Showing posts with label TSA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label TSA. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
TSA defends pat-down of 4-year-old at Kan. airport
Full Article:
http://articles.boston.com/2012-04-25/news/31399816_1_pat-down-tsa-agents-screening-procedures
The grandmother of a 4-year-old girl who became hysterical during a security screening at a Kansas airport said Wednesday that the child was forced to undergo a pat-down after hugging her, with security agents yelling and calling the crying girl an uncooperative suspect.
The incident has been garnering increasing media and online attention since the child’s mother, Michelle Brademeyer of Montana, detailed the ordeal in a public Facebook post last week. The Transportation Security Administration is defending its agents, despite new procedures aimed at reducing pat-downs of children.
The child’s grandmother, Lori Croft, told The Associated Press that Brademeyer and her daughter, Isabella, initially passed through security at the Wichita airport without incident. The girl then ran over to briefly hug Croft, who was awaiting a pat-down after tripping the alarm, and that’s when TSA agents insisted the girl undergo a physical pat-down.
Isabella had just learned about “stranger danger’’ at school, her grandmother said, adding that the girl was afraid and unsure about what was going on.
“She started to cry, saying `No I don’t want to,’ and when we tried talking to her she ran,’’ Croft said. “They yelled, `We are going to shut down the airport if you don’t grab her.’’’
But she said the family’s main concern was the lack of understanding from TSA agents that they were dealing with a 4-year-old child, not a terror suspect.
“There was no common sense and there was no compassion,’’ Croft said. “That was our biggest fault with the whole thing — not that they are following security procedures, because I understand that they have to do that.’’
Brademeyer, of Missoula, Mont., wrote a public Facebook post last week about the April 15 incident, claiming TSA treated her daughter “no better than if she had been a terrorist.’’ The posting was taken down Wednesday. Another post said the family had filed formal complaints with the TSA and the airport.
The TSA released a statement Tuesday saying it explained to the family why additional security procedures were necessary and that agents didn’t suspect or suggest the child was carrying a firearm.
“TSA has reviewed the incident and determined that our officers followed proper screening procedures in conducting a modified pat-down on the child,’’ the agency said...
Monday, January 30, 2012
TSA Directly Violated US Constitution By Detaining Senator Rand Paul
Steve Watson
January 23, 2012
http://www.infowars.com/tsa-directly-violated-us-constitution-by-detaining-senator-rand-paul/
In preventing Kentucky Senator Rand Paul from flying to Washington this morning, the TSA directly violated the law as written in the US Constitution.
The Constitution specifically protects federal lawmakers from being detained while en route to Washington DC.
Article I, Section 6 states:
“The Senators and Representatives…shall in all Cases, except Treason, Felony and Breach of the Peace, be privileged from Arrest during their Attendance at the Session of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same….”
Rand Paul was travelling from his home in Louisville to attend a session in the Senate today.
This is the reason that TSA officials have since put out the talking point in the media that Rand Paul was never officially detained, despite the fact that the Senator himself confirmed that he was told to sit in a cubicle and wait without any indication of when he would be allowed to leave.
The Senate is back in session at 2 p.m., and votes are scheduled for 4:30 p.m.
Senator Paul was allowed to board a second flight after a separate screening by TSA agents, however, it remains to be seen whether he will make it to the capital in time.
January 23, 2012
http://www.infowars.com/tsa-directly-violated-us-constitution-by-detaining-senator-rand-paul/
In preventing Kentucky Senator Rand Paul from flying to Washington this morning, the TSA directly violated the law as written in the US Constitution.
The Constitution specifically protects federal lawmakers from being detained while en route to Washington DC.
Article I, Section 6 states:
“The Senators and Representatives…shall in all Cases, except Treason, Felony and Breach of the Peace, be privileged from Arrest during their Attendance at the Session of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same….”
Rand Paul was travelling from his home in Louisville to attend a session in the Senate today.
This is the reason that TSA officials have since put out the talking point in the media that Rand Paul was never officially detained, despite the fact that the Senator himself confirmed that he was told to sit in a cubicle and wait without any indication of when he would be allowed to leave.
The Senate is back in session at 2 p.m., and votes are scheduled for 4:30 p.m.
Senator Paul was allowed to board a second flight after a separate screening by TSA agents, however, it remains to be seen whether he will make it to the capital in time.
Friday, November 18, 2011
Is there any possible way Jesse Ventura could win the Presidency?
David Gewirtz | November 8, 2011
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/government/is-there-any-possible-way-jesse-ventura-could-win-the-presidency/10980
Jesse Ventura, like so many of us who fly, is fully enraged at the practices of the TSA, the Transportation Security Agency.
Can he appeal to enough Americans to get on the map?
Yes, undoubtedly. No one expected him to win the governorship in Minnesota, and yet he did. He didn’t win big, but he did beat out some better known candidates. Ventura has exceptional skills in reaching people and with our disgruntled populace, he’s sure to strike a chord with a measurable group of people.
Can he raise enough money to be a credible contender against the hundreds of millions of dollars that’ll be spent by his competitors?
This is where his chances drop precipitously. This next election may well cost the GOP and the Dems a billion dollars each. It’s highly unlikely Ventura could raise even a tenth of that.
He did win in Minnesota with a fraction of the money of his then competitors, but playing in Duluth and Eden Prairie isn’t exactly like playing on Time Square. It’s far from clear that Ventura could carry even a single cranky red state, and he might upset the fragile sensibilities of blue staters.
More to the point, you can get a lot of traction and a lot of votes for a billion dollars, and charm, anger, and personal fortitude can only get you so far against such a concentration of economic resources.
Is there any way that an independent would ever win the White House?
Five years ago, I would have said “No.” Now, I think I have to say, “Yes.”
Barack Obama was not exactly an establishment candidate. He broke all sorts of records and barriers and made it to the White House. He got elected, in part based on much of America’s disgruntlement with George W. Bush, in part because otherwise right-leaning voters were nervous about the McCain/Palin combination, in part because finally voting in someone of color was long overdue, and in part because he was a far more appealing candidate than McCain.
Unfortunately, while Obama was not the establishment candidate, he has been a very establishment President. All those disgruntled Americans who voted President Obama into office are still disgruntled — and neither the GOP nor the Democrats are showing any sign of changing the bad business-as-usual climate we’ve seen over the last few decades.
The Tea Party and Occupy movements may just be the tip of the iceberg. I’m starting to think that our two major parties — driven so much by the power and money of lobbyists, banks, and big-money interests — have completely lost touch with the vast majority of voting Americans.
And, while I do think it’s nigh on impossible to battle against the entrenched power of big business, big banking, big capital, and big health, I do think there’s a crack in their defensive battlements — in that they’ve SO angered so many Americans.
Ventura as President. Likely: no. Possible: yes.
Can he build the “machine” necessary for a national campaign?
Ventura’s a very bright dude and did manage a state-wide win. But it’s not clear he’s got the management fortitude to organize what’s essentially a very large enterprise and run it on a national basis.
Fortunately, you can hire such talent and Ventura’s been quite good at recognizing and directing excellent talent.
So, assuming he can pay that talent, I’d rate this one as a definite maybe.
Can he control his mouth and temper so he doesn’t shoot himself in his own foot?
That’s a question for all the candidates, isn’t it? Cain might not be able to keep his foot from his mouth (or possibly his hands to himself, if there’s any truth to the harassment accusations he’s currently fighting). Bachmann certainly can’t. Romney has good message control, but it’s so good he looks more like a robot than a President. And, of course, President Obama is excellent on the campaign trail, but whether he can succeed in an environment not bathed in adulation is the big open question.
So, while it’s not clear Ventura can keep his mouth on mission, he has no less of a chance than any of the other candidates to keep his mouth in check, our President included.
Bottom line: can Ventura win?
Honestly, I think he has very little chance, but I do believe he has a chance — if he decides to run pretty much now and plays for keeps.
Honestly, if Ventura were to run on a simple message — dismantle the TSA — he’s likely to attract a far larger group of voters than anyone might expect. There’s real anger in America about the TSA, and Ventura could be the lightning rod for that anger.
It’ll be a tough slog and a tough fight, but — after all — when you want someone who can handle a tough slog and a tough fight, there isn’t anyone better than a Navy SEAL.
No doubt, it’ll be interesting to watch. And, I’ll tell you what, I’d pay serious money to watch Jesse Ventura debate any or all of the other candidates. Now, that would be something to see!
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/government/is-there-any-possible-way-jesse-ventura-could-win-the-presidency/10980
Jesse Ventura, like so many of us who fly, is fully enraged at the practices of the TSA, the Transportation Security Agency.
Can he appeal to enough Americans to get on the map?
Yes, undoubtedly. No one expected him to win the governorship in Minnesota, and yet he did. He didn’t win big, but he did beat out some better known candidates. Ventura has exceptional skills in reaching people and with our disgruntled populace, he’s sure to strike a chord with a measurable group of people.
Can he raise enough money to be a credible contender against the hundreds of millions of dollars that’ll be spent by his competitors?
This is where his chances drop precipitously. This next election may well cost the GOP and the Dems a billion dollars each. It’s highly unlikely Ventura could raise even a tenth of that.
He did win in Minnesota with a fraction of the money of his then competitors, but playing in Duluth and Eden Prairie isn’t exactly like playing on Time Square. It’s far from clear that Ventura could carry even a single cranky red state, and he might upset the fragile sensibilities of blue staters.
More to the point, you can get a lot of traction and a lot of votes for a billion dollars, and charm, anger, and personal fortitude can only get you so far against such a concentration of economic resources.
Is there any way that an independent would ever win the White House?
Five years ago, I would have said “No.” Now, I think I have to say, “Yes.”
Barack Obama was not exactly an establishment candidate. He broke all sorts of records and barriers and made it to the White House. He got elected, in part based on much of America’s disgruntlement with George W. Bush, in part because otherwise right-leaning voters were nervous about the McCain/Palin combination, in part because finally voting in someone of color was long overdue, and in part because he was a far more appealing candidate than McCain.
Unfortunately, while Obama was not the establishment candidate, he has been a very establishment President. All those disgruntled Americans who voted President Obama into office are still disgruntled — and neither the GOP nor the Democrats are showing any sign of changing the bad business-as-usual climate we’ve seen over the last few decades.
The Tea Party and Occupy movements may just be the tip of the iceberg. I’m starting to think that our two major parties — driven so much by the power and money of lobbyists, banks, and big-money interests — have completely lost touch with the vast majority of voting Americans.
And, while I do think it’s nigh on impossible to battle against the entrenched power of big business, big banking, big capital, and big health, I do think there’s a crack in their defensive battlements — in that they’ve SO angered so many Americans.
Ventura as President. Likely: no. Possible: yes.
Can he build the “machine” necessary for a national campaign?
Ventura’s a very bright dude and did manage a state-wide win. But it’s not clear he’s got the management fortitude to organize what’s essentially a very large enterprise and run it on a national basis.
Fortunately, you can hire such talent and Ventura’s been quite good at recognizing and directing excellent talent.
So, assuming he can pay that talent, I’d rate this one as a definite maybe.
Can he control his mouth and temper so he doesn’t shoot himself in his own foot?
That’s a question for all the candidates, isn’t it? Cain might not be able to keep his foot from his mouth (or possibly his hands to himself, if there’s any truth to the harassment accusations he’s currently fighting). Bachmann certainly can’t. Romney has good message control, but it’s so good he looks more like a robot than a President. And, of course, President Obama is excellent on the campaign trail, but whether he can succeed in an environment not bathed in adulation is the big open question.
So, while it’s not clear Ventura can keep his mouth on mission, he has no less of a chance than any of the other candidates to keep his mouth in check, our President included.
Bottom line: can Ventura win?
Honestly, I think he has very little chance, but I do believe he has a chance — if he decides to run pretty much now and plays for keeps.
Honestly, if Ventura were to run on a simple message — dismantle the TSA — he’s likely to attract a far larger group of voters than anyone might expect. There’s real anger in America about the TSA, and Ventura could be the lightning rod for that anger.
It’ll be a tough slog and a tough fight, but — after all — when you want someone who can handle a tough slog and a tough fight, there isn’t anyone better than a Navy SEAL.
No doubt, it’ll be interesting to watch. And, I’ll tell you what, I’d pay serious money to watch Jesse Ventura debate any or all of the other candidates. Now, that would be something to see!
Ventura Decries “Fascist” America After Judge Tosses TSA Case
Lawyer told case could not go to jury trial due to “secrecy reasons” over “national security” Paul Joseph Watson
Infowars.com
Friday, November 4, 2011
http://www.infowars.com/ventura-decries-fascist-america-after-judge-tosses-tsa-case
Former Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura said he would now refer to the country of his birth as the “Fascist States of America” after a judge dismissed his case challenging airport pat downs, adding that his only recourse now would be to run for President.
“Ventura made his comments outside the federal courthouse in St. Paul, where in January he sued to challenge the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) airport security procedures,” reports the Minneapolis Star Tribune. “The suit was thrown out because Congress set up the law so that all such challenges must be brought directly in Circuit Courts of Appeals, wrote U.S. District Judge Susan Richard Nelson.”
“They said they don’t have jurisdiction,” Ventura told reporters. “Well my question is if the federal courts don’t have jurisdiction over a constitutional question then who the hell does?”
A further detail that Ventura revealed on the Alex Jones Show which has not been picked up by mainstream media reports is the fact that Ventura’s lawyer was told the case could not go to a jury trial due to “secrecy reasons” related to national security.
“You cannot know what’s legal for the TSA to do or not, it’s considered national security, so there’s no way to know if you’re being abused or not,” said Ventura, adding, “The judge said it in the ruling, it’s secret and we have no way of knowing whether the Governor was abused or not.”
Speaking to the Alex Jones Show today, Ventura spoke of his fury about how an American citizen was not even allowed to go to court to defend the Bill of Rights, adding that from now on he would refer to the U.S. as the “Fascist States of America” and would refuse to stand for the national anthem.
Vowing to “never fly commercial” again, Ventura gave a passionate press conference today, expressing his anger at TSA grope down procedures that force people like himself with metal implants to go through humiliating pat downs every time they pass through airport security.
“I want a trial by jury. They tell me I can have a jury decide my fate!” Ventura said, refering to the judge who dismissed the case as a “coward”. “If given a jury, I will win,” he added.
Ventura said the fact that he would have to go to the lengths of becoming President simply to have his day in court with the TSA was ridiculous. Asked by a reporter whether he was planning to run, Ventura responded, “I’m thinking about it.”
“I will not, in a free country, be treated like a criminal,” said Ventura, adding that he and his wife intended to apply for Mexican citizenship.
