July/August 2007 Issue

Beware The Fat Man In The Middle Seat

Backscatter x-rays; TSA’s new security system

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BACKSCATTER X-RAYS, which reveal ceramic knives and explosives that metal detectors miss, are due to be rolled out in airports this year. But the public didn’t like test images that make you look “fat and naked,” as the director of the Transportation Security Administration’s lab admitted when she saw her own scan (left). So the tsa has instituted a “privacy algorithm” to convert lifelike figures into cartoonish silhouettes (right). But the algorithm also obscures the weapons the scanner was designed to discover. And weapons hidden between folds of skin and fat fool both versions.


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With just hours left, we need a huge surge in reader support to get to our $400,000 year-end goal. Whether you've given before or this is your first time, your contribution right now matters. All gifts are 3X matched and tax-deductible.

Managing an independent, nonprofit newsroom is staggeringly hard. There’s no cushion in our budget—no backup revenue, no corporate safety net. We can’t afford to fall short, and we can’t rely on corporations or deep-pocketed interests to fund the fierce, investigative journalism Mother Jones exists to do. That’s why we need you right now. Please chip in to help close the gap.

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