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| Fliers to Be Rated for Risk Level |
| 2003-09-09 |
| We’re getting colors!! EFL: In the most aggressive -- and, some say, invasive -- step yet to protect air travelers, the federal government and the airlines will phase in a computer system next year to measure the risk posed by every passenger on every flight in the United States. The new Transportation Security Administration system seeks to probe deeper into each passenger’s identity than is currently possible, comparing personal information against criminal records and intelligence information. With emphasis on the probe deeper part. Passengers will be assigned a color code -- green, yellow or red -- based in part on their city of departure, destination, traveling companions and date of ticket purchase. Most people will be coded green and sail through. But up to 8 percent of passengers who board the nation’s 26,000 daily flights will be coded "yellow" and will undergo additional screening at the checkpoint, according to people familiar with the program. An estimated 1 to 2 percent will be labeled "red" and will be prohibited from boarding. These passengers also will face police questioning and may be arrested. One could also ask why the "reds" aren’t already in jail. The new system, called Computer Assisted Passenger Pre-screening System II (CAPPS II), has sparked so much controversy among both liberal and conservative groups that the TSA has struggled to get it going. Delta Air Lines backed out of a testing program with the agency earlier this year, and now the TSA will not reveal which airlines will participate when it tests a prototype early next year. I’m guessing the ones that draw the short straws. If all goes as planned, the TSA will begin the new computer screening of some passengers as early as next summer and eventually it will be used for all domestic travelers. Next summer is early? The existing system identifies certain passengers as risky based on a set of assumptions about how terrorists travel. For instance, passengers are flagged for additional screening if they bought a one-way airline ticket, or if they paid with cash instead of a credit card. The next hijacker will buy a roundtrip ticket using his Visa Gold card, they learn too. But the TSA, recognizing that the system is outdated and easy to fool, wants to replace it and put the government in the role now played by the airlines in making security assessments. Under the new program, the airline will send information about everyone who books a flight to the TSA, including full name, home address, home telephone number, date of birth and travel itinerary. If the computer system identifies a threat, the TSA will notify federal or local law enforcement authorities. I ask again, if you know this much about these "threats", why are they not under arrest? The agency has not indicated the number or type of personnel needed to oversee the program. 1. Thousands, if not tens of thousands. 2. Entry level, low wage data entry types (just the kind of job made to order for identity theft. Anyone want to bet they wouldn’t outsource this overseas? No?) The TSA will check each passenger in two steps. The first will match the passenger’s name and information against databases of private companies that collect information on people for commercial reasons, such as their shopping habits. I guess those of us who tell these companies that we are 90 year old Eskimo women are screwed, huh? This process will generate a numerical score that will indicate the likelihood that the passenger is who he says he is. And if the data entry clerk makes an error, you’re screwed. Passengers will not be informed of their color code or their numerical score. Your first hint will be the cold steel muzzle behind the ear and the taste of concrete. The second step matches passenger information against government intelligence combined with local and state outstanding warrants for violent felonies. Known for their accuracy. David A. Keene, chairman of the American Conservative Union, worries that the computer screening program will go beyond its original goals. "This system is not designed just to get potential terrorists," Keene said. "It’s a law enforcement tool. The wider the net you cast, the more people you bring in." Of course, somebody sees this as a great way to close their open cases at the publics expense. I’m glad I just bought a new truck, I see a lot more road trips and a lot fewer flights in my future. |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #16 I'll second that, CrazyFool!! |
| Posted by: Baba Yaga 2003-9-10 12:23:17 AM |
| #15 Shouldn't we get to do a "survivor" and vote people on and off the aircraft during "pre-boarding"? Is this a friggin' democracy or what? For some people who marinate in their stinky perfume I would go for voting them off during the flight... Kidding (or am I?) |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2003-9-9 11:43:19 PM |
| #14 Shouldn't we get to do a "survivor" and vote people on and off the aircraft during "pre-boarding"? Is this a friggin' democracy or what? Have bouncers, maybe - big gorilla-lookin' dudes with no necks and bad dispositions just open up the rear hatch and chuck the ones we don't like the looks of out onto the tarmac... |
| Posted by: mojo 2003-9-9 10:42:20 PM |
| #13 If you go red, you should still have the option to fly handcuffed after consuming a fifth of scotch.It just makes sense. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2003-9-9 10:30:17 PM |
