full body scans

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Should We Scan Our Bodies to See What Might Lurk?

Preventative full-body scans are becoming more in-demand among the wealthy

(Newser) - "In September when everybody comes back from the Hamptons and they all start getting physicals for the year, I'm sure I'm going to get a lot more requests." What they're seeking, the doctor tells the Wall Street Journal , are preventative full-body scans—meaning ones not...

One US City Will Now Scan Its Subway Commuters

Devices in LA Metro will 'quickly and unobtrusively screen individuals for concealed threats'

(Newser) - All humans emit body waves, but if they're concealing an object under their clothes, that object blocks the waves—exactly what the Transportation Security Administration is banking on with the installation of the country's first body scanners in a transit agency. The subway system getting the first crack...

TSA Can Now Make You Go Through a Body Scanner

Your absolute ability to decline was wiped away on Dec. 18

(Newser) - A single sentence in a seven-page "Privacy Impact Assessment Update" published Friday by the Department of Homeland Security has wiped away the ability to have the absolute right to opt out of passing through an airport body scanner. The key line: "While passengers may generally decline [Advanced Imaging...

Europe Airports Ban US-Style Body Scanners

Radiation concerns prompt decision on X-ray devices

(Newser) - The full-body airport scanners that have prompted controversy on these shores have now been banned throughout the European Union, reports ProPublica . The fracas in the US has largely been over privacy , but the EU’s decision was a matter of “health and safety,” it says. The X-ray scanners...

TSA Scanner Images: Now, Less Naked

Technology replaces naked image with generic one

(Newser) - After six months of testing, the TSA has finally unveiled software to make us look a little less naked to its airport scanners. The software, which works on the millimeter wave machines installed at 41 airports, replaces the blurry image of a passenger’s actual body with a generic gray...

Airport Boots Doctor for Refusing 'Radiation Assault'

No scan, no flight, says British airport

(Newser) - An eye specialist on his way to treat child patients in Switzerland was escorted out of Britain's Manchester airport by police after refusing a full-body scan. Tony Aguirre declined the scan on both medical and ethical grounds, calling the technology a "radiation assault," reports the Daily Mail...

Rodents: The New Airport Bomb Sniffers

In Israel, mice being trained to detect explosives, drugs

(Newser) - Which would you rather be exposed to: those pesky new “naked” airport scanners , or … rodents? In Israel, mice are being trained to sniff out bombs and drugs, in a system researchers say will be more accurate than pat-downs, x-rays, or sniffer dogs. The mice would be hidden in...

TSA Tests 'Less-Naked' Body Scanner

Instead of showing every curve, new software uses a generic outline

(Newser) - Michele Bachmann may not have to worry about "naked pictures" of herself winding up on the Internet anymore—or, at least not clearly defined ones. The TSA yesterday began testing a more modest full-body scanner at three airports. The system uses the same machines, but new software, which ditches...

Nobody's Checking to Ensure TSA Scanners Are Safe
Nobody's Checking to Ensure TSA Scanners Are Safe
NEW REPORT
Dec 20, 2010 2:52 PM CST

Nobody's Checking to Ensure TSA Scanners Are Safe

No group in charge of regular investigations

(Newser) - The TSA claims its scanners are safe when they’re working right—but who’s making sure they’re working right? The agency lists a number of watchdogs, including the FDA, the US Army, and Johns Hopkins scientists. But these groups say they’re not responsible for the scanners, AOL...

Sen. Schumer: Distribute Airport Body Scans, Go to Jail

He introduces a bill that targets misuse of images

(Newser) - Sen. Charles Schumer introduced a bill yesterday that would make it illegal for anyone to record or distribute airport body scan images. Those found guilty would face penalties of up to a year in prison, fines of up to $100,000, or both, reports the AP . The TSA has said...

