Naked-Image Scanners to Be Removed From U.S. Airports

[Cidersomerset]

http://dvice.com/assets_c/2013/01/bodyscna987fadfas-thumb-550xauto-109773.jpg

http://dvice.com/archives/2013/01/strip-show-over.php

The invasive process of going through today's U.S. airport safety checkpoints are
no longer simply a matter of removing your shoes and submitting to Transportation
Security Administration gropings. Controversial new body scanners have turned
every flight into an opportunity to have a naked scan of your body shown off to
security agents. Thankfully, that's all about to change.

According to a report in Bloomberg, the TSA will cancel its contract with OSI
Rapidscan, the makers of the body scanners that use backscatter technology to
determine whether or not a passenger is carrying a weapon of some sort. Much of
the controversy around the scanners has centered on the fact that the scans appear
to show off a near-nude version of a person's body, but another concern for many
passengers is the low-dose X-ray radiation the machines use to create the body
scans.

As recently as last month, the TSA posted a notice on its website indicating that
testing regarding the effects of backscatter Advanced Imaging Technology (AIT)
was in the works. However, the removal of the scanners is actually due to OSI's
inability to meet a deadline to come up with software that would make the body
scans less revealing.

The TSA removed 76 of the machines last year and will now ditch the remaining 174
in operation at U.S. airports. If for some reason you haven't flown in the last few
years and so haven't had the extreme pleasure of experiencing one of these body
scans, you can see how it works in the video below.

Via Bloomberg


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[Calz]

I saw that (on CNN no less).

http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/18/travel/tsa-body-scanners/index.html?hpt=hp_t3

Good to have some positive news amidst so much insanity.

Even so this was based on the "naked image" and not the negative health aspects.

[Operator]

Good to have some positive news amidst so much insanity.



Not so fast .... remember problem, reaction, solution ?
Not every change is an improvement, they rarely are ...
We first have to see what the new technology is they come up with.

For 'normal' people this looks like a waste of money (ditching all the scanners).
But remember for them it is a money making scam. We, as travelers, paid for
the d**n things and now that they are all paid for it's time to move to the next.

[Etherios]

why i fear something like wristbands when we pass the non scanner check ...

[ghostrider]

I bet ET has found away around the scanners, It's my theory the scanners were originally put in place to distinquish between human and ET moving around the country...

[ThePythonicCow]

I bet ET has found away around the scanners
But, but, ... they aren't removing scanners. Rather they are replacing x-ray scanners with millimeter scanners (a lower frequency) and they are promising they won't display, transmit or store actual images of our body, but rather just display a cartoon drawing of a generic body with computer identified threats already indicated in place.

[shadowstalker]

Ya well I can see them taking it away, then bringing it back a year or two later, claiming terrorist attacks on planes..AND YOU KNOW THEY WILL...

[Nanoo Nanoo]

I bet ET has found away around the scanners, It's my theory the scanners were originally put in place to distinquish between human and ET moving around the country...

lol

We dont travel on commercial airways, we have our own ships and free peanuts.

[Tommy]

Well, personally I opt out and get groped.. lol.. just traveled from the U.S a few days ago and have done a lot of back and forth in the last 19 months.

Thankfully every time they stay away from my crotch, and a few T.S.A agents has asked me curiously why I opt out, I then go on to explain a little bit about the radiation and the fact that we have no conclusive data of it's effects, and I point out "especially for you guys being around the machines all day". Quite a few have had no problems understanding my concern, and even seemed to take my advice on looking up a few studies.. However my point is, travel and opt out! the opting out goes into their statistics for what it is worth.

Thanks for the OP

[Snookie]

I opt out too, don't want to have anything to do with those slave scanners. I heard that they are starting to enourage travelers to get a retinal scan instead. My stepson who travels a lot did that unfortunately. When you get the pat down, it's always nice to thank them for the nice massage ;-p