Police, TSA and other "Authorities"

[Malsua]

McHoser?

You don't think she's heard it all before?

Mc Hosebag (you know, the famous DJ...EmmCee Hose Bag)
Hoser
Pantywaist (you know, hose)
Hose swallower
hose eater

[zenbudda]

In fact, I intend to request a female toucher.

Make it worth your while and pop a few blue pills before you go through the line. Lol, if you get arrested for assault with a deadly weapon I'll personally come bail you out. lol.

[vector7]

Government gropers at airports a ruse for body scanners coming to schools and malls

By Doug Hagmann Monday, November 15, 2010



Perhaps one of the most controversial topics today is the use of “naked” body scanners at airports by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), a branch of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). As this investigation found, it is indeed a matter deserving of such controversy and further investigative focus.

Using the attempted Christmas Day 2009 bombing of Northwest Airlines Flight 253 by 23-year-old “underwear bomber” Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab as “Exhibit A” for needing the ultra-intrusive “naked” body scanners, the TSA, under the direction of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, stepped up their purchases and deployment of the scanners to U.S. airports.

On Christmas day 2009, a total of 40 full body scanners were present at only 19 airports in the U.S., but that would soon change. Immediately following the significantly odd incident aboard flight 253 where Abdulmutallab, a Nigerian national traveling from Amsterdam to Detroit reportedly attempted to light explosives hidden in his crotch, former DHS secretary Michael Chertoff and co-author of the U.S. Patriot Act took to the airwaves to lobby for the placement of the nuclear scanners at all airports. Chertoff, the head of the Chertoff Group, a private security consulting agency, served as former DHS secretary from 2005 to 2009.

While working in that capacity in 2008, Secretary Chertoff authored a 38-page terror assessment warning of terrorists, posing as refugees for example, that would exploit our security deficiencies, including air travel. In hindsight, his warning seemed almost like a prediction that Christmas day.

In the wake of his flurry of media appearances suggesting that full body scanners would likely have caught Abdulmutallab before he boarded flight 252, an article critical of Chertoff appeared in the January 1, 2010 edition of The Washington Post.

The former DHS secretary was criticized for “using his former government credentials to advocate for a product that benefits his clients.” It was disclosed that Chertoff’s security consulting agency included a client that manufactures the controversial scanners. That client is Rapiscan Systems, the leading provider of the scanners to the TSA and numerous other airports across the world.

The units often referred to as “naked” or “nuclear” body scanners are more officially known as the Secure 1000 Single Pose scanners, made by Rapiscan. They also produce scanning units for air cargo inspection.

Rapiscan is a wholly owned subsidiary of OSI Systems, Inc., a worldwide company based in California that develops and markets security and inspection systems. It is one of a handful of such companies trying to corner the market on security hardware for the air transportation industry - a market estimated to be worth $300 billion in the United States alone.

As indicted by the per-share price of the company’s stock, various divisions within OSI Systems, Inc., with the exception of Rapiscan were posting financial losses during the fiscal years 2007 through 2009.

Month end stock prices of OSI Systems, Inc. (OSIS) fell from $27.35 per share in June 2007 to $20.85 in June 2009.

OSI Systems, Inc. received a financial boost in September 2009 when it entered into a $173 million Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract with the U.S. Transportation Security Administration. On October 1, 2009, the TSA purchased “multiple scanners” from Rapiscan at a cost of approximately $25 million under the terms of that contract.

As shown by the following graph, demand for the scanners and the value of OSI stock did not take off until the attempted Christmas Day bombing. The demand sharply increased not only in the U.S., but worldwide. Rapisan suddenly grew as other countries contracted with Rapiscan for their scanning units. Most notably, perhaps, was a February 2010 deal between Rapiscan and the government of Nigeria, the very country of origin of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab. Immediately before that deal, OSI Systems, Inc. announced a deal with Great Britain for scanners at Heathrow and Manchester International Airports.

Thanks to the worldwide scanner market demand, the revenues of OSI Systems, Inc. grew nearly 25% during the first quarter of 2010 over the same period of 2009, to over $65 million as a direct result of major government investments.

