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TSA's mm-Wave Body Scanner Breaks Diabetic Teen's $10K Insulin Pump
OverTheGeicoE writes "Savannah Barry, a Colorado teenager, was returning home from a conference in Salt Lake City. She is a diabetic and wears an insulin pump to control her insulin levels 24/7. She carries documentation of her condition to assist screeners, who usually give her a pat-down search. This time the screeners listened to her story, read her doctor's letter, and forced her to go through a millimeter-wave body scanner anyway. The insulin pump stopped working correctly, and of course, she was subjected to an invasive manual search. 'My life is pretty much in their hands when I go through a body scan with my insulin pump on,' she says. She wants TSA screeners to have more training. Was this a predictable outcome, considering that no one outside TSA has access to millimeter-wave scanners for testing? Would oversight from the FDA or FCC prevent similar incidents from happening in the future?"
TSA: Nearly killing innocent people, to keep you safe!
The White House just said the war on terror is over.
We don't need the TSA screeners any more, send them home and stop the unnecessary abuse of U.S. citizens.
Wait a minute... I think the larger issue here is that they forced her through the scanner.
Maybe I'm wrong, but is that not improper? I thought they had to allow manual inspection at your request.
For large sets, this will be our guide even unto death, for the LORD will work for each type of data it is applied to...
This is why I'm no longer travelling by plane anymore. I've chosen to spend my hard earned money at home, rather than pay to be groped.
Sure, there may be the point where I have to fly in an emergency, but if I have the choice, I'll take a train or drive.
Not that it'll make a difference, because it won't. There are too many people who either don't care of don't have a choice (business travel, etc). The TSA and CATSA people are real people trying to do their jobs, and I understand the point of having them there and doing that job, I just don't want to be involved.
FYI: medical products, especially ones that have the potential to kill if they malfunction, have to undergo substantial testing to demonstrate their immunity to electromagnetic interference. This includes stuff like TV, radio, and cellular transmissions, microwave ovens and WiFi. There are also special field frequency/strength combinations, such as the typical medical detector or consumer anti-theft device.
However, there aren't regulations regarding immunity to mm-wave and THz scanners, and certainly not at the intensities these devices use. I suspect that, if you were to test a broad range of existing medical products, many of them would fail, because many of them have mm-scale electrical features (especially, circuit board traces) that would be highly susceptible.
Once you enter the security line, is it possible to just leave and not get on your flight if they refuse to do a manual search? Or are you at their complete mercy? I've never had a problem getting one with my own pump, but this story makes me nervous.
In any case, I really hope she sues them and wins.
P.S. This is probably a good time to mention Rand Paul's End the TSA petition and bill. I'm not usually a big fan of him, but this is one thing I can get behind.
I'm rather surprised that the TSA doesn't (appear) to have a manual to deal with known issues like insulin pumps, joint prostheses, etc. I wouldn't expect rank and file workers to know the answer to everything but there should be a way to look stuff up.
Being rude, however, is absolutely never appropriate. Even if you think the person is the next 'medical device bomber' being professional and polite should always be required.
Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
This can be considered scary if devices you can not remove could be affected. IE pacemakers, screw with that and you could kill the person. But then take items like a advanced artificial arm with loads of electronics getting fried by these scanners. These types of devices are expensive and usually customized to the person. So yes better training needed and the pat down should be some what realistic for someone who just cant do through the device.
It also shows that the manufacturer of the device may need to rethink it's strategy for redundancy, survivability and make sure the next design would make it through this type of condition. Although they (the manufacturer) may not have direct access to the screening tech, I'm sure they could afford a plane ticket to go through security with this type of device and test it.
"Savannah already has a new insulin pump. A company that heard her story quickly got it to her when she got back to Colorado."
Despite the TSA, it appears there's still hope for humanity.
...not always frivolous.
Sue the FUCK out of the TSA.
She shouldn't have been subjected to it those rays anyway. If she asks for a pat down that's what she should have gotten. Although at 16 she should have enough gumption to stand up to a TSA agent anyway, especially with a doctor's note -- who's ALSO an authority figure.
Besides the situation-specific danger, any rays strong enough to scan are enough to increase cancer risk. The fact they direct enough energy to disrupt an electromechanical device should be proof of their inherent danger anyway. It's my understanding the quantum energy of that radiation is related to the frequency-- and terahertz radition is pretty high up there on the reactivity scale.
I don't know if it is a real petition or not, but what I do know is it is a real SPAM list. Ever since signing it, they've been bombarding me with shit asking for money and their opt out doesn't seem to want to opt out.
I am more than a little annoyed.
... to just dump them thar thugs and kill off the TSA. Or the other way around if you must, I don't care.
We're from the government and we're here to keep you safe!
sudo make me a sandwich
Every time there's a story about the TSA making life unpleasant for Americans, a terrorist gets his wings..
Congratulations, the terrorists have won.
-- Senior Software Engineer, Attorney appearance services, locallawyerapp.com.
