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Homeland Security's Space-Based Spying Goes Live...
(The Intelligence Daily) -- While America's attention has shifted to the economic meltdown and the presidential race between corporate favorites John McCain and Barack Obama, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) National Applications Office (NAO) "will proceed with the first phase of a controversial satellite-surveillance program, even though an independent review found the department hasn't yet ensured the program will comply with privacy laws."
As I wrote in June, NAO will coordinate how domestic law enforcement and "disaster relief" agencies such as FEMA use satellite imagery intelligence (IMINT) generated by U.S. spy satellites. Based on available evidence, hard to come by since these programs are classified "above top secret," the technological power of these military assets are truly terrifying.
Unlike commercial satellites that beam TV programs, forecast the weather or provide global positioning services, their military cousins are far more flexible, have greater resolution and therefore, more power to monitor human activity. By utilizing different parts of the light- and infrared spectrum, spy satellites, in addition to taking ultra high-resolution photographs to within a meter of their "target," can also track the heat signatures generated by people inside a building. ("Homeland Security's Space-Based Spies," Antifascist Calling, June 4, 2008)
In other words, when combined with illegal NSA and FBI domestic surveillance programs--from data-mining to the massive interception of telephone and internet communications--NAO will furnish DHS and outsourced corporate grifters who actually run the program, with the blanket coverage of American citizens long sought by securocrats. Aside from The Wall Street Journal and The Raw Story, not a single media outlet has disclosed this vital information to the public.
Despite the absence of rigorous oversight that would determine whether or not NAO complies with what's left of privacy laws, DHS is proceeding full speed ahead. The Journal reports,
A new 60-page Government Accountability Office report said the department "lacks assurance that NAO operations will comply with applicable laws and privacy and civil liberties standards," according to a person familiar with the document. The report, which is unclassified but considered sensitive, hasn't been publicly released, but was described and quoted by several people who have read it.
By Tom Burghardt
...for the rest of the article
http://www.inteldaily.com/?c=126&a=8374 (The Intelligence Daily) -- While America's attention has shifted to the economic meltdown and the presidential race between corp... more -
McCain a modern Macbeth?
So it seems that the dirty tactics John McCain has adapted in his desperate, "oh-God-I'm-old-it's-my-last-chance' are bruising his soul and making him even grumpier. Selling one's soul isn't something that's done on ebay. In his case it involves hiring the same aides that when destroying McCain in South Carolina for then boss G.W. Bush, McCain commented that there was "a special place in hell for them."
Well Hell must be the McCain/Palin ticket, because that's where they all work now. That is called lack of integrity, kids and it is not a quality I look for in a Mayor, let alone President. I also don't want a (now soulless) shoot-from-the-hip hack with a short fuse in these tense times globally and financially.
Wanna know real homeland danger? Combine 1 war of choice, sprinkle liberally (love to say that about neo-cons) with de-regulation, fold in 2 parts cronyism, turn a blind eye to ethics in the Banking and Mortgage world and stir until mixed. Spread troops very thin and chill.
If done just right you will have left yourself open for another disgusting attack on American Soil, with little treasure or troops to do much about it.
note: War of Choice is usually very expensive, as is ignoring banking and mortgage ethics. So it seems that the dirty tactics John McCain has adapted in his desperate, "oh-God-I'm-old-it's-my-last-chance' ... more -
Tibetan Monk Held by DHS after Judge Grants Political Asylum
This is OUTRAGEOUS!! Homeland Security refuses to honor courts ruling...
A Tibetan monk remains locked up indefinitely at a federal detention center here despite being granted political asylum in the U.S. last month. Pema Wangyal is being held while the Department of Homeland Security appeals a judge's order that granted him political asylum, a process his attorney says could take from six months to several years.
"There is no reason he should be sitting in jail. He's not a terrorist. He's not a security threat or threat to the community," attorney Emmanuel Guerrero said. The 38-year-old Wangyal arrived in Hawai'i on June 26 and was detained when customs officials found his Indian-issued identity certificate incorrectly listed his age, height and birth country.
Wangyal, who was born in Tibet and lives in exile in India, was scheduled to give a series of lectures on a classical Buddhist text in August.
