71–80 of 178 posts
No worries. For a few hundred dollars, I'm sure you'll be able to register as a certified patriotic laptop carrier. Everything will go back to normal and the airline will get to collect yet another fee for something we used to get for free. And we're totally safer from terrorists as a result.
Only a few hundred dollars, What A Deal!
Yet another reason not to visit the US... I wonder how many billion dollars the current administration will cost the states.
At this point it's not about the current administration, it's about the trend line over 3 administrations. In choosing to do business in the US, I'm introducing a dependency that will last for several years at least. For my own work I've had a preference for non-US clients for several years now.
I wonder how many of these things would have been possible without all the groundwork laid since 2001 (e.g. the Sept 2001 changes allowing the POTUS to call military strikes without Congress approval, the PATRIOT Act enabling mass surveillance, the ridiculous growth of the TSA security theatre, the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, etc etc). I guess it's easier to just blame the status quo on the elected buffoon than to acknowledge the overall trajectory of US politics.
The winner in 2007 was a plot where water would have to be banned... https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2007/06/second_moviep...
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So lets get this straight: 1. Discovering a terrorist plot to hide bombs inside carry on laptop batteries - and then not taking any precautions at all and allowing laptops on planes as normal: A prudent and smart thing to do. 2. Discovering a terrorist plot to hide bombs inside carry on laptop batteries - and then taking purdent, minimal precuations by asking people to deal with the minor inconvenience of checking th…
> minor inconvenience Asking everyone in a plane to have nothing to do during a 8h flight (at best) is not a "minor inconvenience".
The September 11 attacks were domestic US flights of US airlines. So why only target flights coming from Europe?
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> America has intel - and good intel from a raid - that shows that ISIS has the capability and intent to hide a bomb inside laptop batteries to blow up passenger planes That's false, it's the best intel.
So your argument is that when the US says they raided an ISIS compound in Yemen and discovered plans to hide bombs inside laptops to blow up planes - this does not qualify as good enough intel to act on? You seem to be using snark as a substitute for defending your proposition through thoughtful analysis and argumentation.
America has intel, the best intel, that shows that..
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Those percentages have outsized impact because you are emitting them very high. So while they contribute to 4% of emissions, they may as well contribute to 8% of global warming. We don't reduce emissions just because. We want to stop the climate change. We should just optimize the planes. I do hope that in 10 years batteries will be good enough for electric fan engines.
The problem with electric aircraft is a bit like a mini Tsiolkovsky rocket equation. In a conventional aircraft fuel is burnt off as it flies causing it to lighten and become more fuel efficient as it travels. With battery aircraft this doesn’t happen so you need more batteries upfront to travel the distance.
Scotty: "We're giving it all she's got. If I eject the empty batteries we might just lose enough mass, but I cannae guarantee it"
Captain: "Do it, do it, do it!"
Scotty: "Aye, captain!"
So they can backdoor them without you even noticing. Wonderful
Why would we expect a country that bugged the German Chancellor or provided malware that was inserted by another five-eyes partner into the telephone system that the EU administration used, not to (ab)use this opportunity?
Once this is in effect, don't travel to the US with a laptop.
OK, fine, so I just won't travel to the USA anymore. I'm sure I don't want my laptop to end like my suitcase (which has been seriously damaged somewhere between the Europe and the USA airports). There are so many more interesting places in the world. If the USA doesn't want my money, I think that's not my problem.
> DHS said in a statement to The Daily Beast: "No final decisions have been made on expanding the restriction on large electronic devices in aircraft cabins; however, it is under consideration. DHS continues to evaluate the threat environment and will make changes when necessary to keep air travelers safe."
The ban may happen, but at this point we don't know.
One of the advantageous to living in California is that when I go overseas, I can tell people I'm Californian, rather than American. Because people's ideas of CA is 1) LA/Hollywood, 2) SF/SV, 3) Yosemite / Tahoe, you get a pretty different response.
I do the same for the reasons you state. Also, because California makes me think of happy things, and the US makes me think of sad things.