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TSA gave my MacBook Pro to another passenger at LAX, and now it's gone

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Re: TSA gave my MacBook Pro to another passenger at LAX, and now it's gone

#101

Post by blowski »

gonzo wrote: post #95
blowski wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So if JFK Airport removed TSA and just let people walk on to the plane, would you board one? I sure as hell wouldn't. I don't know what I don't know about international security. I don't have access to the NSA and CIA files about international terrorism. Sure, some of it is overplayed for certain people's agendas, but it's very clearly an actual risk that needs actual solutions. The TSA may not be the best one, but i…

> So if JFK Airport removed TSA and just let people walk on to the plane, would you board one? Yes.

Do you think people aren't trying to attack planes, or that the TSA has zero effectiveness in stopping those people?

Re: TSA gave my MacBook Pro to another passenger at LAX, and now it's gone

#102

Post by throwanem »

captainmuon wrote: post #27
vidoc wrote: post #11

In a way, it's not the TSA's fault, it's ours for tolerating this insanity. Sometimes I almost wish someone smuggles a bomb through the TSA security line, and successfully storms a plane so we can finally have concrete evidence that those processes only provide annoyance , not security . The most successful terrorist of all times was Richard Reid, the dude who tried to embark in a plane with explosive material in his…

I don't wish for anything like that to happen, but sometimes I wonder what if a terrorist would just detonate a bomb before the security lines, between the waiting people... didn't something similar happen in Belgium? It's great that we reduced the risk of a highjacking so much in the last decades, with security checkpoints and hardened cockpit doors. But in sum, I don't really feel safer while flying.

> what if a terrorist would just detonate a bomb before the security lines

I gather the idea is that, while a bomb in the security cattle chute might kill hundreds, it's still preferable to a hijacked aircraft which can be used to kill thousands.

Of course the dichotomy is false for all manner of reasons. But that seems to be the underlying concept.

Re: TSA gave my MacBook Pro to another passenger at LAX, and now it's gone

#103

Post by notahacker »

james1071 wrote: post #43

My guess is that the person who took it was acting with an accomplice, possible the one who caused the distraction. They would make an exchange in a place where there are no cameras. The person who took it would have a story ready in case she was challenged. As for the TSA - they want to pretend that the incident never happened, because it would make them them look bad.

Seems a little unlikely that criminals are organising to buy plane tickets or obtain security clearances to steal things on security camera in a place crowded with security personnel when they could steal MacBooks just as easily by, say, wandering into a shared workspace.

Re: TSA gave my MacBook Pro to another passenger at LAX, and now it's gone

#104

Post by bogomipz »

ramblerman wrote: post #50
PeterStuer wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Exactly what happened in Brussels. There the bombs were detonated in the check in departures hall before the security area. What happened afterwards is even more absurd. They organized a security check before entering the departures hall, leading to massive 3 hour waiting lines outside the building. Clearly protecting the building is far more important than the security of the people in the waiting line.

As ridiculous as that was I can't blame the politicians for that kind of absurdity. The media would eat them alive if they weren't shown to be 'active' and god forbid something happens again and nothing had changed. It's a sad situation, modern democracy and twitter have merged into a flurry of overactivity and fake outrage.

I'm pretty sure twitter and modern democracy have nothing to do with this. Where did that even come from?

Re: TSA gave my MacBook Pro to another passenger at LAX, and now it's gone

#105

Post by mrkgnao »

plinkplonk wrote: post #40

How this works in India. When you put your laptop in a bin, the security person puts one of two identical tags (pieces of plastic with identical numbers on them) into the bin, on top of your computer and gives you the other one. When you finish your patdown/metal detector etc screening and want to take your computer back, you give the security person at the other end of the line your tag, she looks around for the bin…

Most Indian supermarkets do something similar for any backpacks etc. that they don't let you take in.

Re: TSA gave my MacBook Pro to another passenger at LAX, and now it's gone

#106

Post by rndstr »

vegardx wrote: post #73

One time I was in a hurry and had forgotten that I had a very valuable foldable knife in my backpack when leaving for a flight, and with no time to spare I had to let them just take it. At the destination curiosity took over and I had to ask a security guard if it was possible to get it back when I returned, something he confirmed. They handed valuables like that over to lost and found. This naturally made my day a l…

In Switzerland's airports they give you a receipt where you can collect it for $10 when you get back. They once confiscated a bike tool of mine. Why they only picked the adjustable wrench out of total 3 potential weapons is beyond me, though.

Re: TSA gave my MacBook Pro to another passenger at LAX, and now it's gone

#107

Post by mrkgnao »

tushar-r wrote: post #42

Temporary work around - get a TSA compliant laptop bag. Yes, it means doing something different to accommodate them, but in the longer term it saves you this pain. And convince the TSA to do what we do at Indian airports: plinkplonk 9 minutes ago How this works in India. When you put your laptop in a bin, the security person puts one of two identical tags (pieces of plastic with identical numbers on them) into the bi…

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11760052

Re: TSA gave my MacBook Pro to another passenger at LAX, and now it's gone

#108

Post by notahacker »

throwanem wrote: post #102
captainmuon wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't wish for anything like that to happen, but sometimes I wonder what if a terrorist would just detonate a bomb before the security lines, between the waiting people... didn't something similar happen in Belgium? It's great that we reduced the risk of a highjacking so much in the last decades, with security checkpoints and hardened cockpit doors. But in sum, I don't really feel safer while flying.

> what if a terrorist would just detonate a bomb before the security lines I gather the idea is that, while a bomb in the security cattle chute might kill hundreds, it's still preferable to a hijacked aircraft which can be used to kill thousands. Of course the dichotomy is false for all manner of reasons. But that seems to be the underlying concept.

That and the likelihood that terrorists will be considerably less likely to bother to attack targets that don't look particularly soft, or at least the general public will think that.

Re: TSA gave my MacBook Pro to another passenger at LAX, and now it's gone

#109

Post by [deleted] »

mjlee wrote: post #20

Interestingly (to me) the author used the phrase "on accident". I googled it and found this: http://english.stackexchange.com/questions/215/is-it-correct... As a British English speaker, this stopped me in my tracks. I'm wondering if it had the same effect on the American English readers of this article.

[deleted]

Re: TSA gave my MacBook Pro to another passenger at LAX, and now it's gone

#110

Post by [deleted] »

mjlee wrote: post #20

Interestingly (to me) the author used the phrase "on accident". I googled it and found this: http://english.stackexchange.com/questions/215/is-it-correct... As a British English speaker, this stopped me in my tracks. I'm wondering if it had the same effect on the American English readers of this article.

[deleted]
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