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 ® 
I don’t agree with the nude body scanner policy, however, this video doesn’t prove they’ve been made worthless. The TSA could just require that you stand with your left and right profile facing the scanner, problem solved
The only time I’ve experience the scanner it was a 2 stage process for me.
Well in any case, it would be a very minor change for the TSA to implement a 2 stage process. Metal detection (very quick, little radiation risk) followed by the Xray scanner.
No, what’s the point of doing both when the rapescanner can easily circumvented and the metal detector is far superior? If you’re carrying dangerous non-metal items, then you can still use the hack to go through.
I didn’t say there would be a point. I am saying that this is what the TSA will want to do. Their decisions seem to have more to do with humiliating/controlling people than saftey.
You should be put in jail and locked up for the rest of your life. You’re an idiot
Jermaine, brought to you by the TSA!
Oh, look, Jermaine doesn’t get it. People like Jermaine should just continue to cower under their beds. Afraid of non-existent boogie men. Idiot.
Good work.
This is crazy. Way to go man, you should be on every news outlet there is.
Can you please also talk about how these scanners are EXEMPT from lawsuits in case of injury? That’s right, develop cancer down the line and the government will NOT pay up.
Great job!
Respectfully submitted by SD2010.
Can someone please explain this claim that “no one has boarded a plane in the US with any type of explosive in nearly 40 years”? What about the shoe bomber in 2001? The underwear bomber in 2009?
Do you realize he’s talking about American citizens in American airports, not foreign ones?
@Justin: Scan up for my earlier reply on this topic. You can also download the INFORMATION KIT at http://fttusa.org for details and references. The short answer is TSAOUTOFOURPANTS was referring to suicidal airline passengers with working NON-METALLIC bombs.
Regards, Jeff.
Do you know what a map is? Can you identify the US on one?
Here’s a hint neither Amsterdam nor London are in the US (well not the ones those two people boarded at, I’m sure there are places with those names..)
Had me until privatizing airport security
I’ll take trained professionals over this shit show any day. I remember when flying in the 90s was actually somewhat pleasant.
That is so what a sheeple would say. Baaa. Baaaaaa.
Just a reminder, the TSA is in place because the PRIVATE system we had in place before that made TSA Look Good!
When TSA took over, we were hoping for something smart. We got something put together by the Government Never Works because we Don’t Want It to Work Republicans. Since the Republicans were in charge of creating the TSA they managed to make it the Worst of All Worlds, Underpaid, unprotected by unions, minions for employees (a Real Government Agency with Real Government Employees actually would have been better), and the people on top all treat it like they would a Private Business, giving equipment purchases to their cronies. The GWB head of TSA is now the head of the company that makes those screening machines.
Still At least the Head of TSA isn’t getting paid Big Money to make sure we have absolutely no protection, as it was pre-9-11. Seriously, go look it up. A friend worked in Pre-9-11 airport security, they were almost all immigrants who spoke limited English and worked for minimum wage. He was fired for being smart enough to see the Even Bigger Glaring Holes in pre-9-11 security.
Scary but true. Boxcutters, that’s all it took to bring down the Twin Towers.
Are you even joking? You think minimum wage slave people hired from pizza boxes are better than the trained professionals I saw at airports pre-911? Quit spewing lies and garbage.
Please stop Randomly Capitalizing words it makes you sound Stupid.
Anyhow, if problems with the TSA are due to creation under a right-wing government, why didn’t the left fix it when they had control of Congress and the presidency? I’m interested in some more of your idio-I mean brilliance.
What’s sad is that if I were the maker of this video, I would be scared of government reprisals against me. In 2000, this would not have been the case.
Just make them turn sideways so you get a side-to-side shot too. Problem solved
Then you get two doses of radiation in a row! Good plan!
