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Why the hell is TSA posting photos of people's personal stuff?
By adamg on Wed, 06/28/2017 - 9:35am
The owner of the Connecticut fish shop who packed up a 20-lb. lobster for a customer flying out of Logan is not happy.
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Comments
Because they can and aren't
Because they can and aren't held accountable to anyone. Remember this is the agency getting away with molesting women and stealing stuff left and right.
In fairness...
In fairness, they molest men as well, and they don't just steal stuff, they break it.
Fake outrage
They took a lobster that should have been thrown back, improperly packaged it for shipping to some wealthy douche, and now they are whining about it.
Sounds like a good place to not do business with.
Why should it have been
Why should it have been thrown back?
Maximum Size Limit
In Maine & Massachusetts, there is a maximum size limit on lobsters. This is a conservation policy: larger lobsters produce more viable offspring.
In Connecticut, it's tricky. Most of the state's waters are in "Lobster Management Area 6" (LMA 6), where there is a maximum carapace length of 5 1/4 inches. But the easternmost fifth of CT's shoreline is in LMA 2 where, as far as I can tell, there is no maximum size.
So, depending on where the trap was set, it may or may not have been caught illegally. Also, considering that lobsters in Long Island Sound have been suffering from shell wasting disease for years, I suspect this lobster came from Canada, where the lobsters are healthier and theyy have no maximum size limit (or at least didn't when I sold seafood 5+ years ago).
https://eregulations.ct.gov/eRegsPortal/Browse/RCSA/%7B60A4E155-0700-C39...
http://www.dec.ny.gov/images/fish_marine_images/lobstermgtmapsm.jpg
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Oh, it's real
Just because you don't like what the guy was travelling with doesn't change the underlying issue of TSA behavior. That's what we are outraged about.
If it helps, pretend it wasn't a lobster.
I don't think there was a passenger
Lobster shipments go through Logan all the time. This bug was probably cargo.
How do know the giy is wealthy?
And what difference would it make if s/he were?
** improperly packaged it for
** improperly packaged it for shipping **
The sender, who is experienced with shipping lobsters, claims it was properly packaged.
It's a good point
If the item in question is both (a) legal and (b) does not violate any TSA rules or regs, the TSA should be as discrete as possible.
About 8 years ago I was flying internationally, with a layover at JFK that required leaving and then re-entering secure area. A big cram of a line. The TSA agent held up my toiletry bag (which was clear plastic) as an example for others, explaining loudly "This is how we expect your liquids -- in 3 ounce containers all together, in a clear bag" (or somesuch).
I immediately scolded the TSA agent, saying "How dare you! Don't be showing my personals to everyone in line!"
Now, I have no idea where the word "personals" came to describe toiletries, nor where my bravado came to admonish a TSA agent loudly and publicly before I was through security, but there it was. He sheepishly put my bag down, and a few agents chuckled.
Maybe it helped that I was a well dressed white man. Dunno.
You think?
If you were visibly 'Middle-Eastern', you'd still be in Guantanamo.
You cited just what I was going to say
Would it be OK for TSA to post a photo of someone's sexy lingerie? No.
The only photos they should be allowed to post are ones where they found something illegal (like guns or something) or perhaps non-identifiable examples of well-packed items (like they did to the anon above, but without saying, "They belong to this guy in the suit!")
Maybe Not
I'd venture that they cannot post anything deemed "illegal" in so far as at that point in time, it is "alleged" to be illegal and not subject to a formal decision by the proper authority, which is not the agent at the gate.
Also, if it were deemed illegal, and the person opted to challenge that in a court of law, posting such images would be sharing images of evidence, thus corrupting the potential of the government's case via prejudice.
So no TSA agent should be posting anything at any time.
Indeed... why are they allowed to have cameras... presumably on their cell phones... in secured areas. Would it not be possible for such cellular devices to be used in a manner not consistent with TSA regulations and regulations and passenger safety.
Lots wrong with the picture.
That said... I can see why the person thought it was of interest. The agent made a mistake. The system as a whole should be reviewing the incident and adjusting policy.
Discreet not discrete.
Sorry but this is literally the third time I've seen this this morning and it drives me bananas. Discrete has a completely different meaning.
Discrete logic there.
Discrete logic there.
I learned something today
Never knew there were two different words. Thanks!
Nothing will come of it. It's
Nothing will come of it. It's impossible to hold the TSA accountable for anything. I expect radio silence and if enough news outlets pick this up (doubtful) they'll be some default statement about retraining and ensuring people understand policies & procedures.
Feinman and the Georgia customer are 100% correct
in being not happy with what occurred; makes you wonder what they do that doesn't get publicized.
Homeland Security and the TSA are bloated monstrosities that don't need to exist.
Because
The lobsters were packed in the wrong kind of container, so the TSA used the photo to explain the proper way to ship them (in a clear plastic container.) The photo used got people to pay attention. That no one read what they wrote is another thing, but I read it, so if I pack along some lobsters when I travel out west, I'll know the right way to ship them.
They also never identified the passenger or the company that provided them, so there was still a level of privacy. Until now.
Not exactly
This is the tweet in question.
The caption is about the agent being able to spot things. Nowhere in that tweet or other tweets by the same account is the the type of container mentioned. In the photo of the agent holding the lobster the container is barely visible. (For that matter, did the agent guess at the weight or did they actually weight it too?)
The TSA did not need to remove the lobster from the container. They could have taken the picture of the lobster as they found it and used it as a "teachable" example but didn't.
This is a minor abuse of power by an agent looking to have some fun. Mostly annoying as we're expected to give them a pass yet they'll treat normal passengers like trash.
Point taken
I was conflating the twitter post with Adam's excellent reporting on the issue.
Of course, the TSA could have seized the lobsters, but we can ignore that and focus on the photograph.
As I attempted to comment on
As I attempted to comment on Adam's post (but it didn't get approved), the clear container rule is for *carryon* lobsters, but this was a *checked* lobster.
"A live lobster is allowed through security and must be transported in a clear, plastic, spill proof container. A TSA officer will visually inspect your lobster at the checkpoint."
You don't take a checked bag through a checkpoint.
The shipper, who is
The shipper, who is esperienced ins ending lobsters out, says that it was packaged correctly.
Even so, that doesn't give them the right
You might say...
....they were really up in arms over this.
Also pretty steamed, if not
Also pretty steamed, if not completely shell-shocked. These TSA agents think they're above the claw. Also, something about strained butter.
Also, the suspect was put in
Also, the suspect was put in rubber bands and taken in for crustaceioning. .
I wonder
Did this violate some claws of TSC conduct?
@TSAmedia_MikeM
".@TSA officers are skilled at screening all sorts of items in checked baggage...including this 20+ pound lobster at @BostonLogan"
Ummm the cooler has "Live Lobster" written on it. How much skill does that require?
Reading is hard.
Reading is hard.
You could write "Live Lobster
You could write "Live Lobster" on literally any box.
Still not the worst thing to happen at TSA
https://youtu.be/dAargSCXQaQ
Er, I mean rabble rabble, I am outraged that the Man would share a private crustacean like that. Fight the Power!
If this stresses you out or
If this stresses you out or angers you than you need to see a doctor. Stop crying over nothing it's 79 degrees and sunny...
The miserables like to pretend something outrageous happened.
They want to pretend that they were waving peoples' underwear on the news. If that happened they would have a legit complaint, so they dream.
Are you insane?
Are you insane?
Unrelated to the topic.
It's just a lobster. (My lobster!) It's your mental state that wants to call this the March of the Police State. And I'm no trump fan but I can't tie him to this. It's all going to be okay. Deep breaths, in and out.