The U.S. claims Wangyal is eligible for permanent resettlement in India. Wangyal wants to return to India, but is fearful officials there will either imprison him for using false identification documents or send him to Tibet, where he could face persecution from the Chinese.
If India refuses to accept Wangyal, the only other place U.S. officials can send him is Tibet, the attorney said. "If I returned to Tibet, I would be jailed ... and executed," Wangyal told an officer, through an interpreter.
Wangyal was granted asylum on Sept. 2 by U.S. Immigration Judge Dayna Beamer. This is OUTRAGEOUS!! Homeland Security refuses to honor courts ruling... ... more -
Corporate Media: The Missing Headlines - FEMA Camps
by Rand Clifford
10/5/08
While compulsory lying, distractions and inane diversions reduce our fourth estate into corporate government’s fifth column, it seems omission is the key tactic so solidly embedding mainstream corporate media into an exploiter of the people. Americans remain well informed regarding celebrities, entertainment, sports and weather—but when it comes to information people need to vote intelligently, understand what corporate government is really up to, or understand environmental issues, corporate media is little more than special-interest propaganda. And when it comes to the complex relationship of the nation and its citizens to the 95% of global population that are not American…strategies such as omission perpetuate the fossilized notion of “we’re number one” being all that Americans really need to know.
So what if instead of subjugating, dividing and stupefying the people, corporate media actually lived up to its noblest reason for being and served the peoples’ best interests? What might be some of the headlines we’d see, and the essence driving them?
Perhaps….
Closed-door session of the House prompts representative outrage, leaks
(March 13, 2008) The House of Representatives held only its sixth closed session since 1812, and the first since July 1983, when it secretly discussed U.S. support for the Contras in Nicaragua. The publicly stated reason for the recent closed session was for members to discuss new citizen surveillance provisions. However, conversations off the record have indicated that the meeting was primarily about nine key issues:
1. the imminent collapse of the U.S. economy to occur by September 2008
2. the imminent collapse of U.S. federal government finances by February 2009
3. the possibility of civil war inside the USA as a result of the collapses
4. advance round-ups of “insurgent U.S. citizens” (those opposing the New World Order) likely to move against the government
5. detention of those rounded-up at “REX 84“camps constructed throughout the USA
6. possibility of retaliation against members of Congress for the collapses
7. the location of “safe facilities” for members of Congress and their families to reside during expected massive civil unrest
8. the necessary and unavoidable merger of the United States with Canada (for its natural resources) and Mexico (for its pool of cheap labor)
9. the issuance of a new currency – THE AMERO – for all three nations as the proposed solution to the upcoming economic Armageddon….
Imagine how much the above information would help people understand the enormity of, and better navigate lies blooming around the following:
Constitution violated, U.S. infantry troops to be deployed on U.S. soil starting October 1
The “Raiders”, First Brigade Combat Team of the Third Division, are now under the command of US Army North, the Army’s component of NorthCom—the Pentagon’s northern command, which was created after 9/11 to defend the US “homeland” and aid local, state and federal authorities. Posse Comitatus was an act passed by Congress on June 16, 1878, which prohibits federal uniformed services from being deployed on non-federal property to maintain “law and order”….
[...]
U.S. troops and recruits quizzed about willingness to shoot friends and family members
Soldiers recently returning from Iraq reveal that U.S. troops are being trained to conduct domestic round-ups and confiscate guns, and being quizzed about shooting American citizens—including their own friends and family members—as part of a long-standing program to prepare for the declaration of martial law….
[...]
continued at above link by Rand Clifford 10/5/08 ... more -
Secret Bush Administration Plan to Suspend US Constitution
Photo used with permission from http://stpaulrnc.shutterfly.com/20,
http://www.myspace.com/japhletba
by Tom Burghardt
Global Research, October 6, 2008
Antifascist Calling…
“Continuity of Government” (COG) Provisions activated in 2001
Ten months before the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld approved an updated version of the U.S. Army’s secret operational Continuity of Government (COG) plans.
A draft document published by the whistleblowing website Wikileaks entitled, “Army Regulation 500-3, Emergency Employment of Army and Other Resources. Army Continuity of Operations (COOP) Program,” dated 19 January 2001, spells out changes in Army doctrine.
