TSA Full-Body Scanner

[marny]

The rest of the world needs to take a lesson from the Israeli's. Stop terrorism by profiling. Don't make the innocent suffer inconvienience and indignities. Contrary to the many bad experiences reported ( and isn't that what you always hear about) I went through 6 US airports in the last 2 weeks with my wife. She has had her knee's replaced and is subjected to the pat down every time. Always by a women. No privacy screen but hardly necessary. She is off to the side. Everyone else going through is so concerned about putting there stuff into bins and then collecting it, they aren't looking at anything else. I on the other hand wearing my belt (never thought to take that off ), en drab except for C forms with an underwire bra in a tight sweater ( no missing the boobs!) walk straight through every time!

[marny]

The rest of the world needs to take a lesson from the Israeli's. Stop terrorism by profiling. Don't make the innocent suffer inconvienience and indignities. Contrary to the many bad experiences reported ( and isn't that what you always hear about) I went through 6 US airports in the last 2 weeks with my wife. She has had her knee's replaced and is subjected to the pat down every time. Always by a women. No privacy screen but hardly necessary. She is off to the side. Everyone else going through is so concerned about putting there stuff into bins and then collecting it, they aren't looking at anything else. I on the other hand wearing my belt (never thought to take that off ), en drab except for C forms with an underwire bra in a tight sweater ( no missing the boobs!) walk straight through every time!

[Maxi]

Here is a MIT study of How Terahertz Waves used by these scanners Tear Apart DNA.

How Terahertz Waves Tear Apart DNA
A new model of the way the THz waves interact with DNA explains how the damage is done and why evidence has been so hard to gather

Great things are expected of terahertz waves, the radiation that fills the slot in the electromagnetic spectrum between microwaves and the infrared. Terahertz waves pass through non-conducting materials such as clothes , paper, wood and brick and so cameras sensitive to them can peer inside envelopes, into living rooms and "frisk" people at distance.

The way terahertz waves are absorbed and emitted can also be used to determine the chemical composition of a material. And even though they don't travel far inside the body, there is great hope that the waves can be used to spot tumours near the surface of the skin.

With all that potential, it's no wonder that research on terahertz waves has exploded in the last ten years or so.

But what of the health effects of terahertz waves? At first glance, it's easy to dismiss any notion that they can be damaging. Terahertz photons are not energetic enough to break chemical bonds or ionise atoms or molecules, the chief reasons why higher energy photons such as x-rays and UV rays are so bad for us. But could there be another mechanism at work?

The evidence that terahertz radiation damages biological systems is mixed. "Some studies reported significant genetic damage while others, although similar, showed none," say Boian Alexandrov at the Center for Nonlinear Studies at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico and a few buddies. Now these guys think they know why.

Alexandrov and co have created a model to investigate how THz fields interact with double-stranded DNA and what they've found is remarkable. They say that although the forces generated are tiny, resonant effects allow THz waves to unzip double-stranded DNA, creating bubbles in the double strand that could significantly interfere with processes such as gene expression and DNA replication. That's a jaw dropping conclusion.

And it also explains why the evidence has been so hard to garner. Ordinary resonant effects are not powerful enough to do do this kind of damage but nonlinear resonances can. These nonlinear instabilities are much less likely to form which explains why the character of THz genotoxic
effects are probabilistic rather than deterministic, say the team.

This should set the cat among the pigeons. Of course, terahertz waves are a natural part of environment, just like visible and infrared light. But a new generation of cameras are set to appear that not only record terahertz waves but also bombard us with them. And if our exposure is set to increase, the question that urgently needs answering is what level of terahertz exposure is safe

[Maxi]

Here is a way to avoid the TSA.

http://www.seaportair.com

[marny]

No kidding. Don't trust them. it is a collective agreeing on something that some one said somewhere that I think I heard last week.

[Marsha My Dear]

Just for mischief, has anyone been through a TSA checkpoint at the airport while all dolled up? Or just wearing your best frillies and satins? I've wanted to see if there's any reaction to seeing me in my red garter belt, stockings and matching bra & panties after being patted down. -Marsha

[danielletorresani]

I always thought flying en femme as way too risky. Now with the scanning stuff going on, there's no way in hell I'd ever do it.

[Marsha My Dear]

What I'm after in going underdressed or en femme is to make an obvious statement about First Amendment rights to freedom of speech (I can dress however I damn well please) and Fourth Amendment rights to be free from unreasonable searches. It's not to find if I can slip through (no pun intended) undetected, but to go through and dare to be detained. By pressing the issue, in memory of Rosa Parks, these dastardly intrusive regulations can be challenged. What say you all?
And thanks to all with the quotation from Franklin, I have it on my facebook wall.