Referring to 9/11, Ventura questioned the reasoning behind the whole war on terror. “George Bush said we were attacked because they were jealous of our freedoms. So we take away our freedoms so they won’t be jealous anymore?” he said. “I think they’re winning.”
During his interview on the Alex Jones Show, Ventura put out a ‘come and get me’ plea to the Libertarian Party, indicating that he will run for President if they approach him. Ventura has also said he would seriously consider being Ron Paul’s Vice-President pick if the Congressman was successful in the Republican nomination or if Paul ran as the Libertarian Party candidate.
Paul Joseph Watson is the editor and writer for Prison Planet.com. He is the author of Order Out Of Chaos. Watson is also a regular fill-in host for The Alex Jones Show.
Infowars.com
Friday, November 4, 2011
http://www.infowars.com/ventura-decries-fascist-america-after-judge-tosses-tsa-case
Former Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura said he would now refer to the country of his birth as the “Fascist States of America” after a judge dismissed his case challenging airport pat downs, adding that his only recourse now would be to run for President.
“Ventura made his comments outside the federal courthouse in St. Paul, where in January he sued to challenge the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) airport security procedures,” reports the Minneapolis Star Tribune. “The suit was thrown out because Congress set up the law so that all such challenges must be brought directly in Circuit Courts of Appeals, wrote U.S. District Judge Susan Richard Nelson.”
“They said they don’t have jurisdiction,” Ventura told reporters. “Well my question is if the federal courts don’t have jurisdiction over a constitutional question then who the hell does?”
A further detail that Ventura revealed on the Alex Jones Show which has not been picked up by mainstream media reports is the fact that Ventura’s lawyer was told the case could not go to a jury trial due to “secrecy reasons” related to national security.
“You cannot know what’s legal for the TSA to do or not, it’s considered national security, so there’s no way to know if you’re being abused or not,” said Ventura, adding, “The judge said it in the ruling, it’s secret and we have no way of knowing whether the Governor was abused or not.”
Speaking to the Alex Jones Show today, Ventura spoke of his fury about how an American citizen was not even allowed to go to court to defend the Bill of Rights, adding that from now on he would refer to the U.S. as the “Fascist States of America” and would refuse to stand for the national anthem.
Vowing to “never fly commercial” again, Ventura gave a passionate press conference today, expressing his anger at TSA grope down procedures that force people like himself with metal implants to go through humiliating pat downs every time they pass through airport security.
“I want a trial by jury. They tell me I can have a jury decide my fate!” Ventura said, refering to the judge who dismissed the case as a “coward”. “If given a jury, I will win,” he added.
Ventura said the fact that he would have to go to the lengths of becoming President simply to have his day in court with the TSA was ridiculous. Asked by a reporter whether he was planning to run, Ventura responded, “I’m thinking about it.”
“I will not, in a free country, be treated like a criminal,” said Ventura, adding that he and his wife intended to apply for Mexican citizenship.
Referring to 9/11, Ventura questioned the reasoning behind the whole war on terror. “George Bush said we were attacked because they were jealous of our freedoms. So we take away our freedoms so they won’t be jealous anymore?” he said. “I think they’re winning.”
During his interview on the Alex Jones Show, Ventura put out a ‘come and get me’ plea to the Libertarian Party, indicating that he will run for President if they approach him. Ventura has also said he would seriously consider being Ron Paul’s Vice-President pick if the Congressman was successful in the Republican nomination or if Paul ran as the Libertarian Party candidate.
Paul Joseph Watson is the editor and writer for Prison Planet.com. He is the author of Order Out Of Chaos. Watson is also a regular fill-in host for The Alex Jones Show.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
TSA agents grope high school students at prom security checkpoint
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
Editor of NaturalNews.com
http://www.naturalnews.com/032499_TSA_high_school.html
(NaturalNews) It seems like it was just last week that I warned NaturalNews readers about how the TSA was expanding to become the new Nazi Secret Police of America. Actually, it was just last week. And now, over the weekend, the TSA confirmed exactly what I was warning about: They have expanded their security checkpoint pat-down searches to high school prom night, which now involves TSA perverts feeling up high school girls in their formal dresses.
Recently the TSA threatened to set up a security checkpoint at the Sante Fe High School and conducted illegal searches on high school prom students there. The agency ultimately backed down and didn't go through with the checkpoint plan at that high school, but one month earlier at Capital High School, two students were sexually molested by the TSA and filed a lawsuit over the incident.
Describing the illogical and abusive TSA pat-down, high school student Candace Herrera said, "She grabbed my breast and grabbed the inner part of my bra and shook it and then picked up the front of my dress to like mid thigh. She was patting down my bare legs which kind of didn't make sense."
Of course it doesn't make sense. None of it makes sense. It doesn't make sense that the TSA, which was created to counter Bin Laden's mastermind plan to blow up airplanes, is now running security checkpoints at high school prom dances! Of all the places to find terrorists in America, does the high school prom rank anywhere near the top-100 locations?
This is all psyops to indoctrinate young people into accepting the police state
Let me lay it out here and explain what this is really all about. This is OBVIOUSLY not about terrorism. High school proms are not command headquarters for terror cells.
And secondly, if the TSA is patting down bare legs and thighs of high school girls, then that's obviously not a security pat-down but rather a form of molestation. No wonder the TSA specifically chose high school prom night to conduct its searches -- these TSA workers are all the perverts who never touched a girl when they went to prom night in high school, and now they're getting their shot!
As I already warned NaturalNews readers on multiple occasions, if we don't reel in this out-of-control rogue police state agency right now, the TSA will continue to expand its power until it is the new secret police of Amerika, running searches on street corners or conducting house-to-house pat-downs of entire neighborhoods, just because they can.
The American sheeple go right along with the rise of the Nazi TSA
There is no limiting the power grab by this rogue Nazi organization unless we stand up to them. And that brings up the question: Why did all the students, parents and teachers at these high schools go along with the TSA sexually molesting their girls?
The Sheeple, it seems, have become so "zombified" and dumbed down that they don't even recognize tyranny when they see it. When our own daughters and sisters are being sexually molested in the name of false "security" designed to keep the terrorists out of the prom dance hall, it has all become to utterly bizarre and mindless that I can hardly describe the lunacy of it. Has our nation really surrendered so completely to tyranny that we are going to let the TSA set up its security checkpoints anywhere and everywhere, then reach into our pants at dance events, sporting events, train stations, bus stations and probably soon shopping malls?
Are the American Sheeple really so brain dead that they will stand by and watch their Constitutional rights be utterly destroyed by this illegal, rogue agency known as the TSA?
The proper response
Let me describe the proper response of what should have happened at the high school when the TSA showed up and started feeling up the breasts and thighs of the students there.
First, when the TSA showed up, the principal should have told them to go away. "This is the prom, not a terrorism convention. Go home and leave our students alone."
Secondly, after the TSA started shoving their hands into the bras of the female students there, some brave student should have loudly protested, called 911 and requested the local police to arrive on the scene to arrest the TSA agents.
At that point, the local police should have pulled out their guns and arrested the TSA agents at gunpoint, then booked them with charges of molesting a teenage girl. The parents, meanwhile, should have held a protest rally at the high school to loudly protest this treatment of their daughters by this out-of-control government agency.
This would have been the proper response. But instead, we get nothing. No police. No sheriff. No protests. Only two students had the courage to stand up and file a lawsuit against the TSA. Even the school principal stood by and did absolutely nothing, further advocating the idea that students are subjects of the state and that if the government wants to reach down your pants (or inside your bra), they have the right to do that any time they want to.
When they come for you, there may be no one left to protest
I ask the question: When will America wake up and arrest these criminal TSA workers? When will we say, "Enough is enough!" and force Congress to de-fund this entire group? At what point will the Sheeple working slaves of America finally realize they are watching the unfolding of a Nazi-style police state right in front of their very eyes?
It all reminds me of just how easily the Nazi party rose to power in the 1930's. The German people just stood by and did nothing, too. It wasn't until the abuses of power turned to genocide that the rest of the world woke up and tried to do something about it; and even then, most of the German people simply tolerated the Nazis and did nothing to stand up against them.
The famous movie Schindler's List is an account of one courageous entrepreneur who decided to take a stand against the Nazi tyranny, yet he found himself virtually alone in taking that stand. History has proven that most of the mindless masses will go along with tyranny because that think like slaves and subjects rather than citizens.
What all this really proves is that New Mexico's high schools are failing to teach their students much about history. Because if they knew the true history of the world -- and how tyranny rises up and threatens freedom -- none of the students would put up with this TSA nonsense.
Didn't their history teachers teach them anything about the rise of tyranny in Nazi Germany? Or the British-controlled American colonies? Or Eastern Europe? Only someone who is completely ignorant of world history could stand by and watch the TSA rise to power in America today and not recognize what's really happening. Because what we are watching, dear readers, is the rise of an evil agency that will, if allowed to continue expanding, soon run its own secret prisons and secret courts where people are guilty until proven innocent.
We are watching America's freedoms crumble right before our eyes, and only a small handful of people who are familiar with world history seem to understand what's unfolding.
Any government body that does not recognize limits of power is a danger to the nation
That the TSA is running a security checkpoint at the local high school prom is not, in and of itself, the problem here. The problem is that the TSA thinks it CAN run security checkpoints anywhere it wants, without justification, without notification and without cause. This is how tyranny begins: First it's necessary for national security, and then it creeps into your cities, towns, schools and eventually your homes.
Mark my words: If we don't stop the TSA, they will eventually be running door-to-door searches on innocent Americans in complete violation of our Fourth Amendment rights.
People forget so easily, it seems, why we fought the War of Independence against the British Empire. British soldiers used to go house to house, entering homes, stealing valuables and groping the women. That's why our founding fathers specifically wrote the Fourth Amendment to prohibit such activities by any government or military force.
Remember, folks: The U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights is, in essence, an ANTI-GOVERNMENT document whose sole purpose is to limit the scope of government and protect the rights of the People. Today, America has forgotten that, and unless things are reversed very soon, they will escalate into the exact same abuses against our persons and our privacy that were once committed by the British Empire against the colonialists.
Those who do not learn the lessons of history, it is often said, are doomed to repeat them. And that's exactly what we are witnessing in America today. The rise of the TSA secret police is under way, and virtually no one is lifting a finger in protest. This is why the American people, in one sense, actually deserve the police state brutality they have brought onto themselves. If you don't stand up and protest now, then don't bother when they come for your wife, or husband or children. By the time they come for you it may very well be too late.
It is a truism of government that every government body or agency always seeks to gain more power and expand its reach. If allowed to do so, the TSA will grow like a cancer until it is the dominant secret police organization, dwarfing the power of local police and even the FBI.
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
Editor of NaturalNews.com
http://www.naturalnews.com/032499_TSA_high_school.html
(NaturalNews) It seems like it was just last week that I warned NaturalNews readers about how the TSA was expanding to become the new Nazi Secret Police of America. Actually, it was just last week. And now, over the weekend, the TSA confirmed exactly what I was warning about: They have expanded their security checkpoint pat-down searches to high school prom night, which now involves TSA perverts feeling up high school girls in their formal dresses.
Recently the TSA threatened to set up a security checkpoint at the Sante Fe High School and conducted illegal searches on high school prom students there. The agency ultimately backed down and didn't go through with the checkpoint plan at that high school, but one month earlier at Capital High School, two students were sexually molested by the TSA and filed a lawsuit over the incident.
Describing the illogical and abusive TSA pat-down, high school student Candace Herrera said, "She grabbed my breast and grabbed the inner part of my bra and shook it and then picked up the front of my dress to like mid thigh. She was patting down my bare legs which kind of didn't make sense."
Of course it doesn't make sense. None of it makes sense. It doesn't make sense that the TSA, which was created to counter Bin Laden's mastermind plan to blow up airplanes, is now running security checkpoints at high school prom dances! Of all the places to find terrorists in America, does the high school prom rank anywhere near the top-100 locations?
This is all psyops to indoctrinate young people into accepting the police state
Let me lay it out here and explain what this is really all about. This is OBVIOUSLY not about terrorism. High school proms are not command headquarters for terror cells.
And secondly, if the TSA is patting down bare legs and thighs of high school girls, then that's obviously not a security pat-down but rather a form of molestation. No wonder the TSA specifically chose high school prom night to conduct its searches -- these TSA workers are all the perverts who never touched a girl when they went to prom night in high school, and now they're getting their shot!
As I already warned NaturalNews readers on multiple occasions, if we don't reel in this out-of-control rogue police state agency right now, the TSA will continue to expand its power until it is the new secret police of Amerika, running searches on street corners or conducting house-to-house pat-downs of entire neighborhoods, just because they can.
The American sheeple go right along with the rise of the Nazi TSA
There is no limiting the power grab by this rogue Nazi organization unless we stand up to them. And that brings up the question: Why did all the students, parents and teachers at these high schools go along with the TSA sexually molesting their girls?
The Sheeple, it seems, have become so "zombified" and dumbed down that they don't even recognize tyranny when they see it. When our own daughters and sisters are being sexually molested in the name of false "security" designed to keep the terrorists out of the prom dance hall, it has all become to utterly bizarre and mindless that I can hardly describe the lunacy of it. Has our nation really surrendered so completely to tyranny that we are going to let the TSA set up its security checkpoints anywhere and everywhere, then reach into our pants at dance events, sporting events, train stations, bus stations and probably soon shopping malls?
Are the American Sheeple really so brain dead that they will stand by and watch their Constitutional rights be utterly destroyed by this illegal, rogue agency known as the TSA?
The proper response
Let me describe the proper response of what should have happened at the high school when the TSA showed up and started feeling up the breasts and thighs of the students there.
First, when the TSA showed up, the principal should have told them to go away. "This is the prom, not a terrorism convention. Go home and leave our students alone."
Secondly, after the TSA started shoving their hands into the bras of the female students there, some brave student should have loudly protested, called 911 and requested the local police to arrive on the scene to arrest the TSA agents.
At that point, the local police should have pulled out their guns and arrested the TSA agents at gunpoint, then booked them with charges of molesting a teenage girl. The parents, meanwhile, should have held a protest rally at the high school to loudly protest this treatment of their daughters by this out-of-control government agency.
This would have been the proper response. But instead, we get nothing. No police. No sheriff. No protests. Only two students had the courage to stand up and file a lawsuit against the TSA. Even the school principal stood by and did absolutely nothing, further advocating the idea that students are subjects of the state and that if the government wants to reach down your pants (or inside your bra), they have the right to do that any time they want to.
