Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Defeated

orenhazi.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

211–220 of 445 posts

Re: Defeated

#211

Post by specialist »

xpaulbettsx wrote: post #9
highace wrote: post #4

Can someone please explain what's wrong with going through the machine? If it means not having my balls squeezed, it sounds pretty good to me.

Consider the following: if that identical machine were in a hospital, it would have been required to go through years of clinical trials to ensure its safety over the long term. The machines they are using are medical equipment. However, because it's in an airport, none of this has happened . Maybe it is safe. Maybe it isn't. It is unproven .

The claims of effectiveness are also dubious, at best.

Likely unsafe, more than likely useless, proven abuses (stores images), etc.

But they're really really expensive. So it's all good.

And if you complain about the profiteering, you're a terrorist, conspiracy nut, hate the children / troops / puppies.

Airport scanners played out pretty much exactly like the electronic voting machines, with online voting cued up for the next round of cronyism.

Ditto corporate K-12 education, aka charter schools. Prisons. Drug war. Etc.

Re: Defeated

#212

Post by keithg »

wpietri wrote: post #199
rayiner wrote: post #131

I just don't get the deal with the millimeter wave scanners. Did everyone raise a fuss like this when airports had you walk through metal detectors? How is a millimeter wave scanner different than a high-tech metal detector? Aren't we always talking about how the law needs to "catch up to technology?" Don't get me wrong, I think the TSA is a huge waste of money and I hate being ordered around by flunkies who can't ge…

It's the fuss I can raise. If I could opt out of the whole thing, I would. I think the whole enterprise is bullshit, a giant exercise in doing something, anything, whether or not it makes sense. So now, I opt out. And when they ask why, I tell them, "I think this is a charade."

When I opt out, I have never been asked why.

Re: Defeated

#213

Post by eloisius »

[deleted] wrote: post #201
eloisius wrote: post #135

You probably put to much stock in the whole "I've never been through the imaging machines" bit. It's not about remaining opt-out puritan or something. Fight when you can. I hope op reads this, buried in all the other comments. Please, for the sake of everyone, dust yourself off and opt out again. It doesn't matter if you do it every time. I opt out every time I can, but there have been plenty of times when I don't. T…

[deleted]

Some fights are worth fighting if only to retain your dignity.

I won't volunteer my rights; if they want them they will have to take them by force (i.e., the threat of not being allowed to travel).

I won't do them the favor of ignoring the gun in the room.

Re: Defeated

#214

Post by 67726e »

Derbasti wrote: post #153
peterwwillis wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Body scanners are like a big "Fuck You, Citizen" from your government. First, we know they don't work, because they only work up to the epidermis, and sometimes not even that well, as lots of dangerous things have gotten through them. If you wanted to get something on a plane, put it up your butt or somehow else in your body and it will work 100% of the time. Just don't carry a gun strapped to your body. (Though that…

50% false positives is no problem at all as long as the false negatives are low.

If you don't take into account the total "fuck the 4th Amendment" aspect. Then again it's an "Administrative Search" so that somehow makes it ok.

Re: Defeated

#215

Post by pinaceae »

jballanc wrote: post #32

There is an extremely simple solution: leave. I've not lived in the US for almost two years now. I've only had to travel back twice in that time. Meanwhile, in the same time I've visited France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany multiple times. None of those travel experiences were nearly as unpleasant or stressful as my two trips to the US. Furthermore, the technology communities that are growing up in these pla…

as someone who recently moved TO the US - you are delusional. as if there is a magic, fairy place that is freedom and liberty and pixies.

Asia? good luck, the individual has awesome rights, try talking badly about the thai royalty for example. go on, please do.

Europe? Just moved from there, great place. But if you're looking for the right to act out your individual freedom (which ends where it impacts the freedom of ours), then you're in for a suprise. US constitution does not apply there. No amendments. No pleading the fifth or other stuff.

Maybe Somalia is the place for you. No one will force you through a milliwave scanner there.

