TSA: "Let me see the prosthesis."

crselby

I want as much as anybody to be safe from crazy bombers but this has to change! They get NO training on dealing with breast prostheses? ? !
~~Connie~~

By Suzanne Choney
msnbc.com msnbc.com
2010-11-19T22:31:32

A longtime Charlotte, N.C., flight attendant and cancer survivor told a local television station that she was forced to show her prosthetic breast during a pat-down.

Cathy Bossi, who works for U.S. Airways, said she received the pat-down after declining to do the full-body scan because of radiation concerns.

The TSA screener "put her full hand on my breast and said, 'What is this?' " Bossi told the station. "And I said, 'It's my prosthesis because I've had breast cancer.' And she said, 'Well, you'll need to show me that.' "

Bossi said she removed the prosthetic from her bra. She did not take the name of the agent, she said, "because it was just so horrific of an experience, I couldn't believe someone had done that to me. I'm a flight attendant. I was just trying to get to work."

For Americans who wear prosthetics — either because they are cancer survivors or have lost a limb — or who have undergone hip replacements or have a pacemaker, the humiliation of the TSA's new security procedures — choosing between a body scan or body search — is even worse.

Musa Mayer has worn a breast prosthesis for 21 years since her mastectomy and is used to the alarms it sets off at airport security. But nothing prepared her for the "invasive and embarrassing" experience of being patted down, poked and examined recently while passing through airport security at Dulles International Airport in Washington, D.C.

"I asked the supervisor if she realized that there are 3 million women who have had breast cancer in the U.S., many of whom wear breast prostheses. Will each of us now have to undergo this humiliating, time-consuming routine every time we pass through one of these new body scanners?" she said in an e-mail to msnbc.com.

'I was so humiliated'
Marlene McCarthy of Rhode Island said she went through the body scanner and was told by a TSA agent to step aside. In "full view of everyone," McCarthy said in an e-mail, the agent "immediately put the back of her hand on my right side chest and I explained I wore a prosthesis.

"Then, she put her full hands ... one on top and one on the bottom of my 'breast' and moved the prosthesis left, right, up, down and said 'OK.' I was so humiliated.

"I went to the desk area and complained," McCarthy wrote. "The woman there was very nice and I asked her if the training included an understanding of how prosthetics are captured on the scanner and told her the pat-down is embarrassing. She said, 'We have never even had that discussion and I do the training for the TSA employees here, following the standard manual provided.' She said she will bring it up at their next meeting."

If she has to go through the scanner again, McCarthy said, "I am determined to put the prosthesis in the gray bucket," provided to travelers at the security check-ins for items such as jewelry.

"Let the TSA scanners be embarrassed .... not me anymore!" she wrote.

Sharon Kiss, 66, has a pacemaker, but also has to fly often for her work.

"During a recent enhanced pat-down, a screener cupped my breasts and felt my genitals," she said in an e-mail to msnbc.com "To 'clear my waistband' she put her hands down my pants and groped for the waistband of my underwear.

"I expressed humiliation and was told 'You have the choice not to fly.' "

The remark infuriated Kiss, who lives in Mendocino, Calif. "Extrapolate this to we should not provide curb cuts and ramps for people confined to wheelchairs because they can choose to stay home ... This a violation of civil rights. And because I have a disability, I should not be subjected to what is government-sanctioned sexual assault in order to board a plane."

So far, the government is not letting up on the enhanced screening program. TSA administrator John Pistole said this week at a Congressional hearing on the matter that "reasonable people can disagree" on how to properly balance safety at the nation's airports, but that the new security measures are necessary because of intelligence on latest attack methods that might be used by terrorists.

Gail Mengel, of Blue Springs, Mo., is used to being patted down; she had a hip replacement five years ago.

."I admit that I was relieved when I flew last week and was able to spend a few seconds in front of the X-ray screen in Seattle and Denver," she said in an e-mail to msnbc.com. "I have heard medical experts say the level of radiation will not hurt us. And frankly I was happy to realize I won't have my body touched, patted and rubbed anymore.

