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TSA Body Scanners To Show Less Revealing Images
tgtanman writes "The Washington Post reports that the TSA will begin installing new software on millimeter wave body scanners at 41 airports that will replace the controversial body images with generic images of the body. While the change is currently limited to millimeter wave scanners, similar upgrades for backscatter scanners is being developed, according to the TSA. The ACLU has applauded the changes but continues to note other concerns with the scanners."
If you travel by air in the US, never EVER go through those scanners the TSA runs. Insist on a pat-down then get out of the area as fast as possible.
Those scanners spew microwave and other radiation which pools up in the area effectively soaking people in the radiactivity. Working in that melange of microwave and backscatter radioactivity is sure to cause nerve damage and subluxations in people. Left untreated, those subluxations and nerve blockages will go rancid and cause all sorts of health issues: headache, back spasms, heart disease and even cancer.
There was an issue not long ago in the Journal of Vertebral Subluxation Research which showed a definite link between exposure to these types of radiation and chronic health issues. If you work in the security field near these "Cancer Coffins" or are exposed to them more than a few times per year, it's imperative that you have your spine and nervous system examined by a Chiropractor. They're trained to detect and treat the issue. Make sure you tell the Doctor that you're there for radiation exposure and he/she will know exactly where to look for subluxation issues.
Take care,
Bob.
Chiropractic Saves Lives!
Now people can applaud them for doing the good thing and changing the controversial scanners to better ones. I don't feel so bad anymore. Good job!
wait, didn't I still lose privacy somewhere in the process?
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Does it matter if it's less revealing if the radiation is just as dangerous?
Does it matter if it's ineffective now and continues to be ineffective?
I think we could better spend the money on monitoring the TSA screeners who keep stealing our stuff.
While it's slightly less of an invasion, it doesn't change the invasive nature of these scans, nor does it address the possible health concerns. It's still an invasive search of your person without probable cause, and they're still ineffective at detecting even known types of dangerous items. Ineffective, invasive, (violating the conditions for a legal administrative airport security search) and without probable cause, that means they're still prohibited by the 4th Amendment to the US Constitution.
make imaginary.friends COUNT=100 VISIBLE=false
But what about the pedophilic patdowns and geriatric groping?
Those sick TSA pigs will use any excuse to stick their hands into shit-ridden diapers, not matter how old their wearers are.
GO GO GO Anon, Lulzsec, and Wikileaks!
DIE DIE DIE sick sociopath pigs of DHS, FBI, CIA, and NSA!
Get fucking rid of them. And the TSA. But now that those assholes unionized, they'll never go away I'm sure. Land of the slave, home of the serf.
'We are trying to prove ourselves wrong as quickly as possible, because only in that way can we find progress.' RPF
If it was possible to do this in software to begin with, and they knew the images were "controversial" to begin with, why the hell didn't they just do this from the very beginning? My understanding of the system was that it was the fact that the images revealed everything, so to speak, that they were effective. So either they need to be revealing (which they clearly don't), or they've just been lying the whole time.
Which brings me to my second question. Who is being paid to develop this software? Is this literally a case where they could have done something in the beginning, but didn't so that they could charge extra later, and then look like good guys because they are "protecting our rights"? Or am I missing something here? Because it looks very much to me like this move shows that they were pressing as hard as they could to see how far they could go "to stop terrorists", then, when people object, stepping back the tiniest inch (and BTW, anyone who doesn't go through these still has to be frisked) and trying to look like good guys.
Seriously, this absolutely reeks of deception and probably downright lying. Of course, now people will back off and the TSA can continue with their security theater. The ACLU doesn't need to applaud this decision: they need to launch a class action lawsuit and corruption investigation to shut down the TSA.
"None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license." --John Milton
It's still the SAME thing. They're still regularly blasting folks with unnecessary radiation. Still misappropriating priorities and funds.
Let's be real - how many planes are going to be coming down with knives and similar now that The Door (tm) is in place? Perhaps I'm grossly misinformed - if so, by all means educate me. But I'd rather see more investments being made in explosive detection.
Heck, there was a story recently about the TSA busting a guy with C4 by using an explosive detection device.
People still look a the naked body scans, they're just not doing it there in front of you any more. Scans are sent somewhere else to be examined. This is a total scam to appease the masses while still doing business as usual.
Then of course you still have all the other issues mentioned in this thread.
The scanners already don't work, making them work less well isn't going to help anything. From the day they rolled out they couldn't detect the one thing they were meant to, (the explosives used by the underpants bomber weren't dense enough to show up in the scans).
It was possible that the scanners could catch something, though, which won't be the case if they lower the resolution. This is taking security theatre and turning it into a Michael Bay action movie, without any pretense of the original premise, (i.e. security).
It will be interesting to know who gets the contracts to make these scanners and a huge revenue every time they release a new version. It will be surprising to know
1- How much it makes to build these scanners
2-How much government pays for those
3-And how often TSA makes such changes to put new versions into production and use tax payer money
4- Which companies make these scanners and whether they have any known subsidiaries or parent group of companies.
