This video is here to demonstrate that the TSA’s insistence that the nude body scanner program is effective and necessary is nothing but a fraud, just like their claims that the program is safe (radiation what?) and non-invasive (nude pictures who?). The scanners are now effectively worthless, as anyone can beat them with virtually no effort. The TSA has been provided this video in advance of it being made public to give them an opportunity to turn off the scanners and revert to the metal detectors. I personally believe they now have no choice but to turn them off.
Please share this video with your family, friends, and most importantly, elected officials in federal government. Make sure they understand that your vote is contingent on them fixing the abuse that 200,000 passengers face from the TSA on a daily basis.
My legal battle against the TSA’s nude body scanner and pat-down molestation program continues in court, soon with a petition to the U.S. Supreme Court. If you’d like to donate to this effort, send PayPal to: jon [at] fourtentech.com
I’d like to thank:
Travel Underground – http://www.travelunderground.org/
Freedom to Travel USA – http://fttusa.org/
Legislators who have stood up to the TSA – especially Dr. Ron Paul & Sen. Rand Paul
…and all those who have both publicly and privately stood up to the TSA.
Add me on Twitter: @tsaoutourpants (no “of”)
Transcript:
I’m publishing this video because I want the world to know how much danger the American Transportation Security Administration is putting all us all in with their haste to deploy the expensive, invasive nude body scanner program. When the machines came out, we were told that the invasion on our privacy, doses of radiation, and trashing of our Constitution were necessary because the old metal detectors weren’t good enough. That “non-metallic explosives” were a threat, even though no one has boarded a plane in the US with any type of explosive in nearly 40 years. But while America was testing these devices, Rafi Sela, who ran security for Ben Gurion airport in Israel, which is known for being one of the most secure airports in the world, was quoted saying he could “overcome the body scanners with enough explosives to take down a Boeing 747,” and Ben Gurion therefore refused to buy scanners. The US ignored this warning, and Mr. Sela never publicly explained his statement. But it stuck with me.
As a scientist, engineer, and frequent traveler, as well as the first person to sue the TSA when they rolled out the scanners as primary in Nov. 2010, I studied and learned about both kinds of scanners currently in use by the TSA. Here are several images produced by TSA nude body scanners. You’ll see that the search victim is drawn with light colors and placed on a black background in both images. In these samples, the individuals are concealing metallic objects that you can see as a black shape on their light figure. Again that’s light figure, black background, and BLACK threat items. Yes that’s right, if you have a metallic object on your side, it will be the same color as the background and therefore completely invisible to both visual and automated inspection.
It can’t possibly be that easy to beat the TSA’s billion dollar fleet of nude body scanners, right? The TSA can’t be that stupid, can they?
Unfortunately, they can, and they are. To put it to the test, I bought a sewing kit from the dollar store, broke out my 8th grade home ec skills, and sewed a pocket directly on the side of a shirt. Then I took a random metallic object, in this case a heavy metal carrying case that would easily alarm any of the “old” metal detectors, and walked through a backscatter x-ray at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. On video, of course. While I’m not about to win any videography awards for my hidden camera footage, you can watch as I walk through the security line with the metal object in my new side pocket. My camera gets placed on the conveyer belt and goes through its own x-ray, and when it comes out, I’m through, and the object never left my pocket.
Maybe a fluke? Ok, let’s try again at Cleveland-Hopkins International Airport through one of the TSA’s newest machines: a millimeter wave scanner with automated threat detection built-in. With the metallic object in my side pocket, I enter the security line, my device goes through its own x-ray, I pass through, and exit with the object without any complaints from the TSA.
While I carried the metal case empty, by one with mal-intent, it could easily have been filled with razor blades, explosives, or one of Charlie Sheen’s infamous 7 gram rocks of cocaine. With a bigger pocket, perhaps sewn on the inside of the shirt, even a firearm could get through. It’s important to note that any metal object of any size can use this technique. …and I don’t urge you to try to bring contraband through security, as the nude body scanners often have false positives: so while the metal on your side might get through, a button on your shirt or a sweaty armpit might “look suspicious” and earn you a pat down anyway.
Now, I’m sure the TSA will accuse me of aiding the terrorists by releasing this video, but it’s beyond belief that the terrorists haven’t already figured this out and are already plotting to use this against us. It’s also beyond belief that the TSA did not already know everything I just told you, and arrogantly decided to disregard our safety: anything to force Americans to give up our liberty to the federal government and our tax dollars to companies that are in bed with that government. The nude body scanner program is nothing but a giant fraud, which should come as no surprise after the Fast & Furious scandal that sent thousands of guns to Mexican drug cartels and cost a Customs and Border Patrol agent his life. THIS is a disgrace. So let’s fix this problem — now — before the terrorists take this opportunity to hurt us: the TSA must immediately end the nude body scanner program, and return to the tried-and-true metal detectors that actually work, and work without invading our privacy, as well as implement better solutions for non-metallic explosives, such as bomb-sniffing dogs and trace detection machines.
