"And what about the crotch pat-downs they have been giving people who refuse? Apparently that's not even a safety procedure, it's designed to force people back into the scanners. F-cking bureaucrats will be the death of us all."
Oh, I think you're onto something here. 'Naked scanners': Lobbyists join the war on terror<http://washingtonexaminer.com/nation/2010/11/naked-scanners-lobbyists-join-war-terror> The degradations of passing through full-body scanners that provide naked pictures of you to Transportation Security Administration agents may not mean that the terrorists have won -- but they do mark victories for a few politically connected high-tech companies and their revolving-door lobbyists. Many experts and critics suspect that the full-body "naked scanners" recently deployed at U.S. airports do little to make us more secure, and a lot to make us angry, embarrassed and late. For instance, the scanners can't see through skin, and so weapons or explosives can be hidden safely in body cavities. But this is government we're talking about. A program or product doesn't need to be effective, it only needs to have a good lobby. And the naked-scanner lobby is small but well-connected. If you've seen one of these scanners at an airport, there's a good chance it was made by L-3 Communications, a major contractor with the Department of Homeland Security. L-3 employs three different lobbying firms including Park Strategies, where former Sen. Al D'Amato, R-N.Y., plumps on the company's behalf. Back in 1989, President George H.W. Bush appointed D'Amato to the President's Commission on Aviation Security and Terrorism following the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103. Also on Park's L-3 account is former Appropriations staffer Kraig Siracuse. The scanner contract, issued four days after the Christmas Day bomb attempt last year, is worth $165 million to L-3. Rapiscan got the other naked-scanner contract from the TSA, worth $173 million. Rapiscan's lobbyists include Susan Carr, a former senior legislative aide to Rep. David Price, D-N.C., chairman of the Homeland Security Subcommittee. When Defense Daily reported on Price's appropriations bill last winter, the publication noted "Price likes the budget for its emphasis on filling gaps in aviation security, in particular the whole body imaging systems." An early TSA contractor for full-body scanners was the American Science and Engineering company. AS&E's lobbying team is impressive, including Tom Blank, a former deputy administrator for the TSA. Fellow AS&E lobbyist Chad Wolf was an assistant administrator at TSA and an aide to Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, who sits on the Transportation and Defense subcommittees of Appropriations. Finally, Democratic former Rep. Bud Cramer is also an AS&E lobbyist -- he sat on the Defense and Transportation subcommittees of the Appropriations Committee. The full-body scanners have caused an understandable uproar. Even before the devices were rolled out, they sparked predictable mischief: During training on the scanners, a group of TSA workers noted and mocked the genitalia of the guinea-pig employee sent through the scanner. The guy soon beat down one of his mockers and was arrested for assault. After assurances by contractors and the TSA that the nude images of the scanners' subjects weren't being stored and saved, the U.S. Marshals Service admitted that it had stored thousands of such images. Homeland Security insists that the "naked scans" are optional, but if you're randomly selected for one and you "opt out," you're subject to a very intimate frisk. George Soros also profiting off controversial new TSA scanners<http://washingtonexaminer.com/blogs/beltway-confidential/2010/11/george-soros-also-profiting-controversial-new-tsa-scanners> As for the companys other political connections, it also appears that none other than George Soros, the billionaire funder of the countrys liberal political infrastructure, owns 11,300 shares of OSI Systems Inc.<http://www.gurufocus.com/StockBuy.php?symbol=OSIS>, the company that owns Rapiscan <http://www.osi-systems.com/bus_rapiscan.asp>. Not surprisingly, OSIs stock has appreciated considerably over the course of the year. Soros certainly is a savvy investor. Bushs Homeland Security Secretary flacking for nudie-scanners, too<http://washingtonexaminer.com/nation/2010/11/naked-scanners-lobbyists-join-war-terror> The companies that make the airport nudie-scanners have high-priced lobbying teams that include former congressmen, top Capitol Hill staff, and former TSA brass, as I reported in my column yesterday<http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/politics/_Naked-scanners__-Lobbyists-join-the-war-on-terror-1540901-107548388.html> . But because I focussed on registered lobbyists, I left out the highest-profile revolving-door character in the pay of the nudie-scanner industry: George W. Bushs Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff. After the undie-bomber attempt on Christmas 2009, Chertoff went on a media tour promoting the use of these scanners, without disclosing that he was getting paid by Rapiscan, one of the two companies currently contracted by TSA to take a nude picture of you at the airport. Heres Chertoff in the NY Times<http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/30/us/30privacy.html> just days after Christmas last year: Screening technologies with names like millimeter-wave and backscatter X-ray<http://www.tsa.gov/approach/tech/imaging_technology.shtm> can show the contours of the body and reveal foreign objects. Such machines, properly used, are a leap ahead of the metal detectors used in most airports, and supporters say they are necessary to keep up with the plans of potential terrorists. If theyd been deployed, this would pick up this kind of device, Michael Chertoff<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/c/michael_chertoff/index.html?inline=nyt-per>, the former homeland security secretary, said in an interview Chertoff was quickly reamed <http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2010/01/02/group_slams_chertoff_on_scanner_promotion/>for not disclosing how he had monetized his public service. The whole situation is depressing for two reasons: 1) Its tawdry how much our public servants use their government jobs as meal tickets.2) Its sad how much companies set up their businesses to depend on government, and thus lobbyists. *Influence* magazine is a trade publication of K Street, and one of Rapiscans hired guns, McKenna Aldridge, is touting this article<http://www.mckennalong.com/news-listing-1939.html> on its website: * * *Rapiscans Presence on Capitol Hill Pays Off* Rapiscan Systems <http://www.rapiscansystems.com/>, an OSI Systems Inc. subsidiary, has already taken note. The Hawthorne, Calif.-based company puts around 15 percent of its revenues back into the company to develop new technology. But Rapiscan knows it needs to play ball in Washington to increase its profits. Like all companies that deal in homeland security, Rapiscan faces myriad legislative issues involving privacy, liability, customs, and the implementation of the 9/11 Commission recommendations<http://www.9-11commission.gov/report/index.htm>. To compete with Boeing, Northrop Grumman, and L-3 Communications Corp., among other companies, two years ago Rapiscan opened a Washington office and hired more outside lobbyists and agency-specific federal marketing and sales staff. The results have been apparent. Last year the company did $17 million t $20 million in contracts. Over the past six months, the company has had $40 million in sales to the U.S. government, compared with $8 million in 2004. J - My vow shall be to pay the national debt, to prevent a monied aristocracy from growing up around our administration that must bend to its views, and ultimately destroy the liberty of our country. - ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Order the Adobe Coldfusion Anthology now! http://www.amazon.com/Adobe-Coldfusion-Anthology/dp/1430272155/?tag=houseoffusion Archive: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/cf-community/message.cfm/messageid:332038 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/cf-community/subscribe.cfm Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/cf-community/unsubscribe.cfm