Issued by Headquarters, Department of the Army and signed off by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and the Secretary of the Army, the document is affixed with a warning: “Destruction Notice: Destroy by any method that will prevent disclosure of contents or reconstruction of the document.” The restricted document as published by Wikileaks states:
History. This regulation is a revision of the original regulation that was effective on 10 July 1989. Since that time, no changes have been published to amend the original.
Summary. This regulation on the Army Continuity of Operations (COOP) Program has been revised to update Army COOP policy and extend the requirement for all-hazards COOP planning to all Army organizations. Classified information contained in the 1989 version of this AR has been removed and placed in a classified HQDA Operations Plan (OPLAN).
Applicability. This regulation applies to the Active Army, the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR), and when federalized to the Army National Guard (ARNG). In the event of conflict between this regulation and approved OSD or JCS publications, the provisions of the latter will apply. (”Army Regulation 500-3, Emergency Employment of Army and Other Resources. Army Continuity of Operations (COOP) Program,” 19 January 2001, p. 3) [emphasis added]
“All-hazards COOP planning” is described as the means by which “the Army remains capable of continuing mission-essential operations during any situation, including military attack, terrorist activities, and natural or man-made disasters.” While the Army stresses the updates described in AR 500-3 relate to chemical, biological, nuclear attacks, “natural disasters” and “technical or man-made disasters or accidents,” current Army doctrine is also heavily weighted towards contingency planning for “civil disturbances.”
[...]
continued at above link Photo used with permission from http://stpaulrnc.shutterfly.com/20, http://www.myspace.com/japhletba by Tom Burghardt ... more -
CODE RED!: FBI warns of potential terror attacks on public buildings.
Let the games begin! Get your color charts out. Are we red today? Maybe a blood orange -the sky is falling! Carl Rove, please tell me who will protect us?
The FBI and Department of Homeland Security today issued an analytical "note" to U.S. law-enforcement officials cautioning that al-Qaida terrorists have in the past expressed interest in attacking public buildings using a dozen suicide bombers each carrying 20 kilograms of explosives. Let the games begin! Get your color charts out. Are we red today? Maybe a blood orange -the sky is falling! Carl Rove, please tell... more -
British Commander: War in Afghanistan Cannot be Won.
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's commander in Afghanistan has said the war against the Taliban cannot be won, the Sunday Times reported.
It quoted Brigadier Mark Carleton-Smith as saying in an interview that if the Taliban were willing to talk, then that might be "precisely the sort of progress" needed to end the insurgency.
"We're not going to win this war. It's about reducing it to a manageable level of insurgency that's not a strategic threat and can be managed by the Afghan army," he said.
He said his forces had "taken the sting out of the Taliban for 2008" but that troops may well leave Afghanistan with there still being a low level of insurgency.
But Afghanistan's Defense Minister expressed his disappointment on Sunday at the commander's statements, maintaining the insurgency had to be defeated.
"I think this is the personal opinion of that commander," Abdul Rahim Wardak told reporters.
"The main objective of the Afghan government and the whole international community is that we have to defeat this war of terror and be successful," he said.
Wardak said success also depended on how British forces were approaching the problems they faced in Helmand but did not say whether their current strategy was the right one.
Asked if the commander's comments came as a disappointment, Wardak said: "Yes, it is disappointing, for sure."
Britain has around 8,000 troops based in Afghanistan, most of them in the volatile southern province of Helmand, where they face daily battles with a growing insurgency.
NO NEGOTIATIONS WITH "INVADERS"
NATO commanders and diplomats have been saying for some time that the Taliban insurgency cannot be defeated by military means alone and that negotiations with the militants will ultimately be needed to bring an end to the conflict.
"If the Taliban were prepared to sit on the other side of the table and talk about a political settlement, then that's precisely the sort of progress that concludes insurgencies like this," Carleton-Smith said. "That shouldn't make people uncomfortable."
But a spokesman for the Taliban said on Sunday there would be no negotiations with foreigners and repeated calls made by Taliban commanders for the unconditional withdrawal of the more than 70,000 international troops from Afghanistan.
