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12/03/2006 Archived Entry: "Yet another secret government spying operation"

IF YOU TRAVEL ABROAD, YOU WILL BE TARGETED

Silver here. The Automated Targeting System was supposedly designed to help identify suspicious containers and other cargo entering the US. That has not been done; only a small fraction of cargo receives any screening at all.

Trust government to put citizens in the crosshairs of any program. The "most advanced targeting system in the world" (DHS claims) was implemented 4 years ago without oversight of any kind. Law makers and law enforcement did not know of its use on travelers. Data collected includes origin, when and how tickets were purchased, motor vehicle records, police encounters, past one-way travel, seating preference, meal orders, and very likely any other data the goons can buy or steal. Screening criteria are secret, records are kept for 40 years, and there is no mechanism to review the record, correct errors, or challenge the results. Every traveler to and from America is screened by a computer algorithm written by unknown programmers and designers who will never be held accountable for any damage they cause.

The records may be shared with courts, Congress and private contractors. But not with you.

Thanks to Bruce Schneier's blog for the tip. The AP article is Feds rate travelers for terrorism.

Ugh. Will be my score for eating fatty foods 2002-2006 be used against me after Hillarycare has been the law of the land for 38 years?

Posted by Silver @ 11:31 AM CST
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