Seriously, how the F*** is this ok?

Source -> Drudgereport.com via http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ba030UmbkCo

TSA, workin' hard or hardly workin'?

TSA Bars AK State Rep. Sharon Cissna from flying

Alaska State Rep. Sharon Cissna of Anchorage was returning from Seattle when the TSA insisted on an intrusive hand exam at SEA-TAC Airport. Below is her [truncated] statement:

PRINCE RUPERT, BC (February 21, 2011).  The following is Rep. Sharon Cissna's account of the events of February 20th, 2011 at  SEA-TAC International Airport:

"[Heading into security after time with the line of passengers], I suddenly found myself directed into scanning by the Seattle Airport's full-body imaging scan.  The horror began again.  A female agent placed herself blocking my passage.  Scan results would again display that my breast cancer and the resulting scars pointed a TSA finger of irregularity at my chest.  I would require invasive, probing hands of a stranger over my body. Memories of violation would consume my thoughts again."

"Being a public servant and elected representative momentarily disappeared. Facing the agent I began to remember what my husband and I'd decided after the previous intensive physical search.  That I never had to submit to that horror again!  It would be difficult, we agreed, but I had the choice to say no, this twisted policy did not have to be the price of flying to Juneau!"

[The] very last thing an assault victim or molested person can deal with is yet more trauma and the groping of strangers, the hands of government 'safety' policy."

"For these people, as well as myself, I refused to submit."

 "The TSA threat of "Do you want to fly?" means something very different to Alaskans. Flying in Alaska is not a choice, but a necessity.  The freedom to travel should never come at the price of basic human dignity and pride."

Another article about Rep. Cissna's incident -> http://www.seattlepi.com/national/1110ap_us_lawmaker_airport_search.html

--------

Oh, and there's this.


TSA Source: Armed Agent Slips Past DFW Body Scanner
By Grant Stinchfield

Video Source: NBC DFW

[story truncated]
An undercover TSA agent was able to get through security at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport with a handgun during testing of the enhanced-imaging body scanners, according to a high-ranking, inside source at the Transportation Security Administration.
The source said the undercover agent carried a pistol in her undergarments when she put the body scanners to the test. The officer successfully made it through the airport's body scanners every time she tried, the source said.

The TSA insider who blew the whistle on the test also said that none of the TSA agents who failed to spot the gun on the scanned image were disciplined. The source said the agents continue to work the body scanners today.

reposted from a Time.com article, source link below.

______________________________________

Stay Classy, TSA

Posted by Amy Sullivan Tuesday, February 8, 2011 at 6:15 pm

38 Comments

Ever since the TSA started putting back-scatter devices into use at selected airports last fall, I've been waiting to have the chance to opt out and register a one-woman protest against the machines. (Jeff Goldberg doesn't get to have all the fun.) However, most of my recent air travel has been with a tiny traveling companion, and I've been pleasantly surprised that at six different airports, TSA agents have directed us away from the back-scatter devices and through metal detectors, simply because I had a three-month-old baby in my arms.
(I also learned that the Irish-Catholic TSA agents in Boston will eagerly carry your luggage and reassemble your stroller when they learn your daughter's name is Finoula. I warned her not to expect such special treatment everywhere.)
So I was awfully pleased when I arrived at a security checkpoint in Miami International Airport this morning and discovered that my line fed into a back-scatter device, even though metal detectors were in use for the other lines. When it was my turn, I politely said that I would like to opt out. "Seriously?" the first TSA worker asked me with a raised eyebrow. Yes, seriously.
He directed me through the nearby metal detector (the one that would have been good enough if I'd just chosen another line) and motioned for me to wait for a pat-down agent: "Female opt-out!" A female agent led me to a table where she set my bags and then skeptically asked if I knew what the pat down involved. Yes, indeedy (thanks, Jeff Goldberg!) "Do you want to do this somewhere private?" No, thank you. The agent calmly explained what she was going to do before she performed each part of the procedure, and very briskly but thoroughly went through the pat-down. The whole thing was over in a matter of minutes and was a completely professional experience.
Or it was, until a male TSA agent walked behind us and hollered: "Hey, I thought she was mine! I was gonna do her!"
And that, buddy, is exactly why I'm opting out instead of standing in the see-through picture machine. Thanks for validating my choice.

