New "Threat": Planes merely transiting US airspace
Dec 26, 2010, 6:44 pm
#1
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New "Threat": Planes merely transiting US airspace
The sky is falling! (according to the Washington Post)
Holy cow, can't this nation of ninnies find something else to worry about?! 
One of the idjits commenting on the article suggested terrorists would buy a cargo plane in South America, put a nuke on it, and blow it up over US airspace.v
Originally Posted by article
As the Obama administration works to harden domestic defenses against terrorism, some experts point to a potential vulnerability from thousands of flights that pass over the United States each week.
Although the United States regulates overflights, the cargo aboard them is not screened to federal standards and passenger lists are not matched to names on the terrorist watch list maintained by the Transportation Security Administration.
The TSA says other countries "have their own cargo security protocols that apply to those aircraft." The TSA has not implemented the new Secure Flight program to scrutinize passengers boarding overflights. That behind-the-scenes operation is designed to ferret out potential terrorists through a process that begins with airlines collecting detailed information when someone buys a ticket.
Although the United States regulates overflights, the cargo aboard them is not screened to federal standards and passenger lists are not matched to names on the terrorist watch list maintained by the Transportation Security Administration.
The TSA says other countries "have their own cargo security protocols that apply to those aircraft." The TSA has not implemented the new Secure Flight program to scrutinize passengers boarding overflights. That behind-the-scenes operation is designed to ferret out potential terrorists through a process that begins with airlines collecting detailed information when someone buys a ticket.
One of the idjits commenting on the article suggested terrorists would buy a cargo plane in South America, put a nuke on it, and blow it up over US airspace.v
Dec 26, 2010, 7:03 pm
#3
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Bolding mine:
Scanning all the cargo that flies over the country "is totally unrealistic," said Yossi Sheffi, director of the Center for Transportation and Logistics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "We have tens of millions of packages flying almost every night. We can't stop the huge flow of packages from all over the world. There has to be a balance between acceptable risk and the economy."
I await the politician who can get across the message that "here has to be a balance between acceptable risk and assuming that Chicken Little was right."
Scanning all the cargo that flies over the country "is totally unrealistic," said Yossi Sheffi, director of the Center for Transportation and Logistics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "We have tens of millions of packages flying almost every night. We can't stop the huge flow of packages from all over the world. There has to be a balance between acceptable risk and the economy."
I await the politician who can get across the message that "here has to be a balance between acceptable risk and assuming that Chicken Little was right."
Last edited by Fredd; Dec 26, 2010 at 7:16 pm
Dec 26, 2010, 7:09 pm
#4
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Wow. As if there weren't far easier ways for a determined terrorist to set off a dirty bomb than to get on a plane with a bomb (after passing through security, albeit not TSA security theater) and then set it off 30,000 feet above the US.
We should just never leave our homes. Overflights, thermoses, underwear, mass transit stops at the airport.... The world's a scary place.
We should just never leave our homes. Overflights, thermoses, underwear, mass transit stops at the airport.... The world's a scary place.
Dec 26, 2010, 7:17 pm
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Dec 26, 2010, 8:16 pm
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Dec 26, 2010, 8:16 pm
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Wow. As if there weren't far easier ways for a determined terrorist to set off a dirty bomb than to get on a plane with a bomb (after passing through security, albeit not TSA security theater) and then set it off 30,000 feet above the US.
We should just never leave our homes. Overflights, thermoses, underwear, mass transit stops at the airport.... The world's a scary place.
We should just never leave our homes. Overflights, thermoses, underwear, mass transit stops at the airport.... The world's a scary place.
Dec 26, 2010, 8:27 pm
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Dec 26, 2010, 8:51 pm
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One of the idjits commenting on the article suggested terrorists would buy a cargo plane in South America, put a nuke on it, and blow it up over US airspace.
Dec 27, 2010, 2:34 am
#10
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Nothing is sweeter that boarding a plan in Canada toward South America without removing your shoes, then watching US soil as you fly above it.
Nothing is more ironic that flying into the US from abroad, spending hours in US airspace, without ever removing shoes, and then having to remove them after you arrived, just to leave the airport.
This is a classic case of the TSA wanting to implement their stupid measures to the rest of the world. Leave us alone!!!
As an aside, since when do they screen cargo properly within the US??
Nothing is more ironic that flying into the US from abroad, spending hours in US airspace, without ever removing shoes, and then having to remove them after you arrived, just to leave the airport.
This is a classic case of the TSA wanting to implement their stupid measures to the rest of the world. Leave us alone!!!
As an aside, since when do they screen cargo properly within the US??
Dec 27, 2010, 2:36 am
#11
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Wow. As if there weren't far easier ways for a determined terrorist to set off a dirty bomb than to get on a plane with a bomb (after passing through security, albeit not TSA security theater) and then set it off 30,000 feet above the US.
We should just never leave our homes. Overflights, thermoses, underwear, mass transit stops at the airport.... The world's a scary place.
We should just never leave our homes. Overflights, thermoses, underwear, mass transit stops at the airport.... The world's a scary place.
It's really the only safe thing to do.
Dec 27, 2010, 4:20 am
#12
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Bolding mine:
Scanning all the cargo that flies over the country "is totally unrealistic," said Yossi Sheffi, director of the Center for Transportation and Logistics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "We have tens of millions of packages flying almost every night. We can't stop the huge flow of packages from all over the world. There has to be a balance between acceptable risk and the economy."
I await the politician who can get across the message that "here has to be a balance between acceptable risk and assuming that Chicken Little was right."
Scanning all the cargo that flies over the country "is totally unrealistic," said Yossi Sheffi, director of the Center for Transportation and Logistics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "We have tens of millions of packages flying almost every night. We can't stop the huge flow of packages from all over the world. There has to be a balance between acceptable risk and the economy."
I await the politician who can get across the message that "here has to be a balance between acceptable risk and assuming that Chicken Little was right."
There has to be a balance between acceptable risk and anything. Money, liberty, freedom, health, whatever. In the avarice and gluttonous driven culture of the last 20-30 years, the latest overindulgence is the quest for the greatest quantity of security and safety. The richer we attempt to become by dipping from the bank of security, the more that must be withdrawn from other accounts.
Dec 27, 2010, 4:34 am
#13
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Wow. As if there weren't far easier ways for a determined terrorist to set off a dirty bomb than to get on a plane with a bomb (after passing through security, albeit not TSA security theater) and then set it off 30,000 feet above the US.
We should just never leave our homes. Overflights, thermoses, underwear, mass transit stops at the airport.... The world's a scary place.
We should just never leave our homes. Overflights, thermoses, underwear, mass transit stops at the airport.... The world's a scary place.
WHEW! We're safe, at least for the next few hours (0630 EST).
Dec 27, 2010, 4:48 am
#14
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We no longer question anything. Why?
Last edited by trvlr64; Dec 27, 2010 at 5:03 am
Dec 27, 2010, 7:28 am
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