When they come for you, there may be no one left to protest
I ask the question: When will America wake up and arrest these criminal TSA workers? When will we say, "Enough is enough!" and force Congress to de-fund this entire group? At what point will the Sheeple working slaves of America finally realize they are watching the unfolding of a Nazi-style police state right in front of their very eyes?
It all reminds me of just how easily the Nazi party rose to power in the 1930's. The German people just stood by and did nothing, too. It wasn't until the abuses of power turned to genocide that the rest of the world woke up and tried to do something about it; and even then, most of the German people simply tolerated the Nazis and did nothing to stand up against them.
The famous movie Schindler's List is an account of one courageous entrepreneur who decided to take a stand against the Nazi tyranny, yet he found himself virtually alone in taking that stand. History has proven that most of the mindless masses will go along with tyranny because that think like slaves and subjects rather than citizens.
What all this really proves is that New Mexico's high schools are failing to teach their students much about history. Because if they knew the true history of the world -- and how tyranny rises up and threatens freedom -- none of the students would put up with this TSA nonsense.
Didn't their history teachers teach them anything about the rise of tyranny in Nazi Germany? Or the British-controlled American colonies? Or Eastern Europe? Only someone who is completely ignorant of world history could stand by and watch the TSA rise to power in America today and not recognize what's really happening. Because what we are watching, dear readers, is the rise of an evil agency that will, if allowed to continue expanding, soon run its own secret prisons and secret courts where people are guilty until proven innocent.
We are watching America's freedoms crumble right before our eyes, and only a small handful of people who are familiar with world history seem to understand what's unfolding.
Any government body that does not recognize limits of power is a danger to the nation
That the TSA is running a security checkpoint at the local high school prom is not, in and of itself, the problem here. The problem is that the TSA thinks it CAN run security checkpoints anywhere it wants, without justification, without notification and without cause. This is how tyranny begins: First it's necessary for national security, and then it creeps into your cities, towns, schools and eventually your homes.
Mark my words: If we don't stop the TSA, they will eventually be running door-to-door searches on innocent Americans in complete violation of our Fourth Amendment rights.
People forget so easily, it seems, why we fought the War of Independence against the British Empire. British soldiers used to go house to house, entering homes, stealing valuables and groping the women. That's why our founding fathers specifically wrote the Fourth Amendment to prohibit such activities by any government or military force.
Remember, folks: The U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights is, in essence, an ANTI-GOVERNMENT document whose sole purpose is to limit the scope of government and protect the rights of the People. Today, America has forgotten that, and unless things are reversed very soon, they will escalate into the exact same abuses against our persons and our privacy that were once committed by the British Empire against the colonialists.
Those who do not learn the lessons of history, it is often said, are doomed to repeat them. And that's exactly what we are witnessing in America today. The rise of the TSA secret police is under way, and virtually no one is lifting a finger in protest. This is why the American people, in one sense, actually deserve the police state brutality they have brought onto themselves. If you don't stand up and protest now, then don't bother when they come for your wife, or husband or children. By the time they come for you it may very well be too late.
It is a truism of government that every government body or agency always seeks to gain more power and expand its reach. If allowed to do so, the TSA will grow like a cancer until it is the dominant secret police organization, dwarfing the power of local police and even the FBI.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
TSA Still Molesting Kids
From PrisonPlanet.com:
TSA has defended the groping of a 6 year-old girl, saying it followed policy. Yet in Nov. 2010, TSA vowed no ‘enhanced’ pat-downs for children under 12.
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) contradicted itself, even to the point of outright lying, in responding to controversy about a 6 year-old girl who received a groping pat-down AFTER already being sent through a body scanner. The video went viral after appearing on DrudgeReport.com and many other sites. TSA typically explained away this unnerving experience that left the girl in tears by arguing that the action is perfectly normal, follows all procedures and keeps us safe from terrorism, all, of course, in the name of ‘safety.’
You see, the TSA rationalized in its latest defense that, “terrorists are willing to manipulate societal norms to evade detection.” Thus, TSA would have it, we must abandon societal norms [and laws] like not touching children in their private parts, and instead subject them to pre-crime inspections. According to the logic, no women & children, little old ladies or men handicapped in wheelchairs or implanted with modern medical devices, no body cavity or private part is safe from extensive probing by the “guardians” in government. As the Justice Department recently proclaimed, the TSA assumes the authority to literally strip-search people on demand.
So, the shocking video seen across the alternative blogosphere today was standard operating procedure, as the TSA pointed out in its most recent blog posting, ‘Screening of 6 Year-Old at MSY‘:
A video taken of one of our officers patting down a six year-old has attracted quite a bit of attention. Some folks are asking if the proper procedures were followed. Yes. TSA has reviewed the incident and the security officer in the video followed the current standard operating procedures.
Yet in a November 2010 posting ‘TSA Myth or Fact: Leaked Images, Handcuffed Hosts, Religious Garb, and More!,’ written in the hopes of dispelling ‘rumors’ about the new invasive pat-downs, Blogger Bob of the TSA claims that children under 12 are supposed to receive amodified pat-down.
Pat-downs Myths & Facts
Myth: All children will receive pat-downs.
Fact: TSA officers are trained to work with parents to ensure a respectful screening process for the entire family, while providing the best possible security for all travelers.Children 12 years old and under who require extra screening will receive a modified pat down.
So why did the little girl receive the full, invasive treatment, particularly after having already been screened via body scanner?
After all, the ‘modified’ TSA policy was even publicly announced back in November, as in the USA Today article, “No ‘enhanced’ pat-downs for kids, TSA says.” It cites comments from TSA spokeswoman Kristin Lee who stated, “After a thorough risk assessment and after hearing concerns from parents, we made the decision that a modified pat-down would be used for children 12 years old and under who require extra screening.”
Further, the TSA blog deceives the public over the perception that pat-downs only occur for passengers who opt-out of the scanners, writing, “Only passengers who alarm a walk through metal detector or AIT machine or opt out of the AIT receive a pat-down.” However, the girl’s parents revealed what the video did not show– that their child had already been sent through the body scanners, and was then selected for a groping ‘enhanced’ pat-down. If the girl somehow alerted the scanner, the TSA did not disclose that fact to her parents when they asked why she was receiving the additional screening. In fact, the parents were given no reason, but were instead threatened non-verbally to comply with their daughter’s pat-down or face ‘trouble,’ as they told Good Morning America. Is intimidation part of the official policy, too?
Adding insult to injury, the TSA has previously lied about the fact that body scanners can store nude images of the passengers it surveys (and have done so) . Couple that with the controversy raised over the fact that body scanners violate many child indecency laws, or that numerous cases have arisen over perverted and/or criminal TSA employees abusing their power. These parents weren’t comfortable with an officer touching their child, and they shouldn’t be comfortable sending their kids through naked body scanners either. WeWontFly.com, an organization who helped launch the would-be protests against scanners last Thanksgiving, have initiated a campaign demanding an end to pat-downs for children. Second that, but for scanners, too – scanners are both invasive and dangerous, all the more so on both counts for children...
Busted: TSA lied about promise not to grope children
Aaron Dykes
April 14, 2011
http://www.prisonplanet.com/busted-tsa-lied-about-promise-not-to-grope-children.html
TSA has defended the groping of a 6 year-old girl, saying it followed policy. Yet in Nov. 2010, TSA vowed no ‘enhanced’ pat-downs for children under 12.
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) contradicted itself, even to the point of outright lying, in responding to controversy about a 6 year-old girl who received a groping pat-down AFTER already being sent through a body scanner. The video went viral after appearing on DrudgeReport.com and many other sites. TSA typically explained away this unnerving experience that left the girl in tears by arguing that the action is perfectly normal, follows all procedures and keeps us safe from terrorism, all, of course, in the name of ‘safety.’
You see, the TSA rationalized in its latest defense that, “terrorists are willing to manipulate societal norms to evade detection.” Thus, TSA would have it, we must abandon societal norms [and laws] like not touching children in their private parts, and instead subject them to pre-crime inspections. According to the logic, no women & children, little old ladies or men handicapped in wheelchairs or implanted with modern medical devices, no body cavity or private part is safe from extensive probing by the “guardians” in government. As the Justice Department recently proclaimed, the TSA assumes the authority to literally strip-search people on demand.
So, the shocking video seen across the alternative blogosphere today was standard operating procedure, as the TSA pointed out in its most recent blog posting, ‘Screening of 6 Year-Old at MSY‘:
A video taken of one of our officers patting down a six year-old has attracted quite a bit of attention. Some folks are asking if the proper procedures were followed. Yes. TSA has reviewed the incident and the security officer in the video followed the current standard operating procedures.
Yet in a November 2010 posting ‘TSA Myth or Fact: Leaked Images, Handcuffed Hosts, Religious Garb, and More!,’ written in the hopes of dispelling ‘rumors’ about the new invasive pat-downs, Blogger Bob of the TSA claims that children under 12 are supposed to receive amodified pat-down.
Pat-downs Myths & Facts
Myth: All children will receive pat-downs.
Fact: TSA officers are trained to work with parents to ensure a respectful screening process for the entire family, while providing the best possible security for all travelers.Children 12 years old and under who require extra screening will receive a modified pat down.
So why did the little girl receive the full, invasive treatment, particularly after having already been screened via body scanner?
After all, the ‘modified’ TSA policy was even publicly announced back in November, as in the USA Today article, “No ‘enhanced’ pat-downs for kids, TSA says.” It cites comments from TSA spokeswoman Kristin Lee who stated, “After a thorough risk assessment and after hearing concerns from parents, we made the decision that a modified pat-down would be used for children 12 years old and under who require extra screening.”
Further, the TSA blog deceives the public over the perception that pat-downs only occur for passengers who opt-out of the scanners, writing, “Only passengers who alarm a walk through metal detector or AIT machine or opt out of the AIT receive a pat-down.” However, the girl’s parents revealed what the video did not show– that their child had already been sent through the body scanners, and was then selected for a groping ‘enhanced’ pat-down. If the girl somehow alerted the scanner, the TSA did not disclose that fact to her parents when they asked why she was receiving the additional screening. In fact, the parents were given no reason, but were instead threatened non-verbally to comply with their daughter’s pat-down or face ‘trouble,’ as they told Good Morning America. Is intimidation part of the official policy, too?
Adding insult to injury, the TSA has previously lied about the fact that body scanners can store nude images of the passengers it surveys (and have done so) . Couple that with the controversy raised over the fact that body scanners violate many child indecency laws, or that numerous cases have arisen over perverted and/or criminal TSA employees abusing their power. These parents weren’t comfortable with an officer touching their child, and they shouldn’t be comfortable sending their kids through naked body scanners either. WeWontFly.com, an organization who helped launch the would-be protests against scanners last Thanksgiving, have initiated a campaign demanding an end to pat-downs for children. Second that, but for scanners, too – scanners are both invasive and dangerous, all the more so on both counts for children...
Busted: TSA lied about promise not to grope children
Aaron Dykes
April 14, 2011
http://www.prisonplanet.com/busted-tsa-lied-about-promise-not-to-grope-children.html
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
TSA Radiation Level 10 Times Higher than Expected
From USAToday.com:
The Transportation Security Administration announced Friday that it would retest every full-body X-ray scanner that emits ionizing radiation — 247 machines at 38 airports — after maintenance records on some of the devices showed radiation levels 10 times higher than expected.
The TSA says that the records reflect math mistakes and that all the machines are safe. Indeed, even the highest readings listed on some of the records — the numbers that the TSA says were mistakes — appear to be many times less than what the agency says a person absorbs through one day of natural background radiation.
Even so, the TSA has ordered the new tests out of "an abundance of caution to reassure the public," spokesman Nicholas Kimball says. The tests will be finished by the end of the month, and the results will be released "as they are completed," the agency said on its website.
TSA officials have repeatedly assured the public and lawmakers that the machines have passed all inspections. The agency's review of maintenance reports, launched Dec. 10, came only after USA TODAY and lawmakers called for the release of the records late last year.
The agency posted reports Friday from 127 X-ray-emitting devices on its website and said it would continue to release results from maintenance tests for the approximately 4,500 X-ray devices at airports nationwide. Those devices include machines that examine checked luggage. Of the reports posted, about a third showed some sort of error, Kimball said.
The TSA announced steps to require its maintenance contractors to "retrain personnel involved in conducting and overseeing the radiation survey process."
Some lawmakers remain concerned, however.
The TSA "has repeatedly assured me that the machines that emit radiation do not pose a health risk," Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said in a written statement Friday. "Nonetheless, if TSA contractors reporting on the radiation levels have done such a poor job, how can airline passengers and crew have confidence in the data used by the TSA to reassure the public?"
She said the records released Friday "included gross errors about radiation emissions. That is completely unacceptable when it comes to monitoring radiation."
U.S. Rep. Jason Chaffetz also was troubled by the information posted by the TSA. Chaffetz, R-Utah, chairs a House oversight subcommittee on national security and has sponsored legislation to limit the use of full-body scans. He has been pushing the TSA to release the maintenance records.
At best, Chaffetz said, the radiation reports generated by TSA contractors reveal haphazard oversight and record-keeping in the critical inspection system the agency relies upon to ensure millions of travelers aren't subjected to excessive doses of radiation.
"It is totally unacceptable to be bumbling such critical tasks," Chaffetz said. "These people are supposed to be protecting us against terrorists."
In the past, the TSA has failed to properly monitor and ensure the safety of X-ray devices used on luggage. A 2008 report by the worker safety arm of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that the TSA and its maintenance contractors had failed to detect when baggage X-ray machines emitted radiation beyond what regulations allowed. They also failed to take action when some machines had missing or disabled safety features, the report shows.
Chaffetz said the TSA's characterization of the maintenance mistakes "sounds like an excuse rather than the real facts."
"I'm tired of excuses," Chaffetz said. "The public has a right and deserves to know. It begs the question, 'What are they still not sharing with us?' These are things you cannot make mistakes with." Chaffetz said he expects to address some of his concerns during a hearing Wednesday.
The full-body scanners, called backscatter devices, are supposed to deliver only a tiny amount of radiation — about as much as an airplane passenger gets during two minutes of a typical flight.
Peter Rez, a physics professor at Arizona State University, said Friday he wanted to scrutinize the 2,000 pages of reports the TSA posted. He has expressed concerns about the potential for the scanners to break and the importance of proper maintenance and monitoring.
"Mechanical things break down," Rez told USA TODAY in December. Rez also has voiced fears about the potential for a passenger to get an excessive dose of radiation or even a radiation burn if the X-ray scanning beam were to malfunction and stop on one part of a person's body for an extended period of time...
