Is there actually a benefit in letting TSA stripsearch you via x-raying your body?

[Ned]

I don't know about you all, but TSA has gone too far with this one. I've done some research here, and have found that the health issues are negligible compared to the benefits, if there are any, as you would need approximately 200 screenings per year before you'd even get to what NCRP considers a Negligible Individual Dose of radiation.

So why do I think TSA has gone to far? TSA claims it has found a way to refine the machine's images so that the normally graphic pictures can be blurred in certain areas, while still being effective in detecting bombs.

Hogwash is what I say! Terrorists will merely hide the stuff where it's blurry, so TSA is either lying that this system can be effective, or they're lying about protecting our privacy. In either case they are lying.

Normally the picture they will get from this x-ray method will give you the same look as if you stripped naked and allowed them to strip search you. I'm not about to allow that. On the other hand, if TSA makes the x-ray ineffective, I'm definitely not going to permit it, regardless of the tiny health risk, because then there's no benefit to the risk.

What do you think?

Originally Posted by AP via CNN.com, December 1, 2006

Phoenix airport to test passenger X-ray screening

PHOENIX, Arizona (AP) -- Sky Harbor International Airport will test a new federal screening system that takes X-rays of passengers' bodies to detect concealed explosives and other weapons.

The technology, called backscatter, has been around for several years but has not been widely used in the U.S. as an anti-terrorism tool because of privacy concerns.

The Transportation Security Administration said it has found a way to refine the machine's images so that the normally graphic pictures can be blurred in certain areas while still being effective in detecting bombs and other threats.

The agency is expected to provide more information about the technology later this month but said one machine will be up and running at Sky Harbor's Terminal 4 by Christmas.

The security agency's Web site indicates that the technology will be used initially as a secondary screening measure, meaning that only those passengers who first fail the standard screening process will be directed to the X-ray area.

Even then, passengers will have the option of choosing the backscatter or a traditional pat-down search.

A handful of other U.S. airports will have the X-rays machines in place by early 2007 as part of a nationwide pilot program, TSA officials said...

...The security agency says the machines will be effective in helping detect plastic or liquid explosives and other non-metallic weapons that can be missed by standard metal detectors.

Some say the high-resolution images -- which clearly depict the outline of the passenger's body, plus anything attached to it, such as jewelry -- are too invasive.

But the TSA said the X-rays will be set up so that the image can be viewed only by a security officer in a remote location. Other passengers, and even the agent at the checkpoint, will not have access to the picture...

Go to Phoenix Airport to test passenger x-ray screening to read the entire article.

[REDJIM]

Can we sign up for screen prints?

[Ned]

Originally Posted by REDJIM

Can we sign up for screen prints?

That is a marvelous idea. Maybe we can even put together an online gallery!

[clarkef]

This was one of my Caltech friend's projects before he left Silicon Valley and sold out to work for Google. The idea is to do a 3D image without giving the guards a free peep show. When he left the project was definitely not complete.

As far as the peep show element, he said it was too blurry to be interesting.

[jfrenaye]

I believe this technology has been in use in Europe for several years. Most travelers are unaware because it is not scanned at the checkpoint, and quite honestly, in Europe (and anywhere other than the US) you are unable to fight city hall.

[pezmanffx]

Honestly, if it was implemented right, I would be all for it. You scan someone and see if they are carrying. Nothing is based on personal information or any profiling. Who cares about making parts fuzzy, the person watching this would get so bored with it, they would take on the attitude, you seen one, you seen them all.

[Carchar]

I've done some research here, and have found that the health issues are negligible compared to the benefits, if there are any, as you would need approximately 200 screenings per year before you'd even get to what NCRP considers a Negligible Individual Dose of radiation.

Does this include the unborn? Is the NCRP to be trusted?

[Ned]

Originally Posted by pezmanffx

Honestly, if it was implemented right, I would be all for it. You scan someone and see if they are carrying. Nothing is based on personal information or any profiling. Who cares about making parts fuzzy, the person watching this would get so bored with it, they would take on the attitude, you seen one, you seen them all.

I think it's a matter of, seeing what they've already done, what is this government going to do next, and where will it stop. The Bush government has been slowly, yet persistently and systematically, taking our freedoms away from us, step by step, inch by inch, in the name of security. These freedoms are guaranteed by the Constitution of which Bush is making a mockery. These freedoms are what makes our country unique among nations. It's why, each year, so many people seek to come here to become citizens.

John Adams said, "But a Constitution of Government once changed from Freedom, can never be restored. Liberty, once lost, is lost forever." President Adams was right, and it is our duty to ourselves and our posterity to put a stop to the erosion of the Consitutution.

Benjamin Franklin said, "Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." We have to be ever vigilant and fight for these freedoms, step by step, inch by inch, or one day soon we will find we don't have them anymore.

[candyharrington]

Gee, now there's something for the old Christmas card.

Seriously I agree with Ned.

Plus, it's not going to stop the terrorists -- they will just adapt. I think I can speak from experience on this one as I worked in Beirut in the early 80s.

Plus I worry about unknown health risks. How many things have been thought to be safe, yet 10 years later we find out that it's actually bad for you.

Candy

[clarkef]

Originally Posted by Ned

The Bush government has been slowly, yet persistently and systematically, taking our freedoms away from us, step by step, inch by inch, in the name of security. .

Ok. I'll bite. This statement is oft made, but let's see if it survives the light of day. Tell me, what could you do before the Bush adminstration that you Ned can't do now. Exactly what freedom have you lost?