It has been shown time and time again that the TSA is useless. The biggest problem by far though is that the the people that are hired as TSA agents think they can do whatever they want to whoever they want without repercussion. My step mother has had both of her knee's replaced, and caries a card explaining that and yet she still gets treated like crap because the TSA agents think they're gods and can do whatever they want. They ignore her when she tried to show them the card that says they have to wand her instead of scan her, and then when they scan her, then they end of having to wand her anyway cause the the big pieces of metal in her knee's, thereby waisting her valuable time, mind you she travels at least 2/3 of the year for work, so she has to deal with this a lot. If they had better training and would show common sense and a little compassion, I think most people wouldn't really have a problem with the TSA.
I want to see the results of a forensic analysis of the unit to find out why it failed. if the scanner is putting out enough energy to permanently damage the circuits it's a strong argument against the safety of these things.
I have a spinal cord stimulator embedded in me and since then have only flown twice. Both times I has told to go through the scanning machine even though I have a medical can that says NOT to do that. I just turn the thing off and luckily it didn't get screwed up. I hate going through that whole mess of flying and am so happy I don't have to travel for work anymore. I can't stand the TSA. They are SERIOUSLY clueless!
I hope her parents sue the TSA for attempted homicide and win enough to bankrupt the US.
millimeter waves are non-ionizing! How could they affect this system!?
does TSA employes bring themselves to go to work every day?
Everyone hates them, not just nutjobs.
America, you used to be like a big brother that we looked up to. Now you are more like the really weird uncle that the family never acknowledges or talks about. What happened?
Let me tell you what happened. American people are getting exactly what they want. Either you voted for this mess or, by your inaction, you let it happen. And by remaining mute and not doing anything about it, you are allowing it to continue. You are allowing it to grow and fester.
You have to do something if you are tired of the whole "give up your privacy or you are a terrorist" crap. You have to stand up if you don't want to keep fighting wars half way around the world. You must take action if you are sick about bailouts, corporate greed, and out-of-control lobbying.
Or you could just stuff another Big Mac in your mouth and watch some more American Idol. Sigh.
If you read the article the TSA agents advised her that the insulin pump would not be damaged by the scanners, despite a doctors note to the contrary. She took their advice, assuming they knew what they were doing, and chose to go through the scanner rather than requesting a pat-down.
While her actions are understandable, if she had simply requested a pat-down like the doctor instructed her to do rather than asking for a second opinion, this would have been avoided. Likewise if agents weren't so stupid as to disagree with a doctor's order on a matter they knew nothing about, this would have been avoided. Given their position of authority they should be liable for the cost of the pump since their negligence caused it to be destroyed.
The two words you have to say are "Opt Out". They are required to hand search you. If they refuse, make a fuss. Get arrested if necessary. Even better, call the press on your cell phone. They'd love a story like this.
I feel like I must be missing something here.
I believe insulin pumps are worn externally and not surgically inserted and it should be a very small matter to take one off to get through a screening or even for the entire flight.
Troll is not a replacement for I disagree.
He has had hip replacement surgery. "Former Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura is suing the TSA and Homeland Security for humiliating and ‘offensive’ pat-down procedures he’s been subjected to during airport security checks that included ‘warrantless, non-suspicion-based offensive touching, gripping and rubbing of the genital and other sensitive areas of his body.’ "
He is suing them in court.
I have mod points and I am not afraid to use them.
Anyone who asks for a manual search rather than a scan must be hiding something
Therefore they must be a terrorist.
They give medical reasons because they are an evil, lying terrorist.
As they are evil terrorists with no real medical condition, they must be scanned
If their equipment fails, its their fault for avoiding the scanner
obviously
You read the paperwork. Look at the device. Screen the passenger without the scanner. Document the incident with your peers and/or manager.
Move on and save the agency $10k because you are allowed to act like a human being with common sense.
For every benefit you receive a tax is levied. - Ralph Waldo Emerson
Maybe she's not stupid, just scared. Maybe she recently played Half Life 2. Those TSA goons can really fuck up your life if you piss them off...why take the chance? I always politely opt out and so far the TSA agents have been courteous but if I rolled one on a power trip, I'd probably cave rather than risk missing my flight or seeing the inside of a cell for a day or two before being released without charge.
Guess twice why I don't even CONSIDER going to the US.
Because she's 16 and away from home, and probably just wants to get back. Quit expecting everyone to have a vigilate chip on their shoulder.
You know, as adults, we should have already fixed this god damned problem with our government - not expect our children to have to rise up against the man for something as simple and common place as a plane flight.
Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
Chill out, there. She's just a 16 year old girl, not an internet tough guy like you.
Disband the TSA
Clearly the TSA personnel in this case are ill trained and pedantic, if not stupid.
I know this is our daily opportunity to rage about the TSA and stuff, but..... WTF is wrong with this insulin pump thing? Those MMW scanners radiate a couple hundred micro-watts/cm2 at the beam focus. Really, really low power, in other words. Medical devices attached to ambulatory patients should not be that sensitive.
