Showing posts with label TSA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label TSA. Show all posts

NFL’s Role in FEMA camps

SUBHEAD: Where are the FEMA Camps? In the parking lots and under the domes of our football stadiums.

By Dave Hodges on 8 December 2013 for SHTF Plan -
(http://www.shtfplan.com/headline-news/where-are-the-fema-camps-right-in-front-of-you_12082013)


Image above: Exterior of the New Orleans NFL SuperDome during the aftermath of hurricane Katrina. From (http://hiphopwired.com/2012/08/29/a-look-at-hurricane-katrina-7-years-later-photos/hurricane-katrina-survivors-wait-to-be-evacuated-from-the-superdome-in-new-orleans/).

[IB Publisher's note: I cannot take much of this seriously, but do think the general idea is on point. I put it in the category of Black Humor.]

Whatever happened to just playing football? When I used to watch an NFL game on television, I only wanted to watch the game. I never appreciated listening to their liberal political agenda often being spewed out by their talking heads such as Bob Costas.

The NFL and Its Globalist Agenda
The NFL now represents the antithesis of everything that comprises the backbone of traditional American values. I love the game of football. Football was one of the sports that I grew up playing and I later coached the sport as a former head coach in the high school ranks prior to moving to coach college basketball. I thoroughly enjoyed the competition at every level both as a player and a coach. However, the NFL has taken all the fun out of the game, because the league spouts the mantra of the globalist forces which seek to enslave us.

The NFL Is An Extension of the TSA
The NFL has decided it is not enough for Americans to be abused by the TSA at the airport, the NFL has become the newest version of the TSA.

This past November, as I have done so many times before, I was planning to drive my family from Arizona to San Diego to watch my favorite sports team, the Denver Broncos, play the San Diego Chargers. We were also going to turn the event into a mini-vacation.

However, I discovered the NFL has become an extension of the TSA. Subsequently, the NFL has rolled out the new DHS ”anti-terrorism” security measures at all stadiums.

The Hodges family vacation plans were cancelled. In fact, I have attended my last NFL game under the new Sovietization of the National Football League.

The National Football League has instituted new security rules at all stadiums which bans certain items. Prohibited items include, but are not limited to: purses larger than a clutch bag, coolers, briefcases, backpacks, fanny packs, cinch bags, seat cushions, luggage of any kind, computer bags and camera bags or any bag larger than the permissible size.”

And, they have granted themselves the “right” to touch you anywhere, in their enhanced pat downs from the ankles and above. Welcome to Police State America, NFL style.

The People React
In an Arizona Republic newspaper article (8/18/2013, B1, B6), people weighed in on the new NFL policies.

Sue Kish, 48, while attending an Arizona Cardinals game, found that she and her two daughters were told that their clear plastic container, designed to replace her banned purse, was too large and she would have to return her belongings to her car. Kish proceeded back to her car with her two daughters in tow. All three expressed frustration including her daughter, Natalie, as she asked if she had to “…put our tampons in a clear plastic bag? (Az Republic, B1).” Natalie gets it.

Some people get it, but most Americans don’t, as they continue to tolerate the increasing level of tyranny in this country as evidenced by the following quote made by Heather Gunderson, an Arizona Cardinals season-ticket holder, who was quoted in the Arizona Republic about her response to the new invasive NFL security rules.
“It is kind of a nuisance…but I do understand the rule. It’s a whole new world, and you’ve got to follow the rules and regulations and be safe”.
Obviously, Ms. Gunderson never grasped the teachings of Ben Franklin and the folly of trading liberty for security in her high school history class. Henderson is correct about one thing: it is a whole new world, as in the New World Order.

The Gunderson quote is typical of our citizen sheep and her views represents why I believe we are losing our country. We have largely lost the ability to think for ourselves. Most of our people fail to appreciate where America is heading. Clearly, our national tyranny meters are turned off.

Oh, I know, we have to worry about the terrorists. Since the first casualty on the war on terror has been the Constitution, I think we have pretty much lost that war.

The people that acquiesce to this tyranny would likely tell you that America is the best nation in the world. If you are a sheep, you probably believe the old Bush propaganda when he said “they” hate us because of our freedoms. Really?


Image above: Comparison of TSA and NFL security procedures. From original article.

The NFL Is An Extension of the DHS and the NSA
In September of 2011, then Secretary of DHS, Janet Napolitano, announced new partnerships between the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) “If You See Something, Say Something” public awareness campaign and several sports organizations as well as various colleges and universities. Partnerships include National Football League (NFL) teams, Major League Baseball (MLB) teams, the U.S. Open Tennis Championships (USTA), Ohio State University and the University of Oklahoma.

Let’s make no mistake about it, that this is a citizen spy program which is reminiscent of the same entity implemented by East German Stasi, resulting in the persecution of hundreds of thousands of East German citizens. Should it come as a surprise to anyone since former Stasi chief, Markus Wolf, was paid $5 million dollars to set up DHS?

NFL Uses Taxpayer Money to Promote Obamacare
Despite the fact that Obamacare is “dead on arrival”, it has not stopped the administration and the NFL from shamelessly promoting the already failed healthcare system.

In a “Sponsorship Agreement” between the Maryland Health Connection and the NFL football team, the Baltimore Ravens, the state of Maryland, with taxpayer money, will pay the 2012 Super Bowl champs $130,000 to shamelessly promote Obamacare on television, radio, the team’s official website, in its newsletter and in social media.

The NFL Has Become the New Gun Confiscation Lobby
Who will ever forget as sportscaster and pseudo-intellectual, Bob Costas, used a national football television audience to promote the anti-Second Amendment views of the NFL in reference to a gun control rant Costas made after former Kansas City Chiefs player, Jovan Belcher, was involved in a murder-suicide tragedy. Costas, during halftime of the Kansas City-Denver Broncos game, quoted Fox Sports columnist Jason Whitlock and said, “If Jovan Belcher didn’t possess a gun, he and Kasandra Perkins would both be alive today”.

Subsequently, we have seen the NFL support the erosion of the Constitution, namely, the First , Second and Fourth Amendments to the Constitution and this is being done at a time when Obama is arming the al-Qaeda backed Syrian rebels.  

The NFL Promises to Participate in America’s Coming Dark Days
Seemingly, in the past few months, nearly every American community has been besieged with being the recipient of some form of martial law training in their community. Even our children are not immune to these practices. Every school requires bus evacuation drills from every campus in America. In Operation Mountain Guardian, the children are removed from their campus to a nearby stadium for martial law processing.


Video above: DHS martial law drill evacuates children to FEMA designated stadium in Denver. From (http://youtu.be/fh99BlupBiw).

Every NFL Stadium Is a FEMA Camp Hiding In Plain Sight
At Giants Stadium, on March 24, 2011, DHS and local law enforcement conducted a “relocation” drill in which civilians were transported to the stadium.

On September 23, 2011, children, without warning, were abducted from their Denver schools by FEMA and taken to the Colorado Sports Authority football stadium. At my son’s middle school, we cannot even have my son’s aunt pick him unless she is registered with the school and shows identification. Yet, FEMA can literally abduct children from their schools without parental permission or notification? This is outrageous!

The drill went so far as to hire mock parents, trying to simulate a reuniting between the abducted children and “their fictitious” parents (see the DHS recruitment letter written to the Denver Public Schools listed at the bottom of the page). The mock parent would beg DHS personnel to release their children. This was nothing but a desensitization exercise to get Federal personnel to become callous the pleas of would-be parents. Let me take this opportunity to state that drills are done with the expectation that the drill will someday reflect the same circumstances in real life. This drill clearly showed the intent to separate parents and children in times of crisis. Carefully examine the following sign.

At Arrowhead Stadium, home to the NFL Kansas City Chiefs, we see the segregation of women from other fans entering the stadium. Now, why would the officials at Arrowhead Stadium institute such a policy? Simple, they are conditioning the public to accept being separated from one another. What my insider sources tell me is that the future martial law detention camps will consist of men in one camp, women in another and children in a third camp.

FEMA/DHS tipped their hand at Operation Mountain Guardian when they snatched the kids from their elementary schools. I think it is highly likely that children will be taken while at school in order to lure their parents in to the public detention facilities. This also tells you that the coming false flag attacks will take place between noon to 2 pm (Eastern), 9 am to 11 am (Pacific) in order to have all of America’s public school students in school in order for DHS/FEMA to control them.

The sigh at Arrowhead Stadium demonstrates clear intent that the NFL is working DHS in order to become martial law ready.This also signals that the NFL stadiums are going to be staging areas for martial law. Perceived trouble makers will be lured to their final destination of justice as they try and retrieve their children. I will elaborate more fully on this in the next part of this series.

What Is the Motivation  Behind the NFL’s Actions?
Nobody is asking why the NFL would so willingly go along with this tyranny that is beginning to alienate the fan base of America’s most popular sport. The answer to this question is the same answer to the question as to why today’s pastors have compromised their message delivered from the pulpit.

Churches no longer take on issues like abortion, homosexuality and the war in Afghanistan from their pulpits on high. Pastor’s have willingly adopted the perverted interpretation of Romans 13 to get their flock to blindly follow the orders of a tyrannical government. 

Why would the pastors do this? The root of all evil is indeed money. As most churches declare themselves tax exempt under the provisions of 501 c 3, the IRS forbids the pastors to make political statements, or to allow a tax-exempt church to engage in political activity as a body. So, you might ask, what does this have to do with the globalization of the NFL? 