"They should know that Taliban will never hold talks with the invaders," Taliban spokesman Qari Mohammad Yousuf told the Pakistan-based Afghan news agency, AIP.
"What we had said in the past, we also say once again, that foreign forces should leave without any condition," he said.
Violence in Afghanistan has increased to its worst level since 2001, when U.S.-led and Afghan forces overthrew the ruling Taliban following the September 11 attacks on the United States.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai said last week he had asked the king of Saudi Arabia to mediate in talks with the insurgents and called on Taliban leader Mullah Omar to return to his homeland and to make peace. LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's commander in Afghanistan has said the war against the Taliban cannot be won, the Sunday Times report... more -
Chertoff Stole My Toothpaste
I was Armed to the Teeth!!
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Satellite-Surveillance Program to Begin Despite Privacy Concerns
The Department of Homeland Security will proceed with the first phase of a controversial satellite-surveillance program, even though an independent review found the department hasn't yet ensured the program will comply with privacy laws. The Department of Homeland Security will proceed with the first phase of a controversial satellite-surveillance program, even though a... more
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D.J. Caruso Interview: It's true! Eagle Eye REALLY IS listening!!!
Damn...this is scary...aparently the bit in Eagle Eye that you thought was far-fetched, where the powers that be can turn the microphone on in your cell phone at any time as long as it's switched on, is for real!
__________________
"it's pretty amazing to know what happens via homeland security if you're flagged as a person of interest. How, electronically, all this technology that we love can be used against us. My FBI tech and our technical advisors for technology were saying "Absolutely, we can work with phone companies. We can activate the microphone in someone's cell phone even if their cell phone is off." D.J. Caruso
_________________
Click on link above for full interview. Damn...this is scary...aparently the bit in Eagle Eye that you thought was far-fetched, where the powers that be can turn the micropho... more -
Secret UK Terror Data Sold on eBay!
A camera sold on Ebay contained photos and confidential records of MI6 terror suspects. Photographs, fingerprints and confidential documents relating to suspected Al-Qaeda terrorists were allegedly found in the memory of the second-hand Nikon Coolpix camera, which was bought on the auction site for only £17.
The confidential files were discovered after the buyer downloaded his holiday photos. He immediately reported the files to the police, who initially treated it as a joke. However, the police subsequently descended on the man's home, seizing his computer and camera equipment.
A spokesman for Hertfordshire Police said: "We can confirm we seized a camera after a member of the public reported it. Intelligence officers are investigating."
The news is hardly likely to help MI6's recruitment drive, which it was revealed earlier this week, saw the intelligence service place adverts on Facebook. The extraordinary leak also comes just a day after it was announced that a Cabinet Office official who left top secret documents on a train is to be charged under the Official Secrets Act. A camera sold on Ebay contained photos and confidential records of MI6 terror suspects. Photographs, fingerprints and confidential doc... more -
US Military's "Africom" Becomes Fully Operational
The US military's Africa Command becomes fully operational on Wednesday, but it still faces skepticism about its intentions as it seeks to provide security assistance to African states.
When the command was unveiled in 2007, President George W. Bush presented it as a way to channel US aid in Africa. But it still has a number of detractors, both in Africa and the United States.
African opponents of the command fear that Washington wants to spread its military might across Africa to counter the growing economic influence of China and to secure sources of energy supply.
"US Africa Command is nothing more than a device to ensure that the US oil industry will have unfettered access to Africa's vast supplies of oil," said Mark Fancher of the US-based National Conference of Black Lawyers.
"If anyone in Africa interferes with US oil operations, we suspect that they will be given the terrorist label and then targeted for military attacks," he said.
In a sign of mistrust of US intentions, several African governments, including Algeria and Nigeria, have refused to host the headquarters of the command. So instead of being based on the continent, the new command is operating for now from Stuttgart, Germany.
Africom, with about 1,300 military and civilian personnel, has also attracted opposition in the United States where some critics regard it as an attempt to militarize US foreign policy.
"State Department and US Agency for International Development officials have expressed concerns that Africom will become the lead for all US efforts in Africa rather than just DoD (Department of Defense) activities," a report by the Government Accountability Office, a congressional audit agency, said in July.