Let's be perfectly clear on this, the purpose of these body scanners was NEVER to increase security, it was a gigantic kickback to former homeland security chief Michael Chertoff who received very well documented "consulting" positions with the company that makes those scanners. They are no more secure than competing, less invasive scanners, but the manufacturers of those scanners obviously didn't bribe the right officials.
Monstar L
Instead of removing the problem, lets spend time (and money?) to add a 'feature' to lessen the problem instead of just shoving those stupid devices off a cliff.
They should let me run airport security, well have x-rays and bomb sniffing for bags, metal detectors, and bomb sniffing dogs for people. If you're allergic to dogs then, you can go through a bomb sniffing machine. ta da airport secure! No I won't search your laptop/iphone for porn, no I won't cavity search you for drugs. I'm not worried about you breaking the law I'm worried about keeping people safe. So long as you're not carrying any weapons you're fine.
Only in the USA could "someone seeing an x-ray of my dick" be considered more serious than having all your communications monitored by the government.
I am someone who frequently travels. And by that I mean at least two, and up to 5 flights a week. I've yet to see a full body scanner at any Priority Access/I First Class/Business Class/blah blah line that I travel in. To me, I think it's because they know that this just wouldn't stand for the people who really bankroll the airlines.
To me, even though I benefit from this, this is insane. I should be scanned just like everyone else (albeit in a much shorter line) if it's really about security. But I don't think it's about security. Just like everyone else here, I think it's all about the theater of it all, and they do pretty well at that.
That being said, I accidentally brought through a bottle of water a few weeks ago, and a corkscrew a few weeks before that. I didn't mean to, and meant to leave them at one of the hotels I normally stay at. No idea they were there. I really question the amount of actual security is being provided, given that I waste hours a week (even in priority lanes) waiting at security.
Freedom Groping is still an option.
http://www.copblock.org/6076/woman-charged-with-felony-after-groping-female-tsa-agent/
Too little too late. I'm not flying until they trash 'em all.
Last time I traveled on a plane I didn't even get a metal detector waved over me. I didn't even have to talk to a person, just scan the barcode on my ticket as I walked through the gate
It's the same image, they just draw a smiley face on it.
Don't fly. Take the bus. Drive. Take the train. Stay home.
Want to fly? Then STFU and go through the body scanner. I doubt TSA gets enjoyment out of patting people down or looking at body scan images. It's their job to screen people and keep the flights safe.
For my safety, I don't mind the tiny dose of radiation a couple times a year, some husky dude patting me down, going to the dentist or being screened for colon cancer.
It's a stupid non-issue.
And all I want to know is will I still get a free groping at the airport? It's FREE people. jeez...
It's sad how far down the shitter we are, namely past the point of no return. If the supreme court ruled against these invasive searches, it would stop, but scotus almost always sides with the federal government. If travelers protested by not travelling by air it would stop, but that certainly isn't going to happen. All the budget problems won't stop it, the government would sooner cut education than "defense." It's not realistic to see a genuine concerted effort by the majority of the public to stop this. Sure there are stories that infuriate the populace from time to time, but generally speaking those stories are quickly forgotten, with the occasional token legislation to treat a symptom of the disease, but not the disease itself. Say what you will about the tea party (I find most of their ideals reprehensible), but they are the only party for a long time who have motivated private citizens to become politically active. While I may not agree with the legislation they try to push through, I have a great deal of respect for them, in that they actively get involved with flaws they perceive in the government rather than grumble about standing in line to get scanned or the latest TSA faux pas.
The only thing the TSA can ever do to gain my applause is to disband.
I heard that Al Qaeda was going to use rogue TSA agents to smuggle explosives into the secure areas of the airports.
The only way to be sure is to perform a cavity check on each and every TSA agent when they arrive for work, every day they show up.
Spread the word about this risk.
This sig is not paradoxical or ironic.
http://thewashingtonfancy.com/2011/06/man-takes-viagra-wears-sweatpants-for-tsa-pat-down/
The Christian religion has been and still is the principal enemy of moral progress in the world. -- Bertrand Russell
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It is for the millimeter wave ones. Those ones are not ionizing radiation (as the wavelength indicates, it is below visible light). Remember there are two different kinds of body scanners out there.
They were not real useful without the software because the idiots operating them didn't know what to look for. A magnetometer is right on par with what a no-training TSA 'tard can deal with: Greed = good, red = bad. It tells them when there's a problem. The mmW scanners didn't do that. They produced an image you had to analyze, which is something they were bad at. At Denver they were sending people through, but then taking them for a pat down because the moron running the thing kept saying he couldn't figure out what he was seeing. It was actually LESS secure than using a normal metal detector.
With this software, they might be useful again. The person running them can see if there's a problem. Still a huge waste of money, but at least now they are a step back in security.
