John Pistole Wants Us to Be Afraid of His Shadow

/in /by

I’m working on a longer post on John Pistole, the head of Transportation Security Administration who ordered the TSA to touch your junk.

But in the meantime I wanted to point out something appalling about his recent testimony to the Senate Commerce Committee. In it, he says the following to justify expanding the use of air marshal patrols at mass transit locations.

Another recent case highlights the importance of mass transit security. On October 27, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) arrested a Pakistan-born naturalized U.S. citizen for attempting to assist others whom he believed to be members of al Qaida in planning multiple bombings at Metrorail stations in the Washington, D.C., area. During a sting operation, Farooque Ahmed allegedly conducted surveillance of the Arlington National Cemetery, Courthouse, and Pentagon City Metro stations, indicated that he would travel overseas for jihad, and agreed to donate $10,000 to terrorist causes. A federal grand jury in Alexandria, Virginia, returned a three-count indictment against Ahmed, charging him with attempting to provide material support to a designated terrorist organization, collecting information to assist in planning a terrorist attack on a transit facility, and attempting to provide material support to help carry out multiple bombings to cause mass casualties at D.C.-area Metrorail stations.

While the public was never in danger, Ahmed’s intentions provide a reminder of the terrorist attacks on other mass transit systems: Madrid in March 2004, London in July 2005, and Moscow earlier this year. Our ability to protect mass transit and other surface transportation venues from evolving threats of terrorism requires us to explore ways to improve the partnerships between TSA and state, local, tribal, and territorial law enforcement, and other mass transit stakeholders. These partnerships include measures such as Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response (VIPR) teams we have put in place with the support of the Congress.

Pistole suggests we need to be worried about mass transit attacks because Ahmed Farooque was arrested for planning what he thought was an al Qaeda attack on the DC area Metro.

But of course–as Pistole concedes–there was never an attack. Instead, there was an FBI sting, set up back when Pistole was still at the FBI. We have zero indication that Farooque would have targeted the Metro on his own, and even less that that’s what al Qaeda is currently targeting. Nevertheless, Pistole chooses to point to it–a planned attack entirely of the FBI’s own making–as a reminder of the threat to mass transit.

Now I’m not suggesting that our subway and rail systems aren’t exposed to attack. Indeed, that’s part of the reason why the “gate rape” to get on airplanes is so absurd, given how unprotected rail transport is by comparison. (Though a smart terrorist would probably choose another kind of venue entirely–like a football game or Wal-Mart on Black Friday–for an attack.)

But I am suggesting it is absolutely inappropriate for Pistole to point to the FBI’s own–his own–sting as evidence that we need to increase domestic surveillance. Next thing you know, the FBI will stage a sting involving Disney World so it can justify strip-searching children before they see Mickey.

Update: Pistole is out with a new statement suggesting he may back down.

We welcome feedback and comments on the screening procedures from the traveling public, and we will work to make them as minimally invasive as possible while still providing the security that the American people want and deserve. We are constantly evaluating and adapting our security measures, and as we have said from the beginning, we are seeking to strike the right balance between privacy and security.   In all such security programs, especially those that are applied nation-wide, there is a continual process of refinement and adjustment to ensure that best practices are applied and that feedback and comment from the traveling public is taken into account. This has always been viewed as an evolving program that will be adapted as conditions warrant, and we greatly appreciate the cooperation and understanding of the American people.

We cannot forget that less than one year ago a suicide bomber with explosives in his underwear tried to bring down a plane over Detroit. The terrorists allegedly behind the thwarted cargo attempt last month are out there bragging about how they will strike again.

We all wish we lived in a world where security procedures at airports weren’t necessary but that just isn’t the case. [my emphasis]

But his logic still amounts to “we need to feel up granny to try to find explosives worn by a terrorist entering the US from a place where they don’t feel up granny and because terrorists threaten to use the still-unsecured package shipping system.” That is, “because we’re not prepared to get the real terrorists’ flying or sending packages, we have to feel up granny.”

image_print
  1. Neil says:

    Busted. I love it when you outsmart G-men.

    Good to see the American people recalibrating their freedom/security scales with regard to airline security.

    The only other expert I’ve heard about how to screen airplane passengers is the man who designed El-Al’s security on Countdown. He swears by conversational engagement and behavioral observation to identify suspects. I wonder why that approach is not feasible in the USA. Can’t we find a work force to do it?

      • dosido says:

        I think the conversational mode would be some awesome job creation, better use of stimulus money.

        BTW, what do people think of Boxer’s idea of a “Trusted Traveler” program. She wrote a letter on 11/19 to Pistole about it.

        • Mason says:

          Once again, you find the source information lightning-quick. You are amazing! Many thanks.

          I copied this from the Senator Boxer’s website to which you linked.

          Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) urged the Transportation Security Administration to expand upon the TSA’s decision today to exempt certain airline pilots from the most intrusive security screenings by developing a “trusted traveler” program for fully vetted, law-abiding U.S. airline passengers.

          That’s a super idea, Senator Boxer! Can we reasonably expect you to improve on your magnificent idea with a merit badge program by which we loyal and serious citizens can earn points toward becoming trusted travelers by snitching off our fellow citizens who are griping about Pistole’s Rape-Gate?

          That’s one of the dumbest, most absurd, and intensely anti-democratic ideas I’ve ever heard. What’s next? Tatooing numbers on the inside part of the forearm above the wrist of every person deemed untrustworthy by a special panel of vetted kleptocrat Obamabots because they believe the United States is the largest, most organized, and deadliest terrorist organization in the world and they oppose Obama’s wars, slaughtering innocent people with drones, and all of the bullshit excuses and efforts to indoctrinate the population to be subservient to authority in the name of keeping them safe?

