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House Subcommittee Holds Hearing On TSA's "Scanner Shuffle"

Posted by samzenpus on from the who's-to-blame dept.

OverTheGeicoE writes "The Homeland Security Subcommittee on Transportation Security held a hearing on TSA's recent decision to move X-ray body scanners from major airports to smaller ones, which the subcommittee refers to as a 'Scanner Shuffle.' John Sanders, TSA's assistant administrator for security capabilities, testified that 91 scanners recently removed from major airports were now in storage due to 'privacy concerns.' Although TSA originally planned to relocate the scanners to smaller airports, those plans have been shelved because smaller airports don't have room for them. The subcommitteee is also investigating allegations that the machines' manufacturer, Rapiscan, 'may have falsified tests of software intended to stop the machines from recording graphic images of travelers' (VIDEO). Coincidentally, shares of Rapiscan's parent company, OSI Systems Inc., dropped in value almost 25% today, its biggest intraday decline in about 12 years. If wrongdoing is proven, Rapiscan could face fines, prison terms and a ban on government contracting, according to a former head of federal procurement."

7 of 134 comments (clear)

  1. RAPEscan by TheNastyInThePasty · · Score: 5, Funny

    I never noticed how poorly the scanner machine's company was named...

    --
    The best thing about UDP jokes is I don't care if you get them or not
  2. The TSA is still a thing? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    What I don't understand is why the TSA still exists. Everybody hates it and it costs us a ridiculous amount of money. Every time I've uttered the phrase "security theater" around normals, they've heard it before and agree with it. Why haven't any politicians jumped at the chance to cut it like the cancer it is and score major points with their electorate?

    Is corruption really the answer, or am I missing something, here?

    1. Re:The TSA is still a thing? by dkleinsc · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Everybody hates it and it costs us a ridiculous amount of money.

      That ridiculous cost to us is ridiculous profits to somebody else. That somebody can in turn give to any politician who wishes to eliminate the TSA up to 2500 reasons per election cycle to change their mind.

      --
      I am officially gone from /. Long live http://www.soylentnews.com/
    2. Re:The TSA is still a thing? by sjames · · Score: 5, Insightful

      It's all in how you ask the question. On the one hand, you can ask "Do you support airport security or should we quit discriminating against terrorists?". On the other you can ask "Should pre-schoolers be groped by strangers in the airport?". You can also pre-load with a bunch of obvious yes or obvious no questions to get the answers you want. For that matter, you can tilt the stats by asking (or not asking) people who don't fly.

      As a whole though, I'll bet few, if any Americans actually support the TSA's current methods, especially groping children and irradiating pregnant women.

    3. Re:The TSA is still a thing? by strength_of_10_men · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Because no one wants to be "that guy" that killed the TSA in case another terrorist takes down an airplane. Simple CYA thinking. Until we, as a nation, make it clear that the TSA is unacceptable, things will just carry on. And from my last visit to the airport, the people seem to be accepting it just fine.

  3. Re:should be CFA not TSA by Mitreya · · Score: 5, Interesting

    seems they are consistently boorish, idiotic in rulemaking, inconsistent, and being called out as leaders in group comedy, instead of as an effective security force.

    You are missing the most important part

    There are NO demonstrable results that anyone in TSA could show for the last 11 years. The 2-3 half-assed terrorist attempts (shoe bomber, etc.) have been stopped by other passengers. TSA accomplishments are rivaled only by the anti-terrorist rock (though TSA is significantly more expensive)

    I asked this before and I will ask again -- how does an agency exist/expand/get funding without demonstrating any results whatsoever? One could dislike CIA/FBI/IRS, but one could at least point to something beneficial that they actually do.

  4. Re:I've got a question by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    As someone who does like forced humiliation, the TSA is not on my Goddess's safe list of loaner dommes, either. Hell, they haven't even asked me for my safeword. If I'm going to be abused, violated, and driven through some sort of humiliating sexual theatre act using spurious medical equipment, I at least want it to be by a competent Domme, and not some crackpot psychopaths who are doing it because of their own subconsious demons.