OntheWilderSide

[Editor’s Note: A Detroit demo at bottom. For an interactive map with a state-by-state list of demos, go to wewontfly.com]

National Opt-Out Day activities at San Francisco International Airport

A Media Advisory [and call to action]
Release Date: Nov. 23, 2010
Re: Wednesday, Nov. 24, 2010

WHO: Those opposed to invasive TSA screening practices that threaten liberty, privacy, and health.

WHAT: Press conference, handing out literature, waving signs, and car caravan, at San Francisco International airport.

WHEN: NOVEMBER 24th, 8am-5pm, Press Conference at NOON

WHERE: Handing out fliers and displaying signs outside SFO Domestic Terminals 1 and 3. Press conference will be held by the “Free Speech Zone” counter located in Domestic Terminal 1, across from the area between Southwest and AirTran airline check-in counters.

WHY: To demonstrate dissent and educate the public about the new policies and practices enforced by the TSA and private airport security contractors like Covenant Aviation Security at the San Francisco International airport. We will urge members of the public to fly with dignity or not fly!

-WeWontFly SF

Contacts:

MEDIA CONTACT
Starchild
Outreach Director, Libertarian Party of San Francisco
(415) 625-FREE (3733)
www.LPSF.org

GENERAL CONTACT
Sheila Dean
Identity “blog-vocate”
(310) 857-8257
BeatTheChip.org
511Campaign.org

_____________

In Detroit…

Detroit Opt Out Day Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 23, 2010
For more information, please contact:
Angela Fisher, 248-721-8570, angela_mis at yahoo
Scotty Boman, 313-247-2052, scottyeducation at yahoo

We Won’t Fly to Educate Travelers on Passenger Security at DTW Airport on National Opt Out Day Detroit, MI  – Grassroots consumer advocate We Won’t Fly will educate travelers at DTW (Detroit Metro) Airport on Wednesday, November 24th, between 12:00pm and 1:00pm at on the far side of the Weston entrance at the McNamara terminal for local departures initially away from the flow of traffic about the new TSA security theater. We Won’t Fly is taking on the responsibility neglected by the TSA to educate passengers about their TSA-mandated choice of naked body x-ray scanners or enhanced patdowns that resemble sexual assault so that passengers will be able to make an informed decision before they reach the TSA security lines.

“The TSA accuses We Won’t Fly of being irresponsible. But the TSA has caused the national uproar over airport security by irresponsibly rolling out unproven technology, touching us in ways that are tantamount to sexual assault and then failing to educate us so we will be prepared to make informed decisions, ” said Detroit We Won’t Fly organizer Angela Fisher. The goal of the Opt Out Day is to inform travelers and urge them to exercise their legal right to ‘opt out’ of the scan.”

According to a recent article in the San Diego Entertainer[1], “The scans are detailed enough to identify a person’s gender… to identify a passenger’s surgery scars, or to discern whether a woman is on her menstrual cycle or not.” CNN reports[2] that the scanners include network connections and images can be stored and shared by design. As CBS News recently reported[3], US Marshals saved 35,000 images from similar devices at just one courthouse.

“This time they’ve gone too far,” declared Detroit Opt Out Day organizer Fisher. “78-year old women crying, children being publicly partial strip searched, along with babies – it’s just too much. Every parent should be outraged at such a gross violation of their children’s privacy along with their own. Enough is enough!”

“Under no circumstances should children be touched by TSA employees,” said We Won’t Fly co-founder James Babb. “The best choice for passengers is to opt-out of the radiation and the groping by avoiding airports entirely. For those that must fly, consider opting out of the scan. It’s better for your health and will bog down their security theater.”

The scanners arguably add little or nothing to passenger security. In a recent Vancouver Sun article[4], former chief security officer of the Israeli Airport Authority Rafi Sela called the scanners ineffective. “I don’t know why everybody is running to buy these expensive and useless machines. I can overcome the body scanners with enough explosives to bring down a Boeing 747.”

University of California scientists noted[5] that the airport scanners may pose a serious health risk. In a letter of concern issued earlier this year, they stated, “Our overriding concern is the extent to which the safety of this scanning device has been adequately demonstrated. This can only be determined by a meeting of an impartial panel of experts that would include medical physicists and radiation biologists at which all of the available relevant data is reviewed.”

“It is breathtaking to witness the speed at which a mere bureaucracy has undone the dignity and freedom of Americans”, added Donnelly. “The TSA cannot continue without our consent. Act now. Travel with dignity. Opt out. Better yet, just don’t fly.”

We Won’t Fly is a grassroots consumer advocate founded to encourage travelers to stop flying until the airlines join with concerned consumers in opposition to TSA security theatre and for real air passenger security. For more information, visit WeWontFly.com/opt-out-day.

Footnotes:
[1] www.sdentertainer.com/news/tsa-installs-body-scanners-san-diego-international-airport/
[2] www.youtube.com/watch?v=muYh8d70yow
[3] www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-20012785-504083.html
[4] www.vancouversun.com/travel/Full+body+scanners+waste+money+Israeli+expert+says/2941610/story.html
[5] news.ucsf.edu/news-briefs/details/ucsf-scientists-speak-out-against-airport-full-body-scans/

– End –

Filed under: Action Alert!, activism, News, public health, third party, US Politics Tagged: | air travel, Civil Liberties, Covenant Aviation Security, Detroit Metro, Detroit Metro Airport, Detroit politics, DTW Airport, fly with dignity, full body scanners, holiday weekend, libertarian, McNamara Terminal, naked scanners, pat downs, San Francisco Airport, San Francisco International Airport, security theater, SFO Terminal 1, SFO Terminal 3, Thanksgiving break, TSA, TSA screening