The NFL is granted the privilege of violate the anti-trust legislation this country. Both your pastors and the NFL have sold out their integrity for 30 pieces of silver.

Conclusion
There are a number of ways that people could react to this information. I do not believe that denial would be one of the expected responses as there is just too much proof that the NFL is no longer just in the entertainment business. The NFL is firmly in the grip of the globalists and subservient to their agenda. Mainstream America is enthralled with this entity that made over $9 billion dollars last year. However, the NFL does not represent the values of the American middle class once the game action leaves the field.

If Americans wanted to strike a blow at the globalists, boycotting the NFL would prove to be an ideal course of action. What message would that send to the globalists if the NFL were to go down in flames for supporting the New World Order agenda?

Simply put, do not buy NFL clothing and write to their corporate partners telling them that you are boycotting their products, as well, because they are affiliated with the NFL. The initials, NFL, should come to stand for Not For Long. We have the ability to win this one battle. We can destroy this globalist entity by simply withdrawing our support. And if that strategy were to work in collapsing this entity, imagine how empowered the people would become in taking on other globalist-controlled programs.

In the next part of the this series, I am going to reveal what insiders are saying about the detention centers and what will happen when the forced incarcerations begin. To view the next part in this series, log on here. Just one hint about the next article in this series, getting people herded into the stadiums, is only the beginning.

Appendix
Letter to recruit mock parents to participate in Operation Mountain Guardian.
From DPS: Operation Mountain Guardian
SEPTEMBER 20, 2011 BY ADMIN
The Colorado North Central Region, Denver MMRS, Denver UASI, Denver Police Department and Denver Public Schools are looking for 30 parent volunteers to participate in the upcoming Operation Mountain Guardian (OMG) exercise on Friday, September 23, 2011. OMG is a fullscale, multi-jurisdictional exercise that will take place at several locations in the Denver metro area. The exercise will focus on the emergency response to multiple terrorism-based incidents and will include more than 80 law enforcement, fire, EMS, hospital, and emergency management agencies.
*DPS is in need of parent volunteers to report to Rita Bass Center at Denver Health, 190 West 6th Avenue (SE Corner of 6th Avenue and Bannock Street) at 8:00 a.m. on Sept. 23, 2011.
*Parents will be asked to test the medical information release and reunification processes in place across the city. The exercise should finish at Denver Health at approximately 11:30 a.m.
*Parents are also need to test the same systems at Sports Authority Field. Parents will need to report to the north entrance of the stadium at 12:00p.m. The exercise will finish at approximately 3:00 p.m.
Parking at both locations will be provided. Please note this is an exercise designed to test the metro areas response to a catastrophic incident. DPS will be evaluating our Emergency Preparedness procedures in our schools, Response, Evacuations, Reunification, and the procedures for response by DPS departments: Safety and Security, Communications, Transportation, Facilities, Enterprise Management, Risk Management and others as necessary.
If you are able to volunteer please contact Melissa Craven, Melissa_craven@dpsk12.orgor 720-424-2634. In your message please provide your name and contact information as well as which location you wish to volunteer. Site specific details will be sent prior to the exercise.
Denver Public Schools
EMERGENCY RESPONSE AND CRISIS MANAGEMENT
[SHTFplan Editor’s Note: Over the last couple of decades there have been reports of FEMA relocation camps being built across the continental United States. Detractors say they don’t exist, often citing the lack of official confirmation from elected officials for the initiative as their proof. If the government actually had FEMA refugee and re-education facilities they’d have told us, right, because they’ve been so transparent about everything else? Apparently, even when leaked government documents show proof of the existence of these resettlement camps, it’s not enough for those who don’t want to open their eyes.


Most people simply refuse to believe that the U.S. government would build such facilities, yet the evidence suggests that they are not only real, but being actively staffed by the federal government and U.S. military. It would only make sense, wouldn’t it? The Department of Homeland Security has already been war gaming scenarios that include everything from widespread economic collapse to massive natural disasters, all of which could lead to mass refugee evacuations of America’s metropolitan areas. Where would those people go in an emergency? Where will they get food? Where will the government house tens of thousands of protesters and rioters should the financial system collapse and martial law be declared as was suggested would be the case in 2008 if Congress had not acted to bail out financial markets?


The answers are pretty clear if you consider that the goal of this government in any large crisis is to maintain control.


FEMA camps are real, and for those who refuse to believe it, take the time to read the following article from Dave Hodges of The Common Sense Show, where he highlights the fact that just about every major metropolitan city in America has these facilities at the ready for when the time comes.
Moreover, Dave explores how these camps will be operated and how you and your family will be segregated for your own safety in the event of a serious crisis.]

 • Dave Hodges is an award winning psychology, statistics and research professor, a college basketball coach, a mental health counselor, a political activist and writer who has published dozens of editorials and articles in several publications such as Freedom Phoenix, News With Views, and The Arizona Republic.


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Thank you Edward Snowden

SUBHEAD: Snowden's effort to unmask the secret surveillance of Americans by unaccountable agencies will reverberate. 

By Juan Wilson on 18 June 2013 for Island Breath -
(http://islandbreath.blogspot.com/2013/06/thank-you-edward-snowden.html)


Image above: Graphic of Edward Snowden by Jonanthan Jay.


It may not seem obvious at first, but Obama is finished. He may totter on as "leader" of the apparatus of imperial government in Washington, but it will be a ghost walk through a landscape of dissolving bureaucracies. And don't mistake this for a Shakespearian tragedy.

This guy may be amiable with plenty of people skills; he may be athletic and telegenic; he may have a quick wit with a humorous delivery - but down deep he's a smarmy authoritarian. Obama's actions reveal the angst and fearfulness of the suburban elitist in an underwater McMansion. That someone who will do anything - ANYTHING - to delay foreclosure and keep the illegal immigrants tending the kitchen, garden and pool.

What is ANYTHING? In the case of Obama it was to sell us down the river as slaves for the sake of his 1% handlers. They promised him a plantation in either Paraguay or Columbia when the shit hits the fan… that is IF he can keep a lid on it until they bleed the system dry. Poor guy. He can hardly keep the wheels on the buggy as it careens down the back slope of Peak Everything.

Well screw Obama! That's exactly what Edward Snowden did when he revealed that NSA has been given the means and permission to spy on all the telephone, email and web traffic they can access - which turns out to be basically all of it. Obama may be able to extradite Snowden from Hong Kong by pressuring the Chinese, but that won't matter.

A mortal blow has been delivered to "American Exceptionalism". Namely, we find America wasn't exceptional - just another corrupt authoritarian empire that sank into mistrusting not only the world but its own people.  Snowden seems content to be "the brave martyr". One suspects he'll play the role well. We wish him well.

The Real Trouble Makers
It comes down to a very simple question. Why are there terrorists anywhere who want to destroy America? The typical answer our leaders give us is because the terrorists are filled with insane religious fervor - they are wild-eyed Islamists. They hate our freedom. The Islamist terrorists are so irrational that we have to take extraordinary efforts to thwart them. America seems willing to trade off its freedom for security. Many will tell you that they feel safer with the TSA at our airports and the NSA in our iPhones.

But another take is that we are worried that after screwing the Middle East for their cheap oil for the last 50 years those people are fed up. We have substituted "Muslim" for "Commie" in our geopolitical game. The people of the Middle East don't look at America as a beacon of freedom but as the boot of oppression.

Wouldn't you want to destroy America if you lived in Pakistan (an ally) and America flew a robot plane over your daughter's backyard wedding party and killed all the guests present with a missile? Shouldn't Americans be fearful? The world is sick of American economic manipulation and continuous war.

Who are the cowards?
It's odd that we see the pilot of the drone as a warrior - one who sits in an air-conditioned trailer on an American base near a Pizza Hut and his home; while we characterize the girl that walks into an American controlled Afghan police station and blows herself up as a coward.

We are the cowards. I agree with the old saw - if you trade freedom for safety you don't deserve either.

But is security from insane terrorists really the root of why we need a worldwide surveillance network to spy on every electronic communication in the world? I don't think so.

The reason we need the TSA and NSA peering into our most private parts is because we are frightened of the consequences of what we do in the world. People around the world resent cliches about American exceptionalism while we bully them and kill those that resist.

World powers are now lining on either side of the Shia/Sunni schism in the Middle East. As more force is applied the chances of a loss of control increases. Obama should receive no support for entering the war in Syria. It is laughable that he would bring out the old Weapons of Mass Destruction excuse. We won't fall for that crapola.

Snowden's effort to unmask the secret surveillance of Americans (as well as the rest of the world) by unaccountable agencies will reverberate.  That genie won't go back in the bottle. What is clear is that the US government sees it own citizenry as the next enemy. Instead of leading us away from the cliff, they are taking us over it while cooing in our ear. As we awake to our peril they know we'll react badly and they will have to be ready.

At least some of us may wake up in time.
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TSA dropping X-Ray scanners

SUBHEAD: TSA is abandoning expensive body scanners x-ray technology after law suit on privacy invasion.

By Lizzy Duffy on 19 January 2013 for NPR News -
(http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/01/18/169733300/invasive-body-scanners-will-be-removed-from-airports)


Image above: Information presented by TSA as to what its agents should see of your private parts. From original article.

The Transportation Security Administration will remove controversial body scanners from airport security after OSI Systems Inc. didn't update its machines' software to make scanned images of airline passengers less revealing.

