Bruce Schneier

Trade-Offs Talk.

The Facebook Revolutions

Facebook Resistance? Understanding the role of the Internet in the Arab Revolutions
April 28, 2011 21:43

Source: Oxford Internet Institute (UK)

Revolutions are currently sweeping the Arab world: from Tunisia to Egypt and Libya to Bahrain. After decades of dictatorship, mass mobilisations and strikes are bringing down presidents and redrawing constitutions. These mass revolts are inspirational throughout the world and have swiftly shattered the notion of passivity and complacency that has for long been coined as the 'Arab exception'. But the unfolding events raise many questions, most pressingly: what were the main reasons of this unprecedented turmoil. The role of the Internet has been reported as a key source. The soundbites that resonated during the Iran protests in 2009 - Twitter Revolution - were neatly echoed or replaced with new ones - Facebook Revolution.

But despite the stormy debates taking place online and offline, fueled by the massive outpour of journalistic editorials about the impact of the Internet, we in fact know little of the empirical role of the Internet in these revolutions; neither in terms of Internet producers nor Internet consumers. In times of revolution, how can traditional academic frameworks regarding the social and political implications of the Internet help explain the dialectic between technology and social change as well as offering a way forward to the very people on the ground employing these new tools?



Podcast.

New Study - Iraq

From Amnesty.

Cross Border Mergers and Acquisitions

Yep.

Last 9/11 wrongful death lawsuit

Mark Bavis.

Look at the timeline of the only cockpit voice recorder file we have of the planes that were lost that day.

Here it is:
UA Flight 93/Sept 11.

5 by 5. . in the pike. .

Wait. . .that's a line from Aliens.

What if you fight with your spouse before a trip?

Danger.! Avoid Air India.

Iran

Who's Next (CRS).

Threats to all the other stuff. . . besides aviation

Financial Meltdown.

Part of the Non-Credit course load offered to DHS. (via Cryptome.org. Check it out.

UAL/CAL a single carrier for purposes of RLA

NMB Decision.

Air France Data Recorders Found

Some vigorous applause would be appropriate right about now.

Raising the Wreck. . .and other morbid fascinations.

Poor Workmanship. . .Not Design

The Chicken. . . or the Egg.?

That information is redundant

From the Federal Register.

Don't worry about it. . .

We'll be extinct by then.

What they Know

Big Brother and the Holding Company.

Ok, we're tracking you even if you turn the darn thing off.


Remember the Police? That song. . ."Every Breath You Take"? Here's something ideal for your hampster wheel. .search for this:DanceMix. (DJ Antoine- Clubzone Vocal Mix Dance Mix USA (Series); via amazon.com)

It's a bug, OK, it's a bug. . . we never intended to track you.

Open Skies Agreements

Dept of State.

Sit Back and Relax

Everything's going to be fine.

Traveling is a WASTE of Time

Do we really need to do this much hand holding.?

Priavcy Protection OnLine from CRS

Privacy.

Egypt In Transition

Chathamhouse.

iPhone Tracking File

How to Defeat.

Even if Disabled, tracking occurs.

4th Amendment

Border Search.

NYTimes Editorial.

Rodent Infestation Aboard Delta Plane

From FoodSafetyNews.

7-5 fuel filter contamination AWD

Notice, Federal Register.

TSA biometric credentialing failure

Good Grief.

New Rules from the DOT

DOT 51-11
Wednesday, April 20, 2011

U.S. Department of Transportation Expands Airline Passenger Protections
WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood today announced new airline passenger protections that will require airlines to reimburse passengers for bag fees if their bags are lost, provide consumers involuntarily bumped from flights with greater compensation, expand the current ban on lengthy tarmac delays, and disclose hidden fees. The rulemaking finalized today builds on passenger protections issued by the U.S. Department of Transportation in December 2009, which prohibited U.S. airlines operating domestic flights from permitting an aircraft to remain on the tarmac for more than three hours, with exceptions for safety, security and air traffic control related-reasons. The rule also required U.S. airlines to provide basic services such as access to lavatories and water in the event of extended tarmac delays.


“Airline passengers have a right to be treated fairly,” said Secretary LaHood. “It’s just common sense that if an airline loses your bag or you get bumped from a flight because it was oversold, you should be reimbursed. The additional passenger protections we’re announcing today will help make sure air travelers are treated with the respect they deserve.”


Lost Bags and Bag Fees. Airlines will now be required to refund any fee for carrying a bag if the bag is lost. Airlines will also be required to apply the same baggage allowances and fees for all segments of a trip, including segments with interline and code share partners. Airlines are already required to compensate passengers for reasonable expenses for loss, damage or delay in the carriage of passenger baggage.


