Airport X-Ray Controversy

[Rupert Pupkin]

I think that a large percentage of the people complaining would not be complaining if the President was a Republican. By the same token, I think many of the liberals that are not complaining about this issue, would be complaining about it if the President was a Republican.

There is a ton of hypocrisy on both sides of the aisle.

[Princess Doreen]

In my opinion, it's nothing about who's POTUS. It's about government interference in my life - regardless of who is in power.

National ID cards are too intrusive, but body scans and pat downs are OK.

We flew to L.A. and back the last week in September via Southwest. It was the usual take off your shoes, put your belongings in a tray, and step through the metal scanner. No big deal.

On our way home, SW was offering a deal on their credit cards. Pay $59 for one year and get a free flight on their airline anywhere they fly so long as you use the benefit in the next two years. We signed up for it.

Now with this latest news, I called Southwest today and said I wished to cancel the credit card and get my $59 back - my husband, too. They asked why and I told them that I wasn't subjecting myself to any body scan and pat down. Since we hadn't charged anything on either card, they agreed to give us our $59/each back and cancel the card.

They're paying way too much attention to individuals and not enough attention to what might be in luggage and packages.

Personal option - we refuse to fly in the future so long as they have these intrusive security measures in place.

[Antitrust32]

the more security at airports, the better.


I went through one in Pittsburgh a few weeks back.. not a big deal at all. no bigger deal than walking through a metal dectector.

I'd rather have people who dont want airport security to stay home.

[Rupert Pupkin]

Originally Posted by Antitrust32

the more security at airports, the better.


I went through one in Pittsburgh a few weeks back.. not a big deal at all. no bigger deal than walking through a metal dectector.

I'd rather have people who dont want airport security to stay home.

I agree, the more security the better.

[Rileyoriley]

I don't mind going through the body scanner however if there's a really cute security guard, I'm opting for the body frisk.

I don't have a problem with it as long as they kiss the tip a little.

[Rupert Pupkin]

Originally Posted by Princess Doreen

In my opinion, it's nothing about who's POTUS. It's about government interference in my life - regardless of who is in power.

National ID cards are too intrusive, but body scans and pat downs are OK.

We flew to L.A. and back the last week in September via Southwest. It was the usual take off your shoes, put your belongings in a tray, and step through the metal scanner. No big deal.

On our way home, SW was offering a deal on their credit cards. Pay $59 for one year and get a free flight on their airline anywhere they fly so long as you use the benefit in the next two years. We signed up for it.

Now with this latest news, I called Southwest today and said I wished to cancel the credit card and get my $59 back - my husband, too. They asked why and I told them that I wasn't subjecting myself to any body scan and pat down. Since we hadn't charged anything on either card, they agreed to give us our $59/each back and cancel the card.

They're paying way too much attention to individuals and not enough attention to what might be in luggage and packages.

Personal option - we refuse to fly in the future so long as they have these intrusive security measures in place.

I think there are plenty of people out there like yourself who do not have a political axe to grind. But when I see websites likes WND up in arms over this, I think a lot of it is politically motivated. I doubt WND would be so upset over this if Bush was President.

[Danzig]

i think every passenger should go thru the screener, their bags as well. don't like it, don't fly. no exceptions. that way, no one can say they were singled out, there's no racial profiling, and no one is skipped/missed. anyone can be a threat regardless of their looks.

[Princess Doreen]

I'd rather be asked a few questions than go through a physical assault. We don't fly that much - only twice in the past 8 years. If there's a need to fly somewhere, we'll opt out until they change their procedure. And that, of course, is my right. Despite the myriad of millions plowed into this body scan technology, I doubt it's going to stick around long.

Former Israeli Airline Security Chief: U.S. Needs to Profile Air Passengers Tuesday, November 16, 2010
By Edwin Mora

(CNSNews.com) - As criticism mounts over the use of full-body scanners and physical pat-downs at U.S. airports, the former security director for Israel’s national airline told CNSNews.com that airline security in America is an “illusion,” and that the United States should adopt El Al’s passenger profiling approach to ensure safety.

