dustoff529's Blog

The women can be feisty in North Carolina.

Assistant Police Chief Tom Anderson says a woman beat up a man for taking pictures of her daughter in a Walmart dressing room in Statesville.

Guadelupe Jiminez said she saw a man pretend to drop his keys near the changing room when her daughter was trying on a bathing suit. She said the man pulled out a cell phone and took a picture.

Jiminez tracked the man down as he tried to hide and punched him in the face. Police said the punch left 40-year-old Elbert Kuykendall flat on his back with a bloody nose.

Police say suspect Elbert Kukendahl used his cellphone camera to try and take a picture under the dressing room door.

The mother held him for police and will not be charged.

Nice to see that some in this country will do the right thing and not stand around wishing the police would hurry!

When I have your wounded

They force you to disrobe then steal your stuff!

When I have your wounded

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/travel/elliott/
5797824.html

Five tips to ensure the TSA doesn't steal your stuff

By CHRISTOPHER ELLIOTT
Tribune Media Services

Taking. Something. Always.

That's what TSA means to airline passengers like Edward Fleiss, a sales manager from Huntington, N.Y. When screeners inspected his wife's carry-on bag at New York's John F. Kennedy Airport recently, he claims her designer eyeglasses were swiped.

"Great sleight of hand," he says. "We didn't even know they were gone until we got to Los Angeles."

Letters to the Transportation Security Administration — that's what TSA actually stands for, in case you were wondering — were met with a form response. "Dear traveler, thank you, but no reimbursement on a $500 pair of glasses," he recalls.

Thieving TSA? You might be forgiven for thinking so.

Since it was created in 2001, the agency has fired about 200 employees accused of stealing. Although the TSA has taken steps to discourage these government workers from helping themselves to our personal effects — including background checks on new hires, video cameras in screening areas and rules forbidding backpacks or lunchboxes at checkpoints — more and more passengers like Fleiss are coming forward to say they've been ripped off by the very people who are supposed to protect them.

It doesn't help that hardly a week goes by without another story about alleged TSA pilferage making headlines. Here's one from a Miami TV station, where 1,500 items (www.nbc6.net/news/15617249/detail.html) have been reported stolen at the airport since 2003. Here's someone who had his engagement ring filched (www.gadling.com/2008/01/08/engagement-ring-allegedl
y-stolen-by-lax-airport-security/) by screeners in Los Angeles. Here's another one involving a 12-year-old's heartbreaking loss (http://cbs13.com/seenon/Call.Kurtis.Consumer.2.4644
01.html) of $265 in birthday money.

You don't need a travel columnist to tell you this agency has a problem. The evidence speaks for itself.

But here's what you might not know. The stealing isn't as random as the TSA may want you to believe (www.tsa.gov/blog/2008/02/tsa-our-officers-public-an
d-theft.html). Fleiss visited an optometrist for a replacement pair of glasses, and learned that since the TSA was created seven years ago, he'd seen a "marked increase" in patients requesting receipts for insurance claims relating to security-related thefts. "He said there is a huge market for stolen designer eyewear frames in the New York area," he added. "You put it together."

One aviation insider I spoke with believes stealing is a systemic problem the federal agency is unable to control, particularly at problem airports like New York's LaGuardia Airport and Philadelphia International Airport. Not all of the screening areas in U.S. airports are under surveillance, and the TSA's rules have a big loophole that shifts liability for stolen baggage claims to the airline when luggage is delayed, he told me. In other words, there's little incentive for the stealing to stop. "It's the 800-pound gorilla no one wants to discuss at TSA," he says.

I contacted the TSA to get its side of the story. Sari Koshetz, a TSA spokeswoman, sent me an e-mail to say the agency is concerned about theft. "TSA aggressively investigates all allegations of misconduct," she wrote. "When infractions are discovered, it moves swiftly to end the federal careers of offenders." She added that travelers with questions should visit the TSA's Web site for claim information (www.tsa.gov/travelers/customer/claims/index.shtm<
/a>).

