self-delete

[Faryn Balyncd]

[SidDithers]

1. The energy from the scan is orders of magnitude...

less than the cosmic radiation you're exposed to during the flight.

Sid

[trotsky]

2. Oh you and your facts need to just go away.

;-)

[backscatter712]

3. That's the advertised claims.

I think someone needs to walk through that scanner with a dosimeter badge, and make sure the machines perform as advertised.

Of course, this says nothing about the invasion of privacy or destruction of dignity issues associated with the electronic strip search...

[stray cat]

4. what kind of dosimeter badge do you suggest given what you know of the radiation?

[backscatter712]

6. Leave that to the experts...

But if they're claiming that the dose is a fraction of a percent of what you get during your flight at 35,000 feet, the badge should be selected accordingly to verify the machine delivers the advertised dose.

I'm not saying the makers of Rapiscan machines are lying. I'm just saying we've been lied to before on these sorts of issues...

Remember those shoe-store fluoroscopes? Their manufacturers claimed that the X-ray doses were small, but when independently tested, the dosages turned out to be not so small...

[Faryn Balyncd]

14. Yes, I do (remember)...Going to Saks Shoes & watching my toes wiggle under the shoe flouroscope..

...was my favorite part of getting new shoes. I was quite disappointed when they took it out.


The manager's child at that shoe store, who also loved to watch his toes in the floroscope, died of childhood leukemia a few years after the machines were banned.

[wtmusic]

8. OT

Sid who's responsible for the quote in your sig?

Thanks

[SidDithers]

12. It's from the Freedom from Religion Foundation

http://www.ffrf.org/

It's a plaque displayed in various State Houses to balance nativity scenes :)

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2009/12/24/Illinois-police-protect-atheist-sign/UPI-14301261709429

Sid

[wtmusic]

19. I love how they've co-opted the wingnut slogan "Freedom Isn't Free"

Great website...thanks again

:thumbsup:

[berni_mccoy]

5. Just a fact here. The OP you linked says the L-3 scanner uses X-Ray. It does not.

It uses Extremely High Frequency (EHF) radio waves that bounce off the skin. This is not anything like the radiation in an X-Ray nor in a CT scan (I know, because I worked with CT scanner technology).

There are no known studies on the effects of frequent exposure to EHF, but I'm guessing, since we are bombarded by more intense radiation simply from flying that there won't be much of an effect.

I would be a little more leery about the backscatter x-ray technology used in other types of full-body security scans.

[SidDithers]

7. Re: your edit about 3,333 chest x-rays...

that's NOT what the article you linked to says.

It says that the scan subjects you to ~ 3 urem of energy
a chest xray subjects you to 10000 urem of energy

So the scan is equivalent to 1/3000th of a chest xray, not 3,333 chest xrays.

And you wonder why people unrecc'd your post?

Sid

[Faryn Balyncd]

11. Thanks for the correction. (edit made) ...... The company's claim that a CXR has 3333 more....

.....radiation than this company's scan (which reportedly is a low dose XRay technology from this particular company) is the intende object of my skepticism.)

[Richard D]

9. So, we've had a shoe bomber . . .

. . . and now have to take off our shoes and an underwear bomber and now we have to virtually strip naked. So what happens after someone stuffs a bomb up their arse? (drug and other smugglers already do that).

[midnight]

17. I see where they are taking us, and why this has no end in sight.

Only those in charge have privacy, everyone else is treated like a prisoner.

[Richard D]

21. Windows on bathroom doors

in airplanes. or cameras.

[Faryn Balyncd]

18. You've got a point. We are in a reactive mode where with every event we feel we need a new permanent

escalation of the national security state.

[Don Caballero]

10. More fear mongering of those who do not wish to keep us safe from terrorists

These types of scanners should be deployed not only at airports but at sports stadiums, malls and other soft targets.

[spoony]

13. Shit, I don't know which is worse, your post or the OP. nt

[nadinbrzezinski]

15. Big brother thanks you

we should also be able to listen to YOUR conversations thorugh a two way telescreen...

I guess Ben Franklin is doing flip overs in his grave...

Those who trade their rights for a false sense of security are neither safe or free... yes a paraphrase.

[Faryn Balyncd]

16. You might be right. These may be safe. But I think the company's data stretches the limits of cred-

-ibility for an low XRay based scanner.


And data that stretches credibility seems to be something with which we we've had experience.

[backscatter712]

20. I wish I could unrec individual posts.

This is just asinine...

:eyes:

Seriously, Chertoff, is that you?