The Cheap Thrill-Airport Security Measures run Wild

[rescueme]

I've been trying to get my DW to do a "security patdown" on me, every time I enter the house, enter the room, enter whatever.

She must have X-Ray vision, since she's always declined my invitation ...

[HFWR]

Quote:

Originally Posted by M Paquette ...Rapiscan...

Short for "rape or scan"...

You do have a choice!

[calmloki]

The 'Israelification' of airports: High security, little bother - thestar.com

Of course guns are evil and we don't like them showing, but these folks are in far greater peril and manage not to get their airplanes blown up....

And I hope Sela damps his outrage rather than dampening it. but that's just me.

[EllisWyatt]

With the increased security measures, delays due to screenings, etc., what used to be a 3 hour weekly commute by air (1 hour to airport, 1/2 hr checkin, 1 hr flight, 1/2hr to the office) has now stretched into a (minimum) 5 hour commute (extra time neccesary to check-in, go through screening and leave sufficient margin of error for the inevitible delays)(that doesn't include the year I had to put up with incredible hassles because, having worked in Suadi, I was put on the No-fly list. Such fun.....).

When the alternative is a 5 1/2 hour drive, on my own schedule and without the stress and hassle-factor, it doesn't make sense to travel by air. My minimun cut-off used to be air trael for more than a 3 hour drive; now its 8.

As an aside - I had to reprimand an employee once for "inappropiate behavior" when a female co-worker complained that he touched her shoulder in passing; he was put on notice that he could be terminated for sexual harrassment if it should ever happen again. Can I file a sexually harrasment claim against a TSA employee if they touch me? Nah, didn't think so......

[haha]

Quote:

Originally Posted by calmloki The 'Israelification' of airports: High security, little bother - thestar.com Of course guns are evil and we don't like them showing, but these folks are in far greater peril and manage not to get their airplanes blown up.... And I hope Sela damps his outrage rather than dampening it. but that's just me.

My favorite part:
"Israelis, unlike Canadians and Americans, don't take s--- from anybody. When the security agency in Israel (the ISA) started to tighten security and we had to wait in line for — not for hours — but 30 or 40 minutes, all hell broke loose here. We said, 'We're not going to do this. You're going to find a way that will take care of security without touching the efficiency of the airport."

I also like the way he dismissed the "profiling" carnard. Only a moron does not do profiling all day long. We are just afraid of anyone calling us non-PC, in any of its many forms.

Ha

[Purron]

Flying has become a major hassle not to mention the fear of terrorism. I see some opportunities for enterprising companies involved in alternative forms of travel. I'm guessing car and RVs will gain in popularity. Travel by boat, bus and trains too...at least until the security surrounding these forms of travel is elevated to the level in airports.

[Bestwifeever]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rescueme I've been trying to get my DW to do a "security patdown" on me, every time I enter the house, enter the room, enter whatever. She must have X-Ray vision, since she's always declined my invitation ...

[braumeister]

IMHO:

[calmloki]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bestwifeever I went through the scanner a couple of times this summer--that didn't bother me too much as I'm past the modesty stage. I'm sure they save the images, no matter what they say, in case they're needed down the road for an individual case...

One Hundred Naked Citizens: One Hundred Leaked Body Scans

Alll those images will be deleted, not saved. Where's your faith?

[jimnjana]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MasterBlaster Oh pat me down ! Puleeez. yeah right there ! Scanners and pat-downs upset airline passengers - Yahoo! News-

I wonder if they will have to expand the smoking areas at airports...

[bright eyed]

Quote:

Originally Posted by haha Thank you M Paquette for this careful assessment. I won't even get dental x-rays unless I have a symptom, and only then of that region. They can feel away, I am more comfortable with idiots than with radiation. My guess is that this issue will not easily blow over. Perhaps 50% of traverlers are women, women are both health conscious and also have a pretty clear sense of personal space violations. I can imagine some mother who shows up with her 13 year old daughter. The girl has needed radiation for medical treatment recently, so her cumulative dose is climbing. What will Mom do? Stay tuned. Ha

Uh yeah, +1 anxious mother here! my darlin had a CT scan earlier this year and I'd much rather her not get anything else scanned for casual stuff. Her dentist assistant wanted to do xrays on her follow up visit to check teeth that were growing in - and she had just had her semi-annual check up about 1.5 months earlier - I explained to her that she won't be having them - dental assistant said, oh, it's hardly any radiation. I explained to her, "that's nice, my daughter has had enough cumulatively..." she had no idea what to do" I told her - I'm sure her dentist can simply look in her mouth... Later, dentist looks in her mouth, says she's fine...no teeth pulled, no xray needed...

