Smile! Urine Candid Camera!

Anon E. Muss writes "Just because you can put a camera somewhere doesn't mean you should. Apparently, the Department of Homeland Security doesn't grasp this concept. They've installed video cameras in urinals at Houston's Hobby Airport. At least they weren't sneaky about it — they posted a notice saying 'Automatic infrared flush sensors also provide video monitoring for security purposes.' (Insert bad joke about bashful bladder syndrome here)."

Comments

Simple solution

[Z00L00K]

Bring some post-it stickers to cover the lens while doing the business - remove&flush afterwards.

Re:Simple solution

[Spasemunki]

What if the camera is too big to flush?

Re:Simple solution

[Aranykai]

That sound you hear is 16 armed TSA officers bursting in the bathroom.

Re:Simple solution

[Anonymous Coward]

Oh, yeah, the land of the "free". Just continue being "proud" and do some flag-waving.

Re:Simple solution

[Anonymous Coward]

Citizen. Come with me. Uncle Sam wants to peep your dilznick. Make even the least bit of sense? No? We're detaining you indefinitely anyhow, terrorist.

Re:Simple solution

[theeddie55]

you'd have to be quite tall, the passive infrared sensors most often used for urinals are usually fitted to the ceiling or very high on the wall.

Re:Simple solution

[YourExperiment]

So why don't they just take a leak already?

Re:Simple solution

[More_Cowbell]

You are trying for some kind of humor? I can't see the joke in your comment.... ^ALL^ of the sensors I've seen (and I've seen quite a few across the US and other countries) have been built into the plumbing of the individual urinal.

Re:Simple solution

[stuntpope]

In the US they are most often located on the urinal itself (not on the porcelain, but on the pipes), just about chest-high, where you normally would find the flush lever.

Re:Simple solution

[theeddie55]

My mistake, the ones in the UK are usually on the ceiling or high up on the wall. I've only spent 10 weeks in the US and that was 5 years ago, it obviously wasn't enough time to familiarize myself with the American urinal flushing systems.

Re:Simple solution

[Anonymous Coward]

Oh, yeah, the land of the "free". Just continue being "proud" and do some flag-waving.

<sarcasm>
Well, the terrorists hate us for our freedom. Obviously the solution is to destroy all traces of freedom.
</sarcasm>

Re:Simple solution

[trum4n]

This whole thing is just a shitty idea!

Re:Simple solution

[nurb432]

I cover that stupid infrared thing anyway, it has a mind of its own and don't want it 'going off' at the wrong time. *I* want control.

Sinks are annoying too, move your hands at all and the water gets shut off. Their 'window' is rather small.

Re:Simple solution

[Fieryphoenix]

That's really a long time to hold it. Have you considered therapy?

Re:Simple solution

[MinistryOfTruthiness]

Well you don't need to be so pissy about it. :-P

Re:Simple solution

[MiniMike]

Or I just go back to my old method of peeing in the potted plants...

Re:Simple solution

[Anonymous Coward]

Geordi:"Leak?"
Cochran: "Don't you people from the 24th century pee"?

Re:Simple solution

[Anonymous Coward]

Some brands are better than others. The ones at the local college are far superior to the ones at the local high school.

Re:Simple solution

[flyneye]

LOL, the perfect opportunity to turn around in surprise and piss on more than one persons pantleg!
Serendipity is just toooo cool.

Re:Simple solution

[Anonymous Coward]

Only on slashdot one can see people giving lectures about sensors in the urinals.

Re:Simple solution

[impaledsunset]

Why stickers when you can simply break the fucking camera? Cause damage. That's the right way to do it.

Re:Simple solution

[modecx]

That sound you hear is 16 armed TSA officers bursting in the bathroom.

They would never trust TSA "agents" with guns. I know two, and they'd both shoot themselves within the first hour.

Re:Simple solution

[Anonymous Coward]

Sounds like a perfect reason to give every TSA "agent" several guns .. wouldn't want a jam to stop the good times!

Re:Simple solution

[Aranykai]

Honestly, I think your confusing Houston for Texas. We disowned that shithole years ago.

Re:Simple solution

[BrokenHalo]

Well, that shitty stuff is an instantly available substance for dealing with those pesky lenses. I guess the job of maintaining those cameras could prove mighty unpopular.

Re:Simple solution

[Anonymous Coward]

now when you say "flag" do you mean my penis? because i have to say that i will proudly waive mine for the camera in a most patriotic fashion to let them know that i am a true patriot. hell i might even go and get an American flag tattooed on my flagpole so that i can relieve myself with true patriotism and in a free manor that all Americans can be proud of. because as every free man and woman and child in the US of A knows there is no better expression or re-enforcement of those freedoms our forefathers died for. yes i have to say that as an american i would be proud to have someone film my junk while i go to the bathroom. and then put it on the nightly news as a perfected example of the kinds of freedoms we have in this country. we have freedom from free speach, we have freedom from expression, we have freedom from information, we have freedom from our own privacy, and now we have the freedom to be free from not being watched while we pee. this is a true and perfect step in the right direction for this great country we live in.
  seriously tho guyz if i really wanted to have my wang filmed while i take a piss i would move to frakkin tokyo.

Re:Simple solution

[DustyShadow]

You seem to be unaware of the fact that the department of homeland security is run by the federal government, not Texas.

Re:Simple solution

[MessedRocker]

"Flag" in this case being a euphemism for "penis" somehow?

Re:Simple solution

[speedtux]

So, tell us, what enlightened nation do you live in? If it's in the EU, you are at least as much spied upon, analyzed, data mined, etc. as Americans.

Re:Simple solution

[Anonymous Coward]

that shithole

Houston or Texas?

Re:Simple solution

[Sulphur]

Who are the entrep-manures?

Re:Simple solution

[StikyPad]

I believe technically any jokes would fall into the category of "toilet humor," by default.

Re:Simple solution

[Anonymous Coward]

And/or Guinness Book of Records?

Re:Simple solution

[dave87656]

You seem to be unaware of the fact that the department of homeland security is run by the federal government, not Texas.

Created by an installed president from Texas.

Re:Simple solution

[Drivintin]

oh oh, i actually have a picture for this one!! Security Bathroom
______
The Running Tally

Re:Simple solution

[Z00L00K]

That image is taken somewhere in Europe... Power outlets are common for many parts of Europe.

Re:Simple solution

[Anonymous Coward]

so? they didnt do it in the other states

Re:Simple solution

[Anonymous Coward]

haha someone critize old poop-glory and you immediately go "he must be european! no other explation!!!!!!!!!!!!11111" you are a sad sad person

Re:Simple solution

[Drivintin]

yeah, I am pretty sure it was a fake. I just remember someone sending it to me and thought it was funny.

Re:Simple solution

[HTH NE1]

And then drop the flag in the urinal and piss on it?

Better yet, coat it with a chemical such that it undergoes an exothermic reaction in contact with urine.

(It's not yet Memorial Day, right?)

Re:Simple solution

[illumastorm]

Yes

Well...

[Anonymous Coward]

Well, that just takes the piss...

oh hai

[Anonymous Coward]

i see what you did there.

Re:oh hai

[Anonymous Coward]

ceiling TSA agent is watching you pee

Not as bad as it sounds

[Brian Gordon]

If there had to be a camera somewhere in a men's restroom, the safest place would probably be right on the urinal facing straight out, where it apparently is. And if you're blanketing a building with security cameras, how much sense does it make to leave out prominently labelled rooms where any illicit activity can occur under the radar?

Don't get me wrong, video surveillance is absurd, but cameras in bathrooms isn't any worse than cameras on every street corner.

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[BadAnalogyGuy]

Except that most people don't walk around on the street corner with their wang out.

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[Brian Gordon]

I mean right above the urinal of course.

The camera itself isn't shown in the picture; it's on the wall probably chest-height. That's where the IR sensors usually are. (I don't know how much slashdot females know about mens urinals o.o)

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[Anonymous Coward]

I do.

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[Anonymous Coward]

That was such a bad analogy that I can't even seem to find the analogy.

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[Jah-Wren Ryel]

Except that most people don't walk around on the street corner with their wang out.

What? You don't walk out with your cock out?

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[oljanx]

Actually that depends on the street corner, and whether or not there are ongoing celebrations.

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[tecc91]

But in all honesty, if someone is going to steal anything or participate in any other kind of illegal activity, why wouldn't they just sneak in and go into a stall?

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[Seriousity]

And you get modded insightful... What's going on today, this must be one of those false awakenings, I bet I'm still dreaming...

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[P0ltergeist333]

I disagree with the comparison of an airport bathroom with a street corner. Despite being someone who disagrees with the majority of fear mongering and removal of civil liberties in the wake of 9/11, the airport is the one place where I am willing to give up some privacy and convenience to gain more security. I flew approximately 40 times in 2003, and with the exception of one idiot TSA worker, had no problems with screenings, etc. In this case, if your TRULY worried about someone seeing your flaccid junk, then zip up before stepping back.

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[EdIII]

slashdot females

They exist?

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[rohan972]

And you get modded insightful... What's going on today

Yes, clearly that comment should have been modded informative.

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[bytesex]

Leave it to the badanalogyguy, then !

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[Anonymous Coward]

Now it's modded funny. Behold the power of time!!!1

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[Anonymous Coward]

what the fuck is walk out?

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[Isotopian]

Look, if you were going to put a rear camera in a car, you'd want it on the back of the car, not in the base of the seats, right?

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[BiggerIsBetter]

But in all honesty, if someone is going to steal anything or participate in any other kind of illegal activity, why wouldn't they just sneak in and go into a stall?

Presumably the auto-flush lavatories in the stalls also have cameras. Anyway, I dunno why people are getting so upset. These guys can shove their hand up your ass - er, check your cavities - if they want to, they have back-scatter x-ray that render you completely naked as you walk past them, yet everyone's getting upset about a handful of extra chest-high cameras...

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[Romancer]

"...the airport is the one place where I am willing to give up some privacy and convenience to gain more security."

Why?

Do you think it's easier to hurt you in an airport?
Or did you mean on the plane? Where there should be a solid impenetrable door to the cockpit and an absolute no negotiate policy.
That would actually protect you on the plane.

But you said the airport. Are you more afraid that they would hurt you there rather than on a bus? Or perhaps the train or subway?
Why not the mall? Why not a school? That'd make a point from a terrorist point of view.

If you are willing to give up your privacy in an airport simply because someone used that as a point of terrorism in the past, you're pretty narrow minded.
Just because something has happened in the past does not make it right to fear it more than other things that are just as likely and obviously much less guarded in the future. If you thik the terrorists are a one note band then you'll be just as surprised on the next news flash as you were on the last one. Learn that the only way to make things secure is to actually make them secure, not play security theatre.

Do you think that they will be able to monitor every camera, in every bathroom, all the time and that no one will figure out to go into a stall since the camera is visible?

Really?

Then you shouldn't worry about those terrorists, you should worry about what they are "trying to destroy"... Your freedoms, your feelings of safety and security, since there will be more stupid stunts to gain attention in the future and it's inevitable. Since they can buy a gun and walk into a mall or onto a bus or into a church and do whatever they want without time for a response, you're doomed if you let go of youor freedoms. They're the only thing that can sway those kinds of people away from those acts. To get them to stop doing what they "think they must do to get attention to their plights" and instead help fix the world of the consistant removal of those things that make us different. That make us not want to commit those acts because we have the freedoms to live and prosper as we see fit. To be in america. The things you are willing to give up to feel a little safer are the things that have been keeping you safe in your own country from domestic terrorists. Look to the middle east and count the bodies of those who did not have the freedom to think otherwise and then tell me you would give it up to feel safer and be a little more like them.