At Africom, officials deny there is a hidden agenda. The US military's Africa Command becomes fully operational on Wednesday, but it still faces skepticism about its intentions as it... more -
"Terror" Film Violating Election Laws?
Is front group for Israeli organization trying to influence November election?
The Council for American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a Muslim advocacy group with an office in Southfield, Mich., has asked the Federal Elections Commission (FEC) to investigate whether the distributor of millions of copies of an anti-terrorism DVD is a front for right-wing Israel-based groups trying to help Republican presidential candidate John McCain.
If so, that could be a violation of campaign law, since foreign nations are not allowed to attempt to influence American elections. Is front group for Israeli organization trying to influence November election? ... more -
Bill Would Ban Laptop Searches by DHS
DID YOU KNOW? The Department of Homeland Security has virtually unfettered authority to search, copy and archive the contents of laptops, cell phones and digital cameras travelers carry into the US. Sen. Russ Feingold wants to change that.
He submitted a bill called "Travelers Privacy Protection Act" that would require 'reasonable suspicion' before DHS electronics search. Any customs agent who wants to go poking around your laptop's hard drive is going to need a legitimate reason to do so, if legislation proposed Monday is adopted.
“Most Americans would be shocked to learn that upon their return to the U.S. from traveling abroad, the government could demand the password to their laptop, hold it for as long as it wants, pore over their documents, emails, and photographs, and examine which websites they visited – all without any suggestion of wrong-doing,” Feingold said.
"Focusing our limited law enforcement resources on law-abiding Americans who present no basis for suspicion does not make us any safer and is a gross violation of privacy. This bill will bring the government’s practices at the border back in line with the reasonable expectations of law-abiding Americans.”
Last year, DHS reversed a two-decade old policy that required reasonable suspicion before Customs and Border Patrol agents could search a travelers' documents, including the contents of laptops, cell phones, digital cameras and other devices. The new policy also made it easier for DHS to share information it collected with other law enforcement agencies, a provision civil liberties advocates could let those agencies use DHS to conduct warrantless searches on their behalf and subvert the Fourth Amendment.
Can you spell "Police State"? DID YOU KNOW? The Department of Homeland Security has virtually unfettered authority to search, copy and archive the contents of lapto... more -
Pre-election Militarization of the North American Homeland
Pic used with permission from http://www.flickr.com/people/theuptake/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/theuptake/2831828326/
by Michel Chossudovsky
Global Research, September 26, 2008
US Combat Troops in Iraq repatriated to “help with civil unrest”
The Army Times reports that the 3rd Infantry’s 1st Brigade Combat Team is returning from Iraq to defend the Homeland, as “an on-call federal response force for natural or manmade emergencies and disasters, including terrorist attacks.” The BCT unit has been attached to US Army North, the Army’s component of US Northern Command (USNORTHCOM). (See Gina Cavallaro, Brigade homeland tours start Oct. 1, Army Times, September 8, 2008).
“Beginning Oct. 1 for 12 months, the 1st BCT will be under the day-to-day control of U.S. Army North, the Army service component of Northern Command, as an on-call federal response force for natural or manmade emergencies and disasters, including terrorist attacks.
It is not the first time an active-duty unit has been tapped to help at home. …
But this new mission marks the first time an active unit has been given a dedicated assignment to NorthCom, a joint command established in 2002 to provide command and control for federal homeland defense efforts and coordinate defense support of civil authorities.
After 1st BCT finishes its dwell-time mission, expectations are that another, as yet unnamed, active-duty brigade will take over and that the mission will be a permanent one.
The command is at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colo., but the soldiers with 1st BCT, who returned in April after 15 months in Iraq, will operate out of their home post at Fort Stewart, Ga..
…
The 1st of the 3rd is still scheduled to deploy to either Iraq or Afghanistan in early 2010, which means the soldiers will have been home a minimum of 20 months by the time they ship out.
In the meantime, they’ll learn new skills, use some of the ones they acquired in the war zone and more than likely will not be shot at while doing any of it." (ibid)
The BCT is an army combat unit designed to confront an enemy within a war theater.
With US forces overstretched in Iraq, why would the Pentagon decide to undertake this redeployment within the USA, barely one month before the presidential elections?
