JFK ride-sharing, airport drug dogs
650 614-6590
Yesterday, I arrived at JFK airport. The conveyor belt leading to the
luggage carousel repeatedly broke, causing much delay for people waiting
for their luggage. This happened in a terminal used by many airlines. I
guess that the broken belt was the Port Authority's responsibility.
I went outside to get a taxi. The taxis by JFK have ride sharing. To fly
to New York City and avoid sharing a taxi with a stranger, I guess you
should fly to MacArthur or Newark. I shared a taxi with a woman who was
going to another building at JFK. We went to her building first. The
driver said that we both had to chip in (50-50) to go to her building. I
did not benefit from sharing the drive to her building at JFK.
There wasn't enough room in the trunk for all of her luggage plus my
suitcase, so my suitcase rode in front with the driver. It touched his
right thigh as he drove. The right leg is used for braking.
Luckily, NY taxi drivers never use the brakes so the luggage touching his
right leg did not reduce the quality of his driving. :-)
................
AIRPORT DRUG DOGS
In a previous posting, I described the use of a drug-sniffing dog at Miami
airport. This was the first time I had seen a drug-sniffing dog close.
Since then, I've seen two more.
At Frankfurt (Germany) airport yesterday, the plane I was supposed to
depart on was delayed for a about 2 hours. During the time that I was
delayed at the airport, I passed a small drug-sniffing dog wearing a vest
that said "Zoll" ("customs", I think). It walked past me in a hallway.
Several hours later at JFK while I waited for my luggage at the luggage
carousel connected to the broken conveyor belt, I saw a small
drug-sniffing beagle of the US Dept. of Agriculture. The dog wore a green
vest that said "Defending American Agriculture". The dog was lead up to
an old couple standing next to me, so I could clearly see and hear
everything. Although the dog did not seem to be interested in the old
couple, the dog's handler made it stay there and even told it to come
closer.
I've seen dogless street and subway arrests by plainclothes cops in
America, all illegallly and rudely done. Maybe someday I'll see an arrest
based on a police dog's opinion.
I do not know if there are any high-quality studies of how cops use
drug-sniffing dogs. Based on the 3 episodes I saw, the cops seem to
guess. The cops do not seem to know what they are doing (other than
guess). If the dog-handling cops are relying on profiles, the profiles do
not seem to be derived from impressive, mathematical interpretations of
data. I am NOT saying that the dog-handling cops are doing anything
illegal; I don't know.
When scientists make a system that helps decision-makers, it is common for
the scientists first to see how often they err when they guess, then to
see how much they reduce their errors by using the decision-making system
they invented. One way to measure reduction in errors is to use a
statistical technique called PRE. It would be interesting to see the PRE
of whatever systems and profiles are used by dog-handlers.
In large organizations that are run well, cost accounting is done to help
the organization economically achieve its goals. Has anyone ever done
cost accounting studies of the various ways that dogs are used by
anti-drug police?
spamALspam
Rick
cooking with cottage cheese.
Chris Thompson
2. The USDA does not use dogs to sniff for drugs. That is the job of Customs and DEA. That beagle is sniffing for exotic plants that should be declared. Ever heard of kudzu, the aquatic weed that is chiking waterways all through the US Southeast?
Chris
650 614-6590 wrote:
(snip)
(snip)
AIRPORT DRUG DOGS
In a previous posting, I described the use of a drug-sniffing dog at Miami
airport. This was the first time I had seen a drug-sniffing dog close.
Since then, I've seen two more.
spamALspam
Alex Rodriguez
spam.a...@spam.spam.sp says...
>I went outside to get a taxi. The taxis by JFK have ride sharing. To fly
>to New York City and avoid sharing a taxi with a stranger, I guess you
>should fly to MacArthur or Newark. I shared a taxi with a woman who was
>going to another building at JFK. We went to her building first. The
>driver said that we both had to chip in (50-50) to go to her building. I
>did not benefit from sharing the drive to her building at JFK.
