U.S. Government Terror Ratings Draw Outrage
December 3rd, 2006The enemy collaborator Democrats, who made all of this possible, along with the Republicans, are now squealing shock horror. Pathetic.
Via: Yahoo/AP:
A leader of the new Democratic Congress, business travelers and privacy advocates expressed outrage Friday over the unannounced assignment of terrorism risk assessments to American international travelers by a computerized system managed from an unmarked, two-story brick building in Northern Virginia.
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The travelers are not allowed to see or directly challenge these risk assessments, which the government intends to keep on file for 40 years. Some or all data in the system can be shared with state, local and foreign governments for use in hiring, contracting and licensing decisions. Courts and even some private contractors can obtain some of the data under certain circumstances.
“It is simply incredible that the Bush administration is willing to share this sensitive information with foreign governments and even private employers, while refusing to allow U.S. citizens to see or challenge their own terror scores,” Leahy said. This system “highlights the danger of government use of technology to conduct widespread surveillance of our daily lives without proper safeguards for privacy.”
The concerns spread beyond Congress.
“I have never seen anything as egregious as this,” said Kevin Mitchell, president of the Business Travel Coalition, which advocates for business travelers. It’s “evidence of what can happen when there isn’t proper oversight and accountability.”
By late Friday, the government had received 22 written public comments about its after-the-fact disclosure of the program last month in the Federal Register, a fine-print compendium of federal rules. All either opposed it outright or objected to the lack of a direct means for people to correct any errors in the database about themselves.
“As a U.S. citizen who spends much time outside the U.S., I can understand the need for good security,” wrote one who identified himself as Colin Edmunds. “However, just as I would not participate in a banking/credit card system where I have no recourse to correct or even view my personal data, I cannot accept the same of my government.”
Privacy advocates also were alarmed.
“Never before in American history has our government gotten into the business of creating mass `risk assessment’ ratings of its own citizens,” said Barry Steinhardt, a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union. “We are stunned” the program has been undertaken “with virtually no opportunity for the public to evaluate or comment on it.”
The Homeland Security Department says the nation’s ability to spot criminals and other security threats “would be critically impaired without access to this data.”
And on Friday as the normal daily flow of a million or more people entered the United States by air, sea and land, the ATS program’s computers continued their silent scrutiny. At that Virginia building with no sign, the managers of the National Targeting Center allowed an Associated Press photographer to briefly roam their work space.
But he couldn’t reveal the building’s exact location. None of the dozens of workers under the bright fluorescent lights could be named. Some could not be photographed.
The only clue he might have entered a government building was a montage of photos in the reception area of President Bush’s visit to the center. But there was only one guard and a sign-in book.
Inside, red digital clocks on the walls showed the time in Istanbul, Baghdad, Islamabad, Bangkok, Singapore, Tokyo, and Sydney. Although billboard-size video screens on the walls showed multiple cable news shows, there was little noise in the basketball-court-sized main workroom. Each desk had dual computer screens and earphones to hear the video soundtrack. Conferences were held in smaller workrooms divided by glass walls from the windowless main room.
Round the clock, the targeters from Homeland Security’s Customs and Border Protection agency analyze information from multiple sources, not just ATS. They compare names to terrorist watch lists and mine the Treasury Enforcement Communications System and other automated systems that bring data about cargo, travelers and commercial workers entering or leaving the 317 U.S. ports, searching for suspicious people and cargo.
Almost every person entering and leaving the United States by air, sea or land is assessed based on ATS’ analysis of their travel records and other data, including items such as where they are from, how they paid for tickets, their motor vehicle records, past one-way travel, seating preference and what kind of meal they ordered.
Steorn Finalizes Contracts with Validation Jury
December 3rd, 2006Via Steorn:
Steorn, the technology development company, announced yesterday that it has finalized and signed contracts with an independent jury who will test Steorn’s free energy technology.
This is the latest milestone in Steorn’s efforts to get validation for its technology, which began when the company issued a challenge to the world’s scientists via an advertisement in the Economist in August 2006.
Steorn’s technology is based on the interaction of magnetic fields and allows the production of clean, free and constant energy. The technology can be applied to virtually all devices requiring energy, from cellular phones to cars.
The Steorn panel was oversubscribed several times with hundreds of qualified scientists applying to be part of the jury. The final jury hail from several of the world’s leading academic/scientific institutions. There will be representation on the panel from the US and several European countries.
Artificial Happiness: The Dark Side of the New Happy Class
December 3rd, 2006Via: The Wilson Quarterly:
There’s nothing like an authoritative, well-documented Grand Guignol horror story. If you’ve ever wondered about the source of those big, ecstatic American smiles or the frantically cheery commands to “have a nice day†that have become an inescapable part of our national life, read this riveting book and wonder no more. Chances are that the perpetrators of the friendly fire are zonked out on antidepresÂsants, floating on magnetic clouds of alternative medicine, or overexercised into a state of euphoria. All three instrumentalities have a common goal of “artificial happinessâ€â€”happiness as an end in itself, an induced emotion with no connection to the facts of one’s life.
