So.
Logan Airport last night.
TSA.
My hat on. My jacket on. My shoes on. Computer in my bag.
Took off my belt buckle, but left on a welded steel neck piece.
"Empty your pockets. No bottles."
That was it.
Could it be that it has been 13 1/2 years of bullshit?
Showing posts with label homeland security. Show all posts
Showing posts with label homeland security. Show all posts
Security check
Was ist in einem Namen?
Noting that, within its collection of "Component Agencies" to "protect the homeland," the Department of Homeland Security includes "The Directorate for National Protection and Programs," "The Directorate for Science and Technology" and "The Directorate for Management," you wonder if the agency's minions are tone-deaf or if someone, perhaps in the Directorate of Nomenclature, who was reading Orwell and Huxley at the moment of the agency's christening, has a terrific sense of humor.
Not The Onion: Hundreds of common words that could get you in trouble
The Daily Mail reports that federal thought police have compiled an "intriguing" list of words and phrases to be used to "monitor social networking sites and online media for signs of terrorist or other threats against the U.S." The list includes "obvious choices such as 'attack', 'Al Qaeda', 'terrorism' and 'dirty bomb' alongside dozens of seemingly innocent words like 'pork', 'cloud', 'team' and 'Mexico'."
The Dept. of Homeland Security was forced to release the list by a privacy watchdog group that filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act. Although DHS claims it only employs the list to detect legitimate security risks, "[t]he words are included in the department's 2011 'Analyst's Desktop Binder'* used by workers at their National Operations Center which instructs workers to identify 'media reports that reflect adversely on DHS and response activities'."
Note that the avoidance of many of these words would make public discussion of security and military issues -- to say nothing of the weather -- impossible. But note also that your continued insistence on discussing such matters may attract the security state's interest.
Of course, you could decide to mess with them by putting references to "pork," "snow," "bridge," "tremor," "Tucson," "worm" and "metro" in all your communications.
The rest of the story: Revealed: Hundreds of words to avoid using online if you don't want the government spying on you by Daniel Miller (Mail Online 2012-05-26).
*Even "redacted," 'Analyst's Desktop Binder' makes for interesting reading.
The Dept. of Homeland Security was forced to release the list by a privacy watchdog group that filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act. Although DHS claims it only employs the list to detect legitimate security risks, "[t]he words are included in the department's 2011 'Analyst's Desktop Binder'* used by workers at their National Operations Center which instructs workers to identify 'media reports that reflect adversely on DHS and response activities'." Note that the avoidance of many of these words would make public discussion of security and military issues -- to say nothing of the weather -- impossible. But note also that your continued insistence on discussing such matters may attract the security state's interest.
Of course, you could decide to mess with them by putting references to "pork," "snow," "bridge," "tremor," "Tucson," "worm" and "metro" in all your communications.
The rest of the story: Revealed: Hundreds of words to avoid using online if you don't want the government spying on you by Daniel Miller (Mail Online 2012-05-26).
*Even "redacted," 'Analyst's Desktop Binder' makes for interesting reading.
2012: Lets have a real debate in the California U.S. Senate race
The June 6, 2012 primary offers the voters of California a unique opportunity to stand against business as usual in Washington: with 24 candidates on the ballot for United States Senate, six of them Democrats, it's possible, at least in theory, that a unity candidate could win second place and the chance to debate centrist Diane Feinstein face-to-face in the run-off in November. 
Marsha Feinland of the Peace & Freedom Party would fill this role perfectly: she is articulate, personable, dedicated, and right (that is to say, Left) on the issues. It would be illuminating if, before she heads back to Washington to act in our name, our senior senator was required to explain her positions on such matters as international trade, military adventurism, immigration, homeland security and the bankster crime wave (she's for aggressively prosecuting Julian Assange for espionage, for example, but much less enthusiastic about putting financial crooks in jail), to say nothing of addressing unresolved allegations of corruption stemming from her days on a military appropriations subcommittee.With Democrats and Republicans divvying up the primary ballots, it might not take very high numbers to grab second place; it would certainly make for a livelier debate in the general election to have a representative of the 99% sharing the stage with Sen. Feinstein rather than another one-percenter like herself from the GOP.
Project VoteSmart's summary of Dianne Feinstein's key votes.
Marsha Feinland of the Peace & Freedom Party would fill this role perfectly: she is articulate, personable, dedicated, and right (that is to say, Left) on the issues. It would be illuminating if, before she heads back to Washington to act in our name, our senior senator was required to explain her positions on such matters as international trade, military adventurism, immigration, homeland security and the bankster crime wave (she's for aggressively prosecuting Julian Assange for espionage, for example, but much less enthusiastic about putting financial crooks in jail), to say nothing of addressing unresolved allegations of corruption stemming from her days on a military appropriations subcommittee.With Democrats and Republicans divvying up the primary ballots, it might not take very high numbers to grab second place; it would certainly make for a livelier debate in the general election to have a representative of the 99% sharing the stage with Sen. Feinstein rather than another one-percenter like herself from the GOP.Project VoteSmart's summary of Dianne Feinstein's key votes.
