Lockheed-Martin chosen to develop system to check air passenger backgrounds

SJ Mercury News ^ | 3/1/03 | AP - Washington

[NormsRevenge]

WASHINGTON (AP) - Defense contractor Lockheed-Martin will develop a new system to check background information and assign a threat level to all commercial air passengers, the Transportation Department announced.

The company, which employed Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta in the mid-1990s, was awarded a five-year contract to administer the program. The first phase of the contract is worth $12.8 million, transportation officials said.

[NormsRevenge]

.. a three-color system: green, yellow, red

my three-reaction system: wretch, puke, vomit

[unixfox]

Why not just hire the effing IRS? Hell, they know everything about everybody anyways.

[MineralMan]

"my three-reaction system: wretch, puke, vomit"

All of this brought to you by Ashcroft, Bush, and Mineta. Despite the protests from both the left and the right, this appears to be well on its way toward implementation.

Better check your credit reports, and watch out for checks you've sent to charities. Watch out for your memberships in "fringe" organizations, like the NRA, too. How about that credit card purchase of your last handgun? Are you a security risk? Collect knives? Look out.

Slippery slope alert!

[NormsRevenge]

The plan is for 3 test airports initially, as yet to be announced. We'll see how air traffic is affected in and out of those airports. This is a grab too far. Blanket profiling. Homeland Security at too high a price, imo.

[NittanyLion]

This is inexcusable. And I predict this issue will receive little attention, while the Estrada nomination (brought to you by the same folks who advocate this invasion of privacy) will continue to receive much. After all, Republicans are so much closer to our ideals than Democrats. Right?

[Libertarianize the GOP]

http://www.freerepublic.com/perl/bump-list

[SSN558]

"Watch out for your memberships in "fringe" organizations, like the NRA"

Yes exactly. Ever worked with explosives for a living, too bad you are a high risk, go to the end of the line. Me thinks the algoryithms used to PROFILE airline passengers needs public scrutiny, to avoid tinkering by the PC crowd. Of course they will cite security concerns since the profile "flavor" of the month will enable any terrorist to simply change his/her profile traits with fake identification.

If it can happen to Joe Foss it can happen to you too.

[Lexington Green]

If freedom is the issue, we've already lost this war.

[MineralMan]

"Yes exactly. Ever worked with explosives for a living, too bad you are a high risk, go to the end of the line. "

Lots of things are going to trigger a "high" level of security risk, I'm sure. It remains for the future to see just how this is used, but I expect a lot of people here on FR are going to be flying a lot less.

Frankly, anyone who expects that the current administration is going to fight for individual rights is mistaken. It's not going to happen. This whole thing is a project of this administration and I have no idea when it's going to end.

The issue is not really terrorism, I suspect.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

Airport/POW camps are the incubators for the national POW camp to come.

The plan is to condition the public to believe that probable cause is dead and they can search our houses, our hard drives and our persons and demand to see our papers at will.

[SSN558]

...and it still might not contribute a whole lot to airline security. It certainly does nothing to defend or protect freedom. What is does do is take freedom away from everybody and redistribute it so that some may "FEEL" safer enjoying what is left of theirs.

Huh, Kinda like taxes. Typical bureacratic solution.

[zeugma]

One of the few things the leftists are right about is that this country is indeed becoming the "united corporate states of america".

Don't get me wrong. There is nothing intrinsically wrong with corporations. They exist for a noble purpose, which is to make money for their stockholders. It is business in America and the people who work in them that has made us the envy of the world.

However, the purpose of a corporation is different from the purpose of a government institution. In theory, a governmental institution is suposed to implemnt a necessary constitutional function, while at the same time respecting and protecting the rights and priviledges of American citizens. A corporation is basically there just to make money. Things that government is specifically disallowed to do, corporations sometimes feel is a particular part of their mandate. The two types of organizations many times have diametrically opposed purposes and points of view.

I'm not happy at all with many of the things Bush and company are implementing at the moment. It might have been worse in many ways of the Gore had been elected, but that doesn't make it any less distasteful and objectionable.

[AndyJackson]

I would point out that LockMart also brought us the spy cameras the traffic Nazis use. As retired military I am appalled to think that one of the leading contractors for providing the tools that we used to defend our constitutional rights has become a leading pervertors of our civil liberties. Personally I would like to see LockMart start losing aircraft contracts for this crap. Let some incompetent fly by night garage programmer have the contract for doing this BS. It deserves not to work anyway.

Given how TSA has handled the personal searches just wait - we are going to see some 9 year old blonde haired sweetie denied boarding because she had a school detention for pulling a face at her teacher.

[John Jorsett]

Lockheed Martin is the same bunch who developed red light cameras and put them all over American cities. Since they got a cut of each ticket issued (at least here in San Diego), they misplaced sensors and targeted intersections with mistimed yellow lights, all in order to increase their take. I don't trust these scum, and having them in charge of a system like this isn't reassuring. For all I know, they'd sell my travel data and contact information to the highest bidder, even if they don't get me searched or arrested.

[sarcasm]

I believe that they are still banned from bidding on NYC contracts because of their role in Parking Violations Bureau scandals.

[AndyJackson]

I really think that the ex-military folks here should start getting on LockMart's case for their anti-constitutional behavior. If they want to be in the nanny state business then they should get out of teh high tech defense business.

[Jimbaugh]

They also make red light camera systems.

[philetus]

The new system will be designed in Pakistan, built in India, and assembled in China.