Police State Redux

[Don Wassall]

Liberals Smear Wikileaks

Activists intent on releasing evidence of crimes committed by a powerful government are harassed and followed by police and intelligence agents: a restaurant in which they are meeting comes under surveillance, and, subsequently, one of their number is detained by the police for 21 hours. Their leader is followed on an international flight by two agents: and, in a parking lot of foreign soil, one of their number is accosted by a "James Bond character" and threatened. Computers are seized, and on the group's Twitter account the following message appears: "If anything happens to us, you know why "¦ and you know who is responsible."




Well, then, who is responsible? Surely it must be some totalitarian regime â€" say, the Chinese, or one of the Arab autocracies â€" but no. The culprits are the Americans, and their target is Wikileaks â€" the web site of record for leaked government and other official documents, which has so far done more real investigative reporting in the last few years to unnerve and expose the Powers That Be than the New York Times and the Washington Post, combined.


From the dicey activities of major banks, to the "Climate-gate" e-mails that revealed attempts by government scientists to falsify or "sex up" data to make the case for global warming, to the war crimes committed by US troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, Wikileaks is fearlessly exposing the evil that stalks the world â€" and they, in turn, are being relentlessly stalked by the US government and its minions.
full article: http://original.antiwar.com/justin/2010/04/13/liberals-smear-wikileaks/

 

[DixieDestroyer]

The DOJ seeks to snoop into e-mails (sans warrants)...

http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE63715G20100415?sp=true

Edited by: DixieDestroyer

 

[FootballDad]

Of course, all of these latest articles are about the same folks who cried bloody murder over the Bush "eavesdropping". Proves the point often made here that they are all statists cut from the same cloth.

 

[FootballDad]

The odious "Financial Reform Bill" that is pending in Congress is probably the worst piece of legislation in history, even worse than the dreadful "Health Care Reform" bill recently passed. This bill has so many removal-of-freedom-and-liberties provisions in it, it's almost beyond belief. It meshes perfectly with the recent "Global Banking Reform" that the G22 and World Bank endorsed. Here's just another tidbit for you guys about how if you have a banking account, any kind at all, Big Brother will basically have full access:


Bailout Bill Would Require Banks to Track and Report Personal Checking Accounts to Feds
<DIV id=Blog>


Big Government
April 30, 2010


It's amazing to watch the civil libertarians hide when Democrats propose the most sweeping intrusions of privacy in generations. In addition to the litany of bad policies contained in the Dodd Financial Reform bill is this nugget on pages 1039-1040. In short, it extends government reach to every deposit account of every citizen.


Required Acct MonitoringSubtitle G of the Dodd discussion draft bill requires that records be maintained and reported "for each branch, automated teller machine at which deposits are accepted, and other deposit taking service facility with respect to any financial institution, the financial institution shall maintain a record of the number and dollar amounts of deposit accounts of customers."Â


What's worse, banks will be required to submit these records to the new super regulatory agency called the Consumer Financial Protection Agency (page 1041). The CFPA will be allowed to use this information for any purpose "as permitted by law" under CFPA rulesâ€"rules set by CFPA themselves.


So, lets get this straightâ€"the law requires banks to snoop on its customers MOST PERSONAL INFORMATION and submit it to another government agency so it can be used anyway the CFPA see's fit.


Must submit to CFPASo, if the CFPA Czar see's fit, information about your deposit account activity could be shared with the IRS, immigration officials, state officials, or any other entity that the Administration and their various Czar's think beneficial.


But CFPA will impact your life even before they give away your personal data. Remember that part of the excuse for including this authority is to make policy recommendations. So, be careful not to run your credit limit too high above the amount of money you are depositing in the bank or the CFPA will know you can't pay your bills and make the appropriate "policy recommendations"Â.


This is exactly why conservatives have fought so hard against things like national ID cardsâ€"if the government is authorized to collect and utilize data, there is no way to prevent the government as a whole or certain individuals within the government from using the information against the citizens.