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[geekprime]

Thank you Romancer.

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[LaskoVortex]

most people don't walk around on the street corner with their wang out.

I do.

And you get modded insightful... What's going on today

I'll clear this up for you. His name is Peter Wang.

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[Anonymous Coward]

And you get modded insightful... What's going on today

Yes, clearly that comment should have been modded informative.

The mod may be apt as it's fully...in...sight

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[wisty]

Plus, they are probably desensitized to it all anyway. It would take a bit to shock them.

Still, I wonder what happened to the goatsie guy, and whether he ever flies.

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[lga]

I couldn't if I wanted to, my Wang requires a 3 phase power supply and takes up half the server room. Oh, wait, the other kind of wang.

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[KatAngel]

*raises hand*

Of course, slashdot law requires that at least five people now show up to prove me wrong, since there are "no women on the internet." It's ok. However wrong you may be, I am prepared to acknowledge that you are only following cliches, jumping on bandwagons, and repeating someone else's jokes for perhaps the hundredth time in your life in an attempt to sound funny, witty, or intelligent. I know you're only 'doing your duty,' par se. Fulfilling your obligation to slashdot society.

Don't worry. There are people who can help you.

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[Minupla]

Wish I had mod points. I just hope for their sake the grandparent post isn't seen by my wife today....

Min

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm not sure what kind of restrooms you go to (insert Larry Craig joke here?), but I've yet to see one where men walk around with their "wangs" out.

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[jonadab]

> If you are willing to give up your privacy in an airport simply because someone
> used that as a point of terrorism in the past, you're pretty narrow minded.

Actually, that doesn't follow. Narrow mindedness is a reticence to entertain or consider other people's viewpoints if they differ from one's own. As far as I can tell, there's really no reason to assume that someone willing to give up privacy at an airport in the name of security is narrow-minded.

If anything, *you* are being narrow minded in considering his viewpoint invalid. You're also right, of course. His viewpoint is in fact nonsense. Obviously he doesn't understand security at all. Sometimes the narrow-minded position is also the correct one. But being wrong and being narrow-minded are not the same thing at all.

HTH.HAND.

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[Anonymous Coward]

Hah!
Everyone knows women spell things correctly, so you're clearly a man.

It's "Per se", not "Par se".

Almost had me fooled there.

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[Hurricane78]

You forgot, that also at least five people will try to "befriend" you and kiss your ass (in both meanings of the term). ^^

I, for one, fix that little rule of Slashdot like this:
There are no good looking women on Slashdot. Just as there are no good looking men here. ^^
(But I've seen some pretty hot (wo)manbearpigs around here. :P)

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[KatAngel]

That's not true either. :P Doubtful that anyone will believe me, but I get complimented on my looks fairly frequently, and have the height and figure (but not the breasts v.v) of the average American model. But maybe there are just no good looking straight women on slashdot. >.>

Of course, now that I've said that, the Law of Inverse Sexual Attraction states that the number of people trying to "befriend" me must now increase exponentially.

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[Anonymous Coward]

Well, you are right of course about "narrow minded", but I would guess the GP didn't mean that literally. He was on a rant, and sometimes you have the word you want on the tip of your tongue but can't quite grasp it, but you have to move forward, so you end up picking an awkward and inappropriate substitute. My guess is that he meant "unreasonably fearful" but couldn't think of a way to express that with more rhetorical impact (actually I can't either).

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[mikkelm]

You forgot, that also at least five people will try to "befriend" you and kiss your ass (in both meanings of the term). ^^

I guess you just made that one down, four to go

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[Anonymous Coward]

Yes, very funny. Now fuck off, dipshit.

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[thetoadwarrior]

Everyone knows there are woman on the internet but they're not at Slashdot. They're at placed like Oprah.com or doing some online shopping.

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[KatAngel]

...no comment.

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[KatAngel]

Excuse me for that, I'm not quite up-to-date on my Latin. (The irony of "up-to-date" and "Latin" being used in the same sentence...)

So I made one spelling error. Trust me, it's a rare occurrence. ^^;

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[Anonymous Coward]

It was a CAR-analogy, (Caveat Anal Retentives)

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[Hurricane78]

Well. If I understand you correctly, you said that you are not straight. Well... I should have known it. :))
So about the befriendings... I think they will drop off rather quickly. :P

I bet you are the guy in the relationship*. :)

* I want to add, that I do not mean this in any bad way. I was actually befriended to a girl who was the guy in the relationship (with another girl), *and* the head of a lesbian association. ^^ (I said "was" because she cheated on the other girl, which was unacceptable to me. :( )
Oh, and she also had below-average breasts. Fortunately I am not attracted at all by breasts. No idea why. For me it's many other body parts. :)

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[Nichole_knc]

We are here... Next article headlines. DHS posted label 'Automatic infrared flush sensors also provide video monitoring for security purposes.' on toilets in womens restroom.. Hey TSA bag "inspectors" already steal panties so WTF...

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[Nichole_knc]

I prefer make.com and tigerdirect

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[KatAngel]

Actually, there is no "guy" in our relationship. Assuming you meant "person who takes charge/responsibility/control," that role is shared equally between us. If you meant to imply that I was "butch," however, I'll tell you that I am quite "femme," as is my partner. ;)

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[ConceptJunkie]

+1 Funny doesn't give you Karma. +1 Insightful does. The mods are gaming the system to reward people who make good jokes since the system doesn't do it, if used properly. I suppose it's arguable whether the system should be changed or the metamods need to go on double-duty.

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[Seriousity]

Your username indicates that you will be overjoyed when introduced to the concept of WHOOSH.

O
/|\ --------- this is you, ConceptJunkie
/ \



(This is the WHOOSH area, ConceptJunkie)



. --------- this is the point, ConceptJunkie

In conclusion, I dub the Ambassador of the Obvious, Brave Defender of the Irrelevant.

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[Hurricane78]

Sorry. I knew this would not arrive well at your side. :/

You assumed right. Except that I noticed, that total equality is a bit of an illusion, that people in a relationship make up, to serve some irrational ideals. It is pretty much impossible for everything to be equal in nature. But it's ok, if one is a bit more in charge. Many people like not having to be in change. And many like to be. :)
Whatever...

I did not call you a butch. That would not be nice. ^^

I think all i meant can be reduced to: The two girls I talked about... well, one of them did always wear pretty manly female clothes. Not manly in the butch way. But... well... she did mostly wear pinstriped suits, etc. I always, especially before I knew that she liked girls, thought that it looked a bit more manly, and not as much like a pink puppet. Strangely I found it pretty attractive. ^^

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[maxume]

So the camera in the bathroom is going to keep you from getting blown up while you wait in line for security screening? "O.k. folks, bunch up over there so we can keep you safe."

The majority of the visible security activity done at airports is designed to make you feel safe, not to make you safe. Secure cockpit doors and angry passengers are the things preventing another airplane crash bombing, not the nonsense that they engage in at airports.

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[KatAngel]

I don't think it's an illusion. We don't do anything unless both of us are mutually in agreement on it. If one of us is opposed, we both throw it out. But that doesn't happen often - in the year since we started dating, we've yet to have an argument (knock on wood) or even a very strong disagreement (knock on wood again).

And I know what you mean about the way she dressed, but neither one of us is like that. We both have long hair, wear makeup, and wear a dress if we're going to something formal. My casual dress involves jeans more often than skirts, but I do wear skirts from time to time, and even when I'm not, my tops are very feminine - very rare is the case when I'm seen wearing a t-shirt. Just because I like technology doesn't necessarily mean I have any other stereotypically masculine traits. ^^ (My partner, by the way, also likes technology, but she's not as good at it as I am.)

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[CastrTroy]

I really agree. If you actually think about it more logically, We should a screenings before stepping onto local transit, since I've heard a lot more stories about terrorists blowing up buses, then about them blowing up planes. Sure, you could say the security helps on the planes, but once they secured up the buses, they'd just choose a different venue. Until everything is "ultra-secure" and we have no privacy of freedom, and they have won. While it's probably a good idea to check people on planes, It only makes sense if we also scan people going onto buses, trains, and any other form of mass transportation.

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[Beezlebub33]

I think that you are picking on a relatively minor misuse of a phrase. In this case, I think that Romancer is pointing out that the GP is incorrect for thinking that the airport is a higher risk area than other public areas because it was used in the past, and therefore acceptable to accept more surveillance there than other places.

I'm not sure that English has a correct word. Taleb (cf. The Black Swan) I think calls it 'tunneling': over-focus on a particular instance of a rare event (and its particulars) at the expense of consideration of the rare events as a class.

If 'narrow-minded' didn't already have a meaning, then it might be a good way to describe it.

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[KatAngel]

Well, that is true. I didn't actually make the mistake, the generations and generations of people who developed and evolved the Latin language did. I was just trying to be a little bit humble and not point out how much of a failure the rest of the world is compared to me.

>.>

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[Anonymous Coward]

Shouldn't you have been in the kitchen cooking breakfast instead of composing this reply? :: ducks :: I'm kidding, of course. I very much respect all women, and especially women on slashdot for dealing with asshats like me with our lame, redundant jokes. Frankly though, they're sort of like fart jokes... I don't think we'll ever stop laughing at them, no matter how stupid they/we/I may be. ^_^

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[good soldier svejk]

I guess you don't live in Brooklyn

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[Anonymous Coward]

I know you're only 'doing your duty,' per se.

Fixed. (That's my duty.)

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[Jeff DeMaagd]

I hope most men don't walk around bathrooms with their wang out either.

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[Cyko_01]

most guys don't walk around the bathroom with it hanging out either

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[The Redster!]

I think he deserves Interesting.

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[ElKry]

With all the "^^" going on and similar details, Hurricane78 sounds more stereotypically female than you do. I saw your clever attempt to fix this in your last post, but you people are not fooling me.

You're both cats. From outer space.

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[PleaseFearMe]

Excellent idea. Problem is, the post in question was made by an AC.

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[Anonymous Coward]

His name is Kirk Johnson. Try to contact him yourself, we're in the age of information.

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[KatAngel]

Does being female necessitate that I be stereotypically so? I remember reading somewhere that "as intelligence increases, differences between gender behavior becomes less apparent." I believe there is truth in that.

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[KatAngel]

Excuse me. Differences *become less apparent. *mutters*

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[Jeff DeMaagd]

Yay! Someone's being a dick in response to an informative post. I suppose that should be expected, this is Slashdot.

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[ElKry]

And humour gets heavily impaired as intelligence increases, unless you're British, which you're clearly not.

Really, if you're going to go all almighty about your intelligence and defensive about stereotypes because I said you're a cat from outer space, you have bigger problems than being a slashdotter. I believe there is truth in that.

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[Anonymous Coward]

I think he deserves Interesting.

If you interested in reading stories about guys exposing themselves in public, may I sugguest....

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[Seriousity]

Yay! Someone's being a dick in response to an informative post.

I'm only doing it for the cameras, my friend.

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[pedalman]

Does this "Peter Wang" happen to know a urologist by the name of "Dick Chopp"?