"It became clear to TSA they would be unable to meet our timeline," Karen Shelton Waters the agency's assistant administrator for acquisitions told Bloomberg News. "As a result of that, we terminated the contract for the convenience of the government."

Privacy advocates have said that the images are offensive, particularly when children and the elderly are scanned.

"TSA will end a $5 million contract with OSI's Rapiscan unit for the software," Jeff Plungis reports for Bloomberg, "after Administrator John Pistole concluded the company couldn't meet a congressional deadline to produce generic passenger images."

Last year, 76 Rapiscan scanners were removed from the busiest U.S. airports. As Pro Publica reported, the TSA's main concern was that the scanners slowed down security checkpoints. The remaining 174 machines will be taken out of airports gradually.

Body scanners from another manufacturer, L-3 Communications Holdings Inc., which met the TSA's requirements, are now expected to be used in more airports.

L-3 scanning machines use millimeter-wave technology — radio frequencies that find metallic and non-metallic items — while Rapiscan uses "backscatter" technology that relies on X-ray radiation.

Scanners that used X-rays spread to more airports after Christmas Day of 2009, when Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab's failed attempt to blow up a Northwest Airlines flight with explosives in his underwear.

But in July of 2010, the Electronic Privacy Information Center sued the TSA, saying that the scanners violated privacy laws and that the imagery was equivalent to a "physically invasive strip search."

As Pro Publica reports, X-ray scanners worth about $14 million are now sitting in a warehouse in Texas.

See also:
Ea O Ka Aina: Porno Scanner X-Ray Danger 11/22/10


Image above: Mashup of X-Ray porn with assist by Juan Wilson.
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Police & Freedom of Speech

SUBHEAD: Cop’s message - “I hope other fellow officers will see this and not view freedom of speech as a threat”.

By Mac Slavo on 28 November 2012 for SHTF Plan -
(http://www.shtfplan.com/headline-news/video-cop-defends-the-first-obviously-this-is-your-constitutional-right_11282012)


Image above: Deputy Sheriff Lenic explaining legal rights in confrontation with TSA and airport regulations. Still frame from video below.

Deputy Stan Lenic, the law enforcement officer recently caught on tape in an incident at the Albany, NY airport involving airport officials and TSA-opt out activists Ashley Jessica and Jason Bermas, has reportedly received an overwhelming public response for his defense of the First Amendment.

In a video originally published at Infowars, Lenic is shown advising an airport public relations director that activists who were distributing fliers about the dangers of TSA backscatter scanners and Americans’ rights when being subjected to TSA security checks were acting within their Constitutionally protected rights.

With the public regularly treated to scenes of officers involved in police brutality and activities violative of the principles of liberty, Lenic’s actions have become a shining example of what it means to serve the people and uphold the rule of law.

The American people are desperate for officials and representatives with their best interests at heart, and the support Lenic has received since the video was made available is proof positive:

Lenic later emailed [videographer] Jason Bermas the following message;
“I am overwhelmed by the support your viewers have given me. I hope other fellow officers will see this and not view the freedom of speech as a threat, but an opportunity to show the professionalism that law enforcement should be held to. I remember the day I was sworn in, and I remember that I am supposed to protect the constitution of the United States. I am proud to be a Deputy Sheriff, and try to do my job to the best of my ability so help me God.”
Lenic also told Bermas that his superiors were considering giving him an official commendation for his exemplary actions in defending the constitutional rights he swore to uphold.
Via: Infowars
As America’s police state crackdown becomes more aggressive and expansive, finding protectors of the Constitution is getting to be much harder to come by.

But they’re out there, and every so often we are able to witness a shining example of what it means to be an American – to fearlessly exercise our god-given rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

In the Albany, NY airport, Ashley Jessica and Jason Bermas did just that. When handing out flyers detailing the TSA’s abuses and educating travelers on what the TSA can and cannot do, airport officials attempted to derail their activities by attempting to have them moved, detained and arrested. Bermas and Jessica stood their ground, citing city, state and federal law as guidance for their legal activities.

Airport public affairs director Douglas I. Myers would have none of it, and asked Sheriff’s deputies to step in.

Deputy Stan Lenic did.

But what came next was nothing short of shocking, especially in modern-day America, where law enforcement officials often overstep their authority and presume guilt over innocence.

 “Obviously this is your constitutional right, as far as we’re concerned you’re not breaking any laws,” Sheriff Lenic tells Bermas.

When Myers asks the Sheriff to detain the activists, Lenic responds, “I can’t do that.”

Myers then asks for Bermas’ identification, to which Sheriff Lenic responds, “He doesn’t have to show you his identification.”

“I need to get it from you,” Myers tells the Sheriff as he winks at him, to which Sheriff Lenic responds “I can’t give you that.”

“Just so you know, he’s not doing anything wrong,” Deputy Lenic forcefully tells Myers, before quoting the New York penal law code.

“If I was to ask for his identification he does not have to give it to me because he’s not doing anything wrong,” adds Lenic.

Myers’ claim that Jessica is blocking the escalator is also dismissed by Lenic. Myers then claims the filming is illegal because it is “commercial” and could appear on the Drudge Report – which is a news aggregator and not a commercial website.

Lenic should obviously be commended for his fine job in upholding constitutional rights. If there’s an award for cop of the year, he should win it hands down. He is a shining example to other police officers who have completely failed to apply the law in similar situations.
Source: Transcript and video via Paul Joseph Watson of Infowars.com.


Video above: Sheriff Lenic uses proper procedure regarding TSA and American's freedom.  From (http://youtu.be/O-G8k44m3VE).

This is how we protect our liberties and those of future generations.

First we must have a populace willing to stand up to tyranny. The people must know the laws of the land, and be willing to face scrutiny and even arrest in the defense of those laws.

Second, law enforcement and other officials of the government need to be informed. They need to understand that their first and foremost duty is to the people through the protection of the fundamental laws of the land as codified in the Constitution of the United States of America.

Finally, the populace must be willing to be informed, not by mainstream media pundits who tout the status quo and neuter the free and open expression and thoughts of the people, but by citizen journalists and activists who challenge the notion that we must kneel before our elected benefactors.

We must hold our government to account – and this is an example of how that’s done.

• To voice your views, you can contact the Albany, NY Sheriff’s Department at (518) 487-5400 or the albanycounty.com/sheriff/

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Lihue TSA radiation leak suspected

SUBHEAD: Radiation feared as cause of Lihue Airport shutdown as HazMat team test TSA equipment.

By Leo Azambuja on 4 October 2011 for the Garden Island - 
  (http://thegardenisland.com/news/local/article_68dacfc6-0787-11e1-8073-001cc4c03286.html)  

[IB Editor's note: We told you so. Maybe now the TSA management will come to their senses on the dangers imposed by irradiating everyone (including themselves). See below for more.]

 
Image above: A hazardous materials team member on Thursday night at Lihu‘e Airport. From original article.

 Mysterious emissions caused the Lihue Airport to shut down for a few hours Thursday evening and sent several Transportation Security Administration staff to Wilcox Memorial Hospital emergency room.

“Some sort of fumes affected 11 TSA personnel,” said Dan Meisenzahl, spokesman for the state Department of Transportation, adding that the cause of the incident is yet to be determined.

But at least one person who was working at the airport Thursday suspects the culprit was a radiation leak in one of the TSA screening booths.

“I was there all day, I can guarantee you there was no smell,” said an airport worker who asked not to be identified for fear of being terminated.

The worker said all TSA personnel who felt ill were working next to a TSA screening booth. He took several pictures of a hazardous materials response team examining the same booth with equipment that he was told was to measure radiation levels.

“It started around 2 p.m., when two girls were sent home,” said the worker, adding that the women were standing next to the same machine the HAZMAT team had allegedly tested for radiation.

After that, a domino effect ensued, he said, resulting in 11 workers being treated for sickness.

The worker was concerned that he, his co-workers and the thousands of passengers who went through the same booth Thursday could have been exposed to unsafe radiation levels.

Meisenzahl said Friday he had no idea about radiation testing.

On Thursday, Meisenzahl stated in a press release that the TSA workers at the main checkpoint experienced dizziness, nausea, headache, throwing up and a chemical taste in their mouths.

“The HAZMAT team of the Kaua‘i County Fire Department performed an extensive investigation and could not locate the cause,” he said Friday.

County spokeswoman Mary Daubert said the HAZMAT crew tested the center checkpoint for toxic and hazardous odors and substances and found none, and found no radiation.

Meisenzahl said all TSA personnel who got sick were treated at the scene by paramedics, who determined they were fine.

As a precaution, he said, TSA management urged all workers who got sick to go to the hospital for further tests.

“All but one agreed,” Meisenzahl said. “The doctors at the hospital also determined that they were all fine.”

He said on Friday that all machines were tested and are working properly. But concerning the workers, the only thing TSA was telling him was that the operations were back to normal. “So I assume that means all workers are back to their normal shift.”

Daubert said that after HAZMAT tested the area, it was deemed safe for workers and travelers to use.
Nothing similar has happened at any of Hawai‘i’s 15 airports, according to Meisenzahl. He had no information on the status of Mainland airports.

TSA spokesman Nico Mendez said the employees have been given a clean bill of health and TSA will continue to work with local officials to determine the cause of the incident.

“The health and welfare of our officers is paramount to the success of our agency and security of the airport,” he said.

The worker who spoke with The Garden Island said TSA staff always tells travelers to put down their cameras, prohibiting them from taking pictures at the airport.

