Sam (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
l33tminion) wrote2009-12-28 03:29 pm
l33tminion) wrote2009-12-28 03:29 pm
Entry tags:
The Underpants Bomber's Revenge
A relevant bit of news to discuss:
On Christmas day, a Nigerian man boarded a Detroit-bound flight in the Netherlands. As the plane was about to land, he attempted to detonate an explosive device concealed in his pants. Had the device not been defective, the story would have been "plane blows up over Detroit, was it terrorism?" But the bomb was defective, and the would-be bomber only managed to set his leg on fire.
It's amazing how similar this is to Bruce Schneier's hypothetical "underpants bomber" (though Cory Doctorow's nightmare scenario along those lines, thankfully, has not quite been realized). As with the shoe bomber, the TSA has implemented a new set of reactive rules. And again, some of the rules are reactions to the facts about the plot only known because it failed and some are completely unrelated. To summarize, the new regulations are:
We'll see if the proposed regulations get implemented as written and if they remain in effect for long. I also wrote to my representatives, asking them to oppose the regulation being implemented in that form.
ETA: Also, Schneier still has the best reaction: "I wish that, just once, some terrorist would try something that you can only foil by upgrading the passengers to first class and giving them free drinks."
ETA2: Might be a non-issue. The TSA directive applies to arriving international flights and expires at the end of the month, so we'll see what permanent measures, if any, get implemented. Still is going to be bad for anyone flying into the country in the next few days, and there's a fair amount of travel between Christmas and New Year's.
ETA3: Looks like the new rules have been overturned, probably on pressure from the airlines.
On Christmas day, a Nigerian man boarded a Detroit-bound flight in the Netherlands. As the plane was about to land, he attempted to detonate an explosive device concealed in his pants. Had the device not been defective, the story would have been "plane blows up over Detroit, was it terrorism?" But the bomb was defective, and the would-be bomber only managed to set his leg on fire.
It's amazing how similar this is to Bruce Schneier's hypothetical "underpants bomber" (though Cory Doctorow's nightmare scenario along those lines, thankfully, has not quite been realized). As with the shoe bomber, the TSA has implemented a new set of reactive rules. And again, some of the rules are reactions to the facts about the plot only known because it failed and some are completely unrelated. To summarize, the new regulations are:
- Pat down all passengers.
- Physically inspect all carry-on items.
- No more in-flight communications services, at all, ever. Was your non-refundable ticket purchase influenced by the free wi-fi? That's really too bad.
- No "out of the left window, you can see..." announcements (which is both made relatively useless by the next measure and makes the next measure slightly more aggravating).
- The last hour of flight must be spent in your seat with nothing in your lap (no "blankets, pillows, or personal belongings", that includes books, I assume, and the iPod in your pocket, too?). Have a bit of traveler's indigestion? Well, you can just hold it for the next sixty minutes. (And I presume "last hour" means from an hour before expected arrival, which can actually be many hours of mid-air holding pattern hell if there's a storm / there's fog / the gates are understaffed because the airlines are going broke.)
We'll see if the proposed regulations get implemented as written and if they remain in effect for long. I also wrote to my representatives, asking them to oppose the regulation being implemented in that form.
ETA: Also, Schneier still has the best reaction: "I wish that, just once, some terrorist would try something that you can only foil by upgrading the passengers to first class and giving them free drinks."
ETA2: Might be a non-issue. The TSA directive applies to arriving international flights and expires at the end of the month, so we'll see what permanent measures, if any, get implemented. Still is going to be bad for anyone flying into the country in the next few days, and there's a fair amount of travel between Christmas and New Year's.
ETA3: Looks like the new rules have been overturned, probably on pressure from the airlines.