"Destination Thanksgiving; At Logan, more opt in than out" by Erin Ailworth, Globe Staff / November 25, 2010
Lines and wait times were unexpectedly short yesterday as holiday travelers in Boston and at airports across the country largely chose to opt out of National Opt-Out Day, an attempt to protest new security measures on one of the busiest travel days of the year.
Yeah, they AVOIDED the AIRPORTS altogether!
At Logan International and other major airports, including those in Los Angeles and Atlanta, most people chose to have a body scan rather than a security pat-down.
Or they didn't go at all -- but don't expect to see that in the agenda-pushing, PoS paper.
Critics of the more aggressive new airport security measures had urged travelers to opt out of the scans in favor of the more time-consuming pat-down as a way to clog security checkpoints and call attention to their complaints.
Of the 56,000 travelers screened at Logan by 5 p.m. yesterday, , only about 300 chose to get patted down, said Ann Davis, a spokeswoman for the Transportation Security Administration.
Isn't that about HALF of what they get on a NORMAL DAY, never mind the BUSIEST TRAVEL DAY of the YEAR?
“The opt-out movement seems to not have taken hold of very many people, and we’re not really having the issues that were predicted,’’ Davis said....
The new security measures are designed to stop terrorists, and while most passengers seem to accept the inconvenience as worthwhile, others object to the small dose of radiation the scanners deliver or to what they see as an invasion of privacy. The scanners reveal, in rough outline, a passenger’s unclothed contour. The alternative, a pat-down, has been expanded to include parts of the body previously unexamined, fueling a separate set of privacy complaints.
At Logan yesterday, Liz Sheldon of Henniker, N.H., said she was more comfortable with a digital scan of her body than a pat-down.
“You want to take a picture of me, go ahead,’’ Sheldon said, adding that she thought it would be less embarrassing than being frisked. “That or someone’s hands all over me? I’ll take the scanner.’’
It's an EITHER/OR CHOICE, huh?
REMEMBER THAT for LATER, readers!
Yesterday was among the most hectic at Logan, with 107,000 people expected to travel through the airport — about 20,000 more than on a typical Wednesday.
But they ONLY SCREENED about HALF THAT, so WTF?
Answer: PEOPLE OPTED OUT of FLYING and the Boston Globe is obfuscating that fact!
While Logan reported few delays, wind snarled some flights in and out of New York’s LaGuardia Airport and New Jersey’s Newark International Airport....
To prepare for the Thanksgiving weekend, Thomas Kinton, Massachusetts Port Authority chief executive, said Logan stationed more State Police at security checkpoints. But during a morning walk-through of the airport with Kinton yesterday, Edward Freni, Massport director of aviation, noted that as of 8:30 a.m., it appeared “less people are opting out than on a normal day.’’
“It was more hype than anything,’’ Kinton said.
Yes, I am reading an AmeriKan newspaper. How did he know?
Most of those who did opt out said they elected a pat-down because they were concerned about possible health risks the machines pose, even though the TSA has said the scanner’s radiation level is equal to what a person is exposed to during two minutes of an airplane flight.
Of course, the same government officials won't go through one.
Matt Carroll, 22, of Connecticut, chose a pat-down at Logan yesterday and said he will continue to do so, at least until he is convinced the machines are safe.
“I just heard it wasn’t necessarily safe with the radiation levels,’’ he said. “I heard a lot of people were opting out.’’
Maria Campbell, an art institute student traveling home to Ohio, said she routinely chooses a pat-down instead of going through the scanner, but did so yesterday at Logan as a show of support for Opt-Out Day.
“I don’t want to be digitally strip-searched,’’ she said of the new machines, adding that she did this “for my friends who would find this traumatic.’’
The man who launched the protest campaign, Brian Sodergren, did not return calls from the Globe yesterday.
Why would he want to talk to you?
Richard Bloom, director of terrorism, espionage, and intelligence studies at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, Ariz., who was monitoring Opt-Out Day, said a majority of people seemed to recognize the need for more aggressive security measures — as well as the desire to be home for the holidays quickly.
“There are certainly plenty of people who just want to get where they’re going for Thanksgiving,’’ he said.