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[KatAngel]

You read too much into my post. I was being neither almighty nor defensive. Almighty would mean implying that I was smarter than entity x, or group x. It isn't almighty to be aware that my intelligence is higher than the average, as, I would imagine, are those of a good number of others who frequent slashdot. It takes a certain degree of logical-spacial intelligence to gain a strong affinity for technology. Then again, it's possible I'm overestimating slashdot.

At any rate, even if I *was* being defensive, which I wasn't, it certainly wouldn't have been over the comment that I'm a cat from outer space. I love cats. However, I hear so many stereotypes, perhaps it's merely a matter of instinct to quell them when I hear them, even in jokes. Jokes that rely on stereotypes (especially when those stereotypes are truly believed by a large number of people) fail to amuse me. (And there is a difference between "not amused" and "defensive" or "angry.")

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[Hurricane78]

You do not know much about women, do you? :P

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[Anonymous Coward]

Except that was posted by an AC. Like me.

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[ElKry]

Well, first things first, the irony of you telling me that I read too much into your post, then taking seriously the assertiveness that I believe you are being defensive of me saying you're a cat from Outer Space is pretty much the most ironic thing I've read this morning, which granted has started less than an hour ago.

Now, and totally ignoring your ramblings about intelligence and technology and averages, let's move to the next point. :

Jokes that rely on stereotypes.

Ok, so let's make something clear: stereotypes are sociological constructs based on empirical statistical evidence. By definition, being cultural knowledge and not individual knowledge, they can have a generation delay if changes occur to the grounds where that statistical data is based.

Jokes about stereotypes can be of two main types:

1) Jokes created by generations less than two generational replacements away from the social change that renders the stereotype incorrect, or 2) Jokes created by further generations.

The jokes contained in "1" are generally speaking jokes aimed at ridicule or derision of the joke's subject. The jokes in "2", however, even if they can contain exactly the same words, are created to ridicule the people from the previous generations, or those in the current generation whose beliefs are still rooted in the stereotype, against all statistical and social change available. They can also be aimed (and this is your case) at the excessive (to absurd levels) defensiveness of some members of the social group that the stereotype refers to, or white knights that believe the defense of that group to be their life's goal.

Now, the only way you can distinguish easily between those two types of jokes is by context and by knowing the person (or getting subtle hints in the joke itself, or accompanying sentences. This of course requires a high capability for empathy, a good sense of humour, and a clear view of the world without excessive defensiveness clouding your judgment, and we both know dykes don't have that.

See?

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[ElKry]

That first sentence didn't really make much sense, but I'm still at my first Red Bull today.

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[scotch]

Can you guys take this shit someplace else?

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[KatAngel]

I know you're just going to take this as me still not getting your point, but I'm going to have to disagree that stereotypes are based on "empirical statistical evidence." More often, they're based on false assumptions and assertions made by the media. Take, for example, the stereotype that all muslims hate America - that is so FAR from being based in empirical statistical evidence that it's not even funny. It's based on a very small faction of the muslim religion that got media coverage due to their actions. That's why I correct stereotypes, whether I get the joke or not, because people who make the jokes quite often seriously believe their stereotypes. And without knowing you, as you said yourself, I can't know whether you are making a joke of type 1 or type 2. Thus, I took the route of "just in case." (Even though I could tell you obviously weren't seriously questioning my gender with your post, there was no evidence whether or not you truly believed emoticons to be a "female" trait.)

Also, it's not always social change that renders a stereotype incorrect. Quite often - I would say more often than not - such stereotypes are incorrect from inception, as in the example above. However, if, after this point, you still disagree with my view, then I think we should just agree to disagree on this point. Further argument will go nowhere, and we're WILDLY off topic from the discussion, which was already wildly off topic from TFA.

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[kimvette]

They're illegal. In a bathroom you have a reasonable expectation of privacy.

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[Hurricane78]

You mean you prefer ignoring any emotions (like being happy) and only allow yourself to smile, in the deepest depths of your basement? :P

If you call me female, then I'm proud of what you think means to be "female". (To actually have emotions, and use them.)

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[Anonymous Coward]

Mod parent up, truth. Actually he's never tried to hide his identity at all, he's an exhibitionist and has a public profile (NSFW, obviously.)

He posted pictures to usenet, they got collected into "gap.zip" and popularised by stileproject (back before it sucked), and finally goatse.cx was created to give the gift of hello.jpg to the world.

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[Hurricane78]

Hey, I *knew* exactly, how you would react to everything I said, because people react that way, no matter it really is. :)
But who am I to judge. It was just a thought anyway. Who cares. :)

I wonder though, why you did associate dominance with disagreement or arguing. That would be bad. Real dominance is earned. With respect, and being wise.
Being a man, being dominant, and disagreeing/arguing, are three different concepts, with no necessary relation.

Whatever. I wish you a happy relationship, and I'm out now. :)

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[ElKry]

You didn't actually read anything of the above, did you?

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[Hurricane78]

You know, that you do not have to read every single comment in here, do you? Or is your basement life so boring, that this is the only thing left to distract you from realizing this fact? How about you go out in the sun, like I will do right now. :)

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[ElKry]

You're missing a lot of things, which surprises me knowing your above-average intelligence levels. But as you seems to dislike offtopicness, I'll keep it short: the type of statistical data that generates stereotypes is stereotypical data fueled by the base sample the subgroup creating the stereotype has access to. To further enhance your example, "a very small faction of the muslim religion that got media coverage" is all the sample for statistical evidence most of the American population has access to when it comes to the Islamic religion. It doesn't help that the Islamic religion and the main religion of the American population have fought wars against each other in the past (without going into who started what), which is deeply stuck inside the social consciousness. Therefore an stereotype is born (tho, given the short-livedness of said stereotype it is more correct to name it a "misconception" than a stereotype, but I said I was going to keep it short).

Notice the relevance (again) of the generational data. Most people that believe "all muslims hate America" are from the previous generation, and people from our generation that believe it are usually shielded (by themselves, or by environment) from the parts of the so called "mainstream", or basic repository of information of our generation, that would be relevant to revealing the misconception.

Finally, you claim that you can't know if I was being serious or not in my joke, given that you don't know me. I said you're both cats from Outer Space right after my joke. I rest my case.

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[KatAngel]

I didn't mean to imply that dominance had to do with disagreement. What I meant to say was that we both ask before we do anything and ensure that the other approves, so neither one of us has the "last word." If she disapproves, I won't do it, and if I disapprove, she won't. (Trust me - I've had relationships in the past where I've acted as both the dominant and the submissive member, and this isn't one of them. We're mutual.) The point about arguments was meant to say that, in most cases, we share the exact same mindset, so the need for either of us to assume a dominant role doesn't arise. Taken moment by moment, there are times when I'm more dominant, and times when she is, but, in a general sense, we share the role. Anywho...

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[Romancer]

Beezlebub33 is correct.

The quote that even you posted was:
"If you are willing to give up your privacy in an airport simply because someone used that as a point of terrorism in the past, you're pretty narrow minded."

Maybe I should have emphasized the "in an airport" part a bit more. Just because the focus is on an airport right now, it doesn't mean that it is any more likely to be a target again, in fact it is probably the opposite since all the attention and awareness goes against the likelihood of anything clandestine. Instead, the other targets of similar situation are more likely since all the money and attention is being diverted.

I think that the better phrase would be tunnel vision.

As to the comment about:
"If anything, *you* are being narrow minded in considering his viewpoint invalid."

A simple question, why?

Why is considering his viewpoint narrow minded, and where did I say it was invalid.

Here's the approved definition:
Main Entry: narrow-minded
Pronunciation: \-mn-dd\
Function: adjective
Date: 1625
: lacking in tolerance or breadth of vision

I'd say that "lacking in breadth of vision" pretty much fits in my observation that focusing on an airport as a place to increase security as opposed to other just as likely places is narrow minded. (tunnel vision is still more accurate)

So:
"As far as I can tell, there's really no reason to assume that someone willing to give up privacy at an airport in the name of security is narrow-minded."

I disagree, since the original post said, and I quoted exactly:
"...the airport is the one place where I am willing to give up some privacy and convenience to gain more security." ...the one place...

That would be the issue at hand here. That the poster would be willing to give up the security at that one place as opposed to others. It shows that they do not have the breadth of view to understand that they are more likely to be attacked in some other place and should be more worried about that than the airport in particular.

I fail to see where your understanding of the phrase "narrow minded" is coming from and how the actual definition applies to my post commenting on the narrow perspective of the previous poster.

   

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[Anonymous Coward]

Woooooooooooooosh It was making reference to the common saying "Rock out with your cock out". Also, a "walk out" is the act of collectively leaving a place (workplace, school, etc) as an act of protest

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[KatAngel]

I know I asked for the discussion to end, but your statement that I've missed a few things seems based on misunderstanding of what I wrote.

"a very small faction of the muslim religion that got media coverage" is all the sample for statistical evidence most of the American population has access to when it comes to the Islamic religion.

Exactly why I respond by debunking said stereotypes. Just because the sample was small doesn't make it any less worthwhile to introduce the person to a larger dataset. Your statement only reinforces the reasoning behind my response.

Finally, you claim that you can't know if I was being serious or not in my joke, given that you don't know me. I said you're both cats from Outer Space right after my joke. I rest my case.

Read what I said again. I didn't say I couldn't tell if you were serious, I said I couldn't tell whether or not you believed the stereotype as a "general" truth that applies to "most" women. I already said I realized you weren't being serious, but one can make a joke in jest and still believe that the stereotype on which they based it has validity. Without hearing the tone of your voice, or having prior information as to your personality and beliefs, it was impossible to determine. The same joke made now that we've spoken would, obviously, warrant a different response.

Having had some discussion with you now, I have some insight into what sort of person you are, and that data enables me to fully understand the intentions of your original joke, which were - to me - ambiguous at first. Discussing it further will neither make my initial response nor your initial joke any different, as they are both in the past, so perhaps we should accept that we each misunderstood the other's intentions, and move on.

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[Anonymous Coward]

Yes. Damn mods giving karma to anon.

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[misexistentialist]

I feel it is my duty to correct your misspelling of "per se". I would also dispute your usage, but I have found "women" on the internet to be stereotypically illogical. You see, the men impersonating them tend to exaggerate, often going so far as to choose user names with "angel" in them.

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[KatAngel]

Actually, "KatAngel" is derived from my real name, which is all the hint I'll give as to what my real name is. And you're the third person to correct my spelling of "per se." And I realized after submitting it that it was the wrong choice of words, but slashdot doesn't let me edit my post, so... there you go. And let's not get into stereotypes. I've talked about them enough on this page already.

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[trunicated]

You said "duty" in a toilet thread... *snickers*

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[sumdumass]

It's not about identification in that way, it's about finding the short dicked fuckers who have problems getting and keeping pussy. Those are the ones who have a lot of rage built up and will commit terrorists acts in general.

So this is change we can believe in. Instead of water boarding known terrorists, we are going after everyone with a small pecker. You see, all those nude picture at abu ghraib showed a pattern of short dicks and rejections that was later verified at club gitmo with the smallest of peckers belonging to terrorist who have resumed terrorist activities after their release. Now instead of having to torture terrorist bent on killing you or someone you know, we just round up the small peckered people and not worry too much about it.