1. Airport has mm wave scanners or backscatter scanners but is not using them. Metal detector only. (Best scenario)
2. Airport has mm wave scanners or backscatter scanners and alternate between using them and a metal detector for every other person in line
3. Airport has mm wave scanners or backscatter scanners and metal detectors and you get to CHOOSE what line you want to go through...(good scenario)
Yes, i did get groped this past Friday by the TSA. I yelled "I OPT OUT" at the top of my lungs. Not too many people realize they can opt out (which only means you opt in for a groping). This "let me see your papers" has got to stop. Just let us passengers carry whatever we want and when someone is out of line they will get what is coming to them.
The problem here is that the passenger didn't know their rights or they were forced against their will. With the former, its shame on them. With the latter, it's lawsuit time.
Just like not everyone can be a pilot, not everyone can drive a forklift. Since you aren't unconscious flying by emergency life saving helicopter and being treated with respect in hopes of keeping you alive.
Your only choice is to boycott flying until the cabal is removed, the monetary system is corrected, and the constitution restored. hint: obama and romney ain't going to fix it.
Your business if you need to fly is toast, your health, and ability to survive, is more important now. Others depending on you business will dry up as well. Welcome to fascism, stop consenting to psychopaths, stop supporting, voting, and electing scum tied to foreign governments, UN organizations and large corporations. Don't vote for treasonous traitors. Sue the body scanner manufacturer, and airlines for damages.
You think this is bad, this is only the beginning.
Start fighting this legally now, before the fema prison camps are rolled out.
Don't feel bad, the unconstitutional shit has killed my business too.
The FDA is too busy with milk farmers, guitar makers, lemon aid stands, and bake sales, to worry about smart meters and naked body scanners.
The FCC is appointed by the president, instead of the public. If you have a bad president, then it goes, you have a bad FCC who gives the wink to broadcasters who tow the president's agenda.
Try to enjoy these times now, as things are about to get much worse, everything is exactly the way government wants it.
you would have hoped that some citizen in line would have gotten wind of what was going on and confronted theTSA agent for it. This stupid shit the agent pulled would easily warrant violent confrontation with the agent depending on the response. No one should put up with this or let others be bullied into it.
SSSUUUEEE.
Its unethical for the government to require that spammers not spam you once they get your email address. Welcome to the Paul Libertarian Randite Paradise...
Test your net with Netalyzr
See, they saved us from latest Underware bomber, we should all be happy that they're keeping us safe!
Oh, wait, what? That was just old fashioned intelligence and police work and a hyped non-threat?
Well no matter, we must need better more intrusive scanners then they'll be able to save us next time!
Something isn't adding up here. The tube on insulin pumps can be disconnected, she could have easily taken her pump off and not destroyed it.
over site would help because they wouldn't be allowed.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
Otherwise them TSA screamer will bust your insolent pump!
I killed da wabbit -Elmer Fudd
and under the mitt romney health care plan you may SOL and have to buy a new one at full cost + maybe end up on a pre existing condition list.
If someone posted a story where someone claimed that their grandmother's pacemaker stopped working because the LHC was turned on, it would get voted down as unsupported circumstantial and anecdotal evidence. Most Slashdotters probably also laugh at people who are religious, even those who are convinced they witnessed a miracle from God at some point in their life. Come on guys. This is 99% a case of seeing what you want to see.
Being an insulin dependant diabetic, they could have easily killd her. It could have failed the other way and dumped several days of insulin into her at once. I guess once she passes out, they would have done a body cavity search before calling the paramedics.
Just opt out. Let them fondle your junk. It's not that big of a deal really, you let your doctor do it and you might actually have to look him in the eye, many times, after it. The TSA agent you will probably never see again... If everyone opts out, the scanners will go away.
Bow before me, for I am root.
And jam them, every one of them, forcefully up Michael Chertoff's ASS.
One day I feel I'm ahead of the wheel / the next it's rolling over me / I can get back on / I can get back on
I thought the passenger has a right to opt out of the scanners. They let me take the pat-down, the only time I've flown since they were installed. Can't say I liked it but it is better than having them expose me to radiation whose effects on the human body have not been independently studied.
[Sir Garlon] is the marvellest knight that is now living, for he destroyeth many good knights, for he goeth invisible.
I am confused. AFAIK you can deny passing through the machine and opt to go through a pat-down and a metal detector. I passed through the Salt Lake City airport with a foreign passport and a bag full of electronics choosing the metal detector lane when both lanes were empty (late flight). Interestingly they were doing a pat-down on a lady who was from the states and passed through the microwave oven already while no one cared about the contents of my backpack even though I am a foreigner with a funky accent.
So how can you force someone into the machine when it was stated clearly that you have the right to opt out. I always opt out as I completely refuse to pass it. And no, I do not own a microwave oven and I turn all wireless off for night and minimize use during the day (phones, machines, APs). I regularly check my spaces with an EMF detector tool (50-60Hz) for EM fields where I sit (office, home office, living room) and where I sleep (well, mostly the bedroom).....
context other than to completely abolish them immediately? Thick locking cockpit doors made the TSA obsolete. There are zero positive stories about the TSA in their entire history. They are far worse than useless because they cannot be ignored. The agency needs to be eliminated.