TSA to retest airport body scanners for radiation
Alison Young and Blake Morrison
3-11-2011
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2011-03-11-tsa-scans_N.htm
The Transportation Security Administration announced Friday that it would retest every full-body X-ray scanner that emits ionizing radiation — 247 machines at 38 airports — after maintenance records on some of the devices showed radiation levels 10 times higher than expected.
The TSA says that the records reflect math mistakes and that all the machines are safe. Indeed, even the highest readings listed on some of the records — the numbers that the TSA says were mistakes — appear to be many times less than what the agency says a person absorbs through one day of natural background radiation.
Even so, the TSA has ordered the new tests out of "an abundance of caution to reassure the public," spokesman Nicholas Kimball says. The tests will be finished by the end of the month, and the results will be released "as they are completed," the agency said on its website.
TSA officials have repeatedly assured the public and lawmakers that the machines have passed all inspections. The agency's review of maintenance reports, launched Dec. 10, came only after USA TODAY and lawmakers called for the release of the records late last year.
The agency posted reports Friday from 127 X-ray-emitting devices on its website and said it would continue to release results from maintenance tests for the approximately 4,500 X-ray devices at airports nationwide. Those devices include machines that examine checked luggage. Of the reports posted, about a third showed some sort of error, Kimball said.
The TSA announced steps to require its maintenance contractors to "retrain personnel involved in conducting and overseeing the radiation survey process."
Some lawmakers remain concerned, however.
The TSA "has repeatedly assured me that the machines that emit radiation do not pose a health risk," Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said in a written statement Friday. "Nonetheless, if TSA contractors reporting on the radiation levels have done such a poor job, how can airline passengers and crew have confidence in the data used by the TSA to reassure the public?"
She said the records released Friday "included gross errors about radiation emissions. That is completely unacceptable when it comes to monitoring radiation."
U.S. Rep. Jason Chaffetz also was troubled by the information posted by the TSA. Chaffetz, R-Utah, chairs a House oversight subcommittee on national security and has sponsored legislation to limit the use of full-body scans. He has been pushing the TSA to release the maintenance records.
At best, Chaffetz said, the radiation reports generated by TSA contractors reveal haphazard oversight and record-keeping in the critical inspection system the agency relies upon to ensure millions of travelers aren't subjected to excessive doses of radiation.
"It is totally unacceptable to be bumbling such critical tasks," Chaffetz said. "These people are supposed to be protecting us against terrorists."
In the past, the TSA has failed to properly monitor and ensure the safety of X-ray devices used on luggage. A 2008 report by the worker safety arm of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that the TSA and its maintenance contractors had failed to detect when baggage X-ray machines emitted radiation beyond what regulations allowed. They also failed to take action when some machines had missing or disabled safety features, the report shows.
Chaffetz said the TSA's characterization of the maintenance mistakes "sounds like an excuse rather than the real facts."
"I'm tired of excuses," Chaffetz said. "The public has a right and deserves to know. It begs the question, 'What are they still not sharing with us?' These are things you cannot make mistakes with." Chaffetz said he expects to address some of his concerns during a hearing Wednesday.
The full-body scanners, called backscatter devices, are supposed to deliver only a tiny amount of radiation — about as much as an airplane passenger gets during two minutes of a typical flight.
Peter Rez, a physics professor at Arizona State University, said Friday he wanted to scrutinize the 2,000 pages of reports the TSA posted. He has expressed concerns about the potential for the scanners to break and the importance of proper maintenance and monitoring.
"Mechanical things break down," Rez told USA TODAY in December. Rez also has voiced fears about the potential for a passenger to get an excessive dose of radiation or even a radiation burn if the X-ray scanning beam were to malfunction and stop on one part of a person's body for an extended period of time...
TSA to retest airport body scanners for radiation
Alison Young and Blake Morrison
3-11-2011
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2011-03-11-tsa-scans_N.htm
Monday, March 14, 2011
Airport ‘Nude’ Body Scanners: Are They Effective?
David Kravets
March 8, 2011
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2011/03/scanners-part3
The body scanners rolling out to airports nationwide may violate travelers’ privacy, and they might even cause cancer.
But they prevent terrorists from wreaking havoc. Or do they?
Some research claims the machines — which produce a virtual nude image of the body — might not detect explosives or even guns taped to a person’s body. The U.S. government has reservations about their efficacy, as well. And even proponents of the technology concede the machines are not designed to detect so-called “booty bombs” — explosive devices concealed inside the human body.
“It’s not a possibility of the technology,” said Peter Kant, executive vice president of Los Angeles-based Rapiscan Systems, which has deployed 250 of its backscatter X-ray devices and another 250 are on the way. “None of the body scanners used by TSA are capable of doing that. They’re not designed to do that nor is it a requirement.”
Along with potential health issues, the efficacy of the so-called “advanced imaging technology” scanners will be a key issue Thursday when a high-profile lawsuit filed by the Electronic Privacy Information Center is heard by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. EPIC is challenging the TSA, which last year began placing about 500 of the $180,000 machines in 78 airports nationwide. Hundreds more machines are to be deployed this year.
EPIC is seeking a court order to halt the use of the scanners, on the grounds that the devices pose a health danger, are ineffective and breach Americans’ constitutional right of privacy. Because Fourth Amendment questions tend to balance the privacy invasion against the government’s legitimate interest in performing it, the TSA will have to make the case that the scanners — introduced nearly a decade after the Sept. 11 attacks — are an important bulwark against future airline terrorism.
“The ultimate question under the Fourth Amendment is reasonableness,” said Ginger McCall, an EPIC attorney on the case. “If they’re ineffective and put people at a health risk, it’s going to be an unreasonable method.”
According to a heavily redacted TSA procurement directive EPIC obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, the TSA required that the devices detect explosives, weapons, liquids and “other anomalies.” Several studies, though, point to limitations in the machines.
The Government Accountability Office — Congress’ investigative arm — concluded in a report last year that AIT scanners might well not have found the explosives concealed in the underwear of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab. The Nigerian tried to detonate plastic explosives on a flight to Detroit from Amsterdam on Christmas 2009. (He did not go through a body scanner in Amsterdam.)
“It is unclear whether the AIT or other technologies would have been able to detect the weapon Mr. Abdulmutallab used in his attempted attack,” the GAO wrote.
Kant disputes the GAO report, and says his Rapiscan scanners would have stopped the “Underwear Bomber,” who was ultimately thwarted by poor bomb design and alert passengers. “We feel very confident we would have detected that if he had gone through the system before boarding the plane,” Kant said.
New York-based L-3 Communications, the government’s only other body-scanner contractor, declined to be interviewed.
A study published in the November edition of the Journal of Transportation Security suggested terrorists might fool the Rapiscan machines and others like it employing the X-ray “backscatter” technique. A terrorist, the report found, could tape a thin film of explosives of about 15-20 centimeters in diameter to the stomach and walk through the machine undetected.
The L-3 machines use what is known as “millimeter wave technology” and were not the focus of the study.
The report said an explosive, such as pentaerythritol tetranitrate, “would be invisible to this technology, ironically, because of its large volume, since it is easily confused with normal anatomy.” The report found that “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.”
The TSA, though, says the technology is a significant improvement over metal detectors that failed to stop Abdulmutallab.
“While there is no silver bullet technology, advanced imaging technology is a highly effective security tool which can detect both metallic and nonmetallic threats, including weapons and explosives,” Sarah Horowitz, a TSA spokeswoman, wrote in an e-mail. “Using this critical technology, TSA routinely detects artfully concealed metallic and nonmetallic prohibited items.”
Horowitz added that the machines detected more than “130 prohibited, illegal or dangerous items at checkpoints nationwide since January of last year.”
Oral arguments in the lawsuit are scheduled for 9:30 a.m. EST on Thursday. Threat Level will cover the hearing from the courtroom.
March 8, 2011
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2011/03/scanners-part3
The body scanners rolling out to airports nationwide may violate travelers’ privacy, and they might even cause cancer.
But they prevent terrorists from wreaking havoc. Or do they?
Some research claims the machines — which produce a virtual nude image of the body — might not detect explosives or even guns taped to a person’s body. The U.S. government has reservations about their efficacy, as well. And even proponents of the technology concede the machines are not designed to detect so-called “booty bombs” — explosive devices concealed inside the human body.
“It’s not a possibility of the technology,” said Peter Kant, executive vice president of Los Angeles-based Rapiscan Systems, which has deployed 250 of its backscatter X-ray devices and another 250 are on the way. “None of the body scanners used by TSA are capable of doing that. They’re not designed to do that nor is it a requirement.”
Along with potential health issues, the efficacy of the so-called “advanced imaging technology” scanners will be a key issue Thursday when a high-profile lawsuit filed by the Electronic Privacy Information Center is heard by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. EPIC is challenging the TSA, which last year began placing about 500 of the $180,000 machines in 78 airports nationwide. Hundreds more machines are to be deployed this year.
EPIC is seeking a court order to halt the use of the scanners, on the grounds that the devices pose a health danger, are ineffective and breach Americans’ constitutional right of privacy. Because Fourth Amendment questions tend to balance the privacy invasion against the government’s legitimate interest in performing it, the TSA will have to make the case that the scanners — introduced nearly a decade after the Sept. 11 attacks — are an important bulwark against future airline terrorism.
“The ultimate question under the Fourth Amendment is reasonableness,” said Ginger McCall, an EPIC attorney on the case. “If they’re ineffective and put people at a health risk, it’s going to be an unreasonable method.”
According to a heavily redacted TSA procurement directive EPIC obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, the TSA required that the devices detect explosives, weapons, liquids and “other anomalies.” Several studies, though, point to limitations in the machines.
The Government Accountability Office — Congress’ investigative arm — concluded in a report last year that AIT scanners might well not have found the explosives concealed in the underwear of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab. The Nigerian tried to detonate plastic explosives on a flight to Detroit from Amsterdam on Christmas 2009. (He did not go through a body scanner in Amsterdam.)
“It is unclear whether the AIT or other technologies would have been able to detect the weapon Mr. Abdulmutallab used in his attempted attack,” the GAO wrote.
Kant disputes the GAO report, and says his Rapiscan scanners would have stopped the “Underwear Bomber,” who was ultimately thwarted by poor bomb design and alert passengers. “We feel very confident we would have detected that if he had gone through the system before boarding the plane,” Kant said.
New York-based L-3 Communications, the government’s only other body-scanner contractor, declined to be interviewed.
A study published in the November edition of the Journal of Transportation Security suggested terrorists might fool the Rapiscan machines and others like it employing the X-ray “backscatter” technique. A terrorist, the report found, could tape a thin film of explosives of about 15-20 centimeters in diameter to the stomach and walk through the machine undetected.
The L-3 machines use what is known as “millimeter wave technology” and were not the focus of the study.
The report said an explosive, such as pentaerythritol tetranitrate, “would be invisible to this technology, ironically, because of its large volume, since it is easily confused with normal anatomy.” The report found that “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.”
The TSA, though, says the technology is a significant improvement over metal detectors that failed to stop Abdulmutallab.
“While there is no silver bullet technology, advanced imaging technology is a highly effective security tool which can detect both metallic and nonmetallic threats, including weapons and explosives,” Sarah Horowitz, a TSA spokeswoman, wrote in an e-mail. “Using this critical technology, TSA routinely detects artfully concealed metallic and nonmetallic prohibited items.”
Horowitz added that the machines detected more than “130 prohibited, illegal or dangerous items at checkpoints nationwide since January of last year.”
Oral arguments in the lawsuit are scheduled for 9:30 a.m. EST on Thursday. Threat Level will cover the hearing from the courtroom.
Saturday, February 19, 2011
TSA: Trust Us, Our Machines Are Safe
From USA Today:
The Transportation Security Administration has told members of Congress that more than 15 million passengers received full-body scans at airports without any malfunctions that put travelers at risk of an excessive radiation dose.
Despite the reassurance, however, the TSA has yet to release radiation inspection reports for its X-ray equipment — two months after lawmakers called for them to be made public following USA TODAY's requests to review the reports.
TSA spokesman Kristin Lee says that the agency is still trying to ensure that the reports don't contain any "sensitive security or privacy-protected information" and that she expects they will be released "within the next few weeks."
The chairman of a House oversight committee on homeland defense calls the delays "inexcusable."
"The public has a right to know, and there isn't something so sensitive that requires holding it back," said Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah. Chaffetz has sponsored legislation to limit the use of full-body scans.
The TSA's increased use of full-body X-ray scanners sparked traveler concerns last fall about radiation safety. The TSA says the radiation dose is tiny — equivalent to what a person receives during two minutes inside an airplane at cruising altitude.
Fueling concerns about the potential for scanner malfunctions and the TSA's ability to identify problems: a 2008 report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that found the TSA and its contractors had failed in the past to detect when some baggage X-ray machines were emitting excessive levels of radiation or had safety features that were missing or disabled...
'Inexcusable' delay on TSA body-scanner safety reports
Alison Young
2-9-11
http://www.usatoday.com/travel/flights/2011-02-09-tsa09_ST_N.htm
The Transportation Security Administration has told members of Congress that more than 15 million passengers received full-body scans at airports without any malfunctions that put travelers at risk of an excessive radiation dose.
Despite the reassurance, however, the TSA has yet to release radiation inspection reports for its X-ray equipment — two months after lawmakers called for them to be made public following USA TODAY's requests to review the reports.
TSA spokesman Kristin Lee says that the agency is still trying to ensure that the reports don't contain any "sensitive security or privacy-protected information" and that she expects they will be released "within the next few weeks."
The chairman of a House oversight committee on homeland defense calls the delays "inexcusable."
"The public has a right to know, and there isn't something so sensitive that requires holding it back," said Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah. Chaffetz has sponsored legislation to limit the use of full-body scans.
The TSA's increased use of full-body X-ray scanners sparked traveler concerns last fall about radiation safety. The TSA says the radiation dose is tiny — equivalent to what a person receives during two minutes inside an airplane at cruising altitude.
Fueling concerns about the potential for scanner malfunctions and the TSA's ability to identify problems: a 2008 report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that found the TSA and its contractors had failed in the past to detect when some baggage X-ray machines were emitting excessive levels of radiation or had safety features that were missing or disabled...
'Inexcusable' delay on TSA body-scanner safety reports
Alison Young
2-9-11
http://www.usatoday.com/travel/flights/2011-02-09-tsa09_ST_N.htm
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Jesse Ventura Vs. The TSA and DHS
After a brief media frenzy in November, news reports on the TSA abuse of airline passengers have nearly disappeared. Fortunately, that may be changing thanks to a lawsuit filed by Jesse Ventura. As reported by PrisonPlanet.com:
Former Governor Jesse Ventura has taken steps to sue the TSA and the Department of Homeland Security, naming their chiefs John Pistole and ‘Big Sis’ Janet Napolitano in a lawsuit that will take on invasive airport pat-downs. Ventura first told Alex Jones of his intent to sue the TSA privately back in November while traveling for the making of TruTV’s “Conspiracy Theory,” expressing grave concern about what he viewed as his country’s transformation into East Germany...