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[Anonymous Coward]

"the safest place would probably be right on the urinal"

Osama bin Laden is in your urinal.
Run for your life!

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[Anonymous Coward]

Both of them.

Apparently their motto is, "So many men, so little time,"

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[Anonymous Coward]

Wow, your post is also only following cliches, jumping on bandwagons, and repeating someone else's jokes for perhaps the hundredth time in your life in an attempt to sound funny, witty, or intelligent. I know you're only 'doing your duty,' par se. Fulfilling your obligation to slashdot society.

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[UncleTogie]

They're illegal. In a bathroom you have a reasonable expectation of privacy.

That's what I thought, and looked up Texas Penal code Sec. 21.15... It states:

Sec. 21.15. IMPROPER PHOTOGRAPHY OR VISUAL RECORDING. (a) In this section, "promote" has the meaning assigned by Section 43.21.
(b) A person commits an offense if the person:
(1) photographs or by videotape or other electronic means records, broadcasts, or transmits a visual image of another at a location that is not a bathroom or private dressing room:
(A) without the other person's consent; and
(B) with intent to arouse or gratify the sexual desire of any person;
(2) photographs or by videotape or other electronic means records, broadcasts, or transmits a visual image of another at a location that is a bathroom or private dressing room:
(A) without the other person's consent; and
(B) with intent to:
(i) invade the privacy of the other person; or
(ii) arouse or gratify the sexual desire of any person; or
(3) knowing the character and content of the photograph, recording, broadcast, or transmission, promotes a photograph, recording, broadcast, or transmission described by Subdivision (1) or (2). (c) An offense under this section is a state jail felony.
(d) If conduct that constitutes an offense under this section also constitutes an offense under any other law, the actor may be prosecuted under this section or the other law.
(e) For purposes of Subsection (b)(2), a sign or signs posted indicating that the person is being photographed or that a visual image of the person is being recorded, broadcast, or transmitted is not sufficient to establish the person's consent under that subdivision.

I'm no lawyer, but it seems that just posting signs is not a legal waiver to the invasion of privacy.

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[Anonymous Coward]

Don't worry. There are people who can help you.

I agree. Women could help us. Too bad this is /.

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[svnt]

Liar!

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[Anonymous Coward]

So mean.
Bad day today, huh? relax, you'll live longer.

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[Anonymous Coward]

you aren't really a woman you are a dude pretending to be a woman. admit it.

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[Anonymous Coward]

I wonder how this is going to catch any female terrorist...

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[RedDevilCG]

How do you know the poster wasn't female in the first place? Aren't you just as guilty in furthering the joke, and stereotype by your response?

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[ConceptJunkie]

Well then... mods on crack? Ya got me.

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[Anonymous Coward]

i am not like them and i am glad of it. if they want to have the same "freedom" we have and the same "prosperity" we have. then they can move here and quit their whining and jihad bullshit. nobody is forcing them to live in a giant catlitter box. they are choosing to live there and complain about their "plight" seriously they are just bitching for the sake of bitching because they are too fucking dumb or assholish or small minded to do something different. i may sound racist but at least i am being honest. and like i said before. they want out of the cat box all they have to do is move somewhere else... i hear Hawaii is rather nice...

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[Anonymous Coward]

How long do you think it will take to for some video of a person taking a leak will get on the Internet? There was a case in the UK where a surveillance video of a guy who was going to kill himself. The authorities got to him and got him therapy. His life was getting back on track. The video got out and he lost his job and he ended up killing himself anyway. Can you imagine how much a tabloid would pay for just a still shot from these cameras? The videos *will*" get out. Furthermore, why only urinals? Is it because only guys do bad things? Well, if they never put them in the men's stalls or women's bathrooms the usefulness of the video cameras becomes very small as far as security is concerned. As with a lot of things the DHS does, video cameras in public restrooms is a very poorly thought out idea.

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[Anonymous Coward]

qq

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[Binkleyz]

So...

2 things.

#1.. I'm still not convinced that this is real.. Seems entirely too much like a prank to me.

#2. To your point regarding the Texas Penal Code, I'm not sure how relevant that is, assuming this is NOT a hoax. The TSA and DHS are Federal agencies, and as such are not overly constrained in the performance of their duties by STATE law... I'm pretty sure there are a whole slew of things that would be perfectly legal in a venue that was NOT controlled by federal (as opposed to state...) law that are thoroughly ILLEGAL under it. For example, around (not just within.. but on the roads immediately around it as well..) an airport, the TSA/DHS has the more or less absolute right to stop and THOROUGHLY search your car without individualized suspicion or probable cause, where outside of the confines of an airport (and its surrounds) that would require a warrant or probable cause.

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[diggitzz]

Are there photos around here somewhere?? I wasn't aware...

Otherwise, perhaps you should speak for yourself when evaluating the attractiveness of the crowd. I know MANY sexy geeks, and I'm one of them. :)

As a matter of fact, I think more geeks are sexy than not, since there's some mark of intelligence in figuring out proper hygiene, being creative enough to dress yourself well, and analyzing your food intake habits, especially as a ratio to your physical-motion habits. If you can't do those basic analyses, why would you consider yourself even halfway smart?

Medical conditions and face/shape/fashion-preferences aside, only idiots are fat and ugly (ie: unhealthy). They demonstrate physically that they can't research information, and/or can't think through the consequences of their decisions or adjust their actions accordingly. I fail to believe that they would be any better at it when applied to a technical scope, and I've often found that they compensate for their lack of sound reasoning with arrogance (as though laziness and stupidity are glorious virtues).

Why would anyone *want* to even remotely identify with that set of qualities? Does it make you feel better to think that everyone else in your field is just as ignorant?

Very few people are "naturally blessed" with being "thin and beautiful" (because those quoted statements together imply a medical disorder and skewed notion of beauty!), but just about everyone is capable of being healthy, work which naturally results in being sexy and good-looking, which can be objectively measured (and ego-rewarded!) in supermarket smiles and free drinks from strangers, making public confidence easier for the introvert to muster, inevitably leading to a more rewarding career as well. It's a direct correlation, it's obvious, it's documented, and the methods to achieving it are clear.

This simplicity leads me to believe that there are more good-looking men and women on Slashdot than generally assumed, though perhaps they're quiet about it to avoid offending the fat and ugly people who believe otherwise. I have no such reservation, as I myself am offended to be off-hand categorized as not-good-looking just because I'm here.

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[diggitzz]

I'm a straight woman, hooked up with a straight man... we're both damn sexy, and we both work in physics research! We both hang out on Slashdot, and we're only getting sexier the older and smarter we get.

These generalizations are offensive, as generalizations generally are.

Geeks are beautiful *because* they're smart, even more so when they use their smarts to be more healthy and happy. Gender and orientation don't come into it.

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[jgs]

I can't quite believe I'm feeding the trolls, but...

i am not like them and i am glad of it. if they want to have the same "freedom" we have and the same "prosperity" we have.

Riiight, those are the only motivations. Or maybe that's a strawman that was set up by the Bush administration.

then they can move here and quit their whining and jihad bullshit. nobody is forcing them to live in a giant catlitter box. they are choosing to live there and complain about their "plight" seriously they are just bitching for the sake of bitching because they are too fucking dumb or assholish or small minded to do something different. i may sound racist

Yes, you do. But at least you balance it out by sounding ignorant as well.

but at least i am being honest.

Though not well-informed.

and like i said before. they want out of the cat box all they have to do is move somewhere else... i hear Hawaii is rather nice...

Here's a cartoon flow-chart based on actual research and facts explaining a few of the things you clearly don't understand about how difficult it is to immigrate to the USA. I expect other Western countries have similar, or worse, flowcharts of their own.

(One thing I would add to the flow chart is an initial box for "do you have enough money to travel from your home country to the USA?". You may find this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(nominal)_per_capita>chart of GDP per capita for various countries to be illuminating. Sorry, not a cartoon. Remember that the chart is overoptimistic because it only gives you the mean, not the median. The median is likely to fall below the mean.)

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[Lafeek]

Or maybe the mods got humor, too. And, who knows, they even might be humans!

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[Anonymous Coward]

I agree in every way. Quite honestly how often does terrorism happen by hijacking an airplane anyways? At this point we all know that 9/11 was a scam and even if it isn't, it happened once. There are urinals that videocam you taking a piss, racist "random" inspections, a see-through clothes machine that people can see you naked or a pat down search as an alternative, water being illegal etc etc... It's so sad how much paranoia there are with airplanes these days. And the airplane industry are gullible enough to buy whatever "protection" products are available to make people feel more secure.

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[EdIII]

only idiots are fat and ugly (ie: unhealthy). They demonstrate physically that they can't research information, and/or can't think through the consequences of their decisions or adjust their actions accordingly. I fail to believe that they would be any better at it when applied to a technical scope, and I've often found that they compensate for their lack of sound reasoning with arrogance (as though laziness and stupidity are glorious virtues).

Let me guess.... your ideal job would be at a Nazi concentration camp right? Just burning the fat and ugly since they are stupid, arrogant, lazy, and stupid?

You seem to be offended by a comment that was just meant to be funny (even though I was repeating a cliche I admit), but you are so genuinely offensive with your statement it reaches a level so abhorrent that very few individuals qualify for.

Assuming that all fat and ugly people are stupid and share other negative traits is no different than the baseless assertions in our recent past that niggers had smaller brains and could not handle certain jobs and that white people were better suited for them.

You seem to be filled with so much hate and disdain for overweight and ugly people that you yourself have created and are perpetuating a very ugly stereotype.

I can deal with differences of opinion and even some of the heated arguments I have had on Slashdot. Your seething bigotry and hatred is just sad, pathetic, what I personally believe is the number one cause of human misery on this planet.

Do us all a favor and just kill yourself. Seriously. Moderators can mod me down, burn my karma, that's just fine. Kill yourself and make the planet a better place for the rest of us.

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[Anonymous Coward]

> Or did you mean on the plane? Where there should be a solid impenetrable door to the cockpit and an absolute no negotiate policy.

That whole cockpit door thing is just another example of security theater. Talk to any jet pilot out there; they have an "unwritten understanding" amongst themselves, that ever since 9/11, their solution is simple:

1. Pilot and Co-Pilot don their oxygen masks.
2. Depressurize the cabin, and knock everyone out (except them) via hypoxia.
3. Dive the plane. Get it down and onto the ground as quick as possible.

Flight crews can hear who's approaching them a lot easier when the door is open.

What good is a "no-negotiate" policy to have on paper? Pilots are human.

Knock everyone out first, then ask questions later. That's the ticket.

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[Mozk]

No, but I do hang out with my wang out.

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[balloonhead]

pics or it didn't happen

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[Mr. Freeman]

There's a control in the cockpit to depressurize the cabin?

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[Jah-Wren Ryel]

Since he was the original poster, he's entirely justified in wooooshing, since he clearly knows what his intent was -- whether or not anyone else knew it is a separate issue.

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[Merlin843]

and nobody even noticed

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[gpronger]

But I believe you've mentioned that this isn't due to some perversity, just that it doesn't fit in your pants.

Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[P0ltergeist333]

Funny, you are for the most part preaching to the choir. I agree that for the most part the obvious security holes we know about have been addressed, and in some cases with a very heavy hand. On the other hand, to ignore the fact that planes can be used as weapons that create much more death and destruction than most other attacks would be stupid. While the liquid explosive scare was laughable when you think of someone attempting to execute some touchy chemistry that produces noxious fumes either in their seat or in the plane bathroom; it becomes less so when you consider the airport bathroom as a potential location for the necessary reactions.