Reblogged this on Robert Amezquita and commented:
Absolutely amazing that something so simple could be done to bypass the supposed security body scanners provide. I made the mistake once of refusing the body scanner method (because I don’t want to be exposed to harmful levels of radiation, especially considering I was traveling frequently), and was put to the side, ignored for 10 minutes, and finally patted down in an invasive, demeaning manner by some TSA agent who seemed to enjoy the ridicule I was going through.
The TSA is absolute bullshit, and there’s got to be a better way to protect people than this. And I feel bad for the TSA agents who are exposed to that radiation day in and day out, and become more susceptible to malignant cancers.
I am in full support of getting rid of full-body scanners, but in what way would privatizing airport security eliminate issues like this. The TSA is in need of serious reform, but it is stated specifically in this very video that the private companies that are in bed with the Federal government are a significant portion of the problem. What would stop the private companies that would step in to replace the TSA from running equally corrupt and overly expensive policies? The power of private companies in this country is just as much of a problem as, if not more than, the corruptible bureaucracies like TSA.
> but in what way would privatizing airport security eliminate issues like this
Because you can sue them for violating your rights. Good luck suing the TSA for it – they try to make themselves exempt.
No one wants to hurt us. Stop being afraid.
Let’s ditch security and let the airlines handle it themselves…
Safest airline would get the most business, no?
JC, you are attractive, brainy, and throwing a wrench in the cogs. *wistful sigh* The Perfect Man.
Congratulations and well done! We need more Americans like you to educate and expose the Federal Government of its high crimes and misdemeanors! It seems like you know and understand the U.S. Constitution and Your Bill of Rights. Thank you and many you continue to PROMOTE LIBERTY and the AMERICAN WAY!
In Liberty,
Alicia Hayes-Roberts
Congratulations and well done! We need more Americans like you to educate and expose the Federal Government of its high crimes and misdemeanors! It seems like you know and understand the U.S. Constitution and Your Bill of Rights. Thank you and many you continue to PROMOTE LIBERTY and the AMERICAN WAY!
In Liberty,
Alicia Hayes-Roberts
crimes and misdemeanors? explain to me how this exposes either… FYI you are not required to pass through this machine so don’t try the privacy thread..
If you opt-out you get the enhanced pat-down, which is an even greater invasion of privacy… Way to shill for the TSA though.
@Lisa,
First of all, your republican bashing is indicative of your nieve belief that there exists in this country, a legit, 2 party system. NOT, get a clue. Second and most important; “Boxcutters” DID NOT BRING DOWN THE TWIN TOWERS.
thank you, michael. you read my mind
NO, not boxcutters….. President Bush did.
I’m pretty sure I parsed that sentence incorrectly, but I’m sure anyone could take down a full-body scanner if they had enough explosives to take down a Boeing 747.
I kid, but seriously, this’ll be interesting… I may have to reconsider travelling to the States.
Hey guys… the weakest link is always people. I’m 6′ 4″ and my hands are *frequently* over the top of many of these scanners. The last two times I’ve gone through I “forgot” to take my wallet out of my pocket. Instead of having me go back to put it through the xray machine, and thereby have me hold up the line, they said I could hold it, in my hands, above the scanner.
Good job TSA!
Everyone is allowed to hold their wallet and airline ticket in their hands above their head when going through the scanner. The TSA agent will bend the wallet to make sure no metal object is inside after you pass the scanner. I do this twice a week when I travel.
I understand your point, but if they were able to see the metallic case why would anyone stop you? This experiment is flawed
No, any time they see an “anomaly” from the body scanners they are obliged to go in an interrogate what the anomaly is. Period. The experiment is not flawed. The next step would be to test this theory with a plastic knife.
i am curious of what you think about the systems they’re using in europe. i am not sure how wide spread they are, but in amsterdam their system is using ultrasound and is safe for people. also no one sees your naked body. it shows a generic human body outline and circles in yellow items which are questionable. i don’t really know the science to it though. i am but a simpleton. i just know it really pissed me off when this was an option and chose not to use it for something that is invasive, dangerous and can be beat.
so what is your suggestion to these flawed security practices…
One of the many reasons why I don’t fly any more. I think the US needs to pay a lot more attention to Israeli airport security. They know how it’s done, and they do it very well.
