For the last few years, federal agencies have defended body scanning by insisting that all images will be discarded as soon as they’re viewed. The Transportation Security Administration claimed last summer, for instance, that “scanned images cannot be stored or recorded.”
Now it turns out that some police agencies are storing the controversial images after all. The U.S. Marshals Service admitted this week that it had surreptitiously saved tens of thousands of images recorded with a millimeter wave system at the security checkpoint of a single Florida courthouse. This follows an earlier disclosure (PDF) by the TSA that it requires all airport body scanners it purchases to be able to store and transmit images for “testing, training, and evaluation purposes.” The agency says, however, that those capabilities are not normally activated when the devices are installed at airports. This privacy debate, which has been simmering since the days of the Bush administration, came to a boil two weeks ago when Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced that scanners would soon appear at virtually every major airport. The updated list includes airports in New York City, Dallas, Washington, Miami, San Francisco, Seattle, and Philadelphia.
“TSA is not being straightforward with the public about the capabilities of these devices,” Rotenberg said. “This is the Department of Homeland Security subjecting every U.S. traveler to an intrusive search that can be recorded without any suspicion–I think it’s outrageous.” EPIC’s lawsuit says that the TSA should have announced formal regulations, and argues that the body scanners violate the Fourth Amendment, which prohibits “unreasonable” searches.
Yes, I’m as shocked as you are. So basically they lie through their teeth, and once the policy is in place, do anything they want to do. By the time the truth comes out, no one cares anymore. Heckuva job Barry.
# 18 jbenson2 said, “Total # of posts so far: 16 Bobbo’s troll posts: 7
He’s taking over 50% of the traffic.”
Sheesh. I sure wish someone else had pointed this out. Oh, well. 7/16 is LESS than 50%.
And, by my quick count, he now has 10 posts in this thread and mine makes #30. So 10/30 – damn! Bobbo. You’ve got over 66% of the traffic!!!
Animby==stop pimping me. Speaking of you and pimps, that references was just made in the Movie “City of Ghosts.” Better than most. Creepy countryside and people = all the victims of war.
I’m not surprised. I expect the government to lie to me. Of course if they want to look at my body I don’t actually care but I do think that sort of punishment ought to be against the law unless they need a replacement for water boarding.
deowll==why thats even eloquent in its self depreciation. Why don’t you post more often like that?
Now that we know they are saving them, it is only a matter of time before they start showing up on the web. It will probably be some snarky site like http://www.peopleofwalmart.com/. Maybe it will be called ‘Suckers who have to fly commercial airlines’.
They are looking for scales on people.
perhaps they can tune into our vibrational energy and see the real creatures underneath.
we must stop the reptilians from leaving the country to purchase duty free monoatomic gold.
But in the end they will simply harm human dna and human dignity.
they will stop no terror, terror is the new fear tactic.
they cant allow that to stop now can they, who would we be afraid of? what would prevent us from free thought if we weren’t living in fear?
@bobbo, we think with words, and flower with ideas
You appear to put the cart before the horse there.
Assurances were made, in order to get the bill passed, that the images would not be saved and would be merely displayed while the subject passed through security clearance.
The bill passed and it came into law and now the truth comes out that the images ARE being stored. So both Congress and the US public were deceived IN ORDER to make it legal.
I guess that’s why everybody is a little peeved about it.
#38 Rob –
I could be wrong (but I’m not) but the agreement you are talking about was with the TSA not the Marshal’s service. Reread the article above and you’ll notice the images are scans of people entering a court. Which is interesting in itself: what other country makes you pose naked before you can have your day in court?
Also, I’m not saying we won’t end up seeing TSA images of our wilted wienies (well, it was cold that day!)posted on the Ten Least Wanted list in the Post Office. We all know assurances are not promises and, even if they were, it’s only for our own security they will change their minds and save, transmit and possibly publish the images.
Me? I’m just hoping for a warm day.
Rob–good thought but as usual Animby’s answer was much better than mine would be.
Mine: if the restriction is not expressly stated within the legislation, the restriction does not exist. And even where such restriction does exist, you can count on it not being enforced. Like gravity, evil has its own weight that is constantly acting on the warp and weave of society.
The real trick/challenge is to find you own peace within the realities of externalities.
Good luck junior space man!
Ah the old bait and switch deal. My state pushed for legalizing Slot Machines, to help our ailing Horse Race industry survive the economic slump. Too bad it’s not equally concerned about saving more productive industries from failing. Anyway, the measure finally got passed. And then the renigging started. The Tracks couldn’t come up with the seed money. So they changed the measure to allow casinos in or near some shopping malls. WITHOUT A NEW VOTE!!! So now various citizen groups are opposing the slots in their neighborhoods, as it wasn’t what was voted on. Surprise, surprise, the government lied to us. And changed the rules. Say yes to almost anything, and they’ll stretch it to fit what they really intended to do, all along, but wouldn’t say.
If I wanted a body scan for cancer, it’d cost me hundreds of dollars. But just to get on a plane, without a pat down? It costs nothing (to me). The airlines seem to be happy to pick up the cost. So why aren’t health scans a hell of lot more cheaper, than they are? I’ll bet they are dirt cheap in those Guam resort hospitals?
Just to correct the “libertard” comments with a fact, the laws and technology discussed herein are the work of the Bush/Chaney administration and were inacted in 2006 prior to the democratic takeover of congress. Regardless of talk radio morons comments to the contrary, all cessation of civil rights being argued today as Obama’s fault were part and parcel of the “patriot” act which removed constitutional freedoms in the relentless march toward communism began by Nixon/Agnew and legalized by Reagan/Bush 41 in 1983. The skull and bones society had discovered that the use of God would provide them credibility to sway the believers into anything as long as they passed it off as the word of “God” and the fools and weak thinkers followed without question. This is the exact reason Fox “news” survives not being sued into extinction when caught deliberately falsifying known facts and making patiently sedisionist statements in direct violation of black letter law.