“It makes you wonder what kind of stuff is going on there,” he said.

Meisenzahl said travelers are allowed to take pictures at the airport, but not of TSA equipment and checkpoints, per TSA policy.

See also:
Ea O Ka Aina: TSA Radiation Exposure 12/11/10
Ea O Ka Aina: Porno Scanner X-Ray danger 11/27/10
Ea O Ka AIna: TSA Humiliations 11/19/10
Ea O Ka Aina: Pushback Against TSA Security 11/17/10
Ea O Ka Aina: Resistance to Porno-Scanners Increases 11/15/10
Ea O Ka Aina: Don't Scan Me Bro 11/12/10
Ea O Ka Aina: National "Opt-Out" Day 11/11/10
Ea O Ka Aina: Pilots reject full body scanners 11/8/10
Island Breath: It's Fascism when it happens to you 5/14/08
Island Breath: Elephant Traps for Kauai? 12/1/07

 .

What has America become?

SOURCE: Kenneth Taylor (taylork021@Hawaii.rr.com)
SUBHEAD: TSA, DHS plan massive rollout of mobile surveillance vans with long-distance X-ray capability, eye movement tracking and more.  

By Mike Adams on 6 March 2011 for NaturalNews -  
(http://www.naturalnews.com/031603_surveillance_police_state.html)  
Image above: X-ray image of people "hidden" in passing truck. From Forbes article linked below.

Newly-released documents obtained by the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) reveal that the US Depart of Homeland Security has been working on plans to roll out a new wave of mobile surveillance technologies at train stations, stadiums and streets.

These new technologies will track your eye movements, capture and record your facial dimensions for face-recognition processing, bathe you in X-rays to look under your clothes, and even image your naked body using whole-body infrared images that were banned from consumer video cameras because they allowed the camera owners to take "nude" videos of people at the beach.

Most importantly, many of these technologies are designed to be completely hidden, allowing the government to implement "covert inspection of moving subjects."

You could be walking down a hallway at a sports stadium, in other words, never knowing that you're being bathed in X-rays from the Department of Homeland Security, whose operators are covertly looking under your clothes to see if you're carrying any weapons.  

Roving vans to x-ray & "track eye movements"
 According to a Forbes.com article (http://blogs.forbes.com/andygreenberg/2011/03/02/docs-reveal-tsa-plan-to-body-scan-pedestrians-train-passengers), one project pursued by DHS using technology from Siemens would "mount backscatter x-ray scanners and video cameras on roving vans, along with other cameras on buildings and utility poles, to monitor groups of pedestrians, assess what they carried, and even track their eye movements."

Another project involved developing "a system of long range x-ray scanning to determine what metal objects an individual might have on his or her body at distances up to thirty feet."

 We already know that the U.S. government has purchased 500 vans using covert backscatter technology to covertly scan people on the streets (http://blogs.forbes.com/andygreenberg/2010/08/24/full-body-scan-technology-deployed-in-street-roving-vans). They're called "Z Backscatter Vans, or ZBVs." This is all part of the U.S. government's new wave of police state surveillance that aims to track and irradiate innocent civilians who have committed no crime.

Under the new Janet Napolitano regime, all Americans are now considered potential terrorists, and anyone can be subjected to government-sanctioned radiation scanning at any time, without their knowledge or approval. And don't think these efforts will be limited merely to backscatter technology:

The TSA is now testing full-power, deep-penetrating X-ray machines (like the ones that deliver chest X-rays in hospitals) in order to check people for bombs they may have swallowed. Yes, Janet Napolitano now wants to look inside your colon! And they're willing to X-ray everyone -- without their consent -- in order to do that.  

Read the documents yourself
If you have trouble believing the U.S. government is unleashing a new wave of police state covert scanning vans on to the streets of America, you can read the documents yourself -- all 173 pages. They're available on the EPIC website at: (http://epic.org/privacy/body_scanners/epic_v_dhs_suspension_of_body.html).

EPIC calls these vans "mobile strip search devices" because they give the federal government technology to look under your clothes without your permission or consent. It's also being done without probable cause, so it's a violation of the Fourth Amendment protections that are guaranteed to Americans under the Bill of Rights.

"It's a clear violation of the fourth amendment that's very invasive, not necessarily effective, and poses all the same radiation risks as the airport scans," said EPIC attorney Ginger McCall, in the Forbes article (above).  

Huge health risks to the population

It's not just the privacy issues that raise red flags here, of course: It's also the fact that the U.S. government has no respect whatsoever for the health of its citizens who are being subjected to these radiation emitting devices.

Even while the TSA refuses to release testing results from its own naked body scanners, DHS keeps buying more machines (and more powerful machines) that will only subject travelers to yet more radiation.

As we've already reported here on NaturalNews.com, numerous scientists are already on the record warning that the TSA's backscatter "naked body scanners" could cause breast cancer, sperm mutation and other health problems (http://www.naturalnews.com/030607_naked_body_scanners_radiation.html).

But the U.S. government doesn't seem to care what happens to your health. Their position is that their "right" to know what you're carrying under your clothes or inside your body overrides your right to privacy or personal health.

All they have to do is float a couple of fabricated terrorism scare stories every few months, and then use those "threats" as justification for violating the Constitutional rights of U.S. citizens are very turn. The real question in all this, of course, is how far will this go?

The TSA is already reaching down your pants and feeling up peoples' genitals as part of the "security" measures. Will DHS soon just start subjecting people to body cavity searches as a necessary security requirement before entering a football stadium, for example?

Will Americans now be X-rayed with cancer-causing ionizing radiation -- without their awareness or consent -- merely because they are walking down the street or boarding a train? That seems to be the case.

And as you can readily tell from all this, it's getting harder and harder for the fast-dwindling group of deniers to claim America isn't already a police state. The USA is fast becoming a high-tech version of the very worst police state tyrannies witnessed throughout human history.

The only difference is that now they have "science" on their side with the coolest new technology that can violate your rights and irradiate your body in a hundred different ways, with high-resolution images and digital storage devices. I suppose if all this were being done to really stop international terrorists, that might be one thing.

But what has become increasingly clear in observing the government's behavior in this realm is that the U.S. government now considers Americans to be the enemy -- especially those who have the gall to defend their Constitutionally-protected freedoms or question the unjustified centralization of power taking place right now in Washington. The DHS is America's new secret police.

And their cameras are pointing inward, into the everyday lives of Americans; not outward, aimed at international terrorists. When the price of security becomes forfeiting your liberty, the source of the "terror" is no longer the terrorists but your own government. Isn't this the lesson that history has taught us well? Watch the talk by Naomi Wolf, who explains all this extremely well:
   
Video above: Part 1: (http://www.naturalnews.tv/v.asp?v=EEE6C7A46FA0A552EAB819EB4693210A)  
Video above: Part 2: (http://www.naturalnews.tv/v.asp?v=176F565D8E528E3AEDC7A28A18CBAD63)

These videos will open your eyes to what's really happening today. It has all happened before in recent history, and the patterns are undeniable. Watch the videos to learn more.

 .

TSA 'Logic' Doesn't Add Up

SUBHEAD: The numbers don't add up to security, neither for the GAO auditors nor for a professional mathematician nor even for a video toting pilot, but do the infringed upon public follow the money and numbers?

By Keith Devlin in December 2010 for Mathematical Association of America - (http://www.maa.org/devlin/devlin_12_10.html)

 
Image above from http://www.meetup.com/WeWontFlyLA/calendar/15697784/

If ever I wanted to find a good example to illustrate the importance in today's society of ensuring that citizens achieve a basic level of quantitative literacy, the recent activities at the nation's airports provided it. Rather than spend increasing amounts of money, to say nothing of trampling on key provisions of our nation's founding constitution (in this case the Fourth Amendment), chasing a patently unachievable target, by spending a fraction of the money on elementary mathematical education we might achieve a lot more. 
 
I fly a lot, over 100,000 miles a year, giving me a George Clooney like (Up in the Air movie), privileged 1.5 Million Miles status on United Airlines, and access to those exclusive lounges. Since a month rarely passes by without my sitting in an aircraft seat, airline safety matters to me in a very real way. My job requires that I travel a lot, so I am very aware of the risks. People die in aircraft disasters, and one day it could be me. But how likely is it? 

 In terms of my life being brought to a sudden, firey end in an aircraft, the cause is far more likely to be mechanical failure on the airplane or human error in the cockpit or in the airline traffic control room than it is to be a terrorist act. The airline security measures put in place shortly after 9/11 reduced the risk of dying in a terrorist attack well below the non-terrorist risks we accept every time we step on an airplane. 

There is absolutely no rational reason for the current level of panic-driven insanity, which as far as I can tell, having made many international trips in the past year alone, is not found in any other country, including the world's number one potential terrorist target, Israel. The only reason I can think of for the panic in the United States is a fundamental failure to appreciate the risks. We want our President to protect us - at least presidents keep telling us that. 

There are many ways a president could keep us safe. A smart move would be to allocate protective resources according to the numbers. A nation that was truly concerned about preventing avoidable deaths would ban smoking tomorrow. It kills 440,000 people each year, according to the CDC, which works out at 50 per hour. Unlike full body scanners and intrusive "pat downs" (and yes, I've had one), banning smoking, while unpopular in some quarters and a threat to the livelihood of some (not a factor to take lightly), would not ride roughshod over a constitutional right. 

