This isn't about myself. Because if it were about myself, what am I to gain from talking about this stuff? - decreased readership on my comics - getting laughed at and ridiculed - getting personally attacked - getting unpopular and seen as if I'm the source of evil on this planet. - becoming a loner
These things have already happened to you, sir.
You do amuse me so much, it's like when they used to let you watch mental patients flail about in institutes, only watching you flail about like a lunatic doesn't cost a penny!
Also don't worry about the airport security seeing your pecker; I'm sure they'll see much smaller ones all the time, so you have no need to be embarassed.
MOUNTAIN TOP REMOVAL MINING BIOFUEL and the MILITARY INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX
those things are real threats
this body scanner is an obvious distraction from more serious issues
i agree! there are other means of energy out there, and they're becomming easier to obtain. many places have programs to make non fossil sorces of energy available. you can even MAKE money from using solar panels because whatever stored energy you dont use at the end of the day, the power company is willing to buy from you. Germany's a good example of thie. Great ways to conserve without these investments are unplugging electronics when you're not using them,put on more clothes if you're cold, shorten the time it takes to take a shower, even the way you build your house can conserve energy.
at current rates of consumption (with consumption actually increasing now) it's estimated that oil will last another 40 years. before it runs out it will become to expensive to afford.
…call me a hippie and i'll pop ya like a baby seal.
I'm all for those so called body scanners. Well… 'til they find some other way to detect explosives that standard sensors can't see. Sometimes we have to sacrifice something to be safe and happy in the long run. I'd go through one if it meant that I'd be riding in a plane that isn't going to explode while in flight because of that precaution. That's my two pisos (or cents) on the subject.
I don't see what is so terrible about the scans. The only way it could be a violation of rights is if they save the negatives then inverse them. But why would a government do this? Are you really so paranoid you think they want to peek at us naked for sexual pleasure? Wouldn't a dystopian government have more important things to do? But even assuming they would keep the nudes of us all, these body scanners are at airports. If you don't want you body scanned, you don't have to ride a plane.
I have to say, the bodyscan thing creeps me out. I'm not paranoid that the government has a secret plot to stare at my genitals and giggle, or anything, it just seems screwed up to me. Not screwed up enough to boycott it or anything, but still I really hope something better comes along soon. On the other hand it creates a new joke: Is that an explosive in your scan or are you just happy to see me?
I don't see how body scanners are meant to pick up explosives hidden in some dirty old mans underwear. If people find the body scanners disturbing they simply won't travel. The utter security in airports already puts off plenty from travelling. Why does Kyupol want complete freedom? Mankind is always gonna be an arse of a race, government interference or not. If they're not out there trying to blow people up in an act of "rebellion" then they're out there murdering and raping people, drinking and driving, taking drugs and going on crazy rampages.
Hate to break it to you, but petitions get next to nothing done and e-petitions get nothing done at all. Petitions have no legal power whatsoever; they just indicate that some people want something. E-petitions are worthless because there's no way of actually identifying the people who "signed" it, no way of preventing people from using multiple names, they rarely indicate any course of action that should be taken and it's even rarer for them to indicate who the petition is going to be sent to once it gets all those "signatures".
The amount of change you'll achieve is pretty much proportionate to the amount of effort you put in; e-petitions require no effort, and thus bring no change.
I personally don't care if people see my beautiful bare body (I look BOSS in a tiny bikini). I still am sad that they confiscated my lotion on my trip to England, though. It was my favourite, jerks.
Anyway, if you'll excuse me, Kyupol I have a flock of sheep to chillax with (I hear that post nuclear blast crab grass tastes DELICIOUS-enforced by the government, of course).
Well… I have to say… those images leave very little to the imagination.
Hate to break it to you, but petitions get next to nothing done and e-petitions get nothing done at all…
The amount of change you'll achieve is pretty much proportionate to the amount of effort you put in; e-petitions require no effort, and thus bring no change.
Actually. I can testify that it can make a difference. There's a big thing going on over at my country regarding a controversial bill that got passed at the parliament with a very slim margin (difference of 3 votes in favor). A survey showed that about 70% of the public was against it and the president vetoed the bill once supporters showed up at his doorstep handing over a bill containing the signatures of approximately quarter of all eligible voters in the country. These signatures were acquired via e-petition hosted at the site maintained by the people who ran the anti-campaign. In order to sign, you had to confirm your identity by punching in your identification number (similar to the American social security number, only less important and not good enough to use solely for identity theft). Acquiring the signatures of roughly 25% of all eligible voters in few days could only have been done via easily accessible e-petition.
Granted, allot of effort was put into this petition. It was well marketed, got news coverage, about 1000 supporters came along to witness the signatures being handed out, etc.
I find it flattering that the government wants to see me naked.
But turn-about should be fair play… as a people, we should get something back. Not that I really want to see the government naked. Obama or Palin might be alright, but I'd rather Mr. McCain keep his britches in place.
Conspiracy? No. Abusive government? Maybe. Something we shouldn't do? absolutely. Okay lemme give my opinion on it.
First: Its an expense that would end up costing around $2.6b to equip all airports. In theory that could be cut to $100m by just equipping the major airports. (Each scanner costs $100,000-200,000). That is a lot for an uncertain measure in a spending crunch.
