Interesting tale about TSA body scanners

[whatchamacallit]

(NaturalNews) I encountered my first airport naked body scanner while flying out of California today, and of course I decided to "opt out" of the scan. You do this by telling the blue-shirted TSA agents that you simply wish to opt out of the body scanner. Here's what happened after that:

A TSA agent told me to step to the side and stay put. He then proceeded to shout out loudly enough for all the other travelers and TSA agents to hear, "OPT OUT! OPT OUT!" This is no doubt designed to attract attention (or perhaps humiliation) to those who choose to opt out of the naked body scanner. I saw no purpose for this verbal alert because the same TSA agent who was yelling this ultimately was the one who patted me down anyway.

How did we let it come to this?

More here: http://www.naturalnews.com/030100_naked_body_scanners_airport.html

[LibDemAlways]

1. I saw an article today about a pilot who refused to be body scanned or

patted down. He basically said it's all bullshit.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/20/AR2010102002040.html

I think I have a new hero.

To answer your question, it came to this because the American people are a bunch of sheep who live in fear and will apparently put up with anything. If people simply refused to fly until something was done about this unconstitutional crap, things would change in a hurry. As long as people continue to be compliant, the government will continue to take away what few rights we have left.

[whatchamacallit]

7. True. Unfortunately, his observations of the herd make such a concerted effort seem unlikely. n/t

[mainer]

24. I know a commercial pilot who wasn't allowed to board HIS plane

because he refused to give up his little screwdriver which he sometimes needs to fix things in the cockpit. HE was the captain on the jet! Finally, when they called all the TSA guards to confront him, he gave up his screwdriver and said, "Great! now I'm going to climb INTO THE COCKPIT AND FLY THE DAMN PLANE." He got reported to the airline. And the airline just shook its head and had a laugh with the pilot about what idiots TSA can be.

On a separate note, I just got home steaming from an airline experience. I had bought a 12-oz bottle of water at an airport concession, and they gave me a little plastic bag in which to carry it. So I get to the gate with my purse, my plastic bag of water, and a little rolling laptop carrier. The gate agent wouldn't let me board because I had "three carry-on items." When I said the third item was just a bottle of water, she told me to step out of the line and combine my three items into two, or I would not be able to board the plane. I told her I wanted to use the bottle of water on the flight, and would have to take it out anyway. At which point she had a cow and yelled at me to PUT THE BOTTLE OF WATER IN YOUR CARRY-ON!

Has anyone heard of such a thing? That a bottle of water in a plastic bag counts as a third item of carry-on? And if you're carrying a McDonalds hamburger in a bag, do you have to smoosh it into your carry-on before you can get it on-board?

[LibDemAlways]

25. That's what happens when underpaid people who have no

power in their real life are put into positions of authority. They become abusive, because they can. What happened to you is just stupid.

I had to fly in August. It's not something I do often or look forward to. In fact, I hate it. I get to LAX and all is going well until I stick my purse on the conveyer belt to go through the x-ray machine. All that is in my purse is my wallet and a hairbrush --nothing that could look the least bit suspicious, but that doesn't stop the assholes at TSA. Some little twit grabs my purse and orders me to follow her. She's about 19 and has a totally snotty attitude. She proceeds to open my wallet and dump all my credit cards, change, and paper currency into a plastic bucket. Then she turns and walks away, leaving me to clean up the mess. It was all I could do to keep from kicking her. I'm not a violent person, but she deserved it. I have to figure she has a miserable life and is taking it out on the public.

It's all nonsense - and ordinary people are the ones who are on the receiving end of the abuse for no good reason.

[RKP5637]

2. Fear and paranoia. n/t

[seabeyond]

3. cause we are a bunch of cowards willing for an illusion of safety at expense of rights. nt

[kayakjohnny]

4. Succinct, accurate and unfortunate.

[Bobbieo]

8. How many people get to view these naked body scans? Imagine

the number increases when a sexy female is in line. Recently read about this, in detail, in a crime novel.

[whatchamacallit]

5. Ben franklin said it best

“Those who would give up Essential Liberty, to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety"

[Alameda]

6. ...but we don't really even know how safe they are. What about radiation?

.........and who knows what else we will find out we have been exposed to later.....???

[seabeyond]

16. so true. so obvious. and people bury heads. i have no respect for the cowards. nt

[Yeahyeah]

9. Obama will change it!

[66 dmhlt]

10. Body Scans ...

What we hope they view:



What we're worried they'll view:



And scans that need to dial it down:

[demmiblue]

17. Huh? I guess I don't get your point. n/t

[gateley]

11. Great article! I was thinking about this when I read a CIA agent had been informed

of the bomber of an embassy a few weeks before he detonated the bomb, but did nothing. Then WE get subjected to shit like this which isn't thwarting any terrorists -- they don't need to smiggle shit on an airline anymore - plenty of other modes. Plus, didn't they say the Underwear Bomber's device would NOT have been detected by a body scan?

We are so stupid sometimes it's humiliating.

[TK421]

21. sometimes?

[gateley]

12. A thought crossed my mind when I read about the author's pat down - what

about women wearing skirts? If they opt not to go into a private room, will there be a TSA agent squatting down and peering up the skirt to get a good view of her crotch? Un fucking believable.

[d_r]

13. I don't like people touching me

personally, I'd rather strip down buck naked and let them look at me than for them to pat me down like that. I'd rather go through the scanner than opt out and be patted down.

[CreekDog]

14. I wouldn't quote this irresponsible writer (even though I don't like the body scans)

In the article you cite, the author says:

"...But they said the same thing about mammograms, and we now know that mammograms are so harmful to women's health that they actually harm ten women for everyone one woman they help (http://www.naturalnews.com/020829.html)."

What he is doing is called lying. (his name is Mike Adams) That's because the article he refers to says that the screening has reduced mortality 15 percent. The "harm" is not from mammograms but the treatments afterwards, and harm is within the context that the treatments are being done when the risk of harm is higher than the risk of doing nothing. That's far from saying mammograms cause cancer.

I don't like being tricked and that author is trying to trick me (alternative explanations include not reading the article he thinks supports his bogus claim or being so stupid that he doesn't understand his claim well enough to know it's bogus).

So, while I hate body scanners and will opt out when asked, I think that author's article is completely untrustworthy and not worth the time to read.

Oh, and other stuff he's written is even more crappy but it makes him lots of $$$.

But link to something good and I'll be happy to recommend that --this one, gets unrec'd. Sorry. :(

[Odin2005]

15. Source = BS.

[MilesColtrane]

18. While I don't relish having to be photographed by the Taintmaster 3000™, I don't want some...

TSA goon grabbing my junk either.

It's Hobson's choice.

[flamingdem]

19. duplicate

[flamingdem]

20. I was pushed into a backscanner device

I still feel bad that I wasn't on my game to stop them - but they gave me NO OPTIONS and said nothing, just intimidated

[felix_numinous]

22. So big groups of people need to opt out

if enough people just refuse to get scanned, airport will have to provide more personnel to pat down people. I am glad there is another option to scanning. Fuck them let them yell all they want.

[seabeyond]

23. exCTLY. and the yelling of opt out.... another yell, hell yes opt out of strip search. nt