

TSA inspectors damage 9 aircraft while conducting "security checks" - drewr
http://www.aero-news.net/index.cfm?ContentBlockID=340a79d6-839a-470d-b662-944325cea23d&
What are they doing touching airplanes?
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gills
I agree with the editor's note at the bottom, this sort of incompetence needs
to be prosecuted in a court of law. It's downright dangerous, and any other
individual perpetrating the same act would be sent to Cuba as a terror
suspect.

I guess it's time to start driving to Vancouver B.C. before getting on a
plane...

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jcromartie
The modern TSA and/or the DHS is quite obviously an exercise in "we must do
something; this is something; therefore, we must do it."

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sysop073
"'We think it's an unfortunate situation,' she told ABCNews.com."

Are weasel words really necessary here? They think it's unfortunate that 40
flights were delayed? They think correctly

~~~
hugh
40 flights? Very annoying if you're on one of 'em, but the TSA can't afford to
freak out every time 40 flights out of the thousands-per-day that they're
responsible are delayed, can they? Viewed from the TSA's perspective, this is
a minor screwup.

~~~
noonespecial
_this is a minor screwup._

<Cough!> As a pilot I can tell you that in many real cases, your very life
depends on the proper functioning of these instruments. That's why we check
them fanatically! If I wanted to crash a plane and kill those aboard, I
wouldn't waste my time with bombs. I'd wait for a cloudy day and subtly damage
the instruments on as many planes as I could.

There are heroes among us and they don't wear TSA badges. They check
instruments and mechanical systems. Every day, for every flight, whether they
feel like it or not, whether "its been working fine all day" or not. Air
safety is a friggin miracle of eternal vigil. This fool is an "accidental
terrorist" and should never be allowed near a plane again.

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sown
I guess a plane that is grounded is more secure than one that is not.

~~~
graywh
Unless that's what the terrorist were trying to accomplish in the first place.

~~~
stcredzero
Amusing thought: Violent Outlaws who try to make people safer in terrifying
ways.

Examples: Damaging the transportation fuel infrastructure. Grounding planes.
Rendering highways unusable. These would all tend to save lives if
accomplished in a big way which could easily be terrifying.

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stcredzero
To be fair, I've encountered far fewer arbitrary and rude TSA personnel who
like gratifying themselves by throwing their weight around. But a few years
ago, they were obnoxious.

One time, I was ordered to consolidate my luggage -- just before the point at
which we take our laptops out and reshuffle items into the bins to put them
through the X-Ray. WTF? The number of items you are going to take on the plane
is not their business! It's the airline's. According to the procedures they
make you follow, it's actually their business to make you take your luggage
apart.

Perhaps it's coincidence, but I'm encountering fewer of these bullies. I
wonder if enough people complained about them.

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geuis
Oy, its a dilemma. This isn't really hacker news, but it is damn interesting.
Looks like the Digg problem is leaking in.

~~~
raganwald
I've been told that Hacker News is "Anything of interest to hackers." This is
on the front page, therefore it must _a posteriori_ be of interest to hackers,
musn't it?

~~~
lg
...I think that's more a hope than a definition (though you're probably just
being sarcastic.) Anyway, I don't see why this story is prompting the !HN
rigmarole. Bumbling government screwing with technology they don't understand
in the name of protecting us sounds like HN to me.

~~~
raganwald
_you're probably just being sarcastic_

Why? If you consider yourself part of the HN community, and you find it
interesting, then by definition it belongs here. Isn't that the case?

FWIW, I disqualify myself from judging whether things belong on HN or not.
Many of the articles I used to think were not HN have been proven by
popularity to belong here, leading me to the conclusion that I am not a hacker
since I do not find them interesting when I am reading "Hacker News."

p.s. Now I will be sarcastic: ESR has stated that "Hackers do not place double
quotation marks outside of punctuation."

~~~
rit
Ah, but you're missing an important point:

You're (I'm not directing this entirely at raganwald, as it applies to many of
the arguments made) assuming that only Hackers are capable of voting and
posting.

I generally agree, and think this article should have made it. But the
argument of 'Only articles interesting to hackers will make it to the front
page' fails at the part where we assume that only people interested in Hacker
News are doing the majority of voting (The Digg factor kind of forces me to
think that when the Digg-ers show up, they'll reshape any news to fit their
idea of "news" - see Reddit).

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iamelgringo
-1 off topic

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newt0311
Hmm. This would be a great opportunity for the airlines to sue the TSA for the
lost time.