Second: Health concerns. The scanners utilize high band thetahertz waves which increase cancer risks. Especially in subjects with other risk factors. http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/arxiv/24331/
Fourth: Privacy concerns. According to the TSA the scanners operate by taking a fully nude image and running it through an automatic process to blur out faces and private features of your anatomy. These images are not stored, nor transmitted. Unfortunately this is not the case as indicated by the TSA on their own procurement requirements and specifications of the devices themselves. http://epic.org/2010/01/update---epic-posts-tsa-docume.html
That and you can opt to be patted down instead which has its own downsides, and making the whole thing a moot point and an unnecessary expense.
Note: All links are simple examples with other evidence available. Do your own research.
EDIT: And yes also the rampant risk of abuse and violation by unscrupulous TSA agents and airline security who already love to abuse their power.
You know, I didn't really have any objection to the full-body scanner. The only worry was the possibility of saving the images and leaking them (imagine pictures of the more attractive or famous travelers getting onto the internet). To me, it's no big deal to be scanned if only one or two airport employees will see, and it means I don't have to be patted down.
But imshard raises some pretty good points, and it could be that privacy isn't the biggest problem here.
More of imshard anti fluoride and anti immunisation nonsense. -_- Even so, I'm very glad to see him here posting at DD again! :)
Let's just address these though shall we?
1. Expense: Irrelevant. Governments and corporations budget for masses of utterly useless crap anyway. Talk of cost is absolutely silly in this context and at those amounts. It's just capitalism- the money moves from American airports and American airlines and American government into American electronics firms. It goes around and around again and that's what we call an economy :) Don't forget to buy your shares!
2. Health: Inconclusive. Oh dear, body scanners can join the long line behind nano-particles in sunscreen, cell phone radiation, X-rays, and Sunny Delight… etc.
3. Efficacy. Whatever. None of those search methods are anywhere near 100%, their real purpose is to make people feel safe and pick up obvious threats. As you know the REAL threat dection is done by the intelligence services.
4. Privacy. Non-issue. I think most people in this thread are pretty unanimous in saying they don't care. And if you'll just sing up for my Right To Travel Naked petition, you too can enjoy the right to fly free and unconstrained by nasty clothing! :) :) :) http://www.petitiononline.com/15387217/petition.html
To be fair kyupol kind of has a point here, but this kind of thing's been going on for so long anyway. Security gets tighter constantly. Anyone who's been to a modern school can attest it feels more like a prison. I'm more worried about the reported mind scan, because you know everyone's going to get nervous and start thinking about bombs.
Ozone, imshard's link about Terahertz waves doesn't prove the harmfulness of full-body scanners, but it isn't paranoid ramblings, either. If anything I hope it's something that scientists are paying attention to before they roll out the scanners.
Naturally it's all about the amount of exposure. If it's no more harmful than a medical X-ray, I'm not too worried.
So you can't refute the points, ergo they are irrelevant? Sorry doesn't compute. Also blatant dismissal of views without intelligent discourse is a faux pas. Especially on grounds of unrelated matters.
Expense is not irrelevant when you're the one paying.
Yes lots of things hurt your health. It doesn't mean you should volunteer for them. Especially since the effect have not been fully studied. If it turns out to be as minor as a cell phone? No worries. If its tantamount to eating arsenic and walking into chernobyl? Not so much. Might be a good idea to find out first.
Lack of efficiency is a good reason not to add another level of BS.
And just because YOU don't mind having somebody peering at your peeper doesn't mean others don't. This is not a matter of personal choice its about violation of modesty. Especially since it wouldn't take much of a policy change to make it mandatory. Also privacy becomes a major concern since these scanners are also being introduced in schools and public venues. You know, ones with children. Thus far no rules have been established regarding the treatment of minors that I've found. Since it falls under the purview of regular security checks; Minors could be subject to search without guardian's permission. Same logic for the handicapped and mentally challenged.
Edit: I'll throw this in there too: religious concerns.
Ozone, imshard's link about Terahertz waves doesn't prove the harmfulness of full-body scanners, but it isn't paranoid ramblings, either.
No, his link says "inconclusive". Those things are nothing like X-rays in terms of quantifiable risk- in that it's really, really obvious with X-rays. With these things you are in the realm of cell phone radiation: Quibbling over small amounts of inconclusive data. with no level of substantial quantifiable risk.
So you can't refute the points, ergo they are irrelevant? Sorry doesn't compute. Also blatant dismissal of views without intelligent discourse is a faux pas.
A faux pas? What, like farting at a dinner party? lol! I gave each point all the due consideration it deserved my friend. I don't think you took the time to absorb the full content and implications of my reply. :)
Expense is not irrelevant when you're the one paying.
It is in this context, as explained. You are NOT paying. The government is paying with cash you've already given it. If it didn't buy those, it would go on something else. You're not getting it back either way. It all goes back into your economy and makes your country the great powerhouse it is ^_^ If you don't like governments spending money, don't pay taxes.
Yes lots of things hurt your health. It doesn't mean you should volunteer for them.
NO, lots of things DO NOT hurt your health. The point is that with lots of things we have lots of inconclusive data based on tiny, mostly hypothetical risk. This thing just joins the queue.
Lack of efficiency is a good reason not to add another level of BS.
And why not? They still work. They still pick up threats. Maybe we should stop the metal detector and pat downs and just use this scanner instead and things will be faster and easier? ^_^
——————– As for children and all that guff- do you really think it'll turn the operators into pedophiles? It's a non-issue made to excite the press. As for religious people, they can sort out alternatives I'm sure. Don't be such a Henny Penny.
Get naked and be free!
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