Re: Defeated

#216

Post by keithg »

eloisius wrote: post #135

You probably put to much stock in the whole "I've never been through the imaging machines" bit. It's not about remaining opt-out puritan or something. Fight when you can. I hope op reads this, buried in all the other comments. Please, for the sake of everyone, dust yourself off and opt out again. It doesn't matter if you do it every time. I opt out every time I can, but there have been plenty of times when I don't. T…

I agree. I will continue to opt out.

Re: Defeated

#217

Post by LekkoscPiwa »

varjag wrote: post #193
honzzz wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This might sound really weird but I actually believe that for people who like freedom post-communist countries that were NOT part of Soviet Union can be quite good place to live right now. I had previously spent 7 months in the US and I had lived in UK for 2.5 years and now I live in the Czech Republic. I guess this is very subjective but I believe that for example this country currently offers way more freedom than…

A good deal of Eastern Europe is still quite homophobic and xenophobic, even if there are no actual discrimination laws in place.

true. So is the rest of the world. We are just lacking in the political correctness department.

Re: Defeated

#218

Post by theYipster »

gergles wrote: post #197
reaganite wrote: post #84

Just sign up for Global Enrollment (GOES) and you automatically get TSA Pre and don't have to go thru the regular security lines: no Millimeter back scatter scanner, no taking off your shoes or taking your laptop out of your bag. Australia, the Netherlands and Canada have similar programs and at present all recognize each others program enrollees, so it also gets you thru Customs in those countries faster too. https:…

The big problem with Global Entry/TSA Precheck is that it requires you fly on a "participating" airline which are all the bumbling legacy behemoths and not any of the airlines (JetBlue, Virgin, Southwest) you might actually want to fly on.

I'm pretty sure most people who fly enough to really benefit from PreCheck would gladly fly their preferred legacy of choice with their first class upgrade and elite service desk standing by in case of trouble... B6/VX/WN are certainly fine establishments, but they hardly cater to the same market of flyer that the trusted traveler programs target.

Re: Defeated

#219

Post by DamnYuppie »

mosburger wrote: post #89
jballanc wrote: post #32

There is an extremely simple solution: leave. I've not lived in the US for almost two years now. I've only had to travel back twice in that time. Meanwhile, in the same time I've visited France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany multiple times. None of those travel experiences were nearly as unpleasant or stressful as my two trips to the US. Furthermore, the technology communities that are growing up in these pla…

"Extremely simple?" There's lots of reasons it isn't so simple for people. 1) Barriers to work and emigration 2) Language barriers - I know that learning a new language isn't impossible (I know a little Spanish but I'd hardly call myself fluent), but I speak only English fluently, which limits me to a handful of nations, many of which are nearly as bad as the United States (hey UK, how are those surveillance cameras?…

Everyone who is in the USA and is not a Native American had ancestors who left where they were from. Often not under ideal circumstances, there where no guaranteed jobs waiting for anyone over here, just the opportunity for something better.

Re: Defeated

#220

Post by honzzz »

varjag wrote: post #193
honzzz wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This might sound really weird but I actually believe that for people who like freedom post-communist countries that were NOT part of Soviet Union can be quite good place to live right now. I had previously spent 7 months in the US and I had lived in UK for 2.5 years and now I live in the Czech Republic. I guess this is very subjective but I believe that for example this country currently offers way more freedom than…

A good deal of Eastern Europe is still quite homophobic and xenophobic, even if there are no actual discrimination laws in place.

Which part of Eastern Europe? I don't know the whole Eastern Europe really well but speaking for the Czech Republic (where I was born) I would say exactly the opposite is true at least when we are talking about tolerance to homosexuality... which might be related to the fact that unlike in the US or UK, religion has practically no influence here.

I base this mostly on what I see around me but I just tried to quickly google something and what I've found seems to support that - for example http://www.pewglobal.org/2013/06/04/the-global-divide-on-hom...

I don't know about xenophobia - I don't see it but if there is something above the average it would probably be related to the fact that people are not used to 'xeno' elements because this has always been pretty homogeneous and closed society.

Post reply on HN