US Fliers Color-Coded for Risk Level

[JesFine]

Did you guys see this: Fliers to Be Rated for Risk Level

In the most aggressive -- and, some say, invasive -- step yet to protect air travelers, the federal government and the airlines will phase in a computer system next year to measure the risk posed by every passenger on every flight in the United States.

The new Transportation Security Administration system seeks to probe deeper into each passenger's identity than is currently possible, comparing personal information against criminal records and intelligence information. Passengers will be assigned a color code -- green, yellow or red -- based in part on their city of departure, destination, traveling companions and date of ticket purchase.

Most people will be coded green and sail through. But up to 8 percent of passengers who board the nation's 26,000 daily flights will be coded "yellow" and will undergo additional screening at the checkpoint, according to people familiar with the program. An estimated 1 to 2 percent will be labeled "red" and will be prohibited from boarding. These passengers also will face police questioning and may be arrested.

Hm... my gut reaction is "invasion of privacy!" but after looking over this a few times I'm not so sure I'm entirely opposed. Assuming the information is somehow used only for security purposes on not for some weird marketing decisions. But then again, I am too cynical to believe they won't try to sell me something. But then again, if this info is available, they are probably already using it to sell me something, so why not use it for security?

I am not one to accept the notion that flying is an inherent right, and that we shouldn't be subject to basic security precautions, but I don't know if this goes beyond the basics, and if it will even help at all. It is pretty obviously not a flawless system, but nothing is. Would this be better than the system we have now? Is it a bunch of hype that accomplishes nothing? Man, I don't know.

It says an estimated 1-2 percent of fliers will be prohibited from boarding! Now, who knows where they got those figures from, but if they are correct, that is a huge number. I mean really huge. I haven't read any of the related links, so this number might just be pulled out of thin air, but that sounds like 3-6 (I'm guessing) passengers per plane will be removed! Wow.

We need to bring back the blimp.

 

[subgenius]

Beware of the erosion (and it appears you are) of your civil liberties made in the name of security. (Eg. "DWB...driving while black" and that great Ben Franklin quote (you know the one so I won't repeat it).

The "Patriot Act II" (apparently dead in the water) is soon to be followed by an Orrin Hatch ("Hey O, what's with the love poems to Teddy Kennedy?") sponsored "Victory Act" (let's name our proposed laws so no one could be against them) which will authorize "anti-terrorist" measures against drug users.

Coming soon to your front door.

Boy that slope was slippery.

Meanwhile terrorist pirates are hijacking oil tankers and we're asleep at the wheel.

What "color" will you be?

 

[Ladewig]

There currently is a list of people that require additional security checks. Unfortunately, sometimes people with names similar to known terrorists end up on that list. Because the government will not release the criteria for getting on that list and because the list is maintained by more than one agency and because the the war on terrorism is so important, it is not possible to get one's name off that list even if one has absolutely no ties to terrorism or violence or radical political views. So these people need to schedule an extra hour or two (above the normally expected extra screening time) for detention and personalized questioning.

Oh, and the other problem is that it is relatively easy for terrorist to get fake IDs.

 

[Ed]

Oh, and the other problem is that it is relatively easy for terrorist to get fake IDs.

Yupsie, particularly in California.

 

[DrChinese]

1. What happended to probable cause?

2. It will not make the skies safer, it is simply to continue the optical illusion that air travel is safer today than it was 2 years ago. (Recall that the 9/11 hijackers were screened.) The only difference is that all the green color coded travelers can blame the others for getting on the list and not have to worry about getting checked themselves.

3. Slippery slope when it comes to civil liberties? We can justify anything when persuing terrorists, and never ask the appropriate questions. Such as: what is wrong with traditional methods? Can the reduced civil liberties produce significantly better results? Is it really worth it?

4. I can see it now: a green-coded traveler does something on a flight, and then there is a big push to investigate how that person got the green status.

5. And best of all: don't worry, it's really just a make-work liberal program that is probably the brainchild of Sen. Hillary. You know: create jobs for the unemployable...

Am I the only person who sees this as an absurdist boondoggle?

 

[subgenius]

The color the terrorists will be wearing soon: a bar code.

"Federal officials want to know how the stowaway bypassed airport security. Air cargo receives less federal security attention than passenger planes, in part because of its sheer volume, and critics have suggested that terrorists could use cargo flights as weapons."
http://www.msnbc.com/news/963814.asp

 

[DrChinese]

The color the terrorists will be wearing soon: a bar code.

"Federal officials want to know how the stowaway bypassed airport security. Air cargo receives less federal security attention than passenger planes, in part because of its sheer volume, and critics have suggested that terrorists could use cargo flights as weapons."
http://www.msnbc.com/news/963814.asp

Good point, one of merely an infinite number of reasons why terrorism prevention is an exercise in futility.

Next we are going to see Congress pass a law requiring terrorists to register with the FBI before committing their evil acts. And they may require the terrorists to wear red turbans too, just to make sure they can be easily identified as such.

Let's face it: terrorism is a risk like other risks in daily life. Our strength is in our numbers and our mental fortitude not to become prisoners of terror itself.

 

[fishbob]

one of merely an infinite number of reasons why terrorism prevention is an exercise in futility.

as well as an excercise in pork.

The security screening force in Alaska has been increased by about a dozen positions each in Barrow, Kotzebue, Nome, Yakutat, and maybe a couple of others. I realize that passengers could board a plane in Barrow and not have to pass through security in Anchorage, then Seattle, LA, Chicago, etc, but what an excercise in security futility this is. However it is an excellent source of jobs in some relatively jobless parts of the the US.