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Old Dec 30, 2009 | 5:25 pm
  #115  
doober
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Join Date: May 2005
Posts: 4,953
Originally Posted by Sosiouxme
Let me just put this out there: I'm wholly opposed to the use of the WBI scanner as a means of primary screening.

But my question for the experts out there is this: How does this machine distinguish between a maxi pad, adult diaper, tampon and a package of explosives packed in the form of any of the above?

For example, couldn't a terrorist (or drug mule for that matter) simply empty out the padding contained in the above and supplant it with the powder explosives (or cocaine) and be on their merry way?

And if the above is true, as a woman, can I expect to be greeted with the same kinds of inquiries I get from my OB-GYN at the end of the WMI scanner? And will the screener be satisfied with my answer? Or will even more intimate details (i.e. physical proof) have to be forthcoming?
WBI cannot see a tampon. I am of the opinion that it also cannot a regular pad (perhaps it could see parts of a maxi pad but certainly not a small pad.)

Think about it: When one steps into the WBI one has to raise one's arms in the air. Why? To see under the armpit and inside of the arm. However, one is not told to assume a very wide stance and/or squat so that the WBI can "see" into the crotch. Therefore, something small in the crotch cannot be detected. Further, if one contracts one's pelvic muscles while in the WBI one is further hiding whatever might be in the crotch.

This is why most security experts are qualifying their statements re WBI and the Christmas terrorist: WBI might have stopped the attempt.
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