Comments on: Photo: Scanner searches through clothing

Department of Homeland Security is looking to employ scanning systems that do a complete search to detect weapons.

[lingsun]

Just scan only mid-eastern people

There's no need to subject the average American to any search like this. Just scan people from the mideast or people with Muslim names. The 9/11 hijackers were all mid-eastern Muslims. There's no need to scan people outside of this profile.

good idea, but won't work

This is a good idea, but it practicality it would never work. For one thing, they are trying very hard to recruit westerners and they will recruit a few..it's inevitable. Wasn't there a guy from Pennsylvania recently helping the terrorist? So while your idea of scanning only middle easterners may help to prevent 99% of the terrorist...there will always be that 1% westerners that falls through the cracks. And as we know, it only takes one time. So we need to scan EVERYONE...not just middle easterners. Set your modesty aside and focus on security.

everyone must be scanned

Just wanted to add something else. Some may also want to exempt women and children from the scan. This also can not be done. Look at the Palestian suicide bombers...many have been women and children. I'm afraid everyone must be scanned, if we are to make flying safer.

[killerpenguinz]

What the heck?

Just scanning middle-eastern people? That's pretty racist. There is no need for this technology, but talking about it on a website won't do anything. People need to start standing up against this governments actions or we will have a new-world hitler on our hands.

[KnightX9600]

Re: Just scan only mid-eastern people

I only have 4 things to say to you lingsun... Timothy McVeigh, Terry Nichol, Richard Reid, and Unibomber(I can't remember his real name off the top of my head).. All 4 were white americans.. atleast one of which served in the US Military..

[sail4evr]

public mens public not private

When you fly public transportation with the public you have to adhere to public's way of doing things. There is not anything that should be private in today's public world. Where in the word public do you see privacy. It's public. If you want to be private you can't travel public. If you don't want to be seen in public places...GO HOME!

[furl12]

What - no women?

It tells you that they know that this is invasive when they won't even give examples of how female passengers look.

All Aboard..

Anybody who believes this is a good idea should strip naked, get on a plane and fly the hell out of this country! Anyone who believes in this country and the principles that it was founded on would never submit to THIS type of terrorism! Open your damn eyes, you sheep! There is no place for you in our country.

America needs more Tom Canavans

America needs more people like Tom.. the rest of you americans, like tom said, OPEN UP YOUR EYES DAMNIT!!!! your government has brainwashed you all..

america the free!!

haha.. i feel sorry for you poor americans. i agree, america is free. free enough so ***** perverted security guards can look at the genitals of every man, woman and child that flies anywhere. wow, it must be great to have that kind of freedom.. all i can say is one thing.

i am proud NOT to be an american.. THANK GOD i am NOT american.

Plenty of potential weapons given out on the plane!

I don't really care if security guards look at me "naked" to see
that I'm not carrying a real weapon, but anyone who's had their
fingernail clippers taken (because of a 1" file) then been served a
bottle of wine on the plane (which could be broken into a wicked
weapon) knows that there's something amiss here. Well, at least
hi-tech plastic guns, etc shouldn't go undetected, unless of
cours they are disassembled or made to look like something else
than a weapon.

Still, maybe people should do better worrying about who's busy
hijacking the US Gov't. Crazy world....

[wurlybird9]

Who are you going to listen to? Bush, or Ben Franklin?

Don't you get it? The risk of a terrorist act harming you are minimal. You face a greater risk of being killed by a plane crash under other circumstances. You face an even greater risk of being killed in a car accident on your way to the airport.

The government has an interest in advertising the horrors of terrorism. They want us to get used to having our rights eroded, little by little, until we will gladly submit to any indignities in the name of some overhyped threat.

You may not think giving up small things is a big deal, but they all add up, and they will be much harder to win back when you finally decide that things have gone too far.

Stop listening to Bush and heed the wise words of a Founding Father and true patriot:

"They that give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." --Benjamin Franklin.

I can see it now . . .

The airport screener is a perv. He\she has a camera wired into their glasses or under their hat (ala the people who pirate first run movies at the theater). The next thing you know, pictures of you, your spouse, or (God forbid) your kids are on the web. I don't mind being naked in the doctor's office; just not in front of who knows who.

Sound far-fetched? Take a look at your local police department's map of sex offenders living in *your* neighborhood. And with our state\government "Equal Employment" laws, guess who might be manning the scanner?