I've got a better idea. Why not make sure your valuables aren't taken in the first place? Here are five tips:

Don't try to beat the system

If you think you can avoid a TSA theft by steering clear of LaGuardia or Philadelphia, think again. Reader David Cumpston had a $50 bottle of cologne stolen from his bag in San Francisco. They lifted a box of Montecristo cigars out of P.J. Zornosa's bag in Florida. "Hope someone enjoyed them," he grumbles. And Jeanne Rose lost one shoe — a brand-new Merrick clog — in Atlanta. Why just one shoe? Who knows? Point is, you can't predict where a TSA thief might strike next.

TSA-approved locks are useless, so don't even bother

Anyone can access your luggage after you've checked it. Anyone. Don't believe me? Here's how to break into a bag without the benefit of a TSA master key (http://mosh.nokia.com/content/3EB82A6FB8ADF170E0400
50AEE040FBA). Besides, the TSA likes to confiscate the locks after they're done rummaging through your belongings, according to readers like Paula Craig. "Sometimes, I get the Dear Paula, we have been through your luggage letter — and sometimes not," she says. "It's maddening."

Don't pack anything valuable in your checked in luggage

That's not just a bad idea because a TSA agent or an airline baggage handler might take something; it's also a terrible idea because if an airline loses it, you probably won't be reimbursed for it. Joe Zinno, a retiree from Seattle, slipped his digital camera in his luggage, from which he believes a TSA officer removed it on a recent trip. He contacted the agency to make a claim, and after "a very long time" it responded with a form letter. "They said there would be no compensation," he recalls. Airlines don't cover electronics in checked luggage, either.

Better yet, leave all of your valuables at home

Packing your valuables in carry-on luggage is no guarantee the TSA — or the airline — won't be able to get to it. For example, you might have to gate-check your carry-on if there's no room in the overhead bin on the plane. Or, like Fleiss, an agent could pull a fast one at the passenger screening area. Cheryl Wahlheim, an information systems manager from Boulder, Colo., had jewelry stolen out of her bag by what she suspects was a TSA employee. Making a claim proved impossible. "They sent me a form letter and basically I had to present them with a document containing pictures of all the stolen jewelry, receipts for all the jewelry and the current cost of the jewelry," she says. "Since most of the things were gifts given to me over the years, I had no receipts and no pictures."

If you can't live without it, carry it on your person

Items like wedding rings, cash and other valuables should be carried through the checkpoint, wherever possible. Mauranna Sherman of Lynchburg, Va., wishes her husband had kept a close eye on his medication when he passed through the TSA screening area a few years ago. "When we reached our hotel several hours later, it wasn't in his bag," she says. "We had to call our house sitter, who used her own money to deliver it to our family in Texas the next day. What a hassle."

Bottom line: if you want to see your valuables again, don't let a TSA agent near them.

There's one final myth about TSA thefts that needs to be busted, and it involves the claims process. In speaking with airline passengers who claim the TSA took their property, I hear about the same frustrating conclusion almost every time. In the end, they were denied compensation.

Well, the end isn't really the end. You can appeal your case to my counterpart at the TSA (www.tsa.gov/join/benefits/careers_benefits_ombudsma
n.shtm). Its ombudsman can be reached at TSA.Ombudsman@dhs.gov.

Send your questions to chris@elliott.org.

Violates Consitiutional Rights!

What is really scary is that it appears that NO ONE cares... As long as we "feel safe"

Disgraceful....

When I have your wounded

This notice has been recieved by military commanders in the military district Washington DC. This is a completly disgusting occurance. Dont travel in uniform! No DOD ID Cards!

When I was a young Soldier returning from Viet Nam I had the pleasure of being spat upon by an oxygen thief at teh airport in San Diego. At 21 and having a military upbringing I wiped the spittle off my uniform and left teh handkerchief for a citizen of California to pick up.... but the oxygen thief made a life error by spitting on teh             30 something Green Beret sergent that was a few folks behind me.

