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Large explosion in Beirut... 23

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Limiting ones focus only to the Beirut explosion prevents learning from the event. The more important question to be asked is " How many other storage depots have similiar risks that are not being adequately addressed?" My guess is that if a complete and transparent inventory of all stored material that can be explosively detonated is revealed, many city warehouses , airport fuel depots, and railroad depots would be considered as unacceptable risks. That sort of risk analysis then continues to pipeline risks, fuel tank risks, etc. In developed countires there are codes and standards that apply risk management technologies to the tanks etc, but apparently this is not followed in some countries and in some types of depots. The recent upsurge in use of LNG in vehicles and the recent push for a hydrogen economy will likely be visited by a few accidents until the magnitude of their risks is fully appreciated. I will not mention the unaddressed risk for all such storage tanks that is introduced by the modern development of precision munitions.

"...when logic, and proportion, have fallen, sloppy dead..." Grace Slick
 
davefitz said:
Limiting ones focus only to the Beirut explosion prevents learning from the event. The more important question to be asked is " How many other storage depots have similiar risks that are not being adequately addressed?" My guess is that if a complete and transparent inventory of all stored material that can be explosively detonated is revealed, many city warehouses , airport fuel depots, and railroad depots would be considered as unacceptable risks. That sort of risk analysis then continues to pipeline risks, fuel tank risks, etc. In developed countires there are codes and standards that apply risk management technologies to the tanks etc, but apparently this is not followed in some countries and in some types of depots. The recent upsurge in use of LNG in vehicles and the recent push for a hydrogen economy will likely be visited by a few accidents until the magnitude of their risks is fully appreciated. I will not mention the unaddressed risk for all such storage tanks that is introduced by the modern development of precision munitions.
Click to expand...
Interesting story with a little bit of merit.

But most of those things you list are not 'explosive'. You listed a whole bunch of fuel risks. There is a difference between a fuel and something that is likely to be explosive. Likewise LNG and in particular LPG have been used in vehicles for years without cars going off like bombs. You seem to be stuck in the notion that a large tank of fuel is an explosion just waiting for a trigger.

That said, Beirut isn't the only place in the world with a large stockpile of AN near a population centre.
 
davefitz,

Nothing was hidden. When the ship docked, the crew warned everyone that the cargo was explosive and dangerous. Once the ammonium nitrate was transferred to a warehouse, multiple people contacted the authorities and warned them of the explosive hazard. The failure here is that no one was responsible.

--
JHG
 
human99 said:
That said, Beirut isn't the only place in the world with a large stockpile of AN near a population centre.
Click to expand...

How does 8 tons of it in the middle of London grab you and its not uncommon for pallet loads of it to be found which have been sitting for years. The stuff we burnt had been sitting in a park store and they had found it when they were selling the storage shed land. The surveyor had taken one look at the pallets and phoned the police. Who brought the fire brigade in. Who had a TA member in the crew who said sod that phone EOD. Where we got called in and threw it in the back of a couple of 4 tonners and went to burn it.

From memory when we burned it. It was a rather hot flame. And it produced loads of gas. More so than artillery charge bags.

You might wonder why a pilot would know about the various areas and what you can see. Basically we are in multiple zones per day for DNS and networks. And if we want to talk to our family's and deal with financial stuff we have to. And of course netflix is different in ever country.

I worked in IT as well on the unix side of things and networks for 3 years to pay for my pilot training over Y2k coming from being the office guru for FEA ANSYS on the mech eng side of things. Like it or not there is restrictions in most countries when it comes to WWW. UK has them The USA has them and when you work in Saudi and the like there is even more of them. Apparently inverness city council website is an extremist anti Muslim website! Some places use selective DNS listings so you won't be able to resolve addresses but you will get through if they are in your local table or you input directly the IP address. Others you will need an encrypted VPN to get round. the lads in China have to go to great lengths. Those in Dubai also need to because skype or any other VOIP is illegal.

Some countries we don't take personal IT gear into because it may get taken away and stripped and you may end up in big trouble if they find anything they don't to the point of getting done for having porn having a pic of the wife in her bikini on a beach with your kid on her knee. A lot of places are demanding social media accounts names and passwords. Although when you turn up with a none smart phone or laptop you can into issues as well. Some company's even have local hardware which you get given in the taxi on the way to the hotel.

BTW we are advised by the union not to take a smart phone or computer into the USA if we have to go for sim there. That advise has been active for over 10 years now. And its the same advise if we go to another 26 countries and they are world wide from both extremes of the political systems. Touch wood I have never been pulled so far.

If you go searching for torrent websites in Russia you will have no problem finding the latest cracked versions of ANSYS and autocad. Do the same in the USA and you will struggle to find anything. Its the same for political subjects.

I suspect most on this thread will never go near any of the subjects that any country will take offenses to.

The subject I learned most about this was from having an interest in Chernobyl. There is some absolute cracking nuke websites out there which have a bit to much detail on all things nuclear. you just can't get to them through the UK. You can in France, you can't in the USA but you can in Sweden. This is a hard block not just a DNS table deletion.
 
