The TSA (Post your bad Experience by the Washington Post)

[Uncle Ted]

Two professors at UCSF published a paper on how to beat the full-body scanners...

It is very likely that a large (15-20 cm in diameter), irregularly-shaped, cm-thick pancake with beveled edges, taped to the abdomen, would be invisible to this technology, ironically, because of its large volume, since it is easily confused with normal anatomy. Thus, a third of a kilo of PETN, easily picked up in a competent pat down, would be missed by backscatter "high technology". Forty grams of PETN, a purportedly dangerous amount, would fit in a 1.25 mm-thick pancake of the dimensions simulated here and be virtually invisible. Packed in a compact mode, say, a 1 cm×4 cm×5 cm brick, it would be detected.

The images are very sensitive to the presence of large pieces of high Z material, e. g., iron, but unless the spatial resolution is good, thin wires will be missed because of partial volume effects. It is also easy to see that an object such as a wire or a box- cutter blade, taped to the side of the body, or even a small gun in the same location, will be invisible. While there are technical means to mildly increase the conspicuity of a thick object in air, they are ineffective for thin objects such as blades when they are aligned close to the beam direction.

I'm guessing we will be able to pick a full-body imaging scanner for ten cents on the dollar at a government surplus sale in the near future. It might be nice to have one of these to check the kids to see if they are sneaking things to church and stuff.

[Uncle Ted]

Don't mess with (my privates parts in) Texas law gets closer to passing but DOJ is not threatening to shut down flights...

A showdown is in the works over an anti-patdown law, which the Texas House of Representatives recently approved by a unanimous vote. Texas legislators say the rule is needed because existing laws "let government employees fondle innocent women, children and men."

The Department of Justice has sent a letter to Texas legislative leaders warning that the rule would run counter to federal laws, and could cause the Transportation Security Administration to "cancel any flight or series of flights for which it could not ensure the safety of passengers and crew."

In a statement, the bill's supporters insist that they aren't violating any federal laws, and that their legislation includes appropriate exemptions for TSA officials:

The bill clearly states that an agent is exempt from prosecution as long as a constitutionally sanctioned federal law directs them to perform the invasive, indecent groping searches-including touching breasts, sexual organs and buttocks," noted State Representative David Simpson (R-Longview), the bill's author.
"Instead of threatening to shut down flights in Texas, why doesn't the TSA just show us their statutory authority to grope or ogle our private parts?" asked Simpson.

"All that HB 1937 does is require that the TSA abide by the Fourth Amendment to the US Constitution," Simpson continued. "We aren't even prohibiting the pat-downs, per se. We're just saying you can't go straight to third base. You have to have a reason-you have to have probable cause-before groping someone's sexual organs."

DOJ's warns...

If HR 1937 were enacted, the federal government would likely seek an emergency stay of the statute. Unless or until such a stay were granted, TSA would likely be required to cancel any flight or series of flights for which it could not ensure the safety of passengers and crew.

[Uncle Ted]

Good work TSA... This 95 year old lady sure looks like a terrorist to me:

TSA stands by officers after pat-down of elderly woman in Florida

[...]

Jean Weber told CNN's Fredricka Whitfield on Sunday that the security officers may have been procedurally correct, but she still does not believe they were justified, especially given her mother's frail condition.
"If this is your procedure -- which I do understand -- I also feel that your procedure needs to be changed," she said.

Weber said the two were traveling June 18 from northwest Florida to Michigan, so her mother could move in with relatives before eventually going to an assisted living facility.

"My mother is very ill, she has a form of leukemia," Weber said. "She had a blood transfusion the week before, just to bolster up her strength for this travel."

While going through security, the 95-year-old was taken by a TSA officer into a glassed-in area, where a pat-down was performed, Weber said. An agent told Weber "they felt something suspicious on (her mother's) leg and they couldn't determine what it was" -- leading them to take her into a private, closed room.

Soon after, Weber said, a TSA agent came out and told her that her mother's Depend undergarment was "wet and it was firm, and they couldn't check it thoroughly." The mother and daughter left to find a bathroom, at the TSA officer's request, to take off the adult diaper.

Weber said she burst into tears during the ordeal, forcing her own pat-down and other measures in accordance with TSA protocol. But she said her mother, a nurse for 65 years, "was very calm" despite being bothered by the fact that she had to go through the airport without underwear.

[NorthwestUteFan]

That poor lady is effectively going home to die amongst family. I possibly would have removed the adult diaper, and thrown it in the face of the MF-ing beauty school dropout who demanded its removal.

What in the hell is wrong with your state that it would call a special session to discuss the "TSA No Touchy!!" bill, only to gavel it closed immediately for "lack of a quorum"? When will your local politicos start demanding recall elections for the Speaker of the House and of the legislators who refused to attend the session? I was sincerely hoping to see a Feds vs Texas showdown, because I wanted to see Texas threaten to again become "The Republic of Texas", as is their right under the articles of their statehood.

[Green Monstah]

I wonder how far you can push the envelope when faced with getting patted down. I would be fairly uncomfortable in that situation, so I wonder if I could get away with making the TSA Agent uncomfortable as well. Maybe saying out loud for others to hear

"Oh, you found it...that was nice. This man has a very nice touch. Years of practice, no doubt."

On the other hand, people might just think you're a pervert.

[RobinFinderson]

I wonder how far you can push the envelope when faced with getting patted down. I would be fairly uncomfortable in that situation, so I wonder if I could get away with making the TSA Agent uncomfortable as well. Maybe saying out loud for others to hear

"Oh, you found it...that was nice. This man has a very nice touch. Years of practice, no doubt."