I am personally not worried about dying in a terrorist attack at all. No one should be. Better chance of getting struck by lightning, never mind car accidents, etc.

That said, I still must say that YES, IMO planes have the potential for the higher casualty rate as well as more press coverage than a bus, especially considering the bus depots I've been in had nowhere near as many people going through them as the airports I've been through. Buses are not filled with jet fuel either. Nor could they build up anywhere near as much impetus as a plane.

I am slightly unsure concerning subways, as I have never been in one. I could surmise, especially considering the Sarin gas attack, that unless they somehow managed to get tons of ANFO or some other destructive and/or poisonous materials in undetected, it would be hard to match the destruction of sheer impetus and jet fuel.

I agree that the terrorists are trying to destroy our freedoms and turn our government into the monster that their propaganda claims it to be. The irony is not lost on me that that is exactly what the Bush administration attempted to do by turning 9/11 into their Reichstag fire, used to justify the Patriot act, an aggressive unjust war, and the suspension of Constitutional and Human Rights for those deemed 'enemy combatants', etc.,etc.,etc.

Thus comes my lack of opposition to a camera in an airport bathroom:
1. There IS a credible threat(however slim), as well as warranted fears.
2. Hopefully this kind of thing will placate those that unreasonably fear attacks, as well as those that would prey upon such fears. Refusal to compromise often leaves you with no position at all.
3. Allowing some types of surveillance in potentially warranted situations at little risk to our personal liberties also creates test cases to be fought in court, rather than trying to oppose such things after they place cameras in our homes.

         

Urine a lot of trouble TSA!!

[erroneus]

There is no way they will be able to escape the public outcry on this one. This is utterly incredible.

Re:Urine a lot of trouble TSA!!

[Brian Gordon]

The cameras are mounted on the wall above the urinal; they're not staring at you out of the disinfectant cake. The only people with anything to be embarrassed about are the douchebags who lean forward and put their hand on the back wall and roll their head back and make weird facial expressions, and I don't feel sorry for them at all.

Re:Urine a lot of trouble TSA!!

[physicsphairy]

It is a joke. Note how half the lettering is bleeding out? Printed on an inkjet. Also, the suggested idea of combining flush sensors and cameras is absurd in every way. *is thinking about putting up some similar placards at his own airport*

Re:Urine a lot of trouble TSA!!

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm one of those douchebags. The ALS makes my legs and trunk too weak for me to stand unsupported, and my neck won't hold my head up unless I lean it back far enough to balance. I'll try to piss my pants next time, so as to avoid bothering you.

Re:Urine a lot of trouble TSA!!

[maxume]

This was my immediate thought (without even looking at the sticker) and I am somewhat surprised that yours is the first comment I saw saying as much.

Re:Urine a lot of trouble TSA!!

[FooRat]

Maybe this 'joke' is actually a floater, to test public reaction, and start getting people accustomed to the idea? Yeah yeah, tinfoil hat blah blah - I won't be at all surprised though if this all just becomes 'normal' to future generations.

Re:Urine a lot of trouble TSA!!

[ericspinder]

The cameras are mounted on the wall above the urinal

They are not 'mounted' anywhere in the bathrooms; It's a joke, some people are just too easy to fool.

Re:Urine a lot of trouble TSA!!

[Anonymous Coward]

The cameras are mounted on the wall above the urinal; they're not staring at you out of the disinfectant cake.

You mean there not putting the camera in the one place that doesn't get pissed on in a men's room?

Re:Urine a lot of trouble TSA!!

[Anonymous Coward]

I was in Hobby only a week or two ago, I don't remember seeing those signs. Because if I *had* seen a camera while I was pissing you can damn well be sure I would have pissed all over it.

That's not to say they're for sure not there, but I don't recall seeing one. I'm going to double check next time I fly out of Hobby, and if I do see one, I'll be sure to accidentally all over it.

Re:Urine a lot of trouble TSA!!

[Anonymous Coward]

Screw you I don't want some government mothersucker taking pictures of my penis.

I don't want some government mothersucker jerking off to video of my wife, or of my son.

It is inevitable that these images WILL get leaked, and who exactly do we prosecute when images or video of a 12 year old girls vagina gets posted on the internet?

And screw all you cowardly mothersuckers for accepting this crap.
-=-=-

It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, "Peace! Peace!" -- but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death!

Patrick Henry - March 23, 1775

Re:Urine a lot of trouble TSA!!

[Mr. DOS]

Right. Because bureaucratic stupidity never results in technology (in this case, an inkjet printer, where it should've been laser and laminated) being used inappropriately.

      --- Mr. DOS

Re:Urine a lot of trouble TSA!!

[Belial6]

Seriously, 'too easy to fool' might not be an accurate description. After all, it has taken trillions of dollars and thousands of lives to pull this joke off. I'm thinking that if you have to kill people and spend trillions of dollars to trick someone, they are pretty damn hard to trick.

Re:Urine a lot of trouble TSA!!

[Mr. Freeman]

Soap dispenser would work well too.

Excuse me but...

[KneelBeforeZod]

"When did we put on yellow lens filters on the cameras?" "We didn't"

Re:Excuse me but...

[Anonymous Coward]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Pacific_(1958_film)#Production_history

Re:Excuse me but...

[stepdown]

I thought nobody's aim would be that bad, then I noticed the splash-back on the label.

Why not in stalls in BOTH sexes?

[cfryback]

Hmmm...Interesting - but why only on Urinals? Why not in the stalls in BOTH sexes of restrooms? Either way, this confirms that I don't really want to make the US as a destination when I make trips from Australia to Canada...

Re:Why not in stalls in BOTH sexes?

[Z00L00K]

And in people's bedrooms too. Why not run an EEG scan on everyone before boarding too?

Re:Why not in stalls in BOTH sexes?

[Rakishi]

Have you read ANY of the stories on proposed security measures in the last five years? Only reason they don't run lie detectors on everyone is because it'd take too much time.

Re:Why not in stalls in BOTH sexes?

[SlashWombat]

Even Hitler let you pee in peace ... I'm afraid (very afraid!) that the USA has lost its way.

It used to be Up, Up and away, but with camera's looking on it really is a Downder ... or perhaps
Truth, Justice, and the American way!

Re:Why not in stalls in BOTH sexes?

[Racemaniac]

News for nerds, stuff that matters.

Re:Why not in stalls in BOTH sexes?

[dbIII]

There's one other reason.
That silly device invented by the writer of Wonder Woman and adopted by the FBI at a time when they were infamous for taking kickbacks doesn't actually work.

Re:Why not in stalls in BOTH sexes?

[YourExperiment]

Female terrorists? Yeah, right!

Re:Why not in stalls in BOTH sexes?

[smchris]

Why not in the stalls in BOTH sexes

You don't get out much on the internet, do you? Homeland Security is finally catching up with the pornographers.

Re:Why not in stalls in BOTH sexes?

[makomk]

And you think the fact that it doesn't work would actually stop them? You must be optimistic.

Re:Why not in stalls in BOTH sexes?

[Nichole_knc]

New website... TSA_upshirts.gov

Re:Why not in stalls in BOTH sexes?

[Nichole_knc]

Well I ain't perfect TSA_upskirts.com

Re:Why not in stalls in BOTH sexes?

[dzfoo]

Haha! Right, because all the other measures they have concocted and put in practice do work?

        -dZ.

Re:Why not in stalls in BOTH sexes?

[Trailer Trash]

Hmmm...Interesting - but why only on Urinals? Why not in the stalls in BOTH sexes of restrooms? Either way, this confirms that I don't really want to make the US as a destination when I make trips from Australia to Canada...

It's all cool - we have enough gullible people here without you...

Re:Why not in stalls in BOTH sexes?

[Anonymous Coward]

You're going from AUSTRALIA to CANADA and you're worried about civil rights violations at a layover in the U.S.? You really need to pay more attention to what's going on in those two countries.

Re:Why not in stalls in BOTH sexes?

[Metapsyborg]

That's rich; someone from Australia, going to Canada, complaining about U.S. violations of privacy. Have you read a paper in your own country lately? Australia is about as bad as the UK, which probably monitors its citizens more closely than China.

Re:Why not in stalls in BOTH sexes?

[Anarchduke]

Seriously, female terrorists.

There are even a few famous female terrorists, such as Ulrike Meinhof

Re:Why not in stalls in BOTH sexes?

[Lunzo]

You can get Sydney to Vancouver non-stop flights. Much better than having a stop-over in Honolulu and getting fingerprinted, going through DHS inspection bullshit, filling out immigration papers and video taped while taking a piss in a real toilet. All this happens despite the fact that you're in transit and not spending any time in the USA.

Bullshit

[QuantumG]

Well, just to get this out of the way.. this is bullshit. And dear god when did Slashdot become Digg?

Anyway, I think the comments are more interesting, especially this one:

From Inner Loop Realtor:

Y'know about 3 years ago I was mugged in the Hobby Airport parking garage. I told them at the time that they needed cameras in the garage. This is typical of bureaucratic idiocy. Meanwhile, watch your back.

1. I thought Houston was in Texas.. why weren't you packing? Defend yourself asshole.
2. Ya know that security cameras are completely useless for identifying people, right? I mean, if *you* couldn't identify the guy, then how is a security camera gunna help? You don't actually believe that "we zoomed in and cleaned it up a bit" shit that you see on 24, right?
3. Has anyone ever done a study (a real study) of the effectiveness of security cameras at preventing crime? Any sort of crime.
4. It's this kind of knee jerk "we need more surveillance" reaction that the DHS contractors are banking on. You are the problem.

Re:Bullshit

[Anonymous Coward]

> And dear god when did Slashdot become Digg?

A short time after Taco realized that Digg had overtaken /. in web traffic, ad revenue, site activity and users.

Any other bright questions you got for the class there?

Re:Bullshit

[guyminuslife]

"I thought Houston was in Texas.. why weren't you packing? Defend yourself asshole."

AIRPORT.

He wasn't packing because he hadn't unpacked yet. You have to check those, you know.

Or maybe---since he had just flown in---he wasn't from around here. ;-)

Re:Bullshit

[Anonymous Coward]

>> 1. I thought Houston was in Texas.. why weren't you packing? Defend yourself asshole.

Please carry a firearm into the Houston airport terminal and let us know how that works out for you. kthanksbye.

Re:Bullshit

[cheros]

3. Has anyone ever done a study (a real study) of the effectiveness of security cameras at preventing crime? Any sort of crime.

Here you go, that's web economy for you (two answers in one link).

Have a nice day.

Re:Bullshit

[solkimera]

It's mostly to keep employees from shoplifting the stuff they are supposed to be selling. nothing more.

Re:Bullshit

[Sulphur]

Yeah. And they don't like being called assholes. You would think they would be used to it by now.

Re:Bullshit

[ScrewMaster]

You don't actually believe that "we zoomed in and cleaned it up a bit" shit that you see on 24, right?

The best example of that was a scene from CSI, where the tech is shown some blurry camera footage and says, "Well, I could run a reverse algorithmic on it." Said process magically cleaned up the image, of course.

Re:Bullshit

[Anonymous Coward]

>> 1. I thought Houston was in Texas.. why weren't you packing? Defend yourself asshole.

