Flying the Unfriendly Skies

June 24, 2022 — bunkerville

Travel Plans

by Mustang

The price of an airline ticket — up 25% since the first of June — the most significant jump since 1989, and up from the 18.6% spike in April 2022.  But those high prices aren’t keeping any Americans home … no, sir.  According to Bank of America, personal spending on airline fares has increased 60% — with the demand creating havoc among the airline companies to get those planes in the air.  Of course, Americans are geniuses; those airline tickets are being purchased with credit cards.  What?  Me Worry?

No one who expects to make money by investing in the stock market is interested in the airlines; they’re a losing proposition unless you’re one of the big boys.  Since the beginning of China’s virus, airlines have been drowning in debt and clawing their way back to profitability — or at least to break even.   With travel restrictions lifted and people giddy to leave their homes no matter the cost, the airlines couldn’t have been more ecstatic.  Why?  Because there is more demand than there are seats.

Meanwhile, jet fuel prices have increased 150% over the past twelve months.  Oops … the airlines also do not have enough pilots and flight attendants, who, by the way, are demanding higher salaries.  Economists describe this as “market forces at work.”  Here’s an example of what that means: pre-Biden, a round-trip fare from Philadelphia to Los Angeles, costs $320.00.  Now it costs $685.00.  But what the hell … it’s only money.

Well, there is a bottom line to this … if you’re clever, you can still travel at twice the cost (thanks to your president).  You begin with a travel agent, who will charge you a fee for booking but they are reliable.  It’s only money.  Hint: it’s in the packages.  Also, if you’re an elderly socialist, you can contact AARP for “complimentary travel agent access.”

Another cheap way is to book your travel on an inexpensive airline — but always insist on a plane with wings firmly attached.  And seats.  You may have to settle for stale peanuts, though.  Some companies like Spirit Airlines or Sun Country.  Companies no one had ever heard of before now.  And you can mix up your travel plans.  For example, instead of flying to an international airport to catch an international flight, travel experts suggest you take a train to the international airport … train tickets are cheaper.  And, it will be cheaper to vacation in Slobovia than in the Fiji Islands.

Or, maybe you’re just like the rest of us.  We can’t afford the vacation, we can’t afford to charge up our credit cards, and we have no confidence in this country’s economic future … at least not in the near term.  Oh, and also … elections have consequences.  If you’re reading this blog regularly, you know what I’m talking about.

Mustang also blogs at Fix Bayonets and Thoughts From Afar

Posted in Government. Tags: , , , , . 24 Comments »

Thermal Body Scanners in use by TSA and Boston Government

April 12, 2011 — bunkerville

Drudge reportsThermal Cameras On Boston Streets Can Show Activity Inside Homes…  Digging deeper, the TSA had this exactly in mind in awarding Siemens a contract to do this very thing, How much longer are we to allow this intrusiveness?

Lisa van der Pool of the Boston Business Journal reports.

Boston officials had hoped to have aerial and street-level photos taken across about four square miles of the city this winter using infrared cameras that would show heat loss in the city homes.

Officials planned on sharing the photos and analysis with homeowners, and were hoping the findings would increase enrollment in efficiency programs and also create business opportunities.

But, the project hit a snag when the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts raised concerns that the infrared cameras would reveal information about what’s going on inside the homes. Sagewell’s cameras can take up to 20,000 images of homes per day.

TSA Research Proposal To Body-Scan Pedestrians, Train Passengers discovered Story here

One project allocated to Northeastern University and Siemens would mount backscatter x-ray scanners and video cameras on roving vans, along with other cameras on buildings and utility poles, to monitor groups of pedestrians, assess what they carried, and even track their eye movements. In another program, the researchers were asked to develop a system of long range x-ray scanning to determine what metal objects an individual might have on his or her body at distances up to thirty feet.

Giving Transportation Security Administration agents a peek under your clothes may soon be a practice that goes well beyond airport checkpoints. Newly uncovered documents show that as early as 2006, the Department of Homeland Security has been planning pilot programs to deploy mobile scanning units that can be set up at public events and in train stations, along with mobile x-ray vans capable of scanning pedestrians on city streets.

The projects range from what the DHS describes as “a walk through x-ray screening system that could be deployed at entrances to special events or other points of interest” to “covert inspection of moving subjects” employing the same backscatter imaging technology currently used in American airports.

The 173-page collection of contracts and reports, acquired through a Freedom of Information Act request, includes contracts with Siemens Corporations, Northeastern University, and Rapiscan Systems. The study was expected to cost more than $3.5 million.

