NAVYBLUE
Lead Service Attendant
Please read all the sources to get the jist of all the sources as you lose the whole idea of the security concept discussion. I am still "plugged in" to some security issues due to casual conversations with senior enlisted personnel I have run in to in my RV travel to various military RV parks. The CAPPS-2 program caught me off guard and I am NOT happy with what I am reading. This should make you sleep good at night.
Wednesday, September 8th, 2010
"We've been doing random searches for years. None have been in response to particular threats. It's more to show force."
–
http://www.courierpostonline.com/article/20100908/NEWS01/9080330/PATCO-riders-undergo-searchAmtrak spokesman Cliff Cole
http://www.courierpostonline.com/article/20100908/NEWS01/9080330/PATCO-riders-undergo-search. (
http://www.theagitator.com/2010/09/08/quote-of-the-day-16/http://www.theagitat...-of-the-day-16/
http://www.theagitator.com/2010/09/08/quote-of-the-day-16/)
Amtrak's police chief told a Senate committee Tuesday the system expanded its efforts to keep passengers safe. But he pointed out Amtrak would remain a 'clear and open' service.
(
http://www.wjla.com/articles/2011/06/amtrak-http://www.wjla.com/...2011/06/amtrak-
http://www.wjla.com/articles/2011/06/amtrak-)tightening-security-amid-threats-62285.html)
The first and most obvious cost is compromised liberty and privacy. People should be free to travel without having to show papers or prove they aren't criminals — especially where, as here, Amtrak has not come forward with any compelling reasons why an exception should be made to this usual rule.
These police searches might conveniently turn up evidence of contraband other than terrorist weapons in passengers' bags, and allow them to be arrested for that instead. Indeed, how long will it be before the bomb-sniffing dogs are supplemented by those of the dope-sniffing variety? You might argue that it's just as well to catch people committing other crimes, even victimless ones like drug possession. But if that's the main "benefit," then Amtrak should say so and not use the pretense of protecting us from terrorism.
Another cost of Amtrak's plans is that they may make Americans accustomed to hallmarks of a police state: random searches, and men in uniform with big guns. That may not matter much to the masses of sheep who often seem so willing to trade liberty for false security, but it still means a lot to many Americans, and meant a lot to our Founding Fathers as well. (
http://www.lewrockwell.com/huebert/huebert28.htmlhttp://www.lewrockwe.../huebert28.html
http://www.lewrockwell.com/huebert/huebert28.html)
First, verifying that someone has a photo ID is a completely useless security measure. All the Sept. 11 terrorists had photo IDs. Some of the IDs were real. Some were fake. Some were real IDs in fake names, bought from a crooked DMV employee in Virginia for $1,000 each. Fake driver's licenses for all 50 states, good enough to fool anyone who isn't paying close attention, are available on the Internet. Or if you don't want to buy IDs online, just ask any teenager where to get a fake ID.
Our goal is to somehow identify the few bad guys scattered in the sea of good guys. In an ideal world, what we would want is some kind of ID that denotes intention. We'd want all terrorists to carry a card that says "evildoer" and everyone else to carry a card that said "honest person who won't try to hijack or blow up anything." Then, security would be easy. We would just look at people's IDs and, if they were evildoers, we wouldn't let them on the airplane or into the building.
This is, of course, ridiculous, so we rely on identity as a substitute.
In theory, if we know who you are, and if we have enough information about you, we can somehow predict whether you're likely to be an evildoer. This is the basis behind CAPPS-2, the government's new airline passenger profiling system. People are divided into two categories based on various criteria: the traveler's address, credit history and police and tax records; flight origin and destination; whether the ticket was purchased by cash, check or credit card; whether the ticket is one way or round trip; whether the traveler is alone or with a larger party; how frequently the traveler flies; and how long before departure the ticket was purchased.
(
http://www.schneier.com/essay-008.htmlhttp://www.schneier.com/essay-008.html
http://www.schneier.com/essay-008.html)
Photo ID Required
Amtrak customers 18 years of age and older must produce valid photo identification when:
Random Ticket/ID Checks
Following federal Transportation Security Administration (TSA) guidelines, we regularly conduct random ticket verification checks onboard trains to ensure that passengers are properly ticketed.
Please be prepared to show valid photo identification
to a member of the onboard crew upon request.