The new mission of the 1st Brigade on US soil is to participate in “defense” efforts as well as provide “support to civilian authorities”.
What is significant in this redeployment of a US infantry unit is the presumption that North America could, in the case of a natgional emergency, constitute a “war theater” thereby justifying the deployment of combat units..
The new skills to be imparted consists in training 1st BCT in repressing civil unrest, a task normally assumed by civilian law enforcement.
What we are dealing with is a militarization of civilian police activities in derogation of the Posse Comitatus Act.
continued at http://dandelionsalad.wordpress.com/2008/09/26/pre-elec...
see also http://dandelionsalad.wordpress.com/2008/09/24/army-uni...
http://dandelionsalad.wordpress.com/2008/01/31/the-thre... Pic used with permission from http://www.flickr.com/people/theuptake/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/theuptake/2831828326/ ... more -
Homeland Security tests machine that reads your mind
Baggage searches are SOOOOOO early-21st century. Homeland Security is now testing the next generation of security screening — a body scanner that can read your mind.
Most preventive screening looks for explosives or metals that pose a threat. But a new system called MALINTENT turns the old school approach on its head. This Orwellian-sounding machine detects the person — not the device — set to wreak havoc and terror.
MALINTENT, the brainchild of the cutting-edge Human Factors division in Homeland Security's directorate for Science and Technology...
Read The Rest at Link... Baggage searches are SOOOOOO early-21st century. Homeland Security is now testing the next generation of security screening — a body s... more -
Homeland security researching new airport body scanner that reads minds
The Department of Homeland Security is testing a type of body scanner that seeks out invisible clues that a person might be harbouring criminal intent, such as raised body temperature, pulse and breathing rate.
The system, called MALINTENT, uses a raft of "non-invasive" sensors and imagers to detect such factors remotely - subjects are not hooked up to anything. It also evaluates a person's facial expression to help to gauge whether they could be planning to commit an attack or crime.
The technology, developed by the Human Factors division of Homeland Security's directorate for Science and Technology, would be used at border checkpoints, airports and special events that require security screening.
Unlike current technology which aims to detect devices such as guns or explosives, it focuses on the person who could pose the threat.
The technology, dubbed Future Attribute Screening Technology, or FAST, deploys a range of "innovative physiological and behavioural technologies" to pick up "indications of malintent or the intent or desire to cause harm", according to the DHS.
Still in the development stage, it is designed to streamline screening of people at security checkpoints enabling large numbers to be vetted swiftly.
"It would take imaging and sensor technologies to observe physiological changes that might indicate intent to harm, such as skin temperature, pulse, respiration and gestures," said Amy Kudwa, a DHS spokeswoman.
She added it would be capable of distinguishing between someone with a hostile intent and a plane passenger, for example, who was merely stressed about missing a connection.
The technology is currently installed in a mobile unit, or demonstration laboratory, that scans people with multiple sensors while they walk through it. Last week it was tested in Maryland using nearly about 140 volunteers, Ms Kudwa said.
Some of the volunteers were told to act suspiciously as they walked past the FAST sensors.
"We're still very early on in this research, but it is looking very promising," John Verrico, a DHS spokesman, told New Scientist. "We are running at about 78 percent accuracy on mal-intent detection, and 80 percent on deception."
If the sensors pick up anything considered alarming, analysts can decide whether to subject a person to questioning. The Department of Homeland Security is testing a type of body scanner that seeks out invisible clues that a person might be harbouring... more -
Seriously, Who Wants to Travel to the United States?
The United States Department of Homeland Security scares the hell out of me. What is really bad is I am a United States citizen and it scares the hell out of me. It really has to be scary to someone that isn't a citizen of the United States.
Back in April of this year, the Ninth Circuit Court decided that searching laptops without reason is well within the law, and does not violate any Fourth Amendment Rights.
So wait. Now I am confused. The Ninth Circuit says that TSA Agents can search my papers, effects, laptops, iPods, iPhones and other electronic devices without probable cause, but the Fourth Amendment says that they cannot. Unless the probable cause is "Everyone is a Terrorist". Then it kind of makes sense.
At least they have to have reasonable suspicion to check my large intestines, that is comforting.