But passage of the CFPA will settle the whole ID card thing once and for all. There will be no need for them because if you have a bank account, you already have a number and the CFPA will have it.


The breadth of sweeping new powers given to the federal government by these three pages is astonishing. Yet we have heard nary a peep about this provision.


After capitulation and surrender, Republicans will have a chance to amend the legislation when it comes to the floor of the Senate and protect the private details of your banking account.


But if they don't, smile the next time you go to the ATM because Big Brother will be watching.

 

[TwentyTwo]

Thanks for the great info yall....how much longer will website like this be shut down in the name of "cyber-terrorism"??

In early January 2010, KPRC News Houston reported on the Houston Police Department and the Department of Homeland Security deploying UAVs for surveillance purposes: What's up with this??


Mission: Empower the public so they may better understand the police/surveillance state by educating them about fusion centers and the role they play in both militarizing and federalizing our police forces.



Vision: A harmonious relationship between law enforcement and the people that promotes peace while respecting liberty.


Methodology: Throughoutthe year 2010representatives from TAG and LRP will travel across the United States visiting America's fusion centers, holding public forums and activist trainings, and meeting with representatives and local law enforcement. The southern leg of the tour (MO, TX, NM, AZ, OK, LA, MI, AL, and GA.) was completed in January.
&gt;click video

http://operationdefuse.com/
Edited by: TwentyTwo

 

[DixieDestroyer]

NYC or Oceania (2010)???

Police cameras to flood Manhattan to prevent "attacks"

By Sebastian Smith (AFP) â€" 22 hours ago

NEW YORK â€" New York officials say they could stop attacks like the attempted Times Square car bomb by expanding a controversial surveillance system so sensitive that it will pick up even suspicious behavior.

New York is already a heavily policed city, with 35,000 officers and a counterterrorism bureau -- the first of its kind in the country -- partnering the FBI.

But Saturday's failed terrorist bomb in the Times Square tourist hot spot has provided the authorities with a new argument for expanding a sometimes controversial security blanket of cameras, sensors and analytical software.

The system "will greatly enhance our ability and the ability of the police to detect suspicious activity in real time, and disrupt possible attacks," Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Monday.

The high-tech system, modeled on the "ring of steel" in London's financial district, is already in service in lower Manhattan, where Wall Street and the World Trade Center reconstruction site are located.

Headquartered at 55 Broadway, the Lower Manhattan Security Initiative goes far beyond the traditional hodgepodge of police cameras, such as the 82 devices installed around Times Square.

Instead, an integrated system maintains an unblinking eye, not just watching, but constantly collecting license plate numbers and video of pedestrians and drivers, as well as detecting explosives and other weapons.

An important component of the program is coordination between the police network and private businesses' cameras, something that has not been established in Times Square, causing detectives significant extra work.

Also, a separate, but similar program called Operation Sentinel plans to log every vehicle entering Manhattan island by scanning their license plates and checking for radiation.

Last October, Bloomberg announced plans to expand the lower Manhattan system into Midtown, including the Times Square area.

On Sunday, New York police chief Raymond Kelly reiterated the plan and used the occasion to press for more federal funding from Washington.

Kelly also gave details about the system, explaining how the aim is for "analytic software" allowing experts to make sense of raw information in real time.

For example, alarms would trigger when cameras noticed an unattended bag or a car circling a block too many times to be considered normal, Kelly said.

"This is a whole new area for us," he told Fox News. "We're very enthusiastic about it."

Bloomberg said the city has budgeted "more than 110 million dollars to expanding the Lower Manhattan Security Initiative and incorporating it with the Midtown Manhattan Security Initiative."

That large-scale, yet simultaneously detailed intelligence gathering clearly pays in some terrorism investigations.

Officials point out that acquiring the ingredients for a bomb or weapons exposes plotters to precisely the kind of surveillance New York is promoting.