Ventura filed his lawsuit Monday, January 24, 2011 in Minnesota and news reports have named David Olsen as his lawyer. The former governor has indicated that his suit will include violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the 4th Amendment, arguing that he and others with disabilities have been discriminated against and unduly singled out by TSA despite presenting no threat and warranting no reason for lawful search. Further, Ventura has argued that his ability to travel freely has been infringed, hampering his ability to work.
The good news is Ventura has a great chance of winning, in no small part due to the TSA policies being bad for business. As PrisonPlanet.com notes: "Tourism is down by billions of dollars; angry travel and vacation industry representatives tried to get TSA to back down, citing some 41 million potential fliers who ‘avoided’ travel due to anxiety over airport security."
Ventura Strikes Back with Lawsuit Against TSA
Aaron Dykes & Alex Jones
January 25, 2011
http://www.prisonplanet.com/ventura-strikes-back-with-lawsuit-against-tsa.html
Former Governor Jesse Ventura has taken steps to sue the TSA and the Department of Homeland Security, naming their chiefs John Pistole and ‘Big Sis’ Janet Napolitano in a lawsuit that will take on invasive airport pat-downs. Ventura first told Alex Jones of his intent to sue the TSA privately back in November while traveling for the making of TruTV’s “Conspiracy Theory,” expressing grave concern about what he viewed as his country’s transformation into East Germany...
Ventura filed his lawsuit Monday, January 24, 2011 in Minnesota and news reports have named David Olsen as his lawyer. The former governor has indicated that his suit will include violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the 4th Amendment, arguing that he and others with disabilities have been discriminated against and unduly singled out by TSA despite presenting no threat and warranting no reason for lawful search. Further, Ventura has argued that his ability to travel freely has been infringed, hampering his ability to work.
The good news is Ventura has a great chance of winning, in no small part due to the TSA policies being bad for business. As PrisonPlanet.com notes: "Tourism is down by billions of dollars; angry travel and vacation industry representatives tried to get TSA to back down, citing some 41 million potential fliers who ‘avoided’ travel due to anxiety over airport security."
Ventura Strikes Back with Lawsuit Against TSA
Aaron Dykes & Alex Jones
January 25, 2011
http://www.prisonplanet.com/ventura-strikes-back-with-lawsuit-against-tsa.html
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Maybe the TSA Has Gone a Little Bit Too Far...
The mainstream news cycle has dropped the story of TSA airline passenger abuse, but that doesn't mean it isn't still happening.
From RawStory.com comes this little tale. Claire Hirschkind, a 56-year-old woman with a pacemaker, was unable to go through the TSA's porno scanners due to potential dangers to her life-saving device. Instead, they demanded to give her an "enhanced patdown" - which is a nice euphemism for being finger fucked. Ms. Hirschkind, a rape victim, refused: "I told them, 'No, I'm not going to have my breasts felt,' and she said, 'Yes, you are.'" She was pushed to the floor, handcuffed and arrested. Of course, this gross violation of the Fourth Amendment would be disgusting without the added circumstances, but in her case it is decidedly an even greater outrage...
Rape victim arrested for refusing TSA pat down
Eric W. Dolan
Friday, December 24th, 2010
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/12/rape-victim-arrested-refusing-tsa-pat
From RawStory.com comes this little tale. Claire Hirschkind, a 56-year-old woman with a pacemaker, was unable to go through the TSA's porno scanners due to potential dangers to her life-saving device. Instead, they demanded to give her an "enhanced patdown" - which is a nice euphemism for being finger fucked. Ms. Hirschkind, a rape victim, refused: "I told them, 'No, I'm not going to have my breasts felt,' and she said, 'Yes, you are.'" She was pushed to the floor, handcuffed and arrested. Of course, this gross violation of the Fourth Amendment would be disgusting without the added circumstances, but in her case it is decidedly an even greater outrage...
Rape victim arrested for refusing TSA pat down
Eric W. Dolan
Friday, December 24th, 2010
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/12/rape-victim-arrested-refusing-tsa-pat
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
‘Why Pat Down Mom And Not Me?’ TSA Replies “You Don’t Have Boobs”
http://www.prisonplanet.com/boy-asks-tsa-why-pat-down-mom-and-not-me-tsa-replies-you-dont-have-boobs.html
Boy Asks TSA ‘Why Pat Down Mom And Not Me?’, TSA Replies “You Don’t Have Boobs”
Open admission that women are targets of airport groping
Steve Watson
Prisonplanet.com
Tuesday, Dec 14th, 2010
A California woman is suing the TSA following an incident at Albuquerque International Sunport where she was subjected to an invasive breast groping in full public view by the TSA, despite making it known that she had been forced to undergo a mastectomy last year.
Adrienne Durso describes how a female TSA officer pulled her out of line after she had gone through the metal detector and proceeded to pat her down, “Heavily concentrating on my breast area” in a search that “just seemed to go on and on”.
Relating her story to KOB Eyewitness News 4, Ms. Durso explained how she was made to feel humiliated in front of her seventeen year old son and the rest of the queuing passengers.
“I felt as though I didn’t have any rights other than I had to stand there and let them do what they want to do to my body,” Durso said.
Feeling violated and embarrassed, Ms. Durso asked to speak to a TSA supervisor.
As if things couldn’t get any worse, when the supervisor arrived and Ms. Durso’s son asked why he had also not been subjected to the body search, the TSA agent told the boy “well you don’t have boobs”.
Following that statement, Ms. Durso decided to take legal action, with her attorney arguing that the incident is a violation of 4th Amendment rights and constitutes unreasonable search and seizure.
Details of the lawsuit can be accessed here.
“I thought, ‘you know, surely this story must mean something to somebody, maybe this will help somebody who is trying to change the situation at airports because I don’t think anybody should have to go through this,” Ms. Durso added.
Clearly the TSA supervisor who made the lewd statement is either just plain stupid or took such umbrage with a seventeen year old boy daring to question his actions, that he snapped back with the statement as a pathetic way of re-exerting authority, suggesting that ‘yes the TSA can grope your mom’s breasts if it wants to and there’s nothing you can do about it boy’.
There have been scores of complaints against the TSA recently by women who say they were singled out for enhanced screening based on their figures.
Eliana Sutherland recently flew from Orlando International Airport and told Local 6 News she felt the two male TSA workers were staring at her breasts and chose her for additional screening because of their size.
“It was pretty obvious. One of the guys that was staring me up and down was the one who pulled me over,” said Sutherland. “Not a comfortable feeling.”
Former Baywatch star Donna D’Errico also recently claimed she had been singled out for the same reasons.
Another disturbing incident, which is subject to an ongoing lawsuit, involved a 21-year-old college student from Amarillo Texas. The woman was passing through security at Corpus Christi airport on May 29 2008 when she was subjected to “extended search procedures” by the TSA.
“As the TSA agent was frisking plaintiff, the agent pulled the plaintiff’s blouse completely down, exposing plaintiffs’ breasts to everyone in the area,” the lawsuit said. “As would be expected, plaintiff was extremely embarrassed and humiliated.”
TSA workers continued to laugh and joke about the incident “for an extended period of time,” leaving the woman distraught and needing to be consoled. After the woman re-entered the boarding area, TSA workers continued to humiliate her over the incident.
“One male TSA employee expressed to the plaintiff that he wished he would have been there when she came through the first time and that ‘he would just have to watch the video,’” the suit said.
The woman filed an administrative claim against the TSA but was forced to launch a full lawsuit after the agency failed to respond.
The incident bears similarities to a 2002 case involving a pregnant woman who had her breasts exposed by TSA agents in public. Her husband was thrown in the airport jail for complaining about the treatment of his wife.
Other cases involve TSA agents making comments about the size of private parts, subjecting those involved to trauma and humiliation.
Despite these and thousands of other complaints against the TSA, and the fact that police are being called to look out for over enthusiastic TSA gropers, the agency still maintains that no fondling, groping or squeezing is taking place at airports at all.
——————————————————————
Steve Watson is the London based writer and editor at Alex Jones’ Infowars.net, and regular contributor to Prisonplanet.com. He has a Masters Degree in International Relations from the School of Politics at The University of Nottingham in England.
Boy Asks TSA ‘Why Pat Down Mom And Not Me?’, TSA Replies “You Don’t Have Boobs”
Open admission that women are targets of airport groping
Steve Watson
Prisonplanet.com
Tuesday, Dec 14th, 2010
A California woman is suing the TSA following an incident at Albuquerque International Sunport where she was subjected to an invasive breast groping in full public view by the TSA, despite making it known that she had been forced to undergo a mastectomy last year.
Adrienne Durso describes how a female TSA officer pulled her out of line after she had gone through the metal detector and proceeded to pat her down, “Heavily concentrating on my breast area” in a search that “just seemed to go on and on”.
Relating her story to KOB Eyewitness News 4, Ms. Durso explained how she was made to feel humiliated in front of her seventeen year old son and the rest of the queuing passengers.
“I felt as though I didn’t have any rights other than I had to stand there and let them do what they want to do to my body,” Durso said.
Feeling violated and embarrassed, Ms. Durso asked to speak to a TSA supervisor.
As if things couldn’t get any worse, when the supervisor arrived and Ms. Durso’s son asked why he had also not been subjected to the body search, the TSA agent told the boy “well you don’t have boobs”.
Following that statement, Ms. Durso decided to take legal action, with her attorney arguing that the incident is a violation of 4th Amendment rights and constitutes unreasonable search and seizure.
Details of the lawsuit can be accessed here.
“I thought, ‘you know, surely this story must mean something to somebody, maybe this will help somebody who is trying to change the situation at airports because I don’t think anybody should have to go through this,” Ms. Durso added.
Clearly the TSA supervisor who made the lewd statement is either just plain stupid or took such umbrage with a seventeen year old boy daring to question his actions, that he snapped back with the statement as a pathetic way of re-exerting authority, suggesting that ‘yes the TSA can grope your mom’s breasts if it wants to and there’s nothing you can do about it boy’.
There have been scores of complaints against the TSA recently by women who say they were singled out for enhanced screening based on their figures.
Eliana Sutherland recently flew from Orlando International Airport and told Local 6 News she felt the two male TSA workers were staring at her breasts and chose her for additional screening because of their size.
“It was pretty obvious. One of the guys that was staring me up and down was the one who pulled me over,” said Sutherland. “Not a comfortable feeling.”
Former Baywatch star Donna D’Errico also recently claimed she had been singled out for the same reasons.
Another disturbing incident, which is subject to an ongoing lawsuit, involved a 21-year-old college student from Amarillo Texas. The woman was passing through security at Corpus Christi airport on May 29 2008 when she was subjected to “extended search procedures” by the TSA.
“As the TSA agent was frisking plaintiff, the agent pulled the plaintiff’s blouse completely down, exposing plaintiffs’ breasts to everyone in the area,” the lawsuit said. “As would be expected, plaintiff was extremely embarrassed and humiliated.”
TSA workers continued to laugh and joke about the incident “for an extended period of time,” leaving the woman distraught and needing to be consoled. After the woman re-entered the boarding area, TSA workers continued to humiliate her over the incident.
“One male TSA employee expressed to the plaintiff that he wished he would have been there when she came through the first time and that ‘he would just have to watch the video,’” the suit said.
The woman filed an administrative claim against the TSA but was forced to launch a full lawsuit after the agency failed to respond.
The incident bears similarities to a 2002 case involving a pregnant woman who had her breasts exposed by TSA agents in public. Her husband was thrown in the airport jail for complaining about the treatment of his wife.
Other cases involve TSA agents making comments about the size of private parts, subjecting those involved to trauma and humiliation.
Despite these and thousands of other complaints against the TSA, and the fact that police are being called to look out for over enthusiastic TSA gropers, the agency still maintains that no fondling, groping or squeezing is taking place at airports at all.
——————————————————————
Steve Watson is the London based writer and editor at Alex Jones’ Infowars.net, and regular contributor to Prisonplanet.com. He has a Masters Degree in International Relations from the School of Politics at The University of Nottingham in England.
Sunday, December 19, 2010
TSA refuses to release inspection reports about X-ray machine safety
http://www.naturalnews.com/030655_TSA_X-rays.html
TSA refuses to release inspection reports about X-ray machine safety
Wednesday, December 08, 2010
Jonathan Benson, staff writer
(NaturalNews) Airports have become a minefield of health hazards, and an investigation into airport safety has revealed that radiation emitted from various scanning machines is sometimes much higher than intended, putting workers and passengers at serious risk. And while the U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) insists that the machines are safe, the agency refuses to release the actual safety inspection reports to back its claim.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) conducted an investigation back in 2003 and 2004 exposing several X-ray machines that were in violation of federal radiation standards. Policy states that the TSA is in charge of inspecting its own machines, but the agency has allegedly neglected this responsibility for years, while continuing to install increasingly more X-ray machines like the new full-body scanners that emit even higher amounts of dangerous radiation.
Reporters from USA Today recently petitioned the TSA to release inspection reports for the 4,080 X-ray machines used across the country, as well as the 221 full-body scanners. But the TSA refused to release them while still insisting that they all passed inspection, even though the previous investigation had revealed that the agency has a track record of failing to identify faulty machines.
Some TSA workers have filed complaints about poor maintenance and monitoring of X-ray machines, citing high cancer rates among agency employees that regularly work near the machines. One employee requested that a hazard assessment be conducted, which the TSA denied because it said that at least three employees had to jointly make such a request for it to happen.
The TSA's blatant lack of transparency in verifying the safety of its machines points to the fact that something is amiss. Officials admit that some radiation is emitted from the machines, but that regular levels are below maximum thresholds. Even so, radiology experts say that perpetual exposure to even low-dose radiation from airport X-ray machines can lead to cancer and other health problems.
TSA refuses to release inspection reports about X-ray machine safety
Wednesday, December 08, 2010
Jonathan Benson, staff writer
(NaturalNews) Airports have become a minefield of health hazards, and an investigation into airport safety has revealed that radiation emitted from various scanning machines is sometimes much higher than intended, putting workers and passengers at serious risk. And while the U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) insists that the machines are safe, the agency refuses to release the actual safety inspection reports to back its claim.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) conducted an investigation back in 2003 and 2004 exposing several X-ray machines that were in violation of federal radiation standards. Policy states that the TSA is in charge of inspecting its own machines, but the agency has allegedly neglected this responsibility for years, while continuing to install increasingly more X-ray machines like the new full-body scanners that emit even higher amounts of dangerous radiation.