Notice to Oxygen thieves: If you assualt a uniformed military member I will come to their aid with 30 ++ years of anger and NO mercy!  

 

Washington D.C.

Dept of Transportation Federal Transit Administration sends:

Recently, there have been local incidents in which military personnel have been verbally assaulted while commuting on the Metro. Uniformed members have been approached by individuals expressing themselves as anti-government, shouting anti-war sentiments, and using racial slurs against minorities.

In one instance, a member was followed onto the platform by an individual who continued to berate her as she exited the
metro station. Thus far, these incidents have occurred in the vicinity of the Reagan National Airport and Eisenhower Ave metro stations on the yellow line, however, military members should be vigilant and aware of their surroundings at all times while in mass transit.

Should you be approached by any individuals expressing anti-government/anti-war sentiments, or any other types of direct verbal assault, immediately notify your local police jurisdiction. If riding metro, exit the train at the next stop, distance yourself from the individual, and notify the Metro Transit Police Department.

For this and any other suspicious activity, NGB personnel are also asked to notify the Pentagon Command Center at (703)697-1001, and the NGB Antiterrorism/Force Protection Officer, MSgt Cyril Charity, at (703)607-2396 or (571)239-1109 (after duty hours).

Here are a few friendly reminders of personal protective measures that can help you to stay safe:

-If possible, do not commute in uniform (military members) -Do not display DoD building passes, "hot cards", or personal identification in open view outside of the workplace -Do not discuss specifics about your occupation to outside solicitors

-Always try to remain in well lit, well populated train cars if traveling via metro -Be vigilant at all times!

V/R,

National Operations Center

Have a look at southcarolinagasprices.com, notice that gas is average20 cents a gallon cheaper than Georgia! Why is that ?

When I have your wounded

Just curious why there isnt NATIONAL media coverage on this story... WHere is Jessie "hymi town" jackson and Al "kill the Jew" Sharpton?

http://web.knoxnews.com/pdf/0202body_presentment.pd
f

http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2008/apr/16/jury-gets-
boyd-case/

Smokers are the NASTIEST creatures in exsistance!

Don't think so, next time you are sitting at an intersection with a median look out your window... what do you see? The refuse these drug (nicotine) addicted, folks feel entitled to "share " with the rest of us. The have no compunction about throwing cigarette butts out the window for the rest of us to enjoy...

Warning... If you throw your butt out the window and suddenly see blue lights plan of giving my county $50.00 for littering, 'cause I am worn out with seeing smokers trash by the thousands in my area!

When I have your wounded

I hate being RIGHT this is actually being floated in Waashington!
Ya'll need to tell your Police Chief to come to Georgia and we'll show HER what to do with her forms and appointments... THis isnt the America I grew up in!

D.C. Police Changing Plan For Gun Searches at Homes
Last Edited: Friday, 04 Apr 2008, 7:25 AM EDT
Created: Friday, 04 Apr 2008, 7:23 AM EDT
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Gun Rights Battle Heats Up Before Va Tech Anniversary
After Supreme Court, DC Looking for Gun Ban Plan B

WASHINGTON (AP) -- D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier says she's changing a plan for searches of private homes for illegal guns.
 
The chief now says searches would be done by appointment unless there is an urgent need. Police and city lawyers are still trying to work out what can and can't be done during these searches.
 
Since the program was announced weeks ago, it has been delayed in part because of fears citizens' rights will be violated.
 
Lanier now says police will distribute literature to homes in high-crime neighborhoods asking owners to sign forms and set up appointments.
 
Amnesty will be granted for any gun possession charges but not for any crimes committed with that gun.
 
D.C. Council Judiciary Committee Chairman Phil Mendelson is holding a public hearing on the police searches on Monday.

