The ACLU is reporting on the TSA announcement that they will be installing 150 of their body scanners in major airports across America. As you can see above the scanners produces images no different then if you were actually naked.
The TSA has been using it’s press machine to prep America for this stripping of dignity for a while and apparently they think that American are now ready to accept this virtual strip search:
Very quickly we as American are going to have decide if we’re going to accept this gross violation which our government has decided to push forward with. I for one will not be walking through one of these machines or accepting a pat down search.
You have to draw the line somewhere.
Update:
I’ve been seeing a lot of comments about some of pictures being fake. I did take one down that I confirmed was fake but the one that people mention with the hair I’m not sure on. I found all these pics on Google’s image search when I originally wrote this post and I can not verify that any of them are 100% authentic but I will say that they are a good representation of the images produced by these machines.
That said the point of this article was not to examine the detail of the images taken by these body scanning machines. The point was to address the gross violation of privacy and human rights these machines represent. Unfortunately my writing skills really aren’t up to par enough to fully express that so I leave you with an image from the past to provide some perspective:
Fox News is reporting on a story coming out of Tuscon Arizona that the Pima County Sheriff’s DUI division will be stationing officers inside of 24 hour fast food restaurants to listen in on people ordering their food:
Sgt. Doug Hanna, a DUI unit supervisor, says if deputies notice someone with classic symptoms of impairment — slurred speech, red or watery eyes or beer breath — they will have a uniformed deputy stationed outside pull the driver over.
Hanna says money for the intermittent program is coming from a $128,000 grant from the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety.
While DUI laws themselves are crazy I have no problem with taking dangerous drivers on the road but this just feels dirty. The fact that these businesses are more than happy to assist in the spying upon of their customers is appalling. Following this posting we’ll be contacting the Sheriff’s Dept. in an attempt to get a list of the participating restaurants so discerning eaters can better choose their dining establishments.
Apparently this is one of the positives mentioned by Maricopa Police Sgt. Steven Judd in discussing a warrantless drug raid conducted on a Maricopa High School.
Police authorities conducted a lockdown and random drug sweep using drug-trained canine units from various law enforcement and correctional agencies at a high school south of the Valley Friday morning.
The lockdown lasted approximately one hour and fifteen minutes while police and canines searched the campus for drugs, none of which were found.
More from the article:
Judd says the event gave several police agencies and canine officers a chance to practice their skills in drug detection. He said it gave the dogs a chance to work in a real life atmosphere rather than the ’sterile’ conditions they train in.
So this is what schools are for now? Providing a “real life atmosphere” for police to train in? How exactly does that contribute towards the students educations. Great if they’re being trained to live in a prison like society. Between these raids and schools making kids thumb print to get their lunch I really wonder what kind of world these kids are being trained to live in.
The Daily Times Herald is reporting that the Carroll National Guard is planning a 4 day exercise April 2nd through April 5th 2009.
From the article:
The purpose of the April 2-5 drill will be to gather intelligence, then search for and apprehend a suspected weapons dealer, according to Sgt. Mike Kots, readiness NCO for Alpha Company.
Citizens, law enforcement, media and other supporters will participate.
Troops will spend Thursday, April 2, staging at a forward operations base at Carroll. The next day company leaders will conduct reconnaissance and begin patrolling the streets of Arcadia to identify possible locations of the weapons dealer.
The primary phase will be done Saturday, April 4, when convoys will be deployed from Carroll to Arcadia. Pictures of the arms dealer will be shown in Arcadia, and soldiers will go door to door asking if residents have seen the suspect.
Soldiers will knock only at households that have agreed to participate in the drill, Kots noted.
I’m really curious to know how they’re going about getting permission. Are they asking everyone if they want to or telling them they’re coming and accepting objections? What kind of pressure are they coming?
“Once credible intelligence has been gathered,” said Kots, “portions of the town will be road-blocked and more in-depth searches of homes and vehicles will be conducted in accordance with the residents’ wishes.
In accordance with the residents’ wishes? Because the people or Arcadia actually voted on this and then directed the mayor to invite the national guard to come hang out.
“One of the techniques we use in today’s political environment is cordon and knock,” Kots explained. “We ask for the head of the household, get permission to search, then have them open doors and cupboards. The homeowner maintains control. We peer over their shoulder, and the soldier uses the homeowner’s body language and position to protect him.”
YAY!! You get to help the military search your house for illegal (any) guns. I hate being left out of all the fun.
During this phase of the operation, troops will interact with residents and media while implementing crowd-control measures and possibly treating and evacuating injured persons.
The unit will use a Blackhawk helicopter for overhead command and control, and to simulate medevacs.
The drill will culminate in the apprehension of the suspected arms dealer.
Because that’s what the military is for, chasing down suspected arms dealers in American cities.
In addition to surveillance, searching and apprehension, the exercise will also give the troops valuable experience in stability, support, patrol, traffic control, vehicle searches and other skills needed for deployment in an urban environment.
“This exercise will improve the real-life operational skills of the unit,” said Kots. “And it will hopefully improve the public’s understanding of military operations.”
Wow, you’d think the military is getting ready to spend a lot of time in American cities in the future, I wonder why?
The pre-drill work with residents is as important at the drill itself.
“It will be important for us to gain the trust and confidence of the residents of Arcadia,” said Kots. “We will need to identify individuals that are willing to assist us in training by allowing us to search their homes and vehicles and to participate in role-playing.”
Yes, going in pre-invasion and doing intel/recon is a great military tactic.
“We really want to get as much information out there as possible, because this operation could be pretty intrusive to the people of Arcadia.”
The LAist is reporting that the body of Thomas Francis Leamy. Thomas was reported missing a few days ago after he checked himself out of the VA hospital.
The body was found by a pedestrian traveling through the area adjacent to the Wilshire exit off the 305 freeway. The good Samaritan who reported finding the body subsequently “was arrested for refusing to identify himself and being on the freeway illegally.”
Well way to go CHP, getting all the cooperative and helpful yet private citizens off the street. Since when do free people have to identify themselves to law enforcement? Police routinely cover their badges, especially when suppressing free speech oops, I mean doing ‘crowd control’.
Well, I’ll tell you one thing for sure, you won’t catch me reporting ANYTHING to the police anytime soon.
Ok seriously, I think a little street justice is called for here. We can’t let pigs run around and kill people without some kind of retribution. It’s obvious our corrupt system has no intention of seeking justice so it’s time we seek it for ourselves.
I mean wow. Seriously? I’m at a loss of where to start on this quote from Rep Henry Waxman……
Why would you be nervous about people protecting their rights with weapons unless you were one of the people trying to take away those rights?
If people are arming themselves to defend they’re rights from the government (which they should be) shouldn’t Rep Waxman and his fellow Congressmen question how well they’re carrying out their sworn duty to uphold and defend the Constitution?
What about the militarized local and federal law enforcement? That makes me pretty nervous and I’m a law abiding citizen. Anyone who reads Reddit.com knows these guys accidentally kill, assault, taser, or otherwise harm people daily, not to mention all the people they frame and falsely arrest.
