Hating America or just thirsty?

The TSA wants to know what you're thinking.

Published August 14, 2006 2:40PM (EDT)

The Wall Street Journal reports that Transportation Security Administration teams have begun watching for "vocal timbre, gestures and tiny facial movements" that may suggest that someone waiting at a security checkpoint is "trying to disguise an emotion."

The agency is testing a biometric contraption that could be used to screen air travelers in the future. For now, the TSA is hoping that humans armed with a 30-question emotion-detector checklist will be able to identify the evildoers in our midst. If a passenger scores high on the list, the TSA will pull him or her aside for a little investigation. "All you know is there's an emotion being concealed," says Paul Ekman, a psychologist who is advising the agency. "You have to find out why the emotion is occurring. You can find out very quickly."


By Tim Grieve

Tim Grieve is a senior writer and the author of Salon's War Room blog.

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