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? A Texas woman who claims she was forced to remove a nipple ring with pliers in order to board an airplane called Thursday for an apology by federal security agents and a civil rights investigation.

"I wouldn't wish this experience upon anyone," Mandi Hamlin, 37, said at a news conference. "My experience with TSA was a nightmare I had to endure. No one deserves to be treated this way."

Hamlin said she was trying to board a flight from Lubbock to Dallas on Feb. 24 when she was scanned by a Transportation Security Administration agent after passing through a larger metal detector without problems.

The female TSA agent used a handheld detector that beeped when it passed in front of Hamlin's chest, the Dallas-area resident said.

Hamlin said she told the woman that she was wearing nipple piercings. The female agent then called over her male colleagues, one of whom said she would have to remove the body piercings, Hamlin claimed.

Hamlin said she could not remove them and asked if she could instead display her pierced breasts in private to the female agent. But several other male officers told her she could not board her flight until the jewelry was removed, she said.

She was taken behind a curtain and managed to remove one bar-shaped nipple piercing but had trouble with the second, a ring.

"Still crying, she informed the TSA officer that she could not remove it without the help of pliers, and the officer gave a pair to her," said Hamlin's attorney, Gloria Allred, reading from a letter she sent Thursday to the director of the TSA's Office of Civil Rights and Liberties. Allred is a well-known Los Angeles lawyer who often represents high-profile claims.

Hamlin showed reporters at the news conference how she took off the second ring by applying pliers to the torso of a mannequin that had a peach-colored bra with the rings on it.

She said she heard male TSA agents snickering as she took out the ring. She was scanned again and was allowed to board even though she still was wearing a belly button ring.

"After nipple rings are inserted, the skin can often heal around the piercing, and the rings can be extremely difficult and painful to remove," Allred said in the letter.

TSA officials said they are investigating Hamlin's allegations to see if its policies were followed.

"Our security officers are well-trained to screen individuals with body piercings in sensitive areas with dignity and respect while ensuring a high level of security," the agency said in a statement.

On its Web site, the TSA warns that passengers "may be additionally screened because of hidden items such as body piercings, which alarmed the metal detector."

"If you are selected for additional screening, you may ask to remove your body piercing in private as an alternative to a pat-down search," the site says.

Hamlin would have accepted a "pat-down" had it been offered, Allred said.
If an alarm does sound, "until that is resolved, we're not going to let them go through the checkpoint, no matter what they're wearing or where they're wearing it," said TSA spokesman Dwayne Baird in Salt Lake City.

People routinely pass through security wearing wedding rings without problems and it might take a larger bit of metal to trigger an alarm, Baird said.

Hamlin filed a complaint but the TSA's customer service manager at the Lubbock airport concluded the screening was handled properly, Allred said.

Hamlin wants an apology from the TSA and an investigation by the agency's civil rights office.

Allred said she might consider legal action if the TSA does not apologize.
Hamlin was publicly humiliated and has "undergone an enormous amount of physical pain to have the nipple rings reinserted" because of scar tissue," Allred said.

Hamlin said her piercings have never set off an airport metal detector. She added that she will never fly out of Lubbock again.

"The conduct of TSA was cruel and unnecessary," Allred wrote. "The last time that I checked a nipple was not a dangerous weapon."

(© 2008 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

Where are the race "ho's" Jessie "hymie town" Jackson and Al "kill the Jew" sharpton,  when the camers are rolling about this woman tortured by this group of human debris? Where is NOW...

Just a question

http://www.newsmax.com/us/torture_slaying/2008/03/22/82
268.html

When I have your wounded

Strong winds created some damage downtown last night, predictably some members of the media were out there whining about how it looks like "a war zone" Just what is wrong with saying that it " looks like a tornado has struck"? ( At this writing National Weather Service has not made it official that a tornado was the cause of this damage.)

Also Atlanta PD is having trouble controlling the LOOTING. This is typical of a subculture that feels entitled, you ain't looking so they feel free to steal your stuff! Is anyone arrested NO! Does the media cover it NO... Why is that?