Fear of Flying
Homeland Security overreacts again, this time to the underwear bomber. Let's hope the next guy doesn't use a suppository.
Change Watch: New Executive Order to Avoid Year-End Declassification Deadline
As we have noted before, though the government is now nominally controlled by Democrats, abuse of power by the executive continues unimpeded. One such abuse is government by fiat. Another is excessive secrecy. The two abuses amplify each other in a current effort to issue a new executive order designed to keep government documents of historical interest from being released.
"Development of a new executive order on classification of national security information is now proceeding at an accelerated pace," according to Secrecy News, Steven Aftergood's blog about secrecy, intelligence and national security policy for the Federation of American Scientists, "in order to preempt a deadline that would require the declassification of millions of pages of historical records next month....
See Draft Order Would Set New Limits on Classification (Secrecy News 2009-09-29)
Some general background on the national security classification system from the Congressional Research Service can be found in Security Classification Policy and Procedure: E.O. 12958, as Amendedsecred (pdf) (2009-11-03)
"Development of a new executive order on classification of national security information is now proceeding at an accelerated pace," according to Secrecy News, Steven Aftergood's blog about secrecy, intelligence and national security policy for the Federation of American Scientists, "in order to preempt a deadline that would require the declassification of millions of pages of historical records next month....
There is an incentive to complete the development of the executive order before December 31, 2009 because of a deadline for declassification of historical records that falls on that date. Under the current Bush executive order, classified records that are at least 25 years old and that have been referred from one agency to another because they involve multiple agency interests are supposed to be automatically declassified at the end of this year. (See E.O. 13292, section 3.3(e)(3)).So we face the ironic prospect that the "pro-openness" Obama administration will relax or annul a declassification requirement that was imposed by the ultra-secretive Bush administration.
In fact, the whole process has become an awkward mix of exaggerated and deflated expectations. The failure of the Bush Administration’s declassification deadline to take hold this year does not augur well for new, more ambitious efforts to advance classification reform. If the “automatic declassification” procedures that were prescribed in prior executive orders are not “automatic” after all, and if binding deadlines can be extended more or less at will, then any new declassification requirements in the Obama order will be similarly subject to doubt or defiance.The rest of the story: New Executive Order Aims to Avoid Declass Deadline (Secrecy News 2009-11-23)
See Draft Order Would Set New Limits on Classification (Secrecy News 2009-09-29)
Some general background on the national security classification system from the Congressional Research Service can be found in Security Classification Policy and Procedure: E.O. 12958, as Amendedsecred (pdf) (2009-11-03)
Change Watch: Bush's Search Policy For Travelers Is Kept
Obama Officials Say Oversight Will Grow
"Under the policy begun by Bush and now continued by Obama, the government can open your laptop and read your medical records, financial records, e-mails, work product and personal correspondence -- all without any suspicion of illegal activity." -- Elizabeth Goitein, liberty and national security project, Brennan Center for Justice.
The Obama administration will largely preserve Bush-era procedures allowing the government to search -- without suspicion of wrongdoing -- the contents of a traveler's laptop computer, cellphone or other electronic device, although officials said new policies would expand oversight of such inspections.The rest of the story: Bush's Search Policy For Travelers Is Kept by Ellen Nakashima (Washington Post 2009-08-29)
Information Is Power: RAND congressional reports
As a quasi-public institution, the Rand Corporation makes much of its research public, especially that produced on behalf of the government. Some of this data, packaged as periodic reports to Congress, is available to you via email (see below*). You can subscribe at http://www.rand.org/congress/subscribe.html.
* Monthly Review – monthly on the 18th; Banking & Financial Services – periodically; International Affairs – quarterly; Child Policy – quarterly; National Security – monthly on the 1st; Education – tri-yearly; Safety & Justice – tri-yearly; Energy & Environment – tri-yearly; Small Business – periodically; Gulf States Policy Institute – periodically; Terrorism & Homeland Security – quarterly; Health – monthly on the 15th.
* Monthly Review – monthly on the 18th; Banking & Financial Services – periodically; International Affairs – quarterly; Child Policy – quarterly; National Security – monthly on the 1st; Education – tri-yearly; Safety & Justice – tri-yearly; Energy & Environment – tri-yearly; Small Business – periodically; Gulf States Policy Institute – periodically; Terrorism & Homeland Security – quarterly; Health – monthly on the 15th.
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