        • mocha says:

          a “trusted traveler” program

          Come on, who didn’t see this coming the second they exempted the pilots. Next the “politicians with security”, not necessarily just those in elected office. Now with the elite “trusted traveler” program, first class, those with the money to buy whatever ticket makes you trused, will bypass screening leaving only the most trustworthy of travelers as fodder for the pornoscan and the grope – families, older people visiting the kiddies, and casual travellers who worked hard to earn the money for that one trip a year.

        • Mason says:

          those with the money to buy whatever ticket makes you trused

          Potential spelling error alert!

          Otherwise, we shall be cavorting amid visions of bondage.

        • fatster says:

          Prepare to get religion (this release followed speculation that Moslem women wearing hajibs might be allowed to grope themselves at the airports):

          “Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, however, offered a bit more flexibility, saying there will be “adjustments” to the policy (a statement more recently echoed by TSA Administrator John Pistole) and said she expects “more to come” on the issue of religious objections.”

          Maybe I’ll go shopping for a sari or one of those Buddhist saffron robes. Hmmmmmm.

          LINK.

        • phred says:

          Thanks again fatster : )

          By the way, for those interested at the top right corner of the press release at fatster’s link you will find a phone number where you can call and leave a message for Senator Boxer and her “some pigs are more equal than others” whizbang idea.

          I just left her a message. I’m looking forward to her press release with our new Pledge of Allegiance, without that quaint out-moded expression “with liberty and justice for all”.

    • eCAHNomics says:

      Yeah, talking with someone’s prolly about as reliable as a polygraph. Let’s polygraph every air line passenger.

      This whole biz is about intimidation by the USG through whatever means necessary.

  2. joanneleon says:

    Off topic:

    Via bobswern’s diary on dkos:

    Countrywide Routinely Failed to Send Key Docs to MBS Trustees, B of A Employee Says, by Kate Berry, American Banker: Countrywide, the mortgage giant that’s now part of Bank of America Corp., routinely didn’t bother to transfer essential documents for loans sold to investors, an employee testified.

    The testimony — which a New Jersey bankruptcy judge cited in dismissing a B of A claim against a debtor — could complicate attempts by the company to foreclose on soured loans that Countrywide originated…

    …

    O. Max Gardner, a North Carolina consumer bankruptcy lawyer who was not involved in the case, called the testimony “a major problem” for B of A, which acquired Countrywide … in 2008. “These original notes were supposed to be transferred and delivered all the way up the line and for this witness to admit they were never transferred is pretty amazing,” Gardner said. “I’ve never see this admitted anywhere.” …
    http://economistsview.typepad.com/economistsview/2010/11/countrywide-routinely-failed-to-send-key-docs-to-mbs-trustees.html

  3. joanneleon says:

    On Sunday afternoon, for what it’s worth, Politico seemed to think that TSA might reconsider its new policy.

    TSA chief: Screening may evolve

    Did that have anything to do with the SNL skit the night before?

    This morning I have Morning Joe on the TV (I know, masochism, but at least Scarborough isn’t there due to his suspension,) and Pistole was on for an interview. He didn’t show any signs being willing to make any policy changes and they were talking about the underwear bomber again too.

  4. phred says:

    Good Morning EW, thanks for this post.

    Pistole’s logic is flawed everywhere you look. We have blown the risk of terrorist attacks so far out of proportion that our response to it has become absurd.

    It is vital that TSA present their statistical risk analysis of the effectiveness of their procedures. I know I keep repeating this point, but without such data the public has no way of knowing whether Pistole and his corrupt partners in crime are just making things up.

    Ballpark figure 500,000,000 people fly per year in the US (this is a very rough estimate, I do not have any official data). If you include international flights that number goes up substantially. For undie and shoe bomber calculations, you need to include international travel, making the risk of a terrorist encounter for any individual flying on any given day exceedingly remote.

    We have been brainwashed by a single successful event and two unsucessful events into thinking terrorists on airplanes are a much much larger risk than they are in fact. I realize it scares the daylights out of people to think their flight might crash, yet flying (without molestation) remains one of the safest activities humans engage in.

    Someone needs to start beating up the TSA hard for some data, before the x-ray vans start patrolling our streets, get deployed at subway stations, train stations, bus terminals, sporting events, etc.

    Of course, now that I think of it… If we cannot scale up the Israeli model (presumably due to cost), then how do they imagine we can scale up the pornoscanner grope-fest throughout our society?

    Everything about our new police state is completely irrational. Clearly, vested interests are making a lot of money on this, nothing else makes sense.

    • dhfsfc says:

      Does the “israeli model” include molesting women and children?

      I didn’t think so.

      Once the airlines feel the pinch, from lost fliers and law suits, this policy will change.

    • ottogrendel says:

      In re “out of proportion”: Optimistically, perhaps scanners and pat downs are a bridge too far that might help collapse the whole airport “security” nonsense, like McCarthy going after the Pentagon?

      Any statistical risk analysis–if TSA even has any–would blow the whole con. It would undermine the essential ingredient necessary for domestic control: the specter of immediate and ever-present danger. Hard data is the last thing folks like Pistole want. It might put them out of a job. They are indeed making it up, as their flawed logic reveals.

      • phred says:

        Absolutely. We have to keep demanding the data. They cannot prove any of this is necessary because the numbers don’t support it.

        I hope this is the straw that breaks the police-state camel’s back. We’ll see…

        • Mason says:

          Absolutely. We have to keep demanding the data. They cannot prove any of this is necessary because the numbers don’t support it.