Of course it only works on the mmW ones, not the backscatter X-ray ones.
... but we take care to not go all the way in!
These x-ray scanners give you a much smaller ionizing radiation dose than you'll get from the flight itself
True but any radiation exposure increases the risk of cancer. The risk is acceptable if there is a corresponding benefit to be gained from taking it. However for security screening X-raying is not needed. Tera-hertz imaging can produce the same quality of images with no known risks. There are some people concerned about it but, if there is a harmful effect, it is so small that it has not yet been detected. This is before you even start asking about effective this type of screening really is at stopping terrorists.
Although I disagree with it, I can see the argument for security theatre like this but when that theatre increases the risk to my health, even by a tiny "almost negligible" amount, for no reason it has gone too far. Besides, multiply that tiny risk factor by the ~800 million people who fly each year and you'll almost certainly get a number greater than one as the people who will get cancer each year just from airport security scans.
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Increased cancer risk is a small price to pay for false security.
The first generation of scanners was crap. Even if you came down from your hermit cottage for the first time in years, and watched a scan of a person of the opposite (?) sex, it would definatly NOT give you a boner, therefor NOT making it in any way invasive or controversial. Making the second generation scanners even less revealing is just a slap in the face! Airport staff need some sort of excitement in their daily work..
The TSA has repeatedly lied about these scanners in the past, why should they be believed now?
But are we still at security theater or are we now patting and scanning everyone? Last I heard is that kids don't get scanned (ok, I can see why they shouldn't be patted...). And while I understand the argument, the whole thing is rendered pointless if that's the practice: If you don't test everyone, you can just as well not test anyone. Security is the security of the weakest link, and if I can stick my bomb to little Ali to get it on board, I'll do just that if I'm enough of a lunatic to accept blowing myself up as a really good idea. Ali's gonna be a hero and beloved of whatever deity I abuse for the whole shit.
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
why the hell didn't they just do this from the very beginning?
For the public
i) gov/corps set very low standards for new system or update
ii) gov/corps raise standard ever so slightly when people complain, but principle of the search is accepted.
iii) wait a while
iv) goto i)
For corporations it is
i) profit from sales
ii) profit from changes
iii) count profits, buy yacht and say 'buahahaahaaahaaaa' very quietly out of public view
iv) goto i)
The scenes where he walks through the public security and it shows only a green skeletal outline and highlighted anything "not human" would have been a great solution. Probably outside the their ability at this time but the whole process has to be as natural as walking past a window.
* Winners compare their achievements to their goals, losers compare theirs to that of others.
Pedobear and other lecherous friends are sad. No more HD porn, only low-res soft porn now. Damn rights activists!
2019 is going to be the year of Linux on the desktop.
For shame, slashdot. When did we get to the point that conspiracy-theory garbage automatically gets modded +5 without even a cursory citation?
This place has really degenerated.
Adam Savage, of Mythbusters fame, walked through a full body scanner with 2, 12 inch foam cutter blades in his coat pocket, by accident, undetected. WAY TO GO TSA, THESE THINGS SURE DO WORK!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And the curiously erroneous results.
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2011/03/tsa-radiation-test-bungling/
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Land of the free home of the brave HA HA
Less Information
TSA "Screwing the American public since 2001"
"If any question why we died, Tell them because our fathers lied."
So, if I have a contraband that I wanted to smuggle onboard, I'd only have to make it appear to be naughty bits of the human anatomy and the machine will auto-replace it with generic crotch images? hooray to gun-shaped penis, or is it penis-shaped gun?
with Michael Chertoff scanners.
4th item:
http://www.nowpublic.com/world/full-body-scanner-lobby-michael-chertoff-rapiscan-2552674.html
Frankly, it's common knowledge.
Sounds to me that they found a way to "upgrade" the useless systems at the public's expense.
Well, I don't know about YOUR definition of "representing", but when someone hires my company (me), I am most certainly "representing" them.
LOL, as for his "lobbying", go do some research - Chertoff advocated heavily and repeated for the full body scanners (such as those made by Rapidscan) after the underwear bombing claiming they would have detected the explosives.
He made no mention that this was an international flight and that the explosive would NOT have been detected - the full body scanners are deployed to the US, not internationally.
If you were a penetration testing expert and you claimed schools should buy them because they can't be hacked into...then yes I could claim you were shilling.
In fact, I have claimed that multiple testing organizations have shilled for Microsoft both now and in the past because they received cash and then "claimed" that Microsoft systems provided a clear advantage over their competitors. Where do you think FUD comes from? (Or do you think FUD is purely fiction?)
If you don't want to connect the dots - that's your business, but Chertoff was hired by Rapidscan and Rapidscan is doing business with the Government.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/31/AR2009123101746.html
What's curious about this: at the time - there was only one company that made full body scanners - Rapiscan.
There goes my incentive for working out