CNN will just not let this die

"G.R. Patterson III" wrote in message
Sam O'Nella wrote:

The issue is the people doing these acts aren't exactly mentally mature,
and
hearing about people doing this on the news gives them an idea that they
WOULDN'T have had otherwise. The media can certainly control and be
RESPONSIBLE for what they print.

Then I think it's great that the media are publicizing the fact that, if
you
lase pilots, you might get arrested and subjected to a great deal of
trouble and
expense.

Even though you haven't harmed anyone. They might note that. Wait until
someone gets arrested while using a laser pointer to explain basic astronomy
to kids. Won't that be news!

moo

"Dudley Henriques" wrote in message

What happens is that the more you lean in a direction like this, the more
you lean away from the issue of personal responsibility.
It's not the press who has the laser, it's the person who pointed it and
shot it at the cockpit.
snip
As rotten as the press is, and I think we all agree on THAT issue, it's
their job to report these incidents. In fact, it's actually a good thing
that incidents like this ARE reported so we can take action against those
doing these things.
It's true that there are nut cases out there who could be prompted to use
a laser on an airliner because they read about it in a newspaper, but
taking on the newspaper instead of the criminal isn't the solution; that
is unless you want to have no free press, and allow someone pointing a
laser in a cockpit to blame their action on something other than their own
desire to point it and fire it!

The press has failed the public by not investigating the claims. (Nothing
new here.) The pilot who claims to have suffered permanent eye damage is,
likely, lying or deluded. Pilots claiming that they were momentarily
blinded by a 5mw hand held laser pointer at a range of miles are lying or
crazy. It's a non-issue. It's hype. It's presented in an unbalanced
manner for the purpose of instilling fear (which sells more media). The
idiot in NY was charged under the Patriot Act! Hello??? Has anyone,
outside of the forum, heard any information from any credible source telling
them there's nothing to worry about? I suspect that this is the issue the
original poster meant to raise.

hd

I would agree that it is the duty of the press to report what is
happening in the world around us - and it would be just great
if they could be objective in all cases. But as we all know, they
all too often sensationalize occurrences for their own benefit.
I believe that this does tend to produce copycat crimes. Should
we blame the press for pushing these unstable folks over the
edge? Probably not. But I do believe that many would never have
gotten the idea but for the excesses of journalism. As an example
I would suggest the rash of airline hijackings that occurred back
in the '60s.

David Johnson

wrote in message
ups.com...
[...] But as we all know, they
all too often sensationalize occurrences for their own benefit.

All too often? I'd say they do it pretty much every time.

I believe that this does tend to produce copycat crimes.

Why would it? How does sensationalizing a crime encourage more copycat
crimes than simply reporting it?

On 12 Jan 2005 22:18:35 -0800, wrote in
. com::

Should we blame the press for pushing these unstable folks over the
edge?

It would appear that the press may not be required to do any pushing:


http://www.usatoday.com/news/washing...aircraft_x.htm
Posted 1/11/2005 8:21 PM Updated 1/12/2005 2:29 PM

More reports of lasers being shot into airplane cockpits
WASHINGTON (AP) — Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta said
Wednesday there have been 400 reports of lasers being beamed at
airplanes since 1990 and the Federal Aviation Administration will now
require pilots to immediately report such incidents to air traffic
controllers, who will be required to notify law enforcement officials.

The lasers can temporarily blind pilots. A cluster of incidents
received wide attention between Christmas and New Year's Day.
Authorities believe copycats who have heard news reports about the
lasers apparently have been involved in some of the more recent
incidents.

Mineta said in a news conference at the FAA's aeronautical research
center in Oklahoma City that 31 of these incidents have been reported
since Dec. 31, including one Tuesday night in Phoenix, Ariz. Nobody
was arrested in that incident, which involved a Southwest flight. The
new reporting requirements take effect Jan. 19.

....

The FBI and Homeland Security Department sent a memo to law
enforcement agencies in November saying they had evidence terrorists
have explored using lasers as weapons.

An FAA report released in June found that even the lowest-intensity
lasers temporarily impaired the vision of most of 34 pilots who were
studied in a flight simulator.

"Larry Dighera" wrote
It would appear that the press may not be required to do any pushing:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washing...aircraft_x.htm
Posted 1/11/2005 8:21 PM Updated 1/12/2005 2:29 PM

More reports of lasers being shot into airplane cockpits
WASHINGTON (AP) - Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta said
Wednesday there have been 400 reports of lasers being beamed at
airplanes since 1990 and the Federal Aviation Administration will now
require pilots to immediately report such incidents to air traffic
controllers, who will be required to notify law enforcement officials.

Hello? This includes many, many, incidents around Las Vegas. At one time,
there were dozens of high power lasers sweeping the skys. It happend when
relatively cheap and very high powered Nd YAG Lasers became available. It
was a complete zoo and really was a nuisance.

The current stuff is bull****. Pilots can be idiots like anyone else. The
colour of a DPSS (or most any visible) laser is utterly unmistakable. It
looks *weird*. And, throw in a bit of paranoia and you have people seeing
them in their soup. I now feel comfortable blaming every imperfect night
landing on them. The drag is that I now will have to call the police, CSIS,
CIA, DHS, FBI, Army, Navy and NASA every time I'm unhappy with a touchdown.
Idiots.

The lasers can temporarily blind pilots.

Not the 5 mw hand held ones at a range of miles. Idiots.

moo

These are tests of aiming devices for shoulder fired missles.


"Sam O'Nella" wrote in message
...
Did we not learn our lesson from Tylenol?

http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/01/11/las....ap/index.html

If there's a laser related aircraft incident, I hold the news broadcasters
at least partially responsible.

"OtisWinslow" wrote in message

These are tests of aiming devices for shoulder fired missles.

At least someone's got a sense of humour about this. (I assume...)

le moo


"Sam O'Nella" wrote in message
...
Did we not learn our lesson from Tylenol?

http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/01/11/las....ap/index.html

If there's a laser related aircraft incident, I hold the news
broadcasters at least partially responsible.

No humor intended. I think some of these people doing this could
indeed be testing their ability to track aircraft with them. I'm sure
there's
some copy cats .. but the whole thing makes me a little uneasy.


"Happy Dog" wrote in message
...
"OtisWinslow" wrote in message

These are tests of aiming devices for shoulder fired missles.

At least someone's got a sense of humour about this. (I assume...)

le moo

"Otis Winslow" wrote in message
...
No humor intended. I think some of these people doing this could
indeed be testing their ability to track aircraft with them. I'm sure
there's
some copy cats .. but the whole thing makes me a little uneasy.

Nope. Think about it. How does the sighting device know the relative
velocity of the target? Shooting a missile at a target a mile away is
nothing like shooting a rifle at a target a couple hundred metres away.
Factor in a potential relative lateral velocity of zero to over a hundred
m/s and there's no way. I'm not a weapons expert by any means. But I
really doubt that shoulder type rocket launchers would use this type of
sighting. (Unless, like guided bombs, the missile could follow the beam.)
IIRC, SAM missiles, including portable ones, are heat-seeking. Relax.

moo