UK airport adopts intrusion on private parts rejected, so far, in US

Times Online - Sunday Times - Plane passengers shocked by their x-ray scans:
"At Heathrow, passengers are picked to go through the body scanner on a random and voluntary basis. Those who refuse are subjected to an automatic hand search.
"The scanner, which resembles a tall, grey filing cabinet, operates in a curtained area and passengers are asked to stand in front of it, adopting several poses, for their “naked” image to be registered. Once checked, the images are immediately erased."

Note the odd use of the word "voluntary." You are selected at random, so they say; nothing voluntary about that. You are asked if you would like to pose for naked pictures of you to be viewed by total strangers; I think this must be the voluntary part, because you are allowed to refuse. But, if you balk at strangers looking at your naked body, you are immediately subjected to having strangers touch you in places and ways which, in most contexts, would get them arrested; that's not something normal people would accept voluntarily. Oh, and after all this we are expected to trust them not to keep an copies on the hard-drive.

So far, this voluntary program has not been rolled out here {after some negative reactions to a test in Orlando in 2002) but the bureaucrat in charge seems enamored of the technology:
"In America last year, Susan Hallowell, director of the US Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) security laboratory, showed off her own x-ray image to demonstrate the technology to reporters.
“'It basically makes you look fat and naked, but you see all this stuff,' said Hallowell, who had deliberately hidden a gun and a bomb under her clothes."

Gee whiz! Fat and Naked. Now that's a winner for sure. Or maybe it's Ms. Hallowell that's fat?