More here at Forbes

Posted in Government. Tags: , , , , . 4 Comments »

Border Patrol nabs 100s of terror-linked illegals

March 10, 2011 — bunkerville

 

One really must wonder what the end game is for Obama and his crew is on our national security. He must know that another attack on Americans will invoke an outcry and investigation into all of these stories that fall under the radar. While everyone is in a tizzy over the hearings in D.C. on the radicalization of  American muslims today by Peter King. The Congress and the American people remain silent on stories like this. Watching the decline of our democracy is not an easy thing. What happened in Wisconsin and the warped view  of the Media as to what is taking place, leaves me to believe I am in a parallel universe. I have started reading foreign papers as much as I can… we have a link on the right side of our home page…. and I am appalled as to how we appear to the world. The perception of our Democracy has taken a bad hit. SEIU climbing through windows. Democrats fleeing the State. What would we say if this happened abroad? Welcome to Anarchy.

From :WND Here

The U.S. Border Patrol captured 59,017 “Other Than Mexican” illegal aliens, and among the nations are four nations on the State Department’s list of “State Sponsors of Terrorism” – Cuba, Iran, Syria and Sudan.

Seven hundred and twelve of those arrested were from Cuba, 14 from Iran, 5 from Sudan, and five from Syria. Others come from Somalia (9), Afghanistan, (9), Pakistan (37), Saudi Arabia (5) and Yemen (11), according to Judicial Watch.

Overall, U.S. Border Patrol agents apprehended 663 “Aliens from Special Interest Countries,” the report said. These countries are deemed “special interest” because of their suspected ties to terrorism.

Hundreds of illegal aliens from terror-linked nations such as Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Pakistan, Iran and Syria have been nabbed by the U.S. Border Patrol sneaking illegally into the country, and an organization that monitors government’s actions and prosecutes malfeasance says given Barack Obama’s record on border security, it’s not a surprise.

The terror-linked illegals were among the 463,382 individuals apprehended being smuggled – or smuggling others – across the U.S. borders during 2010, according to federal documents obtained by Judicial Watch.

The federal documentation, obtained by Freedom Watch under a Freedom of Information Act procedure, revealed that 8,905 illegal aliens were caught smuggling others.
Read more: Border Patrol nabs 100s of terror-linked illegals

Posted in SEIU, War on Terror. Tags: , , , , , . 6 Comments »

TSA Research Proposal To Body-Scan Pedestrians, Train Passengers discovered

March 3, 2011 — bunkerville

Those Aussies are even doing us one better. I am sure when Janet catches this, the next step for us.

Australia will be trialling x-ray scanners at airports that can provide a crisp image of a persons insides.  Aussie scanners can see those heroin-filled condoms you swallowed.

Australian customs found 60 pounds of drugs inside the bodies of travelers last year, now legislation is before the Federal Parliament that would allow customs officers to use these new body scanners to view all objects beyond folds of skin instead of sending drug-smuggling suspects to hospitals for internal X-rays ordered by a doctor. More here  No World System/

 

One project allocated to Northeastern University and Siemens would mount backscatter x-ray scanners and video cameras on roving vans, along with other cameras on buildings and utility poles, to monitor groups of pedestrians, assess what they carried, and even track their eye movements. In another program, the researchers were asked to develop a system of long range x-ray scanning to determine what metal objects an individual might have on his or her body at distances up to thirty feet.

Giving Transportation Security Administration agents a peek under your clothes may soon be a practice that goes well beyond airport checkpoints. Newly uncovered documents show that as early as 2006, the Department of Homeland Security has been planning pilot programs to deploy mobile scanning units that can be set up at public events and in train stations, along with mobile x-ray vans capable of scanning pedestrians on city streets.

The projects range from what the DHS describes as “a walk through x-ray screening system that could be deployed at entrances to special events or other points of interest” to “covert inspection of moving subjects” employing the same backscatter imaging technology currently used in American airports.

The 173-page collection of contracts and reports, acquired through a Freedom of Information Act request, includes contracts with Siemens Corporations, Northeastern University, and Rapiscan Systems. The study was expected to cost more than $3.5 million.

