Airport body scanners 'unlikely' to foil al-Qaeda

here is a story on the bbc at the moment about bodyscaners it does not look like they are going to be much use in seeing of terorist so whats the point of them
are they just so the airport athoritys can get there jollys looking at every one in the buff lol

The insanity about justifying xray machines because of this most recent Detroit diaper bomber only makes me wonder what are we going to do when some terrorist has surgery to place a 5 lb explosive device inside his stomach or chest cavity? Perhaps a rod of explosives placed inside the bone marrow of a leg bone? What if they learn how to turn blood into an explosive or use the blood to release some bio weapon? With so many what ifs, the last thing we need is ignorant decisions about xray machines and rectal exams at the airports.

While problems do indeed exist within the TSA, there are problems in the executive branch as well. With this latest Obama no speak I am reminded of a circus with too many clowns for it to really be funny. This latest move only angers the public and really wont contribute in any measurable way to catching Muslim fanatics intent on blowing themselves up.

It did however make a few billion dollars to the company making the xray machines and to the politicians that accepted bribes to make sure the contract went the way it did. Follow the money and then look at when those xray machines were ordered and who ordered them. It will be a surprise, surprise moment for sure.

According to an expert on a local radio show today, the full-body scanners
"block out" a person's private parts (genitalia & breasts) from being seen
by the TSA employee. Since the Detroit would-have-been bomber put the
explosives in his crotch, he wouldn't have been caught. Excluding any part
of the body from the scan machine is a ridiculous idea.

reply to post by carewemust


You misunderstand. While the viewscreen has the crotch (immediate area) censored, and breasts on females, if anything is detected in those areas it will signal the agent for appropriate screening in those areas.

reply to post by djvexd


Are you saying that the scanner is also a "sniffer"? If so, then why have
the visuals at all? Just let the technology detect the explosive substance
and sound an alarm when its detected.

reply to post by carewemust


These machines including the older ones used to screen luggage have software design to pick up on items that meet a certain density requirement as set by the software. If a item is detected say in a woman's crotch, while the screen the operator sees will have a little box over it, the machine will highlight the area and let the person vieing the screen that an object of a certain density has been detected in said region. It is akin to the software putting a line box around a suspect area. The luggage screening machines now do that as well as being able to isolate the area on screen and do a complete 360 degree view of the site before opening the luggage. It is no longer necessarily up to the screener to have good eyes, as the machine alerts the viewer to suspect items and the viewer then can determine whether or not it is in need of further scrutiny.