Actually, that sums up the feelings of a lot of Americans. They simply don't give a shit.
The Electronic Privacy Information Center, which disagrees with the government’s use of full-body scanners to screen travelers, maintained its support for yesterday’s Opt-Out campaign, no matter how many people participated.
“Right now these machines are not effective at detecting powdered explosives, and the American public is trading their privacy for the illusion of security,’’ said Ginger McCall, assistant director of the center’s Open Government Project.
Senator John F. Kerry of Massachusetts vowed to examine how a better balance can be struck between keeping the skies safe and protecting people’s privacy.
“I refuse to accept the notion that we can’t keep people safe without undermining our civil liberties,’’ he said in a statement. “It’s not an either/or choice.’’
The few staged protests around the country appeared to be more colorful than disruptive....
Yeah, I was wondering HOW LONG it would take before we were INSULTED by the PoS PRESS!!!!!!!!!!!
That's when I STOP READING the PoS article.
If anyone would know about staged protests it is them. Every single one they promote, 'er, cover (gays, global-warmers, illegal immigrants) is part of the agenda push.
--Roads clogged, but airport a breeze for Thanksgiving travel--"
Yeah, YOU KNOW WHY the ROADS are CLOGGED, right?
Related: Americans Feeling the Touch of Fascism When Flying
So when do the checkpoints go up?
Oh, and about that once-over eyeball the boss is giving:
"No detail too small on annual Logan tour" by Katie Johnston Chase, Globe Staff / November 25, 2010
Striding through Terminal B at Logan International Airport yesterday morning on his annual day-before-Thanksgiving inspection tour, the Massachusetts Port Authority’s chief executive, Thomas Kinton, liked what he saw: sparkling floors, festive holiday wreaths, and most important, no apparent snarls in security lines from a threatened protest by passengers.
“We had a quiet morning this morning?’’ he asked a Transportation Security Administration officer, John Sherwood.
“Everything’s going extra smooth,’’ Sherwood said....
Yeah, because PEOPLE STAYED AWAY from the AIRPORT!!
Most of Kinton’s days are spent focused on the big picture — overseeing the authority’s $350 million annual operating budget, juggling which airline should fly out of what terminal — but on the airport tours, he thinks small. Extremely small.
He pointed out a plastic bag in a shrub, burnt-out light bulbs, coffee cups on the floor, and fingerprint smudges on a window as the small group of Massport staffers trailing him made calls and took notes on BlackBerrys....
Then why don't you pick it up, a**hole.
The employees who followed Kinton struggled to keep up with his rapid pace, which slowed only when his fingerprint failed to open security doors....
Logan is the 19th-busiest airport in the country, serving more than 25 million passengers last year, and it was operating at full capacity yesterday. Cleaning crews were beefed up, additional state police troopers roamed the terminals, extra TSA officials manned the checkpoints, and Massport employees who normally work as lawyers and engineers joined the public information staff on the front lines.
Yup, the TYRANNY was on FULL DISPLAY!
All over a DAMNABLE INSIDE JOB and a crock full of lies!
Earlier this month, the man who runs the airport was the subject of controversy. A proposed $22,000 pay raise for Kinton, one of the state’s highest-paid officials, was withdrawn after an objection by Governor Deval Patrick’s lone appointee on the Massport board of directors. The 7.5 percent raise would have boosted Kinton’s annual salary to $317,000 a year.
As services are being slashed and taxes raised.
SEE where your TAX MONEY is going in the LIBERAL FIEFDOM of FASCISM?
Kinton declined to talk about it yesterday. “It’s an issue for the board of directors, and that’s between them and me,’’ he said.
Yeah, f*** you taxpayers, consumers, and customers that pay his salary.
What he did want to talk about was cleanliness — especially floors, which must be shiny — and order. A crooked floor mat sparked a call to a terminal manager....
Hope you are getting your money's worth.
Doesn't everyone love this kind of boss?
Kinton acknowledged that such close attention to detail might seem “whacked’’ but argued it helps set travelers at ease.
As they are being molested or zapped.
“If the first thing you see is a curb full of litter, a bus that’s not clean, they start to say, ‘Is this place working right?’ ’’ he said.