Don't worry though! Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-CA) introduced a new bill to help with this! Well, not so much help, but at least you will get a receipt for the expensive piece of electronic equipment that the TSA Agent, who makes just more than minimum wage, is illegally seizing from you..... The United States Department of Homeland Security scares the hell out of me. What is really bad is I am a United States citizen and it... more -
DHS Report Says Leave Laptops At Home
The federal agency said anyone who brings their computer or cell phone out of the country is risking privacy and data security violations.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security appears to be of two minds about the security of information on portable devices.
On the one hand, it defends border searches of laptops as necessary to limit the movements of terrorists, to deter child pornography, and to enforce U.S. laws.
On the other hand, it has warned business and government travelers not to carry laptops or other electronic devices when traveling abroad, as a way to prevent "unauthorized access and theft of data by criminal and foreign government elements."
In a document titled "Foreign Travel Threat Assessment: Electronic Communications Vulnerabilities," published by the DHS's critical infrastructure threat analysis division and recently posted to Wikileaks, DHS urges business leaders and U.S. officials to "leave [electronic devices] at home" when traveling.
"Foreign governments routinely target the computers and other electronic devices and media carried by U.S. corporate and government personnel traveling abroad to gather economic, military, and political information," the document warns. "Theft of sensitive information can occur in a foreign country at any point between a traveler's arrival and departure and can continue after returning home without the victim being aware."
Recognizing that for some it may be impossible to travel without a laptop and phone, DHS recommends buying a single-use cell phone locally, carrying a designated "travel" laptop with a minimum of information on it, and using temporary Internet e-mail accounts that are not associated with a corporate or government entity.
"Even with these strategies, however, travelers should assume that all communications are monitored," the DHS Threat Assessment says.
In other words, expect no privacy or data security anywhere.
Oh, P.S. THE SKY IS FALLING!!!! The federal agency said anyone who brings their computer or cell phone out of the country is risking privacy and data security violati... more -
Enhanced drivers' licenses available (NYS)
ALBANY -- Starting Tuesday, New Yorkers will be able to purchase enhanced drivers' licenses that may also be used for land or sea travel between the United States and Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean.
The new licenses come after years of wrangling over how to secure the nation's borders after the 9/11 attacks, as well as ease traffic at the crossings.
New York, in an agreement reached last year with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, will become the second state, after Washington, to offer the enhanced licenses as part of the federal Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative.
The licenses, which will include a photo and computer chip to electronically identify the cardholder at the border, will be sold at state and county Department of Motor Vehicles offices on Tuesday.
They are available only to U.S. citizens who are New York residents.
The cost will be $80, which is $30 more than current licenses. But for people with current licenses, the cost will be prorated by how many years are left until the license expires. The enhanced licenses, as with current drivers' licenses, are valid for eight years.
In June, the federal government will require U.S. citizens entering the country to present an enhanced license, a federal passport card or a U.S. passport.
The new license cannot serve as identification for international air flights. So after June 1, U.S. travelers would need passports to fly to Jamaica, for example, but could use an enhanced drivers' license if they took a cruise out of Miami that stopped in Jamaica.
The state over time expects that at least 16 percent of New York drivers, or more than 1 million people, will replace their current drivers' licenses with enhanced ones.
The state has spent months preparing for the rollout of the new licenses. Each DMV office has been equipped with new technology that can authenticate an applicant's citizenship and residency documents.
"We're looking forward to Tuesday and hopefully this will help the public," said Tompkins County Clerk Aurora Valenti.
Some clerks expressed concern about not being able to keep up with the demand for the new licenses. Saratoga County Clerk Kathy Marchione said her office estimates it will take 15 minutes or more to complete just one application.
The state estimates the licenses will bring in about $60 million in revenue for state and local entities. Counties will receive $9 on every enhanced license sold, or nearly 30 percent of the revenue.
And the enhanced licenses are generally accepted as an improvement over the current system, in which travelers must typically show a driver's license and a birth certificate to reenter the U.S. from neighboring countries.
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This feels so creepy & Big Brother-ish ALBANY -- Starting Tuesday, New Yorkers will be able to purchase enhanced drivers' licenses that may also be used for land or sea... more
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