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It's really important we have that 3 in 70 chance the TSA catches someone trying to get a bomb onboard a plane! Airport security isn't about preventing loss of

It's really important we have that 3 in 70 chance the TSA catches someone trying to get a bomb onboard a plane! Airport security isn't about preventing loss of life. It's about keeping the passenger airline industry alive. Biden is famously pro-rail and I think this is just a way of killing off rail before he has a chance to fund a bunch of construction and equipment. Which is sad, because our federal highway system is crumbling in decay because we way, way overbuilt it. It's all moot. No matter how much security there is, no matter how badly intelligence services or political leaders fuck up (in the case of 9/11, it was political leadership. In the case of the Boston Marathon bombing, it was intelligence), they'll just shout that they need more surveillance, more security measures, more rules. Nobody will ever say "no, you intelligence people need to do your job properly."

nullc 5y ago
The TSA works for Biden, this is an action of an executive branch office, and an action that requires a significant amount of budget. If Biden didn't want this to happen it would stop at a stroke of his pen. If this is a move to kill passenger rail, then it's Biden that is killing it. When I lived near Dulles airport I frequently used the train to travel up the north east as far as NY or Boston-- even though the train was often more expensive. The fact that I didn't have to deal with the TSA and their intrusive searches was a significant part of that. From the article it sounds like they're only currently planning to quietly invade your privacy in the background, which might not the rail killing effect you are concerned with. But if they did go full airport-tsa style handling of the trains then I wouldn't be shocked if it killed passenger rail: Not dealing with the TSA may not be a reason for most passengers, but it only has to be a reason for enough to bring it under a threshold of viability.
- Mountain_Skies 5y ago
  It seems unlikely that Biden wants to kill passenger rail. He's made a pretty big deal of using Amtrak between DC and Delaware to commute when he was in Congress. TSA has tried this before with Amtrak and it's possible that this decision is being made at a level lower than that of the president.
georgyo 5y ago
I normally don't ask for sources, but 3 in 70 is so precise that I'm curious of the study. 3 in 70 is between 1/23 and 1/24, but really how many significant digits does this study get to. Surely 1/25 is accurate enough.
- woodruffw 5y ago
  It's linked in the article I linked. Here's the direct link[1] and Schneier's analysis[2]. [1]: https://www.cnn.com/2015/06/01/politics/tsa-failed-undercover-airport-screening-tests/index.html https://www.cnn.com/2015/06/01/politics/tsa-failed-undercove... [2]: https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2015/06/reassessing_air.html https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2015/06/reassessing_a...
ajmurmann 5y ago
I understand the most effective change was reinforcing and locking the cockpit doors. Despite the seemingly ineffective TSA checkpoints, I do wonder how well it works as a deterrent. AFAIK simple for-profit hijacking of planes used to be more common before 9/11. I haven't heard about any such incident since. How much of that isn't because the potential perpetrators were deterred from even trying?
- photochemsyn 5y ago
  The only event I know of where that new policy played a central role was in the 2015 disaster in which a suicidal pilot locked the cabin while his co-worker took a bathroom break, and crashed the plane: > "On March 24, 2015, the co-pilot of a German airliner deliberately flew the plane into the French Alps, killing himself and the other 149 people onboard. When it crashed, Germanwings flight 9525 had been traveling from Barcelona, Spain, to Dusseldorf, Germany. (history.com)" I believe there's now a strict rule of two pilots in the cockpit at all times as a result. Also, hijacked planes are now much more likely to be shot down by military jets if they approach urban areas, which is not a topic airlines like to discuss.
  - cwwc 5y ago
    The recent China eastern disaster and Malaysian air crash are both (potential) examples of this too. Not sure of the veracity, but I know pilot Suicide was one of the major theories held by investigators in both cases.
    - Schroedingersat 5y ago
      Sounds like some of that TSA money should he spent on lowering workload and increasing quality of life for pilots. Also maybe let's stop firing them for getting mental healthcare.
- cascom 5y ago
  That and matching bags loaded on aircraft to travelers boarded - the rest is just thousands standing around

nullc 5y ago

The TSA works for Biden, this is an action of an executive branch office, and an action that requires a significant amount of budget. If Biden didn't want this to happen it would stop at a stroke of his pen. If this is a move to kill passenger rail, then it's Biden that is killing it. When I lived near Dulles airport I frequently used the train to travel up the north east as far as NY or Boston-- even though the train was often more expensive. The fact that I didn't have to deal with the TSA and their intrusive searches was a significant part of that. From the article it sounds like they're only currently planning to quietly invade your privacy in the background, which might not the rail killing effect you are concerned with. But if they did go full airport-tsa style handling of the trains then I wouldn't be shocked if it killed passenger rail: Not dealing with the TSA may not be a reason for most passengers, but it only has to be a reason for enough to bring it under a threshold of viability.

Mountain_Skies 5y ago
It seems unlikely that Biden wants to kill passenger rail. He's made a pretty big deal of using Amtrak between DC and Delaware to commute when he was in Congress. TSA has tried this before with Amtrak and it's possible that this decision is being made at a level lower than that of the president.

georgyo 5y ago

I normally don't ask for sources, but 3 in 70 is so precise that I'm curious of the study. 3 in 70 is between 1/23 and 1/24, but really how many significant digits does this study get to. Surely 1/25 is accurate enough.

woodruffw 5y ago
It's linked in the article I linked. Here's the direct link[1] and Schneier's analysis[2]. [1]: https://www.cnn.com/2015/06/01/politics/tsa-failed-undercover-airport-screening-tests/index.html https://www.cnn.com/2015/06/01/politics/tsa-failed-undercove... [2]: https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2015/06/reassessing_air.html https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2015/06/reassessing_a...

ajmurmann 5y ago

I understand the most effective change was reinforcing and locking the cockpit doors. Despite the seemingly ineffective TSA checkpoints, I do wonder how well it works as a deterrent. AFAIK simple for-profit hijacking of planes used to be more common before 9/11. I haven't heard about any such incident since. How much of that isn't because the potential perpetrators were deterred from even trying?

photochemsyn 5y ago
The only event I know of where that new policy played a central role was in the 2015 disaster in which a suicidal pilot locked the cabin while his co-worker took a bathroom break, and crashed the plane: > "On March 24, 2015, the co-pilot of a German airliner deliberately flew the plane into the French Alps, killing himself and the other 149 people onboard. When it crashed, Germanwings flight 9525 had been traveling from Barcelona, Spain, to Dusseldorf, Germany. (history.com)" I believe there's now a strict rule of two pilots in the cockpit at all times as a result. Also, hijacked planes are now much more likely to be shot down by military jets if they approach urban areas, which is not a topic airlines like to discuss.
- cwwc 5y ago
  The recent China eastern disaster and Malaysian air crash are both (potential) examples of this too. Not sure of the veracity, but I know pilot Suicide was one of the major theories held by investigators in both cases.
  - Schroedingersat 5y ago
    Sounds like some of that TSA money should he spent on lowering workload and increasing quality of life for pilots. Also maybe let's stop firing them for getting mental healthcare.
cascom 5y ago
That and matching bags loaded on aircraft to travelers boarded - the rest is just thousands standing around