Monday, September 15, 2008

[scanner] horror movie coming to you soon

US airports Los Angeles, New York's JFK, Baltimore-Washington, Denver, Albuquerque, Ronald Reagan Washington, Detroit, Dallas-Fort Worth and Phoenix Sky-Harbour, Washington Dulles and Las Vegas are now employing whole body scan technology on randomly selected passengers:

Unlike the puffer machines, which blast a person with air, then vacuum the particles and scan them for traces of explosives, the body-imaging machines use millimetre waves. A passenger steps into the machine and remains still for a few seconds, while the technology creates a three-dimensional image of the passenger from two antennas that simultaneously rotate around the body.

Millimetre waves use electromagnetic waves to generate an image based on the energy reflected from the body, creating a robotic image. The energy emitted is 10,000 times less than that of a cell phone, the TSA said.

They're scheduled for introduction at other US airports and it is probably a question of time until they enter the UK.

My question is: 'Is overseas travel the fun experience we like to delude ourselves it once was [ignoring transfer problems, hotels not up to scratch, being shunted into a tourist zone with all the others, interesting breakfast arrangements at the hotels, food hygiene and hotel building construction issues, pool hazards et al]?"

Could "the authorities", from the initial document renewal and submission phase through to the insurance lodgment for compensation phase later, be trying to give us a simple message:

"Much better to stay home and be a good little boy or girl?"

6 comments:

  1. Really, it's being such a cynic that keeps you happy, isn't it? The thing about being in a down time is to remember it is not everyone's fault, may not be yours, may be no one's at all! So hold your head high and go with it!

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  2. They have these at Schiphol, too. I've been in one, to the evident disgust of the security men...

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  3. News to me, as you say another reason to stay home. But there is no other way to get anywhere from here except flying so we have to endure it, plus everywhere I want to go is sooo far away.

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  4. All in the name of "War on Terror"

    Yeah, right!

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  5. I'm hoping to go to Iran in 2010. I can imagine some additional fun and games on the way out...

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  6. Good advice, Anon.

    The security men would give you an auto-clearance for the future, you feel, Mr. E?

    JMB - does seem to be happening.

    War on sanity more like.

    Jams - that will keep you on your toes.

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