News for hackers. Stuff that matters.
Re:Backpacker stripped of tech gear at Auckland Airport by teh_klev on Thursday December 12, 2013 @02:31AM (#6893301)
Last time I passed through LA on the way to NZ from London, and back, I was eyeball scanned and fingerprinted. I had a moan about this here:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6566274

At the time they didn't appear to be siphoning off folks for hand-luggage special treatment, though it wouldn't surprise me if they did.

Re:Backpacker stripped of tech gear at Auckland Airport by verytrivial on Thursday December 12, 2013 @05:59AM (#6893809)
"Bio" scanning. Reminds me of a trip out via London Luton a year or so ago. They were "trialling" one of those hugely expensive and ineffective backscatter scanners. We, my partner and I were pulled out of the flow and asked if we'd like to try it. "We can't decline, can we?" I ask. "Ha, ha. No. But it is really safe." The operator when into sales pitch mode. I said I was well aware of the technology but understood it to overall reduce security because of the money wasted that would otherwise be spent on trained personnel. He repeated again that it was safe, by which point my girlfriend was already shepparded into the device. "I mean," he jokes, "you're not pregnant are you?" "Yes," she honestly replied, now standing arms raised in front of the sensor. After a short pause, another assurance of safety followed. I said I would happily undergo a manual search, but he said that would not be required. Scan over, we were let go. "Well," my partner began as we strolled passed the duty free, unable to really pay attention to it now. "That was humiliating." Indeed it was.