Source -> http://swampland.blogs.time.com/2011/02/08/stay-classy-tsa/
Image source -> http://www.datelinezero.com/2010/11/08/more-pilots-revolt-against-the-tsa/

TSA settles with passenger whose boobs were pulled out by agent during screening

The word breasts is weird, I'm fine with the word boobs being on my blog.

In May 2008 24 year old Lynsie Murley were flying from Corpus Cristi airport. She says she was “singled out for extended search procedures”. That is when while being frisked, a TSA agent “pulled Plaintiff’s blouse completely down, exposing Plaintiff’s breasts to everyone in the area.”. Seriously? WTF is wrong with these people?

it gets better, and by better I mean worse.

From the article:

Murley charged that TSA employees “joked and laughed about the incident for an extended period of time.” After leaving the security line to be “consoled by an acquaintance who had brought her to the airport,” Murley returned to the line, where a male TSA worker said that he had wished he was there when she first passed through. The employee, Murley recalled, added that “he would just have to watch the video.”

But I thought they didn't save the videos or images? I guess he's talking about the security camera? Classy.


Source -> http://www.thesmokinggun.com/documents/stupid/tsa-pays-breast-exposure-suit

Legal docs on it -> http://www.thesmokinggun.com/file/tsa-exposure-suit

TSA agents are really bad at their job part 432

Warning some language NSFW

The gist is, Adam Savage recently went through airport security, had to do the body scanner, but they missed 2 x 12" steel razor blades in his laptop bag. Kudos to an "acceptable loss of privacy to necessitate an increase of security"



Source link

Funny related Link -> http://www.buzzfeed.com/chrismenning/metallic-ink-undershirts-for-protesting-tsa-scanne

Man flies with a loaded .40 Caliber handgun he didn't realize he had

Thank GOD he went through extra security measures at the airport which are specifically designed to catch things like this... Wait what?

From the link:
A man accidentally brought his loaded .40 caliber gun onto an airplane. He didn't know he had it. Neither did the TSA, who completely missed it during its scan and allowed that plane to fly.




Source -> http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id=7848683

and

http://gizmodo.com/5714865/the-tsa-let-a-loaded-gun-get-on-an-airplane

To summarize: $40 Billion+ spent, no safer than pre-9/11

click below for the full page (or on the image thumbnail for full size)

Source -> http://nextround.net/2010/12/tsa-gone-wild-infographic (link possibly NSFW if you work somewhere with a very strict internet policy, the image alone above is safe though).

you have got to be F&%$ing kidding me

This is disgusting and ridiculous. I'll just give you an excerpt from the article and the link...

In short, she was asked to walk through a radiation firing naked body scanner and complied. The scanner produced a naked image of her, but because her sanitary towel was obscuring her most intimate parts from prying eyes, the TSA agents pulled her aside for a full groin search. Not something to be relished by any person, let alone someone who has previously suffered sexual assault.

When is this going to end? Here's to taking Amtrak! (which also annoys me).

source -> http://www.prisonplanet.com/sanitary-towel-prompts-tsa-to-grope-sexual-assault-victim.html

Bring latex gloves to the airport! -> http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=232457

Also, TSA Worker Accused Of Assault Had Prior Record

The same people lobbying under "security" issues, are the ones making $$ from body scanners

While consistently stating that the only way to fly safely is to post naked pictures of law-abiding Americans on the internet and molest their children (I may be paraphrasing there...), it turns out that: [quote from the article below]

"former Secretary for the Department of Homeland Security, Michael Chertoff, now runs a security and risk management firm and one of his clients is Rapiscan, one of the biggest manufacturers of body scanning machines in the country"

technically she's French

image source -> http://www.thehighdefinite.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/2a87999b00_eight_hundred.jpg

story source -> http://rt.com/usa/news/naked-body-scanners-usa/

Write your Representative! -> https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml
Write your Senator! -> http://senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
File an incident report after going through security! -> http://epic.org/bodyscanner/incident_report/

More testimonials! -> http://www.thousandsstandingaround.org/

Protest! -> http://www.optoutday.com/

You should never have to explain to your children, "Remember that no stranger can touch or see your private area, unless it's a government employee, then it's OK."  

