
Man Arrested At Airport for Unusual Watch - mkr-hn
http://depletedcranium.com/man-arrested-at-airport-for-unusual-watch/
======
DanielBMarkham
Some civil liberties group should start specializing in exotic travel apparel,
including odd watches, intriguing earrings, suspicious-looking belt-buckles,
and so on.

This insanity has to stop. Has anybody seen the progaganda the agency puts
out? The idea that TSA is now using little stacks of toe-nail clippers and
such as proof of how great a job they are doing should be ringing alarm bells
somewhere.

~~~
ecdavis
It doesn't even have to be an exotic watch to arouse suspicion, something like
a Casio F91W will do just fine:
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Guantanamo_Bay_detainee...](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Guantanamo_Bay_detainees_accused_of_possessing_Casio_watches)

~~~
Andrenid
I'd never seen this. That's just... wow.

------
IanDrake
It's sad that this isn't terribly surprising at this point.

HN friends, please, please, make sure you opt out of the body scanners. If for
nothing else, I can assure you the dude that's feeling your junk is far more
embarrassed than you are and if he has to do it often enough, maybe he'll
quit.

Last time I flew, I got a new guy. It was his first time and one of the
veteran BT's had to coach him through it. He seemed mortified and I think that
might have been his last day on the job.

~~~
JimmyL
Maybe it's just the airport I was flying out of (LGA), but I noticed that the
TSA signs explaining the millimeter-wave scanners no longer say that you can
opt-out of them. Where it used to say (IIRC) in smaller print at the bottom
that you could opt-out and get a manual pat down in a private space if you so
chose, there was now boilerplate text about how there were no health and
safety risks associate with getting scanned by the machine, and that it
wouldn't produce a photo-realistic image of me.

Once I opted-out by walking to the metal detector and (after being told to go
into the other line for the L3 ProVision unit) asking for a pat-down, the
agents handled it as usual (a bunch of awkward shouts for a "male assist at
station 3", an embarrassed guy walking over and asking if I knew how this
process worked and had done it before, and then a pretty perfunctory pat-down)
- but if I didn't a priori know that I had that right, it wasn't listed on any
of the many signs in the security scanning area.

~~~
guelo
I thought it was the backscatter ones that people objected to. The millimeter-
wave ones are much less intrusive and there's no concern about health risks.

------
ScottBurson
One possibility people seem to be overlooking is that this outcome -- getting
arrested and having the case discussed in the press -- is exactly what the
artist wanted.

One of the greatest purposes of art is to hold up a mirror to society, and
McGann has done that very well here.

If that was his intent, I applaud it, and will be happy to chip in to his
defense fund if one of his friends will start a collection.

~~~
omegant
I just commented on this(I didn´t see your comment before), I think you are
right and he probably forced the whole matter.

------
neurotech1
BTW Sgt. JD Nelson of the Alameda County Bomb Squad is not some rookie. He is
the explosives guy on Mythbusters.

There quite possibly could have been a reason why Sgt Nelson thought this went
beyond a piece of art.

~~~
shrikant
I'm all for civil liberties, but the info in this case is actually quite thin.
I'd keep the pitchforks and torches away till a fuller picture emerges.

The facts of the case so far are:

1) Dude is outfitted in camo, watch that looks like an IED timer, and shoes
rigged out like the "shoe bomber".

2) Dude gets pulled aside and claims it's all art.

3) Dude gets arrested.

Getting flagged for questioning because of (1) seems straightforward to me.

How it went from (2) to (3) is less clear, and it might be prudent to hold off
the hand-wringing for now.

~~~
saalweachter
You've got to look at four probabilities: X, probability someone wears a geeky
watch with exposed toggles and electronics; Y, probability someone wears
military-style clothing; Z, probability someone wears oversized shoes; W,
probability someone is a terrorist.

I'm betting X * Y * Z is still much larger than W.

~~~
jQueryIsAwesome
You forgot to add investigation; that would be really easy checking his
website and seeing that he has been an artist for many years and that he
always dress wierd.

And lets not forget that they could have easily break his shoes and see if he
was actually hiding something inside those.

------
jakejake
This reminds me a little of the MIT student who was almost shot when she went
to the airport wearing some kind of LED circuit board on her shirt
<http://boingboing.net/2007/09/21/mit-student-arrested.html>

~~~
UnoriginalGuy
If anyone is interested they dropped the "fake bomb" charge since they
couldn't prove intent and she took a deal with "disorderly conduct" because it
was hard to defend against (since it just requires other people to be upset by
your actions with or without intent). She got 50 hours community service and
had to apologise for her "crime."

Based on this interview: <http://boingboing.net/2008/09/22/star-simpson-one-
yea.html>

She was in and out of court for a year, nobody was punished, and nothing was
altered. This could and maybe will happen again.

------
antidaily
Odd that he wasnt able to explain his way out of it. That's what makes it such
a nightmare. Getting pulled aside and questioned is one thing, actually
getting arrested seems like Idiocracy is coming true.

------
dewiz
+1

I personally ALWAYS put my jacket on top of my items when at the airport. As I
go through security, I take off my belt, remove my wallet, cell phone and
other devices from my pockets and put them in the trey to go through the x-ray
machine. Then I put my jacket on top of them. Is it because I’m a terrorist?
No. I just don’t want my wallet and cell phone being out in the open as they
emerge from the x-ray machine. Like most people, I’m always a little nervous
that if I get stuck at the metal detector, someone could grab my wallet and
slip away with it. Hence, I don’t want it to be so plainly obvious.

------
shasta
He also had in his possession the largest component of a suitcase bomb.

