Civil liberties groups are raising concerns about full-body scanners coming to Canadian airports.

The first Canadian full-body scanner was installed at Toronto's Pearson airport last week, with more Canadian airports getting the machines in coming months. At Pearson, US-bound travellers singled out for extra screening may choose to undergo a pat-down body search or full-body scan.

But the BC Civil Liberties Association warns that full-body scans could become mandatory for all travellers, with no option of a pat-down instead. The BCCLA also notes that the technology is far from foolproof and the potential health impacts haven't been sufficiently studied. While images captured by the scanners are supposed to be deleted after a passenger has passed through a security screening, the BCCLA says that security staff could take pictures of the scans with their own camera or cellphone. 

Xtra reporter Dale Smith recently spoke to the NDP's queer issues critic Bill Siksay about the scanners and the privacy concerns of trans people. Here's what Siksay had to say:

"I've been making inquiries with both the government and the Privacy Commissioner as to what provision has been made around training folks who operate this equipment and also just general policy around how transsexual and transgendered folks are to be accommodated in those security searches.... It has a particular implication for certain members of our community, so I want to pursue that, and if we need to bring that to the standing [privacy] committee when it gets back, then we’ll certainly try to do that."

Earlier this month, the UK's equality rights watchdog redflagged the government's plan to implement full-body scanners. The UK Equality and Human Rights Commission says that counter-terrorism policies must be justifiable under the law:

"The Commission is concerned that that the proposals to introduce body scanners are likely to have a negative impact on individual’s rights to privacy, especially members of particular groups including disabled people, older people, children, transgendered people, women and religious groups. Under the Human Rights Act, any infringement of the right to privacy must be justified, necessary and proportionate. 

"The proposals raise valid privacy concerns that the Commission and the public hold around how intimate pictures are viewed and protected. These include where the screening takes place; the sex of the person doing the scanning; training and criminal checks on the operators; how many other people are able to view the images; and how long they are kept for."

The character of Sam Adama on Caprica, the series that serves as a sort of prequel to Battlestar Galactica, is a Tauron immigrant to the planet Caprica, and serves as a mob enforcer. But he’s got a little more going on than just slitting the throats of wily politicians who dare to double-cross his bosses.

"Sam's gay, and he's married," Canadian actor Sasha Roiz told SciFi Wire. "I think it's great, because in Caprica there isn't any prejudice or stigma attached to it."

Canadian actor Sasha Roiz plays Sam Adama on TV's Caprica
Pic via poptower.com

Like Battlestar, Caprica — which is filmed in Vancouver — takes on a host of heavy real-world issues like artificial intelligence, the corruption of technology, religious terrorism, and racism with plenty of moral conflict and betrayal to go around. And like its predecessor, Caprica gives rise to a whole palette of shades of grey where a character like Sam Adama can exist — neither evil nor saintly like most gay depictions tend to alternate between. But treating gay sexuality as a non-issue makes a statement in and of itself, just like Battlestar did with its portrayal a society characterized by gender equality.

No word yet on who plays Sam’s husband.

Caprica can be seen on Space, Friday nights at 10pm ET. The unrated two-hour pilot episode is also available on DVD.

Editor's note: Dale Smith can usually be found blogging at Hill Queeries, Xtra.ca's federal politics blog. But when he's not giving sartorial snaps to MPs, he likes to catch up on geeky television.   

Based on statistical evidence a few personal accounts, New York gay mag Next has issued a warning to readers: Beware, gay Canadians are coming, and they're hard-working, talented and sneaky. The Next feature opens with Toronto native Blair Prentice, who got a job at Lehman Brothers just before the recession hit:

A polite but powerful network [has] infiltrated New York’s media, music, fashion and nightlife worlds. You likely know some of its members; you might even be friends with them, but make no mistake: The Gay Canadian Mafia is a force to be reckoned with.

 
Although Prentice’s story is exceptional, its arc is not: Gay Canadian arrives in New York with sketchy legal status; gay Canadian lands sweet job; gay Canadian holds onto sweet job as the economy collapses around him and thousands of born-and-bred Americans are left unemployed. But the story isn’t just about hard work, talent, ambition and luck; it’s about a loosely organized network of gay Canadian men who are quietly conspiring to take over New York. It must be.

Read the full piece at nextmagazine.com  

(h/t to Queerty) 

Read related pieces on Xtra.ca:

• Why more binational couples are coming to Canada
• Canadian immigration's outdated requirements
• Poz US couple wins Canadian immigration case
  

Zachari Logan, a gay artist from Saskatoon best known for his nude self portraits, will be unveiling a 10 foot by 18 foot painting at New York's Craig Scott Gallery this weekend. The work is very Canadian -- featuring parkas, pussies and the artist's handsome self. Even the work's title, Beautiful Losers, evokes Leonard Cohen's classic art school novel.

(click to launch a full-size version)

“I have absolutely no problem with objectification. If you’re using an image, you’re always objectifying it in a way,” Logan told me a couple of weeks ago, in preparation for a monthlong exhibit at Ottawa's hip La Petite Mort gallery. For a guy who hates talking about his own work, I had a great conversation with him about religious, sexual and, uh, terrorist-y themes in his work.

Find more of his work on his website, zacharilogan.com. 

Tech geeks are buzzing about today's big announcement from Apple: CEO Steve Jobs unveiled the company's new tablet computer, the iPad.

The hype was so intense that Twitter struggled under the weight of too many Apple-related tweets on Wednesday morning, reported social media blog Mashable.

But fancy new gadgets aside, what was I really hoping for at today's Apple event? An end to the company's anti-sex censorship.

 

The iPad (like the iPhone) runs apps that can only be downloaded from the official Apple App Store. The problem? Apple refuses to sell and distribute apps that are too sexy: no nudity, no "suggestive" sexual content, etc. Gay cruising apps like Grindr and Recon Mobile are forced to censor their users: no jockstrap pics! No bum pics! No cock pics!

So, Steve Jobs: how about opening up the Apple App Store to all developers? Stop imposing your morality on the world and let everyone — sluts and kinksters included — enjoy your company's new gadgets.  

Read more: 

• Will Apple's prudish app guidelines sink the iPhone?