"The current threat advisory as establish by the Dept of Homeland Security is Orange"
Apr 5, 2011, 10:11 am
#1
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"The current threat advisory as establish by the Dept of Homeland Security is Orange"
Stuck in Columbus (CMH) airport, watching the EWR flight departure time continue to move later because of the WX situation in EWR, and I keep hearing this announcement. I thought they got rid of that color rating system (when was the last time it wasn't Orange?). If so, maybe it's just on a loop that no one can figure out how to stop. I don't think I've heard this announcement in a long time in any other airport.
Apr 5, 2011, 10:24 am
#2
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The "DHS threat level" has been orange for domestic and international flights for almost five years. Kind of makes the whole thing rather farcical, when you think about it.
http://www.dhs.gov/xabout/history/editorial_0844.shtm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homelan...dvisory_System
The Wikipedia article even mentions that a gov't commission suggested they just admit that they will never lower it to the lowest two levels on the chart and simply remove them.
http://www.dhs.gov/xabout/history/editorial_0844.shtm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homelan...dvisory_System
The Wikipedia article even mentions that a gov't commission suggested they just admit that they will never lower it to the lowest two levels on the chart and simply remove them.
Apr 5, 2011, 10:26 am
#3
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Just pray they don't raise it to taupe. 
Not sure why CMH even bothers to mention it, as it would likely be pretty low on the list of important targets.
Not sure why CMH even bothers to mention it, as it would likely be pretty low on the list of important targets.
Apr 5, 2011, 11:58 am
#4
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It is supposedly going away this month.
http://boardingarea.com/blogs/thewan...-level-orange/
http://boardingarea.com/blogs/thewan...-level-orange/
Apr 5, 2011, 12:17 pm
#5
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It is supposedly going away this month.
http://boardingarea.com/blogs/thewan...-level-orange/
http://boardingarea.com/blogs/thewan...-level-orange/
My favorite "threat level rainbow" cartoon placed a Sesame Street character into each color. "Threat Level Ernie" just doesn't have as menacing a ring to it, I suppose.
I'll leave any further ranting on DHS to the appropriate board. =)
Apr 5, 2011, 5:41 pm
#6
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I always found it amusing listening to the PA at ORD where the recorded voice states "The current threat adviosry level is [pregnant pause...] ORANGE". Where the word 'orange' is stated loud and bold as though it was something new and special that we should be paying acute attention to (after 5 straight years of hearing the exact same recoded message every four minutes)
Apr 5, 2011, 6:41 pm
#7
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Apr 5, 2011, 8:33 pm
#8
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My favorite observation:
I've composed "Blakley's Law" (next time I come up with one of these I'll rename this one "Blakley's First Law") to describe the phenomenon:
"Every public alert system's status indicator rises until it reaches its disaster imminent setting and remains at that setting until it is retired from service."
It's easy to see why Blakley's law holds: if something terrible happens and the alert status didn't predict it, the keepers of the alert status will be blamed for not preparing us for the disaster. Setting the alert status to "Disaster imminent" when no disaster is likely costs the public some money and mental health, but it doesn't hurt them in other ways. On the other hand, setting the alert status to "Don't worry, be happy" just before a disaster does happen is the worst case for everyone - nobody prepares for the disaster, and the people in power lose their jobs for failing to prevent or prepare for the crisis.
I've composed "Blakley's Law" (next time I come up with one of these I'll rename this one "Blakley's First Law") to describe the phenomenon:
"Every public alert system's status indicator rises until it reaches its disaster imminent setting and remains at that setting until it is retired from service."
It's easy to see why Blakley's law holds: if something terrible happens and the alert status didn't predict it, the keepers of the alert status will be blamed for not preparing us for the disaster. Setting the alert status to "Disaster imminent" when no disaster is likely costs the public some money and mental health, but it doesn't hurt them in other ways. On the other hand, setting the alert status to "Don't worry, be happy" just before a disaster does happen is the worst case for everyone - nobody prepares for the disaster, and the people in power lose their jobs for failing to prevent or prepare for the crisis.
Apr 5, 2011, 10:36 pm
#9
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Apr 8, 2011, 9:59 am
#10
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http://www.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/04/...tem/index.html
The new alerts are expected to distinguish between "elevated" and "imminent" threats and could be limited to warnings for specific industries or police or communicated more broadly to the public.
"The alerts will be specific to the threat. They may recommend certain actions or suggest looking for specific suspicious behavior. And they will have a specified end date," Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said in a speech at George Washington University in January.
"The alerts will be specific to the threat. They may recommend certain actions or suggest looking for specific suspicious behavior. And they will have a specified end date," Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said in a speech at George Washington University in January.