okay...i draw the line.....you gotta be sh...ting me. I frickin run through the airport like a headless chicken and I look like I might remotely resemble an evil doer-
it is bad enough to have my anatomy analyzed by some TSA pervert-the males always run me through the body imager when there are other males looking at my 36DDs. Now I am going to have to put up with this? I think I am just gonna puke. On Wed, Jul 6, 2011 at 3:59 PM, MJ <[email protected]> wrote: > > *Coming Soon to an Airport Near You > *by Wendy McElroy, July 6, 2011 > > If you fly within the United States in the future, keep your expression > neutral, do not blink too much or too little, and do not sweat. Carefully > maintain a normal respiration and heart beat as you submit to demands from > Homeland Security agents. If you question or resist their demands, you could > be detained as a pre-crime suspect, fined up to $11,000 and added to a No > Fly list. > > On July 5, a headline in the bioethical news source *BioEdge* declared, > “‘Pre-crime’ terrorist detector field tested in US.” > *BioEdge*<http://www.bioedge.org/index.php/bioethics/bioethics_article/9574/>explained > that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has finished > initial testing of Future Attribute Screening Technology (FAST), which is > “designed to spot people who intend to commit a terrorist act.” According to > DHS documents, however, FAST targets a far broader range of people, from > “individuals planning to cause a disturbance or use false documents to > individuals who are planning an assassination or terrorist attack. The > future time horizon can range from planning an event years in advance to > planning to carry out the act > immediately<http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/privacy/privacy_pia_st_fast.pdf>after > passing through screening.” > > Unlike most other security measures, FAST is not aimed at finding > contraband or explosives but at identifying suspicious people before they > can cause trouble. FAST expands a trend currently expressed through the > behavior detection officers who are part of a TSA (Transportation Security > Administration) program entitled Screening Passengers by Observation > Technique (SPOT). These TSA screeners are trained to spot and detain > questionable people even if the people have done nothing wrong; about 3,000 > behavior-detection officers are currently spread throughout America’s > airport system. > > FAST aims at mechanizing this detection process, although on-site human > analysts will still receive and interpret the data. Pre-criminals will be > identified through the use of remote cardiovascular and respiratory sensors, > a remote eye tracker, thermal cameras, high-resolution video, and an audio > monitor for pitch change. Additional sensors, such as pheromone detectors, > are being considered. People with aberrant readings are likely to receive > “special treatment” on the suspicion of their being suspicious. > > In the recent field test, sensors were embedded in an isolated corridor > through which volunteers passed and were “read” as they did so. It is not > possible to assess how reliable the readings were because the data is > classified. Earlier lab tests, however, claim an accuracy rate of about 70 > per cent but the tests were non-random, with no blind study or other > standard controls. Nevertheless, Undersecretary for the Science and > Technology Directorate for Homeland Security, Jay Cohen, has pronounced the > first stage of FAST to be a “ home > run<http://www.bikerforlove.com/blogs/blog_messages?blog_id=115321>.” > This means the program will not only seek to expand but will also be > installed in areas through which everyone must pass. > > The FAST screening of passengers has three possible stages. If any person > triggers a “flag.” then the sensors transmit a warning to on-site analysts, > and the person may be taken to one side. The flagged person undergoes > “micro-facial scanning and enhanced questioning” during which muscle > movements in the face are measured to ascertain his mood and intentions. > After enhanced screening, the person is assigned a “malintent level” that > determines his subsequent handling. > > What happens to those judged as a high risk? No information is available > but it is reasonable to assume the treatment would not differ significantly > from that which was meted out by TSA behavior-detection officers. > > In August 2009, a California college student named Nicholas George went > through a checkpoint at the Philadelphia airport. George was studying > Arabic. In his bag, TSA behavior-detection officers found both flash cards > with Arabic words and a book on foreign policy. He received “enhanced > questioning” before being handcuffed by the Philadelphia police, who held > him for four hours. After being questioned by F.B.I. agents, George was > released > without > charges<http://articles.latimes.com/2010/feb/11/local/la-me-arabic12-2010feb12>. > > > *Backlash against FAST* > > Most criticism of FAST revolves around the accuracy of the data. In *Nature > News* (May 26, 2010) Sharon Weinberger explained, > > “No scientific evidence exists to support the detection or inference of > future behaviour, including intent,” declares a 2008 report prepared by the > JASON defence advisory group. And the TSA had no business deploying SPOT > across the nation’s airports “without first validating the scientific basis > for identifying suspicious passengers in an airport environment,” stated a > two-year > review <http://www.nature.com/news/2010/100526/full/465412a.html> of the > programme released on 20 May by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), > the investigative arm of the US Congress. > > Many experts do not believe there are identifiable physiological indicators > that are directly linked to malicious intentions or pre-criminals. The > indicators measured by FAST for example, a speedy heart beat could > easily be caused by the anxiety of confronting armed TSA officers, a fear of > flying, a fight with your spouse, stress at work, being in a rush, or too > much coffee. In short, many experts do not consider FAST’s mission to be > scientific or technologically sound. To them, it is akin to phrenology a > “science” revolving around the shape and measurement of the brain and skull > which became a tool through which some 19th-century police departments > detected pre-criminals by examining the bumps on their heads. > > But critiques of data effectiveness miss the point of FAST. The point is to > expand social control and, at that task, FAST may prove remarkably > effective. > > Since 9/11, the TSA has conditioned Americans to accept an ever-increasing > totalitarianism at airports in exchange for the “privilege” of traveling > within their own nation. From rigid I.D. requirements to stripping off > clothing at command, from tiny bottles in plastic bags to porn scanners and > pat-downs ... Americans have proven to be amazingly compliant, even when a > stranger gropes their children’s genitals. The TSA is helping to create the > Newer American a citizen who is even more obedient than before and > half-frightened and half-awed by men in uniform. The Newer American lines up > passively in queues to have his rights and dignity violated by ill-mannered, > ill-trained thugs who claim to be his protectors, and is even grateful for > it. > > In reality, the TSA is the antithesis of a protector. It views all flyers > as pre-criminals to be surveilled because it presumes them to be guilty, not > innocent. Guilty flyers can currently “prove” their innocence by submitting > to a series of indignities that violate all Fourth Amendment rights. And, > then, if no contraband is found and no wrong attitude expressed, the TSA > will move on to the next guilty flyer. With FAST, however, there is no > possibility of proving your innocence; the absence of contraband and a > properly subservient attitude cannot hide your perspiration from the > sensors; you are condemned by your unexpressed thoughts and emotions, by > your presumed malicious intentions. Based solely on the calculations of > machinery, you can be detained, placed under surveillance or arrested. Your > movements, not your actions, make you guilty. > > *FAST is coming soon* > > The field test for FAST has been declared “a success.” The program is a > logical extension of the TSA’s behavior-detection officers, SPOT, and the > malintent programs. Certainly within TSA, there is a push to go high tech > and ever expand its authority. > > Nevertheless, it is not certain that FAST will be implemented throughout > the airport system. Cost is one barrier. Practical concerns, such as the > high rate of false positives, is another. Political backlash poses a > problem. > > Perhaps the most ominous aspect of FAST is that the field tests were > conducted by using a movable lab of equipment and people, which resembled > nothing so much as a huge recreational trailer. The lab, officials assure > us, can be transported to provide security for trains, malls, public events > ... for everything from an inauguration to little Johnnie’s birthday party. > Yes, the totalitarianism that defines the modern airport can now visit your > neighborhood, like a depraved ice cream truck, and force feed you “a sense > of freedom.” > > http://www.fff.org/comment/com1107c.asp > > -- > Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. > For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum > > * Visit our other community at > http://www.PoliticalForum.com/<http://www.politicalforum.com/> > * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. > * Read the latest breaking news, and more. -- Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more.
