Full-body scanner cannot replace diplomacy but imposes indecency on billions. Law says indecent exposure is crime, doesn't it?

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Friday, January 8, 2010 - The full body scanners that President Obama last night authorized to be rolled out in airports across the country at a cost of over $1 billion dollars not only produce detailed pictures of your genitals, but once inverted some of those images also display your naked body in full living color. Airport screeners will have access to huge high definition images that, once inverted, will allow them to see every minute detail of your body. TV viewers have been misled by blurring of faces and genitals of people in the images. When it comes to the real thing, your sexual organs and those of your children will be on full display to officials sat alone in back rooms, and with a simple inversion trick, your daughter’s naked body in full living high definition color will be there to be enjoyed by screeners.
As we reported yesterday, claims that the body scanners did not provide details of genitals were disproven after a London Guardian journalist who was present at a trial for the machines earlier this week reported that the devices produce an image which make “genitals eerily visible.” German Security advisor Hans-Detlef Dau, a representative for a company that sells the scanners, admits that the machines, “show intimate piercings, catheters and the form of breasts and penises”. It is important to stress that this is a low resolution image. Airport screeners will have access to huge high definition images that, once inverted, will allow them to see every minute detail of your body.

And you don’t need to be a graphics wizard using a $600 software suite like Photoshop to pull off the trick – inverting a photo is a simple process that takes one click and is an option available even in the most basic image editing software. We were sent examples of the process by readers and then tested it for ourselves to confirm that simply inverting some of the pictures produced by the body scanners creates a near-perfect replica of a naked body in full color. It is important to stress that this is a low resolution image. Airport screeners will have access to huge high definition images that, once inverted, will allow them to see every minute detail of your body.

The inversion trick doesn’t work for all the sample images produced by body scanners, but with or without its application, every image will still show details of your sexual organs. Even without being inverted, the images already break child porn laws in the UK.
Reassurances that airport screeners won’t be able to save the images will provide little comfort to parents who know that the crystal clear image of their naked son or daughter being ogled by a TSA thug can merely be snapped with a handheld camera for their enjoyment later. Apologists for the scanners have routinely described the images they produce as “ghostly” or “skeletal” in an effort to downplay the intrusion of privacy they really represent.

As we reported yesterday, claims that the body scanners did not provide details of genitals were DISPROVEN after a London Guardian journalist who was present at a trial for the machines earlier this week reported that the devices produce an image which make “genitals eerily visible.” Indeed, as was admitted when the scanners were first being rolled out over a year ago, they don’t function properly if areas of the body are blurred out. A report from October 2008, when the naked body scanners were first being introduced at Melbourne Airport in Australia, detailed how the X-ray backscatter devices don’t work properly unless the genitals of people going through them are visible.

“It will show the private parts of people, but what we’ve decided is that we’re not going to blur those out, because it severely limits the detection capabilities,” said Office of Transport Security manager Cheryl Johnson. “It is possible to see genitals and breasts while they’re going through the machine,” she admitted.

TV news reports have been deliberately misleading viewers by blurring out faces and genitals of people in images produced by the scanners. When it comes to the real thing, your sexual organs and those of your children will be on full display to officials sat alone in back rooms, and with a simple inversion trick, your daughter’s naked body in full living high definition color will be there to be enjoyed by screeners.

Body Scanner Would Not Have Stopped Underwear Bomber

The explosive device smuggled in the clothing of the Detroit bomb suspect would not have been detected by body-scanners set to be introduced in British airports, an expert on the technology warned last night. Officials at the Department for Transport (DfT) and the Home Office have already tested the scanners and were not persuaded that they would work comprehensively against terrorist threats to aviation. The claim severely undermines Gordon Brown’s focus on hi-tech scanners for airline passengers as part of his review into airport security after the attempted attack on Flight 253 on Christmas Day. The Independent on Sunday has also heard authoritative claims that officials at the Department for Transport (DfT) and the Home Office have already tested the scanners and were not persuaded that they would work comprehensively against terrorist threats to aviation.

Indecent exposure is a crime that is defined as exposing one's genitals or socially deemed "private parts" (such as behind or breasts) in a public place where others are present and may witness the act. A person who commits indecent exposure does so intentionally with an understanding that his/her conduct will likely alarm and offend others.

- Indecent Exposure - Although generally considered a misdemeanor, a conviction of indecent exposure carries a social stigma that may haunt the convicted person for years to come, even a lifetime.Persons convicted of indecent exposure may be required to register as sex offenders in a national database. A conviction for indecent exposure on one's record can also prevent the accused from being able to gain or keep employment. People accused of or convicted for indecent exposure may also suffer unwarranted public disgrace and humiliation, social shunning, and may even become the targets of violence.

A Northern Virginia man was arrested and charged with indecent exposure after brewing coffee naked in his own home. Eric Williamson, 29, said he did not know he could be seen. There is a school bus stop in front of his house. "Yes, I wasn't wearing any clothes but I was alone, in my own home and just got out of bed. It was dark and I had no idea anyone was outside looking in at me," Williamson told MyFoxDC.com. "I'm a loving dad-- any of my friends would tell you that," he said. "There is not a chance on this planet I would ever, ever do anything like that to a kid." Fairfax police say that, according to a witness, Williamson wanted to be seen naked. If convicted, he could be fined $2,000 and spend a year in jail.

Yakima city officials have for more than a year wrung their hands about so-called sexpresso stands, latte joints in which women in lingerie, bikinis or other saucy attire attract as much attention as the coffee. Yakima has three while Union Gap has one. "We receive complaints on a regular basis," Martinez said. Meanwhile, former Mayor Dave Edler has often spoken out against them. City Council briefly discussed regulating them as adult businesses but settled for changes in the city's indecent exposure laws that made thong underwear and see-through clothing illegal.

Citizens of Cuba, Iran, Sudan and Syria, countries that are considered “state sponsors of terrorism,” as well as those of “countries of interest” — including Afghanistan, Algeria, Lebanon, Libya, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia and Yemen — will face the special scrutiny, officials said.

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Can we safely say that no technological device can keep terrorists from boarding airplanes with explosive materials? Employing diplomacy to bring peace back probably makes more sense. Really.

Photos courtesy of InfoWars.com