More here at Forbes

Posted in War on Terror. Tags: , , , , . 3 Comments »

TSA to start Collecting our DNA this Summer at points of entry

February 27, 2011 — bunkerville

The source for this was from Murdock’s new “Daily”. It is his new venture for the IPAD. I got a look, so it seems to be a reputable source. Oh, Janet, what will you think of next? This is a H/T and from Wylbog: Head on over for his full story. Daily link  is embedded below, and you should be able to get via your P.C.

I’ll bet you thought the TSA’s “enhanced” patdown procedures could not possibly get more invasive. Think again. Beginning this summer TSA will start collecting travelers’ DNA.

According to the report the Department of Homeland Security plans to deploy portable DNA scanners at U.S. points of entry. They’re about the size of a desktop printer and can produce lab-quality DNA screenings in about an hour. So in addition to the full-body scanners and enhanced patdowns we’ll have to stand obediently still while a TSA rent-a-cop swabs the inside of our mouth.

Or, no plane flight for you!

Customs and Border Protection, another tentacle of the Department of Homeland Security, has the authority to download the contents of your laptop and mobile phone. And into the database it goes!

H/T: Right Wing News

Posted in War on Terror. Tags: , , . 15 Comments »

Rectum Scanning Started at UK Prisons

November 26, 2010 — bunkerville
Rectum Scanner

Rectum Scanner

I caught this over at Sweetness and Light – thanks for a good one!–just too perfect for today’s world. Wait until Big Sis hears about this gadget…Coming to our airport soon.

This is from February 2009, via the UK’s Telegraph,

Bottom scanners to be introduced in prisons

Prisons are set to introduce bottom scanners in an attempt to stop prisoners smuggling mobile phones into jail.

By Chris Irvine 02 Feb 2009

The £6,500 [$10,276] chairs are being put in 102 jails across Britain aimed to tackle a surge in phone smuggling.

Prisoners will have to sit on the chairs, called Body Orifice Security Scanners (Boss), which bleep if they have a phone hidden inside them. (Janet would like that nice long name)! Yepper.

They are then scanned in a non-intrusive manner and can also be used to detect drugs and weapons.

The mobile Boss chairs have three sensitive sensors which can detect metal items as small as a pin.

Resembling an electric chair, they have a metal detector on the seat and audio and visual alarms are activated when metal is carried into the magnetic field.

The person being screened positions their chin near the oral sensor and then sits momentarily in the chair. The entire procedure takes a few seconds.

So far two of the Boss devices have helped detect 21 mobile phones in just months at Woodhill prison, in Milton Keynes…

As Sweetness and Light say:

‘First they came for the cell phones up our rectums. But I didn’t have a cell phone up my rectum…’

Still, we have nothing to worry about. Like so many things we see happening in Britain, it can’t happen here. We have Constitutional rights which will prevent these sort of things.


Posted in War on Terror. Tags: , , , . 3 Comments »

Jack Webb on How to Deal with the TSA

November 23, 2010 — bunkerville

 

Posted in Obama. Tags: , , , , . 4 Comments »

TSA employees can vote on union representation, labor board rules

November 16, 2010 — bunkerville

Yes those crotch feels are a bummer. What a surprise. No doubt the TSO workers will have PSTD  and be able to retire on disability.. want to bet me?? Unions are starting to get their payoffs.

Recall Craig Becker? Obama did a run around after being defeated for appointment.

NRLB Becker Marxist to be :

Becker will be the third person on the five person Board and the second Democrat thus giving them majority on the Board. To say that Becker’s views are “extreme” would be an insult. His views of employer-employee relations invites thoughts of hammers and sickles.

Senate voted no to Craig Becker: Now Obama does end run. Makes Recess Appointment.

Marxist Becker appointed to Labor Board

Marxist Mr. Becker wrote that employers should be barred from NLRB proceedings:

“On these latter issues employers should have no right to be heard in either a representation case or an unfair labor practice case, even though Board rulings might indirectly affect their duty to bargain.”

In a significant victory for federal employee unions, the Federal Labor Relations Authority decided Friday that Transportation Security Administration staffers will be allowed to vote on union representation.

The decision clears the way for a campaign by the government’s two largest labor organizations, the American Federation of Government Employees and the National Treasury Employees Union, to represent some 50,000 transportation security officers.

“It is no secret that the morale of the TSO workforce is terrible as a result of favoritism, a lack of fair and respectful treatment from many managers, poor and unhealthy conditions in some airports, poor training and testing protocols and a poor pay system,” said AFGE President John Gage. “The morale problems are documented by the government’s own surveys. TSOs need a recognized union voice at work, and the important decision of the FLRA finally sets the process in motion to make that right a reality.”Oh yes indeed. I am sure this will solve everthing!