Hey, here's a solution (ATTN entrepreneurs): How 'bout lead lined bras, panties and jock straps?

consider this

Please pause a moment, reflect back, and take the following multiple-choice
> test. The events are actual cuts from past history. They actually happened!
> Do you remember?
>
> In 1968 Bobby Kennedy was shot and killed by:
> a. Superman
> b. Jay Leno
> c. Harry Potter
> d. Muslim male extremist between the ages of 17 and40
>
> In 1972 at the Munich Olympics, athletes were kidnapped and killed by:
> a. Olga Corbett
> b. Sitting Bull
> c. Arnold Schwarzenegger
> d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40
>
> In 1979, the US embassy in Iran was taken over by:
> a. Lost Norwegians
> b. Elvis Presley
> c. A tour bus full of 80-year-old women
> d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40
>
> During the 1980's a number of Americans were kidnapped in Lebanon by:
> a. John Dillinger
> b. The King of Sweden
> c. The Boy Scouts of Canada
> d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40
>
> In 1983, the US Marine barracks in Beirut was blown up by:
> a. A pizza delivery boy
> b. Pee Wee Herman
> c. Martha Stewart
> d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of17 and 40
>
> In 1985 the cruise ship Achille Lauro was hijacked and a 70 year old
> American passenger was murdered and thrown overboard in his wheelchair by:
> a. The Smurfs
> b. Davy Jones
> c. The Little Mermaid
> d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40
>
> In 1985 TWA flight 847 was hijacked at Athens, and a
> Navy diver trying to rescue passengers was murdered by:
> a. Captain Kidd
> b. Charles Lindberg
> c. Mother Teresa
> d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40
>
> In 1988, Pan Am Flight 103 was bombed by:
> a. Scooby Doo
> b. The Tooth Fairy
> c. Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid
> d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40
>
> In 1993 the World Trade Center was bombed the first time by:
> a. Richard Simmons
> b. Grandma Moses
> c. Michael Jordan
> d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40
>
> In 1998, the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania were bombed by:
> a. Mr. Rogers
> b. Hillary Clinton, to distract attention from Wild Bill's women
> problems
> c. The World Wrestling Federation
> d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40
>
> On 9/11/01, four airliners were hijacked; two were used as missiles to take
> out the World Trade Centers and of the remaining two, one crashed into the
> US Pentagon and the other was diverted and crashed by the passengers.
> Thousands of people were killed by:
> a. Bugs Bunny, Wiley E. Coyote, Daffy Duck and Elmer Fudd
> b. The Supreme Court of Florida
> c. Mr. Bean and the Vicar of Dibley
> d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40
>
> In 2002 the United States fought a war in Afghanistan against:
> a. Enron
> b. The Lutheran Church
> c. The NFL
> d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40
>
> In 2002 reporter Daniel Pearl was kidnapped and murdered by:
> a. Bonnie and Clyde
> b. Captain Kangaroo
> c. Billy Graham
> d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40
>
>
> Nope, I really don't see a pattern here to justify profiling, do you?
>
> So, to ensure we Americans never offend anyone, particularly fanatics'
> intent on killing us, airport security screeners will no longer be allowed
> to profile certain people. They must conduct random searches of 80-year-old
> women, little kids, and airline pilots with proper
> identification,secret agents who are members of the President's security
> detail. 85-year old Congressmen with metal hips, and Medal of Honor winning
> and former Governor Joe Foss, but leave Muslim Males between the ages 17and
> 40 alone because profiling might offend someone.
>

Even thought the answers to these questions refer to only males this doesn't let off the women-who do as they are told and could be just as lethal-in fact it was bragged about that a woman could look as if she is pregnant but she would be carrying explosives to be detonated.
Nobody should get off.
There are a lot of excuses for not wanting searches to happen mostly because the person would be stopped from commitiing attrocities planned.
If certain people are supposed to be treated very carefully maybe they don't belong here maybe they should go back to their own country. My feeling is that nobody would object if they had nothing to hide

[00rb]

To all you "this inposes on my freedom" nitwits.

Since when is commercial air travel anyone's right? American or otherwise. If you don't want to be screened, then don't fly. Jump in your car drive it across the country... no one is stopping you. If you don't want to do that, learn how to pilot a prop plan or maybe a hot air balloon.

