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LA Times:TSA ends contract with Rapiscan, maker of full-body scanners

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LA Times:TSA ends contract with Rapiscan, maker of full-body scanners

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Old Jan 18, 2013, 8:45 am
  #16  
 
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Originally Posted by RadioGirl
Ideally here:
Looks suspiciously like Warehouse 13. , or where they keep the single spaced typed list of J Edgar Hoover's enemies.
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Old Jan 18, 2013, 10:05 am
  #17  
 
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Originally Posted by jkhuggins
I would note that the statements above regarding allegedly "naked images" were made by the LA Times writer, not TSA itself. My guess is that TSA used its usual verbal judo to avoid saying the words "naked image", and the writer paraphrased into that form.

In short ... TSA still has plausible deniability on that issue.
In a detail provided by a similar story in Bloomberg we have:

TSA will end a $5 million contract with OSI’s Rapiscan unit for the software after Administrator John Pistole concluded the company couldn’t meet a congressional deadline to produce generic passenger images, agency officials said in interviews.
Congress has access to the actual images. They know. They insisted on the changes. The denials of TSA, if there still are any on this topic, are no more plausible than the assertions of innocence from a convicted criminal who was caught in the act.

The benefit of this whole farce is that it will not be politically possible, IMO, for a generation if not longer, to use machines of similar or even better technology on the public. The electronic strip search idea just won't fly. Since the think tanks studying this issue for the FAA knew the likely response of the American public as far back as the 1990's, it is unforgivable for TSA to have pulled this stunt in the face of every indication that it was not acceptable to the people. They tried to ram it down our throats by force because of the power they had.
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Old Jan 18, 2013, 10:31 am
  #18  
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Originally Posted by nachtnebel

The benefit of this whole farce is that it will not be politically possible, IMO, for a generation if not longer, to use machines of similar or even better technology on the public. The electronic strip search idea just won't fly. Since the think tanks studying this issue for the FAA knew the likely response of the American public as far back as the 1990's, it is unforgivable for TSA to have pulled this stunt in the face of every indication that it was not acceptable to the people. They tried to ram it down our throats by force because of the power they had.
Are the x-ray machines not being replaced by MMW ones? Those are similar technology, assumed to be better by the DHS (since they're the surviving technology). Do they not also produce a naked image, just using the Gumby plug-in? IIRC, the naked image from the MMW came first, the plug-in some time later.
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Old Jan 18, 2013, 11:20 am
  #19  
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Originally Posted by tkey75
Are the x-ray machines not being replaced by MMW ones? Those are similar technology, assumed to be better by the DHS (since they're the surviving technology). Do they not also produce a naked image, just using the Gumby plug-in? IIRC, the naked image from the MMW came first, the plug-in some time later.
The Rapiscan Backscatter Whole Body Imagers are being replaced with Whole Body Imagers from two companies, one of which makes Backscatter Whole Body Imagers.

Any belief that TSA is not going to X-Ray the public before proving the safety of these devices is not well founded.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-0...-airports.html


TSA has contracted with L-3, Smiths Group Plc (SMIN) and American Science & Engineering Inc. (ASEI) for new body-image scanners, all of which must have privacy software. L-3 and Smiths used millimeter-wave technology. American Science uses backscatter.
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Old Jan 18, 2013, 11:51 am
  #20  
 
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What is the effective date of this change? Will travelers just have to go through metal detectors now or will they keep the existing machines in operation until replaced by the newer versions?
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Old Jan 18, 2013, 12:13 pm
  #21  
 
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The effective date or rather deadline is June 2013.

It really sucks that TSA is sticking with backscatter. Even with replacing 60 backscatter with MMW, that still leaves over 100 backscatter through out the country.

Someone needs to start a whitehouse petition to have all backscatter tech removed from use in the United States.
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Old Jan 18, 2013, 12:39 pm
  #22  
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Exclamation TSA to remove X Ray scanners by June

Breaking news on Fox.com. This refers to removing the Body Scanners. I will return and add link to the story once it is online.


Link to story: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013...port-scanners/

Last edited by mkr; Jan 18, 2013 at 1:39 pm Reason: clarify
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Old Jan 18, 2013, 12:45 pm
  #23  
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Travel Safety?

Last edited by aacharya; Jan 18, 2013 at 1:21 pm
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Old Jan 18, 2013, 12:50 pm
  #24  
 
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removing backscatter X-ray machines, but the TSA will still use its millimeter wave scanners
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Old Jan 18, 2013, 1:06 pm
  #25  
 
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Originally Posted by richarddd
What is the effective date of this change? Will travelers just have to go through metal detectors now or will they keep the existing machines in operation until replaced by the newer versions?
The bigger question for me is that once this is done, will TSA make a new push that the remaining MMW scanners are "safe" (no x-ray) and "privacy friendly" (no peep-show-room and allegedly no nude images produced) and at the same time try to make opting out of the MMW more difficult and painful.

IMO even in the absence of safety concerns, TSA has no business using this sort of technology as primary screening on anyone unless the passenger volunteers (e.g., someone with a metal implant who prefers the body scanner to the WTMD might appreciate the option).
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Old Jan 18, 2013, 1:07 pm
  #26  
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I'll be pleased to not have to stand next to a Chertoff Imager when I opt-out.. Still won't change the fact that I won't go through a NoS.
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Old Jan 18, 2013, 1:10 pm
  #27  
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It could be worse. Tomorrow I'm planning to fly somewhere. If I get sent to the scanner and opt out, I can kiss my journey goodbye.
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Old Jan 18, 2013, 1:37 pm
  #28  
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Originally Posted by stifle
It could be worse. Tomorrow I'm planning to fly somewhere. If I get sent to the scanner and opt out, I can kiss my journey goodbye.


Force TSA to feel your up. Make their job as difficult as possible.
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Old Jan 18, 2013, 1:40 pm
  #29  
 
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I am happy to see the x-ray NoS junked. Privacy issue is bad enough, but the health issue is an even bigger concern to me.
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Old Jan 18, 2013, 1:58 pm
  #30  
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