Slashdot Mirror
Can Imaging Technologies Save Us From Terrorists?
itwbennett writes "In the aftermath of the failed Christmas Day terrorist attack, full body scanning technologies such as millimeter wave and backscatter are regaining popularity, writes blogger Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols in a recent post. But, he asks, do they really work? The TSA seems to think so. It has just issued a contract to purchase more millimeter wave scanners from L3 Communications. Michael Chertoff, the former homeland security secretary, told the New York Times that if these scanners had been in place, they would have caught the would-be bomber. Ben Wallace, the Conservative Member of Parliament in the United Kingdom, disagrees, saying that the technologies can't detect the kind of low-density explosive that the would-be terrorist tried to use on December 25th."
I like the idea of these scanners and think they will make it more difficult for the crazies to do stupid stuff. My concern however is with radiation exposure. How much exposure is there from a single scan. What about all those frequent fliers and what about the screeners themselves. Next time I travel I'm bringing my gieger counter.
What will it take to realize that feelings heal over time but death does not?
Yes. What would an Iraqi or a Palestinian or an Iranian or an Afghani or one of their fellow muslims possibly understand about that statement? Oh wait... they probably understand it thousands of times better than you could ever hope to.
Maybe if the West stopped invading Arab countries and killing their citizens for their natural resources, that would be more effective than covering up each mess with more newspaper. It's starting to reek in here.