Leave anti-terror security in the hands of private enterprise whose sole function is to make a profit? I’m not sure I follow this.
Do you even realize that the scanners are private sector that profits off our tax dollars with federal exemptions from being sued? Worst of both worlds.
Or better yet, get your government to stop bullying and abusing foreign countries, maybe then you would not have a terrorism problem.
Gee, I wonder how most European countries manage not to be attacked by Al Qaeda…
James – you have got to be one of the dumbest on here, huh? Serious? You think that most European countries don’t have an issue with terrorism? You think that Al Qaeda is the sole representation of terrorism on the planet? My word, man – get a grip and research things for a change. I’m sure all of the arrests and incidents throughout Europe mean nothing because they weren’t associated with Al Qaeda. Moron.
I thought the nude scanners took images from multiple angles, not just front and back. Wouldn’t this succeed in finding objects on your side?
They only take data from 2 sides.
They use an algorithm to generate a 3-D image. While what is rendered by some of the machines is a 3-D image, the machines don’t actually “see” the sides of a person.
Won’t they just make everyone rotate 90 degrees now and zap us twice with ionizing radiation?
His description indicates to me that the technology works just fine in his situation, and that he wasn’t stopped either because he was recognized as potential legal trouble or due to sheer incompetence on the part of the unsworn rent-a-cops. Either explanation is equally likely…
I thought the scanners spun around the subject in a 360 and would therefore reveal a metallic object against light colored flesh even if the metallic object was far away from the body. Is that not true?
Good work, I appreciate you fighting for our dignity, were it not for the freedom riders in the 1960’s I would still be riding in the back of the bus. Somebody has to stand up.
We are a double opt out family with small children. We will not teach our kids that any monkey in a uniform is allowed to touch their privates or see them naked. We decided this after I had my balls fondled in front of our kids while their dad stood in the perp position at a TSA checkpoint in Lihue Hawaii. We also won’t go to Hawaii anymore, this year we took our vacation in Florida because if worse comes to worse we’ll buy or rent a car and drive home from anywhere in the continental US if absolutely necessary. We will teach our kids to make decisions based on principles and dignity rather than based on convenience. If we can pass through a WTMD we’ll fly that day, if not we won’t fly that day. Inconvenient? Yes. We appreciate tsastatus.net for helping us find airports where we have a better chance of flying without having to chose to either let the TSA create child porn images or commit sexual assault on our kids or not fly that day.
Bravo! Thank you for being an excellent father and protecting your children from airport sexual abuse! You are an inspiration and I’m so glad to hear of other families protecting themselves against the TSA. I use tsastatus.net to give me the best chance of boarding an aircraft without being molested or made into an unwilling porn star. If the TSA threatens to touch me or show nude images of my body to strangers, I will and have left the airport and abandoned my flight. I have switched a large portion of my travel to Amtrak to avoid the TSA’s bullying altogether.
Thanks Annapolis, I really appreciate the feedback. You travel Amtrak to fly less and I bought an RV for the same reason. The bottom line is that nobody is going to feel up or take nude images of my wife and kids, and if we must abandon our flight we will.
I recently learned at http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/children/index.shtm
that TSA won’t attempt to put anyone carrying a baby in their arms through the nudeoscope and will use the WTMD in that case. I also learned that families are allowed to stay together so I would expect as long as a family has an infant the whole family can use the WTMD. That’s good news for my flight home this week. Prior to doing the research at tsa.gov I had planned to:
1. Hold on to the rental car while helping my wife and children through security so that in case TSA’s demands to create child pornographic images or sexually molest our kids caused us to double opt out and abandon our flight we’d already have a car to drive to another airport. This would be especially important in case the airport police force us to leave the airport and prevent us from going to the car rental counter after our double opt out.
