Secrecy bill for state anti-terror agency has some crying foul

[maxrandb]

Source: VA Pilot Online

CHESTERFIELD

In the basement of a building between an IHOP and a car dealership sits the nexus of Virginia’s fight against terror.

There, people who need special clearances pass through layer after layer of security on their way to a conference room so secure no one can have a cell phone or a piece of electronic equipment inside. The door locks alone cost $4,000 apiece.

Most people know little about the Virginia Fusion Center. And if a bill quietly wending through the General Assembly becomes law, they’ll know even less. The bill, coincidentally named HB1007, would exempt the center’s investigative and intelligence documentation from the state Freedom of Information Act and would shield its employees from subpoenas in civil lawsuits concerning criminal intelligence information or terrorism investigations.

Del. David Marsden, D-Burke, who voted against the bill earlier in the session, but later relented, called the proposal “a hold-your-nose bill.” “If it’s becoming the secret police bill, that’s a problem,” Marsden said. “And we’ll need to fix that. For me, it comes across as a threshold … 51 good to 49 problematic.”




Read more: http://hamptonroads.com/2008/02/secrecy-bill-state-antiterror-agency-has-some-crying-foul

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Love that quote from delegate Marsden “a hold-your-nose bill.” “If it’s becoming the secret police bill, that’s a problem,” Marsden said. “And we’ll need to fix that.

Ummmm, wouldn't it be a little late to fix at that point?

Is this how it starts? Is the plan for our government to be infected by these "fusions centers" at the state and local level, much like the wingnut CONservatives began infecting our School Boards and City Councils several decades ago?

Perhaps I'm overreacting to this, but I don't hink the marriage of federal, state, and local law enforcement to spy on its citizens is what the founders had in mind.

This bill would protect even those who "tattle-tale" on you without evidence of a crime. That has to be a divorce lawyers worst nighmare, or best friend.

Yeah, I guess passing laws that are "51% good, 49% bad" is really what we've come to expect as the norm.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

1. IHOP?

:tinfoilhat:



And no, you're not overreacting.

[maxrandb]

2. That's ironic

I thought for sure they'd put it close to a Duncan Donuts.

I guess, once I've made my annonymous and protected tip that my neighbor is molesting young sheep in his backyard, I can sit down to a large stack of flapjacks, secure in the knowledge that I've made my country safer. :sarcasm:

[maxrandb]

3. Not to mention

What the hell is Virginia doing fighting terrorism? Isn't that a federal responsibility?

That's like saying "Virginia's War in Iraq", or 'Virginia's War on Drugs"...nevermind!

I can understand Virginia having a roll in protecting it's citizens, but this bill also include immunity for investigations that have nothing to do with "terrorism".

The way it's worded, I could report you for growing marijuana. The federal DEA and the local S.W.A.T. Team could raid your house, subpeona your bank records, question you at your place of employment, or generally make your life a living hell, and I, and any of hte evidence they've collected against you, would be "protected".

That scares the crap out of me.

[L0oniX]

4. Are we here yet?

[pleah]

7. Just one goose step away.

[maxrandb]

5. Wow! Here's Much More on Fusion Centers

I'd never heard of this term before, but it looks like Rummy's Total Information Awareness has found a home.

http://epic.org/privacy/fusion/

The report also moved the goal to not just involve law enforcement, the courts, and emergency management databases, but to extend its reach to private entities.

During this same period of time, another fusion center initiative came under public scrutiny in the National Criminal Intelligence Sharing Plan as a data warehouse--the Multi-state Anti-Terrorism Information Exchange (MATRIX) project which acted as a prototype database system run by the State of Florida and Seisint, a private company. Built by a consortium of state law enforcement agencies, MATRIX proposed to combine public records and private record data from multiple databases with data analysis tools. MATRIX was established with the assistance of the Institute for Intergovernmental Research’s Global Justice Information Sharing Initiative. The program collapsed when it was disclosed to the public, and states were pressured by residents to withdraw from the program.

In March 2004, the MATRIX project was on its last gasp, when the states of New York and Wisconsin withdrew their participation in the project. By May 14, 2004, the Criminal Intelligence Coordinating Council proposed by the National Criminal Intelligence Sharing Plan became an official project of the Department of Justice.
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The "frickin" MATRIX??? Are you "effing" kidding me?

Where's my tinfoil hat?

Why have we heard so little about "fusion centers"? I thought that was just a place my bride went for her chemo therapy.

Sounds so harmless, doesn't it? "Fusion Center". It's just like a Tropical Smoothie of domestic spying.

To clarify, I think there is a need for something like this when you are talking about terrorism. Expanding it to "all criminal" activity scares the hell out of me.

When does it become illegal to be a progressive?

[dmr]

6. Too many deep dark secrets

What scares me are the people who run these things. I appreciate the need for discretion, but there should never, ever be any entity in this country that is off the books, especially a super secret police. I can't help but question the psychological make-up of those who would entertain working within or supporting such a program. There must be oversight to assure all of us that what they are doing is legal, and that our tax-dollars are well spent. Too much secrecy only creates more crooks.

[DCKit]

8. "Total Information Awareness" sounded too Orwellian...

so now they've given it a nice, warm and fuzzy name.