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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

#161

Post by alfanick »

alfanick wrote: post #148

Wow, I'm actually surprised that you would blame TSA or the woman instead of yourself (I'm even more surprised that no other comment mention this). It is you who did not care to ensure your laptop go back to you. There is some bias against TSA, but you cannot blame them for everything (disclaimer: never been to States, never had anything in common with TSA). Sure, it is a pity that you lost a computer; it is probably…

Can someone argument why this is being downvoted? I've read the article twice, just using logical and safe unbiased thinking here.

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

#162

Post by tbrake »

MOARDONGZPLZ wrote: post #146
cognivore wrote: post #143

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> I don't get why this was deemed an accident. Reading the story, there is this little voice saying in the back of my head, "They don't want to treat it as a crime because they know who has it and they're in cahoots."

I would really, really doubt this. My assumption is that they either: 1. They have statistics that they have to keep up, and having a ding like "a crime was committed on your watch" isn't a good thing, so they try to avoid it, or 2. Classifying it as a crime versus an accident comes with a load of paperwork and hassle for everybody involved that no one wants to do. I really don't think this was malicious in the manne…

"Fuck this other person because I don't want to fill out a form."

I kind of feel laziness of that nature is its own kind of maliciousness.

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

#163

Post by giarc »

pthreads wrote: post #157

I have noticed that in Indian airports passengers are given a numbered token and a duplicate placed in the bin with the laptop before it passes through the x-ray machine. After passing through the security scan the passenger has to present the token to the agents who will then match it with the one in the bin and only then hand it to him/her. I can't understand why TSA won't follow such a simple scheme that greatly i…

I've seen videos of security screening lines hundreds of meters long at one of Chicago's airports, this process would only make them longer.

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

#164

Post by MOARDONGZPLZ »

JoeAltmaier wrote: post #152
MOARDONGZPLZ wrote: post #149

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Intentional or not, this is theft Theft requires intent, so if it wasn't intentional, it wasn't theft by definition (legal or otherwise).

Wha? Taking someone else's property and walking off with it, is pretty intentional. No way that was an accident, or done without knowing what they were doing.

Maybe, but that's not what I said. I said taking something unintentionally is not theft, because theft requires intent. I didn't say anything about the specific situation.

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

#165

Post by Starwatcher2001 »

rndstr wrote: post #106
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.

You could have then gone to the duty free shop and purchased two glass bottles of vodka. Smashed together they would likely make much better weapons.

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

#166

Post by ceejayoz »

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.

> it's still preferable to a hijacked aircraft which can be used to kill thousands

Not anymore. That ship sailed with 9/11. Passengers aren't going to sit quietly and wait for SWAT to negotiate/rescue at an airport these days.

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

#167

Post by djrogers »

notahacker wrote: post #142
adekok wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If they happen to be flying somewhere, and there's a laptop free for the taking, why not?

Vastly increased chance of being caught? Especially since if they "happen to be flying somewhere", they're not exactly desperately short of cash.

You can fly 'somewhere' for $29 - airports aren't just for the rich...

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

#168

Post by pthreads »

giarc wrote: post #163
pthreads wrote: post #157

I have noticed that in Indian airports passengers are given a numbered token and a duplicate placed in the bin with the laptop before it passes through the x-ray machine. After passing through the security scan the passenger has to present the token to the agents who will then match it with the one in the bin and only then hand it to him/her. I can't understand why TSA won't follow such a simple scheme that greatly i…

I've seen videos of security screening lines hundreds of meters long at one of Chicago's airports, this process would only make them longer.

I am not sure about that. The long lines are due to more fundamental problems with the TSA in general. Shaving a few extra seconds for each passenger with a laptop is not going to solve the problem.

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

#169

Post by djrogers »

avian wrote: post #129
orph4nus wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No you don't. As a nomad I fly a lot, and I always leave my laptop in its waterproof bag.

As a settler that travels ocassionaly I am often required to open or even turn on my laptop at the security check.

Where is this? I'ma frequent flyer, and have never once been sled to open my laptop nor have I ever seen anyone asked to do so (outside a short period after 9/11)

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

#170

Post by pavel_lishin »

basseq wrote: post #131
gargravarr wrote: post #51

Having recently flown from the UK to Hong Kong and then on to Manila, I am suddenly struck by how much of an honesty policy we are expected to follow. The idea of tagging the laptop as in India is a step in the right direction, but at no point in my journey was my laptop tagged. It was placed in a bin with all my other valuable possessions (phone, wallet, camera) and it's only through practise that I manage to get th…

As a "tulip" (opt-out), the forced trust is even worse. You're not even allowed to ask for a pat-down before your things are on the conveyor. I've tried. Usually the timing works out OK, but sometimes it doesn't. My most infuriating TSA experience was at MIA. I told them I was opting out, and they instructed me to put my things on the conveyor. I did so, then proceeded to wait. And wait. And wait. After 10 minutes, d…

I once saw a man take what I thought was my bag, and started yelling, "THAT MAN IS TAKING MY PROPERTY!"

Everyone completely ignored me. I realized my mistake about 30 seconds later, but he could have just walked off with my things to disappear onto a plane with a few thousand dollars worth of hardware, my wallet, cellphone, and a spare pair of socks.

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