(
http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/Satellite?c=Page&cid=1241267382692&pagename=am/Layouthttp://www.amtrak.co...ame=am%2FLayout
http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/Satellite?c=Page&cid=1241267382692&pagename=am/Layout
NAVYBLUE
Wednesday, September 8th, 2010
"We've been doing random searches for years. None have been in response to particular threats. It's more to show force."
–
http://www.courierpostonline.com/article/20100908/NEWS01/9080330/PATCO-riders-undergo-searchAmtrak spokesman Cliff Cole
http://www.courierpostonline.com/article/20100908/NEWS01/9080330/PATCO-riders-undergo-search. (
http://www.theagitator.com/2010/09/08/quote-of-the-day-16/http://www.theagitat...-of-the-day-16/
http://www.theagitator.com/2010/09/08/quote-of-the-day-16/)
Amtrak's police chief told a Senate committee Tuesday the system expanded its efforts to keep passengers safe. But he pointed out Amtrak would remain a 'clear and open' service.
(
http://www.wjla.com/articles/2011/06/amtrak-http://www.wjla.com/...2011/06/amtrak-
http://www.wjla.com/articles/2011/06/amtrak-)tightening-security-amid-threats-62285.html)
The first and most obvious cost is compromised liberty and privacy. People should be free to travel without having to show papers or prove they aren't criminals — especially where, as here, Amtrak has not come forward with any compelling reasons why an exception should be made to this usual rule.
These police searches might conveniently turn up evidence of contraband other than terrorist weapons in passengers' bags, and allow them to be arrested for that instead. Indeed, how long will it be before the bomb-sniffing dogs are supplemented by those of the dope-sniffing variety? You might argue that it's just as well to catch people committing other crimes, even victimless ones like drug possession. But if that's the main "benefit," then Amtrak should say so and not use the pretense of protecting us from terrorism.
Another cost of Amtrak's plans is that they may make Americans accustomed to hallmarks of a police state: random searches, and men in uniform with big guns. That may not matter much to the masses of sheep who often seem so willing to trade liberty for false security, but it still means a lot to many Americans, and meant a lot to our Founding Fathers as well. (
http://www.lewrockwell.com/huebert/huebert28.htmlhttp://www.lewrockwe.../huebert28.html
http://www.lewrockwell.com/huebert/huebert28.html)
First, verifying that someone has a photo ID is a completely useless security measure. All the Sept. 11 terrorists had photo IDs. Some of the IDs were real. Some were fake. Some were real IDs in fake names, bought from a crooked DMV employee in Virginia for $1,000 each. Fake driver's licenses for all 50 states, good enough to fool anyone who isn't paying close attention, are available on the Internet. Or if you don't want to buy IDs online, just ask any teenager where to get a fake ID.
Our goal is to somehow identify the few bad guys scattered in the sea of good guys. In an ideal world, what we would want is some kind of ID that denotes intention. We'd want all terrorists to carry a card that says "evildoer" and everyone else to carry a card that said "honest person who won't try to hijack or blow up anything." Then, security would be easy. We would just look at people's IDs and, if they were evildoers, we wouldn't let them on the airplane or into the building.
This is, of course, ridiculous, so we rely on identity as a substitute.
In theory, if we know who you are, and if we have enough information about you, we can somehow predict whether you're likely to be an evildoer. This is the basis behind CAPPS-2, the government's new airline passenger profiling system. People are divided into two categories based on various criteria: the traveler's address, credit history and police and tax records; flight origin and destination; whether the ticket was purchased by cash, check or credit card; whether the ticket is one way or round trip; whether the traveler is alone or with a larger party; how frequently the traveler flies; and how long before departure the ticket was purchased.
(
http://www.schneier.com/essay-008.htmlhttp://www.schneier.com/essay-008.html
http://www.schneier.com/essay-008.html)
Photo ID Required
Amtrak customers 18 years of age and older must produce valid photo identification when:
- Obtaining, exchanging or refunding tickets
- Storing baggage at stations
- Checking baggage
- Sending Amtrak Express shipments
- Onboard trains,
in response to a request by an Amtrak employee
Random Ticket/ID Checks
Following federal Transportation Security Administration (TSA) guidelines, we regularly conduct random ticket verification checks onboard trains to ensure that passengers are properly ticketed.
Please be prepared to show valid photo identification
to a member of the onboard crew upon request.
(
http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/Satellite?c=Page&cid=1241267382692&pagename=am/Layouthttp://www.amtrak.co...ame=am%2FLayout
http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/Satellite?c=Page&cid=1241267382692&pagename=am/Layout
NAVYBLUE
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