I first mentioned the Rapiscan virtual strip search machine in December. The Rapiscan site has now removed the search results graphic from its web page: interesting, no? Just in case you missed out, you can catch it in the PDF brochure or in USA Today, where they now report that the system is being used today on suspected drug couriers in the U.S. and on travelers at London-Heathrow Airport.

At the risk of being crude: If you have nothing to hide, would you be more, or less embarrassed than if you had something?

Here’s an idea: cut letters out of aluminum foil and tape them to the back of a T-shirt. Wear your T-shirt under something else. When you step through the airport, check out the reaction of the TSA when they see “GOLDEN PALACE” show up on their screen in nice black letters.

Chivato points out a NYT article reporting that previous equipment bought after September 11 was useless. One can thank Washington lobbyist Linda Daschle, wife of former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (now that wasn’t a conflict of interest), who worked on behalf of some of these security companies (L-3 Communications) to get the old equipment purchased.

I just wonder how hard we have to hit our head on the proverbial wall before we realize that we are grasping for intent while measuring items that don’t convey it. It is one thing to get a spy’s insider information on individuals and then detain those individuals temporarily. It is completely another thing to attempt to store, gather, and quickly interpret all the data on all individuals, without error and without information leaks. I say without error because if/when there is an error, there is going to be another push to determine intent with another ineffective and more invasive maneuver.

This is going to be a nice hit on the airline industry if everyone starts getting strip searched. While I don’t encourage assault at Heathrow, I do hope that the English stand up for themselves and demonstrate the potential for market suicide. Maybe a Rapiscan of a top party official will zoom around the Internet and prove the point.