Please carry a firearm into the Houston airport terminal and let us know how that works out for you. kthanksbye.

He wasn't in the terminal, he was in the parking garage. In Texas, you have the right to keep a concealed handgun in your car without a license. If you have a Concealed handgun license (CHL) then you CAN take your gun into the actual airport buildings, just not past the metal detectors/secure area.

See for clarification: http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/ftp/forms/ls-16.pdf

Re:Bullshit

[Anonymous Coward]

3. Has anyone ever done a study (a real study) of the effectiveness of security cameras at preventing crime? Any sort of crime.

The video from a security camera at a school in Woodstock, Ontario just helped catch two individuals involved in the abduction, rape and murder of an 8 year old girl. Granted, the camera didn't prevent any crime, although it did help catch the killers.

Re:Bullshit

[Anonymous Coward]

On #3, I can't recall the article but I remember reading about a week or two ago of an analysis of the effect of CCTV on crime in England (may have just been London). Anyway, the jist if remember correctly was that it didn't reduce crime at all, just increased reporting of some certain types of crimes (and didn't increase resolution of those crimes). I'd go dig up the article for you, but tis sunny out and I want a beer.

Re:Bullshit

[Anti_Climax]

If it's anything like Arizona, he can walk all the way up to the security checkpoint for a concourse with a gun on his hip without so much as a sideways glance from TSA or PD. Of course he was in the parking garage so he could have one in the center console, map pocket of his door, anywhere in plain sight or in his closed glovebox provided it had a holster on it.

Re:Bullshit

[Anonymous Coward]

>> 1. I thought Houston was in Texas.. why weren't you packing? Defend yourself asshole.

Please carry a firearm into the Houston airport terminal and let us know how that works out for you. kthanksbye.

Wait, I have to bring my own? I was told that I would be issued one as soon as I land in Texas.

fake. Anyone can make up stickers.

[YesIAmAScript]

I'm actually bit jealous of whomever came up with that gag. He sure got a lot of mileage out of it.

It's clearly just a riff on the "naked X-ray" controversy going around.

Re:fake. Anyone can make up stickers.

[nurb432]

Might have been a gag, but its actually a federal offense since he was falsely claiming to be an agent of the federal government, complete with forged documents ( the sticker ).

Re:fake. Anyone can make up stickers.

[asylumx]

Well, that's what we get for having a random blog post serve as fodder for "Stuff that matters." Seems like any reporter worth a damn might have called the airport and asked, perhaps?

Re:fake. Anyone can make up stickers.

[klausner]

Don't be jealous. You too can spread some joy.

Re:fake. Anyone can make up stickers.

[Brobock]

I can say that I have made fake stickers for use in bathrooms. You know those hand blow dryers? I made a sticker that said.

1. Push Button.
2. Dispense Bacon.

Since the 3 wave bands in the depiction looked like that.

Re:fake. Anyone can make up stickers.

[thePowerOfGrayskull]

Might have been a gag, but its actually a federal offense since he was falsely claiming to be an agent of the federal government, complete with forged documents ( the sticker ).

Someone needs to arrest that sensor for impersonating an officer?

Re:fake. Anyone can make up stickers.

[Anonymous Coward]

agreed if this is real I will shit myself.

Illegal

[Renraku]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't this illegal?

I remember some stores had the pants sued off of them (no pun intended) when people found out the dressing rooms were being monitored by cameras, to prevent theft.

Lots of high end places have bathroom attendants. Their job is two-fold. I'm not quite sure of the first one, but I know the second one is to make sure people know that it isn't a place where they can go and shit in the sink or assemble guns from the parts they have hidden in their underwear.

Re:Illegal

[Anonymous Coward]

I thought so too. Not sure if this is a hoax or not yet...but on the other hand, when did DHS *not* consider itself above the law?

Re:Illegal

[justinlee37]

The first one is to hand you a towel to dry your hands with, and receive a tip for doing so.

Re:Illegal

[Anonymous Coward]

Third, sometimes they are also drug dealers...

Re:Illegal

[Fred_A]

The first one is to hand you a towel to dry your hands with, and receive a tip for doing so.

The very concept of tipping someone for picking up a towel has always baffled me. But then I never understood the purpose of the guy who was there to point out the bathroom in your hotel room either (ooh, so *that's* what a bathroom looks like !). Both services are worthless.

Re:Illegal

[jmcvetta]

Am I the only one who really hates being handed one measly paper towel by a servant, who then wants paid for his efforts, when there is a whole stack of towels sitting there which I could easily pick up by myself?

Re:Illegal

[justinlee37]

If the place was really worthy of a bathroom attendant then he'd hand you a cloth towel, not a paper one.

Re:Illegal

[justinlee37]

Maybe the bathroom attendant has to wash and fold all of those towels at the end of the night. That might be worth a tip.

I've never been to a hotel with busboys or anyone who showed me where the bathroom is. Sounds pretty silly.

Re:Illegal

[Anonymous Coward]

I know laws exist banning cameras in restrooms in many places. The question is do they apply here? Are these state laws? Does some federal thingy override these laws like in many parks?

Re:Illegal

[jmcvetta]

Amen to that!

Re:Illegal

[beth_tk]

Maybe it's illegal to watch you secretly, so that's why they've added the sign?

Re:Illegal

[Mr. Freeman]

No, that's worth the minimum wage he's being paid. Handing me a towel isn't worth shit.

Isn't it probably just a prank?

[Cyberllama]

Am I the only one who thinks this is just some prank pulled by some kid with an inkjet printer and some label paper? It would take 2 minutes to make that sticker and just slap it on a few urinals for giggles.

Like, I realize some ridiculous crap has happened in the past few years, but are we all so jaded we just automatically assume that this sort of thing is real?

Re:Isn't it probably just a prank?

[Brian Gordon]

are we all so jaded we just automatically assume

You must be new here.

Re:Isn't it probably just a prank?

[mattwarden]

If it is a joke, I bet someone goes to jail.

Re:Isn't it probably just a prank?

[PolygamousRanchKid]

Am I the only one who thinks this is just some prank pulled by some kid with an inkjet printer and some label paper?

My printers and label paper were not involved with this prank.

It would take 2 minutes to make that sticker and just slap it on a few urinals for giggles.

I would prefer to buy them in bulk, on eBay.

And I think that all the gents who got the joke and pissed on the stickers, had a hell of a laugh.

Like, I realize some ridiculous crap has happened in the past few years, but are we all so jaded we just automatically assume that this sort of thing is real?

Let's just hope that the security folks don't read Slashdot. This prank might give them so ideas.

Is it illegal now to shake it more than three times?

Re:Isn't it probably just a prank?

[Phroggy]

If it is a joke, I bet someone goes to jail.

For what crime, exactly?

Re:Isn't it probably just a prank?

[guyminuslife]

You do realize that in the War on Terror it isn't necessary to charge people with crimes, don't you?

Re:Isn't it probably just a prank?

[Farmer Tim]

I realize some ridiculous crap has happened in the past few years

The surveillance tapes show the crap was actually pretty ordinary. Oops, you weren't supposed to know about those cameras...

Re:Isn't it probably just a prank?

[Anonymous Coward]

If this a joke, there were no cameras to catch the guy who made this joke!

Re:Isn't it probably just a prank?

[wisty]

If it's a joke, they won't know who did it. Because there wouldn't be any cameras. (Unless there are ... and they just don't label them .... puts on tin foil codpiece)

Re:Isn't it probably just a prank?

[fastest fascist]

Hail Eris.

Re:Isn't it probably just a prank?

[somersault]

Tomorrow: Ironically it turns out there really are secret IR cameras installed in these facilities which caught him in the mischievous act of labelling. Hmm.

Re:Isn't it probably just a prank?

[mattwarden]

Strangely, it turns out that law enforcement has tools other than video evidence.

Re:Isn't it probably just a prank?

[mattwarden]

You must be new here.

Re:Isn't it probably just a prank?

[grcumb]

Am I the only one who thinks this is just some prank pulled by some kid with an inkjet printer and some label paper? It would take 2 minutes to make that sticker and just slap it on a few urinals for giggles.

No way it could be a fake. If somebody tried to plant those stickers the urinal cameras would have identified him immedi.... Oh. Hang on....

Re:Isn't it probably just a prank?

[Anonymous Coward]

If it is a joke, I bet someone goes to jail.

The cameras behind the mirrors will help catch them.

Re:Isn't it probably just a prank?

[jmcvetta]

For what crime, exactly?

Since when do you need to commit an actual crime to get arrested in Amerika?

Re:Isn't it probably just a prank?

[Anonymous Coward]

That only applies when you are captured as an unlawful combatant in a war zone.

Re:Isn't it probably just a prank?

[thePowerOfGrayskull]

Strangely, it turns out that law enforcement has tools other than video evidence.

I see what you did there...

Re:Isn't it probably just a prank?

[Anonymous Coward]

Yar, in college I lived near a convenience store with public phones that were routinely used to arrange drug transfers by the dealers in the nearby super-seedy apartment complex. My friend and I printed up a bunch of stickers with the local phone company logo and the statement "All conversations conducted through the use of this equipment are being monitored at all times" and slapped 'em on the phones.

It was quite funny watchin' 'em come up, pause, and slink back to the complex.

Any other confirmation?

[MindlessAutomata]

Source is just blogspam and image could easily have been faked in photoshop. The government is stupid and paranoid and not deserving of our love but this is might be just a wee bit over the top at this point in time...

Re:Any other confirmation?

[Anonymous Coward]

image could easily have been faked in photoshop.

Indeed. This looks shopped. I can tell from some of the pixels and from seeing quite a few shops in my time.

Re:Any other confirmation?

[YourExperiment]

Wee over the top - good advice.

Re:Any other confirmation?

[Anonymous Coward]

Source is just blogspam and image could easily have been faked in photoshop. The government is stupid and paranoid and not deserving of our love but this is might be just a wee bit over the top at this point in time... [emphasis added]

Ah geez... I hope you're ashamed of that one... :)

Re:Any other confirmation?

[Anonymous Coward]

just a wee bit over the top

heh heh heh.... he said "wee"

Re:Any other confirmation?

[shumacher]

a wee bit over the top

This made me laugh.

Re:Any other confirmation?

[scrib]

I'm sure it wasn't faked in photoshop... It's tough to get that "wet inkjet ink spread" just right. It's a real fake sticker, like "genuine gold flash."

Why is slashdot giving article space to such an amateur and obvious forgery?
(Yes, I'm new here. Why do you ask?)

Re:Any other confirmation?

[MindlessAutomata]

Well, uh, I'm sure the sticker was made in photoshop. So I'm still right!

Hrmm

[OrangeTide]

Would it be a felony for me to piss on the cameras?

Re:Hrmm

[Anonymous Coward]

I was thinking the same thing, but I'm wondering if this would get us on at least TWO no-fly lists.

Piece of cake, urinal cake

[Joebert]

What happens when the video from one of these cameras gets leaked onto the Internet ?

I get a lot of money and someone ends up scrubbing the urinals for the rest of their life instead of monitoring them, right ?

Re:Piece of cake, urinal cake

[benjamindees]

What happens when the video from one of these cameras gets leaked onto the Internet?

Urine trouble, then.

Re:Piece of cake, urinal cake

[Anonymous Coward]

Obvious answer: If it's leaking on the internets, you need to call a plumber. The internets are a series of tubes, remember?

