New Airport Security Screening

[Kaige]

Eric, Mick was right clean up everything, and especialy the dirty sox. I can get a wiff here, Eric thanks for your help. E - night has been most helpful also. I am glad both of you had good news this week, I will get my sox picked up. LOL

[Mick]

Eric, Mick was right clean up everything, and especialy the dirty sox. I can get a wiff here, Eric thanks for your help. E - night has been most helpful also. I am glad both of you had good news this week, I will get my sox picked up. LOL

Kaige, we are all still waiting for an update on that hot pot table. How goes it?

[floyd]

They wouldn't have known if it was.  The first guy took the card with a puzzled look and looked at it like it was some new fangled invention and leans over to the person next to him with a, "Summa?" (What's this?).  She was the one who just started laughing.  In Shanghai, I charged a ticket three years ago, but Shenyang is .... well.... a bit more traditional.

Frankly, I do realize China is a cash economy somehow, although not even close to say Bulgaria or Romania , but I've never really had real probs using a visa or amex there in my 12 trips those past 2 + years..... Anywhere.. OK..... flea markets DO NOT take AMEX Gold. Dang...

You guys are paranoid

Bulgaria, now that is a neat country in many ways. A number of my friends in Bulgaria have gotten a credit card in the past year or so though, so maybe it will be changing there. At least you don't have to pay for your own spy, umm I mean guide, like you do to get the visa in China.

 

In China, we had our hotel reservations canceled a few times, then `amazingly' another hotel at a much higher price had rooms. When we went there they demanded cash despite having Visa and Mastercard logos out, and when I pointed this out to them they can not even look me in the eyes while talking to me. Then we heard some Japanese visitors yelling about how could their rooms be cancelled they had reserved months ago. They probably got sent to the first hotel at a then much higher rate also, wrong idea of 'win-win'!

 

In Bulgaria, I kept getting treated to things which I found embarressing, but could not manage to politely refuse even though I tried. I also sometimes make a mistake in peoples favor when I pay for things in a new country to see how they react, in Bulgaria they always gave me back the extra, in China they always kept it. They are just as poor, in fact probably even poorer now then many Chinese, but they are much more straigtforward to deal with and do not have a soak it to the tourist attitude that the Chinese do.

[Eric&Yuhui]

They wouldn't have known if it was.  The first guy took the card with a puzzled look and looked at it like it was some new fangled invention and leans over to the person next to him with a, "Summa?" (What's this?).  She was the one who just started laughing.  In Shanghai, I charged a ticket three years ago, but Shenyang is .... well.... a bit more traditional.

Frankly, I do realize China is a cash economy somehow, although not even close to say Bulgaria or Romania , but I've never really had real probs using a visa or amex there in my 12 trips those past 2 + years..... Anywhere.. OK..... flea markets DO NOT take AMEX Gold. Dang...

You guys are paranoid

Bulgaria, now that is a neat country in many ways. A number of my friends in Bulgaria have gotten a credit card in the past year or so though, so maybe it will be changing there. At least you don't have to pay for your own spy, umm I mean guide, like you do to get the visa in China.

 

In China, we had our hotel reservations canceled a few times, then `amazingly' another hotel at a much higher price had rooms. When we went there they demanded cash despite having Visa and Mastercard logos out, and when I pointed this out to them they can not even look me in the eyes while talking to me. Then we heard some Japanese visitors yelling about how could their rooms be cancelled they had reserved months ago. They probably got sent to the first hotel at a then much higher rate also, wrong idea of 'win-win'!

 

In Bulgaria, I kept getting treated to things which I found embarressing, but could not manage to politely refuse even though I tried. I also sometimes make a mistake in peoples favor when I pay for things in a new country to see how they react, in Bulgaria they always gave me back the extra, in China they always kept it. They are just as poor, in fact probably even poorer now then many Chinese, but they are much more straigtforward to deal with and do not have a soak it to the tourist attitude that the Chinese do.