Or how about the president getting serious about eliminating drunk driving, which kills 15,000 people in the U.S. every year, with roughly eight drunk driving fatalities involving teenagers every day. And don't let me start about diet, exercise, and obesity. 

Over 80M people in the United States have one or more forms of cardiovascular disease and over 150,000 Americans under 65 are killed by it each year; 73M have high blood pressure; 17M have coronary heart disease; over 6M suffer a stroke; and 6M have heart failure. I'm not preaching or talking morals here. In our society we are free to make our own lifestyle decisions. 

It's about the math. Spending $85M to buy 500 full body scanners at $170,000 each, and turning the simple act of boarding an airplane into a circus, to try to eliminate a risk that is orders of magnitude less than many other risks people accept in their daily lives is a total waste of public funds, and is possible only because large numbers of people apparently don't do - or don't understand - the math. It makes absolute sense to organize our lives and our society to minimize risks. 

But not at the expense of life itself. Life is risky. The risk of dying in your home due to a fall are far greater than of dying in a terrorist attack on an airplane. What do you do, stay in bed all the time? Actually, that isn't a good idea. In addition to the life threatening health risks that result from not getting up and exercising, there is also a greater risk of dying by falling out of bed than from dying in an airline terrorist attack. 

As a species, we find ourselves with a sophisticated brain capable of rational decision making. Since the seventeenth century we have known how to assign reliable, meaningful numbers to life's risks so we can organize our lives appropriately. 

When we worry about a danger - an airline terrorist attack - that is far, far less likely than dying by drowning in our own bathtub, something has gone drastically wrong with our ability to act rationally. Yes, the terrorist threat required action. (On a personal level, much of my mathematical research since 9/11 has been directed into ensuring we remain ahead of and catch the terrorists, so I do take the threat seriously.) We took that action in the early years after 9/11, and it has been highly effective. Have we eliminated the risk? No, that is not possible. But we have reduced it well below many of life's other risks. 

Sitting in a narrow metal tube 39,000 feet in the air is not a situation evolution prepared us for. As a consequence, at the back of my mind as I board my next flight will be all kinds of risks. But terrorism will be so far down the list as to be out of sight. The TSA does not give me much, if any, feeling of security. The math does. 

I'd stake my life on the statistics. In fact I do, several times every month. To repeat my original point. Life in today's society requires not only a workable level of literacy, it demands a basic level of numeracy as well. Until that level is reached, we will continue to squander scarce resources chasing unachievable and unnecessary goals, while far more important and easily attainable measures to improve lives and maintain the nation's safety and security are ignored. Now I am preaching.  
 
  Video above:  "Sacramento-area pilot punished for YouTube video" on local ABCNew10 on 12/22/10 from (http://www.news10.net/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=113529) • Mathematician Keith Devlin is the Executive Director of the Human-Sciences and Technologies Advanced Research Institute (H-STAR) at Stanford University and The Math Guy on NPR's Weekend Edition.

Aufitors Question TSA SUBHEAD: GAO Auditors question TSA's use of and spending on technology. By Dana Hedgpeth on 21 December 2010 for Washington Post - 
Before there were full-body scanners, there were puffers. The Transportation Security Administration spent about $30 million on devices that puffed air on travelers to "sniff" them out for explosives residue. Those machines ended up in warehouses, removed from airports, abandoned as impractical. The massive push to fix airport security in the United States after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, led to a gold rush in technology contracts for an industry that mushroomed almost overnight. Since it was founded in 2001, the TSA has spent roughly $14 billion in more than 20,900 transactions with dozens of contractors. 
 
In addition to beefing up the fleets of X-ray machines and traditional security systems at airports nationwide, about $8 billion also paid for ambitious new technologies. The agency has spent about $800 million on devices to screen bags and passenger items, including shoes, bottled liquids, casts and prostheses. For next year, it wants more than $1.3 billion for airport screening technologies. 
 
But lawmakers, auditors and national security experts question whether the government is too quick to embrace technology as a solution for basic security problems and whether the TSA has been too eager to write checks for unproven products. "We always want the best, the latest and greatest technology against terrorists, but that's not necessarily the smartest way to spend your money and your efforts," said Kip Hawley, who served as the head of the TSA from 2005 until last year. "We see a technology that looks promising, and the temptation is to run to deploy it before we fully understand how it integrates with the multiple layers we already have in place like using a watch list, training officers at every checkpoint to look for suspicious behavior and using some pat-downs." 
 
Some say the fact that the United States hasn't had another 9/11-level terrorist attackshows that the investment was money well spent. But government auditors have faulted the TSA and its parent agency, the Department of Homeland Security, for failing to properly test and evaluate technology before spending money on it. The puffer machines, for example, were an early TSA attempt at improving electronic screening in airport security lines. Designed to dislodge explosive particles by shooting air blasts at passengers, the detectors turned out to be unreliable and expensive to operate. 
 
But they were deployed in many airports before the TSA had fully tested them, according to the Government Accountability Office. The puffers were "deployed even though TSA officials were aware that tests conducted during 2004 and 2005 on earlier [puffer] models suggested they did not demonstrate reliable performance in an airport environment," according to a GAO report from October 2009. TSA officials told the GAO that they had deployed the puffers to "respond quickly to the threat posed by a suicide bomber" after incidents on Russian airliners in 2004
 
The agency stopped buying and deploying the puffer machines to airports in June 2006. The GAO said in its October 2009 report that 116 puffers were in storage. A TSA spokesman said the agency had "since disposed of" the machines or transferred them to other agencies.
Analyzing risk The government auditors expressed similar concerns that the TSA hasn't done good assessments of the risk, cost benefits or performances of other new technologies for screening at checkpoints. The GAO has said that the TSA has "not conducted a risk assessment or cost-benefit analysis, or established quantifiable performance measures" on its new technologies. "As a result, TSA does not have assurance that its efforts are focused on the highest priority security needs."  In other cases, equipment to trace explosives and other devices for screening passengers have had technical problems and projected cost overruns, according to a recent GAO report. The full-body scanners that have made headlines in recent weeks for their revealing images of passengers were tested more thoroughly than the puffer machines before being deployed, the GAO has found. But the auditors faulted the agency for not fully justifying their cost, saying that the agency's plan to double the number of body scanners in coming years will require more personnel to run and maintain them - an expense of as much as $2.4 billion. "They're adding layers of security and technology, but they need to do a cost-benefit analysis to make sure this is worthwhile," said Steve Lord of the GAO's Homeland Security and Justice team, who has reviewed the TSA's purchases. "They need to look at whether there is other technology to deploy at checkpoints. Are we getting the best technology for the given pot of money? Is there a cheaper way to provide the same level of security through other technology?" John Huey, an airport security expert, said the TSA's contracts with vendors to buy more equipment and devices often aren't done in a "systematic way." "TSA has an obsession of finding a single box that will solve all its problems," Huey said. "They've spent and wasted money looking for that one box, and there is no such solution. . . . They respond to congressional mandates and the latest headlines of attempted terrorist attacks without any thought to risk management or separating out the threats in a logical way." TSA officials disagree. They say there are responsible processes in place to research, develop and fund new technologies for airport security. And they point out that some gee-whiz equipment that vendors have pitched has taken too long to develop or has been too expensive to produce. "We have to be predictive and acquire the best technology today to address the known threats by being informed of the latest intelligence and be proactive in working on what could be the next threats," said TSA Administrator John Pistole. "It is a tall order." He said that technology isn't the only security effort underway. The TSA uses a combination of tactics, including terrorist watch lists, intelligence gathering and training security officers, to look for suspicious behavior. Trial and error The billions of dollars the TSA has spent on technology has been "a good investment,"Pistole said, but he said that developing devices is full of risk. "It is a lot of art with the science. We're always competing for the best technology at the best price. It is just a constantly changing dynamic environment." After 9/11, there was talk of cargo containers that could withstand explosions, for example, but airport security experts said they never came to fruition, in part because they were too heavy and airlines didn't want to pay for the extra fuel to carry them. Another much talked-about device, a shoe scanner that would allow passengers to keep their shoes on while going through a checkpoint, has not been fully deployed to airports. Twelve companies are vying to provide shoe scanners to U.S. airports, but the TSA has not chosen one.
 
"We don't always see a well-defined roadmap of what they want," said Tom Ripp, president of the Security and Detection Systems division of L-3 Communications, a major security contractor. Part of the problem is that experts disagree about what constitutes an effective airport security system, and policy makers are reluctant to embrace some techniques - such as profiling - that American society finds objectionable. "Since the introduction of metal detectors in the 1970s, technologies have been bought and cobbled together in a somewhat piecemeal approach," said Tom LaTourrette, a security expert at RAND Corp., a nonprofit research institute. "No one has been able to provide a satisfactory answer to the question of how to best structure aviation security," he said. Quick solutions The rush to improve security and quickly protect the public has also led to some shortcuts in contracting procedures, according to government reports. A March audit from the Department of Homeland Security's inspector general looked at 29 support service contracts that the TSA had issued to buy new technologies for baggage and passenger screening equipment, worth a total of $662 million. It found that the agency "did not provide adequate management and oversight" on the contracts. It concluded that the TSA "did not have reasonable assurance that contractors were performing as required, that it contracted for the services it needed, that it received the services it paid for, or that taxpayers were receiving the best value."... Staff researcher Julie Tate contributed to the above report.
Above video "Sacramento whistleblowing pilot explains why he did it" on local ABCNew10 on 12/23/10 from (http://www.news10.net/news/story.aspx?storyid=113731&catid=2)

Media piles on to TSA problems

SUBHEAD: Nation's leading federal policy newspaper reports on calls for revamping of airport checkpoint system.
Nine years after the Sept. 11 attacks and decades after hijackers first began to target passenger airliners, the United States has invested billions of dollars in an airport system that makes technology the last line of defense to intercept terrorists.