When does "stupid" and "ridiculous"

[Jane Q. Public]

turn into "criminal? I think this is over the line.

If businesses in the United States cannot put video cameras in their bathrooms (and they can't), then neither can Homeland Security. They can't have it both ways.

If I found such a camera I would put duct-tape over it. That's just too damned far.

Re:When does "stupid" and "ridiculous"

[Anonymous Coward]

If I found such a camera I would put duct-tape over it.

Um, what are you doing in the men's room with a roll of duct tape?

Re:When does "stupid" and "ridiculous"

[Jane Q. Public]

Looking for cameras, of course.

Seriously, though, when I travel, I generally carry with me some essential survival equipment: pocket-size rain poncho; "space blanket"; some string; some tape; a couple of needles, 2 or 3 yards of thread in different colors, and a thimble; a magnifying glass; some safety pins; a multi-tool; at least a small lighter but usually also some matches in a waterproof case; a flint-steel-magnesium firestarter; a small but powerful flashlight (Surefire or equivalent).

Re:When does "stupid" and "ridiculous"

[dzfoo]

Ha! I get by with just duct-tape and a swiss-army knife. Anything else is superfluous.

          -dZ.

Re:When does "stupid" and "ridiculous"

[Anonymous Coward]

Going into the toilet with a roll of duct tape - I can't imagine why one would go around carying exactly duct tape. Just one more reason to put cameras in there.

Re:When does "stupid" and "ridiculous"

[thePowerOfGrayskull]

I'd say to take it with a grain of salt - a photoshopped image on somebody's blog page does not a conspiracy make.

I smell a prank.

[__aajfby9338]

I smell a prank.

Oddly, the prank smells a lot like asparagus.

Re:I smell a prank.

[Cyberllama]

I'm pretty sure that's a common side-effect from taking Modafinil.

Re:I smell a prank.

[__aajfby9338]

Well, that would explain why I've been smelling pranks for the last 83 hours.

Re:I smell a prank.

[Deanalator]

I prefer the description "pineapple gasoline".

Easy solution...

[symbolic]

Use them for target practice.

i wondered what larry craig was up to

[circletimessquare]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_Craig#2007_arrest_and_consequences

Re:i wondered what larry craig was up to

[The Real Nem]

After about 13 minutes of sitting in the stall, the police officer observed Craig lingering outside and frequently peeking through the crack of the door on the stall.

No doubt wondering WTF was taking the officer so long...

At 1216 hours, Craig tapped his right foot. I recognized this as a signal used by persons wishing to engage in lewd conduct. Craig tapped his toes several times and moves his foot closer to my foot. ... The presence of others did not seem to deter Craig as he moved his right foot so that it touched the side of my left foot which was within my stall area. Craig then proceeded to swipe his left hand under the stall divider several times, with the palm of his hand facing upward.

More like a signal that he was out of toilet paper (which explains why he was "lingering outside" prior to the foot tapping).

Re:i wondered what larry craig was up to

[Anonymous Coward]

No, that really is classic gay restroom sex behavior. Its practically a protocol with its own RFC.

AFAIK Larry Craig isn't mute. If you need TP in a restroom, saying out loud to you neighbor, "Could you pass me some paper? There's none in this stall." is much more likely to get you some paper than fondling the stall divider.

Stand close

[grahammm]

As the camera is on the wall above the urinal, unless there are also urinals on the opposite wall (in which case it should just see the backs of men using them), it will only see anything 'private' if you stand too far back. So make sure you stand close before unzipping, and zip up again at the urinal not while walking away.

unionized toilet flushing employees

[JimBobJoe]

I had this idea once for a short youtube feature.

It would show the normal black squares found on automatic toilets and urinals. But it would move into the wall to show employees sitting behind those squares, and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of being a unionized toilet flusher.

Think of it done in the style of the BBC's remarkable Look Around You series.

I have found people surprisingly creeped out by this idea.

Child Porn?!

[Lvdata]

By recording in the restroom isn't Homeland Security creating, viewing, saving Child Porn? How many people have access to the recordings? Are they accessible over the internet? I say sue them into the ground just over that.

As a side note, I would use those sensors/camera for target practice. I would feel bad for the janitor, but give me a break. A little yellow liquid civil disobedience.

Re:Child Porn?!

[iamacat]

Only if the children in question are fucking or striking suggestive poses. What, you thought pictures of nude children are illegal? Think again, perhaps even of your baby album.

Re:Child Porn?!

[Tony Hoyle]

Actually they are, if anyone else gets to see them. And people have faced serious questioning from the police over their baby albums.

The only safe way to live these days is to never even thinking of pointing a camera at anyone under 18.

Re:Child Porn?!

[KoopaStar]

But what if a child decides to masturbate at the urinal? That's clearly suggestive enough to constitute child porn.

Also: why are they just in urinals?

[Jane Q. Public]

Seems to me that is prima facie discrimination.

new moto?

[atarione]

DHS - We're Watching You Pee!

Why would anybody be surprised?

[hyades1]

They're a bunch of cocksuckers, why would it be a surprise that Homeland Security drones are trying to get information from urinals? J. Edgar Hoover was the head of the FBI when they did crap like this, and he used to prance around his office in ladies' dresses.

These guys are obviously cut from the same cloth.

Let me be the first to say

[Tablizer]

this really pisses me off!

Obvious Prank

[Phat_Tony]

I'm sure this is a prank. Since this is generating bad publicity for the DHS, they will probably catch the person who put these stickers on the urinals after reviewing the video from the real, covert hidden cameras they have covering the urinals.

Re:Obvious Prank

[Anonymous Coward]

Of course it's real how else they supposed to find out which terrorists are dropping deuces in the urinals! How would YOU like it someone came over to you, dropped their pants, and squeezed out a fudge nugget right in your eye?!

Who dunnit...

[irving47]

I bet a shiny quarter it was a college student from a fairly liberal school that is anti-police, anti-taser, etc... Probably an art student.

Clever prank, I guess. It would probably spook me out of peeing in that bathroom.

Nothing to worry about

[Anonymous Coward]

Guys, I heard that it is completely anonymous, they blur your face completely (unless you sign the agreement before they sell the videos online).

There's always a silver lining...

[TheMightyFuzzball]

At least I can put a sign saying "This area is under CCTV Surveillance in the interest of Crime Prevention and Public safety" in there and it'd actually be accurate.

The guy that printed these...

[mcrbids]

The guy that printed/posted these is sitting somewhere laughing his fool arse off. Srsly - it's obviously a fake, and it made /. front page!

Ever wonder about the dark red glass on the I/R sensor? It's ridiculous to think there's a camera in there...

chuckle chuckle...

What? That really pisses me off !!

[Bob_Who]

I am so pissed about this I could just let loose on everything. Is that how its gonna be? No more prissy plots pander to pious public pissing people. Pppfff!

Criminal Activity

[Anonymous Coward]

They should get 20 years minimum in the pen and get put on the sexual offender list ( which includes home address registration, and restrictions where you can live, such as living outside of 100 meters of a school or playground) for the rest of thier existance. INdividual citizens get much tougher sentances for just urinating in a public place, much less filming strangesrs doing it. Hypocracy at its greatest... Not even private business owners can do this even with the argument of security.

For those of you who aren't from Houston...

[Anubis IV]

Hobby Airport is a mid-sized airport on the south side of Houston, but it's dwarfed by Bush Intercontinental Airport, which is the big one around here, and, as you can guess by its name, services quite a few international flights on a daily basis. While I wouldn't put it past DHS to try something like this (though I'm with those who are calling it a prank or simply misunderstood/mistyped), Hobby would not be a good venue to start off in when you have a major international airport just a few miles away.

Re:For those of you who aren't from Houston...

[S.O.B.]

Hobby Airport is a mid-sized airport on the south side of Houston, but it's dwarfed by Bush Intercontinental Airport...

If this is a gag then wouldn't it have been more ironic to put the pee-pee camera at the "Bush" airport?

Re:For those of you who aren't from Houston...

[Tony Hoyle]

My god they named an airport after him? Will the insanity ever end?

Re:For those of you who aren't from Houston...

[Anonymous Coward]

It's named after Bush 41, but Bush 43. You know, the Bush who was a bit clueless, but not particularly harmful.

Re:For those of you who aren't from Houston...

[Guido von Guido]

Relax--it was named after George Herbert Walker Bush in the late nineties.

Re:For those of you who aren't from Houston...

[Merlin843]

You mean there are airports only for bushes? I am in favor of taking movies of bushes. Where would put the camera for a good shot of a bush.

So if this is paid for by taxpayers...

[viyh]

Is the data collected going to end up on data.gov?

Re:So if this is paid for by taxpayers...

[cpghost]

Is the data collected going to end up on data.gov?

Wikileaks seems more appropriate here...

front or back?

[lord3nd3r]

watch your back. errm.. I mean your front...

That's nothing

[Anonymous Coward]

I have installed a webcam in the urinal at At Hacking in Progress (HIP) 1997
XS4ALL is still sitting on the images, claiming they did not store them.
http://www.hip97.nl/

Counter Privacy - drive them nuts

[Anonymous Coward]

You can buy ir leds that flash from electronic places cheaply.
If not a IR modified bike flasher with leds spaced. say along top of a stall. Even if the camera is zoned for movement, this should trigger it. Glue or use chewing gum to affix flasher in same room.
Result: Camera always on.
The bonus solution is an electronic cricket - it chirps randomly, and shut up when either the lights are on or it 'hears movement'.
If they want to do it properly - go the Singapore solution, and fine people $500 for leaving without washing their hands or flushing.

funny sticker

[h-xman]

Yep, I have seen joky stickers like that... I think it was in that MAXIM magazine. I would never have guessed that anyone could take it seriously.

One day it'll be requirement...

[Anonymous Coward]

One day it'll be requirement to scan eye in a sake of authorization so having camera at that place would not be that convenient :)

EULA

[nog_lorp]

(By approaching this urinal you agree that all photos, video, artists renderings, and other visual media of your genitalia are (C) Wolfram Alpha LLC. We reserve the right to redistribute this media for any purposes.)

Remember ex-Senator "Wide Stance" Craig?

[SL Baur]

The stalls are apparently where all the action is anyway.

I'm not going to Houston then...

[Anonymous Coward]

I wouldn't want to reveal my Willy of Mass Destruction to the cameras.

Re:I'm not going to Houston then...

[TitusC3v5]

Why did you add an M?

Are there any in the ladies?

[Anonymous Coward]

I'd love to see one placed in the ladies toilets, too. Preferably underneath the seat, so we can get a good upskirt and piss shot. You know in case they um.. try to smuggle something in up there. That, and I can use it to imagine I'm getting my face pissed on by a broad.

pedo's

[timmarhy]

correct me if i'm wrong but isn't filming the genitals of the under age considered pedophila in the states? this means the federal goverment is commiting this exact crime.

Re:pedo's

[thePowerOfGrayskull]

The fact that this appears to be an obvious prank aside, I don't believe it is. Depends if it's in a sexually suggestive pose, done for sexual purposes, etc - otherwise baby photo albums would be cause for arrest.

Hard to read,

[MasterOfDisaster]

What's with all the unnessicary bolding that seems to occur ever three or four words. It almost seems like their word processor is trying to speak like Captain Kirk of the Starship Enterprise.