Before I get angry comments about the video, read the description, the TSA agent didn't take the kid's shirt off the father did.

My problem is, why have we gotten to the point that actions like this are necessary to prevent your kid being groped? The fact is, if it was anybody other than the "badge"-wearing TSA agent, it would be sexual assualt.

come here my pretty...

Passenger Chooses Strip-Down Over Pat-Down
By R. STICKNEY
Updated 10:40 AM PST, Mon, Nov 22, 2010 Source -> http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local-beat/Passenger-Chooses-Strip-Down-Over-Pat-Down-109872589.html?dr

When a San Diego man opted out of security screening using the Advanced Imaging Technology (AIT) at Lindbergh Field Friday, he stripped down to his underwear in an attempt to avoid the pat-down procedures.


Samuel Wolanyk took the protest started Nov. 13 by Oceanside's John Tyner to a whole new level.
While Tyner videotaped his refusal to be patted down, telling the agent "If you touch my junk, I'll have you arrested," Wolanyk decided to give TSA a look at his body down to his Calvin Klein's.
Through a statement released by his attorney Sunday night, Wolanyk said "TSA needs to see that I'm not carrying any weapons, explosives, or other prohibited substances, I refuse to have images of my naked body viewed by perfect strangers, and having been felt up for the first time by TSA the week prior (I travel frequently) I was not willing to be molested again."
Wolanyk's attorney said that TSA requested his client put his clothes on so he could be patted down properly but his client refused to put his clothes back on. He never refused a pat down, according to his attorney.
Wolanyk was arrested for refusing to complete the security process and for recording the incident on his iPhone, according to his attorney.
San Diego has played a central role in the debate over the need for AIT machines in our nation's airports. From Tyner's videotape and U.S. Rep. Bob Filner's call for a Congressional hearing, to the parody song penned by Poway musician and Grammy-winner Steve Vaus. This Wednesday, one group is asking Americans to opt out of the AIT machines.
Justified protest or taking this too far? Let us know what you think. Comment below, send us your thoughts via Twitter @nbcsandiego or add your comment to our Facebook page. And of course, if you have pictures of Mr. Wolanyk in his underwear at Lindbergh, send them our way isee@nbcsandiego.com.
First Published: Nov 22, 2010 6:04 AM PST

Agent feels inside passenger's underwear during search! -> http://abcnews.go.com/Travel/tsa-responds-passenger-outrages-underwear-search-happen/story?id=12208932

TSA screeners not changing gloves between searches "the gloves are for their protection not yours" -> http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=231733

Let the TSA know how you feel -> https://contact.tsa.dhs.gov/DynaForm.aspx?FormID=10

#1 threat to airplanes, cancer survivors

 TSA Screening Soaks Bladder Cancer Survivor with His Own Urine <- Link

quote from a bladder cancer survivor who had his own urine spilled on his clothes during a TSA pat-down

Let the TSA know how you feel -> https://contact.tsa.dhs.gov/DynaForm.aspx?FormID=10

The definition of irony, below is an ad placed by Google adsense on this post earlier



wow



I hope they flew through Sanford-Orland Airport (on the way home at least)

I'm going to go with my instinct that these kids don't pose any threat to Disney-bound air traffic.
Here's to them flying there without psychological damage while going through security.



