Millimetrix's imaging device can easily see if you have anything to hide. The All-Seeing EM Wave by Charles Overbeck Matrix Editor EASTERISLE@parascope.com There's a new weapon in the arsenal of those who believe safety is more important than freedom. The Associated Press reported recently that Millimetrix Corp. has developed a device called the "Passive Millimetre Wave Imager." The device uses electromagnetic waves emitted by human flesh to detect concealed weapons, plastic explosives or drugs underneath a citizen's clothing. These materials block waves emitted by a human body, enabling police to "see" weapons or banned materials. National Institute of Justice awarded $2.1 million in 1995 to three companies to develop weapon detectors for airports, stores and public buildings. The Clinton Administration has spent millions to adapt technology which was originally developed for military use and apply it to "anti-terrorism" countermeasures in the civilian world. The Passive Millimetre Wave Imager is one high-tech result of that funding. The larger version of the device, about the size of a shoebox, can be mounted on a patrol car, displaying the image on a monitor inside the vehicle. The smaller, battery-operated version is hand-held, like a radar gun. Plans to test the device on the streets are in full swing, despite the serious Constitutional issues of illegal search and seizure. Police must have reasonable suspicion to justify frisking a subject; the Millimetrix device is designed for efficient mass surveillance. A police officer can aim the hand-held unit into a crowd up to 90 feet away. The device can even be used outside a room to scan individuals inside. But don't worry -- Millimetrix points out that although the imager can see through clothing, it still leaves citizens "some privacy" and "does not reveal intimate anatomical details of the person." Gee, thanks. Personally, I'd prefer to walk around buck naked with my rights intact, but Americans in general seem more concerned about the possible threat of terrorism than the very real threat to their Constitutional rights. In a poll conducted by the Los Angeles Times in August, 58 percent of those surveyed said they would curtail some "civil liberties" if it would help thwart terrorists. Thirteen percent said "it would depend on what rights were at stake." The obvious problem here is that neither the Associated Press, the Los Angeles Times, Millimetrix Corp. nor the National Institute of Justice seems to understand the difference between a civil liberty and a civil right, and that one's Fourth Amendment rights are inalienable. And the idea of letting police use a device which can literally see you naked -- even if your "anatomical details" are not fully displayed -- is indicative of the totalitarian "end justifies means" mindset that is guiding America's law enforcement apparatus. Sources: Associated Press wire reports. Virtual Prisons and Satellite Wardens The Mark of the Beast: A Technological Reality? What do you think? Tell us in the message boards!