"Unfortunately last weekend, I arrived at the New Orleans airport and learned that airport staff (was) still being trained in using the X-ray machine. Because my hip replacement sets off the security buzzer, I was faced with the new regulations."

While she is "used to" being patted down, "this experience was certainly much more personal, uncomfortable and embarrassing," she said. "Every part of my body was touched. I do not want to be harmed by radiation, but the experience was painless and quick compared to what I have faced over the last five years. I support security measures but I also hope we can be assured of safe procedures."

One man, from Nashville, wrote in an e-mail that "as a handicapped person, I am sick and tired of being 'raped' at the security line. I lose my crutches and leg orthotics to be 'nuked' by the X-ray machine. Then manhandled by the pat-down, followed by chemical swabbing for 'possible explosives.' ...Enough is enough."

Said Mayer, the longtime breast cancer survivor: "I am outraged that I will now be forced to show my prosthesis to strangers, remove it and put in the X-ray bin for screening, or not to wear it at all whenever I fly. To me, this seems unfairly discriminatory and embarrassing for me, and for all breast cancer survivors."

© 2010 msnbc.com Reprints

carkris

Well it should be
Well it should be interesting as I I have two!!! Just whip em out and plop them in the containers. I felt weird about my sleeves.! I want the world to be safe and some crazy person could put explosives in them I suppose. perhaps I will just wear a big sweater and no boobs, oops I have to take the sweater off Yikes!! Pretty soon we will all have to walk through naked!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

linpsu

no more flying
All of this makes me think I don't ever want to fly again!
Linda

sgamtd

TSA and body searches
crselby
I agree, we all want to be safe, and these invasive searches apparently have not led to any discoveries of explosives, at least I would assume it would be plastered all over the news if something was found, and I have not read of any such discoveries.
I recently got an e-mail with the usual fwd: "joke" we all seem to send to each other for a laught or two.
However this one really shows potential to me regarding safety and flying.

It's a scanning type booth, built to withstand any kind of explosive, each person quickly enters one of the booths, no profiling, no x-rays, no touching by anyone, it is however able to detect explosives of any kind within that both and will detonate the explosive with harm done only to the person wearing the explosive, there could even be a sign on the both with a warning of what could happen if entering with explosives; Then no one can sue TSA later for blowing up the terrorist.
I think this is a brilliant idea, don't know if it could is possible to make such a booth. Hey, we can fly to into space and back, we should be able to make such a booth.
An added bonus to people on stand-by for a flight, there is now one seat available on a certain flight.
I know it was sent as a "joke", and airport security is not a funny subject, but I nevertheless thought I'd share, and hope I did not upset or offend anyone, as this was not my intention.

Aortus

carkris said:

Well it should be
Well it should be interesting as I I have two!!! Just whip em out and plop them in the containers. I felt weird about my sleeves.! I want the world to be safe and some crazy person could put explosives in them I suppose. perhaps I will just wear a big sweater and no boobs, oops I have to take the sweater off Yikes!! Pretty soon we will all have to walk through naked!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ya know, Penny...
As the adoring husband of a two-year (as of this week) BC survivor who wears a prosthesis - hell, as a human being - the insensitivity of this new TSA bull$hi+ is disgusting.

But somehow, I actually feel a little sorrier for any TSA zealot who crosses BC sisters like you or Moopy. Moopy is already well known to the local TSA...

Rague

Aortus said:

Ya know, Penny...
As the adoring husband of a two-year (as of this week) BC survivor who wears a prosthesis - hell, as a human being - the insensitivity of this new TSA bull$hi+ is disgusting.

But somehow, I actually feel a little sorrier for any TSA zealot who crosses BC sisters like you or Moopy. Moopy is already well known to the local TSA...

Not insensitivity -
perversion - in all it's many forms.

