Rapiscan's Backscatter Machines May End Up In US Federal Buildings 171
McGruber writes "The Federal Times, a weekly print newspaper published by Gamnett Government Media Corp, is reporting that the Rapiscan Systems 'backscatter' passenger screening machines used by the U.S. Transportation Security Administration will likely be redeployed to federal buildings. Rapiscan System's backscatter machines have exposed passengers to radiation since they were first installed. As previously reported on Slashdot, TSA decided last month to stop using the machines because the manufacturer was unable to make changes to the machines that were mandated by Congress. Now TSA is attempting to sucker another federal agency into taking the nude-o-scopes."
Re:I almost hope they do it... (Score:2, Interesting)
It's pretty amusing watching people freak out over these things and call them nude-o-scopes and similar. Just like with gun-control laws, I don't care a lot about the underlying issue, but it's so tempting to take a stance just because the NRA folk are so bloody nuts.
The NRA folks are nuts? It's the gun grabbers who are calling to lock people away in jail for owning a rifle with scary parts, or for owning a sheet metal box with a spring in it.
None of the pro-gun folks want to send *you* to jail for being a douche, after all.
Why do you fear and hate your tax-paying, law-abiding neighbors so much that you want to see them spend hard time in jail for owning a gun?
Re:Congress? (Score:5, Interesting)
My first thought matched your post. But - Federal Buildings aren't exactly the halls of congress, or even Janet Napolitano's office.
People enlisting in the armed services traditionally have gone through preliminary indoctrination / induction procedures in federal buildings. A lot of vital statistics stuff is found in federal buildings. FBI offices, ATF offices, federal marshall's offices, and more. The Federal Building in Oklahoma City that was bombed was targeted because the ATF and FBI were located there. Few, if any, of those various federal employees had anything to do with approval of these machines.
Worse, the public is still being exposed to this crap.
Congress needs to just mandate that the damned things are destroyed. End of story.
Congress really ought to just grow some balls, and decide to get rid of TSA and Homeland Security. I've seen nothing to suggest that they have improved on security in the United States. Fund the border patrol, and allow them to do the jobs they have been mandated to do since day one. And, Customs, as well. Keep the Air Marshalls, but put them under the authority of the FBI.
We've gone so horribly wrong, and Homeland Security is the center of all that wrongness.
Still lying (Score:5, Interesting)
TSA still claims that NIST evaluated the machines and declared them safe even though NIST has plainly stated that it did not and can not.