Full Disclosure of Additional Fees. Airlines will also have to prominently disclose all potential fees on their websites, including but not limited to fees for baggage, meals, canceling or changing reservations, or advanced or upgraded seating. In addition, airlines and ticket agents will be required to refer passengers both before and after purchase to up-to-date baggage fee information, and to include all government taxes and fees in every advertised price. Previously, government taxes and fees were not required to be included in the up-front fare quotation.


In addition, the rule announces that the Department will issue a supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking later this year that would require, among other things, that ancillary fees be displayed at all points of sale.


Bumping. Today’s rule doubles the amount of money passengers are eligible to be compensated for in the event they are involuntarily bumped from an oversold flight. Currently, bumped passengers are entitled to cash compensation equal to the value of their tickets, up to $400, if the airline is able to get them to their destination within a short period of time (i.e., within 1 to 2 hours of their originally scheduled arrival time for domestic flights and 1 to 4 hours of their originally scheduled arrival time for international flights). Bumped passengers are currently entitled to double the price of their tickets, up to $800, if they are delayed for a lengthy period of time (i.e., over two hours after their originally scheduled arrival time for domestic flights and over 4 hours after their originally scheduled arrival time for international flights). Under the new rule, bumped passengers subject to short delays will receive compensation equal to double the price of their tickets up to $650, while those subject to longer delays would receive payments of four times the value of their tickets, up to $1,300. Inflation adjustments will be made to those compensation limits every two years.


Tarmac Delays. The new rule expands the existing ban on lengthy tarmac delays to cover foreign airlines’ operations at U.S. airports and establishes a four hour hard time limit on tarmac delays for international flights of U.S. and foreign airlines, with exceptions allowed only for safety, security or air traffic control-related reasons. Carriers must also ensure that passengers stuck on the tarmac are provided adequate food and water after two hours, as well as working lavatories and any necessary medical treatment.
The extended tarmac delays experienced by passengers on international flights operated by foreign carriers at New York’s JFK Airport during the December 2010 blizzard was an important factor in the Department’s decision to extend the tarmac delay provisions to foreign air carriers and establish a four hour tarmac delay limit for international flights.


The Department of Transportation’s rule will make air travel simpler and easier in a number of other ways, including:

Requiring airlines to allow reservations to be held at the quoted fare without payment, or cancelled without penalty, for at least 24 hours after the reservation is made, if the reservation is made one week or more prior to a flight’s departure date.


Requiring airlines to promptly notify consumers of delays of over 30 minutes, as well as cancellations and diversions. This notification must take place in the boarding gate area, on a carrier’s telephone reservation system and on its website.


Banning post-purchase fare increases unless they are due to government-imposed taxes or fees, and only if the passenger is notified of and agrees to the potential increase at the time of sale.


Requiring more airlines to report lengthy tarmac delays at U.S. airports with DOT, including data for international flights and charter flights. Previously, only the 16 largest U.S. passenger carriers were required to file this data, and only for domestic scheduled flights.


Secretary LaHood announced the first airline consumer protection rule in December 2009, and that rule has resulted in the near-elimination of lengthy tarmac delays. Between May 2010 and February 2011, the first full 10 months the rule was in effect, the largest U.S. airlines reported only 16 tarmac delays of more than three hours, compared to 664 from May 2009 through February 2010. The new rule also required these airlines to post on-time performance information for each domestic flight they or their code-share partners operate.

Most provisions of the rule will take effect 120 days after its publication in the Federal Register. The final rule, proposed rule and comments are available on the Internet at www.regulations.gov, docket DOT-OST-2010-0140.

-END

Contact: Olivia Alair • Tel: (202) 366-4570



Consumer Protection, tarmac delays, lost bag reimbursement, etc.

AWD

Airworthiness Directive (Revised) for 737.

Bachelors in China

Now. . .really. . .do you think these guys are all gonna be satisfied with internet porn.?

Limited English Proficiency

Prohibition Against Discrimination.

Japan After the Quake

CRS Report.

PBS.


Radiated Oceans.

Egypt In Transition

Scholars.

TSA Unionizing

Vote.

Wide Load

Comin' Thru.

TWIC

Identity Credential.

Lincoln Assassination and Military Tribunals

Lessons.

Go See.

what?

Quarantine.

