Comment Patterns... (Score 1) 677
For the first time I'm really concerned about data collection by the government. Sure this will give info about who's on a flight, but I'll be damned if I believe thats the real motivation for this. Oh sure, this system, on some rare occastion, might catch a bonified terrorist, but what I see happening is pattern analysis.
CowboyNeal travels to Seattle... there's a big protest the day after he arrives... the next day he flies home. Hmmm... must be a terrorist. Guess well have to start dumping all cell calls over to the NSA, and might as well hit up his central office, get them to send all land based communications over there too. Next time he wants to fly into a city with a WTO meeting, he might just be picked out for "random inspection"... might just miss his flight too...
This isn't about "we don't want terrorists on planes"... this is pattern analysis of the masses... oh, but what am I saying, Ashcroft is in charge, so it must be all okay.
