Concerns remain in EU over 'nude' airport scanners
samsung1
Ohio
Schiphol airport: keen to introduce mandatory scanning as soon as possible (Photo: afagen)
The Christmas Day airline bomb plot in the US has renewed calls for body scanners to be introduced in EU airports, but concerns over privacy and effectiveness continue to stand in the way.
Authorities at Schiphol airport in the Netherlands, where the would-be bomber boarded his flight with explosives packed in his underwear, plan to make body scans mandatory folowing a green light from the EU institutions.
Schiphol airport: keen to introduce mandatory scanning as soon as possible (Photo: afagen)
"We think that the [EU] parliament in the next round will approve the body scanners," Schiphol Group chief operating officer Ad Rutten said this week in the wake of the US incident.
The British government also promised a tough reaction. "We intend to be at the cutting edge of all this new technology and to ensure that we put it in place as quickly as possible," home secretary Alan Johnson said.
Body scanners use x-rays or microwaves to produce images that show any concealed parcels but which also reveal the passengers' intimate bodily curves to security staff.
Firms that produce the technology - which costs over €70,000 per unit compared to €10,000 for an ordinary metal detector - saw their share value rise by over 10 percent following the US scare.
Some EU airports, including Schiphol and Heathrow, already offer passengers the choice of using a scanner as an alternative to a physical pat-down. But uptake of the technology remains at an experimental stage due to concerns over privacy rights.
The European Commission late last year withdrew a proposal to roll out body scanners across the EU after MEPs compared the process to a "virtual strip search" and called for a detailed impact assessment study, which remains ongoing.
The European Parliament itself mothballed six scanner units designed to improve security at its Brussels and Strasbourg buildings following the decision.
Senior politicians in Germany, which last year criticised the commission plan as "nonsense," remain sceptical about scanners despite the fresh concerns raised by the US plot.
"The attempted attack is not a reason for us to change security laws," Wolfgang Bosbach, the head of the German parliament's Internal Affairs Committee told Berliner Zeitung.
Rainer Wendt, the head of the German police union, the DPolG, told the same paper that full body scans would be going "too far" in terms of privacy violations, despite innovations which blur the details of passengers' bodies on the screen.
Security experts said the US attacker came so close to success because intelligence agencies failed to communicate information acoss international borders rather than due to poor security standards at airports.
A number of analysts have also noted that overcrowding and poor pay for security officials at air terminals shoud be addressed more urgently than buying new machines.
"Cheap flights are at the expense of security. Airport operators and airlines often work for minimal wages and save on personnel," Konrad Freiberg, the chairman of the GdP police union in Germany told the Passauer Neue Presse daily.
http://euobserver.com/9/29206
I know a few strippers I would like to see go through these nude scanners lol. I think these scanners would be interesting to see in porn movies or even one in a strip club. It would be fun to see strippers have to walk through one of these before she goes up on stage. Right now the cost for a scanner is high but if they enter mass production and get installed in numerous airports the price may come down to what it costs for a metal detector in years from now. I can dream, no?
The Christmas Day airline bomb plot in the US has renewed calls for body scanners to be introduced in EU airports, but concerns over privacy and effectiveness continue to stand in the way.
Authorities at Schiphol airport in the Netherlands, where the would-be bomber boarded his flight with explosives packed in his underwear, plan to make body scans mandatory folowing a green light from the EU institutions.
Schiphol airport: keen to introduce mandatory scanning as soon as possible (Photo: afagen)
"We think that the [EU] parliament in the next round will approve the body scanners," Schiphol Group chief operating officer Ad Rutten said this week in the wake of the US incident.
The British government also promised a tough reaction. "We intend to be at the cutting edge of all this new technology and to ensure that we put it in place as quickly as possible," home secretary Alan Johnson said.
Body scanners use x-rays or microwaves to produce images that show any concealed parcels but which also reveal the passengers' intimate bodily curves to security staff.
Firms that produce the technology - which costs over €70,000 per unit compared to €10,000 for an ordinary metal detector - saw their share value rise by over 10 percent following the US scare.
Some EU airports, including Schiphol and Heathrow, already offer passengers the choice of using a scanner as an alternative to a physical pat-down. But uptake of the technology remains at an experimental stage due to concerns over privacy rights.