>There wasn't enough room in the trunk for all of her luggage plus my
>suitcase, so my suitcase rode in front with the driver. It touched his
>right thigh as he drove. The right leg is used for braking.
>Luckily, NY taxi drivers never use the brakes so the luggage touching his
>right leg did not reduce the quality of his driving. :-)
All I can say is you were not too smart to pay for the other persons ride.
You can't be made to pay for some strangers trip.
"
>Several hours later at JFK while I waited for my luggage at the luggage
>carousel connected to the broken conveyor belt, I saw a small
>drug-sniffing beagle of the US Dept. of Agriculture. The dog wore a green
>vest that said "Defending American Agriculture". The dog was lead up to
>an old couple standing next to me, so I could clearly see and hear
>everything. Although the dog did not seem to be interested in the old
>couple, the dog's handler made it stay there and even told it to come
>closer.
>I've seen dogless street and subway arrests by plainclothes cops in
>America, all illegallly and rudely done. Maybe someday I'll see an arrest
>based on a police dog's opinion.
The dog you say at JFK is not a drug sniffing dog. He is a food sniffing
dog. The USDA is trying to keep contaminated food, or plants, from
entering the US. Critters and diseases that can be carried into the US
by food and plants can have disatrous results.
-----------------
Alex __O
_-\<,_
(_)/ (_)
user
> 1. Ever think that dog in Germany might be sniffing for bombs?
there is used for.
> 2. The USDA does not use dogs to sniff for drugs.
Thank you for correcting me.
The 2 dogs (FRA and JFK) seem to be used by governments to look for things
travelers should not have. I should not have written that the dogs are
drug-sniffers. My discussion of the dogs concerned the impression I
formed that the dog-handlers seem to guess what to bring the dogs to (and
that profiles or systems, if the dog-handlers are using any, seem based on
guesses rather than impressive research). I still have that impression.
I wrote that I would like to see PRE and cost accounting, if there is any,
for the various profiles and systems the dog-handlers use.
spamALspam
Jeremy M. Posner
spam.a...@spam.spam.sp (650 614-6590) wrote:
> Yesterday, I arrived at JFK airport. The conveyor belt leading to the
> luggage carousel repeatedly broke, causing much delay for people waiting
> for their luggage. This happened in a terminal used by many airlines. I
> guess that the broken belt was the Port Authority's responsibility.
Last time I flew into JFK, I was coming in from London to the newly
renovated Terminal 1 (various international airlines). The flight landed
on schedule, and rolled right up to the gate. It then took 45 minutes to
get the door open because either there was a problem with the jetway, or
the operator wasn't particularly good at it for whatever reason.
The pilot was clearly unamused. His tone when making announcements made it
pretty clear that he wasn't being told much of anything, and he said
outright that he wanted to get off the plane as much as the rest of us.
Amid jokes wondering how hard it is to find the side of a 747, several
people wondered what the fine would be for deploying the emergency slides,
thinking it might be affordable if we all split it.
In the end, it didn't give anyone any tremendous confidence in the PA's
ability to run an airport.
> In a previous posting, I described the use of a drug-sniffing dog at Miami
> airport. This was the first time I had seen a drug-sniffing dog close.
> Since then, I've seen two more.
I've seen the dogs at JFK find food. The agents don't rely on the dogs to
figure out whether or not the food is permissible, just whether or not
there's food. The agents then follow up to determine whether or not the
food is prohibited, since there are some permissible agricultural
products.
-JMP
Rick
> All I can say is you were not too smart to pay for the other persons ride.
> You can't be made to pay for some strangers trip.
Well, A-Rod, at least you can afford it!
R
Cyrus Afzali
>The dog you say at JFK is not a drug sniffing dog. He is a food sniffing
>dog. The USDA is trying to keep contaminated food, or plants, from
>entering the US. Critters and diseases that can be carried into the US
>by food and plants can have disatrous results.
