Warsaw Convention
The Warsaw Convention is an international convention which regulates liability for international carriage of persons, luggage or goods performed by aircraft for reward.
Originally signed in 1929 in Warsaw (hence the name), it was amended in 1955 at The Hague and in 1975 in Montreal. United States courts have held that, at least for some purposes, the Warsaw Convention is a different instrument from the Warsaw Convention as Amended by the Hague Protocol.
In particular, the Warsaw Convention:
- mandates carriers to issue passenger tickets;
- requires carriers to issue baggage checks for checked luggage;
- creates a limitation period of 2 years within which a claim must be brought (Article 29); and
- sets a carrier’s liability to at least:
- 250,000 Francs or 16,600 Special Drawing Rights (SDR) for personal injury;
- 17 SDR per kilogram for checked luggage and cargo,
- 5,000 Francs or 332 SDR for the hand luggage of a traveller.
The sums limiting liability were originally given in Francs (defined in terms of a particular quantity of gold by article 22 paragraph 5 of the convention). These sums were amended by the Montreal Additional Protocol No. 2 to substitute an expression given in terms of SDR’s. These sums are valid in the absence of a differing agreement (on a higher sum) with the carrier. Agreements on lower sums are null and void.
On April 1, 2007, the exchange rate was 1.00 SDR = 1.135 EUR or
1.00 SDR = 1.51 USD.
A court may also award a claiming party’s costs, unless the carrier made an offer within 6 months of the loss (or at least 6 months before the beginning of any legal proceedings) which the claiming party has failed to beat.
The Montreal Convention, signed in 1999, will replace the Warsaw Convention system, once Montreal has been ratified by all states. Until then, however, there will be a patchwork of rules governing international carriage by air, as different states will be parties to different agreements (or no agreement at all).
Electronic lock
An electronic lock (also known as a digital lock) is a locking device which uses some form of electronics to authenticate those accessing it, sometimes using two-factor authentication. Electronic locks are typically considered more secure than conventional mechanical locks and can include additional features like logging access attempts, group level access, time-based access and the incorporation of burglar or fire alarms.
Most electronic locks use a magnetic lock/solenoid bolt to perform the physical component of locking. Older mechanisms can also be found which use electric motors to move a deadbolt. Once the authentication process is successful, the lock is released into opening.
As providing electrical current to a lock within a door can be difficult, a common solution is an electronic strike plate. Using a normal mechanical lock, an electronic striker can also be triggered remotely to free the latch from the door frame.
Electronic locks offer a variety of means of authentication; those described below are not considered exhaustive.
Numerical codes, passwords and passphrases
Perhaps the most prevalent form of electronic lock is that using a numerical code for authentication; the correct code must be entered in order for the lock to deactivate. Such locks typically provide a keypad, and some feature an audible response to each press. Combination lengths are usually between 4 and 6 digits long.
A variation on this design involves the user entering the correct password or passphrase.
Another means of authenticating users is to require them to scan or “swipe” a security token such as a smart card or similar, or to interact a token with the lock. For example, some locks can access stored credentials on a personal digital assistant using infrared data transfer methods.
As biometrics become more and more prominent as a recognized means of positive identification, their use in security systems increases. Some new electronic locks take advantage of technologies such as fingerprint scanning, retinal scanning and iris scanning, and voiceprint identification to authenticate users.
Lever tumbler lock
A lever tumbler lock is a type of lock that uses a set of levers to prevent the bolt from moving in the lock. In the simplest of these, lifting the tumbler above a certain height will allow the bolt to slide past.
‘Double acting’ Lever tumbler locks were invented in 1778 by Robert Barron of England. These required the lever to be lifted to a certain height by having a slot cut in the lever. So lifting the lever too far was as bad as not lifting the lever far enough. This is the type of lever lock most currently used today.
Lever locks generally use a bitted key. Some use a double-bitted key.
D’Oyly Carte Island
D’Oyly Carte Island is a very small island in the River Thames, England, on the reach above Sunbury Lock and just below Shepperton Lock. It is located between Weybridge and Shepperton.
There is just one large house and garden on it. It has a small footbridge and offers mooring to small boats. The island was previously owned by Richard D’Oyly Carte, producer of the Gilbert and Sullivan operas in Victorian times, hence the name.
Pharaoh’s Island, owned by Admiral Nelson, is not far away just above Shepperton lock.
Zero Halliburton
Zero Halliburton was originally a metal fabrication company called Zierold Company, which in 1946 changed its name to Zero Corporation. In 1952 Zero, which until then had no relation to Halliburton, bought the luggage division of Halliburton, the Texas oilfield services company. On December 29, 2006, Zero Corporation sold its consumer division to ACE Co. Ltd., a Japanese luggage manufacturer. Today Zero Halliburton is a wholly owned subsidiary of ACE Co. Ltd. of Osaka and Tokyo.
Erle P. Halliburton, the founder of Halliburton, had commissioned the aluminum case in 1938 from aircraft engineers because other luggage could not endure the rough travel through Texas oil fields in a pickup truck. In addition to being more durable than a leather or cloth case due to its rigidity, the aluminum case seals tightly against dust and water.
Today the aluminum cases, which have appeared in over 200 Hollywood movies, are also available in carbon-fiber. They have been seen in wrestling as well - in one ‘angle’, Steve McMichael turned on fellow NFL’er Kevin Greene for a Halliburton stuffed with cash and a 4 Horsemen t-shirt. McMichael used the case to ensure victory several times. Although lighter, the carbon-fiber briefcases cost about $2000 USD, about seven times the cost of the standard aluminum Zero Halliburton briefcases. Famously, the Nuclear Football (the briefcase used to order a nuclear attack) is a modified Zero Halliburton case.
