Makeda's Waterfall
Closing statement:
TSA body scanners are an inefficient and inaccurate security measure that is a huge violation of the 4th amendment rights of people everywhere, the TSA has no evidence of any domestic passengers that are planning to ‘blow up’ an airplane however they still carry out these invasive body scanners. With the huge amounts of money that is being used, the TSA body scanners should be more efficient and accurate.
terrorists such as the shoe bomber and the underwear bomber were able to get on the plane when the whole purpose of the TSA body scanners are to prevent terrorists from ever entering the plane. Why must we sacrifice our rights, our 4th amendment rights, when terrorists still get on the plane?
The TSA body scanners started to be widely used in airports after the underwear bombing that happened in 2009 and you are proving my point when you stated that the shoe bomber was "On the plane, he then lit a fuse to his shoe bomb". The shoe bomber managed to GET ON THE PLANE meaning that all the security measured, INCLUDING THE TSA SCANNERS, had failed to spot the bomb. So how come the shoe bomber was able to get on the plane if the TSA body scanners were so convenient?
Although backscatters were removed from US airports by June 1, 2013, according to the Transportation Security Administration, and replaced with less invasive body scanners but are still used in US prisons and courthouses, as well as airports in Africa. The security hype occurred after the underwear bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab who was in fact a Nigerian man who boarded from Africa so how is it that they use a TSA scanner with so many loopholes and false alarms there?
The doctors with the knowledge may be forced into going through the body scanners and the radiation from the X-ray body scanners, as stated before, may be below the recommended radiation levels however is a risk to all regular travelers in the long run.
As I have stated before in another argument a 7News article states that a teenager with a diabetic insulin was forced to go through the body scanner even though she opted for a pat down, even after that she had to go through the pat down. Her insulin pump was found broken after going through the body scanner. This again proves that even though you can opt for a pat down the inexperienced TSA employees may force you into having a body scan. If you have any further argument relating to this topic please post it but them again I have several other arguments to rebuke them so...
The TSA scans are programmed so that a person's body is outlined in a light colour with a dark background. Metals are detected to be a dark colour meaning that if you place anything to the side of you body the metal wouldn't be detected and you can pass through.
Jonathan Corbett was able to sneak past a heavy metal container past the TSA body scanners by creating a secret side pocket
https://www.youtube.com/
However anyone with a familiarity with how the technology works could easily conceal weapons by hiding them in specific places on the body or covering them with other material to fool the machines into not being able to distinguish the contraband from the passenger’s body.
researchers discovered that by taping a pistol to the outside of a passenger’s leg just above the knee or sewing it into the same spot inside of a pants legs, the gun doesn’t show up at all
They were even able to conceal an a .380 ACP pistol by taping it just above a subjects knee and the same gun was also conceled by sewing it into his pant leg. Another strategy, which worked well with knives, is to tape the weapon to the passenger’s body and then cover it with a material that will read as the same color as a human body, such as a polytetrafluoroethylene like Teflon. Researchers also found that it was possible to use a slight variation on this strategy to smuggle plastic explosives. "Our results suggest that while the ... [machine] is effective against naïve attackers, it is not able to guarantee either efficacy or privacy when subject to attack by an attacker who is knowledgeable about its inner workings,”.
http://www.dailydot.com/politics/
As stated before any one with the basic knowledge of the TSA body scanners can easily hack into the software as the software on the scanner they purchased lacked any password protection or software verification, and the lock to the cabinet where the computer is housed could be picked in ‟under ten seconds with a commercially available tool,” meaning an attacker could potentially infect a scanner with malware without much difficulty. someone who was both sophisticated and prepared could have use techniques like these to sneak virtually whatever they wanted onto airplanes for years.
http://www.dailydot.com/politics/
There are new body scanners that don't produce a graphic image of a human body however in a John Hopkins Studies report it clearly states that they were also able to modify the scanner's operating software so it presented an "all-clear" message to the operator even when contraband was detected
http://hub.jhu.edu/2014/08/20/
Having the basic knowledge of the new body scanners, if a person is found "all clear" then an image will not be produced and a simple ok will be projected on the screen. What is to ensure the safety of the passengers if terrorists are able to hack the software of a TSA body scanner?
The TSA policy clearly states that passengers have a right to fly with insulin and the right to opt for a pat down, so why the confusion? This proves that the TSA employees are inexperience or uninformed of the laws and even if you opt for a pat down it is not guaranteed
The TSA laws may state this however a 7News article was recently released reports that a teenager with a diabetic insulin was forced to go through the body scanner even though she opted for a pat down; even after that she had to go through the pat down. Her insulin pump was found broken after going through the body scanner.
You may be correct however there are 2 types of body scanners and although the scanner that used millimeter wave technology does not emit a lot of radiation the scanner that uses the backscatter x-ray technology emit approximately the same amount of radiation as an x-ray with is harmful to a regular travelers such as pilots, hostesses, hosts etc.
In fact the researchers stated ‟We also studied the cyber physical security of the machine and were able to show how an attacker could subvert the operator console software so that it would be possible to conceal all types of contraband.” Meaning that the software of the TSA can and will be hacked by any terrorists group with the knowledge of how the scanners work jeopardizing the safety of any passenger on board a flight.
Despite the fact that the TSA has claimed to find 2212 weapons during the screenings according to a report released by a team of researchers from U.C. San Diego, University of Michigan, and Johns Hopkins University, "anyone with knowledge of how the scanners work could have easily slipped weapons past security checkpoints" in fact in laboratory tests with a real machine, they were able to conceal guns, knives, and explosive simulants in such a way that they were not visible to the scanner operator.
http://www.dailydot.com/politics/
The anxiety for terrorist attacks is rising in the world today. Governments have spent millions on surveillance technology and continue to look to do so in the future. You see cameras and CCTV’s in the mall, on the streets, in schools, in stores…...practically everywhere. TSA has authorised themselves the right to administer body scans, naked body scans. We believe that the TSA should not be permitted to use ‘advanced imaging technology’ to peer under passengers’ clothing in search of dangerous items. Our privacy is important and we should maintain that at all costs.
People do not want to have the full-body scanners every time they want to do something. the scanners produce an image of a person that is close to nudity and due to the great amount of radiation, the TSA has authorized enhanced pat-downs, which could include the touching of genitals, buttocks and breast. Those who reject both procedures would not be allowed to fly. Many people are concerned about this issue. However, others don’t mind because they have “nothing to hide”. We believe that the TSA violates the fourth amendment, which protects people against unreasonable search and seizure.
There should be other movements and activities done here on earth to preserve the earth for our future generations. Going to other planets and gathering "random rocks" is not bringing us any closer to creating a inhabitable planet. Even is we created an inhabitable planet, the chances of getting everyone there is near to impossible.