Reporters from USA Today recently petitioned the TSA to release inspection reports for the 4,080 X-ray machines used across the country, as well as the 221 full-body scanners. But the TSA refused to release them while still insisting that they all passed inspection, even though the previous investigation had revealed that the agency has a track record of failing to identify faulty machines.
Some TSA workers have filed complaints about poor maintenance and monitoring of X-ray machines, citing high cancer rates among agency employees that regularly work near the machines. One employee requested that a hazard assessment be conducted, which the TSA denied because it said that at least three employees had to jointly make such a request for it to happen.
The TSA's blatant lack of transparency in verifying the safety of its machines points to the fact that something is amiss. Officials admit that some radiation is emitted from the machines, but that regular levels are below maximum thresholds. Even so, radiology experts say that perpetual exposure to even low-dose radiation from airport X-ray machines can lead to cancer and other health problems.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
TSA Caves On Pat Downs But Mandates Government Permission
http://www.prisonplanet.com/tsa-caves-on-pat-downs-but-mandates-government-permission-for-all-fliers.html
TSA Caves On Pat Downs But Mandates Government Permission For All Fliers
Pistole says airport security measures will be refined, but all fliers to be checked against dubious government watch list
Paul Joseph Watson
Prison Planet.com
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
In response to the national outcry surrounding invasive pat down measures, the TSA has been forced to refine its airport security procedures, but has simultaneously entrenched its policy that requires government permission for all Americans who wish to fly, creating what critics have labeled a Communist-style system of internal checkpoints.
After a public revolt against naked body scanners and TSA groping that was primarily spearheaded by the Drudge Report website, TSA chief John Pistole announced yesterday was looking at refining pat down procedures to make them “less intrusive.”
“Pistole said that the TSA will work “quickly” to determine whether there is a viable alternative but that he has no timetable,” reports the Washington Post today.
However, until such a time that the policy is changed, cases of rampant TSA abuse continue to occur, including a recent example where a young mother who was subjected to enhanced groping was subsequently locked inside a screening box for almost an hour by agents after she refused to allow them to put her breast milk through an x-ray device, a legitimate request that is even written into the TSA’s own guidelines.
Despite appearing to back down on hugely unpopular pat down measures, Pistole confirmed that every single passenger who flies in American skies is now checked against a government watch list before they are allowed to board a plane, meaning that every US citizen now requires de facto government permission to travel.
“The TSA began matching passengers against a watch list maintained by the FBI last year. By June, all passengers on domestic flights were being prescreened, and with Tuesday’s announcement, all international passengers headed to or from the United States are as well,” reports the Post.
Under the Secure Flight program, the TSA demands that passengers submit personal information 72 hours before being cleared to fly. While on the surface, this is justified by invoking the threat of terror, as we have seen from the MIAC report and others, the federal government now considers politically active Americans as potential terrorists, meaning that innocent travelers could find themselves on a watch list and barred from flying.
“By combining the requirement for government photo IDs in order to fly with checking government watchlists including potentially every passenger, “Secure Flight” puts the federal government into the business of licensing travel,” warns Michael Ostrolenk.
“What the government can allow one day, it can forbid the next. All things considered, isn’t this a higher-tech and later-day version of South African domestic passports or eastern European checkpoints? In fact, because of the high technological capacity of the U.S. version, aren’t its implications for travel control of plane, train, bus and subway travel much more far reaching? It’s incredible that something like this is happening relatively unrecognized in America.”
Indeed, the 9/11 Commission demanded that the dubious “no fly list” be extended to trains, boats and basically every form of travel, handing the feds the power to control the mobility of millions of Americans. Rahm Emanuel and Mayor Michael Bloomberg have also demanded that people on the no fly list be prevented from purchasing firearms.
The no fly list is merely one component of a 500,000-750,000 strong government “watch list” that has ensnared people like the late former Senator Ted Kennedy, former presidential candidate John Anderson, and many others including a Vermont college student, a retired Presbyterian minister and an ACLU employee. People with similar names to aliases used by alleged terrorists are automatically put on no fly lists and federal watch lists.
Unfortunately, government watchlists seem to have been more successful at causing problems for innocent people than they are at catching terrorists. Despite the fact that underwear bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was on a watch list, the US State Department refused to revoke his visa and allowed him to board Delta Flight 253, with the aid of a well-dressed Indian man who convinced airline officials to let Abdulmutallab on the Christmas Day flight.
Paul Joseph Watson is the editor and writer for Prison Planet.com. He is the author of Order Out Of Chaos. Watson is also a fill-in host for The Alex Jones Show. Watson has been interviewed by many publications and radio shows, including Vanity Fair and Coast to Coast AM, America’s most listened to late night talk show.
TSA Caves On Pat Downs But Mandates Government Permission For All Fliers
Pistole says airport security measures will be refined, but all fliers to be checked against dubious government watch list
Paul Joseph Watson
Prison Planet.com
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
In response to the national outcry surrounding invasive pat down measures, the TSA has been forced to refine its airport security procedures, but has simultaneously entrenched its policy that requires government permission for all Americans who wish to fly, creating what critics have labeled a Communist-style system of internal checkpoints.
After a public revolt against naked body scanners and TSA groping that was primarily spearheaded by the Drudge Report website, TSA chief John Pistole announced yesterday was looking at refining pat down procedures to make them “less intrusive.”
“Pistole said that the TSA will work “quickly” to determine whether there is a viable alternative but that he has no timetable,” reports the Washington Post today.
However, until such a time that the policy is changed, cases of rampant TSA abuse continue to occur, including a recent example where a young mother who was subjected to enhanced groping was subsequently locked inside a screening box for almost an hour by agents after she refused to allow them to put her breast milk through an x-ray device, a legitimate request that is even written into the TSA’s own guidelines.
Despite appearing to back down on hugely unpopular pat down measures, Pistole confirmed that every single passenger who flies in American skies is now checked against a government watch list before they are allowed to board a plane, meaning that every US citizen now requires de facto government permission to travel.
“The TSA began matching passengers against a watch list maintained by the FBI last year. By June, all passengers on domestic flights were being prescreened, and with Tuesday’s announcement, all international passengers headed to or from the United States are as well,” reports the Post.
Under the Secure Flight program, the TSA demands that passengers submit personal information 72 hours before being cleared to fly. While on the surface, this is justified by invoking the threat of terror, as we have seen from the MIAC report and others, the federal government now considers politically active Americans as potential terrorists, meaning that innocent travelers could find themselves on a watch list and barred from flying.
“By combining the requirement for government photo IDs in order to fly with checking government watchlists including potentially every passenger, “Secure Flight” puts the federal government into the business of licensing travel,” warns Michael Ostrolenk.
“What the government can allow one day, it can forbid the next. All things considered, isn’t this a higher-tech and later-day version of South African domestic passports or eastern European checkpoints? In fact, because of the high technological capacity of the U.S. version, aren’t its implications for travel control of plane, train, bus and subway travel much more far reaching? It’s incredible that something like this is happening relatively unrecognized in America.”
Indeed, the 9/11 Commission demanded that the dubious “no fly list” be extended to trains, boats and basically every form of travel, handing the feds the power to control the mobility of millions of Americans. Rahm Emanuel and Mayor Michael Bloomberg have also demanded that people on the no fly list be prevented from purchasing firearms.
The no fly list is merely one component of a 500,000-750,000 strong government “watch list” that has ensnared people like the late former Senator Ted Kennedy, former presidential candidate John Anderson, and many others including a Vermont college student, a retired Presbyterian minister and an ACLU employee. People with similar names to aliases used by alleged terrorists are automatically put on no fly lists and federal watch lists.
Unfortunately, government watchlists seem to have been more successful at causing problems for innocent people than they are at catching terrorists. Despite the fact that underwear bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was on a watch list, the US State Department refused to revoke his visa and allowed him to board Delta Flight 253, with the aid of a well-dressed Indian man who convinced airline officials to let Abdulmutallab on the Christmas Day flight.
Paul Joseph Watson is the editor and writer for Prison Planet.com. He is the author of Order Out Of Chaos. Watson is also a fill-in host for The Alex Jones Show. Watson has been interviewed by many publications and radio shows, including Vanity Fair and Coast to Coast AM, America’s most listened to late night talk show.
'Humiliated': Female passenger subjected to patdown
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1333432/Humiliated-Female-passenger-subjected-patdown-sanitary-towel-showed-body-scanner.html
'Humiliated': Female passenger subjected to patdown 'because her sanitary towel showed up on body scanner'
26th November 2010
Ordeal brought back memories of previous sex assault
Doctor warns agents' gloves could spread infections
Obama: I understand passengers' anger at patdowns
A female passenger has claimed that she was assaulted by TSA agents when she was ordered to be patted down because her sanitary towel showed up on the body scanner.
The woman was wearing a flannel panty liner, that evidently aroused suspicion, causing her to endure what she described as a 'horrible' experience.
Humiliated by her experience, the unidentified Army vet wrote to women's health company Gladrags to detail what happened.
She said the invasive patdown was additionally humiliating because it brought back memories of a previously suffered sexual assault.
She wrote: 'The TSA agents were doing their job, they were as delicate as they could be, etc., etc.
'But what ultimately happened is that I was subjected to a search so invasive that I was left crying and dealing with memories that I thought had been dealt with years ago of prior sexual assaults.
Her email added: 'Because of my flannel panty-liner. These new scans are so horrible that if you are wearing something unusual (like a piece of cloth on your panties) then you will be subjected to a search where a woman repeatedly has to check your 'groin' while another woman watches on (two in my case – they were training in a new girl – awesome)'.
Invasive: An increasing number of women are querying if the use of feminine products will subject them to greater security screening
The woman said that she was speaking out because she didn't want another woman to face the same humiliation.
'I just don’t want another woman to have to go through the 'patting down' because she didn’t know that her glad-rag would be a matter of national security.'
A increasing amount of woman have apparently requesting information from the TSA, regarding if sanitary products are picked up by the body scanners and by all accounts it does.
Doctors are also now questioning the hygiene of TSA agents who conduct hundreds of patdowns daily.
Although they wear gloves, it is being reported that viruses like syphilis, lice, gonorrhea, chlamydia, strep and papilloma viruses can be transferred from passenger to passenger during the body searches.
Alarmed travellers have noted that the TSA agents do not change gloves in between patdowns and were actually patting down dozens of passengers or more wearing the same gloves.
The TSA nor federal agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control have yet commented on the possibility that infections and other afflictions could be spread.
Dr Thomas Warner from Wisconsin told WND: 'There is no doubt that bacteria (staph, strep, v.cholerae etc.) and viruses (noro, enteroviruses, herpes, hepatitis A and papilloma viruses) can be spread by contaminated vinyl or latex gloves'.
'If a traveller has diarrhea and is soiled, as can and does happen, the causative agent can be spread by this method since bacteria and viruses in moist environments have greater viability', he added.
'The traveler readjusting clothes can easily get the infectious agents on their hands and therefore into their mouth, nose and eyes.'
'How come if we as doctors have guidelines, we must wear gloves and have oversight, it's very different [for the TSA]'.
Dr Warner said that at the very minimum, gloves should be changed between patdowns, 'especially if the gloved hand is inside clothes or in the genital area... even if clothed. Travelers should be advised of this and hand-wash and change clothes ASAP after these intimate examinations.'
The CDC have said that passengers should request the TSA agent use fresh gloves before conducting their body search.
'If you are traveling and are going to be searched, you can request that the TSA agent change his or her gloves,' their statement read.
Privacy-invasion claims like Eliana Sutherland's have become increasingly common since the TSA introduced the full body scan.
She complained that she was singled out by agents because of her large breasts.
She said she was flying from Orlando International Airport and felt objectified by security workers, claiming two male TSA workers had been staring at her chest and picked her out for additional screening.
'It was pretty obvious. One of the guys that was staring me up and down was the one who pulled me over', she said. 'Not a comfortable feeling'.
President Obama waded into the TSA row today by insisting patdowns are essential to keeping passengers safe.
He tells ABC's Barbara Walters in an interview to be screened tonight: 'I understand people's frustrations with it.
'But I also know that if there was an explosion in the air that killed a couple of hundred people...and it turned out that we could have prevented it possibly...that would be something that would be pretty upsetting to most of us - including me.'
The TSA has stressed that people are chosen for additional screening at random and strictly for security reasons.
TSA Administrator John Pistole has pledged to review security procedures but says the TSA must balance people's demands for privacy with the need to protect passengers from terror threats.
He said that only a small portion of the 34 million people who have flown since the new procedures have taken effect have had the body patdowns.
'Humiliated': Female passenger subjected to patdown 'because her sanitary towel showed up on body scanner'
26th November 2010
Ordeal brought back memories of previous sex assault
Doctor warns agents' gloves could spread infections
Obama: I understand passengers' anger at patdowns
A female passenger has claimed that she was assaulted by TSA agents when she was ordered to be patted down because her sanitary towel showed up on the body scanner.
The woman was wearing a flannel panty liner, that evidently aroused suspicion, causing her to endure what she described as a 'horrible' experience.
Humiliated by her experience, the unidentified Army vet wrote to women's health company Gladrags to detail what happened.
She said the invasive patdown was additionally humiliating because it brought back memories of a previously suffered sexual assault.
She wrote: 'The TSA agents were doing their job, they were as delicate as they could be, etc., etc.
'But what ultimately happened is that I was subjected to a search so invasive that I was left crying and dealing with memories that I thought had been dealt with years ago of prior sexual assaults.
Her email added: 'Because of my flannel panty-liner. These new scans are so horrible that if you are wearing something unusual (like a piece of cloth on your panties) then you will be subjected to a search where a woman repeatedly has to check your 'groin' while another woman watches on (two in my case – they were training in a new girl – awesome)'.
Invasive: An increasing number of women are querying if the use of feminine products will subject them to greater security screening
The woman said that she was speaking out because she didn't want another woman to face the same humiliation.
'I just don’t want another woman to have to go through the 'patting down' because she didn’t know that her glad-rag would be a matter of national security.'
A increasing amount of woman have apparently requesting information from the TSA, regarding if sanitary products are picked up by the body scanners and by all accounts it does.
Doctors are also now questioning the hygiene of TSA agents who conduct hundreds of patdowns daily.
Although they wear gloves, it is being reported that viruses like syphilis, lice, gonorrhea, chlamydia, strep and papilloma viruses can be transferred from passenger to passenger during the body searches.