The TSA is worse than ineffective: they are an epic fail placing us all in danger. Beyond the scanners, Demand of your legislators and presidential candidates that they get rid of this $8B a year waste known as the TSA and privatize airport security. Ask for their commitment to our rights in exchange for your vote. And no matter which party is in the White House or holds on to Capital Hill, the issue of ending TSA abuse is of interest to all Americans; it’s NOT a partisan issue. We must all stand together and demand an end to the organization that molests our families while placing us in danger by directly ignoring blatant security flaws.
Thank you.
Professional Troublemaker ® 
While there were no government rules prohibiting box cutters on planes, airliners used private security and in those rules, they were supposed to not allow box cutters on planes. http://www.usatoday.com/travel/news/2002/2002-11-11-box-cutters.htm
As it’s been brought up before, private security firms aren’t the answer to everything. You still have minimum wage workers doing security and look where that got us. I’m not saying TSA is great but the grass is always greener on the other side.
Hey, if the scanners are configured to show the same color for threats as for the background, that is more easy to fix than additional scans: JUST CHANGE THE COLOR, Use red for threats, black for background.
But if it is a physical limitation of this scanning technique that dense objects look like the background, then you don’t even need the hidden pocket. Just tie a string (cotton, nylon, wool, silk, whatever) around your contraband and hold it away from your body as you turn around inside the machine getting yourself, but not the sub machine gun photographed from every angle, then quickly pull it back under your clothes as you exit the machine (so human eyes won’t see it either).
As for terrorists finding a way around even a perfect scan and pat down, the 9/11 terrorists already had that part ready: On each plane, the 4 non-pilot terrorists (3 on one plane) were trained to kill with their bare hands and how to intimidate flight crew into opening the cockpit door, the box cutters were just used for extra effect. They could have done the attacks even if they had been forced to travel nude with no items at all (not even from the “gift shops”).
The only ways to stop that would have been: a) flight crew that could not be intimidated. b) having all passengers chained to their seats like slaves on a slave ship. OR c) a US air force and military command structure that would not have been crippled by one coordinator being on vacation or by enemy aircraft not voluntarily identifying as such.
Of cause there is also the Roman empire option d) Don’t be scared of death, just show the world that your revenge will be so terrible no one dares to accost any US citizen anywhere.
Point this out with public duels and gladiator fights in which you publicly enjoy death.
Al-Qaeda uses option d) too. They show us again and again that they want to die and killing them will only make them happy. They did the 9/11 attacks to deliberately provoke the invasion in Afghanistan, so they could fight us on their home turf. They expected us to capture and kill their leaders, they only wondered what took us so long.
beautiful video
I flew last week, they are nude scanning ALL PASSENGERS, without exception. I got it twice. They only pat down anyone with something that comes up questionable on the nude scanner.
Very smart stuff — with one exception. There is plenty of government-facilitated self-dealing to cite that is true.
For instance, Bush’s Interior Department trading taxpayer money for sex is a real scandal:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/11/washington/11royalty.html?pagewanted=all
“Fast & Furious” is a fake scandal:
http://features.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2012/06/27/fast-and-furious-truth/
I never go through the nude scanner. I always ask for a pat down. I could care less if some TSA chick runs her hands all over me. I’ve had two cancers and I’m not taking any unnecessary radiation. And I just don’t believe they know what they are doing, or if the machines are well calibrated. It’s a completely unnecessary risk. Yes; should have listened to the Israelis… but some crooked contractor got their palms greased by the US TSA BS.
“Yes; should have listened to the Israelis… ”
You mean take profiling to its logical extreme?
I think he means use your brains and don’t flush money down the toilet. TSA is supposedly trying to keep us safe by buying dumb machines and hiring dumb people to operate them.
Israelis hire smart people to watch out for suspicious behavior (and NOT just for “people who look Arab”, since historically even German and Japanese terrorists have managed to hurt Israelis in the 1970s).
And they use their money wisely on the right machines, not on whomever paid more to some congressman’s campaign.
their money? i think you mean American money
Thank you
Si, it’s true the perverts all flocked to TSA. Everyone has stories of witnessing the losers at TSA who grin at one another when a good looking girl approaches, she’ll get ‘special treatment’ …. unknowingly, they’ve sold their souls.