A second purchase for “multiple units” was announced on 29 April 2010 for $16 million. It is interesting to note that OSI Systems, Inc., announced at this time that the “naked” body scanners were bought with funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (stimulus) money, from a bill signed into law by President Barack Obama on 17 February 2009.

On 22 September 2010, Rapiscan announced that it received orders from the TSA totaling $35 million for the 620DV Advanced Technology (AT) checkpoint X-ray baggage inspection system. The delivery orders were the first of that type placed by TSA under the terms of a five year Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract. The systems will be deployed by TSA at airport checkpoints in the United States, where they are to be used to screen passengers’ carry-on baggage.

A look at OSI Systems, Inc., including its Rapiscan subsidiary identifies Deepak Chopra as the president and CEO. Chopra, individually and through his PAC, has been identified as a significant donor to the Democratic party, including contributions to the campaigns of Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton. It should come as no surprise, then, to learn that he accompanied President Obama and his royal entourage by invitation on his recent trip to India to promote further trade between the two countries. The trip was paid for by U.S. tax dollars.

Investigation into the financials of Rapiscan and its parent company becomes even more interesting when it is learned that George Soros also holds a financial stock interest in the company. As of last June, Soros held about 12,000 shares of OSI stock.

But if these scanners have been around for some time, what then, caused the most recent uproar regarding their use?

Based on my investigative findings, I submit that there are two primary reasons for the growing public outcry over the “naked body scanners.”

Both have been expertly addressed by investigative blogger and talk show host Alex Jones via the Drudge Report, who has been warning the public about the scanners since they were first introduced.

First, there has been heightened awareness of the possible radiological dangers posed to the TSA agents operating the scanners as well as to the passengers being screened. Although there have been numerous official assurances to the public that the scanners pose no health risks, several scientists and radiologists have concluded otherwise.

Secondly, there are the images themselves. It is important for the public to understand that the images of scanned passengers shown to the public have passed through filters to “tone down” their graphic nature.

In reality, the images that are visible to TSA officials are much more revealing.

Having seen actual images of a full body scan on a TSA computer for the purpose of completing my investigation, I can tell you that the images are extremely graphic and leave very little to the imagination. To be sure, they do not resemble the images that are being shown to the public.

Additionally and despite assurances to the contrary, there have been many documented abuses and misuses of the scanned images taken by TSA officials. Despite denials, images are stored in databases, ostensibly for “training” purposes. However, the number of images currently being maintained, along with the location of their storage (in some cases, outside of the TSA), indicate a purpose beyond any legitimate training program.

What has yet to be publicly disclosed is, in my professional opinion, most alarming.

Based on the instructions from Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, a directive was reportedly issued by the TSA on 29 October, 2010. That directive instructs all TSA screening agents to perform “enhanced” pat down searches that involve the actual groping of women’s breasts and the genitalia of all passengers, including children.

Upon learning of that directive, I conducted an interview with a trusted source working within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on 12 November, 2010. According to the information obtained during that interview, the enhanced pat down directive was not in response to any intelligence or actionable threat. Instead, it was issued as a result of the number of airline passengers “opting out” of the body scans. The reasoning was that passengers would be more likely to select the more passive and less invasive of the two options. In other words, the directive was meant to “convince” people to choose the (ostensibly) less personal and humiliating scrutiny of a full body scanner instead of being groped by a TSA agent.

One might wonder why one option over the other would matter so much to the Department of Homeland Security. The answer might possibly be found in DHS documents described as “conceptual discussions” about trial deployments of the full body scanners to non-aviation public locations, such as sports stadiums, schools and malls. It appears that it is the intent of DHS to eventually install naked body scanners in these venues. But first, the public must be “conditioned” to accept their use at airports.

Meanwhile, Big Brother will stop groping you, your wife and kiddies as soon as their full body scanners are planted in your local schools, stadiums and malls.

[American Patriot]

I meant no disrespect for the lady, Mal. haha I just liked her name, that's all.