Right.. I never paid for a single meal in Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia, Czech Republic etc. Although I was adament about it, my contacts were more adament to treat me as guest.. My best meal ever was in a restaurant outside Prague, Czech Republic.. THe best damn Carpacchio I've ever had !

To be fair, so were my Chinese clients.. Yuhui ande I were treated early January in Beijing to the best pecking duck place....Very old ... No way, I could treat said customer......I tried.... This was not negotiable............

[Joseph-1]

Don't mean to be offensive to anyone here. That is the beauty of this board, and America, we have the right to disagree and still be friends.

you'll hear from my lawyer soon you dweeb....

Will he send me a check? Or a background check????

 

BTW: Got that toilet cleaned yet? Be sure to use a brush, ok?

Mick : I got my checklist ready for this week-end my man !! Thanks for the reminder !

<excerpt of said list >

1/ Scan premises THOROUGHLY for any exe's long-forgotten letters/ pics

2/ Make sure the place looks like it's always been like that ! Geez

3/ Give neighbor the cherished S.I Swimsuit collection

4/ Hang giant 3 meters long poster on balcony " WELCOME TO AMERICA ! "

5/ Those December dirty dishes?? Yep.. Gotta go !

6/ Erase all computer "flirty" chats with stranger that you said you never had...

7/ Three words... Pizza-thons are out for a while !

8/ Toilet cleaning.. Note to self: Put the damn seat down !

9/ Dirty unmatched socks... See # 5

10/ Damn ! I can't wait Wednesday night !!!!!!!!!!

Good God Man! Are We Related?

[Mick]

I lived in Bulgaria for almost a year and really liked it there. Most of the people were friendly and all the business of daily living was fairly straightforward. Buying things, booking hotel rooms, travel arrangements, etc. were all much easier than here in China. Here, everything has to be negotiated and all arrangements are subject to last minute changes. It takes some getting use to.

[Kaige]

Mick I did my study on the hot pot table, it is a cross between the turkey cooker from Wal Mart and the table top from Northern Stores and the stainless steel from the scrap yard, I'll pick this up today, it is quite easy to make

[chinadave2001]

In regards to hotel booking, I have learned that my fiance has far more talent than me when it comes to China. She has this magic book of phone numbers for booking hotels - we never pay full price or get hassled either. We just stayed in a very nice hotel in downtown Shang Hai on a beautiful walking/shopping street for 240 rmb. That can't be beat. In December we stayed at a 5 star in Beijing for 460 rmb. For whatever reason, her discounts are far deeper than the ones that I can find on-line at so-called hotel discounters, using the same hotels. It just seems that when she does all the booking, we get hassled a lot less. And God help the person who tries to cheat us! She has the alter - ego that emerges - get out of the way!

dave

[lele]

I decided to post this for three reasons.

1.  We are all frequent fliers so we are all likely to be impacted by this.

2. It's more eveidence of the Big Brother mentality now prevalent in America.

3. It suggests to me, if I understand it, that Airlines can determine the security threat of a person in a matter of hours. Why, then, does it take our government so d@#$%^& long?

 

dave

 

 

U.S. plan: Threat level for every flyer

ACLU objects, calls background checks unconstitutional

Friday, February 28, 2003 Posted: 11:20 AM EST (1620 GMT)

 

 

 

Delta Air Lines will try the plan at three airports beginning next month.

 

A new system possibly would check financial records and terrorist watch lists to determine if airline ticket buyers are potential flight risks. CNN's Patty Davis reports. (February 28)

 

 

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Civil liberties groups are objecting to a government plan for a new system that would check background information and assign a threat level to everyone who buys a ticket for a commercial flight.

 

Activists see the potential for unconstitutional invasions of privacy and for database mix-ups that could lead to innocent people being branded security risks.

 

"This system threatens to create a permanent blacklisted underclass of Americans who cannot travel freely," said Katie Corrigan, a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union.

 

There also is concern that the government is developing the system without revealing how information will be gathered and how long it will be kept.

 

The system, ordered by Congress after the September 11 attacks, will gather much more information on passengers than has been done previously. Delta Air Lines will try it out at three undisclosed airports beginning next month, and a comprehensive system could be in place by the end of the year.

