Former Miss USA, Ralph Nader, Privacy Advocates Body Airport Scanners & Invasive Pat-Downs

Former Miss USA, Ralph Nader, Privacy Advocates Fight Full Body Airport Scanners and Invasive Pat-Downs
The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) has filed a lawsuit asking a federal judge to stop Transportation Security Administration’s full body scanning procedures by granting an immediate injunction. The full body scans are not mandatory for all travelers, but those who object are subject to "enhanced" pat-downs, extremely invasive manual checks. Civil rights activists argue these initiatives are inappropriate, ineffective, violate the Constitution, pose health concerns related to radiation exposure, and are insensitive to religious practices. We speak former Miss USA and actress Susie Castillo, who was recently subjected to an enhanced body pat-down and has become a vocal critic of such security procedures. We also speak with Ralph Nader and Amie Stepanovich of EPIC.

Watch At....................................

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/6/13/former_miss_usa_winner_and_ralph

TRANSCRIPT SNIP:

AMY GOODMAN: We turn now to the issue of enhanced security screening in airports across the country. The Transportation Security Administration’s new body scanning technology is not mandatory for all travelers, but those who object to the full body scans are subject to, quote, "enhanced" pat-downs, extremely invasive manual checks. Civil rights activists argue these initiatives violate the Constitution, pose health concerns related to radiation exposure, and are insensitive to religious practices.

In an interview with Anderson Cooper on CNN last fall, TSA administrator John Pistole refuted claims that body scanners emit dangerous levels of radiation.

JOHN PISTOLE: The radiation coming from those machines are equivalent to about three minutes’ worth of air travel by anybody, say, at 30,000 feet. So there’s obviously naturally occurring radiation, and that’s well within the established safety standards.

AMY GOODMAN: The Electronic Privacy Information Center, known as EPIC, a Washington, D.C.-based advocacy group, has filed a lawsuit asking a federal judge to grant an immediate injunction to stop TSA’s body scanning program.

To discuss this issue, we go now to Washington, D.C. We’re joined by Susie Castillo, an actress, a TV personality, former Miss USA. She was subjected to an enhanced body pat-down at Dallas Airport in April and has become a vocal critic of such security procedures. For her work on the issue, she is going to be honored tonight with a Citizen Activist Award that is presented by Ralph Nader at the EPIC Champion of Freedom dinner.

We’re also joined in Washington by Amie Stepanovich, a national security counsel at the Electronic Privacy Information Center who focuses on national security and domestic surveillance, has been involved in the lawsuit against the TSA’s body scanning program.

And Ralph Nader is on the phone with us, consumer advocate, corporate critic, former presidential candidate, who will be awarding Susie Castillo the prize tonight at the dinner.

Susie, let’s start with you. Talk about your experience. What happened to you in April?

SUSIE CASTILLO: Well, I was traveling for work, Amy, and I was actually coming back home to—I live in Los Angeles. And, you know, as a host and an actress, I have to travel for work. You know, if I want to pay my bills, that’s what I have to do. And I was actually in Rio de Janeiro hosting a show, and on my way back, I was chosen to go through the body scanner line, after waiting in a longer line that I visibly was seeing that passengers were going just through a metal detector. There were two lines: one going through the metal detector, the other going through this scanner. And I waited in the longer line to go through the metal detector, and when I got to the front of the line, I was asked to step into the body scanner line. And this was by a male TSA agent. And I said, you know, "Sir, I’m actually in this longer line because I don’t want to go through that machine." And he said, "Well, you know, I’m asking you to step into this line now. You can opt out, but that means you’re going to get a pat-down." And I had had a pat-down on my way to Rio at LAX, and it wasn’t that bad. It actually—it was quick.

And for whatever reason, you know, on my way back, when I was connecting at DFW, after going through customs and everything, this pat-down was completely different. I mean, my entire body, including my hair and, I mean, my private areas were touched several times. And, you know, all I can think of was, the week before, there was a video of a six-year-old little girl that was being touched inappropriately by a TSA agent, you know, during her pat-down. And apparently her parents said that she burst into tears afterwards. And I was just so enraged, because I do know my rights. I do know that it’s a violation of our constitutional rights. And, you know, this woman, she was—like I said, the violation that one feels when somebody is—when a stranger is touching you this way, when you know that you’re a citizen of a country that—where you’re supposed to be innocent until proven guilty, and for whatever reason, when you’re in the TSA’s domain, it’s the other way around, I mean, I got really emotional, made a video, which I posted on my blog, and then it went viral a couple days later.

More at Link:

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/6/13/former_miss_usa_winner_and_ralph

Because the message is unimportant. Only the messenger is valid. Deep. Very, very deep.

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Automatic judgment that you need a "timeout".

With no Nader 2000, there would have been no Bush Administration, almost certainly no 9/11, and no resultant terrorism paranoia.

or did I miss something?

Interesting...isn't it. They blame a Democratic Reformer over a Republican Op since Nixon and then refuse to acknowledge the Supreme Court (from Reagan/Bush I)

WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE?

Including, say, the 97,000 votes in Florida of which even ten percent going to Gore would have sealed the election.

I also blame Nader for lying his ass off in support of Bush, ranting about how Bush and Gore would be exactly the same.

I blame Nader for being a right wing tool and singlehandedly giving us eight years of Bush and the destruction that it caused.

FUCK RALPH NADER.

Nader was a sideshow.

Nader made Bush the President.

Blaming this on Nader is very "old stuff" here on DU... Why would true Democrats point away from the
Supreme Court's Ruling" and point it at Nader?

Always been an interesting thing to behold.

Without them, there would have been no recounts or court cases.

Florida Dems made Bush the President. :crazy:

Let's ignore those "Democrats", the thousands of African Americans stricken from voter rolls, the butterfly ballots, the fact that Gore lost both his home state and Clinton's state of Arkansas, and the fact the the Supreme Court made the decision anyways, and blame Nader instead. It's easy and requires no real thinking.

Sounds like a win-win!

Running for office was such a horrible, mean, nasty thing for him to do. I wouldn't be surprised if he did just to get this very fallacy from you on this day... he's wily like that. :shrug:

I know Nader-obsessive types like to live entirely in the past, but even following your long blame chain it doesn't link up with this administration furthering the invasion of flyers' rights.

How much LSD would I have to swallow to actually believe that?

I know I missed a few years during my misspent youth, but I think I would have remembered THAT.

And the visual...oh dear God :puke:

Thanks for the thread, KoKo.

It's even sillier than Texas hate.

:thumbsup: