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A Peek At the National Opt-Out Day Numbers
Yesterday was a big travel day for Americans, and the organizers of National Opt-Out Day hoped to use it to highlight widespread, though not universal, dissatisfaction with stepped-up screening measures in US airports, by encouraging people selected for body screening to insist instead on the pat-down alternative. Reader Willtor writes with a story in the New York Times on the effect of the protest: "'39 people had opted out of the body scans in Atlanta by 5 p.m. In Los Angeles, 113 had. One had opted out in Charlotte, N.C. Boston seemed to have something of a mini-spike, with 300.' This is a tiny fraction of passengers, of course. But when I flew out of Boston this afternoon, they had opened a line that led to a traditional metal detector. When I flew out in June all lines went to the nudie scanners. Is it safe to be optimistic that we have been heard and policies have changed? I am not particularly concerned whether we get credit or whether it is reported that the protest fizzled. But it would be nice to know that some of the more invasive theatrics have become optional."
According to its organizers, meanwhile, the opt-out protest was a "rousing success." If you traveled yesterday by air, what was your impression?
They are switching to standard metal detectors until the furor dies down, then they will ramp up with the scanning and patting.
I expect the switch to resume after Thanksgiving when most travelers will be business travelers who can't afford to spend their time protesting.
Now, if the TSA is right about the necessity of these scanners and enhanced patdowns, this move to temporarily disable the scanners seems like a massive security problem.
this is the lesson: never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never-in nothing, great or small, large or petty - never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.
- Winston Churchill, 29 October 1941
XML is a known as a key material required to create SMD: Software of Mass Destruction
It's hard to opt-out if the thing you're opting out of is roped off and not used.
This was a brilliant move by an organization that is not known for its brilliance, ever. Somebody at the TSA is sipping champagne and laughing today at pulling the rug out from underneath the protesters' feet.
The scanners will be back online within days, and then it will be more of the same from the gestapo. But the protest? FAIL. All of the mainstream stories show this to be a non-issue, and now the "protest" numbers back this up in the TSA's world of spin. We got played.
Comply citizen.
If you traveled yesterday by air, what was your impression?
I flew out of Milwaukee, WI, got through security in only a few minutes, and the TSA people were very nice.
I guess that makes me a sheep for bending to the will of the government that's hellbent on making me in to a slave. Or something.
What I'm seeing in these articles are simply lies.
A woman says "I took the scanner, because I was even more unfomfortable with the enhanced pat down" and that's spun as supporting scanners. That's a bald faced lie.
Another woman says "I took the scanner, because I thought if I opted out I would look suspicious, and I just want to get through without a hassle", and that's spun as "not being against scanners"...
For my part, I'd submit to get onto a plane too. My last flight was part of a $5000 vacation package. If my wife and I are not on the plane, its not like we get the money back. I want to enjoy my vacation, and not watch $5k go up in smoke to make a point at the airport.
Bottom line, you can't look at how much resistance you actually see at airports. Its a coercive environment, they hold your vacation or business trip, your freedom, and even your dignity over your head. For a lot of people these are "high stakes"... make a fuss and your expensive flight is missed, your relaxing vacation, or family visit, or business meeting is ruined. And instead your in some sort of legal limbo where they can confiscate your stuff, strip search you, delay you indefinitly... Its no wonder that most travellers just want to fade into the background and get to their destination without hassle.
People don't support for the TSA system. They are terrified of it.
How was it predictable that the media would spin it as a failure? As far as I can see the general sentiment from the media has been the exact opposite. Many outlets say the public might revolt because of increasingly invasive TSA "security theatre". The reality is that the majority of travelers just don't care.
No?
Then it failed.
My guess is that the Big Sis and her fun loving civil liberty thefts are laughing all the way to the bank on this one. 1/3 of a billion in sales (at least) for Chertoff and clan as well, kickbacks to governmint officials and the public protestors are seen as a loose bunch of losers that can't organize a real movement. There has to be more than a protest 'day', which is easily skipped. There has to be a civil unrest and protest that lasts months or years for there to be any chance of change. So many that made the 60s and 70s what it was in protesting are old and passing the battle on to a ADHD laden group of kids they pushed out as a 2nd and 3rd generation of wannabees. Seriously, if you want change, folks have to change themselves (literally and figuratively). If you want society to get better, than you had better start by getting better yourselves. Lead by example, and refuse to have your liberties taken/stripped away. Getting naked or in a bathing suit at the airport is a JOKE, that is exactly what the TSA and Big Sis wants you to do, give up your privacy and self respect.
There is nothing ironic about it at all. It is simply proof that even the TSA doesn't believe their own bullshit regarding the importance of said scanners for the purpose they claim. The scanners are already serving their purpose, which is to generate lots of cash and kickbacks. On the one hand they are claiming it keeps things super secure, and on the other the authorities are looking into the possibility a teen stowed away on a plane from North Carolina to Logan. I mean, which is it? These procedures are super important and keep us all safe, or these procedures may well have not even been able to keep some random teen from stowing away on a plane?
