TSA Insists That There's Been No Delay In Public Hearings Over Nudie Scanners; It Just Hasn't Held Them
from the got-that dept
A few weeks back, we noted that a court had ordered the TSA to explain why it had failed to obey the court's earlier order that, while the nudie scanners being used in airports were legal, the TSA was required to hold public hearings on the purchase and use of the machines. Yet no such hearings have happened. The TSA has now responded and essentially said that since there's no deadline on when the court told them to hold a hearing, there's no problem. Basically "we can hold a hearing whenever we get around to it."It also blames the fact that there had been "significant personnel losses" in the group of folks responsible for obeying the order, but insisted that everyone else in that group was really (really!) focused on obeying the order, and they'd get around to it at some point. Really. They promise.
Petitioner offers no basis whatsoever for its assertion that TSA has delayed in implementing this Court’s mandate. On the contrary, as the Sammon Declaration demonstrates, TSA has been keenly aware of the importance of implementing the Court’s directive, and has given high priority to the AIT rulemaking. Despite “significant personnel losses” in the group of economists within TSA charged with completing the regulatory analysis... the agency began on the heels of the Court’s ruling the process of preparing the documents necessary for notice-andcomment rulemaking, and has devoted almost all of the staff available to conduct the required economic analysis to its expedited completion, even going so far as to hire contract consultants to accelerate its completion despite unforeseen personnel lossesLater, it claims:
In sum, there has been no "waiting" and no "delay."Other than the fact that we're still waiting, you mean?
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Filed Under: delay, public hearings, scanners, tsa
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It's like being court ordered to hold a meeting and you need 3 people from the TSA to hold that meeting but that you only assign 3 people for the hearing and those 3 people no longer work at the TSA?
WOW!
That's not the fault of the court, that's due to mismanagement on the part of the TSA to delay holding the hearings as long as possible. Unfortunately, I don't think the court is going to side with the TSA. It doesn't take over a year to schedule a hearing on the issue of the scanners.
You get out your calendar and you set a hearing date. That's all there is to it and you get those employees to set the time aside for it. You also have a plan to substitute other TSA staff in case something unforseen arises.
It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure this out.
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doh
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It's the radiation that bothers me
Some scanners utilize ionizing radiation (which can cause cancer in sufficient doses) and others don't.
As for the "nudie" aspect ... I don't care. Avoiding cancer is worth far more than hiding my genitalia.
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Re: It's the radiation that bothers me
The radiation exposure issue brings a whole new meaning to the phrase "significant personnel losses".
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Re: It's the radiation that bothers me
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Re: It's the radiation that bothers me
With no hearings for people to express their concerns, this is the only method left for us to object.
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If the judge disagrees, we will just give him a good once over on his next vacation.
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In sum, there has been no "waiting" and no "delay."
Other than the fact that we're still waiting, you mean?
Somehow I think they are still waiting for some high and mighty organization, like the RIAA, to get back to them with the info they need. I mean just like how the RIAA came through in the Dajaz1.com case for the government... oh, wait, never mind.
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In any case, arguing that because something is legal it should not be objected to is, simply, ridiculous.
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I opt out every single time I fly (which is several times a month).
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Prosecute Pistole
The Europeans don�t allow the backscatter scanners to be used on children because the image is so graphic it violates child pornography laws. These pose a cancer risk and still produce a naked image which Denver TSA area director Pat Ahlstrom, admitted "were graphic, no doubt about it.".
The backscatter scanners have not been tested for radiation exposure despite testimony by radiologists that these pose a risk. These lack privacy software and a screener is viewing the nude image of every passenger who passes through in violation of multiple State and federal laws.
The government also said that Agent Orange was safe and we all know how that ended up. If TSA won't allow testing and install privacy software they should not be allowed them to use them.
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Re: Prosecute Pistole
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Grow up TSA officials
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...we're still waiting...
Whether you're still waiting is your personal decision they basically don't give a s$%t about ;-)
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They just don't know about the hearings
Or maybe "I choose to opt-out" if you don't like getting weird looks.
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