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Upgrading the Full Body Scanners

> In Tuesday’s demonstration, Transportation Security staffers walked into one of the newly configured machines and stopped with their arms raised, as passenger being scanned are asked to do. A small video monitor near the unit’s exit displayed the results for both the passenger and the security officer operating the machine. > > Those who deliberately carried objects were detected and portrayed as generic human outlines, with regions of their body highlighted by a box indicating additional security attention was warranted. > > Those who carried no questionable objects saw a screen that was green with “OK” in the middle. > > Pistole acknowledged Transportation Security workers will no longer be able to see the shape and size of the questionable objects that are detected by the machines. > > “That’s one of the things we’ll be assessing in our pilot testing at the three airports,” he said. “How do the security officers engage the passenger based on what they’re seeing, and is there any diminution of efficiency in terms of what we’re doing?”
via [cnn.com](http://www.cnn.com/2011/TRAVEL/02/01/airport.body.scans/index.html?eref=rss_topstories)
The TSA is banking on this software upgrade quieting criticisms of the full-body scanners. And it does help, as far as privacy concerns go. But there are still at least two remaining reasons why the scanners need to be eliminated altogether. First, there are medical questions about the radiation exposure that have not been completely addressed, especially for frequent travelers and airline staff. And second, there’s still the notion of an “illegal search” to be considered. We do have a right not to be treated as criminals without suspicion in this country, people.

Does the Tea Party have its head so far up it’s ass on the Second Amendment that it’s forgotten about the Fourth? Where’s the protest on this one?

And the most important reason of all, of course, is that these expensive contraptions DON’T MAKE ANYONE SAFER. They just make lobbyists richer.