TSA Groping Out Of Control
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Police Now Staking Out California Airports to Catch TSA Gropers
Kurt Nimmo
Prison Planet.com
November 18, 2010
Appearing on the Alex Jones Show today, current chief deputy DA and incoming DA of San Mateo County Steve Wagstaffe said his office will prosecute TSA employees who engage in lewd and lascivious behavior while conducting Homeland Security mandated patdowns at the San Francisco International Airport in San Mateo County.
“The case would be reviewed and if we could prove the elements of it, that it was inappropriately done with a sexual or lewd intent, that person would be prosecuted,” Wagstaffe told the Berman Post on Tuesday.
News report on San Mateo County DA announcing his office will arrest and prosecute TSA for sexual molestation.Wagstaffe told Alex Jones that county police will be sent to into the San Francisco International Airport. If they witness TSA employees engaged in criminal conduct, they will make arrests and the DA’s office will prosecute. Sexual battery in Mateo County is a felony if the molestation occurs beneath clothing and makes contact with skin and a misdemeanor if the touching occurs outside clothing.
The new government mandated hands-on searches are used for passengers who find naked body inappropriate, when something suspicious appears in screening, or randomly. They can take two minutes per passenger and involve sliding of the hands along the length of the body, along thighs and near the groin and breasts, according to the Associated Press.
In addition, a district attorney in the county south of San Mateo, Santa Clara, told Wagstaffe his office will also prosecute TSA employees for inappropriate sexual behavior at the San Jose International Airport.
Since the new search procedures went into effect, the web has exploded in opposition to naked body scanners and intrusive patdowns. Reports posted by the The Drudge Report, Infowars.com, and Prison Planet.com have gone viral on the internet and forced the mainstream corporate media to cover the issue.
“Nationwide outrage against the TSA is not only bringing to light new cases of airport abuse, it’s throwing fresh attention on previous incidents that have been going on for years,” Paul Joseph Watson wrote on Wednesday. Watson notes several lawsuits initiated against the TSA, including one connected to a 2008 incident at the Corpus Christi airport where the TSA exposed a young woman’s breasts.
Coverage of TSA groping and public outrage has resulted in airports around the country reconsidering the procedures.
Earlier today, Orlando Sanford International Airport decided to opt out from TSA screening. Larry Dale, the director of the Sanford Airport Authority in Florida, said he will send a letter requesting to opt out from TSA screening, and instead the airport will choose one of the five approved private screening companies to take over, according to central Florida’s WDBO.
“The outcry is huge,” Texas Republican Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison told the TSA administrator, John Pistole, at a Capitol Hill hearing yesterday. “I know that you’re aware of it. But we’ve got to see some action.”
“I’m not going to change those policies,” Pistole promised.
Source...
Kurt Nimmo
Prison Planet.com
November 18, 2010
Appearing on the Alex Jones Show today, current chief deputy DA and incoming DA of San Mateo County Steve Wagstaffe said his office will prosecute TSA employees who engage in lewd and lascivious behavior while conducting Homeland Security mandated patdowns at the San Francisco International Airport in San Mateo County.
“The case would be reviewed and if we could prove the elements of it, that it was inappropriately done with a sexual or lewd intent, that person would be prosecuted,” Wagstaffe told the Berman Post on Tuesday.
The new government mandated hands-on searches are used for passengers who find naked body inappropriate, when something suspicious appears in screening, or randomly. They can take two minutes per passenger and involve sliding of the hands along the length of the body, along thighs and near the groin and breasts, according to the Associated Press.
In addition, a district attorney in the county south of San Mateo, Santa Clara, told Wagstaffe his office will also prosecute TSA employees for inappropriate sexual behavior at the San Jose International Airport.
Since the new search procedures went into effect, the web has exploded in opposition to naked body scanners and intrusive patdowns. Reports posted by the The Drudge Report, Infowars.com, and Prison Planet.com have gone viral on the internet and forced the mainstream corporate media to cover the issue.
“Nationwide outrage against the TSA is not only bringing to light new cases of airport abuse, it’s throwing fresh attention on previous incidents that have been going on for years,” Paul Joseph Watson wrote on Wednesday. Watson notes several lawsuits initiated against the TSA, including one connected to a 2008 incident at the Corpus Christi airport where the TSA exposed a young woman’s breasts.
Coverage of TSA groping and public outrage has resulted in airports around the country reconsidering the procedures.
Earlier today, Orlando Sanford International Airport decided to opt out from TSA screening. Larry Dale, the director of the Sanford Airport Authority in Florida, said he will send a letter requesting to opt out from TSA screening, and instead the airport will choose one of the five approved private screening companies to take over, according to central Florida’s WDBO.
“The outcry is huge,” Texas Republican Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison told the TSA administrator, John Pistole, at a Capitol Hill hearing yesterday. “I know that you’re aware of it. But we’ve got to see some action.”
“I’m not going to change those policies,” Pistole promised.