Washington Post

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: , , , , , , . Leave a Comment »

Obama National Security Policy: Hope Their Bombs Don’t Work

May 6, 2010 — bunkerville

Thanks Batman for saving us

Ann Coulter at her very best over at Human Events:

……So now, I gather, our only strategy is to hope the terrorists’ bombs keep fizzling.
There’s no other line of defense. In the case of the Times Square car bomber, the Department of Homeland Security failed, the Immigration and Naturalization Service failed, the CIA failed and the TSA failed. (However, the Department of Alert T-Shirt Vendors came through with flying colors, as it always does.)

Only the New York Police Department, a New York street vendor and Shahzad’s Rube Goldberg bomb (I do hope he’s not offended by how Jewish that sounds — Obama can apologize) prevented a major explosion in Times Square.
Even after the NYPD de-wired the smoking car bomb, produced enough information to identify the bomb-maker, and handed it all to federal law enforcement authorities tied up in a bow, the federal government’s crack “no-fly” list failed to stop Shahzad from boarding a plane to Dubai.
In a bit of macho posturing this week, Obama declared that — contrary to the terrorists’ wishes — Americans “will not be terrorized, we will not cower in fear, we will not be intimidated.”
First of all, having the Transportation Security Administration wanding infants, taking applesauce away from 93-year-old dementia patients, and forcing all Americans to produce their shoes, computers and containers with up to 3 ounces of liquid in Ziploc bags for special screening pretty much blows that “not intimidated” look Obama wants America to adopt.
Intimidated”? How about “absolutely terrified”?
Second, it would be a little easier for the rest of us not to live in fear if the president’s entire national security strategy didn’t depend on average citizens happening to notice a smoldering SUV in Times Square or smoke coming from a fellow airline passenger’s crotch.
But after the car bomber and the diaper bomber, it has become increasingly clear that Obama’s only national defense strategy is: Let’s hope their bombs don’t work!
If only Dr. Hasan’s gun had jammed at Fort Hood, that could have been another huge foreign policy success for Obama.
The administration’s fingers-crossed strategy is a follow-up to Obama’s earlier and less successful “Let’s Make Them Love Us!” plan.
In the past year, Obama has repeatedly apologized to Muslims for America’s “mistakes.”
He has apologized to Iran for President Eisenhower’s taking out loon Mohammad Mossadegh, before Mossadegh turned a comparatively civilized country into a Third World hellhole. You know, like the Ayatollah has.
He has apologized to the entire Muslim world for the French and English colonizing them — i.e. building them flush toilets.
He promised to shut down Guantanamo. And he ordered the mastermind of 9/11, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, to be tried in the same courthouse that tried Martha Stewart.
There was also Obama’s 90-degree-bow tour of the East and Middle East. For his next visit, he plans to roll on his back and have his belly scratched like Fido.
Despite favorable reviews in The New York Times, none of this put an end to Islamic terrorism.
So now, I gather, our only strategy is to hope the terrorists’ bombs keep fizzling.
MORE:
Posted in Government. Tags: , , , , , , , . Leave a Comment »

Homeland Security’s National Operations Center ‘Unable’ to Do Its Job, Inspector General Finds

January 6, 2010 — bunkerville

Well, isn’t this a revelation! As if we had not quessed. I think as long as we have a flying dutchman who is willing to risk his life in putting  out bombs  by grabbing someone’s crotch at 5 miles above the earth, everything will continue to work as it should. Just as Janet said it did.

The Homeland Security Department’s National Operations Center (NOC) is “unable” to do its job of ensuring coordination among the 22 federal agencies that make up the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and focuses too much on disaster management rather than terrorism prevention, according to its own inspector general.
These assessments are presented in a redacted report from the DHS Office of Inspector General released in November and entitled “Information Sharing at the National Operations Center.”
 
“The overall focus of the NOC shifts between emergency management, terrorism prevention, and law enforcement,” the report said.
 
“However, following Hurricane Katrina, the NOC began to dedicate most of its resources to emergency management rather than terrorism prevention. Many NOC staff contend that this shift in focus is detrimental to NOC intelligence and law enforcement functions,” the report added.
http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/59330

http://hotair.com/archives/2010/01/06/dhs-ig-says-bureaucracy-unable-to-fight-terrorism/

Posted in War on Terror. Tags: , , , , , . Leave a Comment »
« Older posts