Kelly noted on Fox News that Afghan immigrant Najibullah Zazi found it "very difficult to get explosives" for his plan to bomb the New York subway system. A major piece of evidence against him was security camera footage of a shopping trip for chemicals in Colorado.

Similarly, although the Times Square bomber tried to disguise the car, it was still quickly traced, providing detectives with an important lead.

But while law enforcement officials tout a brave new world of security, rights groups fear a "big brother" presence violating fundamental privacy.

The New York Civil Liberties Union has sued the Department of Homeland Security in an attempt to extract more information about the Manhattan security system and to know how the information will be used, shared and stored.

The irony is that the lowest tech responses can sometimes best the most sophisticated gizmo.

The misfiring of a device hidden in the underpants of a Nigerian passenger and the quick reaction by others on the US-bound flight prevented potential tragedy in a December 25 attempted airliner attack.

And in Times Square, a vigilant street vendor and nearby beat cop -- not a computer -- raised the alert on the suspicious vehicle.

"Think about the street vendor. Think about the passengers on the flight on Christmas Day," said Republican congressman Pete Hoekstra.

"All of these people perhaps were the difference between a major disaster and actually what happened: a failed terrorist attack."

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5imlKse9LHHatYcH4g3NbI-Q8Fe2Q

Edited by: DixieDestroyer

 

[Freethinker]

Once again the politicians look at the symptoms and not the root cause of the problem. Why do people from other parts of the world want to come to the US and commit acts of terror? Failed foreign policy, maybe? Nah, they just hate our way of life. Funny, cities in Norway aren't bombed. Or how bout Switzerland. They enjoy western culture there. Seriously, no matter how many cameras you have its nearly impossible to stop a suicide bomber.

So since "our" leaders will never remove US troops from foreign lands, I as a NYC resident now look forward to a future of terror attacks (real and false flags perpetrated by the criminal government) and an Orwellian Police State. O joy.

As an aside, where have the days gone when we used to have wise leaders and men of influence, like Benjamin Franklin for example. He of course said, "They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither safety nor liberty." It truly is sad how Americans have intellectually regressed over 200 years.

 

[Colonel_Reb]

With my wife out of town visiting her folks, and myself not being able to sleep well, last night I did the unthinkable. I watched Charlie Rose. He was interviewing New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly. Kelly was very positive about plans to install another 3,000 cameras in an expanded area in the middle of the city. I had no idea they already had 3,000 cameras in one area. The Police State is already here for the people of New York. Sad stuff for those folks. I'm glad I don't live there.

 

[DixieDestroyer]

Reb, Kelly is a hardcore Orwellian totalitarian. He openly applauded & wanted to model NYC after London's "iron triangle" with CCTV camera banks on every street corner.

Also, Bank$ter bill could help Feds snoop...

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/may/05/bank-bill-could-help-feds-snoop-gop-warns/print/

Edited by: DixieDestroyer

 

[Highlander]

"Jew" (Lie)berman Wants to Revoke the Citizenship of Those the Government Simply Accuses of Being a "Terrorist"</font>

He even has a Bill ready to go! Imagine that. Just like the implementation of full body scanners in airports after the "Underwear b0mber" incident or the draconian "Patriot Act" and illegal wiretapping after 9/11. Now this after the failed NYC b0mbing? Coincidence that he already had a "Bill ready to go"?

Or perhaps, just perhaps, another "False Flag" attack in NYC to further the ultimate goal of stripping more of what's left of our liberties and the enactment of a police state.

****************************************************************************

http://www.unitedliberty.org/articles/5743-joe-lieberman-one-ups-john-mccain-let-s-strip-them-of-their-citizenship
<div>


Joe Lieberman got on the air yesterday and basically took John McCain's "ignore the Fifth Amendment idea" one step further:

In fact, he's even got a bill ready: <blockquote>

Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.)
thinks he's found a work-around on the whole Miranda rights debate for
U.S. citizens accused of terrorism: Strip their citizenship and ship
them to Guantanamo.