"Savannah then showed agents a doctor's note explaining that the sensitive insulin pump should not go through the body scanner. She says she was told to go through it anyway."
You may recognize that from TFA, it's the sentence that shows up right before the one you quote. They told her to go through it after she showed them a warning from her doctor that she should not go through it; it is safe to assume that she wanted to follow her doctor's advice and not go through the machine. They told her to anyway. In other words, they forced her to go through it.
The TSA would not be able to keep the scanners in service if every person opted out every time. (FWIW, I've passed through SLC several times, and the agents have always been respectful, polite, and not particularly aggressive with my crotch region. That said, for the sake of all of our privacy and that of our children, please opt out every time. They will HAVE to change.)
of a catchy little ditty I heard once.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7AWw7t5zj0
The article says:
She says TSA agents then made the situation worse when they didn't know what to do about her juice and insulin. "She said, because we don't have the machines to scan the juice to make sure this is not an explosive we do have to do a full body pat down and search your through your bags."
So, here is what I don't understand: how did the pat-down help the TSA determine that the juice and insulin were not actually explosives?
Well, now we've shown terrorists how to get explosives on a plane: pretend to be diabetic and bring your explosives in juice boxes and bags marked "insulin." Combine "juice" with "insulin" and get on the 5:00 news.
It's not that they don't have common sense (I'm not saying they do), but they're not ALLOWED to exercise common sense. There is so much hubbub about patdowns of 90 year old grandmothers and 3 year old toddlers, but they're instructed to treat everyone equally. Otherwise, it would be profiling.
We need to learn from the Israelis that have the best security, but they do lots of common sense profiling.
For corporations to lose business over invasive treatment would require airline passengers to give a damn, in a financially significant sense. Although I have greatly curtailed my air travel since the naked scanners were rolled out (I've only flown once in the past 3 years and that was a family emergency) the flying public, as far as I can tell, is more upset about baggage fees than they are about the government exposing them to ionizing radiation.
[Sir Garlon] is the marvellest knight that is now living, for he destroyeth many good knights, for he goeth invisible.
How can a teen afford a $10k insulin pump when they should clearly have to depend on cheaper means.
Damn liberals.
Hell, it'd be nice if TSA screeners had some training.
JADBP
I think this image is apt as a response to your comment (I know, I know, memes, we hate them).
http://i0.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/200/420/BRTky.jpg?1321408042
And it's called America. The land of instigated fear.
...more often...the fears of the many...outweigh the needs of almost everyone else.
My God can beat up your God. Just kidding...don't take offense. I know there's no God.
Since when are politicians ethical?
but worded slightly different.
You can bet that massive government backdoor will be hidden in those slight differences.
"Sufficiently advanced satire is indistinguishable from reality." - [Tips: 1DrYakQDKCQ6y52z6QbnkxHXAocMZJE61o ]
If this is real, the insulin pump is seriously defective. The FDA needs to be notified and there needs to be a recall. There are lots of little microwave sources around. Some automatic door openers have a millimeter Doppler radar in them. Speed signs have centimeter-band radars. Near an airport, you're likely to be hit by radar beams from the airport's radars. Cell phones and WiFi devices get near the millimeter range. None of these things damage each other or bother non-radio electronics.
If an insulin pump can be permanently damaged by anything short of an EMP attack, it's defective by design.
Until you accept what 9/11 was really all about and choose to never face it this will happen and much worse.
http://wh.gov/mCq
more cowbell
A friends daughter has an Insulin pump. It has a lifetime warranty. She's at least a little nuts, drinks soda to piss off her parents, breaks the pump on purpose.
No insulin pumps in the US have LIFETIME WARRANTIES.
That is complete and utter bollocks. In fact, most have 5 year expiration built into them.
Also, I am going to get a warranty claim if I drop it from a second story window?
Of course not.
Jeff ... not signed in ... person with Type 1 Insulin Dependant Diabetes ... Pump wearer for 12 plus years (on third pump brand)
This girl not only does an injustice to herself but also to type 1 diabetics everywhere. "The type one diabetic says TSA agents were abrupt, rude and were responsible for breaking her $10,000 insulin pump. A pump she has to have to survive." - No one forced her to fly with the pump, for short trips she could go back to shots and leave the device at home. I do this when I go camping, swimming, most things out doors. - Empty the Reservoir and pack it your carry on. She could have suspended her basal for a couple hours, for as short of a flight as it is from Utah to Colorado (Those states are touching) Salt Lake City to Denver can be driven in under 7 hours. - Type 1 Diabetics survived for decades before we had gizmos like Insulin Pumps, and CGMs (Continual Glucose Monitors) To say she has to have it to survive is a flat out lie. - It may assist her in controlling her blood sugar, much the same as someone who checks their blood sugar with a Glucose meter, and injects insulin with a syringe. - No Diabetic wears their pump 24/7/365 - It has a small injection site that has to be changed regularly in any case to prevent infection. - Just deal with it - Take it off when they ask - empty the reservoir if they want - bring extra supplies (should be doing this anyway) remove it before you hit security and refill from a seal prescription bottle after your through. Her attitude of (its all someone else's fault) is just immature grow up and take care of your own things. - Signed - A Type 1 Diabetic that is on an insulin pump and has flown dozens of times with it. - Not a big deal -
I believe insulin pumps are worn externally and not surgically inserted
Yes, indeed. You need to have physical access to the device to change the insuline supply.
