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TSA and Fear
From: David Farber <dave () farber net>
Date: Wed, 27 Sep 2006 10:39:29 -0400
Begin forwarded message: From: Lauren Weinstein <lauren () vortex com> Date: September 27, 2006 10:30:35 AM EDT To: dave () farber net Cc: lauren () vortex com Subject: TSA and Fear Dave, The TSA-related behavior at the front lines should hardly be a surprise. It's hard even to really fault those field agents. Such behavior almost always flows from the top, and it's clear that the administration has fostered a climate of fear that has been indoctrinated into the powers-that-be at TSA and all the way down through the organizational chart. I'm not talking so much about fear of terrorists, but rather fear of losing their jobs if they let one perceived "unusual" case through that turned out to be a problem later (or, more likely, a test case to make sure that the bizarre interpretations of law being promulgated are rigorously enforced). Shucks, that "free speech" stuff is always getting in the way, isn't it? But gosh Mr. Peabody, what else would you expect from a TSA that forced its "undercover" operatives to dress like they were attending a funeral, and an administration that makes a big deal out of releasing portions of an NIE with top-secret analytical gems amounting to "the war in Iraq has inspired terrorists" (duh), and "terrorists will make increased use of the Internet" (double-duh). As the old saying goes, "What goes around, comes around." --Lauren-- Lauren Weinstein lauren () vortex com or lauren () pfir org Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800 http://www.pfir.org/lauren Co-Founder, PFIR - People For Internet Responsibility - http://www.pfir.org Co-Founder, IOIC - International Open Internet Coalition - http://www.ioic.net Moderator, PRIVACY Forum - http://www.vortex.com Member, ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy Lauren's Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com DayThink: http://daythink.vortex.com ------------------------------------- You are subscribed as lists-ip () insecure org To manage your subscription, go to http://v2.listbox.com/member/?listname=ip Archives at: http://www.interesting-people.org/archives/interesting-people/
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- TSA and Fear David Farber (Sep 27)