essxjay

If other pax are within earshot, yes, maybe. I'm concerned this tactic could prolong or escalate the secondary. Deliberate mischaracterization of the pat-down would be dishonest, potentially undermining the whole exercise. I don't *like* secondaries but done professionally I can live with it and move on.

Another factor in the protest calculus is individual tolerance for one's possessions laying out of reach. The needle on my anxiety meter dances in the nether regions when traveling with my laptop. Every second it's out of my control I'm on edge, regardless of line of sight. Unnecessarily prolonging a secondary is counterproductive to protecting one's valuables.

WChou

essxjay: Good points but through casual conversation over the past month, more TSOs are on our side than some people realize. I usually never talk to TSA people but I've been curious lately on their opinions. Yes we have the "gung-ho TSA is perfect and I am Rambo" types but many are just as worried about long term exposure to backscatter x-ray scanners. While we'd like to think perverts are lining up to work the WBIs, most hate it. I have yet to meet someone that likes the job of patting people down and would like to see an end to this madness as well. From my experience, I do not take out my frustrations on a TSO unless they are nasty to me. 95% of the time, they just are there to do a job and go home. If we encounter a TSO friendly to the opinions here, I would ask what can be done to help them end the whole carnival.

As for getting casual travelers educated, i do not know the best way. I just know what has not worked in the past and led to well meaning campaigns backfiring. The same people that sleepwalk through screenings not noticing a patdown may not realize some of the proposed actions either. If there is a planned event, I'd try to get an investigative reporter from the local news station to help publicized the event. The caveat being many will want hype and may present a protest as the work of people on the fringe. I think about how many times I pass by someone on the street soliciting signatures for a cause that does not have a significant impact on my life. Many may do the same do some of the suggestions here.

To make in impact, there needs to be organization, communication, and a critical mass of supporters Otherwise it will just be a ineffective gatherings of a few people. Groups like Anonymous have done a decent job of getting their message across and continuously generate buzz on their cause.

Not saying a protest is a bad idea but the idea needs to be well planned and executed.

Boggie Dog

I think a simple one page brochure left at seating areas and other convienent places could have a positive impact.

I am not suggesting walking around and distributing pamplets. If you sit in a waiting area drop a brochure.

Nice and quite and not drawing undue attention to yourself.

Right now I see the effort as one to educate those who either do not understand WBI and Full Body Pat Down or just haven't considered what it is they are being required to do in order to fly on a commercial aircraft.

Simple, cheap and effective.

JSmith1969

A website with a simple, short, easy-to-remember URL -- suitable for writing on stickers, cards, or surfaces around an airport -- would also be handy.

FriendlySkies

I'll work on a flyer design this weekend.. Could somebody post what we'd like it to say? I guess we can include the NoS pics, perhaps some headlines about the fact that images can be stored, etc..

Wally Bird

If the BOS & LAX 'experiments' become SOP (pretty much guaranteed) then there is no way to mischaraterize the enhanced opt-out patdown.

Make a T-shirt
I AM BEING
SEXUALLY
ASSAULTED
to wear only through the checkpoint (so the airline doesn't "ban" you).

Face the audience and scowl.

Boggie Dog

Images and other info from here might be helpful.

http://www.facebook.com/posted.php?i...d=239458517874

TSORon

Interesting thread so far.

So, let me see if I get this right. You want to remove the best and most popular security equipment in history because you don’t like the rules? What about the folks for whom these devices mean no pat-downs? Those with the metal knees, hips, shoulders? You going to force them to be patted down each and every time they come through a checkpoint again? Travel is important for them as well, just as important as it is to you.

Gee, and we just got rid of the Hari-Krishna’s a few weeks ago.

Oh, so it’s OK for you to say this to us, but not for us to say it to you. I see how you are. Don't you think that is a bit hypocritical?

A “rational” approach would work the best. I don’t work with the AIT systems, and I do not believe in this cause, but since your approach here was rational I think I can help out that much. Be careful of suggestions from the "lunitic fringe" here and stick to rational suggestions with rational approaches. Take a single trip into the inane or irrational and your cause is lost.

N965VJ

I think one is available to us, we just need someone with suitable web skills.

Bingo! ^

I was thinking that pictures should be avoided since they would not be the same size and resolution as what the Nude-O-Scope operator sees, but we can comment that the TSA has steadfastlty refused to release any. Also, since we want to encourage folks to print a lot of these and leave them around in Clubs, Skymall catalogs/inflight mags, USATodays in hotels, etc. we should probably not have graphics that burn up a lot of ink or toner. B&W would probably be best.

Here is an excellent start with some bullet points:

The machines are running into complaints and questions both here and overseas:


---The International Air Transport Association says the TSA lacks a strategy and a vision of how the machines fit into a comprehensive checkpoint security plan. "The TSA is putting the cart before the horse," association spokesman Steve Lott s


---Security officials in Dubai said this month they wouldn't use the machines because they violate "personal privacy," and information about their "side effects" on health isn't known.


---The European Commission said in a report that "a rigorous scientific assessment" of potential health risks is needed before machines are deployed there. It also said screening methods besides the new machines should be used on pregnant women, babies, children and people with disabilities.


---The U.S. Government Accountability Office said that the TSA was deploying the machines without fully testing them and assessing whether they could detect "threat items" concealed on various parts of the body.



I think I see a real plan coming together.

WChou

[TSORon[/b]: We may not agree on much but I've always try to take a rational approach to life. I dislike the WBIs for a variety of reasons such as the unknown longer term health risks, their highly inefficient throughput, inability to catch threats better than a WTMD, possible violation of the 4th amendment, and political influence used to push through its implementations. While I hate the TSA and it's policies, I understand most TSOs are just the messenger and try not to use them as a punching bag.

When speaking with neutral parties or creating a pamphlet, using terms like "Nude-O-Scope" and "Pervert Machines" do not help the cause to getting WBIs abolished. As an example that I hope will not spark an alternate debate, use of terms like "baby killer" by a pro-life person will not sway a pro-choice person and will likely sound overly radical to someone still forming an opinion. Present the facts, cite your sources, and provide sources for follow up information.

N965VJ

Point taken, however terms like "virtual strip search" have been used by the media when describing these things. Recounting the Negrin case in MIA would be an excellent way to describe what the operator sees.

Oh, and here is another good quote for the brochure:

Dr. Michael Roizen, chief wellness officer at The Cleveland Clinic, said radiation exposure can have a cumulative effect and has been shown to cause some forms of cancer. Thirty hours of airplane travel is the equivalent of one chest X-ray -- an important health warning for frequent flyers, he said.

bocastephen

You really need to stop drinking from the TSA-provided water cooler.

Wimpie

TSA is fighting back. Read this rant on PV. The OP makes SATTSO and Ron seem like flunkies of the koolaid. This guy "Ponter" MAKES the koolaid!

http://blog.tsa.gov/2010/07/please-p...?commentPage=2

at the bottom - 8-26-10 - Two postings

Make me want to puke!

FriendlySkies

]


bolding mine


Heroic officers? rotflol



the words I would use for his statement rhyme with full spit!

Spiff

I'm pretty sure "Ponter" is American for "scumbag Communist with small genitalia and a full diaper".