The TSA was created seven years ago today, and the agency is celebrating with three new public service announcements and a special web page dedicated to answering the question: "Why?"

You know, as in "Why do I have to take off my shoes?" or "Why do I have to show ID?" or that perennial favorite "Why do I have to to put my three ounce liquids in a zip-top plastic bag?" (We probably don't have to tell you that the answers are less than satisfactory.)

Still, at least the TSA is trying to prepare travelers for what to expect at checkpoints as the busy holiday travel season approaches. Given that the rules keep changing, a little reminder for those less traveled than us might make everyone's trip to the airport a bit smoother.

Check out all three clips after the jump.]]> pbb 2008-11-19T17:34:22-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/11/10/94042/469

Let this be a lesson to you laptop-toting travelers: Marginally famous Cheetah Girls singer Adrienne Bailon had some semi-nude snaps stolen from her computer after she misplaced it while transiting JFK last month.

The internet's authority on sex tapes, TMZ, has details:

She filed a report with the Port Authority--but later that day her record label received an anonymous phone call from a man saying he had her laptop and would return it for $1000.

A meeting was set up at JFK with the anonymous man, where he was given the money, and in turn gave up Bailon's missing laptop.

Bailon's misfortune--she was just trying to thrill boyfriend Robert Kardashian!--is a good reminder to always password protect your files and keep an eye on that laptop, especially when going through frequently hectic security checkpoints. Computers aren't lost as often as you might think, but some solid encryption on your hard drive should keep your sexy photos out of enemy hands.

Related Stories:
· Cheetah Girl Cheated Out of Semi-Nude Pics [TMZ]
· Travel Referendums: Keeping Your Laptop and Data Secure [Jaunted]

[Photo: IMDb]]]> pbb 2008-11-10T09:50:10-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/10/18/115625/98

If you've ever wanted to punch out a TSA agent while wearing a "Kip Hawley is an idiot" shirt, writer Jeffrey Goldberg is your new best friend. He teamed up with expert Bruce Schneier to wreak havoc on airport security--in the sense that they proved it to be a total farce:

Schne­ier and I joined the line with our [fake] boarding passes. "Technically we could get arrested for this," he said, but we judged the risk to be acceptable. We handed our boarding passes and IDs to the security officer, who inspected our driver's licenses through a loupe, one of those magnifying-glass devices jewelers use for minute examinations of fine detail.

The officer chicken-scratched onto our boarding passes what might have been his signature, or the number 4, or the letter y. We took our shoes off and placed our laptops in bins.

Despite not really talking to any security experts besides Schneier--we're not counting government suits as experts here--the article is still a great explanation of what "security theater" really means.

Related Stories:
· The Things He Carried [The Atlantic]
· Lulz with the TSA [Jaunted]
· Canadian Man Changes Name, Successfully Avoids U.S. Passenger Watch List Hassles [Jaunted]

[Photo: OndraSoukup]]]> pbb 2008-10-18T13:30:46-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/10/7/154515/392

Could this be what we've all been waiting for? Israel's Ben-Gurion International has added a gizmo called MagShoe to its security checkpoints in Terminal 3, meaning some passengers will be able to leave their shoes on.

MagShoe specifically scans the feet and ankles of fliers, and while it doesn't sniff for explosives, it can presumably detect batteries and wires packed into the heels of a potential bomber's kicks. (It picks up both ferrous and non-ferrous metals, though the manufacturer says the device "ignores metal normally found inside shoes to reduce false alarms.")

A foot scan with MagShoe takes only two seconds, which is substantially less time than it takes us to horn our shoes back on while juggling our laptop after clearing a TSA checkpoint.

Related Stories:
· About MagShoe [Official Site]
· Lulz with the TSA [Jaunted]
· TSA Testing New Shoes-on Technology [Jaunted]]]> pbb 2008-10-07T16:00:41-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/9/29/84434/1027

Evan Roth is an artist known for his boundary-pushing work. His latest project is no exception. He's creating a series of metal plates with messages carved in to them that will only show up when going through an X-ray machine.

They're made to be stowed away in your carry-on luggage as a surprise to stressed out TSA employees. Hilarity and/or a full search will surely result!

Roth has yet to test these plates, so if anyone out there has a spare X-ray machine laying around, get at him.

Related Stories:
· Evan Roth [Official Site]
· Airport Screener X-Ray Message Plates [Gizmodo]
· Airport Security coverage [Jaunted]]]> Dan Gould 2008-09-29T10:00:36-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/9/22/223342/721

Flying 'roo Qantas can't catch a break at the moment. Sure, there was brief excitement when their first A380 plane arrived in Sydney, but it didn't take long for everyone to find something to complain about again.

This time it was an airport evacuation of the Qantas terminal at Brisbane Monday afternoon, all because three Qantas passengers managed to wander into a secured area without being screened. Better safe than sorry, Qantas decided to evacuate the whole terminal and re-screen everybody.

As you'd expect, this took more than a couple of minutes, and twenty Qantas flights were delayed by up to an hour. And that means there are hundreds more anti-Qantas thoughts being thought today.

Related Stories:
· Brisbane Airport Evacuated After Security Breach [ABC]
· A380 Planes: Flying Kangaroo is Next in Line [Jaunted]
· Brisbane Travel Guide [Jaunted]

[Photo: tripletrouble]
]]> amandak 2008-09-23T09:30:32-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/9/21/123826/773

Well, look here, a big old can of worms. Let's open it, shall we? A frequent flier from Canada who endured seven years of additional screening and lengthy delays at U.S. airports due to his name being erroneously included on a flight passenger watch list has given up and changed his name.

The former Mario Labbé, a Quebec record company executive, had once been a victim of identity theft, which landed his name on a list of people to receive additional screening by U.S. authorities. That seems like a reasonable enough error, but Labbé said he couldn't convince the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to give him the all-clear, even though they had acknowledged that his name was on the list improperly. So he said screw it, and changed his name to François Mario Labbé.]]> Victor Ozols 2008-09-21T12:38:26-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/