Body scans: the bare facts

In all of the hoopla over the Transportation Security Agency's enhanced screenings, many loud complaints have been aired by those who feel violated by the body scans or the pat-downs.

Left out of the discussion is another group of victims: the TSA employees who have to examine, albeit in a filtered way from a distance, hundreds of bodies. Folks, even among the fittest, there are very few people worth lingering over. This is not a job I would covet.

Meanwhile, nearly all of the news about Afghanistan tends to be bad and yesterday's report that we may have been exploring peace with a Taliban imposter can't be termed a "good" story. But, really, it's kind of funny isn't it?

I mean, can't NATO and US negotiators tell a fake beard from a real one?


In fact it makes you wonder: Was that really Stalin at Yalta? Didn't the moustache look like it was coming unstuck a little?

Anyway, the next time we try to talk turkey with the Taliban we should ask a few questions such as --

What's your mother's maiden name?
Where did you meet your wife?
What's the last four digits on your credit card?

Or maybe we could just have TSA give 'em a body scan.