The Port Authority also has K-9 units that sniff for drugs. I know
they're doing drugs and not bombs because I've often seen them screen
incoming luggage.
Peter T. Daniels
I bet Alex is intensely grateful that until this moment he has been
spared A-Rod references for the entire time he has been posting to this
newsgroup.
--
Peter T. Daniels gram...@worldnet.att.net
McGurk, Peter
well, as other posters have mentioned, been sniffing for meat and dairy
products. There is a complete ban on the export of these products from the
UK at the moment and the US, among others, take the threat very seriously.
I believe that they won't even allow chocolate to be imported...
Joel Rubin
614-6590) wrote:
>Several hours later at JFK while I waited for my luggage at the luggage
>carousel connected to the broken conveyor belt, I saw a small
>drug-sniffing beagle of the US Dept. of Agriculture. The dog wore a green
>vest that said "Defending American Agriculture". The dog was lead up to
>an old couple standing next to me, so I could clearly see and hear
>everything. Although the dog did not seem to be interested in the old
>couple, the dog's handler made it stay there and even told it to come
>closer.
Tthe primary purpose, at least in theory, of USDA dogs is NOT for
drugs but for agricultural products not allowed into the U.S. such as
certain kinds of sausage. I dunno if the USDA dogs are trained to
react to commonly smuggled drugs.
What with hoof and mouth disease ravaging Europe, you shouldn't expect
this to go away any time soon.
By the way, California has agricultural inspection on its road
borders. Whether this does any good I don't know.
Rudy has been making noises about taking away the PANYNJ's lease on
JFK and LGA and turning them over to the company which runs LHR.
(Heathrow in London)
Chris Thompson
and mouth disease.
Picky, but quite important to those dealing with it.
Chris
Rick
"Peter T. Daniels" wrote:
> I bet Alex is intensely grateful that until this moment he has been
> spared A-Rod references for the entire time he has been posting to this
> newsgroup.
So you're saying it's not him.
R
Peter T. Daniels
It's more within the realm of possibility that he is the same Alex
Rodriguez who was quoted in the News or Post story posted here a few
days ago, but there must be quite a few of them in this city (none of
whom play for the Yankees or Mets).
Peter T. Daniels
terms are not absolutely interchangeable. Cf. OED.
--
Peter T. Daniels gram...@worldnet.att.net
Alex Rodriguez
>I bet Alex is intensely grateful that until this moment he has been
>spared A-Rod references for the entire time he has been posting to this
>newsgroup.
Doesn't bother me. I occasionally get email asking me if I am A-Rod.
I even had some one mail me a picture to autograph. I just returned it
with an note letting them know I was not the famouse baseball player.
Alex Rodriguez
says...
>Rudy has been making noises about taking away the PANYNJ's lease on
>JFK and LGA and turning them over to the company which runs LHR.
>(Heathrow in London)
Sounds like a good idea. It would be difficult to be worse than the PA,
but it is possible.
Phil Kane
>By the way, California has agricultural inspection on its road
>borders. Whether this does any good I don't know.
It sure does. It keeps Florida and Arizona citrus products out
of the state, at the behest of the California Fruit Growers
Exchange, better known as Sunkist.
--
==> Watch the Doors <==
Phil Kane
danny burstein
>>By the way, California has agricultural inspection on its road
>>borders. Whether this does any good I don't know.
> It sure does. It keeps Florida and Arizona citrus products out
> of the state, at the behest of the California Fruit Growers
> Exchange, better known as Sunkist.
hmm, just wondering (I honestly don't know).. but under NAFTA, would this
mean that Mexican produce could get into California more easily than stuff
trucked from the rest of the US ?
--
_____________________________________________________
Knowledge may be power, but communications is the key
dan...@panix.com
[to foil spammers, my address has been double rot-13 encoded]
Andrea J Chee
<gram...@worldnet.att.net> writes
>This is the very first time I've seen even a suggestion that the two
>terms are not absolutely interchangeable. Cf. OED.
