NASA Requires JPL Scientists To Give Up Right To Privacy

Markmarkmark writes "Wired is reporting that all NASA JPL scientists must 'voluntarily' (or be fired) sign a document giving the government the right to investigate their personal lives and history 'without limit'. According to the Union of Concerned Scientists this includes snooping into sexual orientation, mental & physical health as well as credit history and 'personality conflict'. 28 senior NASA scientists and engineers, including Mars Rover team members, refused to sign by the deadline and are now subject to being fired despite a decade or more of exemplary service. None of them even work on anything classified or defense related. They are suing the government and documenting their fight for their jobs and right to personal privacy."

Easy fix

[PsyQo]

What do they want to do when no one signs this? Fire every scientist? Not going to happen.

Re:Very Inappropriate

[plover]

Besides, a clean slate is no guarantee a rocket scientist isn't going to go psycho after getting dumped and stalk his ex.

Wait, are you saying that a rocket scientist who has undergone all those background checks [cnn.com] might still flip out anyway? I don't think that's possible.</sarcasm>

that reminds me.....

[pablo_max]

That reminds me of my last company. Several people complained that they had to submit to cavity searches each day after work.
Of course, it was not until much later that they found out the guy giving them was in no way affiliated with the company. ;)

Obviously they're ashamed

[Anonymous Coward]

Some likely things that would be found among these 28:

7 are having electronic-only relationships or affairs in a MMORPG
3 are furries
2 use slide rules when planning their order at McDonald's
4 only wear glasses in public and at work (to look smarter)
5 Either dance or do karaoke very badly
1 wears diapers (but only for play)

In related news...

[fahrbot-bot]

28 senior NASA scientists and engineers, including Mars Rover team members, all updated the "foes" section of their Facebook profile this afternoon.

American Scientist Show

[iknownuttin]

Well, if we had a show, let's say called, American Scientist, that worked like American Idol, then, they'd care!

p/Just imagine that Simon guy saying, You call THAT data! Get out of here!"

Another "Goodling Purge"

[Anonymous Coward]

This is just another excuse conservatives cooked up to start firing scientists. They start there, move on to the guys researching Global Warming, etc etc.

Conservatives HATE science. So OBVIOUSLY they are going to target organizations like NASA, the CDC, etc. The only scientists conservatives have room for is Christian Scientists.

Re:Easy fix

[turgid]

What do they want to do when no one signs this? Fire every scientist? Not going to happen.

That sounds a lot like Collective Bargaining... That just proves these scientists are unionized PINKO COMMIES, probably terrorists, and deserve to be fired to make way for patriotic ones.

Maybe the ESA will take them on for the Aurora project? /me ducks.

Re:Welcome to every sensitive government job ever.

[Waffle Iron]

Heck, you wouldn't believe the background checks I went through for the FBI.

Ironically, the FBI might not even exist today if its illustrious founder had been subject to these same background checks.

Re:Why not fire them all?

[Anonymous Coward]

And the dinosaurs dominated the Earth for 160 million years until a random meteor landed. What's your point?

Yeah, I thought so, you don't have one. I just OWNED YOU BITCH!!!!!!!

NASA = No Actual Space Achievments

[Anonymous Coward]

the highest things in NASA are the salaries, followed by corruption and then comes the pioneer space probes

sexual orientation?

[Tablizer]

includes snooping into sexual orientation

What, did some scientists get suspiciously over-enthusiastic about the Uranus Penetrator Probe project? ;-)
     

So how would that have looked for Von Braun?

[ross.w]

Can you still get in if you have a history of working for despotic regimes, membership of far right political organisations, links to slavery and forced labour and previous employment developing terror weapons?

Re:Not very objective, are we?

[Anonymous Coward]

I mean, background checks like this probably would have exluded most of the scientists who came over from Germany for the Manhattan Project.

In fairness they did end up making a WMD.