I fly. A lot.

[PBS Poll-435]

I am NEVER going through one of those backscatter X-ray machines. Never


TSA can grab all the junk they want.



(Better yet, can't they grant some kind of waiver for folks that fly more than 30 times a year?)

[slackmaster]

1. K&R. We don't need scanning. We need intelligent profiling.

The way the Israelis do it.

[tammywammy]

3. I agree, but hasn't there been people previously objecting to any kind of profiling? n/t

[slackmaster]

6. I think a lot of people automatically and incorrectly associate "profiling" with racial profiling

There are a lot of ways to profile people. Racially is a chickenshit way.

[wtmusic]

9. Then Israelis must be chickenshits.

"So why, I asked, are we still allowed to board airplanes at Ben-Gurion International Airport with bottles and tubes of liquid brought from home, while in Heathrow or JFK they confiscate our face cream and toothpaste?

'Oh, that's simple," he answered matter of factly. "We use racial profiling, they don't.'

Only after the visit, rereading my notes, I noticed a curious detail in his answer. While the entire interview had been conducted in Hebrew, he had said those two words, "racial profiling," in English.

To Israelis, the practice of picking people out based on racial stereotypes is so self-evident, there isn't even a Hebrew term for it.In the ongoing international debate over airport security, which has followed the failed attempt by Nigerian student Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab to blow up a plane carrying himself and 289 others near Detroit, much attention has been paid to the methods used to screen passengers at airports."

http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/in-israel-racial-profiling-doesn-t-warrant-debate-or-apologies-1.261075

[slackmaster]

11. Whatever they're doing seems to work pretty well

When was the last time an Israeli flight was hijacked?

[Hawkowl]

7. No fat contracts for profiling.....nt

[sally cat]

12. Maybe the fear of CAIR suing keeps this from happening?

[superduperfarleft]

23. The TSA does currently employ people whose jobs are to sit around and look for

odd body language, behaviors, etc. My brother's ex was one.

[old mark]

2. I won't fly again till that bullshit is removed. Neither will my wife. I have had

more than enough of the TSA/HSA, and would love to see it all gone, but in the meantime, I'll take a train of drive.

mark

[CountAllVotes]

4. I don't blame you

I don't plan on flying again either. The last time I flew overseas it was hell. I've never been treated with such a lack of respect.

FUCK THEM.

[GiordanoBruno]

5. We all know

the TSA sexual assault parade does not heighten security.

I'm unfamiliar with the kind of person who is weak and degenerate enough to allow their own body to be fondled in order to create the illusion of security.

I'm also unfamiliar with the kind of person who would let their 13-year old daughter's genitals be touched by a government employee because the government says he or she has to.

Where does this kind of person draw the line? Cavity searches, genital fondling at subway stations, genital fondling when renting trucks, genital fondling before you enter a mall, Droit de seigneur?

Where do you draw the line and under what rationale? Doesn't that rationale work for airport travel as well?

I'm heartsick over this and in my mind the line is drawn.

[Mimosa]

20. 'Hands up and legs apart' & a frisking...

I never expected to hear unless I was being arrested.

It seems there would be alternatives to the radiation and invasive pat downs. Israel has better security. But of course they have better trained security professionals. I'm sure they don't waste their time patting down old grannies and toddlers in order to appear 'random'.

GioranoBruno, welcome to D.U.. :D


My concern has long been that US citizens are being conditioned to accept eventual serfdom.

An illustration from the Gulag:

[soryang]

8. White House invited scanner CEO on India trip

While the uproar continues at home, administration says too bad, so sad. Just do what we tell you and quit your bitchin!

[FLPanhandle]

10. I fly 2 to 4 times per week for my job.

I have gone through them and will continue to go through them. It's just not that big of a deal to me. I understand that for some folks it is a big deal, and I respect your stand.

My biggest complaint is that TSA processes passengers about 75% slower through those things. Meaning security lines are going to get even longer and I'll have to arrive at the airport even earlier.

I can't imagine traveling during the holidays with inexperienced travelers and families going through security. The lines will be enormous.

[frazzled]

14. Agreed -- been through them and it's no big deal

I'm pretty shocked at the number of prudish people here. It's not much different from walking through a metal detector, unless the thought of some bored employee seeing through your clothes makes you feel all icky. I, frankly, could not care less. As for pat downs, I have undergone more than one fairly invasive one, in front of everybody, several times -- long before these scanners were introduced. It's pretty offensive, but the new technique doesn't sound that different than the old. Anyone who wears an underwire bra has probably had their boobs felt up more than once since 9/11.

An argument about being ineffective or unhealthy I can understand. But I'm surprised at how many people here are so supposedly modest. I'm an old lady and I don't care.

[WinkyDink]

15. Radiation.

[FLPanhandle]

17. If you are worried about the radiation from a scanner, you'd never fly in the first place

The machines have been independently tested emitting between 0.005 and 0.01 mrems of ionizing radiation. A cross country flight at altitude will give you 100 times that amount.

I don't like the machines, but radiation isn't one of the reasons.

[peace13]

21. Machines in proper working order emit .005 to .01.

Can you guarantee that will always be the case? You walk your fetus through first.

[FLPanhandle]

22. Again, even if a machine is producing 10 times what it is supposed to...

It's still a fraction of the ionized radiation you will receive on the flight itself.

If you are that worried about your fetus, you won't be at the airport in the first place.

[Gormy Cuss]

18. Have you had your vagina touched and your butt cheeks split in those pat downs?

I've had pat downs at airports over the years and neither of those things happened. The new "enhanced" pat down requires both.

The full body scan for every passenger isn't justified by security concerns. It's a justification for buying these very expensive machines. They were initially marketed as secondary screening devices --not primary devices like metal detectors-- but were cost prohibitive for such limited use.

[wtmusic]

24. They want to make sure you don't have a toner cartridge up your butt. nt

[Gormy Cuss]

27. That's where I usually store them.

Crap! (so to speak...)

[Renew Deal]

13. Terrorists with frequent flyer miles?

:silly:

[HopeHoops]

16. That's EXACTLY what the terrorists want.

I'm not sure what part of it they want, but that's exactly it.

[Kennah]

19. Be careful

If you "waive 'er" in front of the TSA ...

[Motown_Johnny]

25. a waiver would be great, just as soon an no identity can ever be stolen

I am sure they will get right on that

[TexasObserver]

26. When they ask you about submitting to the machine, say "I'm here for the Happy Ending!"

The happier you look each time you say it, the less they will want to grope your junk.