~~~
wnoise
A suitcase?

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gav
Does anyone consider that showing up at the airport with a watch that looks
like a bomb is a good idea? We all know that in the current climate that the
TSA is prone to overreact.

It's not right that this is the case, but like it or not, it is.

------
gambiting
In case people haven't noticed - the USA has long ago stopped being a free and
democratic country. They can put you in prison for any reason, without
trial,for any amount of time. This is a country,where journalists writing
about some events(latest trial of an alleged "terrorist" - a guy who spent 10
years in Guantanamo without trial and now is fighting to regain freedom) is
banned,under the threat of being accused of endangering national security, an
accusation that could earn a journalist several years in prison.

How is this different from countries like Russia, which can send anyone to
prison for anything?

------
felicopter
I find it amusing that "but he's an artist" is being said as though it might
possibly influence the powers that be. The TSA, police, judges, etc. have
little tolerance for anything that doesn't conform to the ordinary and
expected - including art. In earlier times in the USA anyone who questioned
the political-economic system was accused of being Communist; excuses didn't
work then either. With authoritarianism and polarization now on the rise in
the USA, things are even worse. "Different"="bad".

------
DanBC
Is there a photograph of the watch anywhere? (Not that it makes much
difference.)

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namank
Going to side with TSA on this.

Art is art within a specified context. Outside of which, it's usually
something else. In this case, a security threat.

~~~
Jarshwah
Absolutely. His intent was to provoke "in the name of art" and it cost him.
Idiots like this just help to validate the roles these TSA take up. A slap on
the wrist and a 'go away now' wouldn't stop other idiots from attempting the
same thing.

At least they caught the guy - imagine how he'd try to paint the TSA as
useless if he was allowed on through.

You poke the bear, you get the horns.

~~~
billybobobbrain
1) If he wanted to provoke in the name of art, then it didn't cost him, he
managed to achieve his objectives.

2) Being able to smuggle a watch through security at an airport wouldn't be
grounds for much celebration.

3) What kind of bears have horns?

4) We don't know the full details (the official story could be wildly
exaggerated), but if the TSA over-reacted then it doesn't really matter what
the intentions of the artist were. If the artist was just a dude with a
strange watch or if he was trying to show us the limits of our freedoms, our
freedoms are still limited.

------
oellegaard
I really thought about going to the US many times. Stuff like this makes me
stay home in Europe or travel to other continents.

------
michaelfeathers
Very good article. I think that, historically, security overreaction tends to
increase as the stakes increase. From what I've read there was a lot of
domestic overreaction during WW1 and WW2.

The fact that weapons are so much more effective and disguisable these days
leads me to believe that, sadly, this sort of thing is only going to get
worse. I can't imagine what the reactions will be when people are as concerned
about biological weapons as they are about explosives.

~~~
agwa
> From what I've read there was a lot of domestic overreaction during WW1 and
> WW2.

Yes, there was. The unfortunate difference between then and now is that then
there was a clear end to the hostilities. The "war on terror" has no such
clear end. Doesn't matter that Bin Laden was killed, doesn't matter that there
hasn't been a successful terror attack in more than 10 years (and that nearly
all the unsuccessful ones probably wouldn't have existed if not for the
assistance of undercover FBI agents). When will it end? You can always claim
that there are still more "radicals" out there who want to kill us, and that
further fear is justified.

~~~
mikeash
Another difference is that the government generally tried to keep things
orderly and calm. Not to say that government didn't engage in overreaction as
well (e.g. internment camps) but the overall theme appeared to be one of
reassurance.

Modern government seems to thrive on making people as afraid as possible,
perpetuating the cycle instead of damping it.

~~~
mpweiher
Exactly. We can't promise you dreams, but we can keep you safe from
nightmares. Of course, we need some nightmares for that.

For details, see the BBC documentary "The Power of Nightmares (The Rise of the
Politics of Fear)" by Adam Curtis.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Power_of_Nightmares>
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGo1DqmfHjY>

------
mkr-hn
I used the title I did to avoid confusion, assuming someone already submitted
a news story on the subject. I wanted to make it clear this was _about_ the
story, but not a blogspammy retelling of it.

I don't mind the edit, but I don't know that it was needed.

------
VexXtreme
And this is why we can't have nice things... What is it with TSA and their
lack of will to cooperate and listen to people? They just act like a bunch of
mindless enforcers these days and have zero regard for common sense.

------
sopooneo
I hypothesize that the point of all these obtrusive measures in the name of
security is _not_ really to prevent terrorism. Instead it is so that when the
inevitable happens, wherever and however, the masses will not riot. They will
instead think back to all _conspicuous_ things that the TSA was doing all
those years and think, well, I guess they were trying their hardest to stop
it.

------
unemployed
20.000 dollar! Does anyone here know if there is something like a kickstarter
for people that make the news? I always feel so bad for these guys.

