Monday, January 11, 2010

Please remove your underwear

A new poll says Americans are okely dokely with the government using body scanners to check our undergarments for bombs before getting on commercial flights.
Poll respondents appeared to endorse a Transportation Security Administration plan to install 300 scanners at the nation's largest airports this year to replace metal detectors. The machines, used in 19 airports, create vivid images of travelers under their clothes to reveal plastics and powders to screeners observing monitors in a closed room.

According to the USA Today/Gallup poll,
78% of respondents said they approved of using the scanners, and 67% said they are comfortable being examined by one. Eighty-four percent said the machines would help stop terrorists from carrying explosives onto airplanes. The survey was taken Jan. 5-6 of 542 adults who have flown at least twice in the past year.

That takes care of a good percentage of airports in the U.S. But this ramp-up of security, if you recall, is in response to the Christmas Day terrorist attempt by a man who flew to the U.S. from Amsterdam.
Europeans practically had to be forced at gunpoint to allow U.S. air marshals to protect flights from there because they oppose, well, guns.
The rest of the world isn't very keen on many of our other security measures, citing invasion of privacy issues.
Many Americans may think it's okay for TSA screeners to inspect our bare bodies via computer screens, the rest of us better hit the gym.

2 comments:

  1. I can't wait for all of the interesting "profiling" accusations.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Mom always said to wear clean underwear when you travel.

    ReplyDelete