You can't flick your BIC on planes anymore

[jackal70058]

There probaly used on the smoking breaks there.
I'll bet those secuirty scanners take home all kind of confiscated stuff.

Heck, there were making off with people's bags last year.

Freeloaders.

[AlecWest]

Or, maybe the BIC corporation paid off congress to pass this law so more lighters will be confiscated/destroyed = tons of sales of new BIC lighters = hefty windfall profits!

Don't know about that. The news is getting out to smokers. If anything, this was probably lobbied for by the Diamond Match Company (grin) ... to get people to realize that, light for light, matches are cheaper. People who fly only once in a blue moon will keep flicking their BICs. But, this may cause frequent flyer smokers to make the switch back to matches. And this would really be the cheaper alternative since most hotels (and bars) give matchbooks to their guests free.

[BJ_M]

matches though cause more fires -- when the burning tip breaks off and lights the sheets on fire (a common problem before lighters became so popular)

[BJ_M]

There probably used on the smoking breaks there.
I'll bet those security scanners take home all kind of confiscated stuff.

Heck, there were making off with people's bags last year.

Freeloaders.

NO they are to busy in their gym and watching tv it seems, though i know of SEVERAL people who have had stuff stolen from them by the scanners - including some very expensive items .. I hear that it is a big problem also in australia (the guy driving around in a stolen kangaroo suit is priceless)

Waste, possible fraud reported at TSA

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A Transportation Security Administration official spent $500,000 on art, silk plants and other decorations for a new operations center and then went to work for the vendor after leaving the agency, according to a report from the Department of Homeland Security's inspector general.

The report found that self-imposed deadline pressures, combined with "inappropriate decision-making by individuals who operated with unchecked autonomy" led to waste and abuse in the construction process.

The operations center, located just outside Washington, has a 4,200-foot fitness center with a towel laundry service for 79 federal employees. It also has seven kitchens equipped with refrigerators, microwave ovens, ice makers and dishwashers.

The report said that the center's offices and work stations were larger than federal standards allow and that most had cable television.

The inspector general found that the project manager and other TSA employees routinely violated agency policies to buy furniture, leather briefcases, coffee pots and other items.

They concealed purchases of more than $2,500, including one for $47,449, by splitting them into several credit card transactions, the report said.

The report said that higher-ups at the TSA "quashed" efforts by procurement managers to exercise control.

A project oversight board eventually was formed, but it "did not provide control and oversight to ensure adherence to applicable procurement regulations and policy," the report said.

TSA spokesman Mark Hatfield said an internal audit uncovered the "waste and procurement shortcomings, and even potential fraud," and officials asked the inspector general to investigate.

Hatfield said the $500,000 purchase of decorations has been referred to the U.S. Justice Department for possible criminal prosecution. The report didn't identify the former official allegedly involved.

Hatfield said that even though the project was done under "aggressive deadlines," there was "no justification for intentional fraud."

He said procurement controls, which were fledgling or nonexistent at the time, are now in place to "ensure the most efficient use of taxpayer dollars and the most competitive procurement practices in the federal government."