Exchange Rate Dangers

Where or where to vacation.?

That tomatoe is now $3.00, Lady

Not so fast.

Unacompanied Minor

Operating as a different carrier.

Venus In Transit

June 5th Transit Across the Sun, viewing.

Arming Italy's Drones

Reaper drones and upgrade kits.

Redesigning the Bomb

New Design.

Flame

Spyware.

Now comes the revolution

Egypt.

Now. . . that's love

In case you missed it.

No Chat Policy

We appreciate your interest in the items posted here. We regard this space as an international break room of sorts, some place you can come and pick up whatever is on the coffee table while you put up your feet, things you might not otherwise have seen,(because you were flying or working on something or were just asleep on a jet somewhere over the North Atlantic when the story broke).

Unfortunately, we cannot afford to be candid with people we do not know personally and have not known for many years and had an on-going interaction with for an extended period of time. . .you know, they are a known quantity. . .therefore, we respectfully decline your offers to chat and wish you well in your rummaging for information on what it means to be a citizen of the world. . .in an era of electronic surveillance. Best wishes, us.

United's Million Mile Club

Frequent Flyer Sues.(via CourtHouseNews.com)

Patting Down Grandma

Rules are Rules.

Anatomy of a Revolution

Egypt.

Tourism

London.

Implantable

USAir.

Domestic Terrorist Activity

From the Union of Concerned Scientists.

Competing on Ice

National Security and Climate Change.

On The Beach

China, Military & Security Developments.
On The Beach(2005). (Best End of the World Movie)

Indefinite Detention of Suspects

Including Citizens.

Eclipse Viewing Locations

Space Weather News for May 18, 2012.

ANNULAR SOLAR ECLIPSE: On Sunday, May 20th, the Moon will pass in front of the Sun, producing a "ring of fire" solar eclipse visible across the Pacific side of Earth from China to the United States. Observing tips, visibility maps, and links to live webcasts may be found at
SpaceWeather(dot)com.

Autonomous Drones?

EFF. How long do you think it will take for any Enemy of the State to learn how to remote hijack one of these drones and fly it into a passenger jet? They (the drones) don't even show up on radar. We can't be the only ones who have thought of this. Airport Security looks like a joke in this scenario. Perhaps this is the screen play Schneier. has been looking for, you know, the story goes like this: the same group that engineered the Stuxnet Virus figures out how to "slave" the drones in U.S. Airspace. Might work. Sell a lot of tickets, or at least one here. Take a Look At These Things, via Cryptome.org.

New Virus. As of May 29, 2012, via NPR.org.

Arming Italy's Drones. (update, May 29, 2012)

Little Bird.

Wolves and Sheep (clothing optional)

Schneier on Airport Security.

Immigration of Foreign Nationals

Geeks Wanted, we're too busy developing rock and roll stars to bother.

Laser Strikes on Cockpits

I feel safer already.

New Airline Bomb Plot

PETN.

CourtHouseNews

DisruptivePassengerLawsuit.

On Time

The Bureau of Transportation Statistics today released March airline on-time and tarmac numbers. Here is a summary of tables posted on the BTS website. Monday, May 14, 2012 Contact: Dave Smallen Tel.: (202) 366-5568 david.smallen@dot.gov BTS Stats BTS airport rankings on flight delays and other summary tables can be found at http://www.bts.gov/programs/airline_information/airline_ontime_tables/ The Air Travel Consumer Report released today by the U.S. Department of Transportation can be found HERE. The Department of Transportation press release can be found HERE. Tarmac times can be found HERE. The tables posted on the BTS website are:
Table 1: On-time arrival performance during the first three months of 2012 (83.96) was the highest for the January-March period in the 18 years with comparable numbers. The cancellation rate for the three-month period (1.17) was the lowest in the 18 years with comparable numbers. Note that the number of reporting carriers has varied.
Table 2: March, with 82.19 percent of flights arriving on time, was the 42nd highest month of the 207 months with comparable records. On-time performance in March 2012 was the second highest for any March and above the average of 77.50 for March in the previous 17 years. The cancellation rate of 1.04 percent in March 2012 was the lowest for any March and the 31st lowest for any month.
Table 3: Phoenix (89.29) had the highest and Newark (66.55) had the lowest on-time arrival performance of the 29 busiest airports in March.
Table 4: Salt Lake City (88.65) had the highest; Newark (73.36) and San Francisco (73.37) had the lowest on-time arrival performance of the 29 busiest airports for the three-month January-March period.
Table 5: Salt Lake City (89.40) had the highest and San Francisco (69.75) had the lowest on-time departure performance of the 29 busiest airports in March.
Table 6: Salt Lake City (89.53) had the highest; Newark (76.29) and San Francisco (76.34) had the lowest on-time departure performance of the 29 busiest airports for the three-month January-March period.
Tarmac Times: There were three domestic tarmac times of more than three hours in March, all taxi-ins at St. Louis on March 17. There were no international flights with tarmac times of more than four hours in March, the time period when airlines may be subject to enforcement. There were six international flights with tarmac time of more than three hours.
Most Delayed:
There were no chronically delayed flights for three-months or two months
In March, the most delayed flight was: SkyWest Flight 6378 from Sacramento to San Francisco. It operated 31 flights during the month and was 30 minutes late or canceled 77.4 percent of the time, averaging 89 minutes late.
For the tables, see This. For other airports and more detailed information, see This. For causes of delay, see This. For tarmac times, see
Tarmac Times,here. For chronically-delayed flights, see
Same ole story.

Robot Warriors

James Cameron's FutureGames.

Latest Bomb Plot

NYTimes Coverage.

Transporting Nuc'ler Materials by Air

Please don't.

Internet Tacking

How to Muddy Your Trail, from the NYTimes.

Air India

Air India DOT 48-12 Thursday, May 3, 2012
Contact: Bill Mosley
Tel.: (202) 366-4570
Air India Fined for Violation of New Airline Consumer Rules
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) today assessed a civil penalty of $80,000 against Air India for failing to post customer service and tarmac delay contingency plans on its website as well as failing to adequately inform passengers about its optional fees. This the first penalty assessed for a violation of the Department’s new airline consumer rules that took effect Aug. 23, 2011. “Our new airline consumer rules help ensure that passengers are fully informed about airline services and fees and what to expect if their flight is delayed on the tarmac,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said. “We will continue to monitor carriers to make sure they comply with our rules and take enforcement action when they do not.” Beginning Aug. 23, 2011, foreign carriers operating to the United States with at least one aircraft of 30 or more seats have been required to adopt contingency plans for lengthy tarmac delays as well as customer service plans, and to post these plans on their websites. U.S. carriers have been covered by this requirement since April 29, 2010. In addition, also beginning Aug. 23, both U.S. carriers and foreign carriers with a website that sells tickets to U.S. consumers have been required to include on their homepages a prominent hyperlink that takes viewers directly to a page that shows all fees for optional services the carrier charges, including baggage fees. Air India failed to post its customer service and tarmac delay contingency plans and to provide a link to its optional fees by the required date. The consent order is available on the Internet at www.regulations.gov, docket DOT-OST-2012-0002.

Cyber Security

GAO Report.