Rubenerd

We all know now that Australia is going to introduce those full body scanners. Here's an example of how the press is reporting on the issue.

Photo of the Sydney Airport departures drop-off area by ml12310 on Wikipedia.

Hey, citizen!

Article from the AAP:

Body scanners are soon to be installed across all Australian international airports as part of a government plan to beef up anti-terrorism measures.

I believe the term they're looking for is security theater.

Aside from those with serious medical conditions, any passenger who refuses may be denied the right to board their flight.

So that means Australia's border controls are worse than the United States? There you can opt-out and be felt up instead of being unnecessarily exposed to carcinogenic radiation. The story makes no mention of this; clearly some research of my own will be needed.

Oh but it’s okay, because…

Transport Minister Anthony Albanese says there is no need for passengers to be concerned about modesty, as the machines only produce a generic outline, with no defining features.

Modesty is the least of my concerns in this case. With a history of cancer and leukemia in my family, I don't want to go through a machine spewing radiation for no reason. And there is no reason, these machines don't work.

All this talk about modesty and privacy is an absolute red herring. Albanese and this AAP reporter are guilty of either not doing their jobs properly, misdirection or lying. I'm not sure which of the options is scarier.

The technology was trialled by 23,000 volunteers in Sydney and Melbourne.

“They were queueing up. People wanted to try out this new technology,” Mr Albanese said.

People queue up to buy cigarettes too, what's your point?

It won't make any difference, but Mr Albanese's department will be receiving a polite but stern letter and phone call from me in the coming days. I will be researching this further, and posting more about it.

In the meantime, the Sydney Morning Herald should do a better job reporting on legitimate concerns, rather than just republishing a report that heaps on nothing but praise and distractions. It's embarrasing to read!