Slashdot Mirror
A Peek At DHS's Files On You
kenblakely writes "We've known for a while that the Department of Homeland Security was collecting travel records on those who cross US borders, but now you can see it for yourself. A Freedom of Information Act request got this blogger a look at DHS's file on his travels. Pretty comprehensive — all the way down to the IP address of the host he used to make a reservation."
I wish they would also track credit card spending in the same file.
Perhaps I could then just forward the DHS records for my travel expense reports.
Nullius in verba
Officials use the information to prevent terrorism, acts of organized crime, and other illegal activity.
Does the DHS have even one documented case of this information preventing said activity? Maybe I'm setting myself up in the wrong way here, but AFAIK, the DHS and TSA combined have never thwarted a terrorist attack or busted the mafia. Perhaps they've used to convict people of violating those administrative rules which no one is allowed to see, but I'm not aware of any evidence which suggests this information actually prevented terrorism or organized crime.
I mean sure, the FBI has busted criminals, but with regular gumshoe detective work.
With journalists like these, who needs a terrorist?
The society for a thought-free internet welcomes you.
I was curious to see what was in my file, as I've had a devil of a time trying to come up with my travel via stamps in the passport. The airlines were not helpful past 2005. I sent in for mine, based on the notes in that article, like this...
and addressed to
Freedom of Information Act Request
U.S. Customs Service
1300 Pennsylvania Avenue NW.
Washington DC 20229
+++ UGUCAUCGUAUUUCU
Let's say the traveler cancels at the last minute, and the plane blows up. They go check it out, because maybe he/she was tipped off by a friend not to get on the plane.
I knew a guy who was supposed to be on flight 800 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TWA_Flight_800) but that morning he fell down carrying his metal trash down the stairs and injured himself. He went to the hospital and was OK but he had missed the flight. The next day the FBI came over and wanted to know why he had not been on the plane. He had to convince them that he had gone to the hospital. They went and checked out his story.
"Piter, too, is dead."
Read the article. That anyone can say, in the United States, with a straight face, that "words matter" when someone calls law enforcement "the Gestapo" is problem enough.
The basis for a defense against any such accusations should be to point to their actions. But no, the defense here was to say "words matter" and to try to silence the people making the claims. That's the action of a totalitarian mindset, which, coming from an official of ICE, adds credence to the claims of the politicians.
The person made his request under FOIA. That was not the best vehicle for this.
A much better law to use to get information about yourself is the Privacy Act.
The two laws have confusingly similar numbers: 5 USC 552 for FOIA and 5 USC 552a for the Privacy Act.
The Privacy Act is a much bigger hammer for getting information about yourself. Agencies have many fewer excuses and the deadlines are far shorter. And agencies generally can't make you pay for you to get their information about you.
Yes, the Privacy Act has many loopholes, but they are much fewer than those in FOIA.
So, if people are going to do this they should make sure that they make their request under the Privacy Act. They can still use FOIA, but they should do so under a separate cover because the agencies will intentionally conflate the two laws so that they can avoid fully complying with either.
See: http://www.cavebear.com/archive/nsf-dns/laws.htm
Don't you fucking remember 9/11, when terrorists flew pirated mp3s and child pornography into the twin towers?
Never forget.
---
ECHELON is a government program to find words like bomb, jihad, plutonium, assassinate, and anarchy.
This one is easy ...
Ever since the DHS has been setup, there are no terror attacks on the USA. So, obviously what the DHS is doing prevents terrorism.
Is is the same up here in Canada. We sprinkle black pepper on our lawns to prevent elephants from messing then up.
But there are no elephants in Canada you say? See, more proof that the black pepper works ...
2bits.com, Inc: Drupal, WordPress, and LAMP performance tuning.
Yeah, like, "Where's my damn schnitzel!?"
Finally, I have no idea where you got the idea that compulsory home-visits for anything are "inevitable" but I can tell you this: barring a dramatic shift in the way the fourth amendment is interpreted, that isn't going to happen. As it is now, you need not answer anyone at your door sans a warrant.
As I found out when a teacher reported my family for child neglect, (she had mixed up my daughter and the girl she often played with), you do have the right to refuse a child protection officer entry without a warrant. They, in return, have the right to have the police enter and seize your children, without a warrant, until the CPS officer has determined that the situation is safe. Refusing entry is considered an admission that an unsafe situation exists. Oh, and when I denied that there was a problem, I was told that if I didn't cooperate, it could take over six months before it would be deemed safe for my children to be returned. And of course, there are the random "followup" visits, to ensure you're still a good parent. Once you have an open file with CPS, they can check up on you at any time, for no reason beyond someone wants to. Even if you were found innocent of the original accusations.
So technically, you are correct, I can refuse to answer the door. I just need to give up my children to do it.
I've been kind of amused over recent years, to see the amount of howling and whining that's happened when other people get subjected to the lack of rights that parents have been living with for decades.