workman's comp when your peter falls off

no, not from your social disease sister like last time

no, not that

sheilanagig: If that's what happens to travelers who are only exposed to it for brief periods, I wonder what the odds are for TSA workers who are exposed to the radiation for all of every shift.

My thoughts too.

If you are doing nothing wrong, you have nothing to worry about, citizen.

In order to stop terrorism we are going to need to infect everyone with HIV next.

They're horrible. So choose the getting felt up option.

Yay, Obama!

The last four times I've flown for work now, the nudie scanners have been shoved off in a corner of the screening area and we're back to the metal detector things they have. I asked once and the TSA agent told me "They back the lines up too much".

Of course in the end all that matters was the politically connected guy who made the things got paid.

/also real impressed how they can screen my carry on bag with their backs to the display as they drink coffee and chat

I have absolutely ZERO problems with having each and everyone of those degenerate molesters dying from whatever farked-up mutated disease that comes out them machines.

Some TSA screeners are concerned about their own radiation exposure from the backscatters, but the TSA has not allowed them to wear badges that could measure it,

That's gold medal stupidity, right there. It's almost like they have something to hide.

PleasedToMeetMe: Some TSA screeners are concerned about their own radiation exposure from the backscatters, but the TSA has not allowed them to wear badges that could measure it,

That's gold medal stupidity, right there. It's almost like they have something to hide.

If the TSA is wearing badges to test for radiation people might think the machines aren't safe or something.

impaler: anywhere from six to 100 U.S. airline passengers each year could get cancer from the X-ray machines

Got to love the law of large numbers.

It just goes to show how bad people are with statistics. This device that is supposed to help stop terrorism*, which has almost no chance to give you cancer, could easily end up killing more people than terrorism, just because it is used on so many people.

*'help stop terrorism' = provide illusion of stopping terrorism.

I know, right? So every year a few families lose a loved one to cancer when they didn't have too. It's not very many families and we all feel way safer.
/Totally worth it.

Government officials and politicians should go through the body scanners everytime they fly.

elffster: people still fly....?

imagine that..

Perhaps you know of a faster mode of travel?

6 to 100? That's quite a spread.

Need to go somewhere in a few weeks. Thinking of taking the train.

the article really focuses on travelers. You have to wonder what the effect will be on the TSA employees. Not that they have a lot of fans but they will be working in this increased level of radiation and are all govt employees (hence their health is our tax burden)

I told my four year old daughter "Honey, nobody touches you there. Not your teacher. Not your friends. The only people that can touch you there are you, Doctor Sonny, and the guy at the airport."

The government is rolling out the X-ray scanners despite having a safer alternative that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) says is also highly effective.


This is what burns me. Someone is getting paid BIG TIME to favor the x-ray machines over the millimeter wave machines.

Using the x-ray machines, not only do they have to quell fears about nudity, but also about x-rays. With the other machines, there's only 1 issue. If they want the scanning to become accepted, why would they give themselves another hurdle?

So either someone is getting a monster kickback to push the x-ray machines, or it's part of their plan to have to nudity become a non-issue by giving us the bigger threat of x-rays, then maybe saying "ok, no more x-rays, we'll use the other machines, so now all the concern is gone right?"

That's a good business plan. You give a small % of customers cancer, which means their families will need to buy tickets to fly to see them. Endless supply of customers!

monoski: the article really focuses on travelers. You have to wonder what the effect will be on the TSA employees. Not that they have a lot of fans but they will be working in this increased level of radiation and are all govt employees (hence their health is our tax burden)

I can't really blame the TSA employees for taking that job. If I had minimal education and got a chance to get on the government benefits gravy train, damn right I'd be TSA. Much better than moving boxes around for FedEx or whatever else they were doing.

/sometimes I ponder the idea of joining the border patrol, easy gig, decent pay, awesome retirement
//on the Canadian border

Weren't the TSA workers told not to wear dosimeters? Vaguely remember some shiat like that.

Christian Bale: monster kickback

It's ok because the people getting that monster kickback are job creators. Not only have they created jobs for TSA staff, they're now creating jobs for chemo nurses and doctors, undertakers, wig makers, drug manufacturers and Disney.

Robin Kane, the TSA's assistant administrator for security technology, said that no one would get cancer because the amount of radiation the X-ray scanners emit is minute. Having both technologies is important to create competition, he added.

What a load of bullshiat. Halliburton and friends didn't have competition, they didn't even have to bid. If there was only one scanner being provided and someone asked "what about competition?" the spokesman would say "there's only one company with the proven technology, and it works, so competition is obviously not a concern or priority at this moment in time."

I wonder how they'd feel if I brought a contract for them to sign that guarantees that if I go through that machine and get cancer, the TSA will be 100% responsible for my bills.

Remember when Americans had Balls, Rights?

andrewskdr: elffster: people still fly....?

imagine that..

Perhaps you know of a faster mode of travel?

I always choose getting felt up. One TSA agent in the Denver airport commented flippantly about me waiting for a feeler-upper. Not sure if she was joking or not but still annoys me that they often discourage me from not going into the machine.

We get enough radiation from devices as it is, imo. I don't need a bath in one.

SweetSaws: That's a good business plan. You give a small % of customers cancer, which means their families will need to buy tickets to fly to see them. Endless supply of customers!

3. Profit!

For something that does absolutely no good, it's too much radiation.

Besides, men should just wear a kilt when you travel and avoid the scanner. It keeps the radiation and heat from cooking you junk. Plus If I'm uncomfortable at a security checkpoint, YOU should be uncomfortable too.