The director of the Sanford Airport Authority has decided to opt out from TSA screening and instead use one of the 5 approved private security companies that hopefully don't "touch your junk", pull out your boobs in front of the entire security area then laugh about it, feel up your 3 year old or give passengers and crew cancer (I'm aware that some of those statements might be a bit extreme but you get my point).

a few things to take from this ordeal:

1) you always have the right to a witness, regardless of what the TSA agent says
2) be respectful yet stern, you don't want to get arrested but you also don't want an ex-con or pedophile to go to far...
3) If you have an actual problem with the machines, print this out and bring it with you
4) DOCUMENT agent names, etc if something happens and read this

source -> http://wdbo.com/localnews/2010/11/sanford-airport-to-opt-out-of.html




poll source -> http://wdbo.com/cgi-bin/vpolls/pollVote.cgi





















There has GOT to be a better way that needlessly humiliating citizens, not really going a whole lot to find actual threats and waste 2 hours at the airport right?

Oh wait, there is -> http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/744199---israelification-high-security-little-bother

"There is absolutely no intelligence and threat analysis done in Canada or the United States, Absolutely none."  -Rafi Sela (The president of AR Challenges, a global transportation security consultancy, who has worked with the RCMP, the U.S. Navy Seals and airports around the world)

Click here to see which airports are currently using the new scanners (as of 11/20/2010)

Let the TSA know how you feel -> https://contact.tsa.dhs.gov/DynaForm.aspx?FormID=10

At least buy me dinner?

Happy flying everybody!



The most action she's getting this thanksgiving... hey-oh!
source -> time.com


This is my favorite part of the article:

How intimate does TSA get these days with the pat-downs?

Pretty intimate. With the new rules in effect, the TSA can now use a sliding motion to pat down travelers, which can include checking inner thighs and buttocks. That sliding technique prompted the viral “don't touch my junk” video. If a traveler is wearing baggy pants, inspectors may also slide their hands beneath the waist line to check for objects.

Here's to bringing back parachute pants!

 

 

Read more: http://newsfeed.time.com/2010/11/17/pat-downs-101/

http://www.newser.com/story/105351/tsa-pats-down-3-year-old.html

TSA is terrible update #2

At risk of further exposing one of the many problems with full body scanners (I'm aware of the irony), I'm posting a link to a gizmodo story that oops, 35,000 images were leaked. This is contrary to the official position of the TSA saying security agents "cannot store, print, transmit or save the image, and the image."

TSA, making you feel like a criminal 1 flight at a time.

source -> http://gizmodo.com/5690749/these-are-the-first-100-leaked-body-scans

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3685/cancer-ray-opt-out.pdf

last update -> http://www.dannyfinnegan.com/2010/11/update-to-tsa-post.html

The TSA isn't helping make us safer, they're just becoming part of the problem

New X-ray full body scanners appearing at more and more airports worldwide are a huge waste of money, expose travelers (especially flight crews who are asked to go through them several times weekly) and the agents themselves to unhealthy amounts of radiation and most importantly do not significantly increase security at all.

http://www.thehighdefinite.com/2010/11/seriously-tsa/

This video from a German TV show (no big deal if you don't understand German, the sound isnt really necessary to understand whats going on) is just 1 example of how easy it is to defeat these machines.



The public opinion on these new measures has been negative at best. Complaints range from being full-body scans not being even remotely random, intrusive pat-downs that border on molestation, poor standards for privacy and respect and most scarily inappropriate touching of minors by TSA agents during pat-downs.

Really? This is the threat that they are looking for? If they're trying to make overall air travel as painful as possible, lowering the number of people who choose to travel that way, limiting the number of flights in order to increase security... Congrats.

The TSA was forced to make a formal response to public outcries about these new procedures. The part that bothers me the most about it is the quote below -

"The so-called “pat-downs,” which in reality fall not far short of sexual molestation, have nothing to do with security. They are about ritualizing the process of making Americans submit to complete degradation at the hands of authority figures, no matter what level of humiliation that process encompasses. If you allow the government to get away with groping your children’s genitals there’s no limit to the abuse they will subsequently engage in."

Making innocent CITIZENS feel uncomfortable being in their own country isn't the way to increase safety at all. 3.1oz of shampoo will not being down a plane...

Where or not this is true, it still doesn't seem implausable based on what I've witnessed in the recent times I've flown.