According to Isaac Yeffet, the former security chief for El Al Israel Airlines, the United States should adopt El Al’s security approach of ensuring that every passenger is interviewed by a well-trained agent before check-in, a move that involves profiling passengers, which he said is not discriminatory.

El Al is considered by most security analysts as the most secure airline in the world because of its track-record in deterring hijackings and terror plots. The airline has been free of terrorist attacks for about 30 years and it has experienced only one hijacking in its history. Global Traveler magazine has named El Al as number one in its Best Airline for Security for the last three years in a row.

Nonetheless, critics of American airliners adopting El Al’s security approach say it would violate passengers’ civil rights by allowing some passengers to be more intensely scrutinized than others.

Yeffet said that U.S. airliners should implement “exactly the same [security] system” as El Al.

“Yes, profiling,” he said. “Profiling is not that I am choosing that I want to interview them. We don’t have discrimination [at El Al]. Every passenger--I don’t care who he or she is--has to be interviewed by security. We have to be polite. We know how to ask questions.”

“The TSA [Transportation Safety Administration in USA] wants to tell me we now have security in this country--this is an illusion,” he said. “It’s not security. It’s about time that we are proactive and reactive. In this country we fear reactive, we don’t do anything to be proactive.”

When asked if he thought the use of full-body scanners created an illusion of security, Yeffet said, "Yes, they are a small part of the entire system that you use to check a passenger if he is suspicious."

The TSA, a Department of Homeland Security agency, has put in place a procedure for a physical pat-down of airline passengers as part of an overall increase in security and has also ramped-up the use electronic (x-ray) body scanners at airports.

The TSA has decided that if a passenger opts out of going through the body scanner or if the scanner shows something suspicious, a security officer will do a pat-down.

Reacting to TSA’s move to step-up air security, Yeffet said, “Technology in general can never replace a qualified and well-trained human being.”

“We have to use body search and body scanners only against seriously suspicious passengers,” he said.

Yeffet indicated that it is unnecessary to search innocent people, which he said make up about 99.9 percent of air travelers.

Instead, security should be focused on determining whether an individual is suspicious by intensively interviewing the person before he or she boards the plane.

“We at El Al have used the hand/body search for so many years, but we did it only to suspicious passengers that were interviewed by us,” said Yeffet. “We asked the questions and we were able to determine that there was something wrong with a passenger.”

Yeffet pointed out that El Al’s security personnel are highly trained in reading people’s physical actions as indicators of behavior.

“If you are bona fide, you have no problems answering [questions]” he said. “If you want to hide from us, we see the physical changes in your face--suddenly you raise your voice, suddenly your Adam’s apple jumps up and down, you’re nervous. Then we ask, 'Why are you nervous? I'm doing it for your safety sir or Ma'am.’”

Using that approach, “You can see how fast and easy we survive, and we put the hand on the right people that are trying to blow up an aircraft or to commit suicide,” he said.

According to Yeffet, unless they are suspicious, “most passengers” cooperate with El Al’s security approach of interviewing every passenger.

The former El Al security chief criticized the TSA’s decision to allow passengers to opt out of being body scanned and endure a pat-down instead, saying that this option makes body scanners irrelevant.

Yeffet also said that technology, such as X-ray machines, already failed to deter the Pan Am Lockerbie bombing, the Sept. 11 attacks, and the attempted Christmas Day underwear bomber, among other terrorists, by allowing them to go through security check points with illicit materials.

"I don’t need a scanner,” said Yeffet. “I don’t mean to insult anyone. There is what is called hand search. We take you to a special room where you are interviewed by security experts. If we notice any suspicion, we search you from the head to the toe. We won’t leave one piece on your body that we do not do a hand search on. Why do we have to spend millions of dollars on these body scanners?”

At El Al, Yeffet formulated the airline's total security system, developing passenger- profiling and passenger-screening programs and training security personnel.

Yeffet is also a retired senior intelligence director for the Israeli Secret Service, where he was responsible for the security of all Israeli embassies, consulates and delegations around the world.

