Military Related Headlines 5/29

• Army Launching Program To Train Soldiers To Combat Post-Traumatic Stress [Huff Po]
  
• Russia opens WMD disposal plant [BBC News]
• US Army base shuts down after rise in suicides [The Raw Story]
• US Soldier Killed In Northern Iraq, Bringing May Toll To 25 [Huff Po]
• Obama Outlines Coordinated Cyber-Security Plan [NY Times]

Airlines Blast Fingerprint Plan

The Department of Homeland Security want airlines to pay for fingerprinting foreign travelers as they leave the United States. Airlines are protesting the plan saying it would create long lines.

Congress has required the 33 million foreigners who enter the country every year to be fingerprinted when they enter and leave the country. They did not specify, however, who should take the prints.

The DHS, who currently fingerprint foreigners coming into U.S. airports, want the airlines to start taking the fingerprints of foreigners leaving the country.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) -- representing 240 airlines worldwide -- urged the White House to kill the plan.

Boingboing reminds us:

this is part of the failed US VISIT program, which has spent $15,000,000,000 without catching a single terrorist (the program has caught approximately 1,000 minor immigration cheats who'd overstayed their visas -- a cost of $15,000,000 per cheat).

-Dippold

Political Online Reputation

House Passes Fertilizer Registry

The U.S. House of Representatives voted by voice Tuesday to require the registration of the sale and purchase of ammonium nitrate fertilizer. This stuff is a key ingredient in explosives used for the terrorist bombings of the Oklahoma City federal building and a night club in Bali, Indonesia.

H.R. 1680 demands sellers, producers and some buyers of ammonium nitrate register with the DHS. It also orders producers and sellers to keep sales records.

The Department of Homeland Security would cross reference the sales records with terrorism watch lists, and retailers would receive civil liability protections if they refuse to sell.

Ammonium nitrate is a common and widely used agricultural fertilizer that also happened to comprise explosives used on the double bomb attacks in Istanbul in 2003, killing 57 and attacks on U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998.

According to estimates by the Congressional Budget Office, there are approximately 2,000 sellers and manufacturers of ammonium nitrate in the United States. The DHS would need about 60 new employees to preform audits and field inspections.

There is little reaction from bloggers thus far. Jeralyn of TalkLeft.com did however briefly comment on the topic:

I'm not impressed. It's another feel good bill. Ammonium nitrate is not a bomb. It's fertilizer. And do we really need another database?

The bill has yet to be considered in the Senate.

-Dippold

Political Online Reputation

US Visitor Fingerprints to be Scanned

Sometime this summer, the US government will require visitors -- including those from Britain, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and other European Union nations -- to have all 10 fingers scanned when entering the United States. Currently, under the US-Visit program, certain non-U.S. citizen visitors must have two fingers scanned and a photograph taken.

The move to scan all 10 fingers is in the name of fighting terrorism. It is more secure than the two finger method and is becoming the international standard.

This information -- compatible with the FBI's fingerprint database -- will be shared with the FBI and other international intelligence agencies with no restrictions on use.

Ten airports will initially be involved including Miami, Washington and New York. Airports across the country are expected to do the scan by the end of 2008.

Urthwalker at The Hindsight Factor points out some problems with plan:

But hey, why not further bankrupt our grandchildren, bankrupt our morality, and overload law enforcement with useless clutter – there’s a war going on!

Koen Crolla at Rosio Pavoris reveals the possibility of technical error:

Even if you don’t object to being treated like a criminal for no reason, keep in mind that fingerprint identification has a pretty high error rate, and these prints will mostly be taken by inexperienced staff using equipment that takes thousands every day.

-Dippold

Political Online Reputation