibility that he was not joking, or if he was joking but may change his mind about it in the future, then he should obviously be arrested and shipped straight to Guantanamo. We can't be too careful - he could be another 9/11 waiting to happen!
8
As if airline travel these days isn't already a headache and a half, let's bring up some more potential scares that will frighten the regulations into tightening while not providing any more actual protection...
Advertisement
Most Commented on Slog
-
Hating People Doesn't Make Them Thinner by Jen Graves
-
Los Angeles Gay Bar Bans Bachelorette Parties Until Marriage Equality Is Attained by David Schmader
-
Fill in the Blank by Grant Brissey
-
This Reminds Me of the Great Calculator Scare of the Late '70s/Early '80s by David Schmader
-
Idiot Tries to Defend Bigoted Anti-Gay-Marriage Preacher on Anderson Cooper by Paul Constant
-
Six Moms with Too Much Time on Their Hands and a Shitty Website Decide to Fight Gay Superheroes by Paul Constant
-
The Saturday Morning News by Unpaid Intern
-
Why Mayor McGinn's Wife Canceled Her Family's Seattle Times Subscription by Eli Sanders
-
What the Hell Is Wrong With Seattle's Pride Parade? by Dominic Holden
-
NYC Man Ticketed for Not Riding in the Bike Lane by Jonathan Golob
RSS
Facebook
Twitter
Comments (8) RSS