U.S. Airport Screeners Are Watching What You Read

boarder8925 writes "Be careful what you read when you fly in the United States. What you read is being monitored by airport screeners and stored in a government database for years. 'Privacy advocates obtained database records showing that the government routinely records the race of people pulled aside for extra screening as they enter the country, along with cursory answers given to U.S. border inspectors about their purpose in traveling. In one case, the records note Electronic Frontier Foundation co-founder John Gilmore's choice of reading material, and worry over the number of small flashlights he'd packed for the trip. The breadth of the information obtained by the Gilmore-funded Identity Project (using a Privacy Act request) shows the government's screening program at the border is actually a survelliance dragnet."

Steal the text, but leave out the hyperlink.

[NitroWolf]

Go Go Gadget editors!

Someone steals the text of the actual article (not unusual, I know), instead of providing an actual summary... but leaves out the hyperlink that's actually IN the stolen text for the Identity Project [papersplease.org] referenced in the article.

Why bother with editors?

Airport Screeners != Border Inspectors

[Rafke]

Although the both work for Homeland Security, their roles are different. When you enter the country at the airport you don't pass any airport screeners (unless you transfer to another flight). If you take a domestic flight you will never see any border inspectors.

Re:The End of the Republic

[Seraphim1982]

Not much, but seeing as how the Republicans have never held a 2/3s majority in Congress, passing anything over a Clinton Veto would require a fair number of democrats to cooperate.

Even after the "Republican Revolution" of 1994 the republicans only held 53% of the House, and 54% of the senate. They managed to get upto 55% of the senate in '96 and 98', but lost ground in the House.

Re:The End of the Republic

[ChristTrekker]

Take a different issue (say, gun rights - you know, the one with which you can theoretically protect your other rights) and it's just the opposite - Dems violating the Constitution at nearly every turn. Fact is, both major parties routinely ignore it whenever convenient. If you're not voting third party, you're wasting your time. The country needs a reboot, and we won't get that by voting status quo.

Re:The End of the Republic

[Savantissimo]

"...every Democrat voted to restore it, every Republican voted to keep it suspended"
Your link shows that this is false.

Hagel (R-NE)
Lugar (R-IN)
Smith (R-OR)
Snowe (R-ME)
Specter (R-PA)
Sununu (R-NH)
voted for restoring habeas corpus.

On the other hand the following senators voted against the constitution despite the example of their fellow senator of (supposedly) the same party and state:

Lieberman (ID-CT) (former Dem., lost primary)
Collins (R-ME)
Gregg (R-NH)

Re:The End of the Republic

[Skjellifetti]

I don't see where the Constitution says that Habeas Corpus does not apply to U.S non-residents (whatever they are).

The Constitution actually says:

Section 8 - Powers of Congress -- The privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it.

Next time go RTFM before you spout off about what is in TFM.

Re:The End of the Republic

[Sciros]

You need to consider context. The Constitution does not apply to, say, Burmese living in Burma (an example of someone who does not reside in the US; I can't believe you didn't comprehend at least that bit). "Powers of Congress" has no bearing there in the first place. It's the Constution of the United States, after all.

Re:Significance

[Mr. Slippery]

The biggest single problem in the US today is there are indeed terrorists

No, it's not. Not even close. The threat perceived is way out of proportion to the actual threat.

About 16,000 people are murdered in the U.S. per year; that makes the number of people killed in the U.S. by terrorist attacks over the past decade on the order of one fiftieth the number of people murdered in conventional assaults.

The annual number of deaths from AIDS are roughly comparable to those from murder. AIDS is about 50 times the threat to your life as terrorists.

Both murder and AIDS are of course tiny compared to deaths from cancer or heart disease, which together have killed somewhere in the neighborhood of ten million people in the past ten years. Bacon double cheeseburgers and lack of exercise are far more deadly to Americans than Al Qaeda.

Over a million people died in accidents in the past decade; about 400,000 of those were killed in motor vehicle accidents.

Heck, about as many people drown every year as died in the 9/11 attacks. 3,372 fatal drownings in 2001, versus [cdc.gov]2,974 killed in the 9/11 attacks. And yet nobody gets all bent out of shape about how we have to suspend habeus corpus to protect ourselves from the dangers of swimming pools and lakes. [wikipedia.org]

Fear terrorists? Feh. If you want to save lives, put resources into health promotion and medical care, safer roads, and crime prevention.

That doesn't mean "do nothing about terrorists"; but it does mean "do sane things, not crazy-ass useless things".

Re:The End of the Republic

[Sciros]

Agh bro if they are being detained *outside of the US* then they are bound NOT by the Constitution of the United States but by various conventions: the Geneva Convention in some cases, the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT) in others, etc. That's just how it works. The law as outlined in the Constitution does not protect nor bind you if you are not in the US.

Re:Brewing stuff up in the toilet...

[marsu_k]

The whole idea was throughoutly debunked [theregister.co.uk]. So no more liquids on you although the threat doesn't exist.

Re:You've Got the Wrong Guy!

[X0563511]

I forgot to turn my phone off for one flight. Not only did nobody ask/say/look or anything, but we took off, landed, and navigated without any problems. Hell we were cleared for approach ahead if time and were lined up with the runway at least 60 miles out.

I should also mention that there were no course/altitude corrections during flight, and my phone didn't explode from tying to connect to a tower.

I think the whole situation is retarded. Cell phones DO NOT hurt avionics, and I don't really think that the towers can even hear my phone from 20,000 feet up (the antennea focus downwards)