1.5. Escort my wife and kids to the gate, get our gate check tags for the strollers and car seats, get the family situated and settled with snacks and drinks, explain the sight-line limits of wandering about the gate area to our 4 yo, let them take their trips to the potty or whatnot. Depending on how far the gate is from the checkpoint and whether or not a train ride and elevators are involved in getting there all of that would take about 30-90 minutes.
2. Go back out of the secure area alone to return the rental car.
3. Go through the checkpoint again solo to join them at the gate. I’d probably be considered a suspicious character for departing the secure area and going through the checkpoint twice, and I’d probably not be able to use the WTMD. They’d probably want to both nudeoscope and ball fondle me on my second trip through the checkpoint.
I’d like to be able to say that I’d double opt out if necessary on my solo second pass through security during step 3 but honestly I’d probably submit to the ball fondling humiliation rather than having to call my wife’s cellphone and tell her to leave the gate and join me. In many airports luggage carts aren’t allowed past the checkpoint it would be very difficult if not impossible for her to safely move both the carry on bags and the kids through the terminal without my help. The TSA Nazis and or airport police would probably not even let me wait for her with a luggage cart just outside the checkpoint, and I have heard that sometimes they escort double opt outs completely out of the airport, so in that case TSA would “have me by the balls” as the saying goes, and I would tolerate the ball fondling to rejoin my family at the gate.
All of that is now hypothetical, after the research I plan to return the rental car first, we’ll all go through the checkpoint together and we’ll all double opt out if necessary.
We hope for the best, you’ll see the results of our no-porn no-grope return home flight attempt on tsastatus.net later this week.
Here is video of an operator rotating an image from a RapiScan scanner a full 360 degrees:
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=972_1262283908
Your claim has no merit and is refutable by a few minutes of research about how these devices operate.
Le sigh.
It appears you don’t actually understand how imaging technology works.
While the image you linked does show a somewhat 3-D rendering, do you notice how there is a slow and gap process as the image turns to the sides? MMW, like MRI, takes images in a 2 dimensional field, and then uses an algorithm to generate a 3-D image.
While you clearly think that you are very clever for “discovering” this flaw in Jon’s argument, all you’ve done is prove that while you think you’ve researched how imagery works based on a rendered image, you actually don’t have a clue.
Apparently, TSA doesn’t either.
Everyting is a business model. The whole idea of the naked body scanners was to make money for the corp. that produced them. (Who was an excec. at the Corp?) There were wharehouses full of these devices that the airports were not buying. Enter “The Underware Bomber” and suddenly every airport in the U.S. is scrambling to install them. The TSA was an add on benifit to pad the ranks of the government payrolls to help make the unemployment numbers look better. We are being played as complete dolts in this entire scam of “anti-terrorism” and enhanced airport security. I’m all for safe air travel, but to give up our civil liberties so some assholes can make a profit? Give me a fukin break!
This comment doesn’t directly relate to full body scanners, but should probably be of interest to this audience.
As a non US citizen, let me tell a little story about a stop-over on a business trip I had there a couple of years back.
I happened to have a stop-over in New York City, and not having been there before thought I’d do some tourist sort of stuff for my few hours there.
I wanted to go over on the ferry to the Statue of Liberty. Well, 2 hours in a queue, followed by full body scanning was not what I expected to get on a ferry! That was a serious annoyance, but not nearly as bad as what happened next.
Two people behind me on the ferry were talking to each other (Southern US accent). One said something like “Isn’t it just great how much the government is doing to protect us from terrorists?”
I turned around and pointed out the irony of having one’s liberty so watered down by the procedure we just went through when going to see a symbol of liberty itself.
At this point, a police officer approached me and “suggested” that if I don’t want to be accused of inciting violence I should stop talking about that. I asked him how my perfectly non violent comments could be construed as inciting violence, to which he said that because the topic itself is one that makes people angry, simply talking about this topic could incite violence. Hmm, so much for free speech.
“Two people behind me on the ferry were talking to each other (Southern US accent).”
