smirk did create a business, selling your stuff you surrendered to fly

[donsu]

http://money.aol.com/news/dailypulse/020706?id=20060207102809990001&ncid=NWS00010000000001


Sale of Banned Items Proves Lucrative


It's a little-noticed legacy of post-9/11 airport security procedures: the brisk commerce spawned by the buying, selling and disposal of the 30 million prohibited items surrendered by passengers at checkpoints.

Some of it is hazardous waste, like Chemical Mace, and is disposed of accordingly. A small portion is pure junk and gets discarded. But scissors, cigarette lighters and pocketknives have value. And, this being the USA, a lucrative market has sprung up around the buying and selling of surrendered items.

Nobody has totaled it up, but the business of disposing of or reselling items banned by the U.S. Transportation Security Administration appears to be valued in the millions of dollars a year. After a traveler leaves behind a banned item - a hunting knife, say - it can follow a strange and convoluted journey to a new owner. That journey often involves a pass through state or local government ownership, and a posting on eBay.

State surplus property offices get first crack at the items, but if they're not equipped to handle them or decide to take a pass, giant contractor Science Application International collects and discards them under a five-year, $17 million government contract.
-snip-
------------------------------------

dare we inquire as to owns Science Application International?

[Caoimhe]

1. I've seen these auctions on EBAY

where you can buy like $500 pocket knives from the US Government or an intermediary. Quite a racket.

[ret5hd]

2. i think this is SAIC...

of numerous questionable activities fame.

[Rick Myers]

3. Correct, here's some info:

http://www.publicintegrity.org/wow/bio.aspx?act=pro&ddlC=51

Same old song and dance from BushCo.

[MuseRider]

4. I wonder who bought my son's

High School letter pins? They took every last one of them out of his bag because they had tiny, pointy tips. Pissed me off, he did not seem to care all that much but it pissed me off. I asked if they wanted my ear rings that were exactly the same and they did not. ???