 

Transportation officials say a contractor will be picked soon to build the nationwide computer system, which will check such things as credit reports and bank account activity and compare passenger names with those on government watch lists.

 

Advocates say the system will weed out dangerous people while ensuring law-abiding citizens aren't given unnecessary scrutiny.

 

Transportation officials say CAPPS II -- Computer Assisted Passenger Prescreening System -- will use databases that already operate in line with privacy laws and won't profile based on race, religion or ethnicity.

 

"What it does is have very fast access to existing databases so we can quickly validate the person's identity," Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta said.

 

Airlines already do rudimentary checks

An oversight panel, which will include a member of the public, is being formed. The Transportation Security Administration will set up procedures to resolve complaints by people who say they don't belong on the watch lists.

 

Transportation Department spokesman Chet Lunner said a Federal Register notice saying the background information will be stored for 50 years is inaccurate. He said such information will be held only for people deemed security risks.

 

Jay Stanley, an ACLU spokesman, was skeptical.

 

"When it says in print, 50 years, we'd like to see something else in print to counter that," he said.

 

Airlines already do rudimentary checks of passenger information, such as method of payment, address and date the ticket was reserved. The system was developed by Northwest Airlines in the early 1990s to spot possible hijackers.

 

Unusual behavior, such as purchasing a one-way ticket with cash, is supposed to prompt increased scrutiny at the airport.

 

Capt. Steve Luckey, an airline pilot who helped develop the system, said CAPPS II will help discern a passenger's possible intentions before he gets on a plane.

 

Unlike the current system, in which data stays with the airlines' reservation systems, the new setup will be managed by TSA. Only government officials with proper security clearance will be able to use it.

 

Would you be a green, yellow or red risk?

CAPPS II will collect data and rate each passenger's risk potential according to a three-color system: green, yellow, red. When travelers check in, their names will be punched into the system and their boarding passes encrypted with the ranking. TSA screeners will check the passes at checkpoints.

 

The vast majority of passengers will be rated green and won't be subjected to anything more than normal checks, while yellow will get extra screening and red won't fly.

 

Paul Hudson, executive director of the Aviation Consumer Action Project, which advocates airline safety and security, is skeptical the system will work.

 

"The whole track record of profiling is a very poor to mixed one," Hudson said, noting incorrect profiles of the Unabomber and the Washington-area snipers.

 

Nine to 11 of the 19 hijackers on September 11 were flagged by the original CAPPS, but weren't searched because the system gave a pass to passengers who didn't check their bags, Hudson said. People without checked bags are now included.

It should be very interesting to note that the following people have RECENTLY been flagged as being terrorists (in both cases, the issue was cleared due to the person's popularity, however, if this were to happen to you or I, we would be completely without recourse...how sad!)

 

1. Senator Ted Kennedy (MA)

2. Senator Jim Corzine (NJ)

[lele]

In regards to hotel booking, I have learned that my fiance has far more talent than me when it comes to China. She has this magic book of phone numbers for booking hotels - we never pay full price or get hassled either. We just stayed in a very nice hotel in downtown Shang Hai on a beautiful walking/shopping street for 240 rmb. That can't be beat. In December we stayed at a 5 star in Beijing for 460 rmb. For whatever reason, her discounts are far deeper than the ones that I can find on-line at so-called hotel discounters, using the same hotels.  It just seems that when she does all the booking, we get hassled a lot less. And God help the person who tries to cheat us! She has the alter - ego that emerges - get out of the way!

dave

Sounds like a great deal for a 5-star in Beijing, I would love to know where...

 

But I hate to burste your bubble but My darling and I, together, negotiated an amazing price of 105 Yuan a night for a beautiful place right on NanJing Lu (2 blocks from the Bund and the Subway) in Shanghai.

 

However, I completely agree with you in that the attitude that one approaches a situation with will often help to influence the outcome. By being friendly, helpful, and offering to help out the employee working the desk, she in turn helped us out as well.