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Woman says her Lambert security screening was sexual assault
KMOV
Saturday, November 20, 2010
KMOV — More Americans are growing angrier, over what the Transportation Security Administration, admits are more intrusive security put downs at airports.
One woman is comparing her experience at Lambert Airport to a sexual assault.
Business traveler, Penny Moroney, was flying home from St. Louis to Chicago. Like all other airline passengers, she had to go through security first. When the metal in her artificial knees set off the detectors, she had to undergo more screening. When Moroney asked if she could go through a body scanner, she was told none were available.
A pat down was the only alternative.
Moroney explains “Her gloved hands touched my breasts…went between them. Then she went into the top of my slacks, inserted her hands between my underwear and my skin… then put her hands up on outside of slacks, and patted my genitals.”
“I was shaking and crying when I left that room” Moroney says. *“Under any other circumstance, if a person touched me like that without my permission, it would be considered criminal sexual assault.”
Full story here.
Source...
KMOV
Saturday, November 20, 2010
KMOV — More Americans are growing angrier, over what the Transportation Security Administration, admits are more intrusive security put downs at airports.
One woman is comparing her experience at Lambert Airport to a sexual assault.
Business traveler, Penny Moroney, was flying home from St. Louis to Chicago. Like all other airline passengers, she had to go through security first. When the metal in her artificial knees set off the detectors, she had to undergo more screening. When Moroney asked if she could go through a body scanner, she was told none were available.
A pat down was the only alternative.
Moroney explains “Her gloved hands touched my breasts…went between them. Then she went into the top of my slacks, inserted her hands between my underwear and my skin… then put her hands up on outside of slacks, and patted my genitals.”
“I was shaking and crying when I left that room” Moroney says. *“Under any other circumstance, if a person touched me like that without my permission, it would be considered criminal sexual assault.”
Full story here.
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Enhanced pat down leaves Grand Rapids airline passenger in tears
Christa Graban
WZZM 13
Saturday, November 20, 2010
GRAND RAPIDS (WZZM) – Before boarding a flight in Grand Rapids, a woman says the search at the security checkpoint was violent, unnecessary and extremely upsetting.
“When I got on the plane all I wanted to do was sob,” says traveler Ella Swift.
Swift says they told her she was singled out because she was wearing a skirt. She says the search earlier this month was very rough and left her in tears.
“The female officer ran her hand up the inside of my leg to my groin and she did it so hard and so rough she lifted me off my heels,” she says. “I think I yelped. I was in pain for about an hour afterwards. It just felt excessive and unnecessary.”
Full story here.
Source...
Christa Graban
WZZM 13
Saturday, November 20, 2010
GRAND RAPIDS (WZZM) – Before boarding a flight in Grand Rapids, a woman says the search at the security checkpoint was violent, unnecessary and extremely upsetting.
“When I got on the plane all I wanted to do was sob,” says traveler Ella Swift.
Swift says they told her she was singled out because she was wearing a skirt. She says the search earlier this month was very rough and left her in tears.
“The female officer ran her hand up the inside of my leg to my groin and she did it so hard and so rough she lifted me off my heels,” she says. “I think I yelped. I was in pain for about an hour afterwards. It just felt excessive and unnecessary.”
Full story here.
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Cancer surviving flight attendant forced to remove prosthetic breast during pat-down
Molly Grantham
WBTV
Saturday, November 20, 2010
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.
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.
“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.”
Full story here.
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Molly Grantham
WBTV
Saturday, November 20, 2010
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.
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.
“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.”
Full story here.
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OKC Airport Considers Ditching TSA, Hiring Private Screeners
KOCO
Saturday, November 20, 2010
OKLAHOMA CITY — With less than a week away from the busiest travel day of the year, the TSA is making changes to the controversial screening procedures. Pilots will catch a break, but passengers will be required to go through body scanners or the more intrusive pat-downs, or both.
The public scrutiny couldn’t come at a busier time. With the public outcry of the aggressive pat-downs, some airports are looking into hiring private screeners. One of the airports is Oklahoma City’s Will Rogers World Airport.
The airport received a letter from a Florida representative encouraging airports to ultimately ditch TSA agents all together.
Leaders at the Will Rogers World Airport are looking at what it would take to make that happen. “Right now, what we are trying to do is gather information — as much information as we can about the opt-out program, so that we can move forward and learn about the program,” said airport spokeswoman Karen Carney.
Full story here.
Source...
KOCO
Saturday, November 20, 2010
OKLAHOMA CITY — With less than a week away from the busiest travel day of the year, the TSA is making changes to the controversial screening procedures. Pilots will catch a break, but passengers will be required to go through body scanners or the more intrusive pat-downs, or both.
The public scrutiny couldn’t come at a busier time. With the public outcry of the aggressive pat-downs, some airports are looking into hiring private screeners. One of the airports is Oklahoma City’s Will Rogers World Airport.
The airport received a letter from a Florida representative encouraging airports to ultimately ditch TSA agents all together.
Leaders at the Will Rogers World Airport are looking at what it would take to make that happen. “Right now, what we are trying to do is gather information — as much information as we can about the opt-out program, so that we can move forward and learn about the program,” said airport spokeswoman Karen Carney.
