Nah its only a orwelian strategy to increase hardwaresales in the us ;).
Think about it, what have you to do if your laptop is seized? Buy a new one in the us… they even could finetune it with taking away from only business suits who are able and forced to get a new one asap…
I understand your point Hanzii, but really, those are bad odds for me. I am already from Honduras, and I am used to people threating me in EVERY airport like I am a drug lord from Colombia.
Trust me, I see it every trip. I am always called apart to wait in this little, little room while they do something with my documents and I have to wait whenever they feel or not I should be able to make my next flight. I actually book my flights so they are hours apart taking this into consideration.
I´ve never been given any explanations, of course, and the few times I dared ask I was treated like a criminal and with open hostility. So considering that, and the fact that I can´t easily replace a laptop, I will sadly have to leave it home. And yes, it´s reacting,but really what else can I do right?
Nah, I get that. As I said I don’t think somebody from Honduras should be the one to try and change US policy. And with racial profiling thrown into the mix I see how your odds are worse.
Is there really no way of going to my country from yours without stopping in the US - or do you have business there first?
I would have thought that there would at least be direct flights to some of the bigger European airports and a change for CPH there.
The only thing us dirty foreigners can do about stupid US rules also affecting us is not going there and spending our money elsewhere.
Well, fuck.
Weird, I did a San Francisco to Moscow via Frankfurt round-trip at the end of April and a San Francisco to Paris roundtrip at the end of June and no incident in either case. I wonder if my lucky streak continues when I possibly hit up Tokyo or Europe, or is Ziff going to lose a laptop to DHS?
Yeah, that was the nice part about being white and dressed like a yuppie coming back from Amsterdam. I got to smuggle a whole box of Cubans through no problem.
This shit makes me so fucking angry. As a US citizen, who should I be addressing my outrage to in this area? Who makes these rules or sets the agenda for this shit?
Where in the world do you get the idea that you should have any say in the matter whatsoever, or that the people making these sorts of rules have any duty to account for their actions to you?
They’re from the government. They’re here to help. Now shut up and do as you’re told.
(… in a more serious vein: agencies like this are never easily accountable to anybody. That’s a design feature.)
Again, I’m not saying he’s going to actively pursue this policy or even advocate for it. There are miles of difference between that and overturning it. Let’s be realists for a moment - this policy is affecting 5-10% of a very specific type of traveler, who may vote but also isn’t expecting relief from the president to avoid having their laptop seized.
Torture is a great example! That is exactly the kind of thing I would expect Obama to take an active role in ending. Recovering laptops? Not so much.
Every serious high-energy chemist asked about this said that no significant explosive could be made by mixing liquids in a plane. So the water bottle thing is purely a power trip.
Wow, that man’s been through a lot, including being a Jew in Europe during the Holocaust. And when he compares it to his experience with Homeland Security or whatever propagandist cute name for it they made up, you have to realize things are bad; vigilance has turned into paranoia. And you may even ask if the terrorists are winning.
It’s almost like a paradox; the more they try to fight terrorism, the more the terrorists have won as each method and operation to maintain safety and security, is a reminder that we should be fearful
Oh come on, didn’t you see the power of the XXXplosive koolaid in Die Hard 3? What if the terrorists got their hands on that?!
Why do you hate America?
Remember when we used to call things Kafka-esque?
Before the law sits a gatekeeper. To this gatekeeper comes a man from the country who asks to gain entry into the law. But the gatekeeper says that he cannot grant him entry at the moment. The man thinks about it and then asks if he will be allowed to come in later on. “It is possible,” says the gatekeeper, “but not now.” At the moment the gate to the law stands open, as always, and the gatekeeper walks to the side, so the man bends over in order to see through the gate into the inside. When the gatekeeper notices that, he laughs and says: “If it tempts you so much, try it in spite of my prohibition. But take note: I am powerful. And I am only the most lowly gatekeeper. But from room to room stand gatekeepers, each more powerful than the other. I can’t endure even one glimpse of the third.” The man from the country has not expected such difficulties: the law should always be accessible for everyone, he thinks, but as he now looks more closely at the gatekeeper in his fur coat, at his large pointed nose and his long, thin, black Tartar’s beard, he decides that it would be better to wait until he gets permission to go inside.
The state terrorists are winning.
Huh. Well, I’ve no real knowledge of explosives, and I guess was just going by it sounding plausible, and not bothering me because I never bring water on a plane anyway.
I can’t say I’d be surprise by this being farce too.
Looks like there’s an act (H.R. 6702) proposed in congress that will demand cause before confiscation.
“Cause.”
At least it would give you something to fight back against.
While I have adjusted to buying bottled water after the security check, you don’t need much nitroglycerin to make a bomb, as happened on Flight 434. That was years before the ban, so I suppose I still don’t get why they’re only an issue in the last few years.
I had vaguely recalled such a thing being done before, although I hadn’t realized the resulting explosion was so small.