Lieberman plans to introduce a bill that
would amend a decades-old law aimed at yanking citizenship from U.S.
citizens who fight for a foreign military.

"I'm now putting
together legislation to amend that to [specify that] any individual
American citizen who is found to be involved in a foreign terrorist
organization, as defined by the Department of State, would be deprived
of their citizenship rights,"Â Lieberman said Tuesday.

Such a law
would potentially cover terror suspect Faisal Shahzad, a Pakistani-born
American citizen charged in connection with the attempted car bombing
in New York City's Times Square. He was apprehended Monday night at the
city's John F. Kennedy airport after he boarded a flight to Dubai.


"If you have joined an enemy of the United States in attacking the
United States and trying to kill Americans, I think you sacrifice your
rights of citizenship,"Â Lieberman said.</blockquote>

Think about
the implications of what Lieberman is proposing. If you're merely
accused of being part of a "terrorist group,"Â however that might be
defined, you'll be subject to losing your citizenship rights.

Radley
Balko explains clearly just what that means: <blockquote>

If we had been governed by
the wisdom of one Joe Lieberman over the last 15 years, Richard Jewell
and Steven Hatfillâ€"both innocent and both U.S. citizens accused of
terrorism-related crimesâ€"may well have been stripped of their
citizenship, treated as enemy combatants, and left to rot on some Navy
ship off the coast of South Carolina.

And let's not forget all
of those other stories we've read in the last few years about
pranksters getting cited for "terroristic"Â crimes. Just dispense with
their trials, already. Lock ‘em up. Hey, while we're at it, let's go
ahead and add drug crimes to the list of accusations that will strip
you of your citizenship. After all, Ronald Regan's 1984 declaration
that illicit drugs are a "threat to national security"Â has never really
been revoked, and the ONDCP regularly informs us that pot smokers are
supporting terrorism.</blockquote>

A flubbed attack that didn't
hurt anyone and two United States Senators are ready to send the
Constitution down the memory hole.

God help us if there's ever
another successful attack in this country. </div>

Edited by: Highlander

 

[Freethinker]

He even has a Bill ready to go!  Imagine that.  Just like the implementation of full body scanners in airports after the "Underwear b0mber" incident or the draconian "Patriot Act" and illegal wiretapping after 9/11.  Now this after the failed NYC b0mbing?  Coincidence that he already had a "Bill ready to go"?Or perhaps, just perhaps, another "False Flag" attack in NYC to further the ultimate goal of stripping more of what's left of our liberties and the enactment of a police

I couldn't agree more!Edited by: Freethinker

 

[DixieDestroyer]

New recycling bins with tracking chips coming to Alexandria

By: Markham Heid
Examiner Staff Writer
May 6, 2010
(Andrew Harnik/Examiner)

Alexandria residents soon will have to pay for larger home recycling bins featuring built-in monitoring devices.

The City Council added a mandatory $9 charge to its residents' annual waste collection fee.

That cash -- roughly $180,000 collected from 19,000 residents-- will pay for new larger recycling carts equipped with computer microchips, which will allow the city to keep tabs on its bins and track resident participation in the city's recycling program.

"If you know who's participating in the programs, you can focus your education and outreach to those who are not participating," said Stacy Herring, Alexandria's recycling coordinator.

Rich Baier, Alexandria's environmental services program director, said the city will use direct mailing campaigns and public presentations to target neighborhoods -- not individuals -- that lag when it comes to recycling.

"We're just trying to get the biggest bang where we need it for the buck," Baier said. "We don't want to get into exactly what people are recycling."

The new carts will come in sizes ranging form 25 to 65 gallons, and will sport wheels and lids. While the $9 charge is mandatory, residents may keep their old 18-gallon bins if they so choose.

