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Laptop Ban a Reaction to X-Ray Equipment Stolen by ISIS

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Re: Laptop Ban a Reaction to X-Ray Equipment Stolen by ISIS

#111

Post by tim333 »

valuearb wrote: post #68
Animats wrote: post #32

The secrecy issue has gotten out of hand. The classic military view of secrecy is time-limited. "Where the ship was last week is unclassified. Where the ship was yesterday is confidential. Where the ship is now is secret. Where the ship will be tomorrow is top secret." The opposition will eventually find out what you're planning on doing. The goal is for them to find out the hard way, when incoming fire starts hittin…

There is no political benefit to open-ness. If the information is used to kill your country's citizens, the politicians who allowed it's release will have their careers ended. It doesn't matter that you have a right to know, or that incidents will happen regardless, or that flying would still be safer than 40 years ago if a dozen planes blew up.

I'd vote for open-ness in government.

Re: Laptop Ban a Reaction to X-Ray Equipment Stolen by ISIS

#112

Post by simonh »

vkou wrote: post #90
simonh wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They didn't 'ally with Al Qaeda', they just both happened to be opposed to the same guy while also being opposed to each other. It's a complicated situation out there. Even at the height of the Cold War, sometimes the CIA and KGB would share information of mutual benefit. That didn't mean the CIA was allying with communism. Even Trump has learned this when his 'bombing Syria is the wrong thing to do, what Assad gets…

And yet, the press has done an about-face on Al Qaeda's, referring to its Syrian branch as 'Al-Nusra, a moderate rebel group.' If I didn't know any better, I'd say that we are being primed for the CIA getting into bed with Islamist terrorists, in order to combat Russian influence in the Middle East. Again.

They've been Al Nusra since 2013 and while they did affiliate with Al Qaeda for a while they split with them about a year ago. They're no angels, for sure, and I wouldn't describe them as moderate, but let's at least get the facts straight. If they can provide intelligence and tactical support against ISIS why turn it down? Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the better-than-nothing.

Even Trump is beginning to understand some of this. It's just a shame so many people in Khan Sheikhoun had to die first.

Re: Laptop Ban a Reaction to X-Ray Equipment Stolen by ISIS

#113

Post by JadeNB »

squarefoot wrote: post #66

Everyone seem to have missed the opportunity here to push for standard power connector/polarity/voltage/maxcurrent requirement for all laptops while fitting a power cable (with short circuit protection in every seat. That will also discourage from producing laptops not working if a battery isn't plugged in. Having say a 12VDC/3A plug in every seat will force most manufacturers to make at least one airline-friendly la…

> edit- and push to get a standard for battery pack sizes to reduce the number of form factors, then implement a service where you give your used one at departure and get a new one at arrival.

Or we could implement the Indian system, where you turn in your new batteries at departure and are given used ones on arrival. (Mysteriously, despite the assurance that they are the same batteries, they have sometimes changed brand, too.)

Re: Laptop Ban a Reaction to X-Ray Equipment Stolen by ISIS

#114

Post by jetti »

spc476 wrote: post #95
leggomylibro wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is definitely not a saving on cost or time, but I don't have to travel too much and the vastly improved experience is worthwhile for me, especially within a 2-3 state radius. Amtrak tickets will rival a plane in cost while taking longer, but they tend to be less crowded. They often have designated quiet cars. There's far less invasive security theater. The seats are comfortable. It's an environment that I can actu…

The one time I took a train (Amtrak) I found it was nearly impossible to work due to the swaying of the train. The other down side was the return train was a few hours late (Amtrak does not own the track where I was traveling). On the plus side, the seats were large and comfortable, and the food was surprisingly good.

Was food included or did you have to pay?

Re: Laptop Ban a Reaction to X-Ray Equipment Stolen by ISIS

#115

Post by ryanlol »

>By forcing all these batteries into the cargo hold where a fire cannot be rapidly detected and contained, DHS would be countering any deceased risk of terror with an increased risk of fire.

Everyones always been telling me that if I want to bring down a plane I should set the cabin on fire, not the cargo hold. Have I been living a lie?

Re: Laptop Ban a Reaction to X-Ray Equipment Stolen by ISIS

#116

Post by sailfast »

tsaoutourpants wrote: post #40
sailfast wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Next time I'd really appreciate it if folks didn't automatically disparage an entire REGION of the country as ignorant of the risks of a) living b) driving to the airport c) flying once at the airport. As far as I can tell, DHS are the ones not properly managing risks here, not the mom traveling to Disney.

I will let my source know your feelings when I next speak with him or her. :) I think the implication that he or she was trying to make is that statistically, those on the coasts travel by air more frequently. As someone with a mom who was very afraid of flying and terror related risks thereto, I know that fear largely dissipated when I finally got her to fly a few times. It's not an allegation of ignorance but that…

Fair enough and thanks for the reply!

