Sounds like a Civil Liberties lawsuit waiting to happen to me.
Maybe one of the Law professionals I’ve seen posting on other posts could chime in on this one.
I’d be curious to know if you can be repeatedly targeted because of your completely legal reading material, which is probably for sale at the Newsstand of most Airports that you’ve traveled through.
Smoke
2 years ago i came back from america with my hand luggage stuffed full of model rr. stock and there was no problem at either airport and definitely no problem with x-rays and loco’s
Gav
Well yeah, as a nuclear bomb has a tendancy to destroy everything in the area![swg]
Americas not alone on this, I had two Athearn undecorated Genesis P42’s confiscated by Australian customs here in Queensland, Australia last year, took a month to get them cleared, so I would guess they were X-Rayed and looked like miniature Scud missiles to warrant their examination so closely, they still work, and they still don’t explode.
It really is all for our own good, I don’t think the X-ray will hurt, it’s the interpretation of the X-ray that can be the painful part.
Teditor.
That is the problem in a nutshell - it doesn’t ensure anything (except a densely packed group of soft targets outside the security boundary). It’s just a feel good measure. (*) Because people think it is ensures safety or even “means my plane won’t crash”, they are willing to put up with more and more - or worse and worse . . .
Anyhoo. . . I sure liked travelling in trains in Europe where I could arrive at the station eight minutes before departure, walk right up and get to my seat, and be sure - no certain - it would arrive and leave on time. Quite depressing to go through the dip line and board the winged cattle car to come home.
KL
(*) Like the soldiers with M16s and no magazines in them standing next to regular armed airport police. What benefit was there to a guy carrying a 5.56mm club?
Yeah, we all know how dangerous those ‘‘monthly assault magazines’’ are, what thinking man needs one of those anyway?? all they are for is entertaining people 30 times a second or for use by terrorists who might show a picture of an M4 to the stewardess and say ‘‘I am going to buy one of these and hi-jack this airplane!!’’ LOL
I didn’t fly before all this nonesense with "Homeland security’’ and I’m sure not going to start now!..those idiots confiscate nail clippers…NAIL CLIPPERS???..has anyone EVER been killed or even hurt with a set of clippers??? maybe some doofus who cut off the tip of his finger! LOL Jeesh!! what a bunch of morons!
Anyway, only thing I see causing a problem is if one of the dimwits running the machine sees the motor and thinks it’s a bomb.
The bad thing is all the funny looks the rest of the passengers give you after they see you being searched for the third time! [:(!]I didn’t even know why they were putting me through all that till I remembered that magazine in my luggage. I asked the guard if it was because of the magazine and he nodded yes. I’d rather just drive now![xx(]Takes less time.
Just to drop my 2[2c] I recall a reading about a member of my weathering forum being stopped due to strange shape showing up in the x-ray machine. It turned out to be the weight in an Intermountain covered hopper that he was taking with him to work on during his business trip. Once they saw what it was, they said everything was fine, & let him move on.
I have my thoughts on some of the Homeland Security issues too, but this isn’t the place to argue them IMO & (hint, hint!)
I just thought of something. How many locomotives are shipped Air Mail everyday? Tons and I know UPS, Fed Ex, USPS and our Canadian Postal Service Xrays everything that goes on a plane.
Since when??[%-)] The whole complaint has been that the stuff in the cargo hold (other than passenger luggage) doesn’t get ANY kind of check. Same thing with MOST of the shipping containers that enter the country. Shipping schedules don’t allow time for checks like that.
To the best of my knowledge, the only thing to which shipped good are subjected is the idiotic over reaction of the US Postal Service who have irradiated most mail since the anthrax incident years ago. The proceedure has fogged a lot of film, but otherwise seems harmless. I am not aware of a single anthrax attack the incredibly expensive process has prevented. That, and the new rule that packages have to be handed to a postal employee rather than dropped in a remote box. I have no idea how that is supposed to improve security. Just more of the “I’ll protect you” illusion to which we seem to be addicted.
If you wanted a single phrase to describe America today it would be paranoid gross overreaction.
That particular rule was implemented to protect postal workers, even though they kill more of themselves than anyone else [swg].
And Phoebe Vet, I don’t think you need to apoligize for speaking your mind in our “free” America. though your post was off the main topic, it was a lot more relavant to the topic than some posts I’ve seen on other threads here. (insert religious icon here) Bless You and Your Family, and Happy Holidays to All…(religious icon) Knows we ALL need it.
They do screen checked bags, too. I don’t know what percentage of bags get screened, or whether they are able to do this at all airports. They use “sniffers” that detect stuff which indicates explosives. I’ve been stopped by a “sniffer” on a carry-on, which contained a camcorder. We never did figure out what triggered the alarm. They thought it was residues from hand cream or suntan lotion.
As much as we belittle the TSA efforts and the inconvenience they cause, we haven’t had an incident for a long, long time. So, you can’t really say that it doesn’t work, any more than you can say that it does work.
And I, for one, will always try to be polite, even friendly, towards the TSA people. Most of them are just working stiffs like the rest of us. They drink beer, and around here, they root for the Red Sox and Patriots. They think gas costs too much, and their little girls grow up too soon. Yeah, there are a few rotten apples, but by and large they’re just trying to do their jobs. So, don’t confuse the folks behind the moving belt with the dingbats in Washington that are to blame for all of this.
But you know what does weird me out? They let knitting needles on airplanes. Man, those things could easily double as a stilletto.
“So, don’t confuse the folks behind the moving belt with the dingbats in Washington that are to blame for all of this.”
The dingbats in Washington cannot do the things they do unless the “folks behind the moving belt” are willing to carry out the dingbat’s orders, and unless the sheeple are willing to stand in line like lemmings and submit to it.
I, for one, will not.
Fortunately, so far Amtrak still treats it’s passengers like humans.
Loather, EVERYTHING gets checked that goes on a plane. They don’t care if its a envelope or a huge box. Email UPS and Fed Ex and ask them. You think George Bush is going to let planes fly over the USA that haven’t been checked for bombs, lol. This isn’t the 70’s anymore. Friends of mine use to ship their film by Fed Ex when they were in other countries for months at a time but they stopped because the film was being damaged. When they checked into why they were told they were x-rayed. They started doing this a few years ago, the Post Office even longer. Containers on the other hand hardly ever get checked but there is a plan in the works to get them checked.
To put an end to SOME of this debate, I called UPS directly and asked ((and probly sent up some red flags…[:-^] )) , They said that “…all air freight is subject to, but not guaranteed to be, x-rayed…”.
Sometimes I wonder if the DPS (Dept. of Public Safety, or whatever you call it in your area) is truly testing people’s skills to operate a motor vehicle in a safe manner. The way a lot of these licensed moronic drivers plow their way on the road with cell phone in one hand and food in the other makes me sick. I wish they would make cell phone usage while driving illegal and I also would like the state agencies to make a new driver’s license class for people who want to drive a SUV, or any vehicle larger than a typical car. Why would anyone give a moron a license to operate a vehicle that weighs a 1/2 ton or more when they can’t even keep the darn thing in the lane, or park it for that matter? They have a motorcycle license, CDL’s for large trucks, they need to make a SUV class license !!
[soapbox]
Now to the OP, the idea that someone suggested (name escapes me) about mailing the engine to yourself is a really good idea. If I ever find myself in your situation, I’ll probably go that route.
Thanks.