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Do Not Flush Your iPod
realjordanna writes "Clearly the bar for what is deemed as a security threat has had to be lowered — but should it be this low? When a rather embarrassed passenger loses his iPod in the lavatory — even admits to the crew his mistake, the plane is diverted to Ottawa and a bomb squad is brought in to investigate. Read the iPod owner's story and take one lesson from this kid's plight — clearly the iPod is not flushable."
After the fact it may seem silly, but after the recent arrests in London, I sure would want the flight crew/law enforcement to fully investigate an electronic device in a toilet. After all, the alleged plot involved liquid explosives that were to be detonated in the bathroom, *using an electronic device or camera*
... read the WoW forums and see what this kid went through.
Insane, paranoid shit like this is exactly why the fuck I won't be visiting the US-of-A or Canada in a hurry.
Kid admits to losing his toy in the toilet, bomb squad comes in and they interrogate him in that fashion? Fuck that for a game of soldiers...
Oh well, in this case...
Besides, and this is on a different note, if I'd be honest, I'd answer "it's sad, but it didn't affect my life as a foreigner much" to "What do you think about 9/11?", "yes" to "Do you think government is too big, too powerful?", and perhaps even "maybe by demonstrating sometime" to "Would you ever "make a point?"".
What I wonder is what they would do if I did tell them that?
It would be interesting to see the response if he had done so.
Beware: In C++, your friends can see your privates!
Im very, very, very glad that Im not living in the U.S. or Canada...Geeez!
I hardly see why the fact that there is no absolute proof that he was the one involved means that it shouldn't be posted here. No, it wasn't on a news site, but he does go into a lot of detail involving the story. Enough so that I have no reason to doubt him. Besides, he would have to be very desperate for attention to make up such a story, and if he did, he really should consider a career in writing, because it was quite enjoyable to read. It's a story that is of interest, and hence is perfectly worthy of a post on slashdot.
Yup i agree. And every time they confiscate a fork from my lunchbox at heathrow i get a little bit more pissed off, cos i know that i'd be damn site more successful hijacking a plane with a broken glass bottle i bought in the duty free, than i'd ever be with a sodding fork. And why was it they never stopped selling stuff at duty free, even at the time they were confiscating knitting needles from old ladies?
Insisting on absolute safety is for people who don't have the balls to live in the real world.
-- Mary Shafer, risks researcher, NASA
At least one airline, QANTAS, has banned using dell laptops on battery power in flight for this very reason.
Yesterday I had someone look me in the eyes, tell me they are proud they voted for Bush, and would vote for him again. He lives in fear of a nuclear attack by islamist extremists.
I just don't know how to deal with that. Remember those "weapons of mass destruction" supposedly located in Iraq? They never existed. And this guy is worried about a nuclear attack against the US? Delivered how, exactly?
In my thinking, if you want to go after terrorists, you investigate them, infiltrate them, and prosecute them. It's a job for investigators and police. A dangerous job, but a job none the less.
If, however, you want to make billions of dollars in defense contracts, control all of the oil in the world, gain fascist powers, and offer people "protection," then by all means, go to war against an entire country. But don't take my word for it; I'm "misguided."*
* according to said Bush supporter
Spoon not. Fork, or fork not. There is no spoon.
IANAL- but I am a Constitutional Law scholar and I think poster may have a case for his rights being violated, namely with the laptop. Assuming of course this flight was aboard an American carrier and that customs official digging through his laptop was also an American. Poster was informed he would be released before the customs official went through his laptop looking for contraband. It is somewhat hazy but generally computers fall under the 4th Amendment's guarantee against undue search and seizure. If the guy wants to look- he damn well better have a search warrant from a judge. Seeing as he is to be released for lack of evidence- there is no basis for the search.
Now, if the customs official was Canadian, or an agent of the Canadian government it gets a lot more murky. True- what I am assuming are American and Canadian authorities have decided to let him go, but poster is passing through the customs of another country. However, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms also guarantees against undue search (Article 8) and puts forth the right to consul (U.S. Escobedo and Miranda) (Canada: CoRaF Article 10). Poster was clearly not given those.
Surely, the argument I have just made can be reconstructed by the other side of the argument- in the name of national security or some other erosion of rights. Allow me to quote Ben Franklin, "Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety". On that note- I encourage poster to contact the ACLU or its Canadian equivalent and bring suit (the ACLU will do all the work for you on a pro bono basis). Such a case has the possibility to clarify rights in the paranoid stripping of rights that is the War on Terror.
Exactly. The amount of physical damage terrorists can do to us is very limited. It's our reaction to their damage that will hurt us. 9/11 killed ~3,000 people. The war in Iraq that resulted has killed ~50,000. Reminds me of World War I where one act of terrorism that killed 1 man (Franz Ferdinand) led to the deaths of millions and the destruction of several nations.
It's this which I don't like:
"Now the questions became really pointed. What do you think about 9/11? What are your views on the Iran issue? Do you think government is too big, too powerful? Would you ever "make a point?"
Now that's got nothing to do with the situation they're in, but if they get enough people giving these interviews it could be used to build up a picture of who they may not like.
Fuck going to the USA, that's what I say.
Yeah. I was just wondering. Are you on the no-fly list thanks to the incident? Or are you gonna hold back from flying for a long time?
So how did it work out with Cara?
Yes, you have a point.
But are misses so expensive? These days we hear a plane crash almost every day. Which, by the way is still the safest way to travel.
For example, if I was the "decider" I would lock the cocpit so nobody could enter (without electronic keys obtainable from the air control tower, in case the pilots die from something, dunno.
If a terrorist blows a plane, just cover everything (dispose of the black box) and voila:
1. No hysteria, cuz noone knows.
2. Dead people don't mind that. The worst for them has happened.
3. No success for terrorists, because they want the act to be known.
Mate,
I am a physicist and I have had to write programs for data analysis despite the fact that I haven't had any training in programming at all. I am not alone. Perhaps with your expertise, you would do better programming for scientists - we need help. University based researchers developing new experimental techniques might be a good target. Contributions to projects like Octave might add sugar to your CV.
If you read the message board post the guy made... this isn't just about over-reaction... it's about government officials being power hungry and being real jerks to ordinary people.
Some of the questions they asked were invasive and inappropriate... and the customs guy seemed to think it was up to him personally to decide what's legal and what isn't.