When I have your wounded

Well a couple of wonderful young girls have been shot on or around college campuses. Headline from WSB radio this AM that the one in NC was "shot with a handgun" ... DUH! Of course she was shot with a handgun. That hand gun was OPERATED by a THUG... An aimless , worthless piece of human debris that felt entitled to have what ever it was he wanted. He went to the area around a college campus because he was reasonably assured that the kids there feel safe and that is the police departments JOB to protect them. This dear readers is the reason why she died! She / they (her parents and community) have been lead to believe by the ignorant adults around them that the world is basically good and that the police will protect them.

There is NO DUTY to PROTECT YOU! This has been held by the supreme court many times. YOU are responsible for your own safety. Parents completely abdicate their responsibility by teaching their children they cannot defend themselves. They get this from the schools, any attempt to defend themselves is met with " by defending your self you are as bad as the attacker" mentality that is prevalent in schools today.

I dont see a boogy man around every corner but I am looking! There are pictures of the accused in the Auburn murder this AM BUT you have to go look for them... Why do you have to go look? Could it be that it is because he is BLACK? Where is the black community outrage? Better question where is the white community outrage? We have been conditioned that we cannot speak out on crimes perpetrated by blacks because it makes us "racist"

Please dont comment that crimes are also committed by whites also... that is a BS diversion to THIS issue!

Solution: Remake our justice system swift and sure! Kids are watching the Brian Nichols case... he is on tape doing the murders of citizens, but here we are breaking the budget on this , worthless human debris, so he doesn't go to the IV needle! He should have been SHOT the next week!

The RACE whores (ho's) and the media need to be shouted down by all right thinking Americans when they scream about THUGS that commit force able crimes against persons or property. If they try to fight the owner or the harm the victim and are shot in the process then congratulate the officer or the citizen with a community protection medal.

This is war, they have the advantage. No one is supposed to criticize, not supposed to shoot them, we are supposed to lay down and allow theses thugs to have their way with us AND our children

In a news story on ABC, The tsa (lower case intertional) Failed, that is choose NOT to enforce Post 9.11 laws on forigen student pilots. Probably it's more fun to have AMERICANS (however sheepish) disrobe in airports and feel up women under the guise of making ya'll "feel safe"!

Tom H, are YOU Reading this?

Former FAA Inspector: TSA's Enforcement of Post-9/11 Laws 'Basically Nonexistent' By BRIAN ROSS, VIC WALTER and ERIC LONGABARDI

Feb. 27, 2008—

 

 

Thousands of foreign student pilots have been able to enroll and obtain pilot licenses from U.S. flight schools, despite tough laws passed in the wake of the 9/ll attacks, according to internal government documents obtained by ABC News.

"Some of the very same conditions that allowed the 9-11 tragedy to happen in the first place are still very much in existence today," wrote one regional security official to his boss at the TSA, the Transportation Security Administration.

"Thousands of aliens, some of whom may very well pose a threat to this country, are taking flight lessons, being granted FAA certifications and are flying planes," wrote the TSA official, Richard A. Horn, in 2005, complaining that the students did not have the proper visas.

Under the new laws, American flight schools are only supposed to provide pilot training to foreign students who have been given a background check by the TSA and have a specific type of visa.

But in thousands of cases that has not happened, according to the documents and current and former government officials involved in the program.

"TSA's enforcement is basically nonexistent," said former FAA inspector Bill McNease, in an interview for ABC News' "World News With Charles Gibson."

McNease, who retired last year, says in one year alone, 2005, he found some 8,000 foreign students in the FAA database who got their pilot licenses without ever being approved by the TSA.

"And a flight school wants the money to teach 'em. And they are gonna teach 'em how to fly and get their ratings, and then they just slip through the cracks," McNease said.

