Less invasive body scanner software being tested at US airports

As the uproar over the government’s use of pat-downs and full-body scanners at airports ebbs, new technology is being tested that is designed to allay privacy concerns over the grainy nude images produced by the machines.

The technology displays a generic stick figure instead of a grainy nude image when passengers are scanned. The TSA hopes it will allay privacy concerns raised over the new security procedures.

Scanners being tested in three US airports starting this week will display for screeners a generic stick figure, and any suspicious object on a passenger’s body will be flagged for inspection by a pale red box on the drawing. A passenger cleared to go will see the screen flash green and read OK. The software debuts as complaints by air travelers over the new security measures have remained relatively low. Of the 100 million fliers that have passed through airport checkpoints since Nov. 1, the Transportation Security Administration has received fewer than 5,500 complaints about the procedures.And most of those complaints, TSA officials said, were not from individuals who were flying. Fewer than 800 complaints about the pat-downs and 300 complaints about the full-body scans were lodged by actual travelers. The rest came from individuals who had not gone through the procedures but nonetheless complained about them, TSA officials said.The software being tested would be used to replace the revealing images generated by millimeter wave scanners and currently viewed by a TSA agent in a separate room. The new computer program identifies hidden foreign objects and indicates to TSA searchers where to look during a pat-down. Full-body scanners are able to detect non-metallic items, such as the explosives used in the attempted Christmas Day bombing in 2009, TSA Administrator John Pistole said at a demonstration of the new software Tuesday. The TSA instituted the new procedures in response to an elevated threat to airlines after a thwarted mail bomb plot originating in Yemen in October.Though the new software could address privacy concerns, it does not answer complaints about the radiation from another type of scanner, called a backscatter, that works using low-dose X-rays. Studies have shown that passengers would have to pass through a backscatter machine 5,000 times before being exposed to the same amount of radiation in a single chest X-ray.There are 486 body scanners in use in 88 airports, according to the TSA, up from 365 in 68 airports in November. TSA officials said publicly in November they hoped to have more than 1,000 body scanners in place by the end of 2011, but uncertainty over budget negotiations in Congress could hamper that goal.

UN working for release of Pak-bound cargo ship

UNITED NATIONS: Efforts are underway for the release of a United Nations-contracted cargo ship, which was detained by India last week as it sailed towards Pakistan with decommissioned weaponry from a UN peacekeeping mission in Liberia, a UN official said on Monday.

The MV Aegean Glory, a 500-foot-long Panama-registered ship, was seized by the Indian customs authorities, claiming suspicion of “military cargo” on Friday, 50 kilometers south of Kolkata.

The UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) “is working closely with Indian authorities to ensure the release of the cargo and to review the procedures that caused the confusion”, the official said. “All cargo on board has UN markings and is being shipped under the authority of the United Nations,” he added.

U.S. mulling to include Pakistani Taliban in terror list

WASHINGTON: U.S. officials say they are mulling “foreign terrorist organization” status for the Pakistani Taliban.

“We are considering the question of designating the TTP (Tahreek-e-Taliban Pakistan) and are following the procedures established in law,” U.S. State Department spokesman Philip J. Crowley said during the daily briefing.

Several senators wrote to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in mid-May, asking her to place the organization on the list. At the time the State Department said the matter was already under review.

Now four of the five senators are considering introducing a bill that would require the State Department to put the Pakistani Taliban on the FTO list.

“There”s a process under way, and we would expect to complete that process relatively soon,” Crowley said. “So I think that I don”t see that we would feel the need for an abbreviated process that”s outlined in that legislation.”

CVC checks all Games projects for graft signs

New Delhi, Feb. 23: The Central Vigilance Commission is reportedly checking all construction works related to the Commonwealth Games 2010, to be held in the national capital in October this year, following complaints of large-scale corruption in the procurement process.

According to sources, the Central Vigilance Commission has asked its vigilance officials posted with the agencies concerned to double-check the procedures involved in the procurement process and other aspects of the projects.

Sources said that the commission had received certain complaints regarding alleged corruption in Commonwealth Games projects.

As a preventive measure, the commission has directed its senior officials in all departments to be cautious and ensure transparency in the process, the sources said.

The Central Vigilance Commission has issued a circular asking all departments and organisations to use the e-tendering system and leverage technology (the latest software for accounts, manpower and logistics-related work) to keep out corruption and prevent any misuse.

Age Correspondent

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TrendPK.com Tyler Perry Mother Dies 64,Tyler Perry Mother: Tyler Perry says his mother, Willie Maxine Perry, has died.
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TrendPK.com Tsa Screening Manual:The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) accidentally posted an operating procedures manual for its airport screeners online recently, setting off a firestorm of criticism for the agency’s apparently lax treatment of a sensitive document.
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Colorado Bar Exam Results

Update about Colorado Bar Exam Results, July 2009
Colorado
Bar Exam Results is available as a PDF download at the
Colorado Supreme Court website here.

Results of the July 2009 Bar Examination

Alphabetical Pass List

General Statistics Concerning the
July 2009 Bar Examination

Law School Statistics Concerning the
July 2009 Bar Examination

Unsuccessful Exam Applicants Information and Deadlines

Mandatory Procedures for Attending the Swearing-in Ceremony
and Taking the Oath of Admission

All here