Registered: Jul 2000
Location: Bangor, ME
Posts: 10181

ARTICLE
Ok. So the title was a little sketchy, but in reality this article goes over some glaring holes in our new and improved flight security. Including future implemented securities, which are being discussed. Here is a bit:

quote:

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All the warning signs are there: new and unproven security measures, no real threat analysis, unsubstantiated security claims. The ban on cutting instruments is a perfect example. It's a knee-jerk reaction: the terrorists used small knives and box cutters, so we must ban them. And nail clippers, nail files, cigarette lighters, scissors (even small ones), tweezers, etc. But why isn't anyone asking the real questions: what is the threat, and how does turning an airplane into a kindergarten classroom reduce the threat? If the threat is hijacking, then the countermeasure doesn't protect against all the myriad of ways people can subdue the pilot and crew. Hasn't anyone heard of karate? Or broken bottles? Think about hiding small blades inside luggage. Or composite knives that don't show up on metal detectors

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Registered: Jul 2000
Location: Bangor, ME
Posts: 10181

i guess i shouldn't have posted this while morgana, sp00ky, and paint weren't busy

dammit aminal, macker and d1n0 should be able to talk about the encryption part of it

pffft

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I don't like the talk about illegalizing certain materials...that can cover such a broad range as to be impossible and silly. Do we lose the right to have laundry detergent? To buy chemistry kits for children through Edmondson Scientific? The measures are too swift and pre-emptive to provide for safe, long-term relevance; I would rather see them actually adhere to the regulations in place, as that will make a great difference.

The airport security checkers are pathetic, for the most part; I had one in New Jersey who spoke no English. Luckily I knew Spanish. She just barely looked over my things, barely blinked at the xray photo before passing my luggage through. I could have had all manner of things in there. We can utilize the National Guard and the Reserves more actively than we do; a little more funding to justify extra work wouldn't be out of order.

I have to say I'm not terribly upset by the surveillance issues as of now. I have nothing to hide, nothing to fear. There may be a problem in the future (threat to free speech, criticizing the government), but for now, they are free to have all the fun they please. I'd bore them silly, perhaps induce a government study in sleep aids.

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Registered: Jul 2000
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>>edit: sorry that is my ass talking

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Last edited by Fiend on 10-02-2001 at 01:21 PM

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Outstanding article, fiend - thank you. The links alone are impressive.

"So much data is collected -- the NSA sucks up an almost unimaginable quantity of electronic communications, the FBI gets innumerable leads and tips, and our allies pass all sorts of information to us -- that we can't possibly analyze it all. "

With the argument that collecting even more data indiscriminately without developing tools to filter for content with some modicum of efficiency will bog down the obviously overburdened security bureaucracies even more.

I always wondered how NSA et al. managed all the crap they were supposed to be collecting. I guess the answer is, they didn't. You gotta wonder what caliber of staff and consultants they are able to hire.

Steganography is fascinating...

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Registered: Jul 2000
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quote:

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Some broad surveillance, in limited circumstances, might be warranted as a temporary measure. But we need to be careful that it remain temporary, and that we do not design surveillance into our electronic infrastructure. Thomas Jefferson once said: "Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty." Historically, liberties have always been a casualty of war, but a temporary casualty. This war -- a war without a clear enemy or end condition -- has the potential to turn into a permanent state of society. We need to design our security accordingly.

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I wonder if they're tapping in to my scholarly debates about Jane Austen's novels...oh dear...

Seriously, I understand the concerns, but doubt that our government will ever be able to enact the mass surveillance hinted at. Think about all the manpower needed to survey every phone line, every email account, everyone's actions at the bank...like sphinxie said, we're already pretty bogged down. Hell, we can't even order toilet paper in government offices without flipping out and establishing a procedure that requires 400 forms.

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Registered: Sep 2000
Location: The Bottom of the Toyem Pole
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quote:

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Originally posted by bunkum


Seriously, I understand the concerns, but doubt that our government will ever be able to enact the mass surveillance hinted at. Think about all the manpower needed to survey every phone line, every email account, everyone's actions at the bank...

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