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EPIC Files For Rehearing In Body Scanner Case
OverTheGeicoE writes "The Electronic Privacy Information Center has filed for a rehearing in their case against DHS regarding airport body scanners. In their latest court filing (PDF), EPIC argues that last month's ruling requiring a public comment period but no other changes was based on incorrect information. From TFA: '"The court overstated the effectiveness of the body scanner devices and understated the degree of the privacy intrusion to the travelling public," stated EPIC President Marc Rotenberg. EPIC's petition challenged the Court's finding that the devices detect "liquid and powders," which was never established and was not claimed by the government. EPIC also argued that the court wrongly concluded that the TSA is not subject to a federal privacy law that prohibits video voyeurism. The panel found that TSA body scanner employees are "engaged in law enforcement activity," contrary to the TSA's own regulations.'
Note that this is a request for a rehearing with the same court that rejected their request to stop TSA's use of body scanners. It is not an appeal to a higher court. Is EPIC likely to obtain a more favorable ruling from the same court?"
EPIC's petition challenged the Court's finding that the devices detect "liquid and powders," which was never established and was not claimed by the government.
Time to offend someone
Seriously, I have a rock that keeps terrorists away, how do I know it works? Well duh, no terrorist attacks near the rock. Specious reasoning perhaps, but no different than irradiating travellers at every airport in your country.
FOR YOUR SAFETY we will expose you to IONISING RADIATION
Bravo USA, bra-fucking-vo
Behavioral profiling is effective. Ethnic profiling is not.
Except for the fact that it's been shown by explosives experts and chemists alike that the "liquid explosive" theory is not viable. It is difficult to do under lab conditions and nearly impossible to do in the bathroom of an airplane. So, once again, it's knee jerk BS response.
This body scanning stuff seems so inefficient and stupid, I'm guessing someone in the decision process must be lining their pockets ?
The Cloud - because you don't care if your apps and data are up in the air.
Better off bringing a quart of bleach and a quart of ammonia.
TSA regulations are about security theater, not reality.
The TSA should engage in profiling, as the Israelis do. Although it's controversial [breitbart.com], the Israelis have managed to prevent any hijacking incidents since 1969 so they must be doing something right. Even the Israelis aren't perfect and sooner or later it's possible someone will slip through and cause a calamity, but so far they have demonstrated a more intelligent approach to airport security that does not require body scanner imaging technology such as the TSA has enthusiastically promoted.
Oh jeez not this shit again. Is it going to take a string of Anders Behring Breivik-looking dudes to blow up American buildings before you idiots get the point? Profiling does not improve security. It lays down a temporary speedbump and introduces many vulnerabilities. An attacker only has to match the low-security racial profile to get through with reduced scrutiny. From a security standpoint alone it is a bad idea, the same reason AV apps don't only scan files handled by IE, Adobe Reader, JRE and Flash, the same reason there isn't an Express Lane for rich white folks to return to the US from Mexico, the same reason that we don't just block all traffic from outside the Western world as our only network security solution.
"When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
The TSA should engage in profiling, as the Israelis do.
They do not. Who made up that myth? In fact, the Israelis explicitly state that they don't trust profiling because terrorists will find out what the profile is, and use terrorists who don't match it. They do intensive, one-on-one interviews with all passengers.
http://www.geoffreylandis.com
Behavioral profiling is effective.
Considering that TSA can't even weed out criminals during the hiring process I don't have much faith that TSA agents will prove much more adept at picking out terrorists in a 30 second interview prior to boarding an airplane.
MCSE? No, sir...I don't do Windows. Yes, I am an idealist. What's your point?
Bruce Scheier cites a number of sources here. The short answer is that it is very, very unlikely. First, the chemicals are difficult to work with under the best of circumstances. An airplane is not the best of circumstances. Second, the chemicals, being volatile organic compounds, have strong, unpleasant odors. While people may be expecting "strong, unpleasant" odors to be emanating from a bathroom, these would be unusual enough that even the least observant passengers on the airplane would become more than just a little suspicious. Third, you can't just mix up a batch of binary explosives in a few minutes. It is a long, drawn-out process, and as the line to the loo began to grow suspiciously long, someone would be bound to intervene.
Bottom line: We've already lost the war on terror. TSA is a political entity, and that means that every time some potential terrorist yells, "Boo!" TSA jumps, because if EVER, even once, they don't jump and something does happen, there will be a lot of Congress Critters on the streets looking for work. Consequently, the terrorists don't have to blow anything up ever again. All they have to do is let it be known that maybe they are thinking about some new attack vector and our fear will do the rest for them.
MCSE? No, sir...I don't do Windows. Yes, I am an idealist. What's your point?
A piranha bath, in the semiconductor industry, is a mixture of hydrogen peroxide and sulfuric acid, not caustic (alkaline) but definitely corrosive, and used to clean organic residues from silicon wafers. I've seen chromic/sulfuric baths used to glass labware, but I've not heard that referred to as a piranha bath, and it is also acidic.
Did you mean something else?
...the future crusty old bastards are already drinking the Kool-Aid.
The liquid sizes I have never understood. What is there to stop the terrorist to combine their liquids? For example if there are five terrorists like on 9/11? Then you have about half a liter of explosives, so this arbitrary rule basically has no effect