Airport full body X-ray scanners

Smith   Mon Apr 19, 2010 7:35 am GMT
Has anyone here ever been asked to pass through a full body X-ray scanner before boarding on your flight?

I live in London and I travel overseas often. Last time when I went through the security check point at terminal 4 in Heathrow airport, I was "lucky" enough to be selected and asked to pass through a full body X-ray scanner for security inspection. I remember that I had to stand within a walled off area with my hands up for about 20 seconds until I heard the guard told me I could go. I don't know how much of my body the person looking at the images could see and don't even know whether that person is a male or female, but it really feel like I was being treated as a prisoner. No privacy at all.

There was so far already an airport guard in Heathrow got charged for abuse of full body X-ray scanner which he used to shoot an image of his female colleague, so if you often travel via Heathrow how much do you trust the behaviours of the airport guards?

The same incident also happened to a famous Bollywood star who was abused by two female airport guards as images of his naked body were illegally printed out by those guards. But surprisingly, those guards were not charged for the same kind of abuse.

The government has assured us that no images produced from these X-ray scanners could be transferred or saved in anyway. But after these incidents, should we still trust them now?

Please have your say!
Bastard   Mon Apr 19, 2010 8:01 am GMT
Why do you care if some stranger sees your cock? They see thousands every day. Unless you're a supermodel, you shouldn't be worried.
It's better than a cavity search, isn't it?
Smith   Mon Apr 19, 2010 9:46 am GMT
Re: Bastard

No, I am not worrying. I just dislike being treated like that.

You may also say thousands of people are victims of rape or robbery each day across our country. But do you want to be the next one?

Also, as I mentioned that the two female staffs who improperly printed out images of passenger at Heathrow were not charged. So, how the government can assure us this sort of behaviour would not happen again?

Just because of they are females so they can get rid of the punishment and continue doing stupid things like that?

That's ridiculous!
Smith   Mon Apr 19, 2010 9:56 am GMT
I personally prefer the conventional pat-down search, because an experienced inspector would not touch your sensitive body parts and this way I can be assured that no images of my body would be produced and transferred to somewhere for some bad behaving strangers to look at.

Don't trust the government! They are just talking crap stories and think that we are children.

Once the image is produced on a computer screen, there would be some way that the person who look at the image can make a copy of it.
Bastard   Mon Apr 19, 2010 10:19 am GMT
But why are you so sensitive. Did you lose your cock or something? Do you have mixed genitalia? What's the fuss? And no, it's not comparable to rape or murder. If you want to fly, get scanned. If not, don't fly.
Damian in Edinburgh   Mon Apr 19, 2010 10:59 am GMT
What really concerns you the most? What do you care about in order of priority ....your personal dignity and perceived feelings of persecution and victimisation over a period of just a few minutes of your time? Or the absolute security of yourself and your fellow passengers on board an aircraft or when returning home your country, the one you presumably love and wish to be protected from all those exterior threats which have already caused death and injury to many of its innocent citizens in recent years?

If you have nothing to hide then you have nothing whatsoever to worry about...those UK Security staff and Border Agency officials have a job to do under quite difficult circumstances at our very busy airports and ral and ferry terminals, and if they appear to be a wee bit gruff or officious at times then that's too bad...maybe they are having an "off day" - but in my experience they've always been pleasant and polite and in any case you, as a male, are very unlikely to be "frisked" by a female, and it's a certainty that no female will be similarly "handled" by a male.

If it's true that the two female officials you referred to behaved in that highly unprofessional manner then it's highly likely they would have been quite severely dealt with by the relevant authorities, not necessarily by the present Government as such. At least I agree with you about the untrustworthiness of this (mis)Government made up of utter muppets and scamps, but in seventeen days' time we all have the chance to give the whole lot of them a bloody good drubbing in the polling stations of this country....will we not? Here's hoping.....
Proud   Mon Apr 19, 2010 1:21 pm GMT
I'm with Damian and Bastard on this one.
I don't have a problem with getting my piece out.

Stop being such a prude.
Unless..   Mon Apr 19, 2010 3:04 pm GMT
Well, you shouldn't be ashamed of yourself...unless you're an Asian.
Rude   Mon Apr 19, 2010 10:06 pm GMT
LMAO
Smith   Tue Apr 20, 2010 9:43 am GMT
Re:Damian in Edinburgh

I agree with you that our lives are the most important, but do you know that it is as stupid as such that not everyone is required to go through these scanners?

Also, there are other ways the government can do to protect us from terrorist attacks rather than giving us these treatments.

For example, Israeli has not installed any of these machines in their airports but instead they adopt a good system to identify potential terrorists before they even have the chance to get into the terminals, and yet, there isn't any incident of suicide flight attack happened to them at all.

In fact, if our government did not get involved in Iraq war with the US and did not interfere with the middle east internal affairs, we would have had much less troubles to deal with all these terrorist things, wouldn't we?
Smith   Tue Apr 20, 2010 9:48 am GMT
Re: Unless..

It is an issue about privacy, not race.

Even if you are white, but do you want someone to strip you naked and laugh at you as they think you look like a pig? The X-ray scanner is actually a virtual stripping machine.
Bastard   Tue Apr 20, 2010 10:02 am GMT
Oh, so you're a fatty? In that case you deserve to be ridiculed. Maybe it will serve as motivation to do some exercise.
Smith   Tue Apr 20, 2010 11:26 am GMT
Re: Bastard

Again, it is an issue about privacy, not your race or how you look.

I was just clarifying this to "Unless.." as he was on the wrong track.

You didn't counter the points I raised in my last statement.

And, from what you've said, you should not be personally oriented against fat people. Your body shape shouldn't make you lose your right to protect your privacy.

Some Asians call the Europeans white pigs, what about if one day you go to an Asian country and they force you to undergo the same treatment and say because you are pig like and you deserve to be ridiculed? No matter you like it or not, but is this reasonable?

I think I got enough of being forced scanned and certainly don't want this to happen to me in another country.
Bastard   Tue Apr 20, 2010 11:34 am GMT
<<Again, it is an issue about privacy, not your race or how you look. >>


Sure, but it is not ONLY an issue of privacy. It is also an issue of security. Would you rather be a prude or get blown up? It is also an issue of contraband. Would you rather be a prude or have your children die of overdoses?


<<Even if you are white, but do you want someone to strip you naked and laugh at you as they think you look like a pig? The X-ray scanner is actually a virtual stripping machine. >>


The people who do it are professionals. If they did some abuse, then that is an issue which needs to be fixed, but that doesn't mean the technique is bad. It just needs to be ironed out. And I can't see how it is worse than a cavity search, which isn't new.
Smith   Tue Apr 20, 2010 12:23 pm GMT
Re: Bastard

As I said, security is important, but there are other things the government can do rather than the use of these over invasive machines, like the person who is selected should be allowed to choose for a pat-down by a guard of the same sex.

If you don't live in Britain, then I tell you that Britain has already got a certain number of muslims, we don't know how many of them are extremists like those who carried out the 911 attack, but the fact is, they are already in this country.

So, a year or two later, these machines may also be installed in all underground and railway stations, or even in some of the busiest shops in Oxford street.

But will these 100% prevent us from the terrorists? I am afraid that the answer is 'no'. The government is just doing something which is invading our privacy but not protecting us completely from terrorists.