Yesterday, a drooping Christmas tree prompted a cry of “Don’t look!’’ from Deb Lombardo, deputy director of executive administration, as she hurried Kinton along.
Kinton, who started working at Logan nearly 35 years ago as a temporary engineer, conducted his first walkthrough in the early 1980s, when he was building maintenance manager. He does some sort of walkthrough about once a week, from solo trips for a quick roadway check to more formal treks with deputies.
Temporary always becomes permanent when is comes to the government lootroll.
“I want [employees] to see me, to know that I’m concerned that the place works well, so they’re on top of their game,’’ said Kinton, a Woburn native who lives in Winchester.
So grab that broom and look busy!
Kinton also talks to people as he goes, including a state trooper who filled him in yesterday on a suspicious substance that turned out to be heart medication and a passenger the airport boss used to coach in soccer.
“How’s business?’’ he asked the employees at a Swatch watch store. “Make some money.’’
Kind of slow, actually. Think they tell the fascist a**hole that?
--more--"
Do you think he deserves a raise?
"Massport director’s pay raise on hold" by Andrea Estes, Globe Staff / November 12, 2010
The Massachusetts Port Authority board of directors yesterday abruptly withdrew a proposal to boost executive director Thomas Kinton’s salary by $22,000 to $317,000 a year after the Patrick administration’s sole appointee on the board objected.
Board member Jeffrey Mullan, who also serves as Governor Deval Patrick’s transportation secretary, said such a pay raise, scheduled to be voted on in executive session at today’s board meeting, would be unwise, given the state of the economy.
Board member Jeffrey Mullan, who also serves as Governor Deval Patrick’s transportation secretary, said such a pay raise, scheduled to be voted on in executive session at today’s board meeting, would be unwise, given the state of the economy.
“The action was ill-advised and untimely,’’ Mullan said in a written statement. “I recognize the importance of the role Tom plays and the work that he has done, but know also that Governor Patrick and Lieutenant Governor Murray have rightly insisted that the salaries of all public-sector executives be considered in light of the economic realities that many Massachusetts families are dealing with.’’
But the pay raise is not necessarily dead.
Massport board chairman John Quelch said the board wanted to delay its debate until the governor returns from his California vacation....
Kinton, a 35-year veteran of the agency that runs Logan International Airport, earns a base salary of $295,000 a year, making him one of the state’s highest-paid officials.
You know what? I'll do it for less. I can give the place a once-a-week walk-through and as long as the intelligence agencies don't conjure up any more false flag events things should be fine.
Under his five-year employment contract, which expires next August, he is also entitled to annual raises, bonuses, a car, and cash for up to three weeks of unused vacation, or roughly $17,000.
When he retires, he will be able to take advantage of one of the most generous benefits offered by the agency: He will qualify to receive more than $400,000 in unused sick leave.
That is WHY TAXES and FEES NEED to be RAISED and SERVICES SLASHED, taxpayers!
When will America have HAD ENOUGH, huh?
The MOLESTATION and VIOLATION of your WOMEN and VERY PERSONS ain't enough?
Kinton is grandfathered under an old Massport policy that allows employees to receive 100 percent of the cash value of their accumulated sick days, 478 of them, according to a 2009 compensation report. He will also collect a pension equal to 80 percent of his salary in his highest-earning years.
The controversial sick-leave policy was changed in 2006 when the Massport board, under pressure from Governor Mitt Romney, revamped it to bring it in line with other state agencies.
Yeah, it took a REPUBLICAN governor to CHANGE IT -- and Massachusetts voters just rejected that avenue.
Massport officials would not comment on the proposal, which would raise his salary 7 1/2 percent, or say when his proposed five-year contract extension will be reconsidered. Kinton could not be reached for comment....
Did you get that kind of raise this year, taxpayers?
--more--"
"The Patrick administration will seek to change the makeup of the Massachusetts Port Authority board of directors, making it unlikely the panel will approve a $22,000 pay raise for executive director Thomas Kinton, officials said yesterday....
I'll believe it when it never gets it.
--more--"
Also see:
Cancel my flight. Think I'll just stay home from now on.
