Heathrow Staff Print and Circulate Star's Scan
Written by Teresa Knudsen. Published on Suite 101 February 09, 2010.
Republished January 11, 2012 on Sweet Suite Writings

Heathrow Staff Print and Circulate Star's Scan

Forced body scanners for the public began on Christmas 2009, after a man without a passport boarded several international flights on his way to Detroit, where he was allegedly planning to blow up the airplane with an explosive substance planted in his pants.

This incident was followed with plans by various government employees to set in rapid motion the requirement that people undergo body scans whenever and wherever the government employees decide. The testing has begun in large airports, such as Britain's Heathrow Airport, which implemented a policy of mandatory scanning for selected travelers. Those refusing the scan for whatever reason are not allowed to board the plane.

One of the criticisms of the body scanners is that they violate a traveler's privacy, as well as breaking child pornography laws. UK Transport Secretary Adonis had tried to insist in the London Weekly Standard that the traveler's scanned image would be visible to only one person, and the image not stored, but immediately destroyed.

Now, the transport secretary's assurances are destroyed, with the news that Heathrow employees did exactly what many people had predicted: Airport staff saved, printed, and circulated the scanned image of a traveler, Indian star Shak Ruhk. The employees broke all the rules.

Paul Joseph Watson on Prison Planet calls for an immediate end to the use of body scanners, and the end to the government employees' "virtual strip search...especially in light of the fact that such images of minors break child pornography laws. ”

The devices known as "body scanners" are raising a spectrum of concerns:

Body Scanners Force Radiation onto People

The body scanner technology is forcing doses of radiation onto people. Many scientists maintain that there is no safe level of radiation. Even supporters of the body scanning radiation note that they can't guarantee the safety of the machines' radiation. There is specific concern with victimizing children by forcing them to undergo radiation, as well as women who are pregnant or don't know they are pregnant. Thus, the forced radiation of people is a concern.

The Inter-Agency Committee on Radiation Safety report includes this information, as summarized by Jonathan Tirone in his article "Airport Body Scanning Raises Radiation Exposure, Committee Says."
"The Committee cited the IAEA’s 1996 Basic Safety Standards agreement, drafted over three decades, that protects people from radiation. Frequent exposure to low doses of radiation can lead to cancer and birth defects, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. "

Body Scanners Violate Due Process, Search and Seizure, and Habeas Corpus

The body scanners are deployed, in military terms, and search people without probable cause. This action by government employees violates the constitutions and rights belonging to human beings. Thus, the "virtual strip search" is illegal.

According to court rulings, strip searches are only to be "...performed on a person who has already been found guilty of a crime or on arrestees pending trial where a reasonable suspicion has to exist that they are carrying a weapon. Subjecting masses of people to blanket strip searches in airports reverses the very notion of innocent until proven guilty."

Body Scanners Lack Decency

Many people are expressing strong feelings about being strip searched by a machine and viewed by airport staff. There is especial concern about protecting children from this treatment.
With the now-infamous alleged plot to blow up a plane on Christmas 2009, many air travelers indicated in surveys that they would be willing to undergo a full-body scan. Yet, with the clear printed proof that the body scan images can be stored, printed, and circulated by airport staff to the general public, many people are now wondering whether body scans are worth the costs.


References

"Watson, Paul Joseph. “Exposed: Naked Body Scanner Images Of Film Star Printed, Circulated By Airport Staff." Feb. 9, 2010.
Jonathan Ross Show. BBC. Friday, February 5, 2010.
This Didn't Take Long to Happen: Naked Body Scanner Images of Film Star Printed, Circulated by Airport Staff." Haystack Commentary II. Feb. 09, 2010.
Tirone, Jonathan. "Airport Body Scanning Raises Radiation Exposure, Committee Says." Bloomberg.com. Feb. 05, 2010.