[Backstop]

Had to laugh at this:

http://www.myfoxboston.com/dpp/news/local/tsa-screnner-charged-with-raping-14-year-old-girl-25-apx-20100310

We won't be safe until every American penis is held in the firm grasp of the our noble government.

[Backstop]

The TSA and Nasty Napo are considering - under pressure from CAIR - to exempt Mooslum women from pat downs.

That exemption CAN NOT be allowed to pass.

Lots of blogs railing on this, but haven't found a good news source yet - except this video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AI1n15lD6O8&feature=player_embedded

[Backstop]

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/nov/17/terrorists-hiding-in-hijabs/


EDITORIAL: Terrorists hiding in hijabs
Muslims seek special treatment to elude TSA groping
7:04 p.m., Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Note to terrorists: Next time, wear a hijab. The Department of Homeland Security reportedly is giving special exemptions to their "enhanced pat-down" policy to Muslim women wearing the hijab or other form-concealing garments.

[American Patriot]

Utter horse shit.

The whole purpose for a pat down is to check for dangerous substances... which brings me to the point that it takes only a gram or so of explosive to take down a plane.

If they are going to check my crotch for chemicals as a retired US Military person, then BY GOD they better check Muslim WOMEN AND MEN. THEY are the assholes who started this, and they are the ones who should be checked!

[Backstop]

If they are going to check my crotch for chemicals as a retired US Military person, then BY GOD they better check Muslim WOMEN AND MEN.

I can not even believe you had the opportunity to type this.

Where in the hell is this country going?

[vector7]

Cancer surviving flight attendant forced to remove prosthetic breast during pat-down

Posted: Nov 18, 2010 9:01 PM PST Friday, November 19, 2010 12:01 AM EST Updated: Nov 19, 2010 9:57 AM PST Friday, November 19, 2010 12:57 PM EST
Video Gallery


By Molly Grantham - bio l email



CHARLOTTE, NC (WBTV) - A Charlotte-area flight attendant and cancer survivor contacted WBTV after she says she was forced to show her prosthetic breast during a pat-down.

Cathy Bossi lives in south Charlotte and has been a flight attendant for the past 32 years, working the past 28 for U.S. Airways.

In early August Bossie was walking through security when she says she was asked to go through the new full body-scanners at Concourse "D" at Charlotte Douglas International.

She reluctantly agreed. As a 3-year breast cancer survivor she says she didn't want the added radiation through her body. But, Bossi says she did agree.

"The T.S.A. Agent told me to put my I.D. on my back," she said. "When I got out of there she said because my I.D. was on my back, I had to go to a personal screening area."

She says two female Charlotte T.S.A. agents took her to a private room and began what she calls an aggressive pat down. She says they stopped when they got around to feeling her right breast… the one where she'd had surgery.

Pat-down Backlash: Child groped during pat-down? What are the rules?

"She put her full hand on my breast and said, 'What is this?'. And I said, 'It's my prosthesis because I've had breast cancer.' And she said, 'Well, you'll need to show me that'."

Cathy was asked to show her prosthetic breast, removing it from her bra.
"I did not take the name of the person at the time because it was just so horrific of an experience, I couldn't believe someone had done that to me. I'm a flight attendant. I was just trying to get to work."

Since then, Cathy has contacted the Legislative Affairs Team, a group through the flight attendant union. She says she wants to see a crackdown on these personal pat downs.

"There are blowers and there are dogs out there that can sniff out bombs," she says. "There's no reason to have somebody's hands touching your body parts."

A T.S.A. representative says agents aren't supposed to remove any prosthetics, but are allowed to ask to see and touch any passenger's prosthetic.

T.S.A. says it will review this matter.

More information: TSA policy concerning prosthetics

[vector7]

TSA confiscates heavily-armed soldiers' nail-clippers

Cory Doctorow at 4:50 AM Friday, Nov 19, 2010

Here's an anonymous account of a US Army soldier returning from Afghanistan who watched as his buddies -- who were all carrying high-powered rifles, pistols, etc -- were forced to surrender their nail-clippers and multi-tools:

So we're in line, going through one at a time. One of our Soldiers had his Gerber multi-tool. TSA confiscated it. Kind of ridiculous, but it gets better. A few minutes later, a guy empties his pockets and has a pair of nail clippers. Nail clippers.