[Rupert Pupkin]

Originally Posted by Princess Doreen

I'd rather be asked a few questions than go through a physical assault. We don't fly that much - only twice in the past 8 years. If there's a need to fly somewhere, we'll opt out until they change their procedure. And that, of course, is my right. Despite the myriad of millions plowed into this body scan technology, I doubt it's going to stick around long.

Former Israeli Airline Security Chief: U.S. Needs to Profile Air Passengers Tuesday, November 16, 2010
By Edwin Mora

(CNSNews.com) - As criticism mounts over the use of full-body scanners and physical pat-downs at U.S. airports, the former security director for Israel’s national airline told CNSNews.com that airline security in America is an “illusion,” and that the United States should adopt El Al’s passenger profiling approach to ensure safety.

According to Isaac Yeffet, the former security chief for El Al Israel Airlines, the United States should adopt El Al’s security approach of ensuring that every passenger is interviewed by a well-trained agent before check-in, a move that involves profiling passengers, which he said is not discriminatory.

El Al is considered by most security analysts as the most secure airline in the world because of its track-record in deterring hijackings and terror plots. The airline has been free of terrorist attacks for about 30 years and it has experienced only one hijacking in its history. Global Traveler magazine has named El Al as number one in its Best Airline for Security for the last three years in a row.

Nonetheless, critics of American airliners adopting El Al’s security approach say it would violate passengers’ civil rights by allowing some passengers to be more intensely scrutinized than others.

Yeffet said that U.S. airliners should implement “exactly the same [security] system” as El Al.

“Yes, profiling,” he said. “Profiling is not that I am choosing that I want to interview them. We don’t have discrimination [at El Al]. Every passenger--I don’t care who he or she is--has to be interviewed by security. We have to be polite. We know how to ask questions.”

“The TSA [Transportation Safety Administration in USA] wants to tell me we now have security in this country--this is an illusion,” he said. “It’s not security. It’s about time that we are proactive and reactive. In this country we fear reactive, we don’t do anything to be proactive.”

When asked if he thought the use of full-body scanners created an illusion of security, Yeffet said, "Yes, they are a small part of the entire system that you use to check a passenger if he is suspicious."

The TSA, a Department of Homeland Security agency, has put in place a procedure for a physical pat-down of airline passengers as part of an overall increase in security and has also ramped-up the use electronic (x-ray) body scanners at airports.

The TSA has decided that if a passenger opts out of going through the body scanner or if the scanner shows something suspicious, a security officer will do a pat-down.

Reacting to TSA’s move to step-up air security, Yeffet said, “Technology in general can never replace a qualified and well-trained human being.”

“We have to use body search and body scanners only against seriously suspicious passengers,” he said.

Yeffet indicated that it is unnecessary to search innocent people, which he said make up about 99.9 percent of air travelers.

Instead, security should be focused on determining whether an individual is suspicious by intensively interviewing the person before he or she boards the plane.

“We at El Al have used the hand/body search for so many years, but we did it only to suspicious passengers that were interviewed by us,” said Yeffet. “We asked the questions and we were able to determine that there was something wrong with a passenger.”

Yeffet pointed out that El Al’s security personnel are highly trained in reading people’s physical actions as indicators of behavior.

“If you are bona fide, you have no problems answering [questions]” he said. “If you want to hide from us, we see the physical changes in your face--suddenly you raise your voice, suddenly your Adam’s apple jumps up and down, you’re nervous. Then we ask, 'Why are you nervous? I'm doing it for your safety sir or Ma'am.’”

Using that approach, “You can see how fast and easy we survive, and we put the hand on the right people that are trying to blow up an aircraft or to commit suicide,” he said.

According to Yeffet, unless they are suspicious, “most passengers” cooperate with El Al’s security approach of interviewing every passenger.

The former El Al security chief criticized the TSA’s decision to allow passengers to opt out of being body scanned and endure a pat-down instead, saying that this option makes body scanners irrelevant.

Yeffet also said that technology, such as X-ray machines, already failed to deter the Pan Am Lockerbie bombing, the Sept. 11 attacks, and the attempted Christmas Day underwear bomber, among other terrorists, by allowing them to go through security check points with illicit materials.