Cough up a Chernobyl link we can't get to in the USA. I'd be interested to see if I can or can't with a little effort.

Keith Cress
kcress -
 
I have no problems finding the cracked software you mention, Alistair, not to mention the majority of the other things you mention can't be had here in the US. And not bringing cellphones et. al. into the US for fear of it getting snagged/inspected with password requirements? Come on. I think you're impression of what can/can't be had here is pretty off base, but I'm not sure how that impression came about...

Dan - Owner
Footwell%20Animation%20Tiny.gif
 
The latter was still relevant as of last year:

While the number of incidents is relatively low, 33,000 in 2018 out of over 80 million visitors the same year, it's still a possibility. Obviously, the more you fit an unwritten CBP profile, the more likely it is that you'll be stopped and/or searched

TTFN (ta ta for now)
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert! faq731-376 forum1529 Entire Forum list
 
"Travelers can refuse access to their devices, but customs officers are not obligated to allow someone into the country."

Don't want your phone searched then refuse and leave.
 
I don't fit any of the CBP's favorite racial profiles, but I stopped carrying all devices into the US a few years ago, even on extended trips. Before the plague that could be up to 20 trips per year since I live at the frontier.

"Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but they are not entitled to their own facts."
 
Don't want your phone searched then refuse and leave.
Click to expand...

That particular person is a US citizen, with rights guaranteed by the 4th amendment

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
Click to expand...

TTFN (ta ta for now)
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert! faq731-376 forum1529 Entire Forum list
 
To be honest the link I know you won't be allowed to see I would not be willing to publish in a public domain It has a copy of the arcanist handbook in it as well as how to make a dirty bomb and a few other choice publications which would have pretty much every security services putting you on the hot list for years. I would never try to look at it while VPN to USA or UK for that matter. You would need to be a brain dead zombie if you thought that you could and have no repercussions.

The really interesting site about Chernobyl has the complete RMBK plans on it including flux calcs, and also the post Chernobyl RMBK upgrades including control rod enclosures etc post, but also has complete design drawings for a slug nuke bomb ie critical mass with cylinder going into a hole to get a reaction mass. Dirty inefficient as hell but it would work. You would be completely stupid to go anywhere near it. When I looked at it it was a bit a shock because it was a dawning realisation that would work and it gives the machining instructions to jam the slug in the hole for 0.1 seconds to ramp the output up... Those that know will know the shape the hole needs to be those of us that have zero interest or need to know won't. And its not a shape you can forget or you would know. But once you see it you know it would work and can never forget it.

Dicking around with this stuff might seem fun for those that are retired and never leave the USA, but for some of us it could mean doing time in a semi military detention centre, Willy waving and talking pish on the internet is one thing but when your bum is on the line it is another. So you can believe what the hell you want about what is restricted or not.

If you think the point I have said is unproven and I am talking pish so be it.

The getting snagged is mostly personal warnings via professional bodies. Thankfully I have not had to go to the USA for sim for over 10 years now. It is not on my places that I want to take the family to. I will more than likely never go there again unless I have to for professional reasons which is extremely unlikely.
 
Its very dependant in which part of the world you are in, what effect that particular publication will have. Most of the time you will have zero clue what list you are on positively vetted or not.

The slug bomb with machining was particularly disturbing and created a feeling of I really don't need to know that. Even though the main issue was obtaining the materials to produce it.


As I said I am not willing to risk posting links public or even privately because it really is not worth risking pissing people off. You lot might not cross a border for years at a time, I do it 2-3 times a day.

You might have noted on purpose I didn't even spell the publication correctly.

As ironic said a lot of us would never dream of taking anything into the USA neither would I take anything into Russia or ME or a few other places. Its personal choice. But I know that the USA Border force get really upset if a pilot hands over a none smart Nokia when they are asked for their phone. And 12 hours later after mucho talking to they will release you after asking the same 10 questions every 10 mins for the entire time.

Its not a country specific thing just covering bum.
 
IRS:
Looks fine on paper...

Dik
 
Even FISA warrants are ostensibly based on probable cause, albeit, secret ones.

There are obvious holes, but given that CBP has no probable cause, the searches can't even be considered "reasonable," since there is no "reason." It's simple abuse of power.

TTFN (ta ta for now)
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert! faq731-376 forum1529 Entire Forum list
 
I think that only works if you have a local passport.

They don't need a reason to refuse entry to an "alien" so you get given a choice of give us it and the password or we will refuse entry and you will never be able to get in again in your life. They are a bit stumped though when you say I don't have a laptop or smart phone/ipad with me.


Its the same in a few countries these days. Not a lot you can do about it.

 
And if they will do that to a passport holder then for us Aliens we basically have no rights.

The comment was more pointing towards the quote with the protection of rights.

A lot of countries now want to know your social media accounts when you get a visa. It used to be in the old days that they tracked everything through your passport number so you had 2 or more passports and used 1 for certain countries and one for others.

Just now I have zero reason to go across the pond and its pretty much going to be local vacations with the family for a few years until the virus is sorted out. But I can just imagine the effort it would take to fill out the visa and TSA form with my travel history.
 
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