TSA informs the Soldier that they're going to confiscate his nail clippers. The conversation went something like this: TSA Guy: You can't take those on the plane.

Soldier: What? I've had them since we left country.

TSA Guy: You're not suppose to have them.

Soldier: Why?

TSA Guy: They can be used as a weapon.

Soldier: [touches butt stock of the rifle] But this actually is a weapon. And I'm allowed to take it on.

TSA Guy: Yeah but you can't use it to take over the plane. You don't have bullets.

Soldier: And I can take over the plane with nail clippers?

TSA Guy: [awkward silence]

Me: Dude, just give him your damn nail clippers so we can get the f**k out of here. I'll buy you a new set.

Soldier: [hands nail clippers to TSA guy, makes it through security]

This might be a good time to remind everyone that approximately 233 people re-boarded that plane with assault rifles, pistols, and machine guns-but nothing that could have been used as a weapon.

[vector7]

RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINES
Ron Paul: Cut out this Soviet-style nonsense

Congressman launches bill, suggests searches would cease if Obama, top officials had them

---

Posted: November 17, 2010
8:01 pm Eastern

By Joe Kovacs
© 2010 WorldNetDaily

With a week to go until the Thanksgiving travel peak and Americans' anger continuing to rise over heightened airport-security measures, a U.S. congressman launched legislation today to end what he calls Soviet-style searches by the American government.



Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, introduced the Air Traveler Dignity Act to protect Americans from physical and emotional abuse by federal Transportation Security Administration employees conducting screenings at the nation's airports.

"Something has to be done," Paul said. "Everybody's fed up. The people are fed up. The pilots are fed up. I'm fed up."

"We have seen the videos of terrified children being grabbed and probed by airport screeners. We have read the stories of Americans being subjected to humiliating body imaging machines and/or forced to have the most intimate parts of their bodies poked and fondled," he added.

"This TSA version of our rights looks more like the 'rights' granted in the old Soviet Constitutions, where freedoms were granted to Soviet citizens – right up to the moment the state decided to remove those freedoms."

Paul's legislation, H.R. 6416, is just two sentences long, stating:

No law of the United States shall be construed to confer any immunity for a federal employee or agency or any individual or entity that receives federal funds, who subjects an individual to any physical contact (including contact with any clothing the individual is wearing), X-rays, or millimeter waves, or aids in the creation of or views a representation of any part of a individual's body covered by clothing as a condition for such individual to be in an airport or to fly in an aircraft. The preceding sentence shall apply even if the individual or the individual's parent, guardian, or any other individual gives consent.

"My legislation is simple," Paul said. "It establishes that airport-security screeners are not immune from any U.S. law regarding physical contact with another person, making images of another person, or causing physical harm through the use of radiation-emitting machinery on another person. It means they are subject to the same laws as the rest of us."



Paul suggested the controversial screening techniques would vanish if top-ranking government officials were themselves subject to them.

"Imagine if the political elites in our country were forced to endure the same conditions at the airport as business travelers, families, senior citizens, and the rest of us. Perhaps this problem could be quickly resolved if every cabinet secretary, every member of Congress, and every department head in the Obama administration were forced to submit to the same degrading screening process as the people who pay their salaries."

The congressman says he warned at the time of the TSA's creation that an unaccountable government entity in control of airport security would provide neither security nor defend Americans' basic freedom to travel.

"Yet the vast majority of both Republicans and Democrats then in Congress willingly voted to create another unaccountable, bullying agency – in a simple-minded and unprincipled attempt to appease public passion in the wake of 9/11," he said. "Sadly, as we see with the steady TSA encroachment on our freedom and dignity, my fears in 2001 were justified."

Paul, a former Air Force flight surgeon and obstetrics specialist who has delivered more than 4,000 babies, also expressed concern about "the potentially harmful effects of the radiation emitted by the new millimeter wave machines," and said the solution for security at airports is not a government bureaucracy.

