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<p>Security was again stepped up after the ink cartridges were found wired to be bombs - this was just a couple of weeks ago.</p>
<p>I find it kind of ironic that a man complaining about his ‘junk’ being touched gets so much news - is he sensitive about how much he has??? – when females have had their breasts groped and no one seems to care.</p>
<p>I think all travelers should remember to wear appropriate undergarments when traveling, going forward ;)</p>
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<p>Amen. Really, the TSA folks aren’t getting thrills from patting you down. ANd if they are – who the heck cares. Grow up and get over it. You can always tell the unsophisticated travelers - they’re the ones who fly twice a year always moaning and ****ing about this kind of thing. Meanwhile, real business travelers take this in stride.</p>
<p>“… if I had an “underwear” bomb on, they probably would have found it.”</p>
<p>I thought finding explosives was the sole reason those “puffer” machines were introduced (snicker, snicker). Like Barrons said, spending a lot of resources based on what happened in the past is inefficient at best.</p>
<p>Actually, for some of us, there are VERY FEW options. For Hawaii, there is pretty much only plane service if you need to get from one island to pretty much anywhere. For a brief while, there was a boat, but now there are only a few cruises and you can’t drive off the island–bad for the fish & cars. So far, I haven’t had the experience of the scan or intrusive patdowns, tho my S was put into the scan line twice in the 4 flights we took. </p>
<p>Wish we could take Israel’s approach & actually have a short eyeball to eyeball conversation that might actually be MUCH more productive than all of these expensive & intrusive measures–has worked well for them.</p>
<p>I heard Dave Berry on NPR the other day. He had a scan, and the “junk” part of his body was fuzzy on the scanner for some reason (he did not say what kind of underwear he had on, but who knows??). For whatever reason, the scanner was not clearly showing that area. So he got an extra pat down.</p>
<p>I think a lot of people are objecting to the scanners, and finding that the alternate pat downs are equally intrusive. Not too many people have to have both.</p>
<p>No luck yet looking for what the OP wanted, namely the specific rights about having someone accompany you into a private room for screening etc etc. </p>
<p>James Fallows and Jeffrey Goldberg have been discussing security measures in foreign airports. They’ve both posted a number of examples from frequent flyers. One business traveller mentioned that he was getting apologies from a security guard in China for the inconvenience–and that was just for a luggage check, not a full-body scan! It’s interesting reading. Fallows comments on how even here in the US at the same airport the security isn’t consistent. Stand in the left lane, go through the regular metal detector with no pat-down. Stand in the right, go through the full-body scan. </p>
<p>For those of you who say this is necessary for our safety, what concerns do you have about the device’s limitations? The machines can’t see below skin level, so they can’t scan for material hidden in body cavities. They can’t see between skin folds. The pat-downs could be foiled by a woman wearing a heavy-duty sanitary napkin or someone of either gender wearing adult diapers. Given a choice, I’d rather have the money used on purchasing the scanners going to intelligence gathering. This really doesn’t seem like the best use of security funds.</p>
<p>El Al really does it best. People have said before that the El Al approach won’t work because it’s too time-consuming and expensive. This can probably be revisited now. If people are willing to have their naked body visible to a scanner, and/or have an extensive pat-down, because it’s seen as worth it to avoid any danger, then there shouldn’t be objections to in-depth security screenings.</p>
<p>Slithey Tove,</p>
<p>I have never flown El Al. What do they do, differently?</p>
<p>A few weeks ago while traveling with my daughter to visit a college, I was told to go through the full body scanner and I refused because I am already at risk for skin cancer and I do not want any extra rays. The pat down that I received was obscene. A full opened hand on my pubic bone and from the back the screener put her hand between my legs as though she was trying to tickle my crotch and then pushed the side of her hand into my buttocks crack as she pulled it out. She squeezed my breasts and lifted them up. What that screener did to me was as intimate as my husband and I except I had clothes on. I am so thankful it was me and not my daughter who had this done. I would not have permitted my daughter to go through the screener…she has a chronic illness and takes chemo. I would never allow my underage daughter to be groped like that. What would I have to say to her… ‘this is for your own good because you could be concealing a bomb’ is a joke. Her immune system is already compromised. I will no longer fly. This also means my daughter will not be going to a college that she would need to fly to and from. Anyone who thinks this is okay doesn’t get it. There is already talk that terrorists are putting bomb material into body orifices (ie. anus and vagina) which can not be detected by these scanners and is obviously not detected by a pat down. So what’s next? Speculums?</p>
