by Chris Hinyub
Fri, Nov 26th 2010
Reports abound that the Transportation Security Administration deactivated a number of its controversial Advanced Imaging Technology (AIT) machines throughout the country on Wednesday. Passengers from California’s LAX reported that the backscatter X-ray machines were “all roped off.” The phenomenon coincided with National Opt-Out Day, a grassroots-driven protest against naked body scanners and intrusive pat downs at airport security checkpoints.
While it cannot be confirmed how many body scanners were turned off at the California airport, it is clear that wherever the news cameras went, hungrily awaiting a protest scene, the scanners were simply deactivated. This begs the rather serious question: Is the TSA more concerned with its PR image than its duties? What’s most perplexing is how government officials can claim that the body scanners are critical to airline safety if on the busiest travel day of the year so many can go unused without incident.
“Shutting down the ‘National Opt-Out Day’ by turning off the machines is the only logical move for the TSA,” writes Mike Adams of Natural News.
Read More at California Independent Voter Network
Point of Law adds: You’ll see a lot of press about how noone opted out; the TSA Twitter account is retweeting like mad all the people happy about how quickly the lines went Wednesday. A closer review reveals that the the TSA turned off many backscatter machines—there was no need to opt out, so no one opted out. It goes very far to demonstrate how unnecessary these machines are: if the machines were really critical for safety, rather than for public relations, then one hopes TSA wouldn’t play with our safety so. But when push came to shove, the TSA was more concerned about the threat to its illusion of security theater than it was about the threat of an attack by terrorists. If every day were Opt-Out Day, the TSA would turn the machines off permanently. More at the TSA Abuse Blog.
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Tags: Bill of Rights, Constitution, Media, News Item, Police, TSA Opt Out
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