and it should be a very small matter to take one off to get through a screening
it's not trivial to temporarily remove one and put it back. As the device is indeed external and the insuline has to be delivered in the blood flow, you might guess that there are sterile needls involved and similar. not something that is easy to improvise in a security line. also, between shutdown and restart of the device once re-attached, there's also risk of manipulation errors.
So either:
- the doctor make sure the patient is properly educated and able to remove / re-attach the device (she's 16, but even younger kids can have Type 1 diabetes, and might not be able to do the whole procedure without parents supervision).
- the doctor provides all the necessary equipment to remove and re-inject the needle (bio-hasard box for used sharp object where to discard previous needle, sterile swipes, new steril needles, steril bandages, etc.)
- the doctor provides all the necessary documentation so the patient get proprer clearance to carry around the equipement past the security check, including the pointy needles.
Or:
- the doctors just write a letter saying that it's just better to "opt out" of the scanner (as she has the right to do any way).
or even for the entire flight.
Getting disconnected from the pump for prolonged periods of time without proper medical supervision isn't what's best for the patient's health, as the girl explains hefself in the video.
Removing the pump and relying on syringes for insuline, basically amount to a switch of medication, including an overlap period where the body still cointains leftovers from the previous type of therapy and new drugs are injected (or at least a completely different new therapy plan has to be followed). Such switches might require medical supervision.
It should be possible to design a pump whose on-baord computer is able to calculate and print out recommandations how to continue from that point on with a classical syringe). But it's just much more easy to recommand "opting out".
"Sufficiently advanced satire is indistinguishable from reality." - [Tips: 1DrYakQDKCQ6y52z6QbnkxHXAocMZJE61o ]
Because every teen looks forward to uttering the words "Mom, Dad, I've been arrested" into a scratchy payphone that may or may not be covered in herpes.
In fact, it's quite an achievement that the device was able to fail safely upon undergoing a stress from something that even didn't exist at the time the device was designed.
FTA: The device just stopped working.
Whereas, the pump could have gone beserk, and suddenly decide to dump the whole insuline reserve into the girl's blood stream and cause an insuline shock.
"Sufficiently advanced satire is indistinguishable from reality." - [Tips: 1DrYakQDKCQ6y52z6QbnkxHXAocMZJE61o ]
Sending them home will increase unemployment, therefore they will be kept working.
I suggest a compromise. We employ them to screen Congress members and lobbyists.
That is an assumption as there is no evidence to support it. There are many manufacturers of mm wave scanners and these manufacturers definitely have access to the scanners. According to this site the following list can buy MMW scanners; "airports, courthouses, correctional institutions, other government and commercial facilities". I am sure that a medical device manufacturer would fall under "commercial facilities".
Nice fantasy, but reality requires waiting for enough fascists to die and enough young people to be willing to revolt before any real change will occur in the US.
Brian Fundakowski Feldman
I'm a type 1 diabetic with an insulin pump and have had few issues with the TSA. When I go through the TSA "security" checkpoints, I immediately notify the screener that I have an insulin pump and related supplies and that I can not remove my pump. If told to go through the weenie-vision scanners, I refuse due to medical reasons. Generally this is not a problem, however in the rare instance where the TSA representative pushes back, I demand that they call a supervisor.
For all the years I have flown, I only had an issue with a TSA representative once, and that was at the Fort Lauderdale airport. I stuck to the script above, and demanded to see a supervisor. Needless to say, the agent was ordered to go off duty.
With that said, Savannah should have RTFM better. While I do not know what brand of insulin pump she uses, my pump manufacturer has a card on the first page of the owners manual which is mean to be cut out and carried. On it, it states the following
"Medtronic has conducted official testing on the effects of the full body scanners at airports with Medtronic medical devices. Some of the new scanners may include x-ray. To avoid removing your devices, you may request an alternative screening process. If you choose to go through a full body scanner, you must remove your insulin pump and CGM (sensor and transmitter). Do not send your devices through the x-ray machine as an alternative."
A pdf of that card may be found at http://www.medtronicdiabetes.net/sfc/servlet.shepherd/version/download/068C0000000IY43
The manufacture even goes as far as having ample documentation on their website. See the following:
Medtronic Airport "security" guidelines: http://www.medtronicdiabetes.net/lifestyle/travel/tipsonflyingandairportsecurityguidelines
Medtronic Equipment Interference chart: http://www.medtronicdiabetes.net/lifestyle/equipmentinterference
Navicula hydraulica plena anguilarum est. Omnes castelli tuus nostri sunt. Ed elli avea del cul fatto trombetta.