[TinaMc]

I wonder if a good protest would be just stripping naked when taking off your shoes?!!

Someone did a striptease in the patdown area "to make it easier" lol http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisf...rport-security

[julie w]

I am a frequent flyer and I can think of 100 things I would rather do dressed than fly , I just find it too stressful , my flight was delayed five hours last week, going through security no problems I am prepared and ready liquids correct size in bag lap top in bin . I have been going for the pat down as I have been through
the scanner and worry about any radiation it may give off I think you girls that fly femme should get a medal for bravery

[RikkiHauser]

I wouldn't worry about underdressing when going through the scanner. The scanner sees everything but your clothing. The TSA person watching the monitor has no idea you have pink satin panties and thigh high stockings on (unless you have metal in your garter belt.) However, they are able to tell if you are a man or woman.

[CharleneT]

Especially in major airports, they've seen people cross dressed, under dressed etc... so much that your passing thru is not going to even cause a flicker on their weird meter. Worry less and travel more.

I LOVE that blog mentioned about (Furry Girl). She is a HOOT !!

[eluuzion]

Here is a way to avoid the TSA.

http://www.seaportair.com

Yikes! Driving to some small building on the outskirts of the primary airport, boarding a 9 passenger Pilatus PC-12 (a single-engine nine-seat turbo-prop), and puddle jumping around Oregon, Alaska or wherever...is not my idea of a good alternative.

That's the same aircraft the CEO of Papa John's ... Florida (I think that is right, or is it Papa Murphy?), crashed last year...when the instrument panel failed...killed him, his wife and few others...

I've flown on those small things to get to small towns (in my past life as a road warrior). It is like going camping with 8 people you never met, lol. I actually quit going to the cities that required me to fly in those things to get there...
In my world, nothing is worth the risk of enduring that rollercoaster ride.

But that's just me...you can gladly take my seat...hehehehe

[sherri]

I fully intend to fly femme at the first opportunity, but here's something that perplexes me: I don't wear any padding other than breastforms, but let's suppose I do, and I'm going through the checkpoint en femme wearing the works -- breastforms, hip pads, etc. -- and whether I opt for a scan or a grope, why wouldn't I set off the alarms? I mean, if I were smuggling explosives onboard, wouldn't these "augmentations" be ideal packaging? Just because they see that I'm a CDer does not mean I'm not also a bad guy. And wouldn't it require some pretty close examination of my padding, possibly to the point of damaging them, to determine that I'm not a threat?

Btw, I recently heard that part of the TSA's increased measures is to more carefully examine real gender as part of the ID check.

[michelle_tx]

That's what I'm most curious about as well - the screener's reaction to breastforms. Seeing my pretty undies I'm not worried about (I do mind it on principle no matter what gender I'm presenting but that's a different rant). But I don't want them trying to confiscate my $250 breastforms because they think they might be filled with explosives. I'd love to heard experiences from anyone who's gone through wearing them. I know in theory they are supposed to be allowed as a medical device, but who knows when a screener might decide that rule only applies to gg's.

[Christinedreamer]

Well theTSA braintrust made a woman miss her flight and endure an hour of harassment and illegal imprisonment in a glass cubicle in the groping area because she would not let the TSA imbeciles x-ray her expressed breast milk. Foam titties should really get them all fired up.

[texasm31]

I wouldn't worry about underdressing when going through the scanner. The scanner sees everything but your clothing. The TSA person watching the monitor has no idea you have pink satin panties and thigh high stockings on (unless you have metal in your garter belt.) However, they are able to tell if you are a man or woman.

I was wondering what would be detected. I assume they would not be able to tell whether I am wearing men's or women's undies, but would be able to detect if I am wearing a bra. I was thinking an unlined, soft cup with no wires would be ok, but there is still a bit of metal in the hooks. Also, even just a light shadow they may see would not be standard menswear and could raise a flag.

[VanessaVW]

I wouldn't worry about underdressing when going through the scanner. The scanner sees everything but your clothing. The TSA person watching the monitor has no idea you have pink satin panties and thigh high stockings on (unless you have metal in your garter belt.) However, they are able to tell if you are a man or woman.

I was under-dressed the other day, and got the scanner. I was nervous, but no big deal. The guy said to stand there for seven seconds and then step forward. Then a female TSA employee walked over and talked to me, it was pleasant. Then I was cleared and on my way.
I have to admit that I liked that a female came over. Maybe I'm further in my journey than I thought?