Pistole: No Body Cavity Searches on My Watch

Nation can breathe a sigh of relief on that point, at least

(Newser) - Concerned that body cavity searches are the inevitable next frontier in the TSA's war against terrorism? Don't be—at least not as long as John Pistole is around. USA Today had a long chat with the TSA chief and he revealed that, though current technology can't detect explosives hidden inside...

Al-Qaeda Is Punking Us
 Al-Qaeda Is Punking Us 
CHRISTOPHER HITCHENS
Nov 29, 2010 5:12 PM CST

Al-Qaeda Is Punking Us

US can't handle AQAP's tactics

(Newser) - Can it be that the United States has met its match in al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula? The group's lack of a direct hit thus far seems more bad luck than effective counter-terrorism, writes Christopher Hitchens for Slate . In the meantime, AQAP has used our own desire to protect ourselves...

TSA Just Wanted Closer Look at My Boobs: Flier

Woman claims agents were ogling her before extra screening

(Newser) - It was only a matter of time before this TSA complaint came out: A woman claims she was selected for further screening ... because the TSA agents liked her breasts. Eliana Sutherland was flying out of Orlando International Airport when she saw two male agents staring at her chest, the Daily ...

Airports Ban PETA Ads Mocking TSA

Video, ad campaign make light of new security procedures

(Newser) - Several major airports are taking a stand against PETA ads that make light of the TSA's new security procedures. One, a video originally planned to be shown in Boston on Logan Airport's free wi-fi network, features Pamela Anderson (hardly) dressed as a TSA agent stripping passengers of leather and fur....

No Unusual Delays Seen at Airports

Opt-Out Day is a 'non-event' so far

(Newser) - National Opt-Out Day doesn't seem to be wreaking havoc at the nation's airports. Lines are moving relatively smoothly so far, despite the call for a protest over full-body scans, report AP and CNN . Two protesters of note: a bikini-clad woman in Los Angeles and a guy in a Speedo in...

TSA Is Overreacting: Our Bomb Risk Is 'Near Zero'
TSA Is Overreacting: Our Bomb Risk Is 'Near Zero'
OPINION
Nov 24, 2010 12:32 PM CST

TSA Is Overreacting: Our Bomb Risk Is 'Near Zero'

We're actually doing exactly what the terrorists want, writes Jim Harper

(Newser) - Are the TSA's new security procedures reasonable in the face of new terrorist threats, or an overreaction? An overreaction, concludes privacy expert Jim Harper—and that's exactly what the terrorists want. The better approach would have been "no change to domestic air security from the status quo of a...

Profiling, Not Pat-Downs, Key at Most World Airports

Including Israel's airport, one of the world's best at security

(Newser) - Ditching the TSA's new security procedures in favor of profiling seems like a controversial move —despite a new poll showing 70% support the idea —but at most world airports, that's how it's done. Airports like Israel's Ben-Gurion International, widely considered to be one of the world's most effective...

64% Support Full-Body Scanners

Pat-downs, however, are less popular: new poll

(Newser) - Despite the uproar over the TSA's enhanced security procedures, a new poll shows that nearly two-thirds of Americans actually support the new full-body scanners. Even so, only 48% believe the enhanced pat-downs are justified, according to the Washington Post -ABC News poll. Some 68% of those surveyed said the government...

Man Skips Pat-Down, Opts for Strip-Down

And he's now facing charges

(Newser) - Not a big fan of full-body scans or TSA pat-downs, a San Diego man chose Option C: Stripping down to his Calvin Kleins to demonstrate he wasn't carrying anything untoward in them. Samuel Wolanyk was told to put his clothes back on for a proper pat-down, but refused to dress,...

Get Ready for Big Delays on 'National Opt-Out Day'

Even a small number of participants could tie up lines

(Newser) - You may want to get to the airport really early on Wednesday: With the country in a fervor over the TSA's new enhanced security procedures, experts believe "National Opt-Out Day" will indeed create delays at dozens of major airports. The day, conceived by Brian Sodergren (who, ironically, will not...

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