Do not get arrested, Do not act unruly. It puts you in a defensive position when they cuff you. The TSA are not police they should not detain you. Ask for a real police officer. If they insist on detaining you ask everyone around you to contact an airport or local police officer immediately. Real police officers want to get rid of these tards as much as you do. Explain the situation calmly even if being detained against your will.
My wife is a Type 1 diabetic and has a very similar insulin pump. No matter if the girl in the story was a Type 1 diabetic or not she could detach the pump for the 30 seconds it takes to go through the body scanner and it would have been completely fine. When we go to the airport my wife detaches he pump and puts it though the x-ray scanner with the rest of her personal belongings. All of the comments above about her needing the pump attached every second of every day clearly do not understand diabetes or how the pump actually works.
I think the body scanners are a bad idea but this was not a near death experience. ANYONE who is using an insulin pump should also be traveling with needles, extra insulin and extra pump supplies because you never know when you are going to need them. On a camping trip last year my wife's insulin pump died and we continued with the rest of our weekend trip and she just used needles to inject herself with insulin as she needed it the same as she would have told the pump to give her the insulin. The pump is an improvement in insulin delivery but it is NOT mandatory for anyone.
I still say get rid of the body scanners but please do not use this as a reason because any educated person will understand that is is not a problem for 99% of diabetics in the world.
My 2 cents.
How much do you want to bet this kid ended up with this condition from eating American food laden with HFCS and white flour and drinking soda?
Doctor's note says not to take the pump through the full body scanner. Doctor's note about a medical device trumps college drop-out TSA agent. Teen should have just said, "I have an insulin pump. I always get a pat down" and left it at that. Obviously if you ask a question giving the TSA agent a choice, they are going to take the path-of-minimal-work-for-them and push you through the scanner.
The TSA damned well better have paid for the broken device.
---- Booth was a patriot ----
I guess Chris Issac will not be flying in his Mirror Suit anytime soon.
I think we ought to abolish security except in its military manifestation. the rest does no good and much harm.
If it was more than 4 ounces, than she should have thrown her $10k machine in the trash like a responsible citizen and then bought another one inside security (where it would probably cost $50k) or even on the plane (where it would cost $100k).
God help us if the TSA ever gets enough education to find out that human beings are 75% water and figure out how many ounces that works out to.
If you are not allowed to question your government then the government has answered your question.
>ADMITTED TO NOT WORK
Documentation:
Ben Wallace, a former employee of one of the company's manufacturing the scanner technology, announced on BBC Radio 4's Today programme that "...in all the testing that we undertook, it was unlikely that it (the airport scanner) would have picked up the current explosive devices being used by al-Qaeda" and that "... it wasn't very good and it wasn't that easy to detect liquids and plastics unless they were very solid plastics (Airport, 2010)."
You know, as adults, we should have already fixed this god damned problem with our government - not expect our children to have to rise up against the man for something as simple and common place as a plane flight.
^^THIS!!!^^
If you really want to "think of the children!" then maybe it's time to start trying to create a world that we can be proud of instead of taking the path of least resistance all the time.
MCSE? No, sir...I don't do Windows. Yes, I am an idealist. What's your point?
I recently came home from Disney World. After we got back, I noticed something on the bottom of my shoe. Apparently, there was a Disney pin that had been on the ground at some point. I stepped on it, it got lodged in my shoe, and came with me all the way home. A metal pin with a sharp spike in it. In the bottom of my shoe. That went through the TSA x-ray machine. They didn't seem to think there was anything wrong with an oddly shaped piece of metal stuck in my shoe?
Granted, I don't think the pin is a dangerous object, but this should have at least required a "Sir, what's this on your shoe?" question or a "We just need to examine your shoes for a second."
My sci-fi novel, Ghost Thief, is now available from Amazon.com.
After 9-11, do you really think the passengers of any plane is going to allow any idiot to hijack a plane ever again? You'll have grandmothers on oxygen rushing them before they ever get near the door to the cockpit.
As for bombs, bombs [that actually work in a manner that would provide a large enough explosion] would be easily visible on ordinary x-ray machines like those we sent our shit through all the time before 9-11.
Patting down children, harassing insulin dependent teenagers and scaring the shit out of old ladies is just theater. Terrible terrible theater.
For the insulin pump to not only malfunction, but to be damaged to the point of needing the be replaced, means it should NOT be certified by the FDA, its certification needs to be revoked immediately and recalled.
That is like the dark days where people with pacemakers had to avoid microwaves.
This time it was a TSA scanner, the next time it could be a cell tower, power transformer box (there are a lot of them at street level in many cities), cell phone, walkie talkie, CB, aviation radio, store anti-theft system, garage door opener, home security system, car key fob or anything RF based.