Councilman Frank Fannon, the lone City Council member to oppose the new recycling bins, said he was against increased government spending, not recycling.

"I thought this was just another fee that we didn't have to pass on to the residents," he said.

Herring said the city conducted a survey among Old Town residents last May that found 60 percent wanted larger bins. She also said other jurisdictions had implemented bigger recycling bins and had seen recycling rates shoot up as a result.

"The larger the container, the more people recycle," Herring said, citing a study conducted by Eureka Recycling, a Minnesota nonprofit organization that promotes recycling.

Alexandria recently reported a 29 percent recycling rate to the state. Virginia requires most localities to recycle 25 percent of its waste, while the Environmental Protection Agency advocates a 35 percent target.

Baier said larger bins increase recycling rates because residents tend to throw their excess recyclables into regular trash cans once their recycling bins fill up.

He also said litter was a problem with the current bins, which don't have lids to prevent light materials from blowing out into area neighborhoods.

Venishka Hurdle, who coordinates recycling education programs in Arlington, said the county implemented larger, tracking-chip loaded recycling bins last year and saw the curbside recycling rate jump roughly 24 percent. The county's overall recycling rate is about 40 percent, she said.

"They've been a huge success," Hurdle said of the new bins. "Residents love them, and they recycle more materials as well."

Hurdle said Arlington County is collecting data from the bins' microchips, but had not yet used that data to improve recycling outreach and education programs.

Alexandria residents can expect to see their waste collection fees jump up in July, and likely will receive their new bins this summer.

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/local/New-recycling-bins-with-tracking-chips-coming-to-Alexandria-92880219.html

Edited by: DixieDestroyer

 

[FootballDad]

Here is a video of a police SWAT team raid of a home in Columbia, MO that happened in February. They were there with a search warrant for narcotics. They break into the house, slaughter the family pets and terrorize the family. All for a dime-bag of pot, which is a misdemeanor possession. The parents have been charged with "child endangerment", when who is doing the endangering?? Of course, the police are just doing their job to "keep everyone safe". There are over 100 of these raids EVERY DAY here in this supposedly freedom-loving nation of ours.
Just think, if you have a neighbor, or other person who has it out for you, they can call the cops, tell them you are running a meth lab or something, and you can have this same wonderful experience in this great nation of ours!!

[TUBE]RbwSwvUaRqc[/TUBE]
Edited by: FootballDad

 

[Freethinker]

FBDad thanks for posting that video. Frightening stuff.

Of course we all know the War of Drugs is a travesty that has failed for decades. It is simply used to lock up decent citizens in the ever growing prison system ($$$).

There is also substantial evidence that the CIA controls most of the drug trade that comes into this country. Black money to fund black operations.

 

[Thrashen]

Members of American law enforcement usually seem downright elated when arresting whites for anything that could possibly be conceived as a crime (nearly every human activity, even thought, is regulated).

Non-whites are only arrested when it's absolutely necessary...and are usually instantly granted parole for anything other than 1st Degree Murder (which isn't always a given).

These officers will be promptly sued, and for good reason. For once, this will not be a frivolous lawsuit. The morons even filmed the incident to make the judge's decision that much easier. That video is the embodiment of "Police State Mentality."Â￾ Great find, FBD.

 

[DixieDestroyer]

The Orwellian police-state growth isn't happenstance gentlemen. The PTB's lackeys use anything close to (so-called) "justification" to ramp up the police state & crack down on Americans (especially White, Christian ones). It's a "brave new world" indeed.

WAKE UP AMERICA...WHILST THERE'S STILL TIME!

 

[Jimmy Chitwood]

want to build an undergroundbunker on your own dime with your own time atyour own home? too bad.

Multi-level bunker found under East Austin home
By Claudia Grisales | Tuesday, May 11, 2010, 01:53 PM



City code enforcement officials are assessing what to do next with an East Austin home after a man built an extensive bunker below it that drew a team of emergency personnel to the site Saturday morning, a city official said Tuesday.