Alarmed travellers have noted that the TSA agents do not change gloves in between patdowns and were actually patting down dozens of passengers or more wearing the same gloves.
The TSA nor federal agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control have yet commented on the possibility that infections and other afflictions could be spread.
Dr Thomas Warner from Wisconsin told WND: 'There is no doubt that bacteria (staph, strep, v.cholerae etc.) and viruses (noro, enteroviruses, herpes, hepatitis A and papilloma viruses) can be spread by contaminated vinyl or latex gloves'.
'If a traveller has diarrhea and is soiled, as can and does happen, the causative agent can be spread by this method since bacteria and viruses in moist environments have greater viability', he added.
'The traveler readjusting clothes can easily get the infectious agents on their hands and therefore into their mouth, nose and eyes.'
'How come if we as doctors have guidelines, we must wear gloves and have oversight, it's very different [for the TSA]'.
Dr Warner said that at the very minimum, gloves should be changed between patdowns, 'especially if the gloved hand is inside clothes or in the genital area... even if clothed. Travelers should be advised of this and hand-wash and change clothes ASAP after these intimate examinations.'
The CDC have said that passengers should request the TSA agent use fresh gloves before conducting their body search.
'If you are traveling and are going to be searched, you can request that the TSA agent change his or her gloves,' their statement read.
Privacy-invasion claims like Eliana Sutherland's have become increasingly common since the TSA introduced the full body scan.
She complained that she was singled out by agents because of her large breasts.
She said she was flying from Orlando International Airport and felt objectified by security workers, claiming two male TSA workers had been staring at her chest and picked her out for additional screening.
'It was pretty obvious. One of the guys that was staring me up and down was the one who pulled me over', she said. 'Not a comfortable feeling'.
President Obama waded into the TSA row today by insisting patdowns are essential to keeping passengers safe.
He tells ABC's Barbara Walters in an interview to be screened tonight: 'I understand people's frustrations with it.
'But I also know that if there was an explosion in the air that killed a couple of hundred people...and it turned out that we could have prevented it possibly...that would be something that would be pretty upsetting to most of us - including me.'
The TSA has stressed that people are chosen for additional screening at random and strictly for security reasons.
TSA Administrator John Pistole has pledged to review security procedures but says the TSA must balance people's demands for privacy with the need to protect passengers from terror threats.
He said that only a small portion of the 34 million people who have flown since the new procedures have taken effect have had the body patdowns.
TSA frisks groom children to cooperate with sex predators
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/12/airport-patdowns-grooming-children-sex-predators-abuse-expert/
Exclusive: TSA frisks groom children to cooperate with sex predators, abuse expert says
Daniel Tencer
Wednesday, December 1st, 2010
An expert in the fight against child sexual abuse is raising the alarm about a technique the TSA is reportedly using to get children to co-operate with airport pat-downs: calling it a "game".
Ken Wooden, founder of Child Lures Prevention, says the TSA's recommendation that children be told the pat-down is a "game" is potentially putting children in danger.
Telling a child that they are engaging in a game is "one of the most common ways" that sexual predators use to convince children to engage in inappropriate contact, Wooden told Raw Story.
Children "don't have the sophistication" to distinguish between a pat-down carried out by an airport security officer and an assault by a sexual predator, he said.
The TSA policy could "desensitize children to inappropriate touch and ultimately make it easier for sexual offenders to prey on our children," Wooden added.
Following an outcry last month over the use on children of "enhanced pat-downs" -- which involve the touching of genitals -- the TSA announced a new "modified" pat-down for children under 12. However, as the LA Times noted, the new rules are "unclear" on whether TSA agents can touch children's genitals.
Addressing the controversy over pat-downs of children last month, TSA regional security director James Marchand told the press the TSA was working on new practices to make children more comfortable during the pat-down process.
"You try to make it as best you can for that child to come through. If you can come up with some kind of a game to play with a child, it makes it a lot easier," said Marchand, promising to make it part of TSA training.
Wooden, who has testified before Congress on child safety issues on numerous occasions, says he was told by a TSA agent that the practice has been used.
"How can experts working at the TSA be so incredibly misinformed and misguided to suggest that full body pat downs for children be portrayed as a game?" Wooden asked in an email. "To do so is completely contrary to what we in the sexual abuse prevention field have been trying to accomplish for the past thirty years."
He added: "This policy is also incredibly insensitive to the countless victims who have already been traumatized by unwanted touching in their lives and could be re-traumatized by such pat-downs."
On Tuesday, TSA administrator John Pistole said the agency may change its screening rules for victims of sex abuse. He also said the TSA had no plans to continue expanding the airport screening process.
"I think we are at the most thorough that we will probably be in terms of our physical screening," he announced.
Exclusive: TSA frisks groom children to cooperate with sex predators, abuse expert says
Daniel Tencer
Wednesday, December 1st, 2010
An expert in the fight against child sexual abuse is raising the alarm about a technique the TSA is reportedly using to get children to co-operate with airport pat-downs: calling it a "game".
Ken Wooden, founder of Child Lures Prevention, says the TSA's recommendation that children be told the pat-down is a "game" is potentially putting children in danger.
Telling a child that they are engaging in a game is "one of the most common ways" that sexual predators use to convince children to engage in inappropriate contact, Wooden told Raw Story.
Children "don't have the sophistication" to distinguish between a pat-down carried out by an airport security officer and an assault by a sexual predator, he said.
The TSA policy could "desensitize children to inappropriate touch and ultimately make it easier for sexual offenders to prey on our children," Wooden added.
Following an outcry last month over the use on children of "enhanced pat-downs" -- which involve the touching of genitals -- the TSA announced a new "modified" pat-down for children under 12. However, as the LA Times noted, the new rules are "unclear" on whether TSA agents can touch children's genitals.
Addressing the controversy over pat-downs of children last month, TSA regional security director James Marchand told the press the TSA was working on new practices to make children more comfortable during the pat-down process.
"You try to make it as best you can for that child to come through. If you can come up with some kind of a game to play with a child, it makes it a lot easier," said Marchand, promising to make it part of TSA training.
Wooden, who has testified before Congress on child safety issues on numerous occasions, says he was told by a TSA agent that the practice has been used.
"How can experts working at the TSA be so incredibly misinformed and misguided to suggest that full body pat downs for children be portrayed as a game?" Wooden asked in an email. "To do so is completely contrary to what we in the sexual abuse prevention field have been trying to accomplish for the past thirty years."
He added: "This policy is also incredibly insensitive to the countless victims who have already been traumatized by unwanted touching in their lives and could be re-traumatized by such pat-downs."
On Tuesday, TSA administrator John Pistole said the agency may change its screening rules for victims of sex abuse. He also said the TSA had no plans to continue expanding the airport screening process.
"I think we are at the most thorough that we will probably be in terms of our physical screening," he announced.
FBI Entrapment Leads to TSA Pat-Downs
http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2010/12/01/fbi-entrapment-leads-to-tsa-pat-downs/
FBI Entrapment Leads to TSA Pat-Downs
emptywheel
Wednesday December 1, 2010
A couple of weeks back, I pointed to John Pistole’s testimony that directly justified the expansion of VIPR checkpoints to mass transport locations by pointing to a recent FBI-entrapment facilitated arrest:
Another recent case highlights the importance of mass transit security. On October 27, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) arrested a Pakistan-born naturalized U.S. citizen for attempting to assist others whom he believed to be members of al Qaida in planning multiple bombings at Metrorail stations in the Washington, D.C., area. During a sting operation, Farooque Ahmed allegedly conducted surveillance of the Arlington National Cemetery, Courthouse, and Pentagon City Metro stations, indicated that he would travel overseas for jihad, and agreed to donate $10,000 to terrorist causes. A federal grand jury in Alexandria, Virginia, returned a three-count indictment against Ahmed, charging him with attempting to provide material support to a designated terrorist organization, collecting information to assist in planning a terrorist attack on a transit facility, and attempting to provide material support to help carry out multiple bombings to cause mass casualties at D.C.-area Metrorail stations.
While the public was never in danger, Ahmed’s intentions provide a reminder of the terrorist attacks on other mass transit systems: Madrid in March 2004, London in July 2005, and Moscow earlier this year. Our ability to protect mass transit and other surface transportation venues from evolving threats of terrorism requires us to explore ways to improve the partnerships between TSA and state, local, tribal, and territorial law enforcement, and other mass transit stakeholders. These partnerships include measures such as Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response (VIPR) teams we have put in place with the support of the Congress.
Now to be clear, as with Mohamed Mohamud’s alleged plot, Ahmed’s plot never existed except as it was performed by FBI undercover employees. In fact, at the time the FBI invented this plot, now TSA-head Pistole was the Deputy Director of FBI, so in some ways, Ahmed’s plot is Pistole’s plot. Nevertheless, Pistole had no problem pointing to a plot invented by his then-subordinates at the FBI to justify increased VIPR surveillance on “mass transit and other surface transportation venues.” As if the fake FBI plot represented a real threat.
And according to Gary Milano (who appears to be TSA’s Federal Security Director for Tampa), that’s what they’re now doing–telling the bad guys (among whom they include “immigration law violators” and “bulk cash” smugglers) they’re going to be searching Greyhound for them. (Randy Balko posted the YouTube here.)
Now, to be sure, these no-warning searches are more effective than the security theater Pistole has ramped up at airports.
But that doesn’t excuse the logic: John Pistole points to a plot the FBI–under his management–cooked up, as if it represents a “real” threat. He uses it to justify expanding VIPR to mass and surface transit venues. And then when TSA does set up one of those VIPR checkpoints, we learn they’re not looking for TATP (which is what Pistole implied in his testimony to Congress), but instead illegal aliens and cash smugglers.
I guess that all makes it okay, right? The plot justifying this checkpoint never existed, but then, they’re not really looking for the things they suggested they were looking for as defined by that plot. So it doesn’t matter that it was a fake terrorist plot, since the whole point of it seems to be to justify immigration and smuggling raids.
FBI Entrapment Leads to TSA Pat-Downs
emptywheel
Wednesday December 1, 2010
A couple of weeks back, I pointed to John Pistole’s testimony that directly justified the expansion of VIPR checkpoints to mass transport locations by pointing to a recent FBI-entrapment facilitated arrest:
Another recent case highlights the importance of mass transit security. On October 27, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) arrested a Pakistan-born naturalized U.S. citizen for attempting to assist others whom he believed to be members of al Qaida in planning multiple bombings at Metrorail stations in the Washington, D.C., area. During a sting operation, Farooque Ahmed allegedly conducted surveillance of the Arlington National Cemetery, Courthouse, and Pentagon City Metro stations, indicated that he would travel overseas for jihad, and agreed to donate $10,000 to terrorist causes. A federal grand jury in Alexandria, Virginia, returned a three-count indictment against Ahmed, charging him with attempting to provide material support to a designated terrorist organization, collecting information to assist in planning a terrorist attack on a transit facility, and attempting to provide material support to help carry out multiple bombings to cause mass casualties at D.C.-area Metrorail stations.
While the public was never in danger, Ahmed’s intentions provide a reminder of the terrorist attacks on other mass transit systems: Madrid in March 2004, London in July 2005, and Moscow earlier this year. Our ability to protect mass transit and other surface transportation venues from evolving threats of terrorism requires us to explore ways to improve the partnerships between TSA and state, local, tribal, and territorial law enforcement, and other mass transit stakeholders. These partnerships include measures such as Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response (VIPR) teams we have put in place with the support of the Congress.
Now to be clear, as with Mohamed Mohamud’s alleged plot, Ahmed’s plot never existed except as it was performed by FBI undercover employees. In fact, at the time the FBI invented this plot, now TSA-head Pistole was the Deputy Director of FBI, so in some ways, Ahmed’s plot is Pistole’s plot. Nevertheless, Pistole had no problem pointing to a plot invented by his then-subordinates at the FBI to justify increased VIPR surveillance on “mass transit and other surface transportation venues.” As if the fake FBI plot represented a real threat.
And according to Gary Milano (who appears to be TSA’s Federal Security Director for Tampa), that’s what they’re now doing–telling the bad guys (among whom they include “immigration law violators” and “bulk cash” smugglers) they’re going to be searching Greyhound for them. (Randy Balko posted the YouTube here.)
Now, to be sure, these no-warning searches are more effective than the security theater Pistole has ramped up at airports.
But that doesn’t excuse the logic: John Pistole points to a plot the FBI–under his management–cooked up, as if it represents a “real” threat. He uses it to justify expanding VIPR to mass and surface transit venues. And then when TSA does set up one of those VIPR checkpoints, we learn they’re not looking for TATP (which is what Pistole implied in his testimony to Congress), but instead illegal aliens and cash smugglers.
I guess that all makes it okay, right? The plot justifying this checkpoint never existed, but then, they’re not really looking for the things they suggested they were looking for as defined by that plot. So it doesn’t matter that it was a fake terrorist plot, since the whole point of it seems to be to justify immigration and smuggling raids.
Group probes TSA’s ‘manipulation’ of opt-out protests
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/12/bob-barr-probe-manipulation-tsa-opt-protest/
Group probes TSA’s ‘manipulation’ of opt-out protests
Eric W. Dolan
Wednesday, December 1st, 2010
The public interest group Liberty Guard filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the Transportation Security Administration Monday to determine why many airport imaging scanners were reportedly shut down and roped off on November 24th, the day of a planned "opt out protest."
"We'd like to think that the TSA has been listening to citizens concerned about being given a choice between naked imaging or pat down searches of people’s private parts," former Congressman Bob Barr, the Chairman of Liberty Guard, said. "If this is the indeed the case, we’d like to commend the TSA for applying a bit of common sense to the controversial situation. However, it's far more likely the reason was political and we think the public should be made aware of the motivations of our country's security chiefs."
In a nationwide protest dubbed the "National Opt-Out Day," those upset with invasive new security procedures asked others to join their plan to opt-out of full body scans and undergo a physical pat-down in public view, in hopes of creating delays and endless complications for security agents. The protest was scheduled for November 24th, one of the busiest travel days of the year.
Numerous news reports declared the protest against the new screening procedures a bust, noting short wait times at airport security checkpoints.
"What some protesters threatened as an opt out day has turned into a TSA appreciation day," the agency boasted on its blog.
But reports from travelers and local news sources suggest that at some of the busiest airports in the US the TSA backed down and resorted to using the old screening procedures, such as metal detectors and less-intrusive pat-downs.
"We'd like to know if we can expect a policy shift from the TSA or if they were merely attempting to shut down the public outcry regarding their search procedures," Joe Seehussen, President of Liberty Guard said.