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Dworkin presents a gallery of legal druggies who are so content with their artificial happiness that they have lost all incentive to take action against what made them unhappy in the first place.
Man Cuts Electricity Use by 2/3, Gets Audited
December 3rd, 2006Via: Christian Science Monitor:
When high school science teacher Ray Janke bought a home in Chicopee, Mass., he decided to see how much he could save on his electric bill.
He exchanged incandescent bulbs for compact fluorescents, put switches and surge protectors on his electronic equipment to reduce the “phantom load” – the trickle consumption even when electronic equipment is off – and bought energy-efficient appliances.
Two things happened: He saw a two-thirds reduction in his electric bill, and he found himself under audit by Mass Electric. The company thought he’d tampered with his meter. “They couldn’t believe I was using so little,” he says.
FBI Uses Mobile Phones for Audio Surveillance – Even When Phones Are Off
December 3rd, 2006Via Slashdot:
We already knew the FBI can secretly listen in to car conversations by activating microphones of systems like OnStar. A new Mafia court case suggests that the FBI can do the same thing to cell phones. The judge’s opinion and some background information are available for reading online. The most disturbing thing? According to the judge, the bug worked even if the phone appeared to be ‘powered off.’
Biometric ATMs for Illiterate Indian Slum Dwellers
December 3rd, 2006Via MSN/Financial Times:
Citigroup is rolling out a network of biometric automatic cash machines aimed at illiterate Indian slum dwellers, using the latest technology to woo the country’s millions of “unbanked” poor.
The machines will recognise account holders’ thumbprints, eliminating the need for a personal identification number, and will have colour-coded screen instructions and voiceovers to help guide them through transactions.
Bush to Announce “Orbital Battle Station”???
December 2nd, 2006There’s no confirmation of this Pajamas Media story anywhere yet, but let the “Death Star” jokes commence anway:
…sources inside the missile-defense community tell Pajamas Media that the Bush administration is planning to ask Congress to begin funding development of an “orbital battle station.â€
With these key developments, 2007 is set to be the biggest battle of space-based weapons since President Reagan proposed “Star Wars†in 1983.
Lou Dobbs: North American Union Orwellian Brave New World
December 2nd, 2006After you watch this Lou Dobbs piece, check out the new Visa commercial. People who use cash cause the machine to break down! Trouble makers. Terrorists?
Feds Back Off Mandatory Livestock Registration – For Now
December 1st, 2006Good news? Maybe. Maybe not. My guess is that this will be back with a vengeance, and slammed through VERY fast under the guise of an “emergency”. The system will be up and running on a voluntary basis. After the “emergency” it’s just a flick of the president’s pen to make it mandatory.
The hissing, snarling fascists tell Americans that they don’t have to microchip their chickens and it seems like a great victory. Meanwhile, the government has been secretly assigning threat index scores to all travelers entering and leaving the United States! But, again, you don’t have to microchip your chickens. For now…
This is the state of things now. These are the little glimmers of hope that people grasp for when they live under diabolical regimes:
The Bush administration is abandoning plans to make farmers and ranchers register their cows, pigs and chickens in a nationwide database intended to help limit disease outbreaks.
Faced with widespread opposition, the Agriculture Department said Wednesday the animal tracking program should remain voluntary.
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It’s likely family farmers concerned about animal identification will remain leery, rural Mountain Grove resident Doreen Hannes said.
Hannes, who helped organize a session at a local livestock auction earlier this year to discuss the proposal, said she wants to see how “voluntary” is defined before letting her guard down.
“The real key here is the word voluntary has to be defined,” said Hannes, who raise goats on her family’s small farm.
Even if the department says it is for voluntary participation, it’s possible there will be so much pressure on family farmers that a voluntary program causes the same disruption as a mandatory program, she said.
Research Credit: MM
U.S. Warns Financial Firms of Al Qaeda Threat
December 1st, 2006On 8/25/2004, I wrote:
I wouldn’t be surprised if critical network infrastructure was physically destroyed. The global economy is teetering on the brink of collapse. When the macro-scale looting has finally run its course, and the collapse is imminent, why no provide an excellent excuse for the collapse?Take away the flow of information and you take away the flow of money.
Take away the flow of money and you bring down the show.
Well, if anything happens, it simply means this nonsense with the economy and the dollar went too far. Forget about that Mexican standoff with the currencies and the national debt closing in on $9 trillion….
LOOK OUT! OVER THERE! IT’S A TERRORIST INDUCED CRISIS! RED ALERT! THE TERRORISTS KILLED FREE TRADE!!!! THE HORROR! THE HORROR!!!!
HAHA!
The only thing we can know for sure is that the show is going to be good. It will, in fact, be the greatest show on earth. Get your popcorn ready:
Via CNN:
The U.S. government has warned U.S. private financial services of an al Qaeda call for a cyber attack against U.S. online stock trading and banking Web sites beginning Friday, officials said Thursday.
The officials – a person familiar with the warning and a spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security – said the Islamic militant group aimed to penetrate and destroy the databases of the U.S. stock market and banking Web sites.
Research Credit: GK