Also, FCC rules require, and I quote "This device complies with part 15 of the FCC rules. Operation is subject to the following two conditions: (1) this device may not cause harmful interference, and (2) this device must accept any interference received, including interference that may cause undesired operation. "
#2 means it can't freaking FRY from an RF source!
So it is in violation of FDA and FCC rules and not just in a technical way, it became busted, and it is a necessary medical device.
I hope it just turned off and wouldn't turn on or something similar, I hope it didn't decide to pump 45 days dose like in the hacker demonstration or silently underdose, overdose or something else crazy like that.
Just because it CAN be done, doesn't mean it should!
did they literally 'force' her through the body scanner. she should have refused and not flown. flying is not a constitutional right.
They need their stupid asses fired, the sooner the better. In fact fire the whole Department of Homeland Security.
Let the airlines provide security. It's in their financial interest to keep their customers safe and flying. All DHS worries about is their next budget request.
Freedom means taking some risks. Absolute safety is not compatible with freedom whatsoever.
The FCC only has jurisdiction over non-federal-governmental users of the RF spectrum. Federal agencies are regulated by the National Telecommunications and Information Agency. The NTIA is a part of the Department of Commerce.
If you've only experienced them at the airports, get ready, they're coming to detain you on the streets.
Liberty.
How far we have fallen
Liberty.
The tests done on those Chertoff Porno Scanners were deeply flawed. They might be as safe as the TSA and Chertoff claim, but until we have better tests there is no way to know for certain.
So... wait... I have one issue here. Per TSA policy, ANYONE can REFUSE to use the advanced imaging technology and ELECT a putdown. If they FORCED her into the body scanner, that's assault. If she CHOSE not to elect the patdown, then she shares some culpability. Argue the merits of whether the patdowns are legal/appropriate/effective/etc., but, as I fly pretty often, I know for a *fact* that there are a litany of signs posted while going through security that advanced imaging technology is optional. If she was that concerned, she should have declined.
That little punk better quit her whining, 'cause TSA is here to protect her. Whose side is she and her insulin pump on??? I mean, didn't they have any pepper spray to make her quit her whinin'? Isn't she grateful to TSA for breaking her insulin pump?
"Talking 'bout America... fuck yeah!" Freeedom!!!! Liberty!!!!!!
Why does someone have to spend $10,000 on a insulin pump in the US? It's a shame it broke, but this isn't a medical procedure, it's a medical device which /is/ going to break, TSA or no.
Have you ever wondered how these scanning devices work, even in the most general terms? No? Never cared and never bothered? Then please keep your ignorant view to yourself if you cannot even grasp the concept of using emission of a lot of electromagnetic radiation being used to find things that block electromagnetic radiation.
The intensity of electromagnetic radiation emitted by these devices is a great deal more than people are usually exposed to so the medical devices are not shielded to cope with it.
She should have known better to question the TSA because the TSA is a good thing.
You Americans should get rid of those brown shirts. That's all there is really to say.
Software? Hardware? Programming literature? Hackers? Fascinating high-tech solutions?
No.
A bone-standard news stuff, which has absolutely nothing to do on Slashdot.
And it's not the first one of it's kind, not in a long shot. I remember 2001, when an article showed up apologizing, but finding this (9/11) important enough.
And ever since then, Slashdot has been dropping it's standard, it's quality, turning into a simple little system showing generic news and babbling about it.
Pfff. Bye, Slashdot.
http://edition.cnn.com/2012/05/03/opinion/brooks-bridge-homegrown-terrorists/index.html
An excerpt:
While Timothy McVeigh's 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City was unusual in its lethality, it was unfortunately far from the only plot hatched by extremists on the right. The Southern Poverty Law Center documents 75 plots, of varying degrees of operational advancement, between July 1995 and June 2009 and an additional 22 from 2009 through November 2011. Alleged plot to blow up bridge foiled 5 held in bomb plot on Ohio bridge
A study by the Institute for Homeland Security Solutions, a research consortium in North Carolina, found that from 1999-2009, in the United States there were 17 al Qaeda-inspired plots undertaken, 20 plots initiated by white supremacists and 17 by violent anti-government militants. Recent attacks include the 2009 shooting of a guard at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and the murder by "sovereign citizens" in 2010 of two Arkansas police officers at a traffic stop. In January 2011, a bomb laced with rat poison was found in a backpack along the route of a Martin Luther King Jr. parade in Spokane, Washington.
TSA: helping USA look like a 3rd world country.
Man boob from all ages, woman boob, from all ages (and all kind of body type), knock yourself out. In many beach also full frontal nakedness is tolerated or at least shrugged about (normandy and bretagne come to mind) so you can see all sort of snatch and wiener. After a while you stop to care.
C. Sagan : A demon haunted world:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0345409469/
visit randi.org
Why did the TSA agent take the risk of *assuming* the scanner wouldn't hurt the insulin pump? - It is an obvious medical device that need special attention.
Why not just do the grope search and be on the safe side?