We all say this and we all say that. Just a question if I may? Would any of us ever put our loved ones on a plane that has not been screened by TSA, private security or what some may claim the best security out there, the Israelis (which I seriously doubt they can even be called a security after what I have witnessed). Furthermore, every company and every agency has it’s own bad apples. Example: DWI police officer runs over toddler, off-duty police officer gunned down by police at McDonalds, Sean Bell case, CBP officer arrested for possession of kilograms of marijuana in his CBP 4×4, Secret Service detail accused of prostitution, senator prosecuted for tax evasion and even one of our most beloved ex-pressidents had his Lewinsky. Not to mention that TSA almost never gets any credit for any illegal drugs,guns and money that it discovers. Never has there been mentioned of the ex-EMS TSA officer that performed CPR and saved an elderly’s life or the BDO that detected the kidnapped child and reported the fact to local law enforcement, the felons detected at travel document checkpoint trying to leave USA with false passports and so on and so forth. TSA has recovered over 50.000(fifty thousand) illegal firearms during it’s 10(ten)year tenure. How many agencies can claim that? By now you must have realized that I am a TSA screener. I, as an emigrant, have sworn twice in front of a judge and almighty GOD, to protect this country. One time for my citizenship and the other time, to serve and protect this dream of a country. How many of us have ever sworn once to do that? We, TSA employees, (someone might have an issue if we call ourselves officers) get out of our house everyday to go to work and find explosives and all sorts of prohibited items, and we are not looking for gratitude, just understanding. Just like everybody else, we do have families too, and our families do not go through any special lane or special screening, nor do we for that matter. We have standard operating procedures which we MUST follow and these procedures are approved by Congress so… Blame the TSA everybody (we found our scapegoat). As I have stated before, every company/agency has their bad apples, and so do we. This brings me to my original question. Would any of us ever put our loved ones on a plane that has not been screened by security?
Yes.
And I’ll explain to you why, there are two main reasons:
A) Planes aren’t that special. Your family isn’t porno-scanned when they get on a bus. They’re also not porno-scanned when they get on a train. Nor are they porno-scanned when they get on a boat, or into a car, or onto a bicycle, or when they get on a private jet, or a tourist trip on a helicopter. Yet I’m sure you allow them to use all of these easily comprisable modes of transport. You dare-devil you!
B) Terrorists are a statistically insignificant threat. You have more chance of being attacked with a pineapple by a crazy man in a Santa suit. But I don’t see anyone legislating against pineapples or santa suits – scanning everyone in a santa suit to make sure they’re not carrying a pineapple.
So yes, a million times yes. Just like how my parents flew with me when I was a child and I didn’t go through a porno-scanner (spoiler: the plane wasn’t hijacked and everyone was fine).
The only thing that’s different since 9/11 are the ridiculously over reaching laws and unnecessary fear that’s plagued America (i.e. when the terrorists won) – the actual threat hasn’t changed one iota.
Stop buying into the theatre and manufactured fear. You didn’t worry about this before, why worry about it now?
It’s also quite inappropriate that you were sworn in under some kind of god. What happened to keeping religion out of government? Everything about your comment would have Americas forefathers spinning in their graves.
Like many other parents, I choose not to teach my kids to be groped by uniform donning TSA pedophiles. My children are far less at risk from a kidnapper than they are from you and from learning to submit to official sexual groping. If I let them submit to it from the TSA in my presence then I am also acclimatizing them to a cop, grocery store security guard, or anyone else in a uniform groping them sexually when I am not present. Ask parents if they prefer to have their kids fondled in the name of false safety or not, you will hear a resounding “no!”
And in regards to “…sworn twice in front of a judge and almighty GOD, to protect this country. One time for my citizenship…” The fact that you passed the civics portion of the citizenship exam despite your warped view of constitutional rights and despite your complete ignorance of the freedoms our founding fathers fought for show me just how low our naturalization standards are. Read the bill of rights and the constitution and ponder upon your daily sins against this great nation.
I need the nude body scanner. Due to arthritis, almost all of my major joints are metal plus my spine. The metal detectors force me into an embarrassing pat down every time. I breeze thru the scanners and am on my way. While waiting for my pat downs, my electronics & purse are available for the world, removed from me by at least 10 ft. I have no good options & I fly 2-3 times a year.
Hey just wanted to give you a quick heads up and let you
know a few of the pictures aren’t loading properly. I’m not sure
why but I think its a linking issue. I’ve tried it in two different browsers and both show the same results.
Wow, amazing weblog layout! How lengthy have you ever been running a blog for?
you made running a blog look easy. The whole glance of your web site is magnificent, let alone the content material!
Lawyers allow us to be oppressed/abused. They are the gatekeepers in our society. Quite a mission field – Repent or perish.
Truthfully, all must repent or perish! ~ there but for the grace of God go I… Jesus is far above all principalities and powers. We will all give an account. Shalom ~ Come to Jesus ~
This is a topic that is close to my heart…
Best wishes! Exactly where are your contact details though?
Hi there! This is my first comment here so I just wanted to give a quick
shout out and say I really enjoy reading your articles.
Can you suggest any other blogs/websites/forums that cover the
same subjects? Thanks!