I thought they tend to call it 'hoof and mouth' in the States and 'foot
and mouth' here. Perhaps the poster who thinks otherwise is confusing it
for 'hand, foot and mouth' disease, which is a comparatively mild
illness that usually effects children.
- ANDREA
--
Get PAID for the emails you already send and receive!
http://www.mailround.com/ Referrer: and...@bloodaxe.com
^`'~*-,._.,-*~'`^`'~*-,._.,-*~'`^`'~*-,._.,-*~'`^`'~*-,._.,-*~'`^
ANDROMEDA - Internet Goddess
<and...@bloodaxe.com> http://www.bloodaxe.com/
Bloodaxe's History Links: http://www.geocities.com/Athens/5055/
The Loony Bin Archive: http://loonies.net800.co.uk/
Peter Schleifer
wrote:
>In article <3AF322...@worldnet.att.net>, Peter T. Daniels
><gram...@worldnet.att.net> writes
>>This is the very first time I've seen even a suggestion that the two
>>terms are not absolutely interchangeable. Cf. OED.
>
>I thought they tend to call it 'hoof and mouth' in the States and 'foot
>and mouth' here. Perhaps the poster who thinks otherwise is confusing it
>for 'hand, foot and mouth' disease, which is a comparatively mild
>illness that usually effects children.
And which was awfully unpleasant to me when I caught it at the young
age of 37.
--
Peter Schleifer
"I don't wanna be a pinhead no more"
R. L.
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/05/01/nyregion/01TUNN.html?ex=989771080&ei=1&en=05fd93128135fedd
Also an article in Crains NY Business (4/30/01)
(their website wants money) has some interesting stuff
on the NY State plans for getting federal transit money for
next year.
They bush budget has zero for new NY projects, but via
congress they are expecting/hoping for:
$149 million for East Side Access (LIRR to GCT)
$20 million for 2nd Ave subway
$40 million over 2 years for Penn Station, plus
support for Amtrak's request to improve the tunnel safety.
Sen. Schumer is now on the subcommittee that covers these
things (under the banking committee....)
An upstate republican house member joins Serrano on the
House Appropriations subcommittee. He says he's "studying"
these issues before deciding if to support them. The article
says Albany is making plans for a light rail system. (Even I
wonder about that one.) But since Gov. Pataki has pushed
East Side Access very hard (it serves lots of LI republicans)
I predict he'll go for that.
It also says that NYS hasn't done that well in congressional
transit appropriations:
1996 $196 million
1998 $ 64 million
1999 $ 5 million
2000 $ 15 million (10 million East Side Access, 5 million Whitehall
Ferry terminal) Plus a $3 million "emergency
appropriation" for Second Avenue.
CA got $225 million, Puerto Rico & NJ over $100 million each.
Formula based funding NY got $860 million for transit, $1.3 billion for
highways.
Peter T. Daniels
>
> In article <3AF322...@worldnet.att.net>, Peter T. Daniels
> <gram...@worldnet.att.net> writes
> >This is the very first time I've seen even a suggestion that the two
> >terms are not absolutely interchangeable. Cf. OED.
>
> I thought they tend to call it 'hoof and mouth' in the States and 'foot
> and mouth' here.
It looks as though it was first identified and described in German and
within a few years (1860s) was translated differently in the veterinary
literature in the two countries.
> Perhaps the poster who thinks otherwise is confusing it
> for 'hand, foot and mouth' disease, which is a comparatively mild
> illness that usually effects children.
Never heard of it!
Andrea J Chee
<gram...@worldnet.att.net> writes
>
>Never heard of it!
It's common enough in most countries. It has nothing to do with animals,
and the symptoms are nowhere near as debilitating as animals with FMD
can suffer:
http://www.ppphealthcare.com/html/health/handfoot.htm