

TSA Expands Duties Beyond Airport Security- Valet Car Searches - devonleigh
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/06/us/tsa-expands-duties-beyond-airport-security.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

======
ilamont
_Security experts give the agency high marks for creating the VIPR teams.
“They introduce an unexpected element into situations where a terrorist might
be planning an attack,” said Rafi Ron, the former chief of security for Ben-
Gurion International Airport in Israel, who is now a transportation security
consultant._

Unexpected? In Boston, I've heard about the reports of TSA checkpoints on the
subway, and they're always at the same downtown locations -- Government
Center, Back Bay, etc. People have pointed out that they are easy to spot, and
avoid (1):

 _" ... You don't want the terrorists to know that if they try boarding at
Government Center and the TSA is doing its show, they can walk in three
minutes to Bowdoin or Park. Or if they're entering at Kendall or Central or
Harvard and see the TSA show, they can walk to the other entrance of the same
station, where the TSA show will almost definitely not be happening. And
definitely don't tell the big bad terrorists that they can enter at a street
stop on the E line and almost definitely not be harassed. Or board one of the
above-ground Silver Line stops and be at South Station in a few minutes."_

The most telling statement from the NYT article:

 _T.S.A. officials would not say if the VIPR teams had ever foiled a terrorist
plot or thwarted any major threat to public safety_

In the absence of arrests, convictions, or other evidence/data that prove its
effectiveness, the TSA has to justify their existence and salaries in some
other way ... such as security theater in crowded subway stations.

1\. [http://www.universalhub.com/2011/they-were-having-
security-c...](http://www.universalhub.com/2011/they-were-having-security-
checkpoint-when-takedown#comment-204958)

------
noonespecial
_T.S.A. officials respond that the random searches are “special needs” or
“administrative searches” that are exempt from probable cause because they
further the government’s need to prevent terrorist attacks._

This is more than a slippery slope. They're handing out innertubes at the top
and telling us to have a nice ride.

------
hey-zeus
"sporting events, music festivals, rodeos"

Maybe I'm missing something but this seems to deviate greatly from their
"transportation" parameter of jurisdiction.

Music Festivals? Can you say "popping bubble?"

------
glasz
i'd like to see those who always say "not gonna happen". bet they still say it
doesn't exist. looks like you americans are fucked. literally. have a hard
time to hope that this makes you take your country back...