          TSA has refused to turn over any of their data, especially the results of their Rapiscan tests.

          Why?

          That information is classified, young lady!

        • phred says:

          Yep, and when I get my uncooperative butt hauled into court for being a threat to society and I ask to see their data, I can just picture the government lawyers wetting themselves as they go crying “state secrets!!!” to the judge ; )

        • phred says:

          Woot! At least one of us is free ; )

          Now if we can get Napolitano and Pistole sent packing as well, they can have all the time in the world to hang out and play strip poker with Chilly and Wade. Hmmm, on second thought, perhaps that’s not such a good idea ; )

        • phred says:

          Blazing Saddles is one of the greatest films of all time : )

          The sad thing is the Governor (Mel Brooks) in the film looks like a paragon of competence and virtue compared to the dishonest sex offenders running the country now.

        • PeasantParty says:

          Prolly because it shows the radiation is frying people. Who exactly examines and calibrates those machines to make sure they are not emitting too much radiation? Why does Grandma have to be groped or radiated just to fly one state over for the Holiday?

          How much does it cost the American taxpayer per person to grope or radiate?

  5. Margaret says:

    “Sting” = euphemism for entrapment. What do they do? Find people with Islamic sounding names and then go beg them to be part of “jihad”?

  6. Kassandra says:

    The way I see it is as a training mechanism for the people to give up more and more rights in the name of dubious “safety”.
    The scanners are dangerous, like getting a CAT scan every time one boards a plane. the alternative, to be physically violated, is just obscenity.
    There are many, many ways of finding explosives ( not mail clippers or lighters) than these exercises in degradation of the citizenry.
    Next thing we’ll be funneled into “retraining camps” or worse.

    I’m glad there’s finally some backlash against the police state shaping up around US in the name of “Freedom”.
    If we continue to allow these ever more invasive measures we’ll get nothing but more, more and more.

  7. billybugs says:

    If we keep reacting to threats from al queda in this way , we end up losing our freedoms and the terrorists win.
    I’ll be taking a trip from Mass to Fla. next month and it won’t be by plane. I’d rather drive than submit to this kind of humiliation.

    • ottogrendel says:

      Isn’t that the crazy thing? If the US facilitates the supposed goals of the terrorists by taking away the freedoms that we are led to believe they hate, either the nation’s leadership is hopelessly incompetent or fighting terrorism ain’t the object of the GWOT.

  8. McMia says:

    What absolutely beautiful circular logic.

    Kinda of like crying about being an orphan after murdering your parents.

    Must feed security state, must feed security state…

  10. seaglass says:

    As the networks grow in power and reach and the ability in real time to do in depth analysis of huge masses of data and communication , even movement ( via GPS and RFID tags), so does the desire to become a voyeur and worse. All of our “private spaces” are shrinking so whose surprised that grabbing Our” junk” in a routine plane boarding is now no longer sacred either? This where authoritarian societies go. Is telling a person who they can Love or whether or not they can bear a child or not, or even what substances they can use to alter their consciousness any different?

  12. BoxTurtle says:

    We cannot forget that less than one year ago a suicide bomber with explosives in his underwear

    Unh, John, would you care to state under oath that your backscatter machine would have detected that? Would you care to state under oath that The Grope would have caught that? Would you care to comment under oath about the accuracy of the report that the government issued that states your backscatter machine doesn’t perform as you described when you weren’t under oath? Would you care to comment under oath about your predecessor’s financial connections to the firm that sold you the backscatter machines?

    I didn’t think so.

    Boxturtle (Cowardly idiot. If you just bold face lie to congress face, all you’ll get is a Sternly Worded Letter)

    • eCAHNomics says:

      Oath smoath. What makes you think these guys would hesitate to lie under any & every circumstance. After all, have to protect his investment in the new machines. (I presume, without evidence, that Pistole must have a financial gain to be had. They all do. It just takes awhile to find it.)

      And do you think we should let someone fly whose name is Pistole and he never saw the need to change it because someone might be afraid of a man with a name so close to being a word for a kind of gun?

      After all, we can’t be too safe or too afraid.

  13. lefttown says:

    Ian Welsh makes perfect sense when he writes:

    “To the extent possible the rich have created an entire alternative structure: they don’t fly on the same planes, their kids don’t go to the same schools, they don’t fight in the wars, they have hotels that you will never enter (can you afford 50K a night?) They live in a system parallel to that of ordinary people….The porno-scanners are making important people rich, and those important people fly on private jets.”

    http://www.ianwelsh.net/
    It’s the same with mass transit.

    • eCAHNomics says:

      Ding.

      For the rich, infrastructure spending means getting a new gate for their community.

      It’s the Latin American model.

  14. billybugs says:

    If a potential bomber knows that these machines are in use, will he or she still attempt to board an aircraft with a bomb strapped to is or her body? Doubtful right?
    So the TSA will say, since no bombing have occurred, the machines and the intrusive groping are working and have kept us safer!

    • cbl says:

      lol. the great Tom Robbins tale of the Chicago family born without fingerprints and the coppers knowing ‘zactly where to go when a crime scene yielded none

  15. solerso says:

    SURE! and when pistole (what a fucking name) “retires” from govt “service”, his freinds at rape-o-scan, im sure, will rember to whom his service was rendered. Its the american way!

  16. jedimsnbcko19 says:

    This is a clear case of having a new MORON in the WHITE HOUSE

    John Pistole is being supported by OBAMA.

    The TSA PORNO SCAN is another major failure of OBAMACO.

