This is a ridiculous and unnecessary violation of our privacy. No wonder the European Parliament banned them 361 to 16.

How lucky we are that most terror attacks against AMERICANS have happened overseas for many decades.

http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0001454.html

Is it caving to fear or preparing ourselves for future events?

The big difference is by going through a metal detector, could one hide something suspicious under their clothes?

TSA Week at a Glance: 5/25/2009 to 5/31/2009

7 passengers were arrested after investigations of suspicious behavior or fraudulent travel documents
23 firearms found at checkpoints
2 artfully concealed prohibited items found at checkpoints
27 incidents that involved a checkpoint closure, terminal evacuation or sterile area breach

Play a screener (under constant pressure to keep the line moving):

http://msnbc.com/modules/airport_security/screener/

The effectiveness of the strip search relies entirely on the ability of the screeners hidden away in a remote viewing room to scrutinize images of our naked bodies to reveal anything “suspicious.” That’s similar to what screeners already do when they spend all day staring at x-ray images of our belongings. Undercover tests consistently show that screeners regularly miss simulated explosives, possibly because their eyes glaze over after a while. So why should we believe that the screeners who scrutinize scanner images all day would be any better?

The TSA is asking us to accept a significantly more intrusive form of screening that is an unprecedented invasion of privacy. (Actually, they’re not asking us to accept anything. They’ve had their secret meetings at headquarters and made a unilateral decision that all passengers SHALL be strip searched. They will surely address any objections in the standard TSA fashion: “Do you want to fly today?”.) There had better be a strongly compelling, demonstrated benefit from treating air travelers like criminals or prisoners, who are routinely strip searched. The only evidence they’ve offered is the usual “trust us.”

Maybe it’s good that you have enough faith and confidence in the TSA to willingly accept their claims that strip searching everyone is necessary to keep aviation safe, and also that it respects passengers’ privacy. Unfortunately, I have no reason to have faith in anything the TSA does. Their track record speaks for itself, with a dismal lack of effectiveness, competence, or respect for passengers. Whatever the benefit, I cannot entrust the use of such an intrusive technology to the TSA as it currently exists.

John, you have me wondering if these machines can detect very threat possible. We are required to take off our shoes and jackets. The screeners can visually access our bodies for hidden weapons. Does plastic set off a “metal” detector? Could a plastic weapon make it onboard?
We have a machine that is capable of screening everyone very effectively.
Hapgood, why doesnt this machine make everyone safer? Why does a weapon have to be METAL, because that’s what the machine is ONLY detecting.

Ok … Earlier today I posted something commenting on Charlie’s Journalism … in all fairness the TSA deserves some too.

Bob … Why does the TSA think that these machines are needed (ie what do they detect that the current machines don’t)? What “real threat” would be caught by these machines that isn’t caught today? Is this the least intrusive technology to achieve those goals? What other technologies have you considered?

The real question is whether we’re actually getting anything for what these scanners will cost us, in terms of both money and privacy. It’s easy to just say “I’ll let them do whatever it takes to protect us from another 9/11.” But is it actually protecting us, or is it merely surrendering more privacy in the name of pretending that it does? For seven years the TSA has enjoyed a complete exemption from any cost-benefit analysis. Fear has given them a blank check to run a secretive, unaccountable, arrogant and continually-expanding bureaucracy. Now that they’ve made the unilateral decision to adjust the balance of privacy and (claimed) security in this country by strip searching every airline passenger, perhaps it’s time to start asking the questions that should have been asked years ago.

Yes, 9/11 changed a lot. But that doesn’t mean we have to cave in to fear and let important decisions about our fundamental liberties be made in secret by unaccountable bureaucrats.