Full story here.
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TSA Likely To Face Multiple Sexual Assault Charges For New Searches
Tech Dirt
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Think the complaints about the TSA are beginning to reach a tipping point? There’s a whole bunch of new news on this front, starting with a California district attorney saying that he’s ready to charge TSA agents with sexual assault if evidence is presented that the new pat downs go too far (apparently multiple DAs are now saying this).
Hopefully, some other DAs are willing to do the same, because some are ready and willing to file sexual assault charges. Richard Kulawiec points us to the news of how a nursing mother in Dayton feels she was sexually assaulted by the TSA. Contrary to claims from the TSA, she was not informed that her private parts would be touched (repeatedly, from the sound of it). She was not given the option of having it happen in a private area. And, she notes, this was not about her refusal to go through a full body backscatter scanner, since those aren’t even in operation at that airport. The account is pretty chilling as the woman is clearly quite troubled by the experience (as she should be).
Separately, reports are coming out that TSA agents are not screened for psychological problems. In fact, the process doesn’t take much at all:
Meanwhile, a Congressman from Florida is telling airports they should ditch the TSA and find alternative options for security — and it appears that Orlando Airport has decided to do exactly that. Of course, I’m not convinced that private security agents will be any better, and they still have to follow TSA guidelines, so I’m not sure it’ll really make that much of a difference. But it does show the level to which lots of folks are fed up.
That said, apparently legislators in New Jersey and Idaho have introduced legislation banning the naked body scanners (oh and in New York as well). Of course, I’m sure the TSA will just claim that in the absence of the machines, they’ll just have to do more groping.
As for the TSA? Well, it’s still trying to defend its position. Its latest is to claim that 130 prohibited, illegal or dangerous items have been kept off airplanes in the past year. What, like nail clippers and bottles of water? Where are the actual details? What has been caught? Who has been arrested? What happened to them?
Source...
Tech Dirt
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Think the complaints about the TSA are beginning to reach a tipping point? There’s a whole bunch of new news on this front, starting with a California district attorney saying that he’s ready to charge TSA agents with sexual assault if evidence is presented that the new pat downs go too far (apparently multiple DAs are now saying this).
Hopefully, some other DAs are willing to do the same, because some are ready and willing to file sexual assault charges. Richard Kulawiec points us to the news of how a nursing mother in Dayton feels she was sexually assaulted by the TSA. Contrary to claims from the TSA, she was not informed that her private parts would be touched (repeatedly, from the sound of it). She was not given the option of having it happen in a private area. And, she notes, this was not about her refusal to go through a full body backscatter scanner, since those aren’t even in operation at that airport. The account is pretty chilling as the woman is clearly quite troubled by the experience (as she should be).
Separately, reports are coming out that TSA agents are not screened for psychological problems. In fact, the process doesn’t take much at all:
TSA doesn’t require much at all, it turns out. This government agency-gone-wild performs a background check to weed out applicants who are convicted felons, but TSA does not test at all for applicants’ psychological soundness.
These are low-wage government employees granted full authority to touch passengers however they like. There is no indication that TSA agents have selectively abused their authority, but as with all government programs: If there are no checks in place to limit power, authority will be abused. Forget racial profiling; if there no limits to officials’ power, what would stop them from claiming the most attractive powers need a more thorough patdown?
In fact, it’s so silly that the parody video below, of a “porn-addict applying for a job at the TSA” really doesn’t seem all that far-fetched these days:These are low-wage government employees granted full authority to touch passengers however they like. There is no indication that TSA agents have selectively abused their authority, but as with all government programs: If there are no checks in place to limit power, authority will be abused. Forget racial profiling; if there no limits to officials’ power, what would stop them from claiming the most attractive powers need a more thorough patdown?
Meanwhile, a Congressman from Florida is telling airports they should ditch the TSA and find alternative options for security — and it appears that Orlando Airport has decided to do exactly that. Of course, I’m not convinced that private security agents will be any better, and they still have to follow TSA guidelines, so I’m not sure it’ll really make that much of a difference. But it does show the level to which lots of folks are fed up.
That said, apparently legislators in New Jersey and Idaho have introduced legislation banning the naked body scanners (oh and in New York as well). Of course, I’m sure the TSA will just claim that in the absence of the machines, they’ll just have to do more groping.
As for the TSA? Well, it’s still trying to defend its position. Its latest is to claim that 130 prohibited, illegal or dangerous items have been kept off airplanes in the past year. What, like nail clippers and bottles of water? Where are the actual details? What has been caught? Who has been arrested? What happened to them?