    Terrorist could always rent planes to run into buildings, so the TSA PORONO scam is not keeping any american safe, it is helping the companies that makes scanners rich.

    Politically crazy crap like this will destroy OBAMA, more and more dems will be force to ignore OBAMA, which will help the progressive base.

    I can see the TEA PARTY commercials now!

    video of Black male TSA officer groping young white female

    or

    video White male TSA officer groping young black female

    (videos like these would hurt Obama on the Left and Right)

    ending with the slogan this is how OBAMA keeps americans safe. (these videos will trigger the main rail that runs thru all of american politics race) How would Mitchell Obama feel about her two daughters being grope by a white man? not good!

    Obama, Axelrod, GIBBS, Plouffe, are making it very easy to destroy OBAMA in 2012.

    Again I repeat Obama should be sued for politcal mal-practice

    At this rate the Democratic leadership will be force to tell Obama not to run in 2012, because you being in the 2012 will enhance the chance of strong liberal winning! (remember in 2012 there probably will be 3 other candidate fighting for conservative vote with OBAMA)

    I never thought the USA would see the day that we call Obama and Bush; Dumb “Bush” and Dumber “Obama” ! WOW

    • eCAHNomics says:

      But at least they won’t hate us anymore. After all, they hated us because we are free. Now that we are no longer free, surely their hate has evaporated.

    • fredamae says:

      Didn’t WE willingly forfeit them, in small increments over the “planned execution” (last three decades) of said policies?

      I believe that WE believed, each time we “lost a little bit” that it was “ok”, we could live with “it” for the betterment of society, Without Looking at the hidden consequence along with the “big picture”?

      Add All of the “willing forfeiture’s of rights” together and voilà! Here we are in 2010.

  18. fredamae says:

    Ok, apparently we have identified a problem. Several times.

    What do we do to correct the “state of the police state” problems?

  19. ackack says:

    The real problem with TSA, as I see it, is that they’re not lying, per se. They actually believe the drivel issuing from their lips.

    How else can you say with a straight face that the balance between privacy and security is, wait for it, NO PRIVACY!

    I, for one, suggest that we all attempt to fly as often as possible, and refuse both GateRape techniques each and every time. I am flying on Dec. 1, or at least hope I am, and there is no way in fucking hell I am going to get x-rayed or groped.

    Time to protest this practice through good old-fashioned civil disobedience.

    Talk is not enough.

      • ackack says:

        If that’s the price, then so be it. We can’t let this happen. If this policy stands, how long before it’s the buses and trains, then schools, stadia, any public square, the extension of the logic of the TSA knows no bounds. They’re most certainly not bound by the Constitution.

        • ottogrendel says:

          Indeed.

          To put it in magical terms, our collective fear has conjured up Pistole and his ilk. He only exists because of our fear. If we could all stop being afraid and believing in his totally illusionary protection, Pistole and the rest would, like all childish, imaginary specters, disappear in a puff of smoke. Control addicts cannot exist without fear.

          It’s a trick. That’s all it is. As long as we are wiling participants in this magic show, we will be plagued with the Pistoles of the world.

    • Kassandra says:

      Getin’ there…finally. I’d bet TPTB are going “OH OH” we moved a bit to fast on this one….didn’t get the “messaging” out there fast enough.
      I guess they thought the element of surprise would keep the sheep quiet. Instead it may well be the last straw.
      Interesting that a sting was set up in order to justify this further invasion of our privacy.
      a must see youtube:
      Population Reduction after economic collapse

  20. alank says:

    If America authorities and jarheads were not so preoccupied with brutal assaults and other equally offensive behaviors towards various countries and regions abroad, the latter might take a more benign view of the country whence they operate. The war on terrorists is cover for shoring up a sinking ship with consequences that make people abroad quite unhappy, there’s no doubt. America needs a strong cup of shut the fuck up.

    • bluevistas says:

      right. I’ve often wondered what civilization in general would have looked like had we learned how to solve problems in non-violent ways more often.

  21. bluevistas says:

    Only 9 years of fear-mongering. Since the only real export the US has anylonger is weapons, Pistole and others want the fear ramped up continuously. Huh. Kinda like Obama’s predecessor. No change.

  22. jedimsnbcko19 says:

    this just in CEO who make Body Scanners went on trip to India with OBAMA.

    follow the money, and you will find your terrorist or corporate elite evil doer.

  23. Mason says:

    Obama has refused to take advantage of three gift-wrapped opportunities handed to him on a golden platter to reinvent himself as a progressive populist and instantly become a national hero.

    The first situation is Foreclosure Gate;

    The second is the Bowles-Simpson Social-Security Gate; and

    The third is the Pistole-Rape Gate.

    What does he do?

    Obama is either the most inept politician in the history of politics or he’s one of its most grandiose sociopathic criminals.

    One thing he isn’t: He’s not an in betweener.

    Paul Krugman nailed it in his there-will-be-blood New York Times Op/Ed today.

    So I ask the following question: How much of the public’s welfare and future is he going to sell out to keep the Republicans from shutting down the government by voting against increasing the government debt limit?

    • jedimsnbcko19 says:

      “So I ask the following question: How much of the public’s welfare and future is he going to sell out to keep the Republicans from shutting down the government by voting against increasing the government debt limit?”

      being that OBAMA is a REPUBLICAN, just plan for the worse

    • Mason says:

      I’m going to propose an answer to my question.

      We now have a golden opportunity to unite the country and, figuratively speaking, slam the government up against the wall via the Pistole Rape-Gate outrage, which cuts across all political views. If we have to shutdown Washington, D.C. to get what we want, we do it and we don’t stop after we win. We move on to Forfeiture Gate and Bowles-Simpson Social Security Gate.

