Full-body scanner blind to bomb parts

[FarCenter]

By Rik Myslewski in San Francisco • 24th January 2010 11:02 GMT

Most of the uproar over full-body scanners has focused on privacy concerns. There's one larger question, however, that hasn't received much scrutiny by the chattering classes: do the damnable things work?

One German TV station says "Nein."

By way of Americablog comes a video of a man easily concealing the makings of high-temperature combustibles in a manner that evaded a full-body scanner. As the blogger writes: "Even if you don't understand German, it's easy enough to follow how this physicist beat the system."

First the World's Ugliest Man forced us all to remove our shoes when going through airport security. Now the Nigerian crotchbomber has upped the ante, forcing us to leave our dignity at home.

And for what? So that few hundred million taxpayer dollars can be spent slowing our boarding even longer while producing images that some of the more-squeamish members of the public have likened to child porn and which can't detect bomb ingredients?

<SNIP> http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/01/24/body_scanner_fail/

[Alameda]

1. who profits?... $$$ put in the scanner manufacturers accounts?

How much do each of these scanners cost? Someone is profiting off this.

[FarCenter]

2. Around $150,000 each, add in maintenance contracts, maybe $250,000

There is big money to be made. Stocks of the few companies that make these went up significantly.

[lunatica]

3. Finding a way to fool the scanners didn't take long

Just as I suspected. The guy had innocuous parts in his mouth, in his pockets, and strapped to his shin and the scanner didn't catch any of it. We live in Idiocracy only it's a police state too.

[Stinky The Clown]

4. TSA needs to go away

Their job is to make us more docile and when they get replaced with the malevolent agents that can be put there any time, we won't notice.

[ellenfl]

5. taxpayer funds that will go to skeletor.

"So that few hundred million taxpayer dollars can be spent . . ."

i have read that michael chertoff has an interest in a company that builds these machines. the rich get rich . . .

ellen fl

[The Backlash Cometh]

6. I credit these searches for one thing.

Since I'm always profiled for these searches, I (try to) keep my weight down. Why? Because one place for contraband is underneath a woman's boobs. Yep, I got felt up by an airline security person. The thing is, that a body scanner would not be able to penetrate that area if there was, er, overlap. The only thing it can determine is if fat people are really fat, or if they're strapping bombs around their waist.