Apart from abolishing the TSA altogether the best solution would be to make the TSA agents legally responsible and liable for any and all damage resulting from their decisions, from medical damage (from the scanner), over psychic damage (from the grope search) to any and all complications following. So a bad search resulting in a successful terrorist attack or frying an expensive piece of medical technology in the scanner can make it a *very* expensive day at work. They way they will be forced to actually think and adjust their approach accordingly if they want to limit their liability. Oh, and as the scanners actually don't work very well, they can do little to actually prevent terror, which means that they *will* end up paying damages from a terrorist attack at some point, their only sensible course of action would be to quit their jobs or demand better procedures/solutions.
"For every complex problem, there is a solution that is simple, neat, and wrong." -- H.L. Mencken (1880-1956) --
TSA is assuming the role of terrorists, for lack of other groups.
In 2001, my late friend (who would later succumb to complications of his diabetes) and I were attacked on the street by thugs. They tried to rip his insulin pump from his body, thinking it was a pager, as he begged "I need that to live!" It's great now to see that we have thugs in our own government doing the same thing. He must be rolling over in his grave. Part of me is almost glad he doesn't have to be here to see the insanity that we now regard as the 'new normal'.
She's got plenty of reason to sue. For one the TSA put her health in danger, and our government passing these laws put her health at risk.
If I was her I'd sue for the right to not pay any taxes for the rest of my life. sales tax, income tax, property tax, everything.
Insulin Pumps are calibrated devices, once calibrated and connected they can not be removed. they have sesnsors that have a limited life. Each time an insulin pump is removed the pump needs to be calibrated for the new sensor.
I hope they paid for the repairs or buying a replacement... you dont hear about this though.
The TSA are not your friends.
The people who work for the TSA are hardly educated. If you have medical notes explaining the situation and you go against those notes then you acting in place of a doctor, meaning you have better knowledge then the doctor who wrote the letter.
There for this TSA agent assumed the role of a doctor with out being licensed or trained, so he / she should have to bare the full consequence of that action.
It happened by accident.
TSA didn't intend break this kid's insulin pump.
Casteism
So they think that notebooks, cell phones, and electronic gadgets can interfere with avionics of a plane and make you shut them off. But here they think it's ok to blast a sensitive piece of life saving medical equipment with a high power beam of short radio waves at close range.. Good Thinking!
Let's keep sending Demoblicans and Republicrats to Congress so we can keep having intrusive and harmful government!!! Yay!
Grar II
Stopped working permanently, FRIED!
But still didn't kill the girl on the spot, but "just" put her in a situation lacking insuline (dangerous on the long term, requires medical supervision on the short term, but no imediate killing involved).
Pacemakers when subjected to interference bad enough to affect them shutdown, then work again afterwards, they don't fry.
There's a couple of difference between a pump and a pacemaker:
- pacemakers are implanted. So you get a human wrapped around the device and functioning as a meat-shield against lots of different radiations. Backscatter and mm-wave don't affect them. A drug pump is an external device (to make it accessible to replenish the drug) and thus is much more exposed to abuse.
- pacemakers are though as life-critical device. They are designed keeping in mind that if the device stops, the patient could die on the spot. Thus, their are much likely tu use rad-hardened components and designs. Whereas the pump probably makes compromises between costs (rad-hard costs more) and benefits (none was imagined back when the device was designed. Future device will probably start taking into account TSA's marvelous new addition to the security theater).
- changing a pacemaker require open thoracic surgery, changing a pump costs money, but only requires some needle work. Again, one argument for the second being quasi off-the-sheld components.
"Sufficiently advanced satire is indistinguishable from reality." - [Tips: 1DrYakQDKCQ6y52z6QbnkxHXAocMZJE61o ]
The real solution is for the American people to take back control of a ever-growing government composed of increasingly arrogant people who could care less about the population they are supposed to serve.
buffer bloat
TSA: The Hero America Deserves.
Yes, this. Every time a story like this comes along I hear a lot of people complaining, but I see hardly anyone doing anything about it. And, the generation which is mostly full of the people doing the complaining is the same generation which got us into this trouble in the first place.
They are supposed to honor those Dr letters. What about Defibs, pacemakers, and other life critical devices? Those could potentially kill the wearer depending on that the mm machine did to one of them.
She's cute. And the photo reveals her tummy. Yummy tummy.
I'm the real Vorokrytin P. Winterbuttocks.
http://studentliberation.com/hern-emergence-of-compulsory.html
http://johntaylorgatto.com/underground/
Security forces, police, the military and security personnel are nothing but sociopathic bullies lying in wait for their next rage surge and indiscretions to use the paronoid "laws" to inflict insult, pain and control on victims under the guise of protections and safety. They enjoy the gang mentality melee they can hide behind.
Next time you go through, opt out and be sure to have a banana in your drawers. Subtly coo as you're touched.
Yes undoubtedly. And there is nothing you can do about it. Who could have trust in a government so Blatantly corrupt and does not pass any laws that Displays any Love Or compassion to its citizens...
This is the USA any laws passed will be in whole only to benefit the Government with knew powers or Big business for money, nothing passed for their beloved citizens...