      Massive. Civil. Unrest.

      With millions of people in the streets.

      And then we demand JOBS and we don’t give up until we get what we want.

      • ackack says:

        You are absolutely correct.

        Time for talking is over. Clearly, the only Hope of anything Changing is through civil demonstration.

        Our political system is broken, and I’m just not buying it any more.

        President Obama has proven the corruption.

      • Mason says:

        We can’t pass up this opportunity. This is our shot and if we don’t seize it, Obama and the Republicans will destroy social security, Medicare, Medicaid, SSI disability compensation, public education, food stamps, and whatever else remains of the safety net as a condition of passing a bill that increases the government debt limit.

        The alternative is to lose everything and I mean everything, sooner or later. There is no middle ground.

        We have the numbers to get what we want, but we have to get out into the streets in massive numbers to make it happen.

        Massive. Civil. Disobedience.

        Shut-down. Washington, D.C.

        • fatster says:

          You’d think with the army of unemployed they’ve created, added to all the other Constitution-contrary tactics they’re using and that people are picking up on, that would be feasible. Unfortunately, they have and are continuing to beat people down.

      • dosido says:

        There was a very interesting post either here, or C&L (sorry) about a European dude who used to rally street protests back in the day when that did get attention. He now advises a more sophisticated approach (the story was in re banks).

        To quote “Trading Places”: the way you hurt rich people is to take their money away.

        So he was advising withdrawing all accounts from national banks.

        I would advise protesting the businesses who stand to lose the most: the airlines, the tourism industry, etc. The shipping industry fought the screening of cargo, so maybe the tourism/travel industry will step up.

        • Mason says:

          With all due respect, I believe something more immediate, unexpected, and visible.

          Millions of loud people in the streets with large visible signs shutting down the capitol like back in 60s while the money thing you recommend takes place in the background.

          I mean, really, this is BULLSHIT!

          It’s time to end it NOW before we lose everything that we haven’t lost already.

    • bmaz says:

      The first may actually have been the nature of the bank bailout and not taking down the structure that led to where we were, and putting restrictions and clamps on them like he did with the auto industry. That would have had great populism feel.

  24. ottogrendel says:

    “While the public was never in danger . . .” says Pistole. These are my favorite kind of comments from control addicts. They mean that we are to believe that government security is totally competent and trustworthy, but at the same time we are all to remain scared shitless of impending death at the hands of boogeymen so that the control addicts can go on protecting us. God will not allow a hair on your head to be harmed, but the Devil is lurking everywhere. If the former is true . . . ?

    This psychological game is a continuation of the fear mongering of nuclear attack and bomb shelters of the Cold War. The idea was that folks should be constantly scared of “nucular combat toe to toe with the Russkies” for purposes of domestic control and maintaining support for the Cold War. However, too much fear might produce immobilizing paranoia. Folks couldn’t be so scared that they stopped going about their daily business—or go shopping, as George W. might insist. The psychological function of bomb shelters was to mitigate against the constant fear by offering safety (in reality only the semblance of such, of course) under the protective guidance of a competent government. See Bernard Brodie’s work on this subject.

    Well, if something works, why quit doing it just because the rationale disappears. Find a new satan. Control addicts need them in order to exercise control.

    But the question for the rest of us is, are we ever going to get tired of being scared shitless?

  25. bear says:

    … so these guys I am sure we can all agree are “there” to protect us .. not sure we all agree that translates into having authority over us as well…
    moving from the world of authority (Military or Federal Law Enforcement) and keeping that world view in dealing with “Civilians” seems to be a shift in gears these guys are incapable of making. In the Military and Law Enforcement the idea of individual rights in non-existent as a condition of employment these folks are subjected to background checks that are invasive with regards to privacy … wondering if they have given up their rights so easily without a second thought so often they think the rest of us should do the same

  26. PeasantParty says:

    GOPterror! It means more money in their pockets from the government teat. Seriously, they have to keep coming up with new and more ways to milk our tax dollars. They are now a huge part of the MIC and will do anything to keep scarfing down money behind the idea of security.

    OT:

    I’m so sick of nooze about Palin and her daughter dancing. Let’s all vote tonight so that silly nodance child gets off the stage and National nooze.

  27. donbacon says:

    Professor Juan Cole:

    In all the furor about the new TSA scanners and pat-downs at airports, what surprises me is that there is very little discussion of what exactly the inspectors are now looking for and why they are shifting tactics.

    The inspectors are looking for forms of PETN, or pentaerythritol tetranitrate, which is from the same family of explosives as nitroglycerin and which is used to make plastic explosives such as Semtex.

    The problem with PETN is that it cannot be detected by sniffing dogs or by ordinary scanners. But if you had a pouch of it on your person, the new scanners could see the pouch, and likewise a thorough pat-down would lead to its discovery.

    The question is really what level of risk Americans are willing to live with. On the one hand, studies suggest that the crotch bomber could not really have brought down the airliner over Detroit last year, even if he had been able to detonate his payload. And, 500 million Europeans decline to take off their shoes when they travel by air, but there haven’t been any successful shoe bombings over there, nevertheless.

    http://www.juancole.com/

    • dosido says:

      Well, isn’t that special?

      Groping and violating 100s of thousands of law abiding citizens while they leave the back cargo door open still doesn’t make a lot of sense to me.

      • Gitcheegumee says:

        Thank you for that astute observation.