It has yet to catch one.

In every known recent attempt, terrorists have used a different tactic to evade the latest technology at airport checkpoints, only to be thwarted by information unearthed through intelligence work - or by alert passengers in flight.

The result is an emerging consensus among experts and lawmakers that the checkpoint-heavy approach - searching nearly every passenger - may not be the most effective.

Instead, many of them say, the system should focus more urgently on individuals, gathering a greater range of information about people to identify those most likely to present a real danger.

Scanners, pat-downs and bomb-sniffing dogs are all vital parts of the process but should be integrated into a multilayered system that includes far-reaching, computer-filtered data about people, along with face-to-face monitoring by the modern equivalent of a beat cop, several officials and experts said. Technology matters, they said, but it is akin to putting up a series of picket fences for terrorists to evade.

U.S. officials and lawmakers acknowledge that broader revisions may be necessary, saying it is only a matter of time before the airport security apparatus fails.

"Let's be honest: We've been lucky the last few times," said Senate Homeland Security Committee Chairman Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.). "With the Christmas Day bomber over Detroit and the Times Square bomber and

As a result of those attempts, passengers must surrender sharp objects (a response to the Sept. 11 attacks) and slip off their shoes (a response to the 2001 would-be shoe bomber). They must remove liquids from their bags (a result of a 2006 plot to blow up planes), and, as of a few weeks ago, they must submit to body scans or pat-downs (a process accelerated by the attempted airline bombing last Christmas Day).

Yet lawmakers and government reports question the capability of some specific measures. Year after year, undercover testers manage to sneak loaded weapons past screeners... [rest of article]


SUBHEAD: Peer-reviewed industry journal, "evaluation of airport x-ray backscatter units" reveals flaws with full body scanners.

By Leon Kaufman & Joseph Carlson on 26 November 2010 for Journal of Transportation Security - (http://www.springerlink.com/content/g6620thk08679160)
Video above: "TSA Airport Scanners Radiation Cancer X-Ray..." from (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eS0UxXDNs4w). Abstract Little information exists on the performance of x-ray backscatter machines now being deployed through UK, US and other airports. We implement a Monte Carlo simulation using as input what is known about the x-ray spectra used for imaging, device specifications and available images to estimate penetration and exposure to the body from the x-ray beam, and sensitivity to dangerous contraband materials. We show that the body is exposed throughout to the incident x-rays, and that although images can be made at the exposure levels claimed (under 100 nanoGrey per view), detection of contraband can be foiled in these systems. Because front and back views are obtained, low Z materials can only be reliable detected if they are packed outside the sides of the body or with hard edges, while high Z materials are well seen when placed in front or back of the body, but not to the sides. Even if exposure were to be increased significantly, normal anatomy would make a dangerous amount of plastic explosive with tapered edges difficult if not impossible to detect. [full article]

SUBHEAD: Analysis reveals legal flaws in TSA searches. Significantly, judicial decisions have found actions must be 'minimally intrusive' and proven 'effective.'
By Bob Unruh on 12 December 2010 for WND.com -
(http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=237793)
Video above: "93 year old Involved in Shake Down over Applesauce by TSA". From (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHxy5GattLY).

An attorney who teaches college courses on constitutional law, has a radio program to address those issues and still is engaged in several campaigns on behalf of the United States Justice Foundation has concluded that the Transportation Security Administration's new invasive screening procedures likely will be struck down by the courts.

"Cases on the 4th Amendment seem to set a clear pattern that airport screening is permissible and will be upheld," wrote Michael Connelly, a retired attorney and U.S. Army veteran who practiced law for decades in Baton Rouge, La., specializing in cases involving the Bill of Rights.

He currently teaches four law courses including one on constitutional law, has a radio program called "Our Constitution" and is an author.

"However, all of the cases made two other very important points," he continued. "First, any searches must be minimally intrusive on the individual being searched and second, the searches must be effective in screening out weapons and terrorists.

"I believe it can be effectively argued that neither of these criteria is met by the TSA system of full body scans and pat-downs," he said...

<>"There is no doubt that the use of the full body scanners and alternate pat-downs has raised the bar when it comes to intrusive warrantless searches of individuals at airports and other locations," he said.

On its face, the 4th Amendment protects Americans from warrantless searches, stating, "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."

He explains that in the past few decades several exemptions have been created by the courts that would allow warrantless searches – called mostly "administrative searches."

"These searches fall under several limited categories and suspicionless checkpoints is one of these. Under this doctrine a person can be searched even though there is no probable cause for a search and he or she is not directly suspected of having committed or intending to commit a crime," he said.

Courts have found in the past that such circumstances arise when "the gravity of the public concerns served by the seizure, the degree to which the seizure advances the public interests, and the severity of the interference with individual liberty."

In fact, one of the cases, United States v. Hartwell from 2006, that finds long-standing airport security screening procedures acceptable was written by Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito while he was on the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Other cases have found, for example, that sobriety checkpoints on state roads are reasonable because of the state's interest in preventing drunken driving and the degree of intrusion on individual motorists "who are briefly stopped."

Connelly explained that past cases have dealt with the constitutionality of metal detectors, the use of hand-held scanners and in rare circumstances, pat-downs that do not involve contact with a person's private parts.

"There is no question that the full body scanners amount to a strip-search and that has not been upheld as permissible in the general airport security plan. In fact, the Supreme Court has recently given a definite thumbs down to strip-searches that are warrantless and do not meet the probable cause test. Safford Unified School District #1 v. Redding [a 2009 case] held that a strip-search of a high school girl was excessively intrusive and violated her rights. This was despite the fact that the school officials had reason to believe that she might have prescription drugs on her person," he found.

"There is no such suspicion to justify these searches at airports. They are very intrusive because in effect passengers must submit their nude bodies to visual examination by complete strangers. The alternative is not much better since it allows TSA agents to pat down a person including the most intimate parts of a person’s anatomy," he suggested.

Secondly, there is the "serious question of effectiveness."

"TSA officials are quick to defend these techniques by pointing to the so-called 'underwear bomber.' Since a terrorist may not be carrying a weapon or explosive device that is made of metal it is true that it will not be picked up by the standard metal detector. The explosive powder being carried by the underwear bomber would probably have been found by a thorough pat-down, but according to experts not by the body scanner. Since the pat-down is an alternative to the body scanner it may never have occurred in that situation."

In fact, a peer-reviewed scientific study reveals that the TSA's full-body imaging machines could be fooled by terrorists who simply would mold explosives to conform to their bodies.

"There is scant evidence that many non-metal explosive devices will be detected by the body scanner. Plastic explosives are a prime example of this since they can be molded to look like part of the body. These deficiencies have been recognized by many experts in Europe," Connelly said.

Third, he cited the "potential health risk" from the scanners.

"There are … concerns being raised about the effects of intense radiation on people with immune system deficiencies, as well as possible altering of DNA in individuals, and sperm counts in men. In addition, there has been no determination about the possible health risks to young children, seniors, or pregnant women and their unborn children.

<>"Members of the scientific community and medical profession who are talking about these issues have not been reassured by the broad and unsubstantiated assurances by the TSA that there is nothing for people to worry about," he said... [rest of article]

Video above: "TSA Thugs Lose Case Against Woman with Applesauce". From (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jz8OocnnH0g).

.