Re:Hard to read,

[dzfoo]

It's not unnessicary bolding, it's very much nessicary bolding; if it wasn't so nessicary I wouldn't have to respond so nessicarily.

        -dZ.

too little, too late

[Anonymous Coward]

I doubt that its resolution is high enough to cause me any concern...

Remember

[arthurpaliden]

"It is for your own protection."

I wonder if they have them in the womens washrooms. Or would that be sexual harrasment or a breach of privacy ?

And people wonder why I refuse to travel to or through the United States.

Tail Recursion Re:Not as bad as it sounds

[Anonymous Coward]

Don't worry. There are people who can help you.

Who?

slashdot females

They exist?

...

Great!

[ponraul]

Normally, I have to trick people into looking at my penis. Now, I have an audience. Thanks, TSA!.

The person behind the monitor...

[LunarEffect]

I wonder who he is...and I wonder if the government makes any money by streaming the feed to the local sexshop?
I think that might actually sell: Action Urinal Fetish - watch men piss while keeping your country secure for only 10$/h, alert the clerk if you see any weird stuff going on.

Fixed it for you

[PleaseFearMe]

slashdot females

It happens?

bull's eye!

[Eternal Annoyance]

Well, now I've got something to piss at when I'm at a U.S. airport.

LOL Gitmo prisoners have more "rights" than you!

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm sure the ACLU would be howling if those Muslim homicidal maniacs were subjected to the pee cam. Instead, they spend their days lounging in a tropical paradise that is 1000x times more habitable than the sandy shit hole they were captured in, even taking into consideration the fact that they live in a cage now. They receive 3 religiously appropriate meals per day (aren't we good, sensitive little liberals!), have access to free legal and medical services, all on your dime! LOL, you people are all a bunch of dumbasses, barely even qualifying as sentient. All your breathless hyperbole about Gitmo torture, while your own rights are swirling around in the toilet bowl, metaphorically speaking. LOL, just LOL!

And here I bet you thought...

[Chris Mattern]

...those "Toilet camera is for research purposes only" stickers were a joke.

Re:LOL Gitmo prisoners have more "rights" than you

[twidarkling]

have access to free legal

fail.

The next evolution of this camera...

[Anonymous Coward]

won't unlock the urinal until you insert the fiber optic camera fully into your urethra and into your bladder, so that the TSA can inspect your bladder for explosives, drugs, smuggled animals or cash, etc. And you'll all go right along with it like good little sheep. But you'll be sure to do some damn good mumbling under your breath about it!

Re:The next evolution of this camera...

[billcopc]

So we'll just pee beside the urinal, like real (drunk) men.

Re:The next evolution of this camera...

[Anonymous Coward]

You should see our prototype camera we're working on for the crapper. Think colonoscopy...

Sincerely,
The TSA

Re:The next evolution of this camera...

[Runaway1956]

Just do what I do. Go out in the parking lot, find one of those extravagantly expensive cars or SUV's and piss on that. It's a lot more satisfying than doing target practice on one of those stupid mats, or cakes.

Give them a show!

[Sponge Bath]

Drop a deuce in the urinal so they see your rancid duke propped up against against the back of that urinal like a brown rag doll, m'kay.

Of course, the camera evidence would give the government a raging clue.

"We're gonna need a bigger lens ..."

[mnemotronic]

one of my favorite quotes - Roy Scheider from Jaws.

Danger, stupid "morals" at "work"

[Pig Hogger]

6000 years ago, a bunch of old rabbis decided that, since their flabby bodies were no match against the young squirts' bodies who picked-up all the young chicks, they should prevent people from being naked.

Oddly enough, 8000 years later, the silly notion that you should hide your peepee from others still lingers around.

Re:LOL Gitmo prisoners have more "rights" than you

[Anonymous Coward]

I repeat:

"All your breathless hyperbole about Gitmo torture, while your own rights are swirling around in the toilet bowl, metaphorically speaking. LOL, just LOL!"

False Security

[Anonymous Coward]

"Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."

        Benjamin Franklin, Historical Review of Pennsylvania, 1759

Bush is at it again

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm so sick of Bush and his freakin' Gestapo tactics. Oh wait..

Comment removed

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Theatric Secure & Absurd (TSA)

[Anonymous Coward]

What did the press release sound like?

"In the interests of national security, it has been decided that TSA will be monitoring your use of the Houston Hobby urinals in order to protect you from threats, imagined or otherwise, which may be reasonably be expected to emerge in such unforeseen places.

This decision was one of many which came out of the intelligence community junket in Las Vegas where Nassim Taleb introduced us to the concept of the Black Swan. As a direct result of the newly identified need to justify the public expense of such expensive off-site conferences, this is the first in a series of innovations that will change the face of security throughout the U.S.A.(R) We will be announcing another program first conceived by an expert panel of science fiction writers contracted to bring fresh new ideas to an area that stagnated during the cold war but was recently revitalized by an unnamed executive working from a remote but unidentified planetary system."

Several economists hired by DHS agree that the benefits of the program should include enhanced perception of TSA by the general public and increased productivity by the department as measured by surveilances per minute. The former due to decrease in the supply of idle time for TSA employees and latter from increased demand on personnel in form of new scanning routines. 'In the future, we plan to probe every crevice imaginable to make you feel more secure from threats you won't even know are there,' said Major General Howser Aspen of the All Seeing Eye Brigade."

Don't laugh circumcision pattern can reveal Arabs

[Anonymous Coward]

Don't laugh - circumcision pattern can reveal Arabs and other muslims.

CrimethInc?

[rueger]

This has all the earmarks of a CrimethInc creation. I love those folks! Anarchist AND fun loving!

Them them FUCK THEM!

[kheldan]

THIS is the kind of nonsense we have to stand up against, damnit! How is it that DHS can do something right out in the open that a private citizen can't do without being arrested and convicted as a sex offender???!? It's complete and utter bullshit and we have to say no to it!!!

Re:Them them FUCK THEM!

[kheldan]

Oh and by the way, to the ASSHOLE who modded me down as a 'troll': FUCK YOU AND THE HORSE YOU RODE IN ON.

Not finding this on any news service

[kheldan]

My apologies for the previous post, knee-jerk reaction.. I've searched Google News and I can't find ANYTHING about this on any reliable news source (I don't count O'Reilly or anybody's blog, thank-you-very-much). I think this a hoax, Slashdot, and I wouldn't get upset about it until there is some news from a reliable source.

golden shower

[xming]

Video footage for golden shower fans.

From TFA

[hampton]

Acute airport-urinal observer and SnapStream CEO Rakesh Agrawal catches this unlikely warning posted in a menâ(TM)s restroom at the newish Southwest Airlines terminal at Hobby.

Somewhere in there there's a joke about "SnapStream" and taking pictures at urinals...

Pity

[wtansill]

They could instead have had some real fun with this:

http://www.rafelandia.com/mas863/urinecontrol.html

IR camera smart guy

[Anonymous Coward]

it sees through to your nips

Re:Jerk it!

[Anonymous Coward]

Nah, that would never work. Barney Frank would leap out of nowhere to gobble it up before it landed on the lens. Fags love eating hot, fresh semen.

Texass!

[Anonymous Coward]

Guess Houston wants to get a look at everyone's Texass.

It's hardly surprising their city is a little microcosm fascist police state.

Could be a good opportunity...

[Onyma]

I mean how often will you ever get to legitimately pee on the words "Homeland Security" ?

Re:LOL Gitmo prisoners have more "rights" than you

[Anonymous Coward]

fail

slashdot fail

[Anonymous Coward]

damn slashdot failed on this article, fooled by prank stickers?

Anyone can make a sticker

[Anonymous Coward]

Odds are it's a prank... matter of fact it's already been done here: http://www.signhacker.com/

Prove it.

[antdude]

Prove it that you're a female. [grin] :P

Re:Prove it.

[KatAngel]

Don't you wish... ;)

Re:Prove it.

[antdude]

:D [grin]

Re:Prove it.

[KatAngel]

Alright, I know what you want, so here you go!

Re:Prove it.

[antdude]

:P Right...

Nothing to worry about

[weakpawns]

It is probably just TSA helping out the porn industry get some new (erm) faces. And yeah, did you see the tiny RFID tag that these cameras shoot on you if you fit the bill?

Penis Recognition Software

[Timtimes]

Penis recognition software (PRS) is being developed in conjunction with this camera install. The FBI is keenly aware that "the terrorists" are likely to employ elaborate forms of disguise, even resorting to cosmetic surgery, but hardly anybody ever carves up their Johnson. Soon, all commercial toilets will be online and a massive archive of biometric dicktatude will be available. "Honey, how did it go at work today?" "Don't ask darling...nothing but a bunch of dicks down at the airport." Enjoy.

War? Didn't you get the memo?

[DesScorp]

You do realize that in the War on Terror it isn't necessary to charge people with crimes, don't you?

We're not at war anymore. We're now in 'Overseas Contingency Operations.'

Homeland security r a bunch of dick watchers

[Latinhypercube]

Just as I had always expected, U.S. Homeland security are a bunch of dick watchers

Huh?

[Steve Franklin]

Just what exactly do these Obamadroids think they are going to see you do while pissing in front of a camera? Am I missing something here? Perhaps it's time for some "preventive impeachment."

Bathroom Attendants

[Mal-2]

Their purpose is also to keep people from loitering needlessly (or worse) in the bathroom when others might need the facilities, and to call for cleanup when necessary. I typically see bathroom attendants in only two environments -- nightclubs and other entertainment venues, and convention facilities (including hotels with ballrooms).

At entertainment venues, most of them have items for sale, like gum, breath mints, hair spray, combs, condoms, aspirin, earplugs, and the like. Handing you a towel is a way to break the ice and hope you look at what they're offering rather than a direct solicitation of a tip. I'm sure they make good money off people passing through thinking "I wish I'd brought earplugs", or looking in the mirror and thinking "my hair got messed up, I should fix that". A lot of people are willing and able to pay a convenience fee when they fork out $2 for a 25 cent item they could have brought themselves (but didn't). In this manner the attendants are providing an optional service -- some find it valuable but if you do not, you are in no way obligated to pay.

In truly high-end places, where the attendants are regular employees, they hand you the towels so you don't mess up the tidy little stack they have to keep. Calling for immediate cleanup of "accidents" is also high on their job priority list, as is dissuading people from fucking in the stalls.

Mal-2

shit in urinal

[Anonymous Coward]

Make TSA clean that shit up!

Bah, thread synthesis incoming ...

[Anonymous Coward]

Come on, just give us a proper piccie. :-)

[I don't want one (er, I think), but someone has to factor out the REAL meaning behind all these posts .. :P]

It shouldn't surprise anyone...

[studlyhungwell]

...that Homeland Security has a watersports fetish.

Re:LOL Gitmo prisoners have more "rights" than you

[geekboy642]

Why're you anonymous?
Keith Olbermann has $10k for a charity of your choice! All you have to do is endure the same religiously appropriate treatment the detainees underwent. That's all you gotta do. And it's not even torture, it's just a little water on the face!

Shenanigans...

[kaizendojo]

Interesting how the photo shows the sticker on the actual urinal, but no picture of mythical sensor with the camera in it in this or the original article.

Anyone stupid enough to fall for this one deserves to go on a snipe hunt. Do you think for even a moment that DHS would do something like this without a proper vetting; something so invasive and objectionable?