more on middle-aged white females

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: anitaclaremadsen () netscape net (anitaclaremadsen)
Date: July 26, 2005 5:01:15 PM EDT
To: dave () farber net
Subject: RE: [IP] more on middle-aged white females


Thank you for explaining the mathematical reasoning behind random  
searches that do not exclude any "intuitively" low-risk groups. The  
"counter-intuitive" is obviously not obvious.

For air travel, assume:
1. finite security resources;
2. random searches;
3. higher level searches of individuals who are flagged (for current  
and future flights) by computers as "risks" for such suspicious  
behaviors as buying one-way tickets - including, for example,  
students returning to college or returning home from college,  
individuals moving to take new jobs or to retire to another state;
4. thoughtless people who store their luggage in the garage too near  
their gardening fertilizer.

It would seem that a reasonable level of air safety from terrorist  
threat will be accomplished. Over time, only brain-washed suicide  
bombers will have the patience to stand in line for hours whilst all  
of the above groups are screened repeatedly, because once entered  
into the computer security risk database, there they remain flagged  
for future flights. That is, assuming the airlines are still in  
business and have not fallen victim to mass paranoia and to the  
justifiable concerns of innocents of being added to the security-risk  
database.

As a personal anecdote, I bought a one-way ticket to return to my  
hometown after two years living elsewhere in the U.S. Since that  
time, I (yes, a middle-aged, white professional female) have been  
repeatedly put through the "full treatment" on every flight I have  
taken. I estimate 2.5 hours of wasted security resources in the past  
18 months spent unpacking and packing my checked and carry-on  
luggage, wanding and patting me down. I'm delighted to be reassured  
that the senseless stigma of being apparently forever labeled as a  
"security risk" is a patriotic act that makes everyone feel safer.

Israel has experienced terrorist/suicide bombers for more than half a  
century. Although its air security is reputed to be the best, it has  
simply diverted suicide bombers to other targets: hotels, cafes,  
school buses. In 50+ years, Israel's enemies have not run out of  
fanatical volunteers.

We are at war with an enemy we cannot or refuse to identify. Thus,  
the working logic seems to be that anyone can be the enemy.

I am not reassured.



David Farber <dave () farber net> wrote:


> Begin forwarded message:
>
> From: Hugh Crawford <hugh-list () thoughtballoon com>
> ate: July 26, 2005 11:02:58 AM EDT
> To: dave () farber net
> Subject: Re: middle-aged white females
>
>
> In 1986, a pregnant 32-year-old Irish woman attempted to take an El
> Al flight from London to Tel Aviv with a bomb that her boyfriend had
> hidden in her luggage. In 1987, a 70-year-old man and a 25-year-old
> woman--neither of whom were Middle Eastern posed as father and
> daughter and exploded a bomb aboard a Korean Air flight from Baghdad
> to Thailand killing all on board. In 1999, men dressed as businessmen
> and as a Catholic priest forced an Avianca flight to divert to an
> airstrip in Colombia and held passengers hostage for more than one
> and a half years.
>
> So much for profiling. Anyway, if I were in charge of the MTA I'd be
> more concerned about the gasoline tankers that drive past very
> vulnerable points of the subway system such as stations or
> ventilation grates every day. The effects of a few backpack bombs
> would be trivial compared to a driving a gas tanker into the 72nd st.
> and Broadway station for instance
>
> Protecting the NYC subway system ( mostly built in trenches just
> below the surface ) against the vulnerabilitys of the London subway
> system ( mostly built in deep tunnels ) is just silly
>
> Hugh Crawford
> Brooklyn NY
>
>
>
>
>
>
> David Farber wrote:
>
>
>
> > Begin forwarded message:
> >
> > From: "Dr. James J. O'Donnell" <provost () georgetown edu>
> > Date: July 25, 2005 8:00:10 AM EDT
> > To: dave () farber net
> > Subject: middle-aged white females
> >
> >
> >
> > Dave, this one is easy.  If the bad guy can discover that middle-aged
> > white females or rosy-cheeked white children under 10 are never being
> > searched, he will figure out how to booby-trap one.  We make fun of
> > TSA
> > for its searches of unlikely figures, but by searching the
> > categories we
> > regard as unlikely, they are in fact protecting *all* members of  
> > those
> > categories -- and us.  Random needs to mean random in order to mean
> > anything, and has to have an appreciably high degree of frequency
> > to be
> > deterrent.  For entirely other reasons, customs agents are  
> > supposed to
> > pull over every hundredth person who comes through for random
> > screening,
> > and I suspect there are some years of experience for them in
> > figuring  out
> > what's effective.
> >
> > Jim O'Donnell
> > Georgetown U.
> >
> >
> > -------------------------------------
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>
>
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--
Cheeries, Anita


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