"The solution is to allow the private sector, preferably the airlines themselves, to provide for the security of their property," he said.
Paul isn't the only member of Congress outraged by the TSA's current search methods.

Rep. John Duncan, R-Tenn., took to the House floor to say, "A nationwide revolt is developing over the body scanners at the airports, and it should."



Duncan said there's already plenty of security at the airport, and there was no need to spend up to $300 million to install 1,000 scanners.

"This is much more about money than it is about security," said Duncan, the former chairman of the House Aviation Subcommittee and the current top Republican on the House Subcommittee on Highways and Transit.

"The former secretary of Homeland Security, Michael Chertoff, represents Rapiscan, the company which is selling these scanners to his former department. Far too many federal contracts are sweetheart, insider deals.

"Companies hire former high-ranking federal officials, and then magically, those companies get hugely profitable federal contracts. The American people should not have to choose between having full-body radiation or a very embarrassing, intrusive pat-down every time they fly, as if they were criminals."

But not everyone in Congress has such a harsh outlook on the enhanced measures.

Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., today called the hands-on probing of flyers' private parts "love pats."

"I'm wildly excited that I can walk through a machine instead of getting my dose of love pats," she said.

McCaskill was among a group of senators hearing testimony from TSA chief John Pistole.

"We know the terrorists' intent is still there," Pistole said, as he strongly defended the new procedures. "We are using technology and protocols to stay ahead of the threat and keep you safe. (Several near-misses by terrorists on airplane bombings) got through security because we were not being thorough enough in our pat-downs."

[vector7]

Ah, here we go...real time biometrics system headed for the population.

HOMELAND SECURITY
TSA, Pilots Weigh Biometric System for Airport Screening

By Chris Strohm and Sara Sorcher
Tuesday, November 16, 2010 | 7:44 p.m.


Getty Images

Transportation Security Administration Security Officer Nyamsi Tchapleu looks at images created by a 'backscatter' scanner during a demonstration at the Transportation Security Administration's Systems Integration Facility at Ronald Reagan National Airport December 30, 2009 in Arlington, Virginia.

Pilots who fly passenger and cargo planes want the U.S. government to implement a program under which their identities will be confirmed using biometrics so they can pass quickly through airport security checkpoints and avoid -- for the most part -- controversial screening procedures involving body scanners or pat-downs.

Pilots unions have entered into what are described as "high-level" and "sensitive" talks with Obama administration officials in recent days in response to a public backlash against the use of the whole-body imaging machines and physical pat-downs that are seen as being too invasive.

Beyond pilots, passenger-rights groups and privacy advocates are also criticizing the screening procedures, with some calling for a boycott of whole-body imaging machines next Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving.

Transportation Security Administration chief John Pistole told a Senate hearing on Tuesday that he is aware of the protests but urged passengers to view security as a partnership. "Those security officers are there to work with you to make sure that everybody on that flight has been properly screened," he said.

The focus of the discussions with the unions centers on rolling out a "crew-pass" system under which pilots would use a card containing biometric information, such as a digital photograph or fingerprint, to move quickly through security checkpoints, Bill McReynolds of the Air Line Pilots Association, International, told National Journal on Tuesday.

TSA is now testing a crew-pass program at three airports in the country, said McReynolds, a FedEx cargo pilot who is chairman of ALPA's President's Committee for Cargo.

"They are going to expedite implementing the program on a larger scale now," he said.

TSA would neither confirm nor deny that talks have focused on expanding the crew-pass program.

"TSA Administrator John Pistole is committed to ensuring TSA operates as a risk-based, intelligence-driven agency, and [he has] launched several reviews of TSA policies soon after his confirmation in June to ensure they meet those standards," the agency said in a statement.

"As a result, TSA has looked at several possible alternative security protocols for airline pilots that would expedite screening for this low-risk population while maintaining high security standards," the agency added.

"TSA initiated a pilot program for one of these alternatives, and the review is ongoing. TSA looks forward to continuing its collaboration with pilots on these important issues."

