I have long believed that the nonsense the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) makes us go through at the airport does not actually makes us safer. It makes people feel safer, but it doesn’t actually make us safer.

And here is the proof. The stupid full body scanners that let TSA agents see us nude are easy to get past with all sorts of metal. One simple experiment shows how any properly motivated idiot can take all sorts of metal objects (weapons!) through airports and onto planes.

As the creator of the video explains:

I’m publishing this video because I want the world to know how much danger the American Transportation Security Administration is putting all us all in with their haste to deploy the expensive, invasive nude body scanner program. When the machines came out, we were told that the invasion on our privacy, doses of radiation, and trashing of our Constitution were necessary because the old metal detectors weren’t good enough. That “non-metallic explosives” were a threat, even though no one has boarded a plane in the US with any type of explosive in nearly 40 years.

But while America was testing these devices, Rafi Sela, who ran security for Ben Gurion airport in Israel, which is known for being one of the most secure airports in the world, was quoted saying he could “overcome the body scanners with enough explosives to take down a Boeing 747,” and Ben Gurion therefore refused to buy scanners. The US ignored this warning, and Mr. Sela never publicly explained his statement. But it stuck with me.

Watch the video. You’ll be surprised.

I agree with this sentiment:

 The nude body scanner program is nothing but a giant fraud, which should come as no surprise after the Fast & Furious scandal that sent thousands of guns to Mexican drug cartels and cost a Customs and Border Patrol agent his life. THIS is a disgrace. So let’s fix this problem — now — before the terrorists take this opportunity to hurt us: the TSA must immediately end the nude body scanner program, and return to the tried-and-true metal detectors that actually work, and work without invading our privacy, as well as implement better solutions for non-metallic explosives, such as bomb-sniffing dogs and trace detection machines.

The TSA is worse than ineffective: they are an epic fail placing us all in danger. Beyond the scanners, Demand of your legislators and presidential candidates that they get rid of this $8B a year waste known as the TSA and privatize airport security. Ask for their commitment to our rights in exchange for your vote. And no matter which party is in the White House or holds on to Capital Hill, the issue of ending TSA abuse is of interest to all Americans; it’s NOT a partisan issue. We must all stand together and demand an end to the organization that molests our families while placing us in danger by directly ignoring blatant security flaws.

6 Comments

  1. Denise 03/09/2012 at 11:11 pm - Reply

    This video was shocking.. It’s inconceivable to put thousands of people through ridiculous gymnastics every day yet have flaws like this.. we’d be better of with NO additional security in a way, because then people would all be on a level playing field and not be lulled into falsely feeling safe AND be so inconvenienced.

  2. Ted 03/16/2012 at 10:13 pm - Reply

    umm, I dont know, in Toronto they have security with those “wands” that they wave all over your body, would be hard to get by that, the full body scan should be adjusted to show “side views” also, not just front and back. “any metal” would let off all kinds of alarms.

    • Tracy Coenen 03/19/2012 at 9:21 am - Reply

      Ted – I think the problem with the wands or doing a second view of everyone is that it would at least double the amount of time spent screening passengers. The security process is already burdensome, with little proven increase in safety. Why should passengers be subjected to twice as much screening, when the TSA’s current tactics have already been proven to be ineffective? Adding to the idiocy of the current policies, is the fact that depending on where you go through a security line, you may be able to avoid the body scanners all together. Nothing TSA comes up with will be foolproof, especially with properly motivated terrorists who have plenty of time on their hands to come up with new ways to beat the system.

  3. Akou 03/21/2012 at 11:56 pm - Reply

    I lived on an Army base in Germany when the 9/11 attacks hnepeapd and the way my husband and I lived changed dramtically. There also was a terriost cell busted not to far from where we lived there shortly after the attacks. I see both sides of the argument on the screening process. While I havn’t gone through and airport since the new procedue started my husband will be flying home next week and I am intrested to see what he has to say about it. I think the pat downs are extreame and I would be upset if it were me getting felt up by a screener. I like the idea of the full body scanner because nobody is touching me. I feel that those images will go no futher than that screening station and if the screeners have nother better to do than make jokes about people going through they should get a life. I think we have to remeber that we all want to be safe and this seems to be the best way we know how right now. Yes, it is uncomfortable and potentially embarrassing, but would you rather go through a full bosy scan and have everyone see what’s under there or get felt up , OR would you rather a potential terroist get through and blow up another plane and kill hundreds or possible thousands because you feel violated? If people are so against the current screening process than they need to try to come up with possible alternatives and voice them to the TSA or other athorities. It all is intrusive and let’s face it, it sucks, but if the process keeps us safe than that is what needs to be done. Unfortunaly this is the price we have to pay for living in a country like ours.

  4. Nayna 03/22/2012 at 5:40 am - Reply

    I flew twice last week and was surprised out how anmiiml all of this was at those airports. I flew out of Philadelphia, and they didn’t even have the scanners. They also didn’t make anyone take out their laptops like usual. In Las Vegas, they had the scanners but only random people had to go through them. Everyone else went through the x-ray. I wasn’t asked to go through and neither was my husband.The security is ridiculous. People are stopped and harassed for things that are totally explainable (like the soldiers returning from the Middle East that still had explosive residue on their uniforms and were not allowed on the plane), but others get through with all kinds of contraband. A terrorist has nothing to lost if caught, so why not just try to get through security? They have a decent chance!I like the other poster’s idea about baseball bats.

  5. […] TSA’s efficacy is questionable, considering the amount it spends on porno-scanners that can be easily defeated and the installation of which may be the result of sweetheart deals between the manufacturers and […]

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