        Perhaps the flying public should demand proof that the cargo has been thoroughly screened on their intended flight BEFORE they submit to gate rape.

        What’s next, mandatory DNA swabs before the groping…or,perhaps, after?

  28. duncan says:

    We need to have National Shove a Container of Silly Putty Up Your Ass Day. Enough that, if it were C4, it would take down and airliner. If even 100 people staged such a demonstration, getting by airport security, it would be big news.

    But how would you do this and not get slapped with felony charges?

  29. duncan says:

    BTW, what do people think of Boxer’s idea of a “Trusted Traveler” program.

    We could require that everyone who is not approved in this program sew an identifying patch onto their clothing. That way the trusted Volk could breeze right through and only the undesirables would fact intense scrutiny.

      • duncan says:

        It’s amazing, isn’t it? This suggestion is so obviously wrong, insidious and evil. Yet, if CBS did a poll I’m sure there would be widespread support for Boxer’s idea.

        People don’t get history. The purpose of those star of David patches wasn’t just to humiliate the Jews, it was to remind everyone on the street what happens when you get on the wrong side of the state. It was the presence of state power in your face every day, served up on a level that everyone could relate to.

        Like being groped in the airport or x-rayed everytime you fly. But these obvious points are lost on people.

        • duncan says:

          In the past, Americans have been fine with all sorts of humiliations and abuses, so long as they were meted out on “others”.

          This thing with the TSA is a real test of how dumb and controlled they are. Since it’s not just happening to others, but to them. And this isn’t some anaconda-like squeezing over time of civil rights, like what’s happened to the 4th amendment. Having your genitals touched by uniformed thugs on a regular basis is a new thing for most people.

  30. fatster says:

    ABC producer says TSA agent felt inside her underwear

    ” . . . basically worse than going to the gynecologist.”‘

    LINK.

    TSA responds to pat down of shirtless boy

    LINK.

  31. lefttown says:

    I do think Obama and his wife and children should show the citizens how important it is to “our security” by doing a demo grope and scan in front of cameras. The president should act like a leader in this instance.

  32. mocha says:

    I think if some men started going through in kilts with no underwear, and women in skirts with no underwear, then refusing the scanner and taking the grope, the complaing from the TSA agents to their management would be swift. They would be howling to Pistole and Napolitano to do something, they are tired of having to touch privates all day. Of course what might happen is they’d issue guidelines on if you don’t wear underwear, you’ll be detained or something.

  34. manys says:

    …arrested a Pakistan-born naturalized U.S. citizen for attempting to assist others whom he believed to be members of al Qaida in planning multiple bombings at Metrorail stations…

    Maybe this technique can be used in protesting TSA searches. I’m sure there are at least a few TSOs who would go way too far in their groping if given the right encouragement. Just have a confederate with a camera.

  35. wagthedog says:

    Pure greed and wild speculation didn’t work on Wall St and it won’t work out for Homeland Security.

    Follow the money it all leads to lobbyists Michael Chertoff and Tom Ridge.

  37. juliania says:

    Talk about a government orchestrated scenario for mass protest. This Thanksgiving just might be one to remember. Nuns? Children? Folks in wheelchairs?

    Peace and courage to you all. Take as your heroes the monks who marched in Burma. They have stayed my heroes, and they made a huge difference there, at great cost.

    There can be no greater proof of incitement to legitimate protest than an assault upon one’s own person. If I felt compelled to fly (and I do not, fortunately) I would not bend to this invasion of privacy no matter the consequences.

    I know, easy for me to say. But if the government insists upon this the whole lot of them ought to be impeached.

  39. Gitcheegumee says:

    Does anyone know if these scans are stored,or transmitted elsewhere,for storage-or,for future reference?

    • Mason says:

      TSA says that’s not possible, but there is reason to believe that’s a lie. The U.S. Marshals in some city in Florida, maybe Gainesville, got busted for saving and sharing images from the Rapiscan machines.

      The U.S. Marshal Service is in charge of federal courthouse security.

      I don’t have a link, but I remember reading a story about it late last week.

        • Gitcheegumee says:

          fatster,what a knockout link!

          I had no idea….I was merely ruminating the possibility…

          That link is a MUST read ,imho.

          Many thanks for all you do.

        • Gitcheegumee says:

          Theseparargraphs were of particular interest to me, as well as the fact that the linked article from which it is excerpted is dated August,2010.

          The Electronic Privacy Information Center, a Washington, D.C.-based advocacy group, has filed a lawsuit asking a federal judge to grant an immediate injunction pulling the plug on TSA’s body scanning program. In a separate lawsuit, EPIC obtained a letter (PDF) from the Marshals Service, part of the Justice Department, and released it on Tuesday afternoon.

          These “devices are designed and deployed in a way that allows the images to be routinely stored and recorded, which is exactly what the Marshals Service is doing,” EPIC executive director Marc Rotenberg told CNET. “We think it’s significant.”William Bordley, an associate general counsel with the Marshals Service, acknowledged in the letter that “approximately 35,314 images…have been stored on the Brijot Gen2 machine” used in the Orlando, Fla. federal courthouse. In addition, Bordley wrote, a Millivision machine was tested in the Washington, D.C. federal courthouse but it was sent back to the manufacturer, which now apparently possesses the image database.The Gen 2 machine, manufactured by Brijot of Lake Mary, Fla., uses a millimeter wave radiometer and accompanying video camera to store up to 40,000 images and records. Brijot boasts that it can even be operated remotely: “The Gen 2 detection engine capability eliminates the need for constant user observation and local operation for effective monitoring. Using our APIs, instantly connect to your units from a remote location via the Brijot Client interface.”

          Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-31921_3-20012583-281.html#ixzz162MpXNab

        • dosido says:

          Yep, it’s been linked to in several posts even if it isn’t the lead point of the article. Just saying as a reminder to myself to click through links for more info. :) And to addresss your concern about publicizing this fact.

  41. Lasttoy says:

    FLY NAKED.. or almost.. go buy a WARM UP SUIT.. put on the least you are comfortable with others seeing you in.. DECLINE the Xray.. take the PAT DOWN . the rip off your warm up suit.. REVEAL you only have on a swim suit. In less than 3 minutes you are thru the airport security. This will work. men should take a tank top.. cut off the bottom half.. put on the smallest bathing suit you can find. or gym shorts.. pull off shoes.. You are thru the line in less than 3 minutes. STOP dressing for the ball, wear as little as possible.. some on folks, look at tv. everyone has on TOO MANY clothes.
    FLY NAKED.. or almost..

  42. Mason says:

    Actually, it may be necessary to store the images for litigation purposes. If, for example, two or more TSA agents were to not find anything after forcibly subjecting a non-cooperative passenger to a genital search, or possibly a body cavity search allegedly because of something spotted by the agent monitoring the porno scanner, and the passenger sues the agents and TSA for false arrest, unlawful imprisonment, assault/battery, and intentional infliction of emotional distress, the porno scanner image would be necessary critical evidence to support the plaintiff’s or defendant’s case, depending on what it shows.

    The same might be true in a criminal case, if a search discovers contraband based on what the agent monitoring the porno scanner claimed to have seen. The legal issue in that situation might be whether what the agent saw constituted probable cause to arrest and search the passenger.

    In both situations, the image constitutes material evidence that the government has an obligation to preserve for the same reason that it preserves 911 calls and in-car police cruiser videos.

    • Gitcheegumee says:

      I was thinking somewhat the same thing….which is WHY I ruminated on the possibility of storageinvolving the images emitted by the original scan.

      After all, the whole purpose of x-rays is to take a picture for future reference,isn’t it?

      However, until fatster’s linked article ,I was unanaware that this was a reality-one that has gotten little play in this debate,imho.

      I don’t know if these will link, but they are worth a look,imho:

      Rapiscan To Market Brijot’s Stand-Off Millimeter Wave Body Scanner …Oct 31, 2007 … Rapiscan To Market Brijot’s Stand-Off Millimeter Wave Body Scanner.(Rapiscan Systems’ agreement with Brijot Imaging Systems ) … find …

      http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-171791285.html – Cached – Similar(Seven year contract,starting in ’07)

      Airport body

      scanners | Karachi City | Pakistan Flood | Flood News …Nov 16, 2010 … Guerrero, vice president of operations for Florida-based Brijot Imaging Systems, Inc., was showcasing a new full-body scanner to lawmakers …

      karachicity.org/downloads/articles/airport-body-scanners/ – Cached

      • Gitcheegumee says:

        Now ain’t THIS just synchronicity squared?

        Source: USA Today

        WASHINGTON — The companies with multimillion-dollar contracts to supply American airports with body-scanning machines more than doubled their spending on lobbying in the last five years and hired several high-profile former government officials to advance their causes in Washington, records show.

        L-3 Communications, which has sold $39.7 million worth of the machines to the federal government, spent $4.3 million to influence Congress and federal agencies during the first nine months of this year, up from $2.1 million in 2005, lobbying data compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics show. Last year, the company spent $5.5 million on lobbying.

        Its lobbyists include Linda Daschle, a prominent Democratic figure in Washington, who is a former Federal Aviation Administration official.

        Rapiscan Systems, meanwhile, has spent $271,500 on lobbying so far this year, compared with $80,000 five years earlier. It has faced criticism for hiring Michael Chertoff, the Homeland Security secretary, who has been a prominent proponent of using scanners to foil terrorism. Officials with Chertoff’s firm and Rapiscan say Chertoff was not paid to promote scanner technology. It spent $440,000 on lobbying in 2009.

        The government has spent $41.2 million so far on Rapiscan’s machines.

        Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2010-11-22-scan…

    • Gitcheegumee says:

      BTW,I was under the archaic impression that the interrogation tapes were required to be preserved,also. s/

    • bmaz says:

      Not sure how it fits in, but it is my understanding that there is some “maintenance function” where the images are also kept for calibration and authentication purposes. Don’t know if that is true or, if so, to what extent; but it would be consistent with many devices I have encountered.

    • fatster says:

      You found the specific Federal Register detailing the rules, etc., about this mess, Mason. Did the fedreg 1) discuss the policies and procedures involved in storing the images and 2) did it contain info about background checks, etc., for the employees in the airports and what their duties are regarding those images? Many thanks.

      • Mason says:

        Link to the TSA Security Regulations.

        Then click on: “Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Chapter XII, parts 1500 through 1699.”

        OR try this link.

        Voila! You have arrived at the web page for Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), sections 1500 through 1699. Titles of the various sections describe what the section is about. Click on the section number to read the section.

        I haven’t checked on the answers to your questions yet but I don’t recall reading anything that answers your excellent questions when I was researching the civil penalty and what constitutes interference.

        btw, in case you didn’t know, the CFR contains all of executive department agency regulations. They are promulgated by the agencies themselves to carry out congressional intent in the bills passed by Congress and signed into law by the President.

        The CFR numbering system tracks the statutory numbering system in the United States Code, so you could look up Title 49 in the U.S.C. Sections 1500 through 1699 to see the statutes passed by Congress from which TSA promulgated the regs to give effect to the statutes.