Pistole is scheduled to testify before the Senate Commerce Committee today and is likely to hear more questions about airport screening procedures.

Sam Mayer, communications director of the Allied Pilots Association, said in an interview that TSA is “looking for an out” amid growing anger over screening procedures.

APA, the largest independent pilots association with a membership of 11,500 American Airlines pilots, advised its members not to go through the whole-body imaging machines and to opt instead for an enhanced pat-down procedure by a TSA official of the same sex as the pilot. As the pat-down procedure can take about 10 to 15 minutes per person, Mayer said he has been receiving reports that some airports are choosing to direct pilots to the old machines that are not full body scans.

The group has been asking TSA for almost 10 years to implement a biometric identification system for crew members, Mayer said. He added that the current system is both time consuming and demeaning to pilots.

“It’s pointless ... we’re sitting at the controls of the airplane. We sit with guns. We have a large crash ax,” Mayer said. “We are not the threat to an airplane being used as a weapon of mass destruction.”

But a major outstanding issue is how to pay for such a biometric system.

The pilot unions believe that the government must foot the bill.

Mayer described the costs involved in a special screening system in two parts: the cost of installing the physical hardware at all the airports, and the cost of maintaining a “real-time database” of who is legal to pass through a special system.

Mike Cleary, president of the US Airline Pilots Association, said he was in communication “repeatedly” with the TSA on Tuesday.

The conversations are “certainly at a sensitive phase,” Clearly said. “We’re trying very hard to find common ground.” He agreed there should be a biometric screening system, or a coordinated identification system based upon using different forms of picture identification.

A biometric system would verify that pilots are who they say they are, according to USAPA Communications Director James Ray.

[vector7]

$11,000 fine, arrest possible for some who refuse airport scans and pat downs

By John Lantigua Palm Beach Post

8:59 a.m. EST, November 20, 2010

Photo from John Wild/johnwild.info

If you don't want to pass through an airport scanner that allows security agents to see an image of your naked body or to undergo the alternative, a thorough manual search, you may have to find another way to travel this holiday season.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is warning that any would-be commercial airline passenger who enters an airport checkpoint and then refuses to undergo the method of inspection designated by TSA will not be allowed to fly and also will not be permitted to simply leave the airport.

That person will have to remain on the premises to be questioned by the TSA and possibly by local law enforcement. Anyone refusing faces fines up to $11,000 and possible arrest.

"Once a person submits to the screening process, they can not just decide to leave that process," says Sari Koshetz, regional TSA spokesperson, based in Miami.

Koshetz said such passengers would be questioned "until it is determined that they don't pose a threat" to the public.

Palm Beach Sheriff's Office spokesperson Teri Barbera said PBSO deputies stationed at the airport would become involved when requested by the TSA.

"We will handle each incident on a case-by-case basis," she said.

No one will be forcibly searched or arrested "just because they refuse to go through the security procedures," Barbera said. "That may rise to the level of suspicious behavior for the TSA, but it wouldn't rise to the level of suspicious behavior for a deputy," she said.

But Barbera said that if a person is judged to be a possible threat, deputies are legally permitted to detain and search that individual. "The deputies will do it at the airport just as they would do it anywhere else," she said.

Once cleared by the TSA and deputies, the people will be allowed to leave, she said.

Meanwhile, the American Civil Liberties Union was urging Americans to petition the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the TSA, to change the new policies.

"All of us have a right to travel without such crude invasions of our privacy," the ACLU said in a statement. "Tell DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano to put in place security measures that respect passengers' privacy rights. You shouldn't have to check your rights when you check your luggage."

The ACLU outlined ways for citizens to respond to TSA demands at checkpoints and also provided a form letter for filing complaints.

But the TSA stuck to its guns. Testifying before Congress Wednesday, TSA Administrator John S. Pistole said inspectors at the nation's airports would enforce the new policies despite complaints that the search methods are too invasive.

"We have to ensure that each person getting on every flight is secure," Pistole said.