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Senator Rockefeller To TSA Chief John Pistole: “I Think You’re Doing A Terrific Job”
End Of The American Dream
Saturday, November 20, 2010
The backlash against new TSA airport screening procedures has reached a deafening crescendo, and so you would think that the politicians in Washington D.C. would be getting the message. But so far, most of them seem to be just as supportive of the TSA as ever. For example, what did the chairman of the Senate committee overseeing air travel, Jay Rockefeller, have to say to TSA chief John Pistole during a Senate hearing on these new security procedures the other day? “I Think You’re Doing A Terrific Job.” Yes, you read that correctly. Senator Rockefeller had nothing but praise for Pistole and the new screening procedures. Apparently Rockefeller thinks that TSA officials feeling up the genitals of U.S. air travelers with the fronts of their hands is a wonderful thing. It is even being reported that in some instances TSA officials are actually reaching down the pants of men and up the skirts of women during these enhanced pat-downs. Not only is this totally criminal, but considering the fact that TSA officials do this countless times without changing their gloves it is also a serious health hazard. But most of our “leaders” in Washington D.C. continue to insist that we should stop protesting because this is all being done “for our own good”.
But should we expect anything less from elitists such as Rockefeller?* This is the same guy who is publicly talking about how wonderful it would be if the FCC would just go in and shut down Fox News and MSNBC.* He also has publicly expressed his belief that we would probably be
if the Internet had never been invented.* Obviously Rockefeller is not a big fan of freedom of expression.
But it is not just Rockefeller that is applauding these new TSA security procedures.
U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar seems convinced that the American people will change their minds once they understand the reasons behind these new rules.* According to Klobuchar, the American people “have to understand that this is being done for their best interests and their safety.”
U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill also believes that ordinary Americans will quickly change their opinions once they fully understand what is going on….
The truth is that the outrage of the American people about these ridiculous airport security procedures only seems to be growing.* If you doubt this, just go spend a few minutes on the We Won’t Fly Facebook page.* The American people are angry and they are only getting angrier.
But is TSA chief Pistole listening?
Not a chance.
During the Senate hearing, Pistole made his feelings abundantly clear….
TSA officials would not be touching our genitals with the fronts of their hands if Barack Obama himself had not given the green light to these new procedures.
Barack Obama could stop these enhanced pat-downs tomorrow if he wanted to.* But he does not want to.
The American people need to wake up.* It seems like the Big Brother police state tactics just keep getting worse with each new presidential administration.* Instead of “the land of the free and the home of the brave”, we are rapidly becoming “the land of the peon and the home of the slave”.
Liberty and freedom are very precious things.* Once they have been taken away, they are very difficult to get back.* Unless the American people speak up now, TSA groping and fondling is going to become a permanent part of America.
Source...
End Of The American Dream
Saturday, November 20, 2010
The backlash against new TSA airport screening procedures has reached a deafening crescendo, and so you would think that the politicians in Washington D.C. would be getting the message. But so far, most of them seem to be just as supportive of the TSA as ever. For example, what did the chairman of the Senate committee overseeing air travel, Jay Rockefeller, have to say to TSA chief John Pistole during a Senate hearing on these new security procedures the other day? “I Think You’re Doing A Terrific Job.” Yes, you read that correctly. Senator Rockefeller had nothing but praise for Pistole and the new screening procedures. Apparently Rockefeller thinks that TSA officials feeling up the genitals of U.S. air travelers with the fronts of their hands is a wonderful thing. It is even being reported that in some instances TSA officials are actually reaching down the pants of men and up the skirts of women during these enhanced pat-downs. Not only is this totally criminal, but considering the fact that TSA officials do this countless times without changing their gloves it is also a serious health hazard. But most of our “leaders” in Washington D.C. continue to insist that we should stop protesting because this is all being done “for our own good”.
But should we expect anything less from elitists such as Rockefeller?* This is the same guy who is publicly talking about how wonderful it would be if the FCC would just go in and shut down Fox News and MSNBC.* He also has publicly expressed his belief that we would probably be
But it is not just Rockefeller that is applauding these new TSA security procedures.
U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar seems convinced that the American people will change their minds once they understand the reasons behind these new rules.* According to Klobuchar, the American people “have to understand that this is being done for their best interests and their safety.”
U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill also believes that ordinary Americans will quickly change their opinions once they fully understand what is going on….
“And then I think we can–the majority of Americans I think–I hope will become supportive of the measures that TSA is trying to do to keep us safe.”
Do you think that Klobuchar and McCaskill will still feel the same way once they have been groped and fondled by TSA officials?
The truth is that the outrage of the American people about these ridiculous airport security procedures only seems to be growing.* If you doubt this, just go spend a few minutes on the We Won’t Fly Facebook page.* The American people are angry and they are only getting angrier.
But is TSA chief Pistole listening?
Not a chance.
During the Senate hearing, Pistole made his feelings abundantly clear….
“If you are asking me, am I going to change my policies? No.”
Many Americans had hoped that once George W. Bush was out of office that many of these thug-like security tactics would go away, but the truth is that they have only gotten far worse under the Obama administration.
TSA officials would not be touching our genitals with the fronts of their hands if Barack Obama himself had not given the green light to these new procedures.
Barack Obama could stop these enhanced pat-downs tomorrow if he wanted to.* But he does not want to.
