The most successful bomb detectors have four legs and a hella good but wet nose, and answer to names like "Spike".

http://thepeoplescube.com/peoples-blog/government-propaganda-comes-to-america-what-took-so-long-t9035.html

I R A,

I think you're being a bit biased. What about Muffin and Pookie? Surely a girl-dog can smell just as well as a boy-dog.

All kidding aside, I think I made that point on another one of Amy's TSA posts.

As long as the dogs are being used appropriately. Remember that trekie who was pulled over by police, whose car was eventually searched by a k-9? If I recall, it was argued that the police officer used the dog inappropriately to trigger a false positive.

for drugs.

I wonder what would happen to people who called in to let the authorites know about desturbing posters put up by an authoritarian government looking to restrict people freedom in the name of saftey

No TSA patdown at the train station yet. When they are ready to implement they'll just need a couple of explosions and human sacrifices to get the program rolling. I am certain they will get what they want when they want it.

The thing about a dog sniffing for bombs, especially a smart dog, is that he eventually figures out that it's pointing his nose at something that gets him a treat, not finding a bomb or drugs.

Don't miss something else here: a bomb doesn't look like anything in particular.

We have an IED instructor in the neighborhood. A pack of cigarettes, a Coke (bottle or can), a book, a cell phone... all are bombs. A backpack? A really BIG bomb.

Then, there are cars and trucks.

Again, you're being sold your own fear, so you will do what you're told. There is no effective difference between a citizen of America today and a German of the late '30s.

I wonder what happens when a concealed carry holder meets up with a TSA agent outside of an airport setting?

Police don't have a right to even have a right to pat and frisk me without pointing to "specific and articulable facts" of a crime (Terry stop). Because I want to ride on a train is not suspicious activity.

So I'm legally carrying a concealed firearm in Detroit? That is not suspicious activity, it is common sense.

<Sarcasm>This is going to be fun!</Sarcasm>

"The thing about a dog sniffing for bombs, especially a smart dog, is that he eventually figures out that it's pointing his nose at something that gets him a treat, not finding a bomb or drugs."

I've seen a recent study saying that the dog will also respond to its handler, even if the handler is not consciously giving commands to the dog. If the handler becomes anxious when the dog approaches an item, the dog will respond to that. Eventually the dog is cueing off of the handler's expections instead of off of its nose. I'm waiting for someone, armed with the latest data, to attempt to make this case in court.

Just like any system, a dog-based one could be abused... but dogs are less likely than what we see now. If somebody is "setting off" a TSA person now, that person can give that traveler "extra scrutiny." If dogs are used, it would only happen IF the dog ALSO responded to something. That's an extra layer. My guess is that there would be a LOT fewer "false flags" with a dog than with just people.

Also, I have trouble thinking that after screening hundreds of bags/people, a (not visible) object would cause a handler to get anxious. After all, these are the people who are zoning out at their jobs, right?

No system would be perfect, but I think this would be BETTER than what we've got now. We could grouse about any system, because none are perfect. Instead of demanding perfection, why not look for the best possible?

I heard about a drug dealer that would commonly have narcotics officers showing up at his door with dogs. They didn't have a search warrant, so they could only do "plain sight" searches, at his courtesy.

He also found out that moth balls/flakes would numb up any dogs nose for a short period of time. What he did was crush up the flakes and dump them in the carpet inside and outside his door. Also around the stashes inside. Not enough that the smell was obvious, but enough that the dog sniffing would have his nose numbed.

They searched his house with a dog about 15-20 times and never got a hit. He was finally busted by a snitch. He had kilos of grass and coke in his house.

I have a feeling of what I'm going to be carrying the next time I fly. ;-)

"If you see something, say something" was the catch-slogan in Soviet Union right before WW-2.

We should learn more about the London subway bombings-- car floors were burst upwards and inwards, not downwards, like you'd expect for a bomb sitting on the floor inside.