Airport Security To Begin Hand Swabbing

By Samantha Wilson, Washington Square News





Students flying home for spring break this year may face a different experience at airport security. In light of recent security disturbances, such as the attempted Christmas Day bombing, the Transportation Security Administration has once again increased security procedures at airports nationwide in hopes that such occurrences will not happen again.

In addition to the introduction of full body scanning, a relatively new security measure, TSA will implement hand swabbing, a technique that will determine if a passenger has leftover residue on their hands from explosives. Explosive Trace Detection will be conducted randomly, so not all passengers waiting in airport security will be tested.

Ann Davis, TSA's public affairs representative, said the new measure is nothing to be worried about. In fact, it is nothing new.

"[Hand-swabbing] is a form of technology that has always been done at checkpoints," Davis said. "It has been used for years to test the handles of luggage for traces of explosive residue. Now in airports it will be used to do the same for passengers."

In this process, individuals will be selected by officers in security checkpoint lines to complete the test. Their hands will be swabbed by the officer, and the samples run through a machine. In a matter of seconds, the presence of explosive residue will be detected.

TSA thinks ETD will not have a drastic effect on the already lengthy security process at most airports, if any. Because of the random nature of the selection, only a few individuals will be delayed.

Airports in the New York City area are ready to comply with TSA standards to ensure the safety of their customers, despite the potential buildup of passenger traffic it may cause.

"We'll have to see when it happens," an official from LaGuardia Airport said. "I think TSA will know better than [airports] will, but it's there to help."

There are still kinks to be worked out in the system, as several substances, including some heart medications and fertilizers, can cause false positives on the explosive detection machine.

"Of course false positives may occur, but they will be treated accordingly," Davis said. "Once someone tests positive for explosive residue, they will be taken away for further screening and we'll know then."

While the possibility of false positives and additional screening is inconvenient, it's viewed as necessary to help the security process.

College of Nursing sophomore Katelyn Hylbom is an avid traveler who does not see any problem with adjusting to further TSA security standards.

"People always complain about airport security, but it's there for our own safety," Hylbom said. "I wish there wasn't a need for it, but there is, and it's not that hard to deal with. It's 10 minutes of your life. I'd rather be inconvenienced than dead."

Hand swabbing at TSA checkpoints will start on a staggered schedule throughout the country. It is expected to be in place within the next few weeks at all airports.

Samantha Wilson is a staff writer.
http://nyunews.com/news/2010/02/23/24tsa/

How much more will we let them chip away at us before there's nothing left?

Blood Trackers: Shadowing Your Sacred Self

By Jean Bush

In an article written by Nicholas West, DNA Genetic “Patdown” Introduced To Airports By DHS, on Activist Post (www.activistpost.com), reveals the disturbing news that the Department of Homeland Security is rolling out a portable DNA scanning machine to be used at airports.

Netbio, Rapid DNA Analysis Solutions, says on its homepage:

The Leading Provider of Rapid DNA Analysis (RDA) Solutions
– Human Forensic Identification, Biothreat Detection, Clinical Diagnostics –

Network Biosystems, Inc. (NetBio) is the leading provider of the full set of technologies and products for the emerging field of Rapid DNA Analysis (RDA). RDA enables the identification (by fragment sizing or nucleic acid sequencing) of the most informative subset of a given human or pathogen genome, allowing end users to make decisions in real time. Major applications include criminal forensics, military human identification, biothreat detection, and clinical diagnostics. NetBio believes that widespread use of RDA, particularly in the field and at the point of care, will improve both the safety, and health of society.

The ability to rapidly identify individuals by DNA fingerprinting and to rapidly identify pathogens by DNA sequence have become urgent national needs, and NetBio's game changing technology is addressing these needs. NetBio is dedicated to serve the military, forensic, homeland security, and intelligence communities of the United States and its allies. NetBio also teams with several established defense contractors to accelerate the broad application of RDA solutions. NetBio's vision is to make RDA available anywhere, to anyone, at any time, to benefit society.
(www.netbio.com)

The key words here are: homeland security and benefit to society. It is to our detriment, not benefit. It is only benefiting those who are controlling us.

The following is taken from the Dept. of Homeland Security’s website under Counterterrorism:

US-VISIT Biometric Identification Services

US-VISIT's use of biometrics is helping to make travel simple, easy and convenient for legitimate visitors, but virtually impossible for those who wish to do harm or violate U.S. laws.

• How Biometrics Assure Identity
• Benefits of Biometrics
How Biometrics Assure Identity
Biometrics collected by US-VISIT and linked to specific biographic information enable a person's identity to be established, then verified, by the U.S. government. With each encounter, from applying for a visa to seeking immigration benefits to entering the United States, US-VISIT:
• Checks a person’s biometrics against a watch list of known or suspected terrorists, criminals and immigration violators
• Checks against the entire database of all of the fingerprints the Department of Homeland Security has collected since US-VISIT began to determine if a person is using an alias and attempting to use fraudulent identification.
• Checks a person’s biometrics against those associated with the identification document presented to ensure that the document belongs to the person presenting it and not someone else.

US-VISIT provides the results of these checks to decision makers when and where they need it.

These services help prevent identity fraud and deprive criminals and immigration violators of the ability to cross our borders. Based on biometrics alone, US-VISIT has helped stop thousands of people who were ineligible to enter the United States.
Benefits of Biometrics
Biometrics are unique physical characteristics, such as fingerprints, that can be used for automated recognition. Biometrics form the foundation of US-VISIT's identification services because they are reliable, convenient and virtually impossible to forge.
Many agencies utilize US-VISIT services to accurately identify people and determine whether they pose a risk to the United States. Learn more about how U.S. government agencies are using US-VISIT services.
(www.dhs.gov)


With this new technology, a drop of blood, a smear of saliva or even a kiss, can provide instant information to track your every breath. Our government’s endless intrusion has now reached into the very heart of our creation: our DNA, the very essence of ourselves. Unless we rise up now to stop this, we and future generations will be forever bio-mapped, bio-tracked and bio-trapped, all in the name of “bio-terrorism.”

We have met the enemy and he is us.

PS:Gentlemen,

I wish to write an article on your amazing new bio technology. Rumor has it that it is to be used, first, at ournational airports. However, I have yet to be able to confirm this. May I please have some information on the DNA scanner and its potential uses? Any pictures or brochures would be appreciated. I will also be checking with the Dept. of Homeland Security on this matter.

Thank you so much for your time. I look forward to presenting the facts instead of rumors to my public.

Warmest,

Jean

"Thank you for your inquiry. The DHS Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) is doing preliminary testing with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) who already use DNA testing in some cases to establish familial relationships in refugee processing. There are no plans to use the technology in airports."

Well, we'll just see now, won't we?