TSA Radiation Exposure

SUBHEAD: TSA field agents have reason to worry about their safety. Not from the public but from radiation exposure. By Alison Young on 6 December 2010 for USA Today - (http://www.usatoday.com/travel/flights/2010-12-06-tsa-xray-inside_N.htm)
Image above: A rather unhealthy TSA agent stands next to backscatter x-ray machine/ From (http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2631515/posts).
When investigators with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's workplace safety team visited a dozen airports in 2003 and 2004, what they found was disturbing — at least to federal airport workers. Although most radiation levels around baggage X-ray machines were low, six of 281 machines used to screen checked luggage violated federal radiation standards, some emitting two or three times the allowed limit, the CDC found. Perhaps most troubling, the CDC had found what the Transportation Security Administration hadn't noticed. The TSA and its contractors had failed to identify the machines that were emitting excessive radiation — a failure that continues to leave TSA workers and some lawmakers uneasy, especially as the agency continues to deploy hundreds of controversial radiation-emitting machines to help screen passengers. Video above: "Please Remove Your Shoes" Movie Trailer, From (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTJ9v1s1Oak). Although the CDC report, finished in 2008, concluded that the radiation levels didn't pose a "direct hazard" to TSA workers, it recommended that the TSA take steps to protect against excessive exposures. Health guidelines call for people to limit their exposure to radiation as much as reasonably possible. In late November, USA TODAY requested current inspection reports for the 4,080 X-ray machines used to examine checked and carry-on bags, and for the 221 new full-body X-ray scanners. The TSA insists that all have passed radiation inspections conducted by contractors but has thus far been unwilling to release the reports. Members of Congress are now calling on the TSA to release radiation inspection records, and one lawmaker — Rep.Ed Markey, D-Mass. — has asked for an investigation into the effectiveness of the TSA's oversight of its X-ray machines. The TSA's lack of transparency troubles agency workers, according to the union that represents them. "We don't think the agency is sharing enough information," said Milly Rodriguez, occupational health and safety specialist at the American Federation of Government Employees. "Radiation just invokes a lot of fear." Jill Segraves, director of TSA's occupational safety office, said the problems identified by CDC were a result of the agency's rapid creation in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. "We didn't even have policies and procedures in place yet," she said, noting TSA's safety office wasn't created until 2003. "Now we have a much better educated workforce. They understand what to look for with these systems," Segraves said. A different contractor now maintains the TSA's airport equipment, she said, and every machine receives a radiation test at least annually, at installation and after maintenance issues. TSA, Army inspect machines Airport X-ray machines are exempt from the state radiation control inspections they would receive if installed at a local courthouse or in a non-federal office building.The U.S. Food and Drug Administration doesn't routinely inspect airport X-ray machines either because they are not medical devices, said FDA spokesman Dick Thompson. That leaves the TSA responsible for inspecting its own devices. Since 2008, the TSA has contracted with the U.S. Army Public Health Command to do additional radiation spot checks at 10-12 of the nation's 450 commercial passenger airports each year. The added layer of scrutiny is supposed to act as a backstop to the regular inspections and monitoring done by maintenance contractors. So far the Army radiation inspectors have checked 437 baggage X-ray machines at 34 airports selected by TSA; all had radiation emissions "well below" federal requirements, said Fran Szrom, a health physicist with the Army program. Every year Americans are exposed to about 300 millirem of radiation from naturally occurring sources, from rocks and soil to cosmic rays, according to the Health Physics Society. The amounts of radiation emitted by properly working airport X-ray equipment is small, though some experts disagree how small Federal regulations require X-ray machines that screen bags to emit less than 0.5 millirem an hour. Currently, there are 221 backscatter X-ray machines to screen passengers at 39 airports. According to the TSA, each scan delivers a radiation dose of less than 0.01 millirem. For the new backscatter X-ray full-body scanners, Army inspectors have taken radiation readings in and around 15 of the scanners at three airports: Cincinnati, Boston and Los Angeles. All of them met safety standards and delivered less than 0.005 millirem per screening, Szrom said. Not all of the TSA's new full-body scanners use X-rays to see through passengers' clothing. Of 412 full-body scanners deployed so far, 191 at 30 airports use a different technology called millimeter wave, that uses electromagnetic waves instead of ionizing radiation. Concerns remain Despite assurances, some TSA workers don't trust that the agency has fixed the kinds of maintenance and monitoring issues identified by the CDC, said union official Rodriguez. Because TSA workers at airports in Boston and San Juan were troubled by what they saw as possible cancer clusters among colleagues, the TSA this year requested health hazard evaluations of their work areas to address radiation concerns, CDC records show. The CDC found nothing unusual about the number of cancer cases and determined they were likely unrelated to airport X-ray machines, the reports say. And a TSA employee at an unidentified airport asked CDC in June to examine concerns about radiation exposures from standing near the new full-body X-ray scanners for hours a day. The CDC said it didn't have authority to do a hazard assessment unless three or more current employees at one location made a joint request, according to a September letter from the CDC to the unnamed worker. The CDC provided the letter to USA TODAY. Since April 2009, the Army team also has been studying the radiation doses received by TSA workers at six airports, Philadelphia, Baltimore, West Palm Beach, Memphis, Los Angeles, Portland, Ore. The report is not yet final, but Szrom said all the data shows radiation exposure is low — "well below" limits that would require workers to routinely wear radiation monitoring badges. The backscatter machines have drawn criticism among some scientists and health experts who are concerned about subjecting thousands of travelers to even tiny doses of radiation. Peter Rez, a physics professor at Arizona State University, also worries about the possibility of higher doses or even radiation burns if a machine malfunctions and the scanning beam stops on one part of the body. Rez, who has reviewed a patent application for the backscatter system, notes that the scanner has a fail-safe system that is supposed to shut down the X-ray beam if there's a problem. "But we all learned this summer that fail-safe systems do fail," Rez said, referring to the mechanical failures that resulted in the massive Gulf oil spill. Rapiscan Systems, the company that makes the full-body backscatter X-ray scanners used by TSA, did not respond to interview requests. The new full-body scanners have raised more concerns than the baggage X-ray machines, despite TSA and FDA assurances that they're safe. David Brenner, director of Columbia University's center for radiological research, questions whether it's good public policy to give millions of people the backscatter scans — even if the health risk is remote. "The radiation dose is very, very low indeed," Brenner said. "From most individuals' point of view, I don't think one should have much concern about walking through these scanners." But as millions of scans are performed on large populations of people, Brenner said "you can be reasonably convinced a certain number of people will end up with a cancer from the radiation exposure, despite the fact the risk to the individual is very low." Skin cancer, is the primary risk, he said. Brenner said a few people getting cancer might be acceptable in return for air security if there weren't an alternative technology — the millimeter wave machines — that had no known health risk. "Why use a technology where the best estimate is there will be come cancers somewhere down the line?" he asked. TSA spokesman Kimball said the TSA competitively bids for new technology and will deploy those that meet its threat detection and safety standards. Both millimeter wave and backscatter X-rays meet those standards, he said.
SUBHEAD:
Radiation scientists agree TSA naked body scanners could cause breast cancer and sperm mutations.
By Mike Adams on 3 December 2010 for in Natural News - (http://www.naturalnews.com/030607_naked_body_scanners_radiation.html)
Video above: Denver Airport Underwear Interviews WACCTV. From (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCagUmAS5QE).
The news about the potential health dangers of the TSA's naked body scanners just keeps getting worse. An increasing number of doctors and scientists are going public with their warnings about the health implications of subjecting yourself to naked body scanners. These include Dr Russell Blaylock (see below) as well as several professors from the University of California who are experts in X-ray imaging. At the same time, some internet bloggers are insisting that the TSA's naked body scanners pose no health risks because air travelers are subjected to higher levels of radiation by simply enduring high-altitude flights where cosmic radiation isn't filtered out by the full thickness of the Earth's atmosphere. This comparison, however, is inaccurate: The TSA's body scannersfocus radiation on the skin and organs near the skin whereas cosmic radiation during high-altitude flights is distributed across the entire mass of your body. Comparing the total radiation exposure across your entire body to machine-emitted radiation exposure that focuses its ionizing radiation primarily on your skin is like comparing apples and oranges. You'll see this explained further, below, in the words of these scientists. As Dr Russell Blaylock (www.BlaylockReport.com) recently reported: The growing outrage over the Transportation Security Administration's new policy of backscatter scanning of airline passengers and enhanced pat-downs brings to mind these wise words from President Ronald Reagan: The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the government and I'm here to help you. So, what is all the concern really about - will these radiation scanners increase your risk of cancer or other diseases? A group of scientists and professors from the University of California at San Francisco voiced their concern to Obama's science and technology adviser John Holdren in a well-stated letter back in April. The letter Dr Blaylock is referring to is from the Faculty of the University of California, San Francisco and is signed by Doctors John Sedat Ph.D., David Agard, Ph.D., Marc Shuman, M.D., Robert Stroud, Ph.D. You can download or view the full letter from NaturalNews here (PDF): http://www.NaturalNews.com/files/TS... Even though it was written in April of this year, this letter has received increased publicity lately due to the TSA's sudden expansion of naked body scanners in airports as well as the agency's arrogant insistence that such machines will soon be used at bus stations, railway stations and other entrance points for mass transportation. In this NaturalNews article, I highlight the most important warnings from this letter and explain, in plain language, what these scientists are trying to say.
The letter that the TSA doesn't want you to read - Once again, this letter was written by Drs John Sedat Ph.D., David Agard, Ph.D., Marc Shuman, M.D., Robert Stroud, Ph.D., all from the University of California. Here is their background as described in the letter: Dr. Sedat is a Professor Emeritus in Biochemistry and Biophysics at the University of California, San Francisco, with expertise in imaging. He is also a member of the National Academy of Sciences. The other cosigners include Dr Marc Shuman, and internationally well known and respected cancer expert and UCSF professor, as well as Drs David Agard and Robert Stroud, who are UCSF Professors, X-ray crystallographers, imaging experts and NAS members. Here are the highlights of the letter along with my comments and explanations: "We are writing to call your attention to serious concerns about the potential health risks of the recently adopted whole body backscatter X-ray airport security scanners. This is an urgent situation as these X-ray scanners are rapidly being implemented as a primary screening step for all air travel passengers." Translation: The naked body scanners may be dangerous to your health. "Our overriding concern is the extent to which the safety of this scanning device has been adequately demonstrated. This can only be determined by a meeting of an impartial panel of experts that would include medical physicists and radiation biologists at which all of the available relevant data is reviewed." Translation: The safety of these naked body scanners has never been demonstrated, and especially not by an independent panel of qualified scientists.