[c_m_f]

Information for non-Americans

You are correct: air travel is not our "right." However, we Americans, in case you are not familiar with our Constitution, are guaranteed a right of privacy, which this search clearly violates. Would it be OK if the police could demand you out of your car and virtually strip search you any time they felt like doing so? Automobile travel and car ownership aren't formal rights either -- you could always take a bus or walk -- so why not extend your argument to that context, too? And then, of course, nobody is guaranteed the right to own a home, so should the government be within its purview to search all your belongings before you move into a newly purchased house? The right to privacy is fundamental, regardless of situation, and should only be forfeited when no other reasonable alternative exists. In this case, there ARE many, better alternatives.

[cass87_live]

your so intelligent

yeah, I guess one day when they implant chips to keep track of everyone, or use xray vision on your house or your car you'll be real happy. Then of course the more time that passes the closer we'll be to martial law. Anywhere you go will be monitored...I guess if you want to give up your rights to privacy to keep out a few terrorists because your so scared, you might as well live in a cage and let the government watch you personally 24/7.

[rapster07]

Scanner sees through clothes - so what?

I'd rather be searched by a scanner then be pawed by a security guard. Keep in mind the religious fundamentalists don't want to understand or bargain with us - they just want all "infidels" dead. Anything security can do to try and prevent another 911 is OK with me. Will it take yet another tragedy for people to come out of their liberal stupor?

[Dilipish]

The problem can be solved.

Scanning my body is OK, if I am anonymous to the security men. He should not have any idea of my identity, and do not see me and my directly at all at any time in the process. If there is a breach of secutiry, then only they should get details of my identity. Its like you see a group of naked people who are total stangers to you. any way its not really total nakedness in xrays... The whole process may be monitored to check if the security men make unsoliicted remarks...

[luvneyez]

What's the point

Why should I be subjected to such tight security when there are thousands of packages being transported for the Postal Service by these same passenger planes we all fly on that literally DO NOT get inspected at all?? Seems to me to be alot of BS meant to make everyone feel a false sense of security.

[sarahh112]

Reading all posts...

I just read every single post on here... some of you support muslims.. others hand them in on a diamond platter... some would just run away from the problem by simply not flying while others decide to move to canada.. some simply wont take it.. while others simply dont mind..
Its weird how stereotypical 90% of the replys r.. do you realise that this is what every single culture out there says about americans? how sterotypical they are? americans complain and complain n host talk shows: oprah tyra racheal ray martha stewart n millions of others.. just to gith stereotypes... how people judge cuz ur fat or ugly or blak or white... its the same for muslims.. just cuz 1 blak guy mugged you doesnt mean alllll blak people r bad.. just cuz one chinese dude keeps studying doesnt mean hes a nerdy geek... n just cuz your fat it doesnt mean u eat like a pig... its just that.. just cuz ur a muslim doesnt mean ur a terrorist.. these people have feelings.. many of them r highly educated, more educated than any of us americans i must say... they have families and wives and lives like every1 else does... just cuz they decide to protect their land and dignity against WHAT UR SAYING doesnt make them terrorists... forget 9/11 that was wrong.. and i have a muslim frend who says muslims even say god might never forgive them for it... but people in palastine? theyre just fighting for their dignity against your words against your stereotypes.. theyre fighting cuz people have invaded their lands... n we over here r too blind to see it since the media only covers half the story

I dont want to make this long.. and i understand where every1 is coming from: yes some1 crashed in that building and killed our families.. n it so happened to be a muslim... dont fall victim to this and stereotype.. people r just that: people.. doesnt matter what race they r from, doesnt matter wut color they r.. doesnt matter where they are from.. what matters IN THE END is wut gd they bring to this life.

[santrega]

ok answer me this

Do you know of the KKK? And do you believe that they are all "just people too". They do things based on their beliefs that hurt and torture other people. They cause destruction of some kind wherever they go and in the name of white power. What is the difference between these guys and the taliban? Their color and their beliefs are the difference, but they end with the same result. Now if you see a group of guys walking down the street with a white pointy hood on, are you not going to think they are there to do something they shouldn't do? Sure we can all put on rose colored glasses and pretend they wont, but i dont think that will do much to help those people they will hurt.

Take for example. If you were sitting at home and looking out the window and spot a guy walking down the street wearing a black shirt and green pants. He walks in front of your house and throws a rock in your window. The next day you see a different guy and hes wearing a black shirt and green pants and he also throws a rock in your window. The day after that you see another guy, different than the 2 guys before, wearing a black shirt and green pants 2 blocks from your house headed in that direction. What do you do? You've just spent 2 horrible nights with 2 broken windows that had to be fixed and the only thing you know about those two guys that they had in common was the color of their clothes. What is there to do but assume hes headed there to do the same thing?