WASHINGTON - Delta Air Lines will begin testing a new government plan for air security
next month that will check background information and assign a threat level to everyone who buys a ticket for a commercial flight.
[Delta is ready when you are…. Delta is ready to spy…]

The system, ordered by Congress after the Sept. 11 attacks, will gather much more information on passengers than has been done previously. Delta will try it out at three undisclosed airports, and a comprehensive system could be in place by the end of the year.

Transportation officials say a contractor will be picked soon to build the nationwide computer system, which will check such things as credit reports and bank account activity and compare passenger names with those on government watch lists.

Civil liberties groups and activists are objecting to the plan, seeing the potential for unconstitutional invasions of privacy [seeing the potential for??? This goes way beyond potential, don’t you think?]
and for database mix-ups that could lead to innocent people being branded security risks
[from a lawful standpoint, I predict the majority of people that get nabbed by this system will be “innocent” i.e.,
non-terrorists/threat to the security of the U.S.A., which is what I believe their goal is.
The majority will be those who stand up against our own government’s unbridled tyranny.].
"This system threatens to create a permanent blacklisted underclass of Americans who cannot travel freely," said Katie Corrigan, a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union (news - web sites).
[I couldn’t agree with her more]

There also is concern that the government is developing the system without revealing how information will be gathered and how long it will be kept.
[These are the people we should trust with our private personal information?
Anyone heard of George Orwell’s 1984---it should be updated to George Orwell’s 2003 +?
Historically, these are the very strategies employed by those bent upon bringing about a totalitarian society.
All one has to do is look back to how the Nazis and the Communists gained control of their respective countries.
“Hi, we’re the government and we’re here to help you and keep you safe.
All you have to do is trade in your God given Rights for government granted privileges and submit to our rule.”].

Advocates say the system will weed out dangerous people while ensuring law-abiding citizens aren't given unnecessary scrutiny [You know, actually this system does work.
The very first dangerous group of people to be weeded out and exposed by this system
as a threat to our personal security, freedoms and our beloved way of life, are the advocates of this system.
Think about it. Do you really think this is happening by blind accident?]

Transportation officials say CAPPS II — Computer Assisted Passenger Prescreening System — will use databases that already operate in line with privacy laws and won't profile based on race, religion or ethnicity.

"What it does is have very fast access to existing databases so we can quickly validate