Guns don't kill people; Physics kills people! - John Lithgow as Dick Solomon on Third Rock From The Sun
We let them have their way for the pas 9 years or so, and they have grown too strong to stop.
That's just what they want you to believe. As long as you make it as much hassle for them as it is for you, you will be just as strong as they are.
People don't support for the TSA system. They are terrified of it.
And now we can all see who the real 'terrorists' are.
No bombs on that plane!
And no tigers in my room, thanks to my tiger-repelling pebble.
I guess you don't vote in elections then, because your single vote is insignificant, right?
At the moment you can drive anywhere you like without being hassled by the TSA. Rest assured that they will get to you sooner or later. The USA is about 1/4 way down a slippery slope and picking up speed.
If I were God, wouldn't I protect my churches from acts of me?
On the money. Exactly right. And I think we can see that both political parties have turned against the founding principles of the US. One of them brought us this police state in the form of the nazi-in-clown-suit TSA and DHS, and the other has continued and magnified the policy. We still in possession of our wits DO see the enemy ... and he is ... you know it.
Flying nude doesn't protect you from a suicide bomber that packed his asshole with explosives.
Do you even lift?
These aren't the 'roids you're looking for.
A woman says "I took the scanner, because I was even more unfomfortable with the enhanced pat down" and that's spun as supporting scanners. That's a bald faced lie.
Another woman says "I took the scanner, because I thought if I opted out I would look suspicious, and I just want to get through without a hassle", and that's spun as "not being against scanners"...
QFT.
It's like saying "I opted to get 5 years in jail for jaywalking instead of 15 years in jail for trespassing".
Both are completely off the charts constitution killers, but it still makes "5 years for jaywalking" sound better.
Not only that, but something not included here are the number of people who opted not to fly because of all this bullshit.
With ePatdowns and NakedScanners on one side and the countless fees airlines are throwing around, it's only a matter of time before we're bailing out the bankrupt airlines again.
The protest was a success well before yesterday. The goal of such civic participation in government is to raise public awareness. The head of the TSA had to think about this, and talk about it in the national media. This enlivened the public debate. That is the exact definition of victory.
If one wants to muse about more concrete short-term victories, consider the lines at the airports yesterday. I have flown on the day before Thanksgiving -- it is not pretty. According to reports, yesterday went significantly more smoothly than in the past. Think about the cause/effect. I suspect the TSA decided they had to stage a good show of efficiency yesterday to defuse the opt-out protest. They put on extra staff and gave rousing pep talks -- and; the airports sucked a little bit less yesterday than they would have otherwise. That is a nice outcome. The protest changed the behavior of our government for a day.
Did this one effort to organize civic participation go exactly as designed and solve the whole problem in one shot? Of course not. Decentralized civic displays -- almost by definition -- cannot work like that.
Civic management of government is a process, and this was a fine step. Much like our debates here in these forums are part of the process. It is the road to a better society. An endless and engaging road winding through an increasingly healthy societal system.
Or more viscerally: It is like using a spray bottle of water to train a puppy; we're going to have to do it more than once before the government learns not to poop on the carpet.
Stop-Prism.org: Opt Out of Surveillance
Read this.
Opt-outers (presumably of any TSA procedure on any mode of transport) are tagged "domestic extremists" whose data will be referred to the Extremism and Radicalization Branch, Homeland Environment Threat Analysis Division.
Your source is a blog of a blog of an un-named source that doesn't show anyone the putative memo. No pdf of the thing at all. For all we know, it's a bunch of electrons made up by somebody with an axe to grind.
A few seconds wandering around the Internet will yield hundreds if not thousands of similar posts about similar horrible things with about the same degree of provenance.
Tape the foil on tighter if you like, I'm going for the turkey.
Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
But seriously, this whole charade must be about one picture of a VIP's micro-tool away from being permanently canned.
If I have seen further it is by stealing the Intellectual Property of giants.
You are voting with your wallet, but did you make your reasons known? It may seem idiotic, but I'm sure someone at an airline is looking at the numbers and saying "people aren't flying anymore, it must be because they DON'T FEEL SAFE... we must make them feel safer by launching operation anal cavity probe!"
The real litmus test for this is whether you'd support a nasty, middle-Eastern looking guy with a thick beard and a white prayer cap, if he chooses to opt out. I know it's all just security theatre and so on, but I'd like to see the reaction of the folks who opt out on principle if they end up in this situation, and have to board the plane with this dude who also opted out.
And if that isn't the very definition of Tyranny, i don't know what is.
The TSA decided that the Opt Out protest was a bigger concern than Al Qaeda.
That is a tacit admission that 1. the threat is not that great and 2. these damn scanners accomplish nothing to reduce it.
Don't let them forget this!
Why don't you have some dirty hot sex with me?
- Pepper, Give It Up
If you want news from today, you have to come back tomorrow.
If on the busiest travel day of the year, the TSA felt it was more important to get people on the planes than to scan them like that, which means they know perfectly well the risk of a terror attack is not that great, and the scanners do fuckall to address the risk.
Now we just have to rub it in their faces.
Freedom isn't free.
If Americans want freedom, they will have to stand up and deal with the inconvenience of ruined trips.