SIROD

carkris said:

Well it should be
Well it should be interesting as I I have two!!! Just whip em out and plop them in the containers. I felt weird about my sleeves.! I want the world to be safe and some crazy person could put explosives in them I suppose. perhaps I will just wear a big sweater and no boobs, oops I have to take the sweater off Yikes!! Pretty soon we will all have to walk through naked!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Time for Profiling!!!!

I've pasted one of the hundred of articles now on the internet on how Israel keeps it's passenger safe at their airports. I am against profiling, but.............. it's time at our airports. The Fourth Amendment is being violated. For our safety, but............. is there a limit to what we will put up with in the future, is nakedness next?

I'm with you Carkris, I have no problems after all these years, to take my prosthesis out and dump it in their bins. No one is going to take me to a private room to feel me, especially non medical people.

I use my prosthesis when traveling as a bank. I keep my money, credit cards and a copy of my passport in a little pocket tied with a pin to the cover of the prosthesis. I keep only the money I need on hand and one credit card in my purse, along with my passport. On year, I had a ct scan the day after returning from a trip. I had forgotten to remove the little pocket. The tech said, you have some metal on, and then I remembered. I reached in and hand him the prosthesis. He always remembers me when I go for a scan. We joke about it. I am certain that he had never seen a breast prosthesis up to that time. My primary doctor hadn't either and I showed her what it looked and felt like.

After 9/11, at the Washington DC airport, I was picked along with a young boy (blond, blue eyes) around 8 years old. I didn't carry a purse. I only had a paperback. My bag had been checked in. I said very loudly, "now I really feel safe on this plane!". No one needed an explanation.

The article:

Israeli airport security skips scanners, favours profiling

By Jeff Abramowitz Apr 12, 2010, 6:07 GMT


Tel Aviv - Israel's Ben Gurion Airport is considered one of the most secure in the world, even without passengers having to pass through an obtrusive body scanner.

Simply put, the security in place at Ben Gurion is based on the premise of 'find the attacker, and you prevent the attack,' or what Rafael Ron, a former director of security at the airport, calls, 'the human factor.'

'Without a person who intends to do harm, an attack will not take place,' he says, explaining a system which - although obviously alert for weapons - concentrates on people, questioning them and, if deemed necessary, subjecting them to further interrogation and even physical searches.

Critics say this method is racist, since it involves racial profiling. Arab passengers, or non-Jews, for example, are routinely subjected to greater questioning than are Israeli Jews.

Backers point out that the system works. The last time an El Al Israel Airlines aircraft was successfully hijacked was in 1968.

Moreover, no aircraft has ever been hijacked out of Ben Gurion Airport. The terrorists who took over an Air France flight in 1976 - the hijacking which culminated in the Israeli army's rescue of the hostages in Entebbe, Uganda - boarded the plane during a stopover in Athens.

Although airport officials insist that 'we do not give any information regarding our safety procedures and methods,' enough is known of Ben Gurion's security practices to ignite the debate whether other airports in the world should 'Israelify' their security.

It's a debate which has become more urgent since December 25, when Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab attempted to blow up an aircraft en route from Amsterdam to Detroit.

Advocates of the Israeli method say he would never have been allowed onto an aircraft leaving Ben Gurion airport. The multi- layered, not always obvious, security in place would ensure that he would have aroused suspicion, and been stopped, questioned and arrested long before he boarded his flight.
The first security layer manifests itself at the entrance to the airport complex, a good distance from the terminal.

Every vehicle entering the airport is stopped, and the passenger asked a seemingly innocuous question: 'Where are you coming from?'

In most cases the answer is not important. But the way it is delivered is. Questioners are looking for signs of nervousness, or stress, or evasiveness.

The second and third layers can be found outside the airport terminal, where armed guards scrutinize, often seemingly casually, passengers as they alight from their vehicle and move to the building.
At the door to the terminal, more guards are stationed. These sometimes stop random passengers to question them, while looking for signs of suspicious behaviour.

