Friday, August 11, 2006
Ladies and Gentlemen, We Are No Longer Floating In Space
(grabbed from boingboing)The chaos has already started, the economic impact is yet to be gauged but I am sure it will be non-trivial. Here:
Airlines faced a flood of cancellations, rebookings and delayed flights today, following the discovery by British intelligence officials of a plot to blow up airplanes bound for the United States from London.
The delays and cancellations rippled across air traffic grids in the United States in Europe, disrupting travel far beyond London and causing severe congestion in airports. According to the Federal Aviation Administration, every major airport in the United States was experiencing delays of at least 15 minutes. American Airlines has already cancelled six flights to and from London, and it warned that other cancellations are possible today.
In Europe, Air France suspended all flights bound for London. British Airways cancelled all short-haul flights today from Heathrow airport, Europe’s busiest. The low-cost European carrier Ryanair cancelled more than 100 flights.
And here:
If the point of terrorism is to inspire terror, the terrorists have won again. The way to beat them is to go on living your life and render their actions inconsequential. Every time you give them an inch, you have given them a spiritual victory.
"Don't bring carry-on luggage and don't bring personal belongings unless they fit the list that's been provided and presented in a clear plastic bag," he said. "And please, most importantly, check with your airline that their schedule is being operated tomorrow [Friday] or over the weekend before you come to the airport."
But sources close to Transport Secretary Douglas Alexander indicated restrictions could become permanent. One source told the BBC the "way we travel will never be the same again".
Next month, I predict all those who wish to travel by air will need to wear identical grey jumpsuits and have barcodes tattooed on their foreheads which contain details of all personal information. Extensive databases will be used to prevent people who know each other from traveling on the same flight. Every row on an airplane will contain an armed security guard with gun drawn and trained on other passengers in the row - except the rest of the row will be empty because no one will be fucking traveling any more!
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I hope this does not spread too far. I'm going to Beijing soon with my family and I really dont want to have to taste every baby bottle, what about duty free booze? It's about the only time I buy spirits, passing through Singapore. I don't mind a single malt whisky now & then.
Hey Spike, you removed your comment approval process, I noticed it stopped most of your comments, or were you deleting them all?
Precisely Spike. And what about that bottled breat milk? That shit actually happened in the US a few times at the heigth of the post 9/11 travel paranoia...women being forced to taste their own milk they had bottled for the flight. And sure enough, this just in - first headline I read in the San Francisco Chronicle tonight: "Drink it or Dump it"
www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/08/10/MNGORKF9LP6.DTL
Cocksuckers.
www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/08/10/MNGORKF9LP6.DTL
Cocksuckers.
# posted by 
: 8/11/2006 10:19 AM
: 8/11/2006 10:19 AM
Imagine being on a plane for 24 hrs straight *well - ok - a 1 hr transit for refueling* with mags/music/books except for the ones provided by the airline - that too IF the airline actually has any decent reading material in the first place!
Thank God I am not doing any international travel till end of yr...but still...
Thank God I am not doing any international travel till end of yr...but still...
Ot they could just use racial profiling, and stop 99.9999% of terrorists by thoroughly searching just young to middle-aged male Arabs, and leave the rest of us to get on with our busy lives.
Problems might arise in the Middle-East where 99.9999% of travellers ARE young to middle-aged male Arabs.
Of course when the IRA re-emerge as a force for terror, we'll have to take another look at that.
Can't bring BOOKS on a plane? WTF? What do they think, that ideas are dangerous?
Problems might arise in the Middle-East where 99.9999% of travellers ARE young to middle-aged male Arabs.
Of course when the IRA re-emerge as a force for terror, we'll have to take another look at that.
Can't bring BOOKS on a plane? WTF? What do they think, that ideas are dangerous?
If you look to the future where this is heading, in 5 years time all passengers will have to board completely naked with nothing that could be potentially used to start a fire. Wouldn't be too bad on Singapore Airlines, especially if the hostesses were also required to comply! (might start a riot 'though).
I've posted a slightly rambling response on my own site, after talking to some people yesterday about this sort of thing, but as a summary: you're right, and you're wrong. You're right that if the goal of terrorism is to make us afraid and make us change our way of doing things, they've won. You're wrong because that's not what they're after. These bastards are not after attention for their cause, or trying to scare people into submission. They're after pain, destruction and death - and in that context, yesterday, the sane world won.
Interesting that they mention that the new restrictions could become permanent. How much will the airlines save per year in fuel consumption if people are no longer allowed to carry items onto the aircraft? (Assuming weight limits for checked baggage remain the same.)
Actually, I'd say the plotters messed up.
Dear old Bush has taken the opportunity to gently remind us that this incident is a "stark reminder" that the US is still at war with Islamic extremists...
And to be honest, I rather carry my hand luggage in plastic bags, then get blown to bits in mid-air.
Dear old Bush has taken the opportunity to gently remind us that this incident is a "stark reminder" that the US is still at war with Islamic extremists...
And to be honest, I rather carry my hand luggage in plastic bags, then get blown to bits in mid-air.
Ahh yes, the time tested logic device for rationalizing away our civil liberties. "It could happen..."
Terrorists COULD blow us to bits with their shoes, so I'm fine with having to strip search.
Terrorists COULD be using Public Libraries to research tactics, so I'm ok with having my library viewing habits monitored.
As a fun little exercise type in "Terrorists could" in Google for a tiny glimpse of what COULD happen, and you begin to see the point, and futility of trying to reasonably protect our fear-amped yet starkly privileged asses from what COULD happen.
Terrorists COULD blow us to bits with their shoes, so I'm fine with having to strip search.
Terrorists COULD be using Public Libraries to research tactics, so I'm ok with having my library viewing habits monitored.
As a fun little exercise type in "Terrorists could" in Google for a tiny glimpse of what COULD happen, and you begin to see the point, and futility of trying to reasonably protect our fear-amped yet starkly privileged asses from what COULD happen.
# posted by : 8/11/2006 11:59 PM
: 8/11/2006 11:59 PM
I'm sorry, but who bottles breast milk for a flight? Nonsense drama. Worse is having to taste formula. Ick.
I honestly think that all of this has more to do with mounting disinterest in funding Iraq and the media being distracted by Israel than an actual plot to blow up planes.
I honestly think that all of this has more to do with mounting disinterest in funding Iraq and the media being distracted by Israel than an actual plot to blow up planes.
Racial profiling? Happens already in Boston airport. I notice all my Chinese work mates without fail get the works while going through security, whereas caucasians float through.
Breast milk not bottled before flights? Anyway, I volunteer to taste test milk from those cows in Boston before boarding...
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Breast milk not bottled before flights? Anyway, I volunteer to taste test milk from those cows in Boston before boarding...
# posted by : 8/12/2006 11:58 PM
: 8/12/2006 11:58 PM Links to this post:
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