Trust me.

[devil-ad-vocate.livejournal.com]

2002: An 86 yr. old veteran is held for 45 minutes by several TSA employees while they contemplate "whut is this potenshully dangerous object in his pocket?" - requiring that he remove his belt, hat, and shoes multiple times for the inquiring minds. It turned out to be a Congressional Medal of Honor.
http://www.snopes.com/military/medal.asp

Granted, that incident took place long before the quality, common sense, and level of courtesy TSA employees exhibit today:

2010: TSA pats down a screaming toddler
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfmoms/detail?entry_id=77140

Well damn, AT LEAST we can discard worries about health issues over the x-ray scans:

"If you think of the entire population of, shall we say a billion people per year going through these scanners, it's very likely that some number of those will develop cancer from the radiation from these scanners," said David Brenner (Director of the Center of Radiological Research, Columbia University, professor of radiation biophysics)
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/TRAVEL/11/12/body.scanning.radiation/index.html?hpt=T2

To be fair and balanced, Dr. Alexander Garza, the assistant secretary for health affairs and CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER FOR TSA, said he travels often with his wife and three boys and has no fear about putting his family through the airport scanners.

"The risk is so low it's ALMOST negligible," he said.

---

I trust my government to tell the truth. In the 1960s, I was told there was no danger from Agent Orange. Take pictures of my fabulous body; pat me down.

But answer me this, omnipotent protectors: in view of the Madrid railway bombings, why don't we have these scanners at all the AMTRAC stations?

Comments

[green-man-2010.livejournal.com]

I wonder who these TSA ppl are, to be honest.

as far as scanners on train stations go, I am not an American, but I do work in transport myself, and I will have a go at answering your question.

Planes do not go take off every two minutes, and on London underground they do.

people urning up at an airport can all be mulled over as they go through customs - people boarding a train just turn up and get on. We can't hold everyone for a search, so we don't. even after 7/7, when London had 4 bombs go off withing a few minutes, there was only a heavy polive presence and random checks. most people holding a briefcase went straight through, but if you looked young, or had a rucksack, or were of Arabic appearanace , you got stopped and searched. Tough if you happened to be all three at once :)

[green-man-2010.livejournal.com]

... planes do not take off on LUL, but trains will be leaving at that rate, usually :)

[gunslnger.livejournal.com]

Watching for behavior instead of checking everyone is also a better security method anyways.

[nikoel.livejournal.com]

Amtrak isn't like the Tube though. You buy a ticket and show up when the train is scheduled to leave. There is definitely time and room for security checking.

[green-man-2010.livejournal.com]

Well, if there is a scheduled departure and time between trips, good luck - it might just work.
But thi s won't work for all syatems like busses and tube trains. being cautios might.

[green-man-2010.livejournal.com]

I thought you Euros had regular Army full-on stationed in airports, locked and loaded with assault rifles/SMGs using live ammunition standing in full view of people. Pity. One would think there would be a lot to gain from fear of army troops hosing an area down with lead. So much for the vaunted Euro security of things...
Oh, this is quite true - but I work in what the Americans would call a Subway station. What we had was cops with sniffer dogs standing about in groups and looking people up and down. I think that maybe your average would be Jihadist would be more worried about an unclean animal like a dog getting close to them than a cop with a loaded gun.

But yeah, when it comes to parking a tank on the apron of a runway, I don't really see it as doing anything more than making a symbolic gesture. the cops with the guns? Well, we actually had a guy trying to bang his way into an airport up in Scotland, but regular security stopped him.

I think the Israelis have the right idea. It is low key, but very effective. As a Brit, I don't really think the tanks, the SMGs and the hi profile presence was as effective as the tip off from people in the Islamic community who put the Law onto the young men responsible for the bomb that went off two weeks after 7/7.

But thanks for explaining about the TSA- you would think though, that anyone in America would know what the Congressional Medal of Honour was, and not stop a war veteran from carrying one on board a plane.