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Denver TSA Screeners Manipulated System In Order To Grope Men's Genitals
McGruber writes: The CBS affiliate in Denver reports: "Two Transportation Security Administration screeners at Denver International Airport have been fired after they were discovered manipulating passenger screening systems to allow a male TSA employee to fondle the genital areas of attractive male passengers." According to law enforcement reports obtained during the CBS4 investigation, a male TSA screener told a female colleague in 2014 that he "gropes" male passengers who come through the screening area at DIA. "He related that when a male he finds attractive comes to be screened by the scanning machine he will alert another TSA screener to indicate to the scanning computer that the party being screened is a female. When the screener does this, the scanning machine will indicate an anomaly in the genital area and this allows (the male TSA screener) to conduct a pat-down search of that area." Although the TSA learned of the accusation on Nov. 18, 2014 via an anonymous tip from one of the agency's own employees, reports show that it would be nearly three months before anything was done."
Honestly, I wouldn't have any problem with the TSA if I knew for certain that I would have my penis vigorously groped every time I travel...
It's the uncertainty that kills me.. Will I have to rub one out in the bathroom, or can I get a head start as I pass through security??
If we spin this as the TSA allowing for homosexual acts (especially on God-fearing straight folk!), could we use this to convince the GOP to support shutting it down? Toss in some terms like "limited government" if necessary.
I'm not at all comfortable with the current screening procedure madness, but I'm far more comfortable when the TSA agent groping me is just as uncomfortable with the situation as I am. When they're taking pleasure in it, it's a good indication that the system has let us down.
That strikes me as pretty fast for an organization that size.
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And I've never been groped. Guess I'm not attractive enough. :-(
Tic-Tac-Toe, Global Thermonuclear War, and relationships all have the same winning move.
I wonder if anyone tried designating attractive female passengers as male...
"I'm sorry, ma'am, but you'll please need to step behind this screen and remove your blouse..."
I can see the fnords!
What is unclear is why the TSA still exist.
Because, in the unlikely event of another terrorist attack on a plane, any politicians voted to eliminate the TSA will be blamed. Modern politicians spend all this time and effort trying to get elected, then they're too scared to do anything where they can't pass the buck.
Giving people legal authority to see and touch both men and women's private areas attracts creeps to the job? Never would have guessed.
Seems like it is sexual assault.
If I am hired to set up a security checkpoint in front of a bar, I could do security pat downs without it being sexual. If, on the other hand, I intentionally manipulated the system to pat down attractive bar patrons for my own gratification, I'm pretty sure I would be arrested and end up on some sort of sex offender list.
Why didn't the TSA refer this to law enforcement?
Nothing about this group of idiots surprises me. Typical federal government cluster-fuck.
So now that the ball gropers have been let go (3 months later, but probably pretty fast by Fed standards) I would presume that the "gropees" are lining up the lawsuits. This is going to be hilarious. Watch how the surveillance tapes and emails disappear when asked to produce them.
We've seen a number of stories involving TSA agents being arrested for any number of crimes. Everything from assault, to child pornography, to murder. This shouldn't be a surprise at all. Which is not to say that all TSA agents ARE the scum that they tend to be made out to be. But it's a worrying program.
In terms of this kind of activities detailed in this story... well hell. I know from talking with a former TSA employee that this sort of thing is VERY common. I've even meet a former TSA agent that not only admits doing this at an airport in California. But he did it aallll the time. And he wasn't the only one doing it.
This is why we can't ignore male sexual violence, it's a real issue and we need to look at just as hard as female assaults.
Many, MANY years ago, since you type "oh" for "zero". In both the subject, and (the different) body.
"After controlling for time trends, weather, road conditions, and other factors, we attribute an increase of 242 driving fatalities per month to additional road travel undertaken in response to 9/11."
It's highly likely that more people have died due to the response to terrorism than from actual terrorism in the US.
Actually, the system is effectively sexing people. And the system's determination of sex, disagreed with the manual input - hence the flag for screening.
