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U.S. CITIES:
Before Boarding Plane Remove All Clothing
Bill Press
"Welcome to the Friendly Skies. Now take off all your clothes."
Don't laugh! In the wake of the failed terrorist attempt over
Today, there are only 40 such machines located, and rarely used, in 19 airports across the country. But, spending
There's no doubt about it; full-body scanners are a gross and unnecessary invasion of privacy. By stepping into that machine, you might as well take your clothes off and parade naked around the security checkpoint.
TSA officials haughtily pooh-pooh privacy concerns. After all, they reassure us, the agent leering at your naked body is hidden away, out of sight, in a room nearby. So what? He's still leering at your body. Or your wife's. Or your daughter's. In fact, in
Not only that, adds TSA, rules prohibit agents from storing naked images of passengers or sharing them with friends. Oh, really. After their recent screw-ups in
There's also the question of radiation. While most experts agree the risk is low --
Despite all those concerns, why is TSA rushing into this unproven and perhaps ineffective technology? Because jumping into something new is how they respond to every terrorist attempt. Only after
And now, only after a failed underwear incident, do they want us to pose nude for TSA agents. What if it doesn't work? What's next? We already know. The latest terrorist plan is to plant explosives inside a body cavity and detonate the bomb with a cell phone. Experts admit that, had Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab done so, no full-body scanner would have picked it up.
So that scary new greeting at airports noted above could get even worse: "Welcome to the Friendly Skies. Now take off all your clothes -- and bend over." A full search of body cavities may be next on TSA's list of ways to keep us safe. Still want to fly home for Mom's birthday?
Most frightening of all is the fact that the national security apparatus, with the tacit support (so far) of the Obama administration, is ignoring privacy concerns while pushing universal application of the full-body scanner as the next step in the "war on terror." As one security expert told me, we have to accept the fact that, from now on, going to the airport will be just like going to the doctor: Once you walk in the door, you give up your right of privacy.
Nonsense. Consider drunk driving. The best way to stop it would be to station a cop outside every bar to test every customer leaving the premises. No matter how much we abhor drunk driving, Americans would never tolerate that -- even though drunk drivers killed 11,773 people in 2008. Only 876 people died worldwide in plane crashes.
Same with airline security. We must accept the fact that there will always be risks. The idea that we have to choose between safety and privacy is not only a false choice it's a dangerous one. For once we give up even the tiniest slice of our privacy, we'll never get it back.
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- Northwest Flight 253: Questions Must Be Asked But Not These
- Northwest Flight 253: A No-Fly List? Count Me In
- Terrorism: A War by Any Other Name
- Before Boarding Plane Remove All Clothing
- Asleep on the Terrorist Watch: Northwest Flight 253
- Obama Asks for Vigilance After Attempted Terrorist Attack
- Northwest Flight 253: Targeting the Prime Enemy
- Northwest Flight 253: Multiple Malfunctions
- Northwest Flight 253: Fighting Among Ourselves Helps How
Northwest Flight 253: Before Boarding Plane Remove All Clothing | Bill Press
(c) 2010 Bill Press