In another internal e-mail obtained by ABC News, Monty Thompson, an official in the TSA Flight School Inspections section, complained in 2005 to his bosses in Washington, "I fear we are 'danger close' to losing sight of the mission and the intent of the 'Flight School Security' provisions."

The FAA and Homeland Security are now starting to crack down on a number of flight schools suspected of training students illegally.

Just last month, agents raided a flight school outside San Diego, Anglo-American Aviation International, as part of an investigation of alleged fraud and misuse of visas.

A lawyer for the school said the raid only involved a technical, paper-work issue and that the school was "cooperating" in the investigation.

"What happened in 9/ll we don't want to happen again or anything like that so something has to be done," said McNease.

No one from the TSA or Homeland Security would agree to be interviewed for this story, but officials said they were preparing an official statement in response.

The Department of Homeland Security would not provide an official from the flight school program to be interviewed for this story.

In a statement, the DHS said, "We have a high degree of confidence that our layered security measures, both seen and unseen, have raised the level of security in our aviation sector."

The statement did not address the issue of the thousands of students who have received pilot training and licenses with improper visas, other than to say they "are only one of the multiple layers of security" that the government relies on to "ensure that foreign nationals approved for flight training do not pose a threat to U.S. aviation security." The DHS said it conducts security threat assessments "on all non-U.S. citizens seeking flight training."

Georgia Senator Joseph Carter wants to test Body Mass Index (BMI) on Georgia school students! The Body Mass Index is a statistical measure of the weight of a person scaled according to height. It was invented between 1830 and 1850 by the Belgian polymath Adolphe Quetelet. In other words...it is VERY outdated... It can be used in clinical calculations but as you can already see in the hands of uneducated it is dangerous! 

Bodyfat percentage is the measure of bodyfat composition in your body. There are various ways to estimate bodyfat. They are skinfold, bio-electrical impedience, under water tank test, and circumference method (usually used for obese people)

For 9-10 years as a young soldier I was hassled by the US. Army 's attempts to use BMI to look for obesity in Army aviators. I am 6' 2" and 210 lbs(overweight by then Army standards) I could run 3-8 min miles, do push ups until you got tired and bench press 300 lbs! The tax payers even provided me several all expense paid trips to San Antonio to have my percentage of body fat measured, Thanks!

I would recommend the learned Senator review the literature and and discuss his silliness with an advisory committee of CLINICAL dietitians, pediatricians, and human performance experts. (kids at certain ages are "pudgy" just before they have a growth spurt!) I would also challenge you,  dear readers,  to review the Senator's web site, and ask that the Senator have HIS BMI AND percentage of body Fat measured ...  I'll even do it with him!

Senator, Government schools cannot even teach history well anymore.  They are bastions of political correctness and convenient crap, spend your time (and my money) to eliminate the influence of teachers unions, get kids OUTSIDE and playing where kids win and lose.  Teach them it's OK to want to win and be the BEST and that unless you STRIVE for excellence your gonna be a loser!

When I have your wounded

.

THis evening there was another shooting on a college campus! 15 or so victims... Where were the  police? Certainly NOT there to protect, they have NO duty to protect! Outside establishing a perimeter waiting on the REAL cops (SWAT) then this miserable piece of human cowardice shot himself!

We will discover in the coming days that as in the case of VA Tech these "victims" did little or nothing to defend themselves by putting up little or no resistance, how pathetic! Is teh American public beginning the realize that these cowards are drawn to "gun free zones" and as long as we leave Americans in a position of being mandated to NOT defend themselves this is the result..

Have you considered that our Islamic terrorist friends are watching this? Do you think that as in Beslan they are considering capturing an elementary school? That they could most likely walk into anywhere USA and shoot up the place unaccosted?

Solution: Allow all concealed carry persons to carry WHERE EVER they want by Federal Statute! Then YOU go buy a gun and learn to use it, if not go get a perm and join the rest of the herd of sheep, waiting for slaughter!

From a sheep dog!

When I have your wounded!