The European Commission late last year withdrew a proposal to roll out body scanners across the EU after MEPs compared the process to a "virtual strip search" and called for a detailed impact assessment study, which remains ongoing.
The European Parliament itself mothballed six scanner units designed to improve security at its Brussels and Strasbourg buildings following the decision.
Senior politicians in Germany, which last year criticised the commission plan as "nonsense," remain sceptical about scanners despite the fresh concerns raised by the US plot.
"The attempted attack is not a reason for us to change security laws," Wolfgang Bosbach, the head of the German parliament's Internal Affairs Committee told Berliner Zeitung.
Rainer Wendt, the head of the German police union, the DPolG, told the same paper that full body scans would be going "too far" in terms of privacy violations, despite innovations which blur the details of passengers' bodies on the screen.
Security experts said the US attacker came so close to success because intelligence agencies failed to communicate information acoss international borders rather than due to poor security standards at airports.
A number of analysts have also noted that overcrowding and poor pay for security officials at air terminals shoud be addressed more urgently than buying new machines.
"Cheap flights are at the expense of security. Airport operators and airlines often work for minimal wages and save on personnel," Konrad Freiberg, the chairman of the GdP police union in Germany told the Passauer Neue Presse daily.
http://euobserver.com/9/29206
I know a few strippers I would like to see go through these nude scanners lol. I think these scanners would be interesting to see in porn movies or even one in a strip club. It would be fun to see strippers have to walk through one of these before she goes up on stage. Right now the cost for a scanner is high but if they enter mass production and get installed in numerous airports the price may come down to what it costs for a metal detector in years from now. I can dream, no?
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I can imagine some of these scanners getting secretly wired up to a bosses office or other place and high resolution color images taken of the better looking female passengers. That's not exactly a threat to a country unless it were deemed a threat to implementation of some other security measure.
I heard the would be bomber or terrorist was depressed and lonely. Isn't that just sad? (sarcasm) Maybe the president and the UN should impose new laws to reduce depression as a matter of national security. Blowjobs legal everywhere. Then instruct females how swallowing can provide important nutrients. This measure might cut down the terrorist threat more than new scanners in airports.
Of course I don't think this will happen but can you imagine if a dancer wants to give you a free BJ in a strip club to warm you up for a lap dance but she's a fugly and you're trying to figure out how to tell her no thanks. It could be a blessing or curse if you went into a strip club and instead of just a 2 drink minimum sign posted, it said 2 drink minimum and you must let one stripper give you a BJ. New national happiness law. I think strip clubs would have to hire some girl just for that.
Hey, it's late at night, my mind is running wild.
Thing is,how many thousands of people go through just one airport gate on a given day? Believe me, for any guard looking at a scanner, the thrill will be gone after the third or fourth person. Doctors get absolutely no thrill at looking at naked people, and there are places that doctors would prefer not to place their fingers.
And guys, does every woman in a club give you a woody? Every woman? Come on.
I grew up in a house so screwed up about nudity that you dressed in a closet, but after a year in the military, it was no biggee to me that people saw me naked and often. If you want to travel safely, letting a scanner shoot it's electrons through you is no big deal. People need to grow up, or prepare to fly naked.
I like casualguy's idea for a national happiness law.
But I'm an admitted gun enthusiast and libertarian, so I'm sure such a suggestion will be immediately decried as "extreme".
What I see here is more federal government blundering. The TSA is full of under paid, under trained people.
I do not think that scanning every passenger is the answer but do believe that those on the watch list should be scanned.If you leave out my middle name, I am on the watch list.A sky marshal on every flight is ridiculous. You want cheap flights. Who is going to pay for them and what are they going to stop? Public awareness is the answer. I am surprised that the guy that stopped this hasn't gotten more press.
While I am on the band wagon. The newly passed 3 hour passenger bill of rights is fair but it does not go far enough. Who is going to staff all of these airports 24 hours a day? A diversion for an air line is a night mare. More so for an international flight. Even the largest airports are not staffed 24 hours a day for customs/immigration. And you cannot let a passenger off with out them.
Happy retirement? You bet.
