Massive terror screening on Americans' international travel draws outrage

[seafan]

Massive terror screening draws outrage

MICHAEL J. SNIFFEN
Associated Press

Fri, Dec. 01, 2006

WASHINGTON - 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.
Incoming Senate Judiciary Chairman Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont pledged greater scrutiny of such government database-mining projects after reading that during the past four years millions of Americans have been evaluated without their knowledge to assess the risks that they are terrorists or criminals.


--snip
The Associated Press reported Thursday that Americans and foreigners crossing U.S. borders since 2002 have been assessed by the Homeland Security Department's computerized Automated Targeting System, or ATS.
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."
--snip
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.


--snip
"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."
--snip
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.

--snip
Government officials could not say whether ATS has apprehended any terrorists.

....

[leesa]

1. Of course it hasn't apprehended any terrorists. None of their tactics have apprehended any

terrorists. Perhaps the filthy rich CFOs amd CEOs will wake up when their transcontinental companies and the American playground tanks because no one wants to travel to fascist USA anymore.

[ThomCat]

4. These invasions of privacy aren't INTENDED to find terrorists.

They're designed to spread the reach of data mining in general. They're designed to desensitize us data collection and data mining so that we'll accept it.
x(

[seafan]

6. Exactly right. And all of us are in danger because of it.

Information like this will be abused and used against Americans in ways we cannot begin to imagine.

If we do not remove *Co from office immediately, the consequences will be catastrophic.

[anitar1]

12. I would certainly warn foreign friends not to come

to this country as it is too dangerous. Huge crime rate in the cities and the government is not friendly to its own people, let alone foreigners. A very dangerous place to visit, imo.

[Deja Q]

2. Which foreign governments?

:D

[seafan]

7. Whichever foreign governments *Co outsourced all our info to, I suppose.

[seafan]

3. Phoenix Sky Harbor air passengers will also be subjected to x-ray strip searches by Christmas '06

This information must be added in this thread, as it is yet another egregious attack on our privacy.


Controversial X-ray scan to be used at Sky Harbor

Ginger D. Richardson
The Arizona Republic
Dec. 1, 2006 12:00 AM

The security agency's Web site indicates that the technology will be used initially as a secondary screening measure, meaning that only those passengers who first fail the standard screening process will be directed to the X-ray area.

Even then, passengers will have the option of choosing the backscatter or a traditional pat-down search.

A handful of other U.S. airports will have the X-rays machines in place by early 2007 as part of a nationwide pilot program, officials said.

There is a very disturbing x-ray image at the link.


People, this is the last straw for this unbridled destruction of our rights to privacy and civil liberties.

THIS MUST STOP NOW.

[KarenS]

5. I just heard about this tonight,,,, I am ready to quit flying,,,,,

If I can't drive to my destination, then I won't go.


on edit: my most frequent destination IS Phoenix, that's where my Grandkids are,,,,

[rooney]

9. Do you think that Bush Co is providing the people

with the things that they know will get their attention and perhaps keep the congress occupied so they don't issue indictments on them that could produce removal from office or prison time?

[jannyk]

8. I wonder if this is why I always get the 4 S's on my

ticket? My husband, who usually travels with me has never got them. Me, 4 times out of the last 6 flights. :think:

[savemefromdumbya]

10. terrorists would come into the country by rowboats and then what?

or hopping over the canadian or mexican boarder. Meanwhile innocent citizens are having their rights violated just because they fly or go by cruise ship?

[PSPS]

11. This is just Poindexter's TIA under a different name