rigorousintuition.ca

It's an open, ongoing education in the futility of trusting government.

I gotta say, the ongoing disconnect between actual security experts like Bruce Schneier, and the crap peddled by TSA/DHS....it's pretty weird. I got some friends in the security biz and they view this whole phase of american history as a surreal bonanza...it doesn't make any sense to them, but hey, business is better than ever.

The actual fundamentals of security would appear to be of very little interest in this whole conversation, though.

Weird.

It is weird. Jane Hamsher of Firedoglake has a brief article here on just how big a disconnect from reality is found if you look at some of the TSA chief's remarks.

LilyPat

I swear, I could not make this up...

The lead article on the front page of msn.com right now is "Hollywood's Most Memorable Stripteases" followed immediately by an article entitled "TSA warns against body-scan boycott".

Can anyone tell me how to save a screen shot with Firefox?

^ On a Mac hold down: command shift 3

On a pc hit the Printscreen button.

On Linux I don't know.

figured it out...

Wombaticus Rex wrote:It's an open, ongoing education in the futility of trusting government.

I gotta say, the ongoing disconnect between actual security experts like Bruce Schneier, and the crap peddled by TSA/DHS....it's pretty weird. I got some friends in the security biz and they view this whole phase of american history as a surreal bonanza...it doesn't make any sense to them, but hey, business is better than ever.

The actual fundamentals of security would appear to be of very little interest in this whole conversation, though.

Weird.

It's not really that weird. DHS doesn't want anything to be secure, because if it was then why should they exist?

They should be called the Department of Fatherland Insecurity.

From Washington's Blog...

Don't TSA me, bro: Boing Boing open thread, and new rules for those who refuse patdown

Lots of good comments and stuff there:

The new US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) airport screening procedures have been on our minds and on our blog in recent days, and the comment threads are overflowing with your thoughts, too. Now comes word that on Tuesday November 23, the TSA is expected to announce a clarified policy for those who refuse a "pat down," just in time for National Opt Out Day and the high-volume Thanksgiving travel period. From the Flying With Fish travel blog:

The new clarified policy for those who refuse pat downs by a TSA Transportation Security Officer (TSO), any pat down, is that the person who is refusing the pat down will be advised that they will be denied entry into the airport, and be escorted from the security screening area by TSA TSOs or police officers. If the person refuses the pat down again, they will be approached by a Supervisor TSO (STSO), who will again explain that a refusal of the pat down will result in the immediate removal from the security area by police officers. Following an escort out of the security area to the pre-security area the person will be informed that that they are being denied entry and that they may not attempt to reenter security.

If any person who has refused a pat down makes any attempt to go towards the gate area the TSA security checkpoint will be immediately shut down. The shutting down of a security checkpoint may result in a passenger evacuation of a terminal due to a security breach. Any evacuation of passengers would be based on a threat assessment at the discretion of the TSA and law enforcement at the terminal.

Once a Checkpoint has been shut down due to a person that has refused a pat down attempting to head towards the gate area, that person will then be deemed to be disruptive and interfering with airport screening and may be subject to both criminal and civil penalties.

More on the "clarified policy" here. If you refuse a patdown, give up on your flight, and depart the airport with no confrontational behavior, there will be no US$11,000 fine for your actions.

Your thoughts welcomed in the comments. Are you traveling in the US by air this week? Are you planning to opt out of the new imaging devices and request a patdown? If you're a guy, will you be wearing a kilt? Regardless of gender, are you brainstorming any... interesting responses?

http://www.boingboing.net/2010/11/22/do ... -boin.html

This shit is all a smoke screen to hide a different agenda. We know which one it is. Note how nobody uses the oft-repeated line of "slippery slope" to fascism anymore. I think this is because many are beginning to understand on multiple levels are already there. Remember when "our way of life was non-negotiable"? That was the beginning of the end. Who's way of life was non-negotiable? Enter Obama and now we have an always artificially vitalized right, which will now begin to assume control and will never relinquish any kind of co-operation. Why? Because the left has also been artificially invigorated. It's just Fascism 2.0.

Now enter the idiots who take the whole 2012 scenario seriously (which I do, but for different reasons) -- basically those who post on forums much like RI, only lacking the rigor or intuition and you got all kinds of people all tied up within the occult majick.

