Post #42,165
6/13/02 3:20:17 AM
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Think yer afraid of flying now? re air traffic controllers
Ronnie's Spirit festers in Bushie.
From SF Chronicle: [buried amidst the truss ads]
Two decades after Pres. Ronald Reagan fired striking air traffic controllers, President Bush quietly signed an executive order stripping their successors of guaranteed government jobs.
[notice the way "stripping of govt. jobs" substitutes for, "losing FAA control" of same? Gotta love journalese]
The report says air traffic control is no longer "an inherently governmental function", meaning that it doe not require federal employees and therefore the government could hire a private company to take over.
Bush has proposed studying whether to hire a private company to take over the air traffic control system, now run by the FAA.
This is the Captain speaking..
Well, folks the temp from Manpower, Inc. says he thinks there's a good chance we can take off and make Chicago, even though our 737 might be a leeetle close to that 747 just ahead - but don't y'all worry pretty little heads; I've got my Lucky rabbit testicles along and our controller's workin on his GED in between flights.
Enjoy yer flights, you Frequent Fliers...
(And May Air Force 1 get to make a lot of hide & seek hops all over, via the New $y$tem)
Ashton
Trainman to you, for the duration of the Afflicted Years.
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Post #42,173
6/13/02 8:30:18 AM
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Now now Aston...
don't go scaring people like that. Next thing you know, you'll be pointing out that terrorists could get themselves jobs as Air Traffic Controllers and use their positions to
direct planes into tall buildings.
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Post #42,181
6/13/02 10:02:13 AM
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is aircraft control an inherently government function?
Is highway design managed by government or do they outsource to contract engineers? Can a new horde of H1b's speaking hindlish be ready to take over at much lower rates?
If all you had to do was file a flight plan over a designated route and have local towers clear you for landing and take off with the airlines being in charge, much as they are now such a bad idea? Invest in greyhound stock now.
thanx,
bill
TAM ARIS QUAM ARMIPOTENS
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Post #42,199
6/13/02 11:58:02 AM
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On the plus side
Maybe if these functions go to contractors, they'll put some updated equipment in the towers. Something less than 30 years old. Of course if they do, will it be run by Microshaft products? Did I say this was a plus? Damn, now I'm scaring myself!
~~~)-Steven----
"I want you to remember that no bastard ever won a war by dying for his country.
He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country..."
General George S. Patton
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Post #42,200
6/13/02 12:08:40 PM
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They might get..
...better radar than the tv stations.
You were born...and so you're free...so Happy Birthday! Laurie Anderson
[link|mailto:bepatient@aol.com|BePatient]
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Post #42,212
6/13/02 12:34:12 PM
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Hey, don't knock old...
...after all, how old are the computer systems in the space shuttle?
Old != bad
InThane - Now running Ashton rev 2.0
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Post #42,317
6/14/02 1:36:19 AM
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Wrong solution to the wrong problem.
Browse the [link|http://catless.ncl.ac.uk/Risks|Risks List] sometime. Stories abound about upgrade attempts to airport systems - often way way over budget, under specced, very buggy or just plain don't work.
Wade.
"Ah. One of the difficult questions."
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Post #42,201
6/13/02 12:09:26 PM
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The next logical step: privatize the FBI and the CIA.
The INS, the DEA and the ATF, too. Unless, that is, you believe that the government is our friend.
[link|http://www.angelfire.com/ca3/marlowe/index.html|http://www.angelfir...e/index.html]
Truth is that which is the case. Accept no substitutes.
If competence is considered "hubris" then may I and my country always be as "arrogant" as we can possibly manage.
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Post #42,258
6/13/02 4:45:04 PM
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The government isn't *supposed* to be "your friend"; it's...
...supposed to be YOU. If it isn't, that's YOUR fault.
So stop whining about "the government" as if it were some mysterious external "they"; that not only shows that you're being too lazy to take your civic responsibility and do something about the problems you see -- i.e, run for election -- but just generally makes you sound like a stupid whining American.
Oh, wait, I forgot...
Christian R. Conrad
Of course, who am I to point fingers? I'm in the "Information Technology" business, prima facia evidence that there's bats in the bell tower. -- [link|http://z.iwethey.org/forums/render/content/show?contentid=27764|Andrew Grygus]
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Post #42,228
6/13/02 1:27:29 PM
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Take the Train or the Bus
I think that AMTrack needs more customers as they are losing income. My wife's Uncle came to visit us from a AMTrack train from Chicago, it was cheaper than flying and had more room and stuff on it than airplanes. For example, it had power outlets for people to plug in laptops, or any other electrical devices. He said some business people had laptops, cell phones, and other stuff to do business while on the train. Plus there was more room between the seats to stretch and get some sleep.
We took a train from St. Louis to Hermann Missouri, and it was great, only $30USD round trip per person.
I am free now, to choose my own destiny.
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Post #42,306
6/13/02 11:09:07 PM
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I can see it now. A bunch of folks in a shack in Lahore, ..
India controlling traffic into Chicago's O'Hare airport over high speed communications links (encrypted for your safety). Remember Sahib, one dark room is as good as another and the price is right.
Alex
"Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing had happened." -- Winston Churchill (1874-1965)
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Post #42,378
6/14/02 4:53:25 PM
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You forgot: 'and running Win 9.x' because:
It's cheaper than the Expensive buggy spread.
Corporations run Popular ('cheap' but Expensive) software.
Corporations are about profits.
For their investors. Only.
But hey: suppose that, there might be an annual bonus for any 'operator' who hasn't crashed a plane. Yet? Or perhaps an extra 10 minutes in one of the 3 allowed daily potty breaks?
Were it a remotely sane world: it is to laugh.
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