The American people need to wake up.* It seems like the Big Brother police state tactics just keep getting worse with each new presidential administration.* Instead of “the land of the free and the home of the brave”, we are rapidly becoming “the land of the peon and the home of the slave”.
Liberty and freedom are very precious things.* Once they have been taken away, they are very difficult to get back.* Unless the American people speak up now, TSA groping and fondling is going to become a permanent part of America.
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TSA Warns: Submit Or Pay
$11,000 fine, arrest possible for some who refuse airport scans and pat downs
John Lantigua
Palm Beach Post
Saturday, November 20, 2010
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.
Full story here.
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$11,000 fine, arrest possible for some who refuse airport scans and pat downs
John Lantigua
Palm Beach Post
Saturday, November 20, 2010
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.
Full story here.
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Homeland Security chairman to TSA: ‘Reconsider’ pat-downs
Kevin Bogardus
The Hill
Saturday, November 20, 2010
House Democrats have asked the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to “reconsider” agency screeners’ new invasive pat-downs of airline passengers.
In a letter Friday to TSA Administrator John Pistole, Reps. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, and Shelia Jackson Lee (D-Texas) said the agency should rethink the new screening procedures in light of the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, typically the busiest travel time of the year.
“While we agree that security measures should be enhanced in the wake of recent attempted terrorist attacks on the aviation system, we are concerned about new enhanced pat down screening protocols and urge you to reconsider the utilization of these protocols. With Thanksgiving Day marking the beginning of the busiest travel season of the year, this request is timely,” Thompson and Jackson Lee write in their letter.
The new pat-down screenings have faced a public uproar as airline passengers have complained about their invasiveness. Combined with new body scanners at security checkpoints that capture naked body images, the TSA has found itself under increased public scrutiny.
Full story here.
Source...
Kevin Bogardus
The Hill
Saturday, November 20, 2010
House Democrats have asked the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to “reconsider” agency screeners’ new invasive pat-downs of airline passengers.
In a letter Friday to TSA Administrator John Pistole, Reps. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, and Shelia Jackson Lee (D-Texas) said the agency should rethink the new screening procedures in light of the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, typically the busiest travel time of the year.
“While we agree that security measures should be enhanced in the wake of recent attempted terrorist attacks on the aviation system, we are concerned about new enhanced pat down screening protocols and urge you to reconsider the utilization of these protocols. With Thanksgiving Day marking the beginning of the busiest travel season of the year, this request is timely,” Thompson and Jackson Lee write in their letter.
The new pat-down screenings have faced a public uproar as airline passengers have complained about their invasiveness. Combined with new body scanners at security checkpoints that capture naked body images, the TSA has found itself under increased public scrutiny.
Full story here.
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TSA pat-down leaves traveler covered in urine
Harriet Baskas
msnbc.com
Nov 21, 2010
A retired special education teacher on his way to a wedding in Orlando, Fla., said he was left humiliated, crying and covered with his own urine after an enhanced pat-down by TSA officers recently at Detroit Metropolitan Airport.
“I was absolutely humiliated, I couldn’t even speak,” said Thomas D. “Tom” Sawyer, 61, of Lansing, Mich.
Sawyer is a bladder cancer survivor who now wears a urostomy bag, which collects his urine from a stoma, or opening in his stomach. *“I have to wear special clothes and in order to mount the bag I have to seal a wafer to my stomach and then attach the bag. If the seal is broken, urine can leak all over my body and clothes.”
On Nov. 7, Sawyer said he went through the security scanner at Detroit Metropolitan Airport. “Evidently the scanner picked up on my urostomy bag, because I was chosen for a pat-down procedure.”
Due to his medical condition, Sawyer asked to be screened in private. “One officer looked at another, rolled his eyes and said that they really didn’t have any place to take me,” said Sawyer. “After I said again that I’d like privacy, they took me to an office.”
Full article here
Source...
Harriet Baskas
msnbc.com
Nov 21, 2010
A retired special education teacher on his way to a wedding in Orlando, Fla., said he was left humiliated, crying and covered with his own urine after an enhanced pat-down by TSA officers recently at Detroit Metropolitan Airport.
“I was absolutely humiliated, I couldn’t even speak,” said Thomas D. “Tom” Sawyer, 61, of Lansing, Mich.
Sawyer is a bladder cancer survivor who now wears a urostomy bag, which collects his urine from a stoma, or opening in his stomach. *“I have to wear special clothes and in order to mount the bag I have to seal a wafer to my stomach and then attach the bag. If the seal is broken, urine can leak all over my body and clothes.”
On Nov. 7, Sawyer said he went through the security scanner at Detroit Metropolitan Airport. “Evidently the scanner picked up on my urostomy bag, because I was chosen for a pat-down procedure.”
Due to his medical condition, Sawyer asked to be screened in private. “One officer looked at another, rolled his eyes and said that they really didn’t have any place to take me,” said Sawyer. “After I said again that I’d like privacy, they took me to an office.”
