air marshals

The day after I post a story about the TSA firing eight of its agents at Newark's airport for sleeping on the job (the third batch of pink slips the TSA has handed out this month), news breaks today that the TSA has fired eight federal air marshals, including a supervisor, for drinking alcohol on the job.

The eight air marshals, based in the New York office, allegedly drank alcohol at a restaurant on a training day in February. None of the air marshals were scheduled to fly that day, but rules prohibit alcohol consumption any time they're on the clock, according to the Associated Press.

In addition to the eight fired air marshals, the TSA suspended six more for not reporting the incident, which was ultimately reported via a website where TSA employees can report inappropriate behavior, according to the AP. All of the affected air marshals can appeal the decision, except one who was on probation and terminated immediately, the AP reported.

The TSA issued its now well-known "zero tolerance" statement, which it has issued in the wake of past terminations: "TSA holds all of its employees to the highest professional and ethical standards and has zero tolerance for misconduct in the workplace. ... TSA's decision to remove the individuals involved in the misconduct affirms our strong commitment to the highest standards of conduct and accountability."

I just couldn't help but pass this along. I'm sure most of this is just plain rubbish, but it's funny, and who couldn't use a little humor during the work day, right?

Steve Jobs (you know, the mogul of Apple products and the master of all things beginning with a lower-case 'i'), may actually be a different kind of 'Master' by night. There have been a slew of stories reporting that Jobs was unable to board a plane in Japan after it was discovered that he had Ninja throwing stars in his carry-on luggage. Of course, the Apple folks call this "pure fiction" but the premise of Steve Jobs moonlighting as a ninja, frankly, is not totally incomprehensible. The guy is intense and it's not hard to believe he would take a career in martial arts to the highest possible level.

Chances are, Jobs wasn't an aviation security threat, though. He was boarding his own private plane (duh!) and like this Bloomberg report points out: Who would hijack his or her own plane? Common sense reporting, I like it.

And while the premise of this is hilarious enough, this video really puts things in perspective:

Just a little money news. The Department of Homeland Security awarded the San Francisco International Airport $15 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for the construction of a new inline baggage handling system, according to this release from DHS.

“Putting Recovery Act dollars to work in the Bay Area will heighten security for air travelers, speed the baggage process and create jobs that reinvigorate the economy,” said Secretary Napolitano. “This new technology will better equip San Francisco International Airport to detect explosives and other threats while streamlining the check-in process for passengers.”

According to the press release, the inline baggage handling system will eliminate the need for passengers to walk their checked baggage to a screening location and wait before proceeding to the security checkpoint.

I was surprised to learn they make passengers carry their own checked luggage to the screening section at an airport as big as San Francisco. I thought that kind of inconvenience was restricted to tiny airports like the Portland Jetport. I wonder when Napolitano will send some of that money and technology to us here in Maine?