CingularDuality

I was going to add the current alert level to my signature, but, well, it doesn't seem to be very accurate: http://www.geekandproud.net/terror


And, to get a bit serious, the alert level for international flights really was raised to "Severe or Red" this morning, after UK authorities foiled a terrorist attack that involved at least 18 aircraft, some headed to the US: http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/...230417,00.html

__________________

Become a supporting member!

Buy a Tactical Duck!
Take the world's smallest political quiz! "I was touched by His Noodly Appendage."
TacticalGamer TX LAN/BBQ Veteran:

Rincewind

Wow, you get on top of the news early

__________________
~~ Veritas simplex oratio est ~~
No matter how far a wizard goes, he will always come back for his hat. --T. Pratchett

<---- You know you're getting old when you rely on your forum meta-data to remind you how old you are.

Required Reading for all TG sandboxers

P8riot

CingD doesn't sleep, he's a news and info automaton.

__________________





Age of Conan: Tharashk (Taxiarchos), Thaumiel (alt), guild Ars Tactika - Cimmeria
XBox360 GamerTag: P8riotOne (but it might also be my son playing - he can game with TG tho!)

xTYBALTx

LOL. I love how they raise the alert after the suspects have been apprehended.

__________________
A policy of freedom for the individual is the only truly progressive policy. -F.A. Hayek

UnDeaD77

They are always on top of things quick.

__________________

leejo

Seems a trivial gripe considering authorities just prevented the deaths of a few thousand people.

Pickle

No liquids or carryon bags of any kind allowed on planes now. Which wouldn't be so bad if the airlines didn't lose our luggage all the time!

__________________

leejo

Or if you have a small child. I have no idea how someone is supposed to deal with a toddler, diapers, wipes, juice, snacks, the child's shut-the-hell-up-and-sleep medicines, car seat, umbrella stroller, books, toys, etc.

Chappie

Simple, small children don't travel...hehe just joking. Having just arrived home last night from a trip to Florida, the news is a bit unsettling. Even more unsettling, my wife and kids are flying home Friday evening.

Something bad is bound to happen eventually, I don't think there's anyway to completely stop the terrorists. I hope I'm wrong, but it just seems like no matter what is done something bad is bound to happen. But, I'm a half-empty kind of guy so who knows.....

Chappie

__________________


"I am the prettiest african-american, vietnamese..cong..person." -SugarNCamo 3/22/06'

leejo

I think that "something bad" should be a part falling off or malfuntioning in midair. Not several asshats decide to murder everyone on board and rather than suffer jokes about the threat level our government does very little about it.

Sorry about your family being in FL still. I bet you'll be a glass half full sorta guy when they arrive safe and sound Friday.

Black_V!per

I've got a flight leaving this sunday... Southwest... To AZ... From GA... Non-stop/no connections (Losts of fuel)... Wish me luck?



(Sucks too, i wanted a bottle of water and my iPod with a bag of snacks...)

__________________

SmokingTarpan

Don't get me wrong, I'm quite glad that planes didn't blown up and people didn't die. But if we're not going to use this warning system properly, why bother having it? Seems like another failed system that eats up time and paperwork, just like the Emergency Broadcast System that didn't go off when the WTC got nailed. Aside from the regular testing, I've only heard the EBS system go off three times in my life, and all of them were Amber Alerts within the past month.

I'm all for saving people, but I'd also like to see tax dollars not thrown away on defunct protocols at the same time.

__________________

[squadl]
"I am the prettiest african-american, vietnamese..cong..person." -SugarNCamo

xTYBALTx

You read my mind.

__________________
A policy of freedom for the individual is the only truly progressive policy. -F.A. Hayek

leejo

Well lay your definition of how to use this system properly on me one time. Maybe your definition and the definition of the people running it aren't the same.

Is this system supposed to give you actionable intelligence so you'll know whether to pack lightly or expect to stand in line for hours? Is it supposed to be a tool for messing with the enemy's head? Is it an LEO tool to alert them to kick in certain procedures at certain levels?

I don't know the answer to these questions, but I also don't get the griping about it. There is minimal cost associated with this system, isn't there? We don't have some massive Threat Level Assessment Center buried under a mountain, and we don't have giant signs on the sides of freeways. It's just a code system and every few months some dude at a podium says it's changed or it's stayed the same. It costs nothing to do that.

I dunno. It just seems to me that this is a system that, by its nature, not a whole lot of people can be authorized to understand its workings or real purpose. So unless there's a huge pricetag associated with it, it seems silly to me to gripe that it's not working properly. It may be working perfectly for all any of us know.

Steeler

What would be the point of a public warning system that requires authorization to understand?

I think that was actually a complaint back in 2004 during the election, when we were getting warnings every other week or when Bush's numbers started to drop. Sheriffs and local police forces, who were supposed to be able to use the system to activate certain protocols, were getting zero or useless information from the feds as to what we were on alert for. Mostly it just triggered paperwork and overtime.

__________________