The 'hard' security begins inside the terminal, on the way to the check-in counter. Each passenger is asked some standard questions, such as when they packed their luggage, was their luggage with them all the time after being packed, did anyone give them anything to take on board the plane with them.
At the same time, their flight documents and passports are examined. This often leads to profiling.
Most Israeli Jews are waved though to put their luggages on the X- ray machines. Arabs or non-Jews, on the other hand, are subjected to more intense questioning, and sometimes checked physically.
Advocates of the system maintain that the profiling is not solely ethnic, religious or national, but it based on factors which include behaviour and attitude.

'If you are a bona fide passenger, you answer the questions in a normal way. If you have something to hide, there will be physiological changes: People become white, their Adam's apple jumps, they get angry and jump up and down,' Isaac Yeffet, a former El Al security chief, now a security consultant in New York, told the Wall Street Journal.

Another 'hard' security layer, comes after passport control, when hand baggage is X-rayed and passengers are asked to pass through metal detectors.

And finally, passports and boarding cards are checked just before the passenger is allowed onto the aircraft.

The Israeli method has been scrutinized and even proposed for adoption, especially since Abdelmuttab's aborted attack, but its supporters acknowledge it may not be suitable for worldwide implementation.
For a start, Ben Gurion Airport, Israel's main air terminal, handles around 11.5 million passengers a year - a paltry figure compared to other major airports, but one that makes the Israeli system relatively easy to implement.

The cost of training enough staff to handle all the passengers who pass through a major airport could also been seen as prohibitive.

Even beyond that, lies the problem of social mores. Whether it is called 'behavioral recognition,' or some other euphemism, the spectre of complaints, pr even possible court action, is likely prevent its implementation elsewhere.

KathiM

SIROD said:

Time for Profiling!!!!

I've pasted one of the hundred of articles now on the internet on how Israel keeps it's passenger safe at their airports. I am against profiling, but.............. it's time at our airports. The Fourth Amendment is being violated. For our safety, but............. is there a limit to what we will put up with in the future, is nakedness next?

I'm with you Carkris, I have no problems after all these years, to take my prosthesis out and dump it in their bins. No one is going to take me to a private room to feel me, especially non medical people.

I use my prosthesis when traveling as a bank. I keep my money, credit cards and a copy of my passport in a little pocket tied with a pin to the cover of the prosthesis. I keep only the money I need on hand and one credit card in my purse, along with my passport. On year, I had a ct scan the day after returning from a trip. I had forgotten to remove the little pocket. The tech said, you have some metal on, and then I remembered. I reached in and hand him the prosthesis. He always remembers me when I go for a scan. We joke about it. I am certain that he had never seen a breast prosthesis up to that time. My primary doctor hadn't either and I showed her what it looked and felt like.

After 9/11, at the Washington DC airport, I was picked along with a young boy (blond, blue eyes) around 8 years old. I didn't carry a purse. I only had a paperback. My bag had been checked in. I said very loudly, "now I really feel safe on this plane!". No one needed an explanation.

The article:

Israeli airport security skips scanners, favours profiling

By Jeff Abramowitz Apr 12, 2010, 6:07 GMT


Tel Aviv - Israel's Ben Gurion Airport is considered one of the most secure in the world, even without passengers having to pass through an obtrusive body scanner.

Simply put, the security in place at Ben Gurion is based on the premise of 'find the attacker, and you prevent the attack,' or what Rafael Ron, a former director of security at the airport, calls, 'the human factor.'

'Without a person who intends to do harm, an attack will not take place,' he says, explaining a system which - although obviously alert for weapons - concentrates on people, questioning them and, if deemed necessary, subjecting them to further interrogation and even physical searches.

Critics say this method is racist, since it involves racial profiling. Arab passengers, or non-Jews, for example, are routinely subjected to greater questioning than are Israeli Jews.