"The physics of these X-rays is very telling: the X-rays are Compton-Scattering off outer molecule bonding electrons and thus inelastic (likely breaking bonds)."
Translation: The ionizing radiation emitted by these devices can alter your DNA.
"Unlike other scanners, these new devices operate at relatively low beam energies (28keV). The majority of their energy is delivered to the skin and the underlying tissue. Thus, while the dose would be safe if it were distributed throughout the volume of the entire body, the dose to the skin may be dangerously high."
Translation: The danger of these devices is significantly higher than what might be assumed from the TOTAL radiation emissions. This is why those who claim "you get more radiation just from flying" are flat-out wrong in their conclusions.
"This comparison is very misleading: both the air travel cosmic ray exposure and chest X-rays have much higher X-ray energies and the health consequences are appropriately understood in terms of the whole body volume dose. In contrast, these new airport scanners are largely depositing their energy into the skin and immediately adjacent tissue, and since this is such a small fraction of body weight / volume, possibly by one to two orders of magnitude, the real dose to the skin is now high."
Translation: This is a further explanation of why the ionizing radiation from the naked body scanners may pose a much higher risk of cancer (two orders of magnitude higher!) than what might be assumed from the total radiation emissions.
"In addition, it appears that real independent safety data do not exist. A search, ultimately finding top FDA radiation physics staff, suggests that the relevant radiation quantity, the Flux [photons per unit area and time (because this is a scanning device)] has not been characterized. Instead an indirect test (Air Kerma) was made that emphasized the whole body exposure value, and thus it appears that the danger is low when compared to cosmic rays during airplane travel and a chest X-ray dose. In summary, if the key data (flux-integrated photons per unit values) were available, it would be straightforward to accurately model the dose being deposited in the skin and adjacent tissues using available computer codes, which would resolve the potential concerns over radiation damage."
Translation: The FDA screwed up the safety testing (gee, really?) by assuming the emitted radiation was distributed across the entire body rather than focused on the skin. It brings up the question: When and how were these devices ever approved by the FDAanyway? Naked body scanners are clearly "medical devices" as they emit X-rays that penetrate body tissue. Did the FDA ever conduct long-term clinical trials demonstrating the safety of these devices? (Of course not.) Did they ever test the safety of naked body scanners on pregnant women? What about senior citizens? How about people who have already undergone radiation treatments for conditions like thyroid cancer? Ten big concerns voiced by the scientists Here are ten additional concerns raised by these scientists in their letter: (the bolded titles are my subheads, the subsequent explanation test is quoted straight out the scientists' letter)
#1) Cancer in senior citizens - The large population of older travelers, greater than 65 years of age, is particularly at risk from the mutagenic effects of the X-rays based on the known biology of melanocyte aging. #2) Breast cancer - A fraction of the female population is especially sensitive to mutagenesis-provoking radiation leading to breast cancer. Notably, because these women, who have defects in DNA repair mechanisms, are particularly prone to cancer, X-ray mammograms are not performed on them. The dose to breast tissue beneath the skin represents a similar risk. #3) White blood cells being irradiated - Blood (white blood cells) perfusing the skin is also at risk. #4) HIV and cancer patients - The population of immunocompromised individuals -- HIV and cancer patients (see above) is likely to be at risk for cancer induction by the high skin dose. #5) Radiation risk to children - The risk of radiation emission to children and adolescents does not appear to have been fully evaluated. #6) Pregnant women - The policy towards pregnant women needs to be defined once the theoretical risks to the fetus are determined. #7 Sperm mutations - Because of the proximity of the testicles to skin, this tissue is at risk forsperm mutagenesis. #8 Radiation effects on cornea and thymus - Have the effects of the radiation on the cornea and thymus been determined? #9 Problems with the machine - There are a number of 'red flags' related to the hardware itself. Because this device can scan a human in a few seconds, the X-ray beam is very intense. Any glitch in power at any point in the hardware (or more importantly in software) that stops the device could cause an intense radiation dose to a single spot on the skin. Translation: This machine does not emit a "flood light" of radiation like you might get from a dental X-ray machine. Rather, this machine emits a thin, narrow beam of radiation that is quickly "scanned" across your body, back and forth, in much the same way that an inkjet printer prints a page (but a lot faster). Because the angle of the X-ray beam is controlled by the scanner software, a glitch in the software could turn the naked body scanner into a high-energy weapon if the beam gets "stuck" in one location for more than a fraction of a second. #10 Higher radiation for the groin? - Given the recent incident (on December 25th, 2009), how do we know whether the manufacturer or TSA, seeking higher resolution, will scan the groin area more slowly leading to a much higher total dose?
None of these ten concerns are being answered by the TSA and its head John Pistole. The attitude from the TSA on these scanners, in fact, is downright belligerent, treating Americans as terrorists and threatening to arrest and detain individuals who refuse to be scanned and groped. The TSA, it seems, believes it can do no wrong. Such is the inevitable outcome of granting too much power to any government department, as it will always seek to expand its power to the point of tyranny over the People. Dangerous errors are possible In this letter, these scientists go on to explain why they continue to hold such concerns: (my emphasis added) We would like to put our current concerns into perspective. As longstanding UCSF scientists and physicians, we have witnessed critical errors in decisions that have seriously affected the health of thousands of people in the United States. These unfortunate errors were made because of the failure to recognize potential adverse outcomes of decisions made at the federal level. Crises create a sense of urgency that frequently leads to hasty decisions where unintended consequences are not recognized. Examples include the failure of the CDC to recognize the risk of blood transfusions in the early stages of the AIDS epidemic, approval of drugs and devices by the FDA without sufficient review, and improper standards set by the EPA, to name a few. Similarly, there has not been sufficient review of the intermediate and long-term effects of radiation exposure associated with airport scanners. There is good reason to believe that these scanners will increase the risk of cancer to children and other vulnerable populations. We are unanimous in believing that the potential health consequences need to be rigorously studied before these scanners are adopted. Modifications that reduce radiation exposure need to be explored as soon as possible. In summary we urge you to empower an impartial panel of experts to reevaluate the potential health issues we have raised before there are irrevocable long-term consequences to the health of our country. These negative effects may on balance far outweigh the potential benefit of increased detection of terrorists. Translation: These scientists believe that the TSA's naked body scanners pose a risk of promoting cancer across the population and that a real, scientific evaluation by trained, independent scientists must be conducted before these scanners are put to further use. Again, you can read this letter for yourself here: http://www.NaturalNews.com/files/TS... Big Government says: What cancer? The TSA, of course, refuses to hold any serious discussion about the science behind its use of naked body scanners... primarily because there is no legitimate science backing the use of its naked body scanners. This whole scam was orchestrated by Chertoff and his Washington buddies to scare the population into accepting X-ray scans at airports so that a few rich white guys could cash in on the sale of these machines to the federal government. The whole thing is a massive con job that, as usual, benefits the bank accounts of a few well-connected power pushers while compromising both the freedoms and the health of the American people. No legitimate safety testing has ever been conducted on these naked body scanners, and yet the FDA and TSA just allow them to be rolled out on the ASSUMPTION that they must somehow be perfectly safe. (The same is true with seasonal flu vaccines, by the way, which are never tested in randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trials.) Isn't this how aspartame got legalized, come to think of it? Except in that case it was Rumsfeld, not Chertoff, calling the shots. You can't have nutrition, but we'll feed you X-rays! Think about what's happening here for a minute: The FDA is an agency that has gone out and threatened, raided and persecuted manufacturers of walnuts, cherries and green tea products who made scientifically validated health claims about the benefits of those products. And yet, when it comes to rolling out naked body scanners that pose a cancer risk to the population, the FDA requires no legitimate scientific testing whatsoever and simply rubber stamps the whole project, thereby subjecting virtually the entire population to radiation-emitting devices with an unknown level of health risk. But then again, what do they care if a few thousand people get cancer anyway? More cancer just means more profits for the cancer industry which, not coincidentally, just happens to treat its patients with yet more radiation as some sort of "therapy" for cancer. (I know, this just gets more bizarre the further you go). Big Pharma must love the fact that millions of Americans are now being subjected to yet another form of ionizing radiation, as that means more cancer patients to buy chemotherapy in the years ahead, too. Pile 'em in, Chief! We've got more cattle to brand! The craziest part of all But the really crazy part about this whole story is not that the scientists are concerned about the health risks of these naked body scanners. It's not that the TSA is, itself, a terrorist organization now generating more fear and terror than the international terrorists could ever hope to accomplish. It's not even the fact that the FDA allows these radiation machines to be widely used across the country despite the fact that they've never been honestly and scientifically tested for use on humans. No, the real shocker in all this is the startling fact that people are lining up like cattle to go along with this. Your average American citizen, it seems, just can't wait to bow down to authority and subject their private body parts to a federal search in complete violation of their Constitutional rights. In fact, come to think of it, Judge Napolitano recently appeared on the Alex Jones Show to talk about the freedom issues with the naked body scanners and obscene gropes. You can watch those videos at: http://www.prisonplanet.com/the-ale... It's a very educational interview. Naked body scanners pose a cancer risk But getting back to the health issue in particular, it is clear to anyone who understands the laws of physics that the TSA's naked body scanners create an increased risk of cancer to the population. That's why I had the sense to refuse to go through one of these when directed to do so at a California airport. I opted out and went through the "easy" pat down (the easy version, before they upgraded to their "enhanced" pat downs). () As of right now, I refuse to fly until the TSA backs off its naked body scanner madness. Not only do I refuse to subject my biology to ionizing radiation that carries an unknown cancer risk, but I also strongly object to the U.S. government violating my Constitutional rights by viewing the shape of my naked body on their electronic viewing screens. "The price of freedom is eternal vigilance." - Thomas Jefferson. And Winston Churchill famously said:
"If you will not fight for the right when you can easily win without bloodshed; if you will not fight when your victory will be sure and not too costly; you may come to the moment when you will have to fight with all the odds against you and only a small chance of survival. There may even be a worse case: you may have to fight when there is no hope of victory, because it is better to perish than to live as slaves."
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