Monday, May 23, 2005

News 10 Now | New airport security measures tested. "It's really humiliating and debasing," explained Barrie Gerwanter of the American Civil Liberties Union. "It's a virtual strip search and it's something that shouldn't be used unless it's as last resort." Full-body scans; you step inside and the pictures say it all. But the TSA says it plans to test the machines at several airports very soon. "They would reveal possibly very personal details about the size of their genitalia, the size of a woman's breasts, whether they have some medical device on their body, and that's really unnecessary and intrusive and it has nothing to do with airport security," said Gewanter. Officials with the TSA say they like the new machines, because unlike traditional metal detectors, they pick up some items otherwise left undetected. But the question is, 'Will passengers be willing to sacrifice personal privacy for peace of mind?' [Privacy Digest: Privacy News (Civil Rights, Encryption, Free Speech, Cryptography)] A more accurate way of phrasing that question would be, "Will passengers be willing to sacrifice personal privacy for a false sense of security?" The answer is certainly "yes." If they weren't, they would already have refused to go through an airport. 10:45:41 AM    comment () A NATION OF INFORMANTS. For God's sake, can't someone put a stop to the insanity being perpetrated by Sensenbrenner? Neighbors spying on neighbors? Mothers forced to turn in their sons or daughters? These are images straight out of George Orwell's 1984, or a remote totalitarian state. We don't associate them with the land of the free and the home of [...] [The Light Of Reason] Sensenbrenner is apparently terribly disappointed that he doesn't live in the Soviet Union, so he's doing his best to remake America in the Soviet Union's image. 10:19:50 AM    comment () THE NEVER-ENDING PRICE OF LIES. Story: Former NFL player Pat Tillman's family is lashing out against the Army, saying that the military's investigations into Tillman's friendly-fire death in Afghanistan last year were a sham and that Army efforts to cover up the truth have made it harder for them to deal with their loss. More than a year after their son was [...] [The Light Of Reason] Pat Tillman's family is (understandably) upset with the Feds for lying about is death for propaganda reasons. 9:28:05 AM    comment ()

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