Asked by U.S. Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) about groups that objected to all forms of bodily search on religious grounds, Pistole didn't waiver: "While we respect that person's beliefs, that person's not going to get on an airplane."

In March, the TSA introduced AIT scanners -- also known as "nude body" or "whole body' scanners -- and now uses them in more than 60 airports, including South Florida airports: Six each at Palm Beach International and Miami International and 10 at Hollywood- Fort Lauderdale.

The machines project a black and white image of a passenger's naked body to a screen in a separate, private room where it is studied by a TSA agent.

No face is visible and the agent never sees the person being scanned.

TSA officials say the new technology is necessary because it detects not just metal but other potentially dangerous materials, including plastic explosives.

Koshetz said the TSA goal is for as many passengers as possible to pass through the AIT machines, rather than the less revealing traditional metal detectors.

A recent CBS poll found that 81 percent of people questioned did not object to the AIT system. But some do and an online group called National Opt-Out Day is encouraging passengers to refuse the AIT screening on Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving, which would force TSA to perform many more manual searches and probably cause long delays.

They may be letting themselves in for more than they expect. A policy enacted in the past month allows agents to perform manual searches of passengers, including their private areas, which are much more invasive than the back-of-the-hand technique most often used in the past. Some critics have referred to the technique as "groping."

One critic of the TSA is Jon Corbett, 26, of Miami Beach, who this week requested that a U.S. District Court judge in Miami grant an injunction to block the new security methods. Corbett said he plans to fly to New York Thanksgiving Day and had hopes the court would respond before that.

"But I'm not sure that will happen," he said.

[vector7]

Obama calls airport pat-downs frustrating but necessary



President Obama said today he sympathizes with passenger complaints about aggressive body pat-downs at airports, but his counter-terrorism aides say they are necessary to guard against hidden explosives.Balancing privacy and security is a "tough situation," Obama told reporters at a news conference following the NATO summit in Lisbon, Portugal.

"One of the most frustrating aspects of this fight against terrorism is that it has created a whole security apparatus around us that causes a huge inconvenience for all of us," Obama said.

Obama cited the attempted airplane attack by the so-called underwear bomber last Christmas as justification for aggressive security measures.

The president said he has told officials with the Transportation Security Administration to constantly refine and evaluate their procedures.

"I will also say that in the aftermath of the Christmas Day bombing, our TSA personnel are properly under enormous pressure to make sure that you don't have somebody slipping on a plane with some sort of explosive device on their persons," Obama said.

TSA and counter-terrorism officials say that at this point "the procedures they've been putting in place are the only ones right now that they consider to be effective" against hidden explosives, Obama added.

[Backstop]

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is warning that any would-be commercial airline passenger who enters an airport checkpoint and then refuses to undergo the method of inspection designated by TSA will not be allowed to fly and also will not be permitted to simply leave the airport.

That person will have to remain on the premises to be questioned by the TSA and possibly by local law enforcement. Anyone refusing faces fines up to $11,000 and possible arrest.

Fuck.

That.

Noise.

Until those rules are changed and pat downs are stopped, the airlines will never see any of my money.

[Malsua]

This has to be intentional provocation.

[AGEUSAF]

I just wrote both senators and my rep and flamed on about this whole TSA business. I have had enough of the authoritative meat heads bullying everyone around I can't stand it. In my emails I said they know who they need to check. What is next? Where does this stop? Random searches on the road, I know they want to scan everyone everywhere.

[Ryan Ruck]

Fuck.

That.

Noise.

Until those rules are changed and pat downs are stopped, the airlines will never see any of my money.

Sure they will...

When enough people get fed up with this BS, less and less people will fly and the airlines will lose money. Just a matter of time before they'll need bailed out again. So yes, they will get your money. And mine too.

[Backstop]

This has to be intentional provocation.

I have to wonder that myself.

This whole thing is absolutely outrageous.

Watch this one, specifically at 1:10. I would bury the SOB that did that to my kid.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhkQoiaf7Uc&feature=player_embedded

And this one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skkCpnCm7iM&feature=player_embedded

Feel free to imbed - I can't figure out how.