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<p>"…Israelis, unlike Canadians and Americans, don’t take s— from anybody. When the security agency in Israel (the ISA) started to tighten security and we had to wait in line for — not for hours — but 30 or 40 minutes, all hell broke loose here. We said, ‘We’re not going to do this. You’re going to find a way that will take care of security without touching the efficiency of the airport.’ That, in a nutshell is ‘Israelification’ - a system that protects life and limb without annoying you to death…"</p>
<p>[The</a> ‘Israelification’ of airports: High security, little bother - thestar.com](<a href=“Breaking News - Headlines & Top Stories | The Star”>Breaking News - Headlines & Top Stories | The Star)</p>
<p>I agree with 2ndof3. I do not want my barely teenage daughter to go through this. It is just as bad that the elderly and handicapped are. Too bad for the economy. We drop a lot of money on airfares, hotels, restaurants, car rental, …</p>
<p>The underwear bomber should have been caught from intelligence. His father contacted our government and warned that he had gone over to the dark side and there was no action taken. He should have never made it to an airplane. I think we should funnel the money into the intelligence operations.</p>
<p>Air terrorism did not begin with 9-11. Does any one remember Air India? Or the middle east hijackings? As a child I went through extra screenings on Florida flights because of Cuban hijackings. Nobody needed to look down my underwear.</p>
<p>Is the threat level still at orange? Have they changed it to red?</p>
<p>Is there any reliable information about the radiation risk from these scanners?</p>
<p>It seems the rules were changed before my last couple of flights. If what I got was supposed to be offensive, I’m unimpressed. Every TSA person who has had to go the extra mile (I was even brought back in a private room once due to my non-replaced hip signaling due to previous surgery and metal “fragments”) has been very professional and hand placement is explained before it is done and it feels nothing like fondling. I’m flying this evening and I’ll get back to you if it was any more traumatic.</p>
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<p>What does one have to do with the other? Can you provide a legitimate source suggesting that one has something to do with the other, or is this just woo-scary-thinking with no basis in science? </p>
<p>I completely fail to see the big deal in any of this. To me, being touched by a security screening is about as innocuous as being touched in the course of a medical examination. It’s people doing their jobs, and really, don’t all flatter yourself that you’re all that hot that they’re getting excited at the chance to feel you up.</p>
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<p>Las Mas, do you have a supporting link for your comment that the TSA has backed off requiring children to undergo the enhanced pat downs? I would very much like to read more about this.</p>
<p>BTW - I just returned from a trip where I flew to Mex City, Newark, Frankfort, Jeddah (Saudi Arabia), Cairo, Munich, SF and LA within the span of 2 weeks. </p>
<p>In Frankfort, there was a piece of luggage left unattended. (For all I know, it was an innocent / honest mistake.) Security dogs were brought out. The line through security was closed off and we all had to undergo pat-down screenings and have our hand-luggage searched (versus just go through the machine). This was several hundred people. Oh well. The “inconvenience” of this is nothing compared to the inconvenience of having a bomb go off in an airport or mid-air. </p>
<p>Really, it’s the people who fly once or twice a year who get all discombobulated by having to take off shoes, can’t figure out how many liquids they are allowed to carry, and OMG-what-if-the-screener-touches-my-privates. I don’t know a single business / frequent traveler who thinks ANY of this is remotely a big deal.</p>
<p>Nrdsb4: They will no longer do as an intrusive pat down on children 12 and under. They would still have to go in the body scanner and or have a patdown.</p>
<p>^^^Thanks. I just googled it and found a little bit on it.</p>
<p>dntw8up,</p>
<p>Thanks for posting that.</p>
<p>It makes so much sense…it’s too bad we aren’t focusing our attention on security in this manner.</p>
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<p>I know MANY frequent travelers who are disgusted by the new screening measures, and not all of them are pilots.</p>
<p>I don’t travel as frequently as many do, but what I have noticed is that some airports in the US seem to be almost lax, compared to others. </p>
<p>I am often surprised what I will encounter. The TSA agents all seem to be operating from different playbooks.</p>
<p>My cousin travels for business about half the month to parts all over the world. She has it down to a science and yet, she is annoyed with the new protocols.</p>