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A comment on I flew on a plane without going through security. It was amazing and no one died. Parent comment

Re:I flew on a plane without going through security. It was ... by bicknergseng on Monday December 30, 2013 @06:02PM (#6987690)
Bomb sniffing dogs are more effective at a fraction of the cost.

But really, if someone wants to destroy a plane, they're going to be able to destroy a plane. The question is not "should we try to stop people from blowing things up?" The question is "what are reasonable and effective means to stop people from blowing things up?"

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:I flew on a plane without going through security. It was ... by madeofpalk on Monday December 30, 2013 @06:21PM (#6987789)
Wasnt there a story on HN two weeks ago about the innacuracy of sniffer dogs?
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:I flew on a plane without going through security. It was ... by laureny on Monday December 30, 2013 @06:08PM (#6987714)
> But really, if someone wants to destroy a plane, they're going to be able to destroy a plane.

Unless we have measures to prevent them from getting on the plane in the first place, and since no bombs have been going off on a plane for quite a while, isn't that a sign that the security measures are working?

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:I flew on a plane without going through security. It was ... by greedo on Monday December 30, 2013 @07:13PM (#6988037)
You can't point to this as a success of the security measures. First, it implies that there are a significant number of bombers who are either captured or deterred. If the first was true, both the Bush admin and the Obama admin would be touting it as a success. If these "numerous" bombers are being deterred, you can't point to the security measures as the deterrent. It might be the NSA, CIA, or other organizations (US and other) that would be disrupting their plans. Otherwise it's back to the magic rock that keeps tigers away.
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:I flew on a plane without going through security. It was ... by laureny on Monday December 30, 2013 @10:43PM (#6988808)
> You can't point to this as a success of the security measures. First, it implies that there are a significant number of bombers who are either captured or deterred. If the first was true, both the Bush admin and the Obama admin would be touting it as a success. If these "numerous" bombers are being deterred, you can't point to the security measures as the deterrent.

Why not? I'm not saying you're wrong, just that you are making a claim without backing it up.

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:I flew on a plane without going through security. It was ... by girvo on Monday December 30, 2013 @11:32PM (#6988963)
Because while intuitively it makes "sense", there is no evidence to show that the possible correlation is instead direct causation.
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:I flew on a plane without going through security. It was ... by baddox on Monday December 30, 2013 @10:15PM (#6988733)
If the TSA killed every 1000th passenger, and no bombs went off on planes, would that be a sign that this measure is working?
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:I flew on a plane without going through security. It was ... by chrismcb on Tuesday December 31, 2013 @12:55AM (#6989258)
To me this is the prime reason that the TSA is useless. There are a half dozen ways to get explosives and other stuff THROUGH TSA checkpoints, not to mention the other dozen exit points into the airport. Anyone determined enough, will get through. About the only person they have a chance in stopping is a random lay person who just decided this morning. And they don't even seem to be able to stop that person. But looking at all the other risks in life, I'll take my chances.
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:I flew on a plane without going through security. It was ... by wahsd on Monday December 30, 2013 @06:08PM (#6987715)
Sorry to break it to you, but bomb sniffing dogs are not really all that great at sniffing all means and methods for creating and delivering "bombs". And dogs don't make corporate and political parasites billions of dollars. How do you expect the exploiting class to live without tapping into citizen tax supported corporate welfare profits?
[ Parent | on HN ]