Full article here
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Members of Congress Exempt From TSA AIT Full Body Scanners
Eric Calouro
erictric.com
Nov 21, 2010
We’ve tried really hard to stay away from the increasingly popular TSA AIT full body scanners topic, and for a good reason. Personally, I don’t mind the use of them on myself, but I can see why many folks feel like it’s a violation of their privacy. To a certain extent it is.
What’s motivating me to publish this post is the fact that you ought to know why this topic isn’t resonating as much as we would like it to with Congressional members. So, why isn’t it a big issue with our Congressmen and Congresswomen? Could it be the fact that they’re, say, exempt from TSA screening? You betcha.
See, some members of Congress fly to and from Washington on military jets. The fact that they may not be checked for weapons here is understandable, given they’re not traveling with civilian passengers, but other members of Congress often travel commercially.
Case in point: newly-appointed Speaker of the House John Boehner. The man often travels domestically with other passengers, but gets to bypass TSA security and go directly to the gate. Sure, the man likely isn’t planning to cause harm, but still, should he not be expected to endure the checks the rest of us must?
Head of the Republican party Michael Steel confirmed that Congress members are, in fact, exempt from security screening.
Just wonderful.
[ via TechDirt ]
Source...
Eric Calouro
erictric.com
Nov 21, 2010
We’ve tried really hard to stay away from the increasingly popular TSA AIT full body scanners topic, and for a good reason. Personally, I don’t mind the use of them on myself, but I can see why many folks feel like it’s a violation of their privacy. To a certain extent it is.
What’s motivating me to publish this post is the fact that you ought to know why this topic isn’t resonating as much as we would like it to with Congressional members. So, why isn’t it a big issue with our Congressmen and Congresswomen? Could it be the fact that they’re, say, exempt from TSA screening? You betcha.
See, some members of Congress fly to and from Washington on military jets. The fact that they may not be checked for weapons here is understandable, given they’re not traveling with civilian passengers, but other members of Congress often travel commercially.
Case in point: newly-appointed Speaker of the House John Boehner. The man often travels domestically with other passengers, but gets to bypass TSA security and go directly to the gate. Sure, the man likely isn’t planning to cause harm, but still, should he not be expected to endure the checks the rest of us must?
Head of the Republican party Michael Steel confirmed that Congress members are, in fact, exempt from security screening.
Just wonderful.
[ via TechDirt ]
Source...
Unhypnotized
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T.S.A. Grants Airline Pilots an Exception to Screenings
RON NIXON
NY Times
Nov 21, 2010
WASHINGTON — At least one group of air travelers will get a break from the body scans and pat-downs that have provoked a national outcry.
On Friday, the Transportation Security Administration announced that it would let uniformed airline pilots skip the screenings, reversing an earlier policy that everyone had to go through the screenings as part of the agency’s efforts to prevent terrorist attacks. Pilots who are traveling out of uniform or not on official business will still be subject to searches, the agency said.
The full-body scans and pat-downs being performed at a number of airports have angered travelers, many of whom said the searches were invasive and likened them to virtual strip searches. Passengers have also raised concerns about the long-term effect of radiation exposure from airport scanners.
The agency said pilots would still have to pass through a metal detector at airport checkpoints and present two photo identifications that would be verified against a flight crew database.
Full article here
Source...
RON NIXON
NY Times
Nov 21, 2010
WASHINGTON — At least one group of air travelers will get a break from the body scans and pat-downs that have provoked a national outcry.
On Friday, the Transportation Security Administration announced that it would let uniformed airline pilots skip the screenings, reversing an earlier policy that everyone had to go through the screenings as part of the agency’s efforts to prevent terrorist attacks. Pilots who are traveling out of uniform or not on official business will still be subject to searches, the agency said.
The full-body scans and pat-downs being performed at a number of airports have angered travelers, many of whom said the searches were invasive and likened them to virtual strip searches. Passengers have also raised concerns about the long-term effect of radiation exposure from airport scanners.
The agency said pilots would still have to pass through a metal detector at airport checkpoints and present two photo identifications that would be verified against a flight crew database.
Full article here
Source...
Unhypnotized
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Ron Paul Debates TSA Screenings – CNN
CNN
Nov 21, 2010
“John King, USA” , CNN
Congressman Ron Paul faces off against Fran Townsend, CNN National Security Analyst and former Homeland Security Advisor to the post-9/11 Bush Whitehouse. Paul argues against the current TSA airport security measures as being invasive and a broad government overreach. Townsend holds that it is a necessary policy for upholding safety in the face of terrorism.
On Nov. 17, 2010 Congressman Ron Paul presented a bill on the House floor in an attempt to curb the invasiveness of TSA search requirements.
Click the following link for video of Congressman Paul’s speech:
Source...
CNN
Nov 21, 2010
“John King, USA” , CNN
Congressman Ron Paul faces off against Fran Townsend, CNN National Security Analyst and former Homeland Security Advisor to the post-9/11 Bush Whitehouse. Paul argues against the current TSA airport security measures as being invasive and a broad government overreach. Townsend holds that it is a necessary policy for upholding safety in the face of terrorism.