On the other hand, people might just think you're a pervert.

I opted out of the body scan at LAX, which won me a fairly invasive body search. I don't care about other people handling my junk, as long as they are gentle, so as this TSA guy is feeling around down there I comment out loud, "It is kind of like a free lap dance." The guy kind of chuckled in a way that gave me the impression that he hears that kind of stuff all the time.

[Green Monstah]

I opted out of the body scan at LAX, which won me a fairly invasive body search. I don't care about other people handling my junk, as long as they are gentle, so as this TSA guy is feeling around down there I comment out loud, "It is kind of like a free lap dance." The guy kind of chuckled in a way that gave me the impression that he hears that kind of stuff all the time.

Damn.

Bubble burst, but well played, RF.

[Non Sequitur]

I wonder how far you can push the envelope when faced with getting patted down. I would be fairly uncomfortable in that situation, so I wonder if I could get away with making the TSA Agent uncomfortable as well. Maybe saying out loud for others to hear

"Oh, you found it...that was nice. This man has a very nice touch. Years of practice, no doubt."

On the other hand, people might just think you're a pervert.

I always say, "Thanks, I normally have to pay for that."

[wuapinmon]

When I came back into Miami from Costa Rica, my grandfather and I both got pulled for "extra verification." We sat in an office with a bunch of foreign nationals while all the agents but one were yelling at each other about the Heat game.

I finally got called up after about 15 mins. The guy asked me the last four digits of my social, and then after he entered them said, "Man, you need to change your name. There are too many John Williams (I'm the III, my grandpa is Sr.) in the world, and we have to screen them more carefully.

My Williamses have lived in America since the 1600s.

[RobinFinderson]

How many of y'all opt out of the full body scan? I'm a big radiation-phobe, which is why I opt out every time. TSA tells me that the radiation from the scanners is less than you receive just from being outdoors under the sun. Maybe that is right, and maybe it is wrong. I feel better letting others be the guinea pigs.

[NorthwestUteFan]

I wonder how far you can push the envelope when faced with getting patted down. I would be fairly uncomfortable in that situation, so I wonder if I could get away with making the TSA Agent uncomfortable as well.

They hold the ultimate short-term trump card, the ability to detain you until you miss your flight.

There are too many John Williams (I'm the III, my grandpa is Sr.) in the world, and we have to screen them more carefully.

My Williamses have lived in America since the 1600s.

"Do you know who I am??!! You pathetic TSA scum!"

Next time say you are changing your name to "John Abdul MacWilliams al Jihadi Allahu Akbar, III". Or maybe "Francisco Domingo Carlos Andres Sebastian d'Anconia". That could be fun (assuming you have trip insurance).

How many of y'all opt out of the full body scan? I'm a big radiation-phobe, which is why I opt out every time. TSA tells me that the radiation from the scanners is less than you receive just from being outdoors under the sun. Maybe that is right, and maybe it is wrong. I feel better letting others be the guinea pigs.

"They" also originally told us cell phones were safe, though they backtrack on that one a bit.
That said, if the backscatter machines are tuned properly the actual radiation dose is far less than you will receive on the flight.

[Uncle Ted]

How many of y'all opt out of the full body scan? I'm a big radiation-phobe, which is why I opt out every time. TSA tells me that the radiation from the scanners is less than you receive just from being outdoors under the sun. Maybe that is right, and maybe it is wrong. I feel better letting others be the guinea pigs.

Radiation?!? There's no stinking radiation...

WASHINGTON, DC (WUSA) --- After wading through documents he secured with a Freedom Of Information Act filing, the Executive Director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, Marc Rotenberg told 9NEWS NOW, "We think that the Department of Homeland Security has not been forthcoming with the public about the true extent of radiation risk with the airport body scanners."

The release of new documents follows concerns of TSA workers that they are being exposed to dangerous levels of radiation as they conduct the screenings. Union representatives in Boston cite an increase in cancer cases among the TSA workforce there and have asked the agency to allow its members to wear radiation monitoring devices.

[...]

[Shaka]

How many of y'all opt out of the full body scan? I'm a big radiation-phobe, which is why I opt out every time. TSA tells me that the radiation from the scanners is less than you receive just from being outdoors under the sun. Maybe that is right, and maybe it is wrong. I feel better letting others be the guinea pigs.

You should get one of these


Wear it for a years worth of flights then send it in to see how much radiation you've soaked up.

I wear one for work.

[wuapinmon]

"Do you know who I am??!! You pathetic TSA scum!"

Next time say you are changing your name to "John Abdul MacWilliams al Jihadi Allahu Akbar, III". Or maybe "Francisco Domingo Carlos Andres Sebastian d'Anconia". That could be fun (assuming you have trip insurance).

I've traveled enough to know that it's best to stfu and take it. I still want to punch the man who screamed at my toddler daughter for touching her Dora suitcase while he was doing a "search."

[Uncle Ted]

Rand Paul is detained by TSA for refusing pat down. He asked to be re-scanned.

[YOUTUBE]fG8dNxLVpFE[/YOUTUBE]

After being detained for an hour and a half they finally let him go back through the scanner.

Ron Paul releases a statement:

“The police state in this country is growing out of control. One of the ultimate embodiments of this is the TSA that gropes and grabs our children, our seniors, and our loved ones and neighbors with disabilities. The TSA does all of this while doing nothing to keep us safe.

“That is why my ‘Plan to Restore America,’ in additional to cutting $1 trillion dollars in federal spending in one year, eliminates the TSA.

“We must restore the freedom and respect for liberty that once made American the greatest nation in human history. I am deeply committed to doing that as President of the United States.”