I remember I said "No Im not going through that scanner" nearly crying since my friend just died of cancer the week before and the TSA guy said "its no worse than getting a sonogram" and I replied "You are NOT a doctor!". They had to read me something from a script and then I just kept refusing. I think the magic words were "I refuse".

DO NOT GO THROUGH THE SCANNERS!

Frequent flyer here. I get sent through the nudie booth maybe 25% of the time (the other 75% I just get the metal detector).

I'm not sure how the TSA agent decides which machine to send me through. Normally when the nudie booth is backed up everyone waiting in line gets the metal detector, but sometimes I've seen the booth sit dormant for 20-30 minutes and people stacking up for the metal detector. I'm guessing the TSA would like us to believe it's "random", but I'd actually be more comfortable if it were subjective based on profiling.

If you've read my posts on this topic here on Fark for the past year, you may recall that I said I would always opt-out and get the pat-down instead. Well I did that for a few months, but realized that I was only hurting myself (when I didn't think they caused cancer). The TSA agents at the checkpoint have absolutely zero influence even if my protest did inspire them to bark up the food chain. On national opt-out day, I was the only one I saw near the checkpoint at the time who opted out.

They make you wait 5-10 minutes for the pat-down administering agent, and then it's pretty humiliating to have his hand "move up [my] inner thigh until it meets resistance." So about a month ago I said fark it and just go where they point so I can get on with my fight.

I've compromised my own morals for what, to save 5-10 minutes of waiting and a groping?

I has an ashame.

Yes, I did write my representative in Washington, Senator Mark Warner, almost exactly one year ago. I'm a big fan of his, and he happens to be on Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation that has regulatory power over the TSA. The exchange is pasted below:

----------

Senator Warner,

I understand that you are on the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, which is holding a TSA oversight hearing tomorrow. I am writing to express my extreme displeasure with the new screening methods that went into effect on Nov 1st, which basically give flyers the option of a full-body scan in the AIT machine (the health effects of which are unknown contrary to the manufacturer's claims, and they also DO save naked images), or the "enhanced pat-down" which is nothing short of molestation.

As a seasoned flyer, I've met a lot of TSA agents, and none of them have acted in a professional manner that leads me to believe they are fully trained and qualified to touch me in those places while looking for weapons, etc.

I understand the concern for airplane safety after 9/11, but if we're going to let fear guide us down this slippery slope, it's disconcerting what may be next in the name of "national security". These scans and pat-downs won't find what a clever and determined terrorist is hiding on (or in) his/her person. What's next, TSA cavity searches? If these machines and pat-downs are our answer to their threat, I fear the terrorists may have already won. :(

----------

His reply:

Dear Mr. oakleym82,

Thank you for taking the time to contact me with your views on aviation security. In order to best represent you as your United States Senator, it is vital that I hear your views on this and other important matters.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) plays a critical role in securing our aviation system. I understand your concerns with both full body scanners and pat down searches, and I believe that there must be a proper balance between security and privacy of passengers.

In the wake of the recent foiled terrorist plots, TSA has tightened their screening process in order to keep the traveling public safe in the air. In response to complaints about the new screening process, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano announced on Monday, November 15, 2010 that TSA will review its procedures and will make adjustments where appropriate. I will continue to monitor the situation to ensure that TSA makes the necessary adjustments and that passengers are treated with dignity during the screening process.

Again, thanks for writing. Should you have any specific questions regarding TSA procedure, please visit its website at: www.tsa.gov. As we move forward in the 111th Congress, please continue to be in touch with your opinions.

Sincerely,
MARK R. WARNER

Mugato: PsiChi: They're horrible. So choose the getting felt up option.

Yay, Obama!

Obama? Really? I mean, really?

Have things in this regard gotten better or worse (regarding the TSA) since Obama took office? Never had my junk grabbed at an airport under Bush. These machines have appeared under Obama's watch. He didn't start the fire, but he has fanned the flames.

Oh and I travel monthly btw....

Nothing to see here. Move along citizen.

Mugato: PsiChi: They're horrible. So choose the getting felt up option.

Yay, Obama!

Obama? Really? I mean, really?

Obama is the Chief Executive Officer. He is in charge of the Executive Branch. The TSA is an agency of DHS which is a part of the Executive Branch. So Obama, really.

Everybody could stand a hundred chest X-rays a year.

/they ought to have them, too

Carth: PleasedToMeetMe: Some TSA screeners are concerned about their own radiation exposure from the backscatters, but the TSA has not allowed them to wear badges that could measure it,

That's gold medal stupidity, right there. It's almost like they have something to hide.

If the TSA is wearing badges to test for radiation people might think the machines aren't safe or something.

That concerns me, too. I don't give a sh*t about the dose I receive in security, as it is legitimately much smaller than when I fly (845 urem on my last flight from Charleston to San Diego one-way) but people that work with rad-producing equipment should be wearing TLDs or film badges. It is a fundamental difference between "occupational" and "non-occupational" exposure. I mean, they could at least have in-place monitoring!

I picture this like playing russian roulette, only the revolver has a million cylinders and one bullet. And you're standing in line, watching the people ahead of you put the barrel to their temple, spin the cylinder and pull the trigger.

And everyone is all, "This is fine. Don't you understand what the odds are?"

Headso: andrewskdr: elffster: people still fly....?

imagine that..

Perhaps you know of a faster mode of travel?

Technical foul: falling with style

wren337: And everyone is all, "This is fine. Don't you understand what the odds are?"

"Although they deliberately expose humans to radiation, the airport X-ray scanners are not medical devices, so they are not subject to the stringent regulations required for diagnostic X-ray machines"

Hurray!

My new children's toy, 'X-ray death gun', is now going to be launched without any health concerns whatsoever.