The frequency argument is an interesting one. This recent survey seems to indicate that travel maps pretty closely (within a percent or three) to population of the area which I wasn't actually expecting (sure, lobbying group doing the research caveat caveat): http://airlines.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/2016Survey.pd...

It also looks like there's a pretty significant difference between Midwest and Plains states in terms of numbers - less people, many fewer airports.

I totally get why the stereotype kinda makes sense given a certain view of a large swath of the country (though I've generally found these to be poor guides) but the statement would've worked without the regional or gender modifier :)

This is also a bit raw for me because I JUST flew my kids to Disney haha

Re: Laptop Ban a Reaction to X-Ray Equipment Stolen by ISIS

#117

Post by wwwv »

pas wrote: post #43
tsaoutourpants wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

X-ray machines have to be calibrated. While you could turn up the power to see through metal, you would then be unable to see the less dense items. This makes it difficult to do a full inspection in the few seconds that the screener has.

So .. there's no HDR setting on them?

There's beyond HDR, you can switch between multiple penetration levels and do automatic detection of materials even with ones made 2 decades ago. None of this is really new, insightful, or particularly revolutionary.

Re: Laptop Ban a Reaction to X-Ray Equipment Stolen by ISIS

#118

Post by spc476 »

jetti wrote: post #114
spc476 wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The one time I took a train (Amtrak) I found it was nearly impossible to work due to the swaying of the train. The other down side was the return train was a few hours late (Amtrak does not own the track where I was traveling). On the plus side, the seats were large and comfortable, and the food was surprisingly good.

Was food included or did you have to pay?

Had to pay, but there was an actual menu to order from, unlike an airplane with one (or no) meals.

Re: Laptop Ban a Reaction to X-Ray Equipment Stolen by ISIS

#119

Post by jaclaz »

sokoloff wrote: post #109
jaclaz wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While it is perfectly possible that a scanning device disappeared somewhere, it is not the only way someone can study how to conceal hidden explosive in luggage. I mean are the people that operate daily these machines vetted to a level where you can totally exclude that they (in ALL airports wordwide) can be affiliated to whatever evil organization and do some tests after hours? Does the same happen for all technicia…

> I mean are the people that operate daily these machines vetted to a level where you can totally exclude that they (in ALL airports wordwide) can be affiliated to whatever evil organization and do some tests after hours? If you have a confederate operating the machine, it would seem easier to arrange to pass through their security line than to use the knowledge to make an X-ray look-alike bomb-laden laptop.

>If you have a confederate operating the machine, it would seem easier to arrange to pass through their security line than to use the knowledge to make an X-ray look-alike bomb-laden laptop.

If you want to simply put a bomb on a single given flight from that particular airport surely yes (and with the risk that your accomplice is caught in the ensuing investigations), but having a general method is - allow me - more elegant, you can in theory embark as many such devices on as many flight as you have suicide volunteers available, leaving from any airport at any date/time.

Re: Laptop Ban a Reaction to X-Ray Equipment Stolen by ISIS

#120

Post by vkou »

RandVal30141 wrote: post #99
vkou wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And yet, the press has done an about-face on Al Qaeda's, referring to its Syrian branch as 'Al-Nusra, a moderate rebel group.' If I didn't know any better, I'd say that we are being primed for the CIA getting into bed with Islamist terrorists, in order to combat Russian influence in the Middle East. Again.

"And yet, the press has done an about-face on Al Qaeda's, referring to its Syrian branch as 'Al-Nusra, a moderate rebel group." Substantiate your claim. "CIA getting into bed with Islamist terrorists" This is tiresome, just because US govt allies with Muslims that Russia calls terrorists doesn't make them so. In fact, last time I checked Russia works on the ground with Hezbollah, a designated terrorist group. This ar…

"The other areas listed are largely dominated by moderate rebel factions or Islamist groups, such as Ahrar al-Sham and the al Qaeda-affiliated Nusra Front." [1]

Right. They aren't bad dudes like ISIS, they are just, ah, al-Qaeda's Syrian arm. They are totally on the level.

> This is tiresome, just because US govt allies with Muslims that Russia calls terrorists doesn't make them so.

That's true. Just because Russia says they are terrorists doesn't make them terrorists. And, perhaps, using car bombs, suicide attacks, assassinations, and forced conscription of child soldiers doesn't make them terrorists either.

Strangely enough, all of this seems to be sufficient for the the United States to also designate them to be an islamic terrorist organization. [2] (And then issue diplomatic protests when Russia bombs them.)

[1] https://www.wsj.com/articles/putin-seeks-parliaments-approva...

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Nusra_Front

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