The Freedom of Information Act request also seeks any government documents that contain the following terms: national opt-out day, Bob Barr, Opt Out Alliance, Liberty Guard, John Tyner, domestic extremists, drudgereport.com, Matt Drudge, prisonplanet.com, Alex Jones, and "any other term or proper name germane to the aforementioned terms and matter."
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) says it has received over 900 complaints from travelers over the last month who've been subjected to the new screening procedures.
"The TSA agent used her hands to feel under and between my breasts," one woman said. "She then rammed her hand up into my crotch until it jammed into my pubic bone."
About 70 airports have put into use over 400 backscatter x-ray machines that can see beneath passengers' clothing. If the ticket-holder refuses the scan due to health or privacy concerns, they're subjected to an invasive physical pat-down. The new body scanners and pat down procedure have both received intense scrutiny amid reports of travelers feeling humiliated and traumatized.
Liberty Guard says the new security procedures are a violation of the 4th Amendment, which guards against unreasonable searches and seizure.
Group probes TSA’s ‘manipulation’ of opt-out protests
Eric W. Dolan
Wednesday, December 1st, 2010
The public interest group Liberty Guard filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the Transportation Security Administration Monday to determine why many airport imaging scanners were reportedly shut down and roped off on November 24th, the day of a planned "opt out protest."
"We'd like to think that the TSA has been listening to citizens concerned about being given a choice between naked imaging or pat down searches of people’s private parts," former Congressman Bob Barr, the Chairman of Liberty Guard, said. "If this is the indeed the case, we’d like to commend the TSA for applying a bit of common sense to the controversial situation. However, it's far more likely the reason was political and we think the public should be made aware of the motivations of our country's security chiefs."
In a nationwide protest dubbed the "National Opt-Out Day," those upset with invasive new security procedures asked others to join their plan to opt-out of full body scans and undergo a physical pat-down in public view, in hopes of creating delays and endless complications for security agents. The protest was scheduled for November 24th, one of the busiest travel days of the year.
Numerous news reports declared the protest against the new screening procedures a bust, noting short wait times at airport security checkpoints.
"What some protesters threatened as an opt out day has turned into a TSA appreciation day," the agency boasted on its blog.
But reports from travelers and local news sources suggest that at some of the busiest airports in the US the TSA backed down and resorted to using the old screening procedures, such as metal detectors and less-intrusive pat-downs.
"We'd like to know if we can expect a policy shift from the TSA or if they were merely attempting to shut down the public outcry regarding their search procedures," Joe Seehussen, President of Liberty Guard said.
The Freedom of Information Act request also seeks any government documents that contain the following terms: national opt-out day, Bob Barr, Opt Out Alliance, Liberty Guard, John Tyner, domestic extremists, drudgereport.com, Matt Drudge, prisonplanet.com, Alex Jones, and "any other term or proper name germane to the aforementioned terms and matter."
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) says it has received over 900 complaints from travelers over the last month who've been subjected to the new screening procedures.
"The TSA agent used her hands to feel under and between my breasts," one woman said. "She then rammed her hand up into my crotch until it jammed into my pubic bone."
About 70 airports have put into use over 400 backscatter x-ray machines that can see beneath passengers' clothing. If the ticket-holder refuses the scan due to health or privacy concerns, they're subjected to an invasive physical pat-down. The new body scanners and pat down procedure have both received intense scrutiny amid reports of travelers feeling humiliated and traumatized.
Liberty Guard says the new security procedures are a violation of the 4th Amendment, which guards against unreasonable searches and seizure.
Monday, December 6, 2010
Google Blacklists Prison Planet.com
http://www.prisonplanet.com/google-blacklists-prison-planet-com.html
Google Blacklists Prison Planet.com
You Tube freezes Alex Jones Channel as web censorship accelerates in frightening early salvo of move towards tiered Internet system that favors large corporations while strangling independent voices
Paul Joseph Watson
Prison Planet.com
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
In a damning new lurch towards web censorship, Google’s news aggregator has blacklisted Prison Planet and Infowars despite the fact that both websites are internationally known and now attract more traffic than many mainstream media websites, while Google-owned You Tube has frozen the Alex Jones Channel based on a spurious complaint about showing Wikileaks footage that has been carried on hundreds of other You Tube channels for months.
After carrying our content for years, Google News last week purged Prison Planet and Infowars from its aggregator system, ensuring that our stories no longer appear alongside the likes of CNN and Fox News in a frightening early salvo in the move towards a tiered Internet that favors large corporations while independent voices are strangled.
Only smaller sites that re-post Prison Planet content have appeared in Google searches since early November, proving that the campaign is a deliberate effort on behalf of Google to restrict traffic to Alex Jones’ websites. Our stories have been linked almost every day on the Drudge Report for the past three weeks, as our readership figures soar past numerous corporate media websites that are carried by Google News. We are clearly a legitimate and internationally recognized news outlet and yet Google has blacklisted us because it disagrees with our political viewpoints.
In addition, Google-owned You Tube yesterday moved to freeze the popular Alex Jones Channel, which has well over 100,000 subscribers and has had over 75 million views. You Tube made a spurious claim that the channel had violated “community guidelines” by posting a segment from the infamous Wikileaks Apache footage, when the footage is in fact posted in greater length on hundreds of other You Tube channels, including Al Jazeera, Russia Today and CBS News.
When we responded to You Tube by pointing out that the Wikileaks footage in question appeared in multiple places elsewhere on You Tube in far greater length and detail, and that it was not vulgar or offensive but a real incident that was of clear public concern which was posted under fair use (USC Title 17, Section 106A-117), You Tube reacted by freezing uploading privileges for the account while also threatening to terminate it entirely.
You Tube is essentially sending a message that if you disagree with their decision, your claim won’t be considered, you will simply be punished to an even greater degree.
This is by no means the first time that Google and You Tube have engaged in open blacklisting of Alex Jones’ material.
Over many years we have documented numerous instances of censorship and attempts to chill free speech, includingYou Tube’s removal of The Obama Deception and Google’s refusal to allow its shopping cart software to carry the film after the company labeled the documentary ‘hate speech’.
With the Obama administration vowing to infiltrate and eviscerate so-called “conspiracy theories” by clamping down on free speech through the work of people like Cass Sunstein, Google and its subsidiary You Tube are now at the forefront of the agenda to turn the Internet into a sanitized and compliant forum in the same mould as cable television.
Once Google’s fiercest critics have been silenced for good the company can then set about implementing its CIA-backed total information awareness program, which will scour Twitter accounts, blogs and websites for all sorts of information left by individual users, aiming to use this data to “predict the future” and completely direct and control people’s lives and behavior.
Google CEO Eric Schmidt has announced that Google, in conjunction with the CIA, is set to become the ultimate Big Brother entity that “will know so much about its users that the search engine will be able to help them plan their lives” by constantly tracking their location via smart phones and telling them where to go and what to do.
We have previously reported on Google’s intimate and long standing connections to government spy networks. The company was founded with the aid of CIA seed money.
There is also no doubt that Google is one of the corporations at the forefront of the government’s drive to use cybersecurity as a pretext for killing the free Internet, having previously worked with the NSA and the CIA.
While Google openly spies on people via their wi-fi connections and gets away with it, the company has dispensed entirely with its “don’t be evil motto,” helping the communist Chinese government suppress dissent while simply blacklisting free speech it dislikes in the United States altogether.
There can be little doubt that this latest lurch in web censorship is part of the overall agenda to tighten the noose around independent news websites as they continue to outstrip the establishment media in terms of trustworthiness and reach.
Infowars.com alone now gets more traffic than MSNBC.com, a multi-billion dollar news operation funded by General Electric and the military-industrial complex.
The fact that millions are shunning the mainstream media and flocking to independent media outlets undoubtedly has the system running scared, exemplified by the recent rebellion against the TSA which was led by the Drudge Report.
The fact that the status quo is rapidly losing its power to influence the body politic and that this is shifting over to independent media not controlled by giant corporations has the establishment petrified, which is why they are doing everything possible to tighten the screws on websites like Prison Planet, Infowars, and Alex Jones content in general.
It is evident that the system revels in any chance to dampen the loud voice that Alex Jones, Infowars.com/PrisonPlanet.com and its supporters have raised on the Internet, effectively challenging the status quo and mainstream media spin on major news and events. With the easy passage of the web censorship bill, it is clear that what is happening now to Infowars.com and Alex Jones will soon happen to anyone without a politically-correct message, particularly when that message is capable of resonating throughout large parts of the globe.
With Homeland Security now openly seizing websites with no due course or opportunity for redress, the age of Internet censorship has now begun, with an iron curtain beginning to descend over free speech as the United States enacts policies more draconian than those of communist China.
If independent news websites and their readers don’t stand together in unison to decry Google’s efforts to kill free speech on the Internet, the web as a last outpost for the tattered and torn First Amendment will be lost forever.
Paul Joseph Watson is the editor and writer for Prison Planet.com. He is the author of Order Out Of Chaos. Watson is also a fill-in host for The Alex Jones Show. Watson has been interviewed by many publications and radio shows, including Vanity Fair and Coast to Coast AM, America’s most listened to late night talk show.
Google Blacklists Prison Planet.com
You Tube freezes Alex Jones Channel as web censorship accelerates in frightening early salvo of move towards tiered Internet system that favors large corporations while strangling independent voices
Paul Joseph Watson
Prison Planet.com
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
In a damning new lurch towards web censorship, Google’s news aggregator has blacklisted Prison Planet and Infowars despite the fact that both websites are internationally known and now attract more traffic than many mainstream media websites, while Google-owned You Tube has frozen the Alex Jones Channel based on a spurious complaint about showing Wikileaks footage that has been carried on hundreds of other You Tube channels for months.
After carrying our content for years, Google News last week purged Prison Planet and Infowars from its aggregator system, ensuring that our stories no longer appear alongside the likes of CNN and Fox News in a frightening early salvo in the move towards a tiered Internet that favors large corporations while independent voices are strangled.
Only smaller sites that re-post Prison Planet content have appeared in Google searches since early November, proving that the campaign is a deliberate effort on behalf of Google to restrict traffic to Alex Jones’ websites. Our stories have been linked almost every day on the Drudge Report for the past three weeks, as our readership figures soar past numerous corporate media websites that are carried by Google News. We are clearly a legitimate and internationally recognized news outlet and yet Google has blacklisted us because it disagrees with our political viewpoints.
In addition, Google-owned You Tube yesterday moved to freeze the popular Alex Jones Channel, which has well over 100,000 subscribers and has had over 75 million views. You Tube made a spurious claim that the channel had violated “community guidelines” by posting a segment from the infamous Wikileaks Apache footage, when the footage is in fact posted in greater length on hundreds of other You Tube channels, including Al Jazeera, Russia Today and CBS News.
When we responded to You Tube by pointing out that the Wikileaks footage in question appeared in multiple places elsewhere on You Tube in far greater length and detail, and that it was not vulgar or offensive but a real incident that was of clear public concern which was posted under fair use (USC Title 17, Section 106A-117), You Tube reacted by freezing uploading privileges for the account while also threatening to terminate it entirely.
You Tube is essentially sending a message that if you disagree with their decision, your claim won’t be considered, you will simply be punished to an even greater degree.
This is by no means the first time that Google and You Tube have engaged in open blacklisting of Alex Jones’ material.
Over many years we have documented numerous instances of censorship and attempts to chill free speech, includingYou Tube’s removal of The Obama Deception and Google’s refusal to allow its shopping cart software to carry the film after the company labeled the documentary ‘hate speech’.
With the Obama administration vowing to infiltrate and eviscerate so-called “conspiracy theories” by clamping down on free speech through the work of people like Cass Sunstein, Google and its subsidiary You Tube are now at the forefront of the agenda to turn the Internet into a sanitized and compliant forum in the same mould as cable television.
Once Google’s fiercest critics have been silenced for good the company can then set about implementing its CIA-backed total information awareness program, which will scour Twitter accounts, blogs and websites for all sorts of information left by individual users, aiming to use this data to “predict the future” and completely direct and control people’s lives and behavior.
Google CEO Eric Schmidt has announced that Google, in conjunction with the CIA, is set to become the ultimate Big Brother entity that “will know so much about its users that the search engine will be able to help them plan their lives” by constantly tracking their location via smart phones and telling them where to go and what to do.
We have previously reported on Google’s intimate and long standing connections to government spy networks. The company was founded with the aid of CIA seed money.
There is also no doubt that Google is one of the corporations at the forefront of the government’s drive to use cybersecurity as a pretext for killing the free Internet, having previously worked with the NSA and the CIA.
While Google openly spies on people via their wi-fi connections and gets away with it, the company has dispensed entirely with its “don’t be evil motto,” helping the communist Chinese government suppress dissent while simply blacklisting free speech it dislikes in the United States altogether.
There can be little doubt that this latest lurch in web censorship is part of the overall agenda to tighten the noose around independent news websites as they continue to outstrip the establishment media in terms of trustworthiness and reach.
Infowars.com alone now gets more traffic than MSNBC.com, a multi-billion dollar news operation funded by General Electric and the military-industrial complex.
The fact that millions are shunning the mainstream media and flocking to independent media outlets undoubtedly has the system running scared, exemplified by the recent rebellion against the TSA which was led by the Drudge Report.
The fact that the status quo is rapidly losing its power to influence the body politic and that this is shifting over to independent media not controlled by giant corporations has the establishment petrified, which is why they are doing everything possible to tighten the screws on websites like Prison Planet, Infowars, and Alex Jones content in general.
It is evident that the system revels in any chance to dampen the loud voice that Alex Jones, Infowars.com/PrisonPlanet.com and its supporters have raised on the Internet, effectively challenging the status quo and mainstream media spin on major news and events. With the easy passage of the web censorship bill, it is clear that what is happening now to Infowars.com and Alex Jones will soon happen to anyone without a politically-correct message, particularly when that message is capable of resonating throughout large parts of the globe.
With Homeland Security now openly seizing websites with no due course or opportunity for redress, the age of Internet censorship has now begun, with an iron curtain beginning to descend over free speech as the United States enacts policies more draconian than those of communist China.
If independent news websites and their readers don’t stand together in unison to decry Google’s efforts to kill free speech on the Internet, the web as a last outpost for the tattered and torn First Amendment will be lost forever.
Paul Joseph Watson is the editor and writer for Prison Planet.com. He is the author of Order Out Of Chaos. Watson is also a fill-in host for The Alex Jones Show. Watson has been interviewed by many publications and radio shows, including Vanity Fair and Coast to Coast AM, America’s most listened to late night talk show.
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