"I don’t need a scanner,” said Yeffet. “I don’t mean to insult anyone. There is what is called hand search. We take you to a special room where you are interviewed by security experts. If we notice any suspicion, we search you from the head to the toe. We won’t leave one piece on your body that we do not do a hand search on. Why do we have to spend millions of dollars on these body scanners?”

At El Al, Yeffet formulated the airline's total security system, developing passenger- profiling and passenger-screening programs and training security personnel.

Yeffet is also a retired senior intelligence director for the Israeli Secret Service, where he was responsible for the security of all Israeli embassies, consulates and delegations around the world.

If we could adopt and implement El Al's approach, that would obviously be 100x better than what we are doing right now. I doubt we could ever do it as good as the Israelis but if we could come anywhere close we would be in good shape.

[Nascar1966]

Originally Posted by Danzig

i think every passenger should go thru the screener, their bags as well. don't like it, don't fly. no exceptions. that way, no one can say they were singled out, there's no racial profiling, and no one is skipped/missed. anyone can be a threat regardless of their looks.

I agree with you %1000 on your statement.

[Princess Doreen]

Cool!

Purty sure this new system of protecting us will go south.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40278427/ns/travel-news

[Riot]

Originally Posted by Danzig

i think every passenger should go thru the screener, their bags as well. don't like it, don't fly. no exceptions. that way, no one can say they were singled out, there's no racial profiling, and no one is skipped/missed. anyone can be a threat regardless of their looks.

I prefer Air Israel. Just a metal detector. And trained - TRAINED - people talking to every person flying. Twice.

Their profiling (from what they describe) hasn't much to do with physical, rather not making sense: "paid for ticket with cash", "one-way but short-term VISA gotten in 2nd country", etc.

[dellinger63]

Originally Posted by Riot

I prefer Air Israel. Just a metal detector. And trained - TRAINED - people talking to every person flying. Twice.

Their profiling (from what they describe) hasn't much to do with physical, rather not making sense: "paid for ticket with cash", "one-way but short-term VISA gotten in 2nd country", etc.

And Arabs get a 1rst, 2nd, 3rd, 4rth and etc check. But despite Israel being targeted they are the best. We can agree on that.

Too bad our President like Carter prefers the understanding and appreciation for the predator as opposed to the victim you pointed out a couple years ago.

I just HOPE America continues on its path for CHANGE because only a minority would and does think such crap you, Obama and Carter espouse to.

PS When is the last time El Al hand frisked a Catholic nun?

[joeydb]

Originally Posted by Riot

I prefer Air Israel. Just a metal detector. And trained - TRAINED - people talking to every person flying. Twice.

Their profiling (from what they describe) hasn't much to do with physical, rather not making sense: "paid for ticket with cash", "one-way but short-term VISA gotten in 2nd country", etc.

I agree. Profiling works, that's why the Israelis use it, and we're not allowed to.

[Seattleallstar]

I am all for whatever keeps the airplane up. I dont mind scans, and i wish a female TSA agent would pat me down.

[Riot]

Originally Posted by joeydb

I agree. Profiling works, that's why the Israelis use it, and we're not allowed to.

I've never heard anyone in the US talk about "profiling" for the same traits the Israelis do.

[dellinger63]

Originally Posted by Riot

I've never heard anyone in the US talk about "profiling" for the same traits the Israelis do.Of course I'm an ignorant biatch who is pro-Muslim at any price.

Despite their current anxieties, Americans also might balk at El Al-style ethnic profiling. Staff scrutinize the passengers' names, dividing them into low-risk (Israeli or foreign Jews), medium-risk (non-Jewish foreigners) and extremely high-risk travelers (anyone with an Arabic name). These people automatically are taken into a room for body and baggage checks and lengthy interrogation. Single women also are considered high-risk, for fear they might be used by Palestinian lovers to carry bombs.

To sift out who is who, screeners usually begin by asking passengers whether they understand any Hebrew, which most Jews do. Officials argue that such blatant discrimination is necessary.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/sept11/...-usat.htm#more