CNN will just not let this die

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.

Did we not learn our lesson from Tylenol?

No.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

"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.

They won't even feel bad about it, because now they will have an even bigger
story to report.

"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.

I'd like to offer an alternate opinion on this if I may.

Although I sympathize with your feelings, and nobody detests the press
more than I do, I have to disagree with what you are saying.
It's very easy for good decent people to fall into this trap. 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.
You NEVER want to lose sight of this perspective. To do so, is to play
right into the hands of defense trail lawyers, who know all too well
that they can tear this reasoning apart easily.
If the press is responsible, or even partially responsible for someone
pointing a laser into a cockpit simply because they reported it, then
every woman who has been raped because she wore an attractive dress is
guilty as well; and that's where decent people who care about these
things like yourself make a HUGE mistake if they begin seeing things as
you are seeing them here.
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 day we lose the concept of personal responsibility in the United
States, is the day the trial lawyers win the entire shooting match.
Dudley Henriques
International Fighter Pilots Fellowship
Commercial Pilot/CFI Retired
for private email; make necessary changes between ( )
dhenriques(at)(delete all this)earthlink(dot)net

"Dudley Henriques" wrote in message
nk.net...
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!

People here have already (appropriately) drawn and quartered the subject.
What they are taking to task now is the willfully igroant and irresponsible
(see: sensationalizing) media.

The day we lose the concept of personal responsibility in the United
States, is the day the trial lawyers win the entire shooting match.

We already have. We're strong enough to endure the damage, but the flow is
inexorably downward and there are too many parasites interworking their
magic to abate the trend.

Sorry, I wish it were otherwise.


--
Matt
---------------------
Matthew W. Barrow
Site-Fill Homes, LLC.
Montrose, CO

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,

There you go.

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 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.

How would you feel if you walked into your kid's room and saw him on the
floor with his arm blown off from building an explosive from plans he saw in
a newspaper? Which party do you believe had the onus of responsibility?

Of course this all started with the government's brilliant issuing of a
bulletin it could happen. Nice self fulfilling prophecy there.
"Terrorist groups overseas have expressed interest in using these devices
against human sight," the bulletin said. "The U.S. intelligence community
has no specific or credible evidence that terrorists intend to use lasers to
target pilots in the homeland."

The day we lose the concept of personal responsibility in the United
States, is the day the trial lawyers win the entire shooting match.

Send the laser people to hell. Just don't make it even easier for them to
become one.

"Sam O'Nella" wrote in message
...
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.

Using that logic, we'd never hear about any bad news. Not that *I*
personally would necessarily mind that, but it does seem to be the primary
bread and butter for journalism to report bad news.

Like it or not, the media reports on any number of things that could be
copied by immature and/or stupid people. That's their job. It doesn't make
it their fault when someone else decides to do the same thing.

The airplane/laser story has shown up occasionally, and of course with the
recent arrest, a little more often. But around here, the "bad news"
reported is mostly car chases, armed robberies, and assault cases. All of
which are just as likely, or perhaps more so, to be emulated by someone
exposed to the news. I don't see you guys complaining about the news media
reporting *those* stories. Why not? They are much more common, much easier
to imitate, and much more likely to result in bodily harm to someone.

How would you feel if you walked into your kid's room and saw him on the
floor with his arm blown off from building an explosive from plans he saw
in a newspaper? Which party do you believe had the onus of
responsibility?

The party who had primary responsibility would be the hypothetical "you".
The parent who failed to properly educate his child on avoiding losing an
arm to explosives, and who apparently had no clue that their child was
gathering the necessary materials to build an explosive device. A close
second in line would be the kid who was so deficient mentally that, in spite
of having the technical wherewithal to actually build a bomb, didn't have
enough of a clue to take the necessary precautions that would help him avoid
bodily harm (the primary precaution being to just NOT DO THAT). Way down at
the bottom of the list would be the source of the plans for the explosives.

That said, it's not like the news media is printing plans for how to build a
laser, or instructions on how to target and track an airplane with a laser,
or even names and phone numbers of sources for lasers that could be used in
these attacks. Your analogy is pretty far off base, even if it did prove
the point you're trying to make (which it doesn't, not even close).

Pete

Of course this all started with the government's brilliant issuing of
a
bulletin it could happen. Nice self fulfilling prophecy there.

Of course, it's equally likely that an FBI agent heard a report of a
(kid's) laser shining at a plane, and came up with his own warning of
terrorists doing it. And the whole thing took on a life of its own
when other dumb citizens did it.

It's understandable for people with a new laser / light to simply be
stupid and aim it at planes, cars, neighbors, trees, etc. Heck, if you
had a new spotlight, wouldn't you shine it around a little just to see
what you could see? In the past, this would've just been what it is,
stupid. But with the coincidental FBI warning, it suddenly has becaome
a Patriot Act offense... which is legal overkill.

The only good thing about the press talking about it is that now
perhaps some good people will NOT aim at a plane, because they now
realize what kind of trouble it could get them into.

Cheers, Kev

"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

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.