On Nov. 17, 2010 Congressman Ron Paul presented a bill on the House floor in an attempt to curb the invasiveness of TSA search requirements.
Click the following link for video of Congressman Paul’s speech:
Source...
Unhypnotized
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TSA Warns Travelers May Be Arrested, Detained, and Fined for Refusing Search
Kurt Nimmo
Infowars.com
November 21, 2010
*
* * You will not be allowed to leave an airport until the government forces you to answer questions about why you refuse to have your genitalia groped.</p> * * *In response to growing outrage over naked body scanners and intrusive pat down searches of the private parts of air travelers, the TSA is warning Americans that they may be arrested and fined $11,000 if they refuse to cooperate with the agency’s invasive and humiliating techniques.
The TSA warns that any “would-be commercial airline passenger” who enters an airport checkpoint and refuses to be subjected to “the method of inspection designated by the TSA will not be allowed to fly and also will not be permitted to simply leave the airport” (emphasis added).
The TSA will work with local police in order to make sure the person remains on the premises and answers questions. “Anyone refusing faces fines up to $11,000 and possible arrest,” reports the Palm Beach Post.
“Once a person submits to the screening process, they can not just decide to leave that process,” Sari Koshetz, regional TSA spokesperson, told the Florida newspaper. The policy includes people who decide not to fly.
Teri Barbera, a spokesperson for the Palm Beach Sheriff’s office, said local police would assist the TSA in preventing people from leaving the airport. “We will handle each incident on a case-by-case basis,” said Barbera. “The deputies will do it at the airport just as they would do it anywhere else.”
On Wednesday, TSA boss John S. Pistole testified before Congress on the controversy brewing over the fact airports have become areas where the Bill of Rights no longer applies. Pistole said the TSA will enforce the new policies despite complaints that the search methods are too invasive and a violation of the Fourth Amendment.
Senator John Ensign, a Nevada Republican, asked Pistole about groups that objected to all forms of bodily search on religious grounds. “While we respect that person’s beliefs, that person’s not going to get on an airplane,” said the TSA boss.
Now the TSA has announced it will also enlist local police to detain people who refuse dangerous naked body scans and molestation of their private parts.
In addition to not being permitted to board a commercial plane, they will also be interrogated by agents of the federal government. If not cleared by government bureaucrats, they will presumably be arrested and charged with a crime and fined $11,000.
Source...
Kurt Nimmo
Infowars.com
November 21, 2010
The TSA warns that any “would-be commercial airline passenger” who enters an airport checkpoint and refuses to be subjected to “the method of inspection designated by the TSA will not be allowed to fly and also will not be permitted to simply leave the airport” (emphasis added).
The TSA will work with local police in order to make sure the person remains on the premises and answers questions. “Anyone refusing faces fines up to $11,000 and possible arrest,” reports the Palm Beach Post.
“Once a person submits to the screening process, they can not just decide to leave that process,” Sari Koshetz, regional TSA spokesperson, told the Florida newspaper. The policy includes people who decide not to fly.
Teri Barbera, a spokesperson for the Palm Beach Sheriff’s office, said local police would assist the TSA in preventing people from leaving the airport. “We will handle each incident on a case-by-case basis,” said Barbera. “The deputies will do it at the airport just as they would do it anywhere else.”
On Wednesday, TSA boss John S. Pistole testified before Congress on the controversy brewing over the fact airports have become areas where the Bill of Rights no longer applies. Pistole said the TSA will enforce the new policies despite complaints that the search methods are too invasive and a violation of the Fourth Amendment.
Senator John Ensign, a Nevada Republican, asked Pistole about groups that objected to all forms of bodily search on religious grounds. “While we respect that person’s beliefs, that person’s not going to get on an airplane,” said the TSA boss.
Now the TSA has announced it will also enlist local police to detain people who refuse dangerous naked body scans and molestation of their private parts.
In addition to not being permitted to board a commercial plane, they will also be interrogated by agents of the federal government. If not cleared by government bureaucrats, they will presumably be arrested and charged with a crime and fined $11,000.
Source...
Unhypnotized
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Airport Director Wants Private Company To Take Over Security
wsoctv.com
Nov 21, 2010
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — After recent controversy surrounding the Transportation Security Administration’s security screenings, the director of Charlotte’s airport said he wants a private company to take over the job.
Federal law allows airports to replace TSA agents with private security guards. Right now, 17 airports across the country do this, and the Orlando Sanford Airport in Florida plans to be the 18th in January.
Charlotte Douglas International Airport Director Jerry Orr said he’s wanted a private firm to do security screenings since 2001, when the TSA was created. He named a couple of reasons for that: First, a private firm would be more economical.
“The joke in the industry is TSA stands for Thousands Standing Around,” Orr said.
Full article here
Source...
wsoctv.com
Nov 21, 2010
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — After recent controversy surrounding the Transportation Security Administration’s security screenings, the director of Charlotte’s airport said he wants a private company to take over the job.
Federal law allows airports to replace TSA agents with private security guards. Right now, 17 airports across the country do this, and the Orlando Sanford Airport in Florida plans to be the 18th in January.