Yuuuup, we’re all just simpletons down here in the Southern US, hyuk hyuk! Shucks!
And as friendly as we are down here, we don’t tolerate rudeness, so if you’d turned to me and butted into my private conversation, I would’ve slapped you across the face with one of my fancy gloves.
Thanks for being awesome at life.
Coming to you from reddit – Ok, I am not sure how exactly you got your kit passed security – that may be a flaw in their system, I don’t know. However, I feel that the 2 images that are presented do not support the conclusions made in the first part of the video. Image one has a very dark background. It seems possible that a very dark metallic object would not show up when stashed on your side in this situation. Image two however, has a grey background. The gun strapped to the back of the person in this image would most certainly show up against the grey background from the side. In a similar vein, some portions of the hidden objects in image set two are more grey than black and may show up if they had been carried by the person in image set one. Also, where did you get these images? Are they from two different machines? Is it not possible that the imager autocontrasts to provide the greatest contrast with apparent discrepancies?
Wow you got a metal tin through security. Congrats. Try metal replica hand gun next time and see what happens. Then I will be impressed.
Or he just as easily could have put explosive material in that metal case. What then, braniac?
Reblogged this on .:Sonic Groz:. and commented:
I have been lucky enough to avoid the rape-scan vs rape-pat each time I have flown since this has started. However next month I will be heading into another airport..hoping that I can again avoid the rape-scan/rape-pat. Besides the obvious embarrassment of having a picture of you nude viewed and saved by TSA, or the embarrassment of getting molested by TSA via their pat down…This video raises the question of why must anyone go through this embarrassment if it doesn’t stop me (or anyone else) from getting on a plane with something dangerous?
Even if you are terrified of flying, or just never fly…please share this video. If you need more reasons to, just google for videos of people getting the TSA rape-pats. Google about the radiation that you get when you are asked to go through the rape-scan. Even google for pictures of what the TSA see when when you step into the rape-scan.
This video is just one of the many reasons why this needs to be pulled from airports.
Suggestion for anyone who can pull this off…
I work in radiology. Every employee that works with xray must wear a film badge. These film badges are collected by radiation companies who record the xray exposure for each person.
Either:
1) actively pursue an x-ray/radiation physicist that can assist you in lending a film badge and getting read. Its not that hard to find these guys. They are in the book. They usually work solo and contract themselves out to hospitals. You can tell them you are doing student research 🙂
2) try using camera film in that side pocket and see what damage it does when going through the scanner.
Yes, more research on either above method must be done. Having a physicist would be helpful. But since the tsa refuses to monitor radiation exposure of their own employees, as well as give accurate testing to determine radiation per traveler, it seems either method above would yield positive radiation findings.
Oh, with the suggestion i listed above,
In case it wasn’t obvious, sure you get the film badge through the scanner. They are tiny and in plastic holders. They could be clipped onto your underclothes easily
And the film, could be left in a pocket. No metal on those either
I fly a lot on business and my last flight connected in PHX. My lay over was only about 40 min and I had to go from Terminal 2 to Terminal 3, which is essentially is a separate building, had to re-enter security. Of course I’m hauling ass to make my flight and sweaty pits = rapetime. My first pat-down.
Now I was never bothered by the scanners assuming that was the cost for safety. Now that I know that it isn’t safe at all. Let’s make this lawsuit of yours a class action.
Me, gross-old-dude and his supervisor went into the secret room. It wasn’t so much the 3 vertical strokes and three horizontal strokes he gave my penis (over my pants)… humiliating as that was … it was when he put his hand INSIDE my boxers, cupped my testicles then had my turn around and slid a finger down and inside my butt crack. That killed me. I’m a grown man and I was in tears.
Sorry for the experience, but WHY would anyone be willing to go to a side room ? I might have heard of something like this couple years ago, but now ? I know where to line up to go thru MWD vs scanners so haven’t had to refuse them in over a year of pretty frequent trips. Technically they should have had the incident videotaped, so if it has not been too much time you can quickly file a claim.