I've learned something new today. The TSA has machines that are discriminating passengers based on gender :)
It is a much different world after 9/11 for Americans, especially with flying. There were hijackings and all before, but nothing like 9/11. I could believe in the 1990's someone would still be complaining about rather light security.
Today, you are lucky to just be asked a few questions, and whatever you are faced with, you shut up and deal with it or you have somebody in a room groping your genitals.
This is probably more common than people realize. I was groped by a TSA screener at EWR a few months ago.
I usually get TSA Pre and don't have to go through the nude-o-scope, but occasionally when TSA Pre does not work - I opt out of the machine and choose the "pat down". Usually it's a fairly benign experience - screeners make a point to say that they will "stop just short of the private areas" and "use the back of their hand", and normally do so. I go through a dozen of these a year and it's normally a non-event.
On this particular occasion, however, the TSA guy didn't say any of those things, and made sure to run palm of his hand up the inside of my leg on both sides, firmly groping my privates. The action was pretty obvious, and I even considered complaining - but I was running short on time, and (to be completely honest) I am not terribly shy about being touched and don't really care, though I think he is not supposed to be doing this and it would be good to "make a point". After many searches I know how they are supposed to be properly conducted, but many others may be subject to search only rarely and would not know what is "legal".
Also - I'd take it as more a compliment if *he* was more attractive, but the TSA guy was really not my type. Posting anonymous, don't want TSA to get upset with me or anything, that's our life in the Land of The Free :)
Seems like it is sexual assault.
It is. Unambiguously.
Why didn't the TSA refer this to law enforcement?
Because TSA is law enforcement or at least thinks they are.
Oh, you can find someone with a "thing" for anyone.
Just Google chubby chaser sometime.
Security was decentralized on 9/11. After 9/11, the security was centralized, i.e. taken from airlines and private companies, to the federal government. Congress had to be seen doing something.
Had this been the state on 9/11, it would have been decentralized. Dilbert covered this management back and forth flip flop fraud in a more generic sense even earlier.
(-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
Or because as long as people are OK with that bit of intrusiveness every time they travel, they'll be more accepting of other restrictions on their freedom as well.
TSA Pre Check allows members of both parties to skip on by quite easily: https://tsatoday.wordpress.com...
Of course, we do have one noted case of an elected official being illegally detained (per Article I Section 6) by the TSA: http://www.politico.com/news/s...
Help Brendan pay off his student loans
"POTUS flies on public transport regularly"
You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.
Are you saying that anyone in the general public can buy a ticket and board a flight on AF1?
General Relativity: Space-time tells matter where to go; Matter tells space-time what shape to be.
I think on this issue you'll find that high level GOP officials have an unusually wide stance and are willing to reach around the aisle, pointing fingers when necessary in order to come to a consensus. Many are even willing to bend over backwards to be more accommodating.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_Craig_scandal/
Sorry, honey, I had to take a later flight because there was an anomaly in my genital area.
xkcd
Have gnu, will travel.
All this TSA business was instituted primarily to make Michael Chertoff rich. And it worked marvelously.
The enhanced pat downs were instituted largely as a punishment for people opting out. This was necessary, since too many opt-outs would result in fewer purchases of the body scanners (which is where Chertoff makes his money).
There was a natural alliance between this and the enhanced intelligence gathering and tracking that the government wants to do on everyone anyway, so that just worked out as a side benefit.
Incidentally, the people who benefit most from this don't have to put up with it themselves, so it will require a hell of a lot of public outrage to ever get it shut down.
There's "conservative" and then there are people who call themselves that while having an interest in the vast amount of money that moves about in the name of the TSA. Financial benefit or financial benefit for their donors, or a big welfare program (that pretends to be actual work) for their voters trumps any moral indignation. File it with prison rape to get some insight on how the seemingly intolerable can be ignored instead of some attempt made to deal with the problem.
What is happening in this incident is the latest of a long series that were obviously going to happen when the TSA started moving down this path.