        Agency regulations have birthed an area of law called Administrative Law and there quite a few lawyers who specialize in that area representing clients with matters pending before the agency. They have their own judges and appellate judges mirroring what courts do.

        Sorry, if you already knew this. I’ll take off my law professor hat now and put my citizen hat back on. *G*

        • fatster says:

          Many, many thanks, Mason. In my former life, I was deeply involved in health care in the public sector, so I am–or was–quite familiar with fedregs, at least in that broad area. Nonetheless, your refresher was most welcomed since it has been a few years now. If I find anything that I think might interest you, I’ll be sure to let you know.

          Again, many thanks.

        • Mason says:

          You’re welcome.

          In addition to Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure, I also taught Legal Research and Writing I and II. Although not particularly relevant, I’m going to shamelessly self promote anyway and say I also taught Wrongful Convictions, Torts, and Trial Advocacy. Did a lot of death penalty work while I was practicing law and co-founded an innocence project at the University of Washington School of Law in Seattle. My specialty area of practice was forensics, particularly DNA testing. After I stopped practicing law, I taught at the University of Idaho College of Law in Moscow, ID and the Barkley School of Law in Paducah, KY.

          Yeah, I saw that section of the regs you mentioned, but nothing about the scanners, except they’re supposed to maintain and check them periodically. The regs didn’t even identify the scanners.

        • fatster says:

          Did a bit of work on the machines, but need to go back for more, which I’ll do later today. Here’s one source pertaining to safety, etc: http://www.tsa.gov/approach/tech/ait/index.shtm
          “In March 2010, TSA began deploying 450 advanced imaging technology units, which were purchased with American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds.

          “Advanced imaging technology screening is safe for all passengers, and the technology meets national health and safety standards. Learn more about the safety of AIT here.

          “TSA has implemented strict measures to protect passenger privacy, which is ensured through the anonymity of the image. Additionally, advanced imaging technology screening is optional to all passengers. Learn more about the privacy measures TSA has taken here.”

          (Did you see Rush Holt’s announcement about a scientific study of the machines and the dangers they seem to pose? I think I linked to it here. Will check once I’m through with this.)

          Here’s a source for their safety claims: http://www.tsa.gov/approach/tech/ait/safety.shtm

          “Backscatter technology was evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH), the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST), and the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL).

          “All results confirmed that the radiation doses for the individuals being screened, operators, and bystanders were well below the dose limits specified by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).”

          Now, here’s the one which gets into privacy: http://www.tsa.gov/approach/tech/ait/privacy.shtm

          “To that end, the officer who assists the passenger never sees the image the technology produces. The officer who views the image is remotely located in a secure resolution room and never sees the passenger.

          “The two officers communicate via wireless headset. Once the remotely located officer determines threat items are not present, that officer communicates wirelessly to the officer assisting the passenger. The passenger may then continue through the security process.

          “Advanced imaging technology cannot store, print, transmit or save the image, and the image is automatically deleted from the system after it is cleared by the remotely located security officer. ”

          “Officers evaluating images are not permitted to take cameras, cell phones or photo-enabled devices into the resolution room.

          “To further protect passenger privacy, millimeter wave technology blurs all facial features and backscatter technology has an algorithm applied to the entire image.”

          Which is not quite the entire truth: http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/privacy/privacy_pia_tsa_wbiupdate.pdf

          “While the equipment has the capability of collecting and storing an image, the image storage functions will be disabled by the manufacturer before the devices are placed in an airport and will not have the capability to be activated by operators.”

          And then there’s this rather peculiar passage: http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/privacy/privacy_pia_tsa_wbiupdate.pdf

          The images will not be used in any other context inside DHS and will not be shared outside of the Department.
          [They aren’t going to collect them or store them, but they aren’t going to share them either.]

          The above pertains to their pilot program. I’ll try today to find the docs pertaining to the actual program. I did think this statement was interesting, however, and I suspect being able to view the contracts and other interesting stuff will be accompanied by a similar statement.

          “Due the sensitivity of the technical and operational details, the SOP will not be publicized, however, TSOs receive extensive training prior to operating WBI technology.”

          Nothing major (and I doubt that’ll be available), but at least the above will allow for footnoting, if you are so inclined.

          In the interim, you might find these of interest:

          Here’s the sippy cup incident, BTW
          http://www.tsa.gov/assets/pdf/dca_incident_061107.pdf

          And here’s a very interesting entry on “The TSA Blog”
          TSA Response to “Feds admit storing checkpoint body scan images”
          http://blog.tsa.gov/2010/08/tsa-response-to-feds-admit-storing.html

          You have carried some major loads on behalf of all of us, Mason. My hat’s off to you.

          More later.

        • Mason says:

          Impressive discoveries. Excellent work.

          You’ve probably read the story about the US Marshal’s Service saving thousands of images, so we know that’s possible, and my comment @118 explains some legal reasons why TSA should save the images.

        • fatster says:

          Answer to one question:

          http://jobs.faa.gov/SecurityScreeningRequirements.htm
          U.S. Department of Transportation
Transportation Security Administration (TSA)
Screener Employment Eligibility Requirements
December 19, 2001
          Pass a background and security investigation, including a criminal records check, in accordance with Federal law and standards established by the TSA.

        • fatster says:

          That’s part of the employment process, though. I’ll see if there is any routine updating of criminal records checking.

    • Gitcheegumee says:

      Well, not to put too fine a point on it, but God forbid, something tragic would happen on a flight, would not anybackground ,or visual screening info on passengers or cargo ,necessarily be reviewed?