Jose Del Rio, a Vietnam War veteran, built a "multi-level"Â￾ underground structure about 20 to 25 feet below the home, said Doug Matthews, director of communications for the City of Austin.


Matthews said code enforcement officials visited the home at 2006 Canterbury in East Austin early last week after receiving a complaint of possible excavation there. Del Rio, a retiree, was cooperative and showed the officials the underground structure, Matthews said.


"The code officers went out to investigate it and the individual was fairly cooperative and showed them what he had been working on, which turned out to be a multi-level underground structure,"Â￾ Matthews said.


There were two levels, and a third hole below those levels, Matthews said.


They "had some concerns about the structural integrity of the building and the contents of what was down there,"Â￾ he said.


The officials said the visit triggered plans to execute a warrant at the home and have Austin police and fire personnel, including members of the police SWAT team, police bomb squad and Austin Fire's search and rescue operations team, do a full sweep of the home, Matthews said.


The warrant was executed shortly after 7 a.m. Saturday. Neighbors were asked to leave and the home was searched for more than four hours as emergency personnel staged units at nearby Metz Elementary School, Matthews said.


Among the items recovered were several weapons, two inert grenades and several 55-gallon barrels that turned out to be empty, Matthews said.


Matthews said officials are working with Del Rio to figure out whether the home is salvageable, and current living arrangements for him through Adult Protective Services since he is a senior citizen, Matthews said.


It's not immediately clear whether Del Rio will face any charges, or at the least, code violations, which could result in fines, Matthews said. He said that Del Rio built the bunker by himself, but he did not know how long it took him to build it.


A code enforcement official said Tuesday that several departments would be meeting about the case Thursday to assess what would happen next.

 

[DixieDestroyer]

JC, un-friggin'-believable! Our Founding Fathers would roll over in their graves at the total rise of tyranny in our (once strong) Republic!

 

[FootballDad]

Hey Dixie, thanks for this thread, it's very useful. Here's another one for you guys to chew on, as long as you aren't cursing while doing so!

Pennsylvania Cops Ticket Hundreds of People for Bad Language




Kurt Nimmo
May 12, 2010


In Pennsylvania, the cops have become arbiters of polite speech.
According to an ACLU lawsuit, the Pennsylvania State Police charged hundreds of people with disorderly conduct for swearing. "American Civil Liberties Union lawyers say they reviewed 770 such citations issued by state police in a recent one-year span and found that most of them involve profanities and other legal, nonobscene speech,"Â￾ reports the Associated Press.




For instance, a pizza delivery driver was cited for swearing at an officer over a parking ticket and a woman was ticketed for daring to use a derogatory word after a motorcyclist swerved at her.


The Pennsylvania law carries a possible 90-day jail term and $300 fine.


The state of Pennsylvania has not suddenly taken on the role of Miss Manners. Hardly. This is simply another scheme designed to fleece the commoners. It has nothing to do with protect and serve. It has to do with filling the state's coffers.


The cops are not here to protect you. They do not serve the people. They serve a parasitical state that increasingly views all of us as marks. We are here to be swindled at every turn through taxes, fees, and tickets issued willy-nilly for the most absurd reasons.


It's bad enough the state is attempting to limit and roll back the First Amendment. Now they want to ticket you for using it.

 

[DixieDestroyer]

FBD, thanks! You're welcome partner. There's far too much tyranny in our Republic, and we need to stay on top the meteoric rise of the police state so we can educate our family, friends & those with ears to hear/minds to learn!

FYI, more totalitarianism in government schools...

Autistic Boy Charged With Making Terrorist Threats Over Stick-Figure Sketch

Published : Thursday, 13 May 2010, 10:06 AM EDT

SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. - A fourteen-year-old autistic boy is facing terrorist charges after a sketch he made in school.

The sketch shows two stick-figures. One of them is labeled ‘Me' and is shown shooting a gun at another with a teacher's name above it.

