X-ray backscatter security scanners

[OakLeaf]

Those are cute, but obviously anyone who goes through the scanner with radiation-blocking garments will have to be groped.

Roxy, I'm really glad you had a good experience this time (and hoping I'll be able to travel one more time before things get really nutty), but I'm pretty sure that right now they're using profiling to select people while the technology is being rolled out, the intent is that eventually everyone will have to be either irradiated or groped. I wasn't able to verify that on TSA's website - but I'm 90% sure I've read that in reliable sources -

[sundial]

If Homeland Security was really interested in ending terrorism in the skies, they would adopt the procedures the Israelis use in their airports: enter a booth, scan for explosives and detonate.

[VeloVT]

Those are cute, but obviously anyone who goes through the scanner with radiation-blocking garments will have to be groped.

Roxy, I'm really glad you had a good experience this time (and hoping I'll be able to travel one more time before things get really nutty), but I'm pretty sure that right now they're using profiling to select people while the technology is being rolled out, the intent is that eventually everyone will have to be either irradiated or groped. I wasn't able to verify that on TSA's website - but I'm 90% sure I've read that in reliable sources -

That's really not nutty, though, is it? If you were in charge of security, and you had the ability to screen each and every traveler without huge compromises in efficiency, wouldn't you do it? If we could figure out how to screen every package, I'm sure we'd do that too -- we just don't have the resources and infrastructure to make it possible yet.

My sister flew El Al perhaps 15 years ago. She was 17, between her junior and senior years in high school, and going to Israel as part of a church group to participate on a Harvard-sponsored archaeological dig. This was back in the security dark ages when you could still say goodbye to travelers at the gate... But not at El Al. Travelers were checked for ID and tickets at the outer door to the terminal, and friends/family were not allowed in. I remember my parents having a fit... Anyway, my sister reported that everyone was interviewed individually in a private room -- mostly focusing on whether or not anyone else had had access to their bags. I don't remember if there was a pat-down or not -- if so, it didn't leave a strong impression on her -- it was the individual interrogation that really stood out. As far as I know, she wasn't "profiled" or singled out -- everyone, or perhaps all non-Israeli passports, had to go through it. It's sort of an interesting approach -- apparently Richard Reid (the shoe bomber) was almost not permitted on the flight because of his erratic actions. It's possible that behavioral profiling might be an effective tool. For me, it raises quite a few more concerns about "the police state" and the possibility that justice might not be applied evenly than scanners do, though.

[Chile Pepper]

The radiation worries me, but not the pat downs. My son has a pacemaker, so he is patted down every time we fly. They always, always, always use a same-sex patter. I've even suggested that I wouldn't mind if a woman did it, and they said no, we had to wait for a man. The same would apply to female travelers--only female agents can pat them down.

The radiation on the other hand... My son has been exposed to way more radiation than I'm comfortable with already, frequently without the little lead apron for his private parts (they're a little lax on that sort of safety measure here). No more of that than absolutely medically necessary, thank you very much.

[KnottedYet]

I worry about transgendered folks going through the new TSA stuff. (I know several, and none have done any airtravel lately.)

The "drag queen tuck" isn't gonna hide from either the backscatter nor the pat-down, and a "packer" is gonna show up wrong on the backscatter. (as would breasts in a binder, I assume.)

How does TSA designate the patter for the transgendered pattee?

ETA: google and ye shall receive: http://www.transequality.org/Issues/travel.html

[dianne_1234]

Thanks for the link Knotted; it's an interesting read.

[shootingstar]

The radiation worries me, but not the pat downs. My son has a pacemaker, so he is patted down every time we fly. They always, always, always use a same-sex patter. I've even suggested that I wouldn't mind if a woman did it, and they said no, we had to wait for a man. The same would apply to female travelers--only female agents can pat them down.

The radiation on the other hand... My son has been exposed to way more radiation than I'm comfortable with already, frequently without the little lead apron for his private parts (they're a little lax on that sort of safety measure here). No more of that than absolutely medically necessary, thank you very much.

Children really are vulnerable.