Naked Scanner Maker Accused Of Manipulating Tests To Make Scans Look Less Invasive
from the well-that-was-useful dept
We'd heard a number of reports about how the TSA was already either retrofitting the various naked scanners or moving on to less privacy invasive versions, but there were two interesting points to come out some Congressional hearings on the devices yesterday. First, apparently there is some concern that the makers of the Rapiscan machine (and, yes, it still amazes me that anyone thought that was a good name), OSI Systems, may have "manipulated" tests in order to claim that the machines did not invade travelers' privacy:The company “may have attempted to defraud the government by knowingly manipulating an operational test,” Representative Mike Rogers, chairman of the House Transportation Security Subcommittee, said in a letter to Transportation Security Administration chief John Pistole Nov. 13. Rogers said his committee received a tip about the faked tests.OSI, of course, is denying it, but this is the same company that also apparently ran into problems last year when maintenance reports suggested radiation levels 10 times as high as promised.
The other bit of news? The TSA has admitted that it has simply put a bunch of these machines in storage -- 91 machines, worth $14 million -- because of related privacy concerns.
While it's a good thing that privacy violating machines aren't being used, it raises serious questions about why they were purchased and put into use in the first place -- and done so without ever taking comment from the public, as is required under law. Perhaps if they had actually done that, they would have avoided wasting so much taxpayer money on machines that violate everyone's privacy.
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Filed Under: manipulation, naked scanners, privacy, rapiscan, scanners, tsa
Companies: osi systems
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High Debt = Gov Waste
There is so much waste it is Disgusting.
And there are so many Idiot Politicians that will actually Pass Laws which go Directly against our Previous Laws so then there has to be more Waste Fighting the Law that never should of been done in the First place.
Point in View for one of these would be various States trying to Close Down a Planned Parenthood when those places are already Protected.
So then there has to be a Legal Case wasting a ton of our Tax Paying Revenue.
Another good one would be Interfering with our Right To Vote and passing Laws which Suppress that Right.Politicians make Law and then we have to waste more money Fighting bad Law which never should of been done in First place.
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Re: High Debt = Gov Waste
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"91 machines, worth $14 million"
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Re: "91 machines, worth $14 million"
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Re: Re: "91 machines, worth $14 million"
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Re: "91 machines, worth $14 million"
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Re: "91 machines, worth $14 million"
No, it's not in his source that these machines are $1,000,000 each. Please kindly cite your source.
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Re: "91 machines, worth $14 million"
Here let me help you out:
http://www.ogs.state.ny.us/purchase/spg/pdfdocs/3823219745PL_Rapiscan.pdf
This is the pricing from 2009
Oh, guess what they LIST at $119K each, or about $185K each with all the options.
Now since I know you will have a problem with this too lets do some math:
91 Machines at $150,000 each (to allow for incidentals) is $16.8 Million.
I bet not all the machines had all the options. In fact I would be willing to bet that some of the options are mutually exclusive.
Huh imagine that Mike's numbers were pretty damn close after all. A lot closer than that number you pulled right out of that shit pile you call a brain.
Kind of sucks to come out of the blue, eh.
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Re: Re: "91 machines, worth $14 million"
91 Machines at $150,000 each (to allow for incidentals) is $16.8 Million.
Should have been:
91 Machines at $185,000 each (to allow for incidentals) is $16.8 Million.
Not sure how that happened.
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They say the reason that the report indicated 10 higher radiation levels was that the technicians did took ten sample readings, then added them up, but forgot to divide by ten. So the level they reported was just the sum of the readings, not the average. So anyway you look at it, they don't know what they're doing, but I guess I'd rather have incompetent technicians than much higher radiation.
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Oh, I think we all know why they were purchased. As for why they were put into use, it's a principle established by long precedent that the government never negotiates away or takes out of service any piece of Congressional pork until it's been paid for and its sponsors adequately compensated.
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You mean, from a whistleblower? Arrest him and charge him with material support of terrorism!
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Ironically, that move has improved the efficiency of TSA operations. According to USA Today, Rapiscan machines were taken out of service in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Boston, Charlotte, and Orlando. As a result, TSA representative John Sanders told Rogers's committee, the same number of lines can now process an additional 180,000 more passengers per day.
And no one got blowed up in all that time.
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2012/11/rapiscan-accused-of-faking-privacy-tests-for-air port-scanners/
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Anyone?
Naked Scanner Maker Accused Of Manipulating Testicles.
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Nice payback for a job well done.
If there had been any justice, then Chertoff should have been forced to pay back the taxpayers whose money he squandered -- an amount that's only a small fraction of the many $millions he made in kickbacks.
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...without ever taking comment from the public...
Think about the jobs, please!!!
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