Or buckle and give up their freedom.
The source is an opinion piece that is quoting the TSA, both of which have reasons to release numbers that serve their purposes.
And you know what? Even if those fancy scanners would reduce my risk of being killed by a terrorist from 1 in 10 million, down to 1 in 20 million... That guy with the ostomy pouch whose was doused in his own urine... that 79 year old WW-II vet with the metal hip... the 3 year old crying child being fondled while her mother restrained her...
I would gladly accept that extra risk to give them a measure of human dignity.
It's not just too late, there was never anything we could do to prevent this. For every person who cares, there's a hundred people who don't give a shit. For every hundred people who care, there's maybe one who cares enough to do something. It's a lost cause, not because it's been too long, but because the system follows the people. The people are happy to tolerate this shit in order to feel safe.
Got a problem with the scanners? Care about civil liberties? Guess what? You're a minority that nobody gives a shit about, except much of the country finds your views suspicious. Those of us who care about civil liberties can't compete with the masses who are happy as long as they get theirs.
That's not what terrorism is.
Actually, that's exactly what terrorism is - the calculated use of violence (or the threat of violence) against civilians in order to attain goals that are political or religious or ideological in nature; this is done through intimidation or coercion or instilling fear
Or in simpler terms, they make you do what they want, because you're afraid of what will happen if you don't.
I personally have my boycott list yet I expect no change: the economy is a real thing only for small fish. Big players decide how much money to put in circulation; airlines, coaches, all depend on the same banking cartel.
You go against "them" when you regain some independence (growing your own food is a disobedience act) Note that independence is different from individualism: e.g. a big family is always more independent than the same members living on their own.
You go against them when you live unaffected by greed for the money and associated power and instead follow your conscience and a moral system (one that *you* chose, because zeitgeist = culture filtered by propaganda).
If big players exert control through a system, they want it to be the only universally effective one. They might pit all alternative moral systems against each other until people gets hurt, push the idea that religion and cultural difference is an obstacle to peace (in this context, atheism is like religion whenever it involves activism, organization, moral choice...).
Winning battles against these people is next to impossible, but since powerful people won't ever be satisfied and require more control on all aspects of life, you win the war simply acknowledging the situation and, no matter what the circumstances may force you to do, recalling you have a conscience.
So by all means, go on as much as you can, but do not call it voting with the wallet, call it being a man.
PS. even more OT, but since I condensed my theory of everything I can spare a paragraph.
The desire for control is exemplified very well in the last words of Orwell's 1984- Big brother wins when it forcefully obtains Winston's love. Christians may recall the devil asks Jesus to adore him in exchange for power. Envious of God, he mirrors, perverting it, the universal love. Aptly, Latin term for "a bad person" is "captivus", prisoner.
---- MISSING MISCELLANEOUS DATA SEGMENT --- [sigdash] trolololol
True but there can come a point in an individual's life when they feel they can no longer participate in something for their own reasons, even if they know 99.999% of people don't care about their "protest".
They feel better about what they are doing and why they are doing it but don't feel the need to create converts by standing on a street corner telling everyone about it. Or taking over a TV station.
When they came for the communists, I said "He's next door. Take him away. Goddam commies."
To loosely quote Schneier,
Implementing measures, whether popular or not, give the illusion that they are doing something and therefore can justify their own existence.
It is human nature to think that something is better than nothing. Even when you point out that the measures are worthless, many people will think "but at least they are trying".
Taking a big-picture long-term view of the loss of freedoms and subjugation by agents of the government, things aren't looking good for the USA and (by association and intimidation) the rest of the world.
-- Braden's law of data: All data spends some of its lifetime in an excel spreadsheet.
how fucked up is it when the nicest thing anyone has to say about the TSA is that they didn't fondle his daughter and let him have bottled water after they "examined it fairly closely". and you refer to these as "positive interactions"...
do not read this line twice.
This is a breach of national security by their new standards regardless of why they did it. Thousands of people got on aircraft that could have been carrying explosives undetectable by metal detectors.
Supporter of the +1 Over Dramatic mod option. In memory of apk.
attempted hijack != hijack
Or everybody should have shown up with a large knife. What's the TSA going to do, then?
Confiscate everybody's large knife, and possibly cancel flights or shut down the airport, if they think some sort of potential organized attack is in progress. What do you think they would do, let everyone on board because everyone brought a knife?
I don't care if it's 90,000 hectares. That lake was not my doing.
I'm in pretty much the exact same situation myself. My wife's family is over in the states, and that's the only reason I don't just say "fuck this shit" and abandon the US forever. I've felt like a criminal suspect every time I've entered the land of the free, and it only gets worse.
We are all God's parents.
Both the security guard and their supervisor broke procedure and policy, risking their jobs. Consider that there are more than likely thousands of people queueing up for these jobs (perverts and predators included, I'd wager), I don't see it being a problem replacing those who won't tow the line.
I'd say it's a good experience to meet a decent human being who understands that there's more to security on air travel than making people carry tiny bottles of water and feeling up children. It's not the best, but it's a step in the right direction.
Finally had enough. Come see us over at https://soylentnews.org/