Does TSA tell the truth?
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Trapper John
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"I wrote a blog post about a guy on a gaming website talking about what TSA does."
John Baker
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John Baker
That is the biggest problem with having a mega government. No matter how sincere they may be about protecting our privacy, it can not possibly happen 100% of the time.
Government is nothing more than around seventeen million people doing busy work on our behalf. With that many people, no matter what safeguards they say they employ, it is impossible to protect our privacy 100% of the time.
None of the information we furnish them about ourselves, including full body scans and tax information, is secure from prying eyes or opportunists among government ranks.
The TSA has a history of being unable to do background checks on the type of people they hire. Their employees have countless times been caught stealing items from luggage and engaging in numerous questionable activities and actions. Do you think any celebrity feels secure giving the government personal information, or having full body scans?
There are just way too many people, screw ups have to happen. Nothing can possibly be completely secure in the hands of government.
John
Government is nothing more than around seventeen million people doing busy work on our behalf. With that many people, no matter what safeguards they say they employ, it is impossible to protect our privacy 100% of the time.
None of the information we furnish them about ourselves, including full body scans and tax information, is secure from prying eyes or opportunists among government ranks.
The TSA has a history of being unable to do background checks on the type of people they hire. Their employees have countless times been caught stealing items from luggage and engaging in numerous questionable activities and actions. Do you think any celebrity feels secure giving the government personal information, or having full body scans?
There are just way too many people, screw ups have to happen. Nothing can possibly be completely secure in the hands of government.
John
nddons
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Well, OK, maybe not about saving images, but at least I'm SURE they're truthful when they say that these machines have NO increase in cancer risk from the radiation. 
sba55
En-Route
Hahaha.
Hm how surprising!!
Hm how surprising!!
Harumph, harumph, hmmmmm... Thank you for allowing us the opportunity to comment, Senator, but as with the previous reports, due the reasons of national security, the TSA and DHS cannot discuss the details of our investigation but I will assure the public that those responsible will ferreted out and will promptly be promoted to management.
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RJM62
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Geek on the Hill
That must be a rhetorical question. I've yet to come across an essentially unaccountable, self-regulating, self-investigating government agency that tells the truth. This isn't necessarily to say that they lie, but they tend to be masters of omission.
The article, for example, suggests a fine semantic possibility. Perhaps it is technically true that the scanner itself can't store images. But that doesn't necessarily mean that an attached USB or network device can't store images. That would be a separate device (at least physically), and therefore not technically part of the scanner. This sort of doublespeak wouldn't surprise me in the least.
-Rich
The article, for example, suggests a fine semantic possibility. Perhaps it is technically true that the scanner itself can't store images. But that doesn't necessarily mean that an attached USB or network device can't store images. That would be a separate device (at least physically), and therefore not technically part of the scanner. This sort of doublespeak wouldn't surprise me in the least.
-Rich
denverpilot
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The GAO comes close.
ebacon
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Bounces Three Times
Of course the machines can and do store images. That's common sense. The images are preserved in the event of litigation. I don't have first hand knowledge, but it's common sense.
Like RJM said the TSA is using omission and double speak. As a matter of course the machines don't save images. But let a PAX get surly or have an anomoly show up in an image and then see whether or not the image shows up in litigation. I would bet it does.
The TSA will just say that they had to make an exception due to extraordinary circumstances or some other canned blibber-blabber.
Like RJM said the TSA is using omission and double speak. As a matter of course the machines don't save images. But let a PAX get surly or have an anomoly show up in an image and then see whether or not the image shows up in litigation. I would bet it does.
The TSA will just say that they had to make an exception due to extraordinary circumstances or some other canned blibber-blabber.
sba55
En-Route
Possible, yes, but keep in mind that TSA's own specifications for those machines specifically require the ability to store images. The TSA has just always claimed that this functionality is disabled for deployed machines.
The govt did testify in court in EPIC v. DHS that the scanners can and do not store images. Hmmmm.....
Maxmosbey
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I need to get serious.
Just to set the record straight, the TSA is in and of itself an agency. It is impossible for the "TSA" to lie. The TSA can not even talk. The TSA can't read, the TSA can't walk. The TSA can't really do anything. It is the people in the TSA. So I find any statement such as this directed toward the agency not a question at all. The question is, do people who work in the TSA lie? I'm sure some of them do. If I were asking this question it would be to ask if there is a policy within the TSA that their employees should tell lies?
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Bob Noel
As a practical matter, of course the organization called TSA can lie. After all, what is an official statement?
ebacon
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Bounces Three Times
An official statement is like a banana peel. It is of the same ilk as the fruit inside and somewhat protects it.
I don't agree with that. When the Agency releases a statement that is false, the agency is lying as are the agents who have conspired to lie as well as their bosses and bosses bosses.
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wsuffa
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/redacted to avoid clearly sending this into Spin Zone./
Who wants to bet that the image-storing feature is "disabled" until a certain button is pressed?
Richard
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Ack...city life
I think they found that button and it's located on most travelers.
Anybody seen a "Rapid Scan" (what a joke the Rapid part is, plus you'd still get wanded anyway...) aka "Nude-o-scope" in action in the last two weeks? I've done a bunch of commercial flying in the last few weeks, and I haven't seen one in use(including ATL, JFK, FLL, MIA & PHI as well as around the world), just sitting there turned off with stuff stacked inside of them.
I had my one and only experience with one about a month ago passing through Minn St Paul, I was polite, didn't make any waves,' yeah, I know, hard to believe,' TSA told me to get scanned, stood with my hands over my head,, yada,yada,yada. Stepped out of the machine and got a secondary screening with their wand... Guy mentioned something about my ankle showed a "issue" .I took off my sock and showed them bare skin, and I know for a fact I don't have any medical metal anywhere... He then said I was good to go.... They were polite, professional and pretty efficient. I would really like to know what triggered that false hit though.
B.
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wsuffa
Touchdown! Greaser!
I have. The RapeScans were in use at IAD, DCA, DFW, LAX,and JFK within the last 10 days......