Face Police coming to US Airports...

Newsweek: "Specially trained security personnel" will be watching passengers for "micro-expressions" that will reveal treacherous agendas and insidious intentions at airports around the country. These agents, who may literally hold your fate in their hands have been given a lofty, Orwellian name: 'Behavior Detection Officers.'"

"So while TSA employees are confiscating our scissors and water bottles, they’re going to secretly be staring at us, looking for some telltale sign of terrorist intent in a grimace, a sigh, a crinkled nose"


Creepy, yes. But probably more effective than strip searching toddlers based on inaccurate name matches from a super-duper-secret watchlist, or taking our water away. Can we just be free and get on with it? Take our chances? Not be anal probed OR terrorized?

U.S. to Expand Domestic Use Of Spy Satellites

Wall Street Journal: "The U.S.'s top intelligence official has greatly expanded the range of federal and local authorities who can get access to information from the nation's vast network of spy satellites in the U.S. The decision, made three months ago by Director of National Intelligence Michael McConnell, places for the first time some of the U.S.'s most powerful intelligence-gathering tools at the disposal of domestic security officials.

The move was authorized in a May 25 memo sent to Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff asking his department to facilitate access to the spy network on behalf of civilian agencies and law enforcement.

Until now, only a handful of federal civilian agencies, such as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the U.S. Geological Survey, have had access to the most basic spy-satellite imagery, and only for the purpose of scientific and environmental study. "


When did the people represented by the government become separated from it? Why have they become the enemy, to be tagged, cataloged, monitored and watched? Why are we wasting resources watching ourselves? Do you, personally, need to be watched? If the answer is 'no', then any time spent watching you is wasted, and time that could be spent watching someone who needs watching. Why would you support a plan to watch yourself, at great cost and exactly zero impact? Lame.

Justice Dept.: FBI Misused Patriot Act

AP: "The FBI improperly and, in some cases, illegally used the USA Patriot Act to secretly obtain personal information about people in the United States, a Justice Department audit concluded Friday.

And for three years the FBI has underreported to Congress how often it forced businesses to turn over the customer data, the audit found.

FBI agents sometimes demanded the data without proper authorization, according to the 126-page audit by Justice Department Inspector General Glenn A. Fine. At other times, the audit found, the FBI improperly obtained telephone records in non-emergency circumstances."


No big surprise here. Law enforcement has a job to do, and will use whatever tools are available to them to do so. The problem is a policy level issue, and is a good example of the need for checks and balances between branches of government -- back to the framer's intent to prevent abuses of individual rights. This is likely just the tip of the iceberg.

RFID passports less useful to machines too...

EPIC: "A document obtained by EPIC from the State Department reveals that 2004 government tests found passports with radio frequency identification (RFID) chips that are read 27% to 43% less successfully than the previous Machine Readable Zone technology (two lines of text printed at the bottom of the first page of a passport)."

"Recent reports by the Department of Homeland Security Data Privacy and Integrity Advisory Committee and European experts also recommend against the use of RFID tags in identity documents."


Not particularly surprising on the face of it. What is surprising is that in spite of the above reports (even within DHA), we're all marching headlong into requirements for a fundamentally flawed and insecure system in the name of theater. Blech.


(link via Schneier)

Security Theater: Shoe-scanning x-rays cannot detect explosives

AP: "X-ray machines that screen airline passengers' shoes cannot detect explosives, according to a Homeland Security Department report on aviation screening.

Findings from the report, obtained by The Associated Press, did not stop the Transportation Security Administration from announcing Sunday that all airline passengers must remove their shoes and run them through X-ray machines before boarding commercial aircraft."


This is just dumb. Why inconvenience millions for no good purpose? Theater.

Prepare for an influx of greasy-headed tourists...

AP: "In major U.S. airports, guards armed with rifles stood at security checkpoints, and passengers were met by signs warning that all liquids were now banned from carry-on luggage."


Well.. one fundamental phase of matter down, only a few more to go. Good luck banning solids. Although it must be pointed out that passengers are now technically banned, as they are mostly comprised of liquid...

USA Today invents 'Thirdhand Smoke'

USATODAY: "As any parent knows, crawling babies explore the world by touching — and tasting — anything they can get their wet little hands on.

If their parents use tobacco, that curiosity may expose babies to what some doctors are calling 'thirdhand' smoke — particles and gases given off by cigarettes that cling to walls, clothes and even hair and skin... ...But his work suggests that babies may take in nicotine and other chemicals just by hugging their mothers — even if their mothers never light up next to them..."


Would someone please panic? We're surprised they didn't use 'hug of death' as the headline...

Al-Quota -- innocents landing on 'terror' watchlists...

TheDenverChannel.com : "You could be on a secret government database or watch list for simply taking a picture on an airplane. Some federal air marshals say they're reporting your actions to meet a quota, even though some top officials deny it.

The air marshals, whose identities are being concealed, told 7NEWS that they're required to submit at least one report a month. If they don't, there's no raise, no bonus, no awards and no special assignments.

'Innocent passengers are being entered into an international intelligence database as suspicious persons, acting in a suspicious manner on an aircraft ... and they did nothing wrong,' said one federal air marshal."


Lovely. Not like the watch list data was clean to start with, but whatever. Effective use of tax dollars for theater...

California DMV preps for National ID card rush...

SF Chronicle: "Starting in 2008, all 22 million licensed California drivers will be required to go in person to a DMV office and prove their identity and address with three different documents before getting a new, federally approved state license."

"The Real ID Act requires every state to issue driver's licenses that comply with a national standard. The goal is to prevent fraud and make sure people applying for licenses are who they say they are and do not pose security risks.

The perpetrators of the Sept. 11 attacks had valid licenses, which allowed them to board airplanes."


So since the terrorists had real and valid licenses, we should require a different license? dumb. Keeping in mind that knowing someone's name does exactly zero to indicate intent.. It's appropriate that these madates are referred to as 'Acts' given the 'security theater' going on.. Won't stop a terrorist. Won't do squat.

Criteria: have to bring someone's birth certificate and two bills with the same name on them. No verification. Nice. Lovely thing is that anyone can print a birth certificate, and all that's required to set up ultilities (if you don't just steal bills from a mailbox first) is a driver's license. Old ones work just fine. You can buy those on the street (timetable for street vendors to sell federal IDs? 2008.) Whatever. The terrorists had valid licenses. Intent is the issue. Not a name you can bootstrap your way into through other insecure documents.