| #12 TGA--If there is such a thing as a national ID here, it would be a driver's license. True, they are issued by the individual states, but they are kind of accepted nationwide as ID cards. That's why a lot of people are worked up about California giving licenses to illegal aliens. It's seen as kind of "legitimizing" them without making them do any of the things that resident aliens/nationals have to do, and rewarding them for getting past immigration officials. The whole "why don't you have national ID's" thing is hard to explain. Americans feel that the national government already knows too much about them. It's something that we practically feel from birth, and it doesn't matter to us if that government file is only one sheet of paper. I know that sounds illogical to many foreigners, but that's the way we feel about it. |
| Posted by: Baba Yaga 2003-9-9 10:26:57 PM |
| #11 So thousands of people daily wouldn't be able to board their flights. Tix refunded immediately, right? Plus the hotel reservation on the other side? Plus the gas they'll need now that they're driving to grandma's house? Or cruise tickets since they were headed to the Bahamas? Piss off. For once I'll be on the side of the lawyers. Notice that I'm not assuming TSA DHS FBI CIA NSC NKLMNOP will be able to flag the proper individuals. Christ this is stupid. Just tack on a few bucks to my fare instead, so I can see a nice, polite, pistol-packing pilot at the front of the plane. |
| Posted by: (lowercase) matt 2003-9-9 10:12:17 PM |
| #10 True German Ally---Don't know. I have a US passport, so the US Govt knows all about me. It is sort of a national ID. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2003-9-9 10:11:26 PM |
| #9 "There have been reports (is this true?) of the IRS being used to perform 'annual random audits' on people who have asked tough or embarassing questions...." Indeed. Bill Clinton had thousands of opponents tax records delivered to the White House. But they said it was a 'mistake'. Among those whose tax records were taken: Shawn Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, Newt Gingrich, and others. Those records are still missing to this day. |
| Posted by: Charles 2003-9-9 8:29:13 PM |
| #8 Think lawyers are licking their chops waiting for their first shot at this? |
| Posted by: tu3031 2003-9-9 8:24:18 PM |
| #7 Indeed Alaska Paul, that did come to my mind. I know this is a provocation for many Americans but: Why is a national ID card such a monstrosity? |
| Posted by: True German Ally 2003-9-9 7:11:17 PM |
| #6 And whats to keep this from being misused for political reasons... I don't think it will be used in the way an IRS audit is used - i.e. to 'punish' a particular individual enemy. That said, it is probable that it could go beyond use as a 'law enforcement tool' to target other groups, e.g. "deadbeat dads", members of certain advocacy groups, etc. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2003-9-9 6:45:15 PM |
| #5 True German Ally---This scenario is almost out of Franz Kafka's novel, The Trial, nicht war? |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2003-9-9 6:14:16 PM |
| #4 1 or 2 percent will be denied boarding? This sounds like the ultimate nonsense to me. And you are not even able to find out why you might be labeled red? Even bigger nonsense. You are suspicious when taking a one way flight or when paying cash? It gets more absurd. When the first congressman or important CEO gets flagged red because of an error that thing will be dead. You might as well not start it and save your taxpayers a lot of money. |
| Posted by: True German Ally 2003-9-9 5:43:07 PM |
| #3 Holy Big Brother Batman! This is the biggest GIGO pile of sh-t I have ever heard. While we are doing alimentary canal cruises on innocent passengers, our terrorist buddies are looking at ways of creating mischief using other modes of transport or industries. This is a typical case of knee-jerk reaction of government on a problem. If you are going to beat the terrorist, you have to think like a terrorist and stay at least 2 steps ahead. And finally, while we are cleaning up our deep probe instruments, we have the biggest security problem right smack dab here on our US-Mexico border. What is being done about el-Turbano crossing there? Welcome to the US. Have a driver's licence. Have a nice day. Well, this little rant has made me see red. Now I will be flagged red, and I won't even be allowed to board my own plane. We do not need a dept of homeland security. What we need are a few thousand real smart folks in key places making things happen. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2003-9-9 4:05:42 PM |
| #2 And whats to keep this from being misused for political reasons. I would not put it past a politician (from either side) to have someone placed on 'the list' for political reason or to derail their opponents campain team. Ask a tough question of a president and find that you cannot fly because you have been labeled 'red'. There have been reports (is this true?) of the IRS being used to perform 'annual random audits' on people who have asked tough or embarassing questions.... |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2003-9-9 3:31:14 PM |
| #1 The real problem, in the long run, is that there is no recourse once labelled. Multiple agencies contribute to the various systems and you are not privvy to who or what puts you on the list, so there is no one entity to whom you can appeal if they've screwed up... and that, my friends, is UNAmerican: no means of redress of grievances. |
| Posted by: .com (a.k.a. Abu This!) 2003-9-9 3:17:45 PM |