on, well, you know...

[acroyear]

pandagon.net - it's the eye of the panda, it's the thrill of the bite:

You know you’ve fucked with privileged people when USA Today suddenly starts engaging in the investigative journalism of government corruption that you usually only find in places like The Nation. [preceded by an excerpt on the blatant relationship between the increase in lobbying dollars from the 2 top backscatter companies and the increase in their purchases by TSA affiliates, along with the fact that their management boards include former DHS members]

Point is, there’s a lot of money to be made by selling scanners to airports. And there’s a revolving door between people who work in high levels of government and those profiting off selling these devices. It’s in the financial interest of these corporations that are lobbying the hell out of this to have you told that you use their products or you have your junk touched.

Yep, we seem to have reached that stage of capitalism where sexual abuse is being used as a threat to get people (taxpayers in this case) to spend money to pad corporate profits.

Comments

[acroyear70.livejournal.com]

the specific use of the backscatter technology had absolutely nothing to do with congress whatsoever. the increase in the offensiveness of the patdowns had nothing to do with congress whatsoever.

no american "demanded" that we appear nude every time we fly. no american "demanded" that we put ourselves through a device that has had no objective health and safety study for risks particularly for cancers and to pregnant women. no american "demanded" that the only alternative to that is, in any other context, sexual assault.

no american demanded that they change ANYTHING from the metal detectors and xrayed baggage. TSA did that all by themselves, completely without congressional oversight. TSA reacted to perceived threats that originated in foreign countries and that the american public DID NOT ASK THEM TO.

TSA fears the terrorists more than we do. the failed terrorists have created terror in our government agencies worried about their jobs. in this they have succeeded.

in this, we have failed our government by not demanding that they put some fucking sense back into their fucking processes and stop acting like everybody on the planet is a copy-cat.

[stori-lundi.livejournal.com]

I'm digging up my old work docs as I wrote a case study on the new airport screeners 2 years ago when they were still in the testing phase.

You're completely wrong when you say that NO AMERICAN demanded change. They did and congress responded. I'm looking up the exact mandate but there was a congressional mandate that demanded that TSA increase passenger and baggage screening. As of November 2001, TSA was REQUIRED to ensure that all checked baggage was 100% free of explosives. Baggage screening is easy as you can open the bags. I'm looking up the date for the passenger screening. For starters, read this info from the 9/11 commission in 2004 about the changing demands of security and what TSA is doing about it: http://www.9-11commission.gov/hearings/hearing2/witness_may.htm

So TSA is left with having to increase passenger screening. How are you going to do that? At the time, they had metal detectors and the light patdowns. I remember seeing tons of articles of all the stuff people were still able to sneak through security after 9/11 and how things really weren't that secure despite what congress and TSA was telling us. Then there was the shoe bomber and the underwear bomber and the whatnot bomber. Do you think congress took that well? Do you think the American public said, "Oh better luck next time TSA. You'll get him." How many news exposes were there on failed TSA security in the past several years before body scanners? Jeepers Joe. Put your righteous indignation aside for a sec and do a Google search on the subject.

But back to increasing passenger screening. How are you going to do that? Metal detectors don't catch explosives. Make them too sensitive and they'll ping on people's fillings. You aren't going to make people strip down to their skivvies. How are you going to screen people? Seriously, how are you going to do it? What technology is out there that detects more than metal detectors but doesn't virtually strip people naked or require a more intensive pat down procedure?

And again, EVERYTHING TSA does is through congressional oversight. Saying otherwise is just ignorant. How do you think TSA gets the money to buy and implement their scanners? First they have to submit a security plan to congress and get it approved. You'd better believe that congress demands constant updates from them as well. Then they have to submit a budget for their security plan and where they are spending all that money. I can point you to the DHS acquisition cycle if you really want to know all the details. As the screening program goes throughout the budget cycle, congress gets updates on progress. Big, detailed reports. I've read them. There is no way that congress was completely ignorant of what TSA is doing, esp. with the scanners. This info has been out on the street for at least 3 years.

As for being afraid of their jobs, too right they are. Because if TSA had continued the status quo, someone's head would be on the chopping block the next time some idiot got on a plane with a potentially lethal weapon or explosive. Even though it really is an impossible job, they still have to look like they are trying to stay ahead of the terrorists.

Again, most any other airport in the first world has stronger security measures than the US because they've been dealing with terrorists on home soil for much longer than the US. To think that we are safe by keeping the status quo of our old detection systems is ludicrous.

[acroyear70.livejournal.com]

i never said congress wasn't paying attention (though they are turning as blind an eye to the blatant 4th and 5th amendment violations as the average person seems to as well).

and my point is they are hardly staying "ahead" of the terrorists - they are being reactionary to every recent (failed) plot. we didn't remove our shoes 'til someone tried to set theirs off. we didn't have to constrain our liquids 'til someone set theirs off (in Russia). we didn't have to appear nude 'til someone had a bomb in their underwear. at no point have i actually seen TSA acting *proactively* and staying ahead of anything.

yes, to think we are safe by keeping the status quo is ludicrous.

so is thinking we are one damn bit safer today by telling the bill of rights it can go fuck itself.

given that, what's the damn point? as everybody has said, by the time a REAL threat gets to the airport (nevermind past it), it is really already too late. if nothing else, if they get detected, they'll just "detonate" there and then and still cause one hell of a commotion. really, it would worse, 'cause closing a major hub airport like ATL or IAD for days is more devastating to air traffic than any single plane might ever have been - the airline in question would probably go bankrupt without government intervention ("bailouts") which right now are politically unfeasible.

and if people actually knew that "increased screening" actually meant "appearing nude before total strangers", they probably might have been more specific.