re TSA overreaction to Delta incident

[Dave Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

> From: Karl Auerbach <karl () cavebear com>
> Date: December 26, 2009 6:36:30 PM EST
> To: dave () farber net
> Cc: ip <ip () v2 listbox com>, edward () biebel net
> Subject: Re: [IP] re TSA overreaction to Delta incident
> Reply-To: karl () cavebear com

> On 12/26/2009 01:15 PM, David Farber wrote:
>
> > *From: *Ed Biebel <edward () biebel net <mailto:edward () biebel net>>
> > *Date: *December 26, 2009 3:08:47 PM EST
> > *Subject: **Re: [IP] re TSA overreaction to Delta incident*
>
> > The two major classes of electronics really targeted are computers  
> > and
> > music devices. In the case of computers that directive is geared to
> > insuring bulky items such as laptops are secured so as not to block  
> > exit
> > paths in the event of an emergency evacuation. (Imagine trying to  
> > climb
> > over someone with their tray table down and laptop spread out.). In  
> > the
> > case of music players, the directive is to insure that you aren't
> > wearing earphones that would prevent you from hearing emergency
> > instruction / announcements.
>
> I don't doubt that that rationale is underlying some of this... but...
>
> If that rationale were extended so that it were more then security  
> theatre it would require that airlines increase the spacing between  
> rows of seats (so that people could get out faster), have wider  
> aisles and ban single aisle aircraft, have klaxons and strobe lights  
> in the overheads so that nobody can miss a warning announcement, ban  
> deaf, blind, or otherwise disabled or obese people from flights  
> because they might become obstacles.
>
> Reason would suggest that any ban on last-hour laptops and stuff  
> ought to be limited to the emergency exit rows.
>
> And I fail to comprehend the logic that suggests that someone  
> listening to an iPod is going to miss the fact that an aircraft has  
> crash landed, that people around are in panic, and that flames are  
> consuming the shattered fuselage.
>
> By-the-way, if the answer to my previous paragraph is that people  
> must be able to hear pre-crash announcements, my response would be:  
> On most passenger aircraft that ply the skies over the United States  
> the speaker systems are so poor that announcements are unintelligible.
>
>    --karl--



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