I've been wondering why I haven't been seeing all the anti-depressant or more importantly anti-psychotic ads these days on TV. Oh, I got it. There's only so much time in a day. It's Christmas retail ads now. Why? Well, because it's Christmastime in the retail industry! Something also completely made out of whole cloth by the captains of industry. There's some article out there about just about everything about what we "celebrate" about Xmas (sorry for all the 'abouts') was completely created by NY businessmen. I've been looking for the past half an hour for it and can't quite get any of my search terms right.

What I'm saying is, is that security theater such as this is equally as important as back in the olden days they gave us Frosty the Snowman and Rudolph. It's in the timing. This whole thing with "TSA" and the controversy, is all in the timing.

I'll see if I can't dig it up. (MinM, help?)

I'm also saying that Terry Gilliam, rightly, set his dystopian masterpiece Brazil within the perpetual elements of a ludicrous Christmastime for a reason. For that, I feel him to be akin to an extremely intuitive prophet. But just see if someone can't find that article I speak of above. I'll look further. But there is definitely a common node within the minds of perpetually controlled humans where reward and punishment can be plugged in at will. Only some notice it to be one in the same and works on the very same elements of known human behavior.

Oh shit. I think I made a Christmas thread last year with the article. Lemme see if I can find it.

Ah yes. Here tis. It tis the season. . .

http://www.bemyoswald.com/Santa_timeline/santa_280.php

Thread:

viewtopic.php?f=8&t=26161&start=0&hilit=Christmas+82_28

1931 AD
Coca-Cola hires Haddon Sundblom to create the modern Santa we know today and Coca-Cola introduces the NEW Santa at the 1931 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Sundblom Santa's would appear in advertisements for Coca-Cola and the back covers of the Saturday Evening Post and National Geographic until 1964.

One may surmise that the accepted "traditional" Santa Claus and Christmas celebration is a completely contrived invention of several prominent individuals of New York City.

In short: New York City invented Santa Claus and Christmas.

Christmas merchandising show signs of a snow flurry.

Very interesting read and timeline if one has not had the chance to check it out.

Department of Homeland Insecurity

Department of Fatherland Insecurity

Department of Father Relationship Insecurity

Department of My Father Beat Me As a Child Insecurity

Department of Penis Size Insecurity

Transportation Performance Anxiety Compensation Administration

Transportation Penis Size Checking Administration

Transportation Fondling and Roleplaying Administration

Transportation Sadomasochism and Anal Fixation Administration

Coming Soon:

Transportation Emergency Proctology Administration

There was a photo, some years ago, of a convention of "homeland security" big wigs lounging around a pool, smoking cigars, at some kind of "Security Industry Convention" not long after the DHS was formed.

It was clear from the article, and the photos, that the whole DHS thing was invented as yet another form of Corporate Welfare, a way for businessmen to milk the teat of government, based on fear.

I can't find the photo now.

But it was one of those photos where you go "okay I get it now". Pretty sure Tom Ridge was in the photo, and possibly Delay.

They don't give a shit about security or anything, it's all about business, money, selling toys, etc.

Look at the stock price of Tazer, and how it goes up and down based on whatever fearmongering is going on at any given time.

I found this and a good article on Washington's Blog http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2010/11/ ... bways.html - (with a warning to ignore the rascist slurs):
http://urbangrounds.com/2010/11/advanced-body-scanners/
An Alternative to Body Scanners at the Airport

By Robbie Cooper ⋅ November 21, 2010
From the Grouchy Old Cripple (via the lovely Jaded Heaven):

FINALLY – A great alternative to body scanners at airports . . .

The Israelis are developing an airport security device that eliminates the privacy concerns that come with full-body scanners at the airports.

It’s a booth you can step into that will not X-ray you, but will detonate any explosive device you may have on you. They see this as a win-win for everyone, with no crap about racial profiling. It also would eliminate the costs of long and expensive trials. Justice would be swift. Case closed!

You’re in the airport terminal and you hear a muffled explosion. Shortly thereafter an announcement comes over the PA system . . . “Attention standby passengers – we now have a seat available on flight number XXXX. Shalom