Karen Finn says that her son, 8th grader Shane Finn, doesn't understand why he is in trouble. She says the boy is autistic and has the mental capacity of a 3rd grader.

Officials at Ridgeview Charter School say the student will face a tribunal and is being charged with making terrorist threats.

Finn says she plans to fight the charges.

http://www.myfoxdc.com/dpp/news/autistic-boy-charged-with-making-terrorist-threats-over-stick-figure-sketch-051310

Edited by: DixieDestroyer

 

[DixieDestroyer]

By "accident" I'm sure.

Google Spies on WiFi

Edited by: DixieDestroyer

 

[DixieDestroyer]

More atrocity from the police-state machinery...

http://www.appeal-democrat.com/news/family-95100-city-woman.html

Edited by: DixieDestroyer

 

[Observer]

Welcome to America.

An experience at the border by two Canadian citizens coming to the US to go shopping...

Jail for not showing proper deference to the border guards.

Video: http://www.brasschecktv.com/page/847.html

 

[DixieDestroyer]

Airline passengers are ran through a window-dressing facade of so-called "security" checkpoints (whilst the southern borders are wide open), & herded onto cramped planes like cattle (while paying through the nose for a grossly overpriced ticket). However they dare not as much as look crossways at the TSA "gods" (...& their average IQ of 77).

"Pushy" fliers may show up on TSA's radar

By Thomas Frank, USA TODAY

WASHINGTON â€" Airline passengers who get frustrated and kick a wall, throw a suitcase or make a pithy comment to a screener could find themselves in a little-known Homeland Security database.
The Transportation Security Administration says it is keeping records of people who make its screeners feel threatened as part of an effort to prevent workplace violence.

Privacy advocates fear the database could feed government watch lists and subject innocent people to extra airport screening.

"Is this going to be the baby watch list? There's a potential for the misuse of information or the mischaracterization of harmless events as potential threats," American Civil Liberties Union lawyer Michael German said.

A TSA report says the database can include names, birth dates, Social Security numbers, home addresses and phone numbers of people involved in airport incidents, including aggressors, victims and witnesses.

Incidents in the database include threats, bullying or verbal abuse, remarks about death or violence, brandishing a real or fake weapon, intentionally scaring workers or excessive displays of anger such as punching a wall or kicking equipment, the report says.

The database was created in late 2007 as the TSA launched a program to prevent the nation's 50,000 airport screeners from being attacked or threatened, agency spokeswoman Kristin Lee said. At the time, TSA officials voiced concern about passengers disrespecting screeners, and they began issuing new uniforms with police-style badges pinned to shirts.

Lee said attacks and threats against screeners are "rare" and the database has records from about 240 incidents. Most are screeners in conflict with other screeners. About 30 incidents involve people such as passengers or airport workers attacking or threatening screeners, Lee said.

Information about passengers is taken from incident reports that the TSA writes when a traveler threatens or attacks a screener, Lee said.

"The program's focus is on prevention," Lee said. The database helps the TSA spot trends in incidents that can shape workplace-safety programs, Lee said.

A TSA document published in February says database information can be given to government agencies and to airports, airlines and rail and bus systems in cases involving their workers or job applicants. "They may be contacted by the TSA if an incident involves their employee," Lee said.

A.J. Castilla, a screener at Boston's Logan International Airport and an official with a TSA union, said he has seen passengers throw shoes at and push screeners, but incidents have subsided more recently.

The ACLU's German said he worries that the incidents in the database are broad. "I've been very angry at an airport because flying can be a very frustrating experience," he said.

http://www.usatoday.com/travel/flights/2010-05-24-TSA-threatening-fliers-watch-list_N.htm

Edited by: DixieDestroyer

 

[DixieDestroyer]

More "tales" from "Oceania 2010"...

Census Workers Can Enter Your Residence...In Your Absense?!!!

Edited by: DixieDestroyer