[BigNick]

I find it ironic that what might finally scupper this ludicrous, ever-escalating series of security measures against the statistically insignificant threat of being killed by terrorists, is public anxiety over the statistically more or less equally insignificant threat of cancer from a backscatter scan. Both are roughly as likely as dying during a one-minute automobile ride.(*)

Or, as a headline-without-article in The Onion put it a few years ago, "Lottery customer concerned by threat of asteroid impact".

(*) In other news, the One. Millionth. Person to be killed in road accidents worldwide this year, was last month. Worldometers - real time world statistics

[M Paquette]

Meanwhile, on the humorous side:


The image makes a handy desktop in this workplace:


Courtesy of Gizmodo

[MichaelB]

I had trouble with TSA in FLL when flying with my (then) collage age daughter. A couple of male agents wanted to take her behind a separate sectioned area for additional screening. I objected and insisted a female agent conduct any screening. I never lost my temper or said anything inappropriate (I did raise my voice) but absolutely insisted on female security. Things got tense, I was pushed and threatened with arrest. A supervisor finally showed up, asked a female agent to screen my daughter, and lectured me on how fortunate I was to be allowed to return home instead of jail – on a later flight.

These security procedures are out of control. We enjoy a lower risk for a few hours but neither passengers not anyone else in the US are at any less risk overall. I suspect the money spent could have a greater effect if allocated to other aspects of US security.

[Nodak]

I quit flying several years ago. I prefer trains or my car.

[M Paquette]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MichaelB These security procedures are out of control. We enjoy a lower risk for a few hours but neither passengers not anyone else in the US are at any less risk overall. I suspect the money spent could have a greater effect if allocated to other aspects of US security.

I am not at all sure that the current whole body scans or intensive frisking are having any actual impact on the risk level of air travel.

The biggest risk reduction, admittedly based on anecdotal evidence, would appear to be from the use of armored, locked cockpit doors, combined with increased passenger awareness and willingness to intervene in suspicious on-board behavior. This would appear to be far more effective than spending hundreds of millions of dollars to embarrass and inconvenience air travelers further using methods of questionable usefulness.

EU/US/FIGHT AGAINST TERRORISM : UNDERWEAR BOMBER COULD HAVE EVADED FULL BODY SCANNER | North America > United States from AllBusiness.com

Quote:

In a discussion on deploying full body scanners, an issue the EU is also debating, a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) official admitted the bomber, who hid explosives in his underwear, could have gotten past security even if subjected to a full body scan. "We cannot say with certainty that we would have found it," the DHS' Patricia Cogswell told Democratic Congressman Bobby Scott (Virginia) at the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee, on 24 March.

The machines only scan... um... skin deep. The same methods criminals have used to smuggle weapons, drugs, and cell phones in prison could be used to hide hazardous materials.

Each machine purchased requires a local operator, a remote operator to examine the image, and of course support and maintenance. These funds could have easily paid for a trained dog and handler, for example.

[M Paquette]

Hmm... I wonder if I've posted enough on this to make the No Fly list yet?

[FUEGO]

Quote:

Originally Posted by M Paquette Hmm... I wonder if I've posted enough on this to make the No Fly list yet?

I don't quite think you are at that level. Just the "full body cavity search" list at this point.

[travelover]

Quote:

Originally Posted by M Paquette ............ The machines only scan... um... skin deep. The same methods criminals have used to smuggle weapons, drugs, and cell phones in prison could be used to hide hazardous materials...................

So the question is how much plastic explosive can a terrorist shove up their......uh...you know...........

And what will the TSA do to screen us for that?

[easysurfer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MichaelB I had trouble with TSA in FLL when flying with my (then) collage age daughter. A couple of male agents wanted to take her behind a separate sectioned area for additional screening. I objected and insisted a female agent conduct any screening. I never lost my temper or said anything inappropriate (I did raise my voice) but absolutely insisted on female security. Things got tense, I was pushed and threatened with arrest. A supervisor finally showed up, asked a female agent to screen my daughter, and lectured me on how fortunate I was to be allowed to return home instead of jail – on a later flight. These security procedures are out of control. We enjoy a lower risk for a few hours but neither passengers not anyone else in the US are at any less risk overall. I suspect the money spent could have a greater effect if allocated to other aspects of US security.

That's what scares me the most. We can put up with the less intrusive (if you can call it that) scan, but in their opinion, they can say additional screening in needed. In a perfect world, they are just doing their job. But this screening stuff reeks with privacy violation for the sake of safety.