"When Radiology Comes to Airport Security" | Arthritis Information

 

A head's up, if you'll be flying out of O'Hare......

http://drwes.blogspot.com/2008/07/when-radiology-comes-to-airport.html
Sky Harber here in Phoenix is using this type of x-ray scanning on a voluntary basis. (at least what I heard a while back on A.M. news) I am not sure what they mean by voluntary but I for one wouldn't want this done.

I know.  Tall about an invasion of privacy.Not to mention no one knows the long-term effects of such radiation, especially for frequent fliers and children (including unborn babies).

This crap is coming to train, bus, and subway stations too... just wait. Why don't they just make you strip down and walk around the airport naked? Might as well...since it leaves nothing to the imagination. They are going too far.  If it is mandatory--that will end my traveling by plane, train, etc.  [QUOTE=Catnip2]They are going too far.  If it is mandatory--that will end my traveling by plane, train, etc.  [/QUOTE]

Ditto.

I used to travel quite a bit for business, but quite frankly the idiocy at the airport has convinced me (and many business travelers) to find cheaper ways to get together.  Seriously, there is no reason for someone to fly across the country to attend a 3-hour meeting.  There are many teleconferencing solutions available and we take advantage of them whenever possible.  I still travel occasionally, but it's when I have to go out on an actual install/upgrade project.  It's a bit hard to set up computers and automation equipment on a teleconference.no way!! 

Go back to the link and read the comments there now, for a chuckle!

I want to know how it can see through your clothes, but not you underwear?
[QUOTE=Suzanne]Go back to the link and read the comments there now, for a chuckle!

I want to know how it can see through your clothes, but not you underwear?
[/QUOTE]

Natively, it will see through both; they've supposedly created algorithms that obfuscate the naked naughty bits.  But that creates other security problems... if you know your nether region is going to be blurred, you might try to hide something in that area.  And then there are always the body cavities... this thing can't see into there, no matter what algorithm it's usingGreat Idea, or get everybody naked. If I'm getting on a plane with my family or even alone I want to be sure it's safe. Nothing is perfect. I woulkd guess that if you refused and so did the bad guy how would you feel 12,000 feet up when they take over the palne. I'm guessing your now not so concerned about your fat folds, privates or anything else [QUOTE=6t5frlane]Great Idea, or get everybody naked. If I'm getting on a plane with my family or even alone I want to be sure it's safe. Nothing is perfect. I woulkd guess that if you refused and so did the bad guy how would you feel 12,000 feet up when they take over the palne. I'm guessing your now not so concerned about your fat folds, privates or anything else[/QUOTE]

Sorry - having seen the TSA in action many times, I am definitely not reassured that they are keeping us safe.
I want to be safe, but I also want to be prepared!  Like how I had the pharmacist mix all the girls' meds in three oz. bottles before we traveled and had them in a big ziploc, easy to pull out for inspection.  The only electronics we carried on were the ones we planned to use on the plane.  The worst part is no liquids.  Paid .99 for a bottle of water at the Vegas airport!  They've got you - arrive two hours early and pay up or dehydrate.

Now I know if we are flying out of O'Hare, I will need to purchase some type of full body girdle LOL.
Suzanne2008-07-22 08:44:41http://cbs2chicago.com/local/xrated.security.screenings.2.777423.html

Fliers Complain About X-Rated Security Screenings

TSA Agents Forced Woman To Remove Nipple Rings, Pulled Pants Off Disabled Man

When travelers go to the airport, they know what kind of security to expect: luggage searches, metal detectors and shoe inspections.

It's all part of our post 9-11 reality enforced by the Transportation Security Adminstration. But as CBS 2 Investigator Pam Zekman reports, thousands of travelers have complained that some of these screenings can become abusive and even x-rated.

For arguing with a TSA agent, Robin Kassner wound up being slammed to the floor. She's filed a lawsuit.

"I kept begging them over and over again get off of me ... and they wouldn't stop," Kassner said.

And it wasn't enough for another woman to show TSA agents nipple rings that set off a metal detector. The agents forced her to take them out.

Mandi Hamlin said, "I had to get pliers and pull it apart."

In Chicago, people like Robert Perry are subjected to exhaustive security checks. He was patted down, his wheel chair was examined and his hands were swabbed, all in public view in a see-through room at the security checkpoint. Perry, 71, is not alone

"It's humiliation," Perry said.

Perry was also taken to a see-through room by a TSA agent when his artificial knee set off the metal detector.

"He yelled at me to get the belt off. 'I told you to get the belt off.' So I took the belt off. He ran his hands down over and pulled the pants down, they went down around my ankle," Perry said.

At that point, Perry was standing in his underwear in public view. He asked to see a supervisor. That made things worse.

"She was yelling 'I have power, I have power, I have power," Perry said. The power to stop him from flying to Florida with his wife that day to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary.

"It makes you feel like you have no rights," Perry said.

Perry said he always alerts TSA agents about his metal knee and wonders why they can't just check his leg.

"If somebody told me that I would save the people on the airplane by taking my pants off out in public out there, I wouldn't mind doing it, but this was not necessary," Perry said.

TSA officials said that when the metal detectors go off, their agents must resolve what caused the alarm. But experts have said it's important to use common sense when balancing security and customer service.

Carlos Villarreal, former director of security for the Sears Tower, said proper training is crucial. "When you're wanding somebody and you can identify which part of the body set of the alarm, that should be sufficient to clear a person," Villarreal said.

But all too often, it's not enough for 16-year old Michael Angone. She frequently flies as a member of the Chicago Children's Choir.

"I've had to completely take my pants off and show them like my entire leg," Angone said.

As a baby, Angone was diagnosed with cancer. Her parents, both Chicago police officers, had to have her leg amputated. She said she always warns TSA security agents that her prosthetic leg will set off the metal detector, but many insist on doing an embarrassing full body pat-down.

"I feel like I'm being felt up in public," Angone said.

Her father Bob Angone wanted to know, "What's the reason for all the feeling up, you know the groping at the back of the neck, the chest, underneath the bra, all the groping on her body, her buttocks?"

CBS 2 News asked the TSA those questions, but got no answers.

"The key word here is reasonable, and they have gone off the track. They are not reasonable," Bob Angone said.

The TSA declined to comment on the Angone and Perry cases, but the agency has announced that soon, passengers who set off an alarm that cannot be resolved will have a choice: Agree to a physical pat-down or what some believe is an even worse invasion of privacy.

This fall, O'Hare International Airport will get its first advanced digital x-ray machine. It allows TSA agents to see through clothes and discover any hidden weapons. Critics have likened it to a virtual strip search.

A spokesman said that out of 2 billion passengers screened nationwide since 9-11, there have been only 110,000 abuse complaints.

As for the nipple ring case, TSA did change its procedures regarding body piercings.

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