Charlotte Douglas International Airport Director Jerry Orr said he’s wanted a private firm to do security screenings since 2001, when the TSA was created. He named a couple of reasons for that: First, a private firm would be more economical.
“The joke in the industry is TSA stands for Thousands Standing Around,” Orr said.
Full article here
Source...
Unhypnotized
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Young Boy Strip Searched by TSA
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Let’s get the facts straight first. Before the video started the boy went through a metal detector and didn’t set it off but was selected for a pat down. The boy was shy so the TSA couldn’t complete the full pat on the young boy. The father tried several times to just hold the boys arms out for the TSA agent but I guess it didn’t end up being enough for the guy. I was about 30 ft away so I couldn’t hear their conversation if there was any. The enraged father pulled his son shirt off and gave it to the TSA agent to search, thats when this video begins.
Source...
Let’s get the facts straight first. Before the video started the boy went through a metal detector and didn’t set it off but was selected for a pat down. The boy was shy so the TSA couldn’t complete the full pat on the young boy. The father tried several times to just hold the boys arms out for the TSA agent but I guess it didn’t end up being enough for the guy. I was about 30 ft away so I couldn’t hear their conversation if there was any. The enraged father pulled his son shirt off and gave it to the TSA agent to search, thats when this video begins.
Source...
Unhypnotized
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$11,000 Fine, Arrest Possible for Some who Refuse Airport Scans and Pat Downs
11-21-2010 04:45 AM
'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.'
Read more: $11,000 Fine, Arrest Possible for Some who Refuse Airport Scans and Pat Downs
11-21-2010 04:45 AM
'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.'
Read more: $11,000 Fine, Arrest Possible for Some who Refuse Airport Scans and Pat Downs
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Gun crusader strips down in front of TSA, hauled out of San Diego airport
Robert J. Hawkins
Sign On San Diego
Nov 22, 2010*
San Diego open-carry gun crusader Sam Wolanyk has taken off time from packing heat to packing, well, not much at all apparently.
Wolanyk entered San Diego International Airport on Friday for a trip to Barbados with a companion and declined to go through the full-body scanner. As anyone who has been following the story of Oceanside’s John Tyner knows, that can trigger the controversial full-body pat-down by Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers.
Rather than a pat-down, Wolanyk decided to strip down — to his shorts, actually Calvin Klein bicycle-like shorts, according to his lawyer, Jason Davis of Orange County.
“It was obvious that my underwear left nothing to the imagination,” Wolanyk has told one media source, examiner.com.
Full article here
Source...
Robert J. Hawkins
Sign On San Diego
Nov 22, 2010*
San Diego open-carry gun crusader Sam Wolanyk has taken off time from packing heat to packing, well, not much at all apparently.
Wolanyk entered San Diego International Airport on Friday for a trip to Barbados with a companion and declined to go through the full-body scanner. As anyone who has been following the story of Oceanside’s John Tyner knows, that can trigger the controversial full-body pat-down by Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers.
Rather than a pat-down, Wolanyk decided to strip down — to his shorts, actually Calvin Klein bicycle-like shorts, according to his lawyer, Jason Davis of Orange County.
“It was obvious that my underwear left nothing to the imagination,” Wolanyk has told one media source, examiner.com.
Full article here
Source...
Unhypnotized
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Councilman wants to replace TSA in Colorado Springs
9 News.com
Nov 22, 2010
COLORADO SPRINGS – A city councilman wants to investigate options for using non-Transportation Security Administration security screeners at the Colorado Springs Airport (COS).
City Councilman for Colorado Springs Sean Page plans to ask COS Director Mark Earle on Monday to report back on options of using non-TSA screens at the airport.
“Airports have the options of using non-TSA personnel to perform these functions,” Paige said in a news release. “Given the growing public frustration with federal screeners, I think Colorado Springs ought to seriously study the pros and cons of replacing TSA at our airport. I’m not supportive of any change that would in any way jeopardize passenger safety, obviously. But if we can get the same or better security with more people-friendly service, and less TSA attitude, I think we should consider replacing TSA. Other airports have done it, or are thinking of doing it, and I believe we should too.”
Full article here
Source...
9 News.com
Nov 22, 2010
COLORADO SPRINGS – A city councilman wants to investigate options for using non-Transportation Security Administration security screeners at the Colorado Springs Airport (COS).
City Councilman for Colorado Springs Sean Page plans to ask COS Director Mark Earle on Monday to report back on options of using non-TSA screens at the airport.
“Airports have the options of using non-TSA personnel to perform these functions,” Paige said in a news release. “Given the growing public frustration with federal screeners, I think Colorado Springs ought to seriously study the pros and cons of replacing TSA at our airport. I’m not supportive of any change that would in any way jeopardize passenger safety, obviously. But if we can get the same or better security with more people-friendly service, and less TSA attitude, I think we should consider replacing TSA. Other airports have done it, or are thinking of doing it, and I believe we should too.”
Full article here
Source...