~~~
neurotech1
Maybe something like Chipin.com - no experience with them.

Paypal might not be "dependable" and Kickstarter doesn't really do "funding
for a cause" from what I've seen.

I applied to Kickstarter for a project to create a PayPal alternative, soon
after Kickstarter launched. They rejected it.

------
datalus
Maybe they should hire people who actually know what a bomb is? Instead you
have employees that probably can't even solve an algebraic equation despite
getting a high school diploma. This isn't meant as a blanket statement about
all TSA personnel, but a little expertise in the area wouldn't hurt.

------
gfodor
It sure is convenient when terrorists gently place the trigger for their bombs
in the x-ray bin.

------
jsilence
If the terrorists goal was to take away your freedom, they apparently have
won.

------
nivertech
Anybody had problems with arduinos and its various shields in airports?

------
petegrif
Security theater gone mad.

------
hcarvalhoalves
Well, the guy is an artist. If he wanted to be unusual, he's doing it right.

------
Roybatty
"Comrade, your attire doesn't conform. Don't worry, we have a government
authorized uniform in this back room for you. Please follow me"

------
Evbn
And Mr Packard has a domain name whose letters can be used to create a key
ingredient of a dirty bomb.

------
nivertech
Man in military uniform takes a bomb mockup to airport ...

Idiot

~~~
UnoriginalGuy
Guy on HN doesn't read the article and jumps to wild unfounded conclusions,
then makes a glib remark.

Idiot.

------
digits265
You all cry foul when tsa does their job. Out in the civilian world you would
never understand why this man was stopped but in the military world i would
yave done the exact same thing. You only cry foul when nothing happens but
when thousands of people die you point the finger and say why didnt we look at
this. This guy had hallowed shoes a watch witch could use as a time bomb and
clothes to apply medical treatment if he got shot. Why didnt the tsa stop this
guy and arrest him than do a back ground check. The tsa did a good job and
found someone oddly suspicious. Get out of your security blanket and realise
peiole want you dead and they will disguise themselves in any way possible to
kill you. They will also do dry runs to see if tsa is doing their job before
they bring in real explosives. Liberties have to be sacrificed at times in
order to prevent your children and loved ones from dying it is impossible to
protect with pure one hundred percent freedom of movement with zero checks and
balances. This guy would red flag every single checkpoint in a military zone
and guess what they know military checks this so instead they are making their
way into the civilian world coming for your family, friends and loved ones.
Eceryone will stop crying foul when their loved ones die

~~~
darkarmani
> Out in the civilian world you would never understand why this man was
> stopped but in the military world i would yave done the exact same thing.

The airlines exist in the civilian world, so there are civilian expectations.

> They will also do dry runs to see if tsa is doing their job before they
> bring in real explosives.

What is their job? Security theater?

> Liberties have to be sacrificed at times

You assume we will get our liberties back at some point. If the TSA expires, I
would agree with you, but it looks like they've taken our liberties from here
forward.

------
jusben1369
Whether we like it or not terrorists have shown a deep attraction to use
airplanes as instruments of terror. And therefore we're going to have higher
levels of security on air travel than we like. And that that security is
likely to be managed by people who are newly recruited and poorly to middling
in terms of compensation. I'm not sure if this outcome was fair but what is
apparent is that he triggered multiple events. Watch, boots, shirt etc. It
legitimately has the feeling of a "dry run" - enough at least to warrant being
scrutinized. Not sure why he ends up in jail though.

~~~
Daniel_Newby
> Whether we like it or not terrorists have shown a deep attraction to use
> airplanes as instruments of terror.

American society is currently going through a raving paranoia phase. This is
not about terrorists, it is about the public getting off on wallowing in fear.
Hence the TSA, Department of Homeland Security, Amber Alerts, escalating the
War on Drugs, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, zero tolerance everything,
transparent backpacks and metal detectors for schoolchildren, hysterical
panics about the supposed dangers of _immunizations_ of all things, and so
forth.

We have met the enemy and he is us.

Bin Laden's genius was to realize this and trick us into defeating ourselves
in detail. Fortunately for us he chose something relatively harmless like the
9-11 attacks. Imagine if he had arranged for Al Qaeda to be caught sneaking
iodide and omega-3 fats into every major baby food factory. We'd now be
defiantly raising a generation of retards to show those ragheads who's boss.

~~~
SoftwareMaven
_We'd now be defiantly raising a generation of retards to show those ragheads
who's boss._

We seem to have that covered without their help.