Basically the pilot and crew would be directing things but they would have the green passenger assistance if needed to help people get off the plane after 3 hours. I think security officials worry too much about terrorist risks instead of the hostage passengers trapped onboard an airline for hours and hours with stinking toilets that don't work. If it's the holidays, people are off from work and even airports may be understaffed like everything else seems to be. The idea I have above for airport assistance would be a passenger volunteer program. I'd be willing to volunteer for help if I was selected and already flying and was stuck onboard myself.
A number of analysts have also noted that overcrowding and poor pay for security officials at air terminals shoud be addressed more urgently than buying new machines."
Amen to that. While I don't have much of problem with these new scanning machines (as long as they are proven to be safe with multiple exposures), it's pretty obvious to me that at least some parts of Europe have dropped the ball on nationalizing their airport security & doing better checks on suspected terrorists. Sure, they was plenty of blame for this recent incident on this side of "the pond", but some of it lies over there as well IMHO.
"Personally, I think they'd prevent more terrorism by allowing carrying of handguns onto planes by those who've already demonstrated their qualifications to do so safely"
Please, this is about as effective an idea as arming airline pilots. Do you really want a shootout at some 30,000 feet up?? Can you say aircraft decompression?? Come on now...
"I was in the hot seat for any incident."
No, you really weren't old man.
"Yeah I canceled it without batting an eye"
...and the weather made that decision for you more often than not "big man"...ugh...
"What I see here is more federal government blundering. The TSA is full of under paid, under trained people."
Compared to what...what they were paid & trained when your airline buddies were running the show before 9/11?? Please...
"Who is going to staff all of these airports 24 hours a day?"
Many are already staffed 24-hours/day, moron.
"Even the largest airports are not staffed 24 hours a day for customs/immigration."
Wrong again old man.
http://www.petitiononline.com/cgi-bin/ml…
But you've already demonstrated that your aquaintance with, or concern for, actual facts is passing at best, so I'm not really surprise.
There are idiots on here that ignore facts or either claim they are not facts due to the source. As in olden times, just kill the messenger. I've found the best way to deal with them is just to yawn and carry on.
Baloney...large commercial aircraft are usually pressurized to a level well below the level that they cruise at. Also, bullets can hit windows & blow them out, hit wiring hidden in the walls or the floor of the aircraft, or hit a fuel tank, period.
http://science.howstuffworks.com/gun-on-…
Discussing actual science with actual, self-proclaimed gun-nuts is really pointless...
-----------------------------
"As in olden times, just kill the messenger. I've found the best way to deal with them is just to yawn and carry on."
No, you've found that the "best way" for you to deal with being successfully challenged is to run away with your tail between your legs, moron. Now run along old man...
An "ex-hamburger flipper" TSA's cell phone pointed at the screen in the back room while someone calls in a celebrity.
Perhaps a picture of someone with a particular deformity to go "ahhhhh!" with.
Nekkid Kiddie Pics.
Another means to humiliate passengers who might dare to squawk about bad service. "Gonna tell me how to do my job? Into the nudie scanner with you!"
This is a bad idea all the way around.
Put these into airports in the states, the airlines will go bankrupt. Guaranteed.
gmd,
At least one seems to understand that he IS an idiot! I figured an idiot would fall for my trap by responding, and therefore, admitting his idiocy!
When you've studied physics, aeronautical engineering and pressure dynamics, come back and post again. In the meantime, I'll let the people who actually make and test airplanes for a living guide my opinion on this one.
Look you old fool, trying to carry out Machiavellian machinations on here is waaaay beyond your IQ level...give it up...lol...
"When you've studied physics, aeronautical engineering and pressure dynamics, come back and post again."
LOL...when you realize that you're talking with someone that's studied physics, advanced mathematics, chemistry, and atmospheric dynamics (among many other things to work in the field that I've been in for decades now), you'll realize that you've been schooled on this issue, period. I won't hold my breath though...lol...
Nice try.
Same your typing. Better to talk to a rock. A much more intelligent "conversation" you will have. That said, it is still amusing to read the admitted idiots on here.
Yea, because that's what you based your opinion on it the first place...not...
"But I'm an admitted gun enthusiast and libertarian"
Your opinion on this issue is based on your own Right-wing political views (your words, not mine) and NOT on the science at hand, period end of story.
"That said, it is still amusing to read the admitted idiots on here"
...and the truly ironic posts from the over-the-hill types continue...ugh...
Thanks man, you make it so easy...