Backers point out that the system works. The last time an El Al Israel Airlines aircraft was successfully hijacked was in 1968.

Moreover, no aircraft has ever been hijacked out of Ben Gurion Airport. The terrorists who took over an Air France flight in 1976 - the hijacking which culminated in the Israeli army's rescue of the hostages in Entebbe, Uganda - boarded the plane during a stopover in Athens.

Although airport officials insist that 'we do not give any information regarding our safety procedures and methods,' enough is known of Ben Gurion's security practices to ignite the debate whether other airports in the world should 'Israelify' their security.

It's a debate which has become more urgent since December 25, when Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab attempted to blow up an aircraft en route from Amsterdam to Detroit.

Advocates of the Israeli method say he would never have been allowed onto an aircraft leaving Ben Gurion airport. The multi- layered, not always obvious, security in place would ensure that he would have aroused suspicion, and been stopped, questioned and arrested long before he boarded his flight.
The first security layer manifests itself at the entrance to the airport complex, a good distance from the terminal.

Every vehicle entering the airport is stopped, and the passenger asked a seemingly innocuous question: 'Where are you coming from?'

In most cases the answer is not important. But the way it is delivered is. Questioners are looking for signs of nervousness, or stress, or evasiveness.

The second and third layers can be found outside the airport terminal, where armed guards scrutinize, often seemingly casually, passengers as they alight from their vehicle and move to the building.
At the door to the terminal, more guards are stationed. These sometimes stop random passengers to question them, while looking for signs of suspicious behaviour.

The 'hard' security begins inside the terminal, on the way to the check-in counter. Each passenger is asked some standard questions, such as when they packed their luggage, was their luggage with them all the time after being packed, did anyone give them anything to take on board the plane with them.
At the same time, their flight documents and passports are examined. This often leads to profiling.
Most Israeli Jews are waved though to put their luggages on the X- ray machines. Arabs or non-Jews, on the other hand, are subjected to more intense questioning, and sometimes checked physically.
Advocates of the system maintain that the profiling is not solely ethnic, religious or national, but it based on factors which include behaviour and attitude.

'If you are a bona fide passenger, you answer the questions in a normal way. If you have something to hide, there will be physiological changes: People become white, their Adam's apple jumps, they get angry and jump up and down,' Isaac Yeffet, a former El Al security chief, now a security consultant in New York, told the Wall Street Journal.

Another 'hard' security layer, comes after passport control, when hand baggage is X-rayed and passengers are asked to pass through metal detectors.

And finally, passports and boarding cards are checked just before the passenger is allowed onto the aircraft.

The Israeli method has been scrutinized and even proposed for adoption, especially since Abdelmuttab's aborted attack, but its supporters acknowledge it may not be suitable for worldwide implementation.
For a start, Ben Gurion Airport, Israel's main air terminal, handles around 11.5 million passengers a year - a paltry figure compared to other major airports, but one that makes the Israeli system relatively easy to implement.

The cost of training enough staff to handle all the passengers who pass through a major airport could also been seen as prohibitive.

Even beyond that, lies the problem of social mores. Whether it is called 'behavioral recognition,' or some other euphemism, the spectre of complaints, pr even possible court action, is likely prevent its implementation elsewhere.

I sadly must agree....
As a frequent world traveler, I, too, am faced with all sorts of stuff...

Not so much as domestic flying, where I hear that it has reached new heights...

But, I do use Charles DeGaulle in Paris, and Schipol in Amsterdam. Coming from Turkey a few years ago, we got MUCH more of a screening than coming from Barcelona. Did it bother me? No, I didn't have anything to be bothered about...and realize that flights from exotic places can cause more concern...I have be patted down, frisked, all of it...but because I am 'profiled' as LESS likely to cause a trouble, I get better treatment...

Sorry, human rights are not respected by these terrorists...even arming pregnant women with explosives...THEIR human rights need to be curtailed...

Hugs, Kathi