MetaFilter posts tagged with travel and terrorism

Ramak Fazel: 49 State Capitols

homunculus — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 10:25:27 -0800

Odyssey of State Capitols and State Suspicion. "The story behind an exhibition: postcards, designs, photography, travels, history, stamps and law enforcement." [Via BB.]

The Automated Targeting System, the US government's record-keeping system on travelers

ibmcginty — Sat, 22 Sep 2007 08:45:45 -0800

Today's Washington Post: "The U.S. government is collecting electronic records on the travel habits of millions of Americans who fly, drive or take cruises abroad, retaining data on the persons with whom they travel or plan to stay, the personal items they carry during their journeys, and even the books that travelers have carried, according to documents obtained by a group of civil liberties advocates and statements by government officials." "John Gilmore, a civil liberties activist in San Francisco whose records were requested by the Identity Project... [had an Automated Targeting System file], which he provided to The Washington Post, included a note from a Customs and Border Patrol officer that he carried the marijuana-related book 'Drugs and Your Rights.' 'My first reaction was I kind of expected it,' Gilmore said. 'My second reaction was, that's illegal.'" The program, disclosed in the Federal Register in November and reported on at the time, has been criticized by civil liberties groups(many links at that page) as illegal under the Privacy Act, and by security experts as "a waste of money" (many links at that page too). The reach of the program was unknown until the Post article. Here's the DHS's Privacy Impact Statement (pdf) on the program from last November.

Make pumps not bombs.

Kickstart70 — Thu, 24 Aug 2006 12:04:33 -0800

News of stupidity in the fight against terrorism: Up to three years in jail for not loudly enunciating, in front of his mom, that he had a penis pump. If you do not know that you are an American citizen, it's your fault and you may be deported as an illegal alien. Manhattan train stopped because of some woman's bottle of iced tea? BC Ferry delayed 3 hours because of a forgotten briefcase (my coworker lives next to the terminal and has learned that this was an RCMP officer's briefcase, though that detail has not made the media). There are so many of these stories...we really need one place to group them all together.

Someone set up us the bomb

ijoshua — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 08:32:01 -0800

[ConspiracyFilter] Was the alleged "binary liquid explosives" plot actually plausible, in the sense of being capable of producing "mass murder on an unimaginable scale?"

FAA space regulations

gunthersghost — Sun, 08 Jan 2006 19:39:42 -0800

Terrorists not allowed in space (the FAA would like to regulate commercial space flights)

Fear itself

mathowie — Sun, 22 Aug 2004 16:22:20 -0800

Fear Itself: an american journalist wants to put the threat of terrorism into perspective, and elects to ride on a bus line in Jerusalem, the train line through Madrid, and a British Airways flight said to be a bombing target. He comes away with it unscathed but the stories he tells about the history of terror, especially in Israel, is chilling and daily life in some parts of Jerusalem sounds like scenes lifted straight out of Brazil. [via the big K]

jeffvc — Thu, 04 Oct 2001 05:28:21 -0800

Sibir Airlines flight downed en route from Tel Aviv. It is not yet clear whether or not this was a terrorist act. It does seem, however, that there was an explosion on board.