There are only a few

Fake Pilots.

check flight status

Atlanta: Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport

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  Baltimore/Washington D.C. International Airport
  
• 
  Boston: Logan Airport
  
• 
  Chicago: Midway
  
• 
  Chicago: O'Hare
  
• 
  Cleveland: Hopkins International Airport
  
• 
  Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport
  
• 
  Dallas: Love Field
  
• 
  Dener International Airport
  
• 
  Detroit Metro Airport
  
• 
  Indianapolis International Airport
  
• 
  Las Vegas McCarran International Airport
  
• 
  Los Angeles/Orange County: John Wayne Airport
  
• 
  Los Angeles International Airport
  
• 
  Memphis International Airport
  
• 
  Miami International Airport
  
• 
  Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport
  
• 
  New York City: Kennedy Airport
  
• 
  New York City: LaGuardia Airport
  
• 
  New York City/New Jersey: Newark Liberty International Airport
  
• 
  Oakland International Airport
  
• 
  Orlando International Airport
  
• 
  Philadelphia International Airport
  
• 
  San Antonio International Airport
  
• 
  San Diego International Airport
  
• 
  Seattle-Tacoma International Airport
  
• 
  Salt Lake City International Airport
  
• 
  Washington, D.C.: Dulles International Airport
  
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  Washington, D.C.: Reagan National Airport
  

Airlines

Air Canada

AirTran Airways

America West (U.S. Airways)

American Airlines

British Airways

China Airlines

Continental Airlines

Delta Airlines

Frontier Airlines

Houston Express

Iberia

JetBlue

KLM

Lan Airlines

Lufthansa

Northwest Airlines

Southwest Airlines

Sun Country

MSY

Six Year Old Pat Down.

Another 6 year old.

Video of Six Year Old Frisk Sparks Anger.

Radiation Dose

body scanning at airports. (from the UK)

More.

Radiation Doseage.

EU airline passenger rights

Measures to 'clarify' enforcement.

Carbon Emmissions Trading Scheme

Hot.

Flying Blind

How spending cuts threaten passenger safety, from the NYTimes.

Guide to Being Bumped

NYTimes.

Superbug NDM-1

Boys and Girls, did I not say, bring your own wipes.? This thing has migrated from New Delhi to Britian. Just in time for the Royal Wedding, huh? Well, thanks, but I think I'll just watch it from here.

Potential Spread, Internationally.

Here's the data on sanitation aboard aircraft.


Transmission onboard aircraft and inside airports. Who knew?

The epidermis is a very active site of cholesterol synthesis, and after barrier disruption in the murine model, there is a brisk increase in epidermal cholesterol synthesis. Moreover, if the increase in epidermal cholesterol synthesis is inhibited by the topical application of statins, barrier function is impaired.4
Therefore, it is plausible that systemic statin therapy alters epidermal cholesterol homeostasis, resulting in barrier inadequacy and impaired innate immune function of the skin,5 leaving it more vulnerable to external pathogens and resulting bacteremia. Importantly, this needs to be investigated, particularly in light of the increasing and widespread use of high-dose statin therapy. (this means all of yous guys out there trying to lower your risk of heart disease by taking these meds!) Talk to your doctor about taking CQ10 along with them, or better yet, get off them completely! Seach for Dr. Graveline on google and see what this former NASA flight surgeon has to say about this stuff. In any case, it is important to be informed about how taking this class of drug can impair your skin's ability to resist a super bug like MRSA or the NDM-1 that you may come into contact with while traveling. God bless and keep you all.

SWA's decision process

These are the kind of people one wants to work for. Their decision process centered on whether or not they had enough information to protect the safety of their passengers. Not many like that around.

Boeing and Composite Risks.

Close 'nuff fo gob'mnt work

Should the Gob'mnt run the airlines.? Why not. They run everything else.

7-5 Airworthiness Directive Notice in Federal Register

We are
proposing this AD to prevent the
potential for ignition sources inside fuel
tanks caused by latent failures,
alterations, repairs, or maintenance
actions, which, in combination with
flammable fuel vapors, could result in a
fuel tank explosion and consequent loss
of the airplane.DATES: We must receive comments on
this proposed AD by May 23, 2011.

Federal Register Notice.

what if I just don't do it?

Informed Consent

Our form of gob'mnt depends upon it.

from Schneier.com

Study.

Preview of Subject of New Book. We're Waiting!

FAA Budget, Statement of J.Randolph Babbitt

2012.

GAO on Passenger Behavior Detection Program

Aviation Security: TSA takes Steps to Validate Science Underlying Passenger Behavior Detection Program, from the GAO.

excerpt:

From the summary:

The attempted passenger aircraft bombing of Northwest flight 253 on December 25, 2009, provided a vivid reminder that the civil aviation system remains an attractive terrorist target. To enhance aviation security, in October 2003 the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Transportation Security Administration (TSA) began testing of its Screening of Passengers by Observation Techniques (SPOT) program to identify persons who may pose a risk to aviation security. The SPOT program utilizes behavior observation and analysis techniques to identify potentially high-risk passengers. This testimony provides information on (1) the extent to which TSA has validated the scientific basis for SPOT and (2) other operational challenges. This statement is based on a prior report GAO issued in May 2010 on SPOT, including selected updates made in March 2011. For the updates, GAO reviewed documentation on TSA's progress in implementing the report's recommendations.

As GAO reported in May 2010, TSA deployed its behavior detection program nationwide before first determining whether there was a scientifically valid basis for the program. According to TSA, the program was deployed before a scientific validation of the program was completed in response to the need to address potential security threats. However, a scientific consensus does not exist on whether behavior detection principles can be reliably used for counterterrorism purposes, according to a 2008 report of the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences. DHS is conducting a study on the scientific basis of SPOT. Thus, in May 2010, GAO recommended that DHS convene an independent panel of experts to review the methodology of its study. DHS concurred and stated that it is convening an independent panel to review its current efforts to help validate the scientific basis for the program, which is expected to complete its work by early April 2011.

Nonetheless, DHS's study to assess SPOT is not designed to fully validate whether behavior detection can be used to reliably identify individuals in an airport environment who pose a security risk. For example, factors such as the length of time behavior detection officers (BDO) can observe passengers without becoming fatigued are not part of the plan and could provide additional information on the extent to which SPOT can be effectively implemented. The results of a panel to review DHS's methodology could help ensure a rigorous, scientific validation of SPOT. As GAO previously reported, TSA experienced SPOT operational challenges, including not systematically collecting and analyzing information obtained by BDOs on passengers who may pose a threat to the aviation system. Better utilizing existing resources would enhance TSA's ability to quickly verify passenger identity and could help TSA to more reliably "connect the dots" with regard to persons who pose a threat. Thus, GAO recommended that TSA clarify BDO guidance for inputting information into the database used to track suspicious activities, and develop a schedule to expand access to this database across all SPOT airports. TSA agreed and in March 2011 stated that it has revised the SPOT standard operating procedures on how BDOs are to input data into the database used to report suspicious activities. TSA plans to implement these revised procedures in April 2011. TSA also reported that all SPOT airports have access to this database as of March 2011. In addition, GAO reported that individuals allegedly involved in six terrorist plots transited SPOT airports. GAO recommended in May 2010 that TSA study the feasibility of using airport video recordings of the behaviors exhibited by persons transiting airport checkpoints who were later charged with or pleaded guilty to terrorism-related offenses. GAO reported that such recordings could provide insights about behaviors that may be common among terrorists or could demonstrate that terrorists do not generally display any identifying behaviors. TSA agreed that studying airport videos could be a useful tool in understanding terrorist behaviors in the airport environment and in March 2011 reported that it is exploring ways to better utilize such recordings. GAO has made recommendations in prior work to strengthen TSA's SPOT program.

TSA generally concurred with the recommendations and has actions under way to address them. GAO provided the updated information to TSA. TSA had no comment.

Global Entry Gateway

AviationNews.

Gob'mnt Secrecy

Choking off the Congressional Research Service Reports from the commoner.

Air Consumer Report

April, 2011. You'll be happy to hear there were no delays longer than 3 hours!

Air France Wreckage Found

From the Economist.

O2 masks had not deployed on doomed airliner.

Aircraft Structural Failures

update: April 5, 2011
5 jets with cracks.
update: April 6, 2011
We expected them to last longer.

Date: April 4, 2011

Contact: Sasha Johnson or Laura Brown

Phone: 202-267-3883



FAA Will Mandate Inspections for Early Models of 737 Aircraft



WASHINGTON, D.C. – The FAA will issue an emergency directive tomorrow that will require operators of specific early Boeing 737 models to conduct initial and repetitive electromagnetic inspections for fatigue damage. This action will initially apply to a total of approximately 175 aircraft worldwide, 80 of which are U.S.-registered aircraft. Most of the aircraft in the U.S. are operated by Southwest Airlines.



“Safety is our number one priority,” said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “Last Friday’s incident was very serious and could result in additional action depending on the outcome of the investigation.”



“The FAA has comprehensive programs in place to protect commercial aircraft from structural damage as they age,” said FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt. “This action is designed to detect cracking in a specific part of the aircraft that cannot be spotted with visual inspection.”



The FAA airworthiness directive will require initial inspections using electromagnetic, or eddy-current, technology in specific areas of the aircraft fuselage on certain Boeing 737 aircraft in the -300, -400 and -500 series that have accumulated more than 30,000 flight cycles. It will then require repetitive inspections at regular intervals.



Last November, the FAA published a rule designed specifically to address widespread fatigue damage in aging aircraft. The rule requires aircraft manufacturers to establish a number of flight cycles or hours a plane can operate and be free from fatigue damage. The rule requires aircraft manufacturers to incorporate the limits into their maintenance programs.



###






History, Aloha roof comes off, 1988.

AA, 75, out of MIA.
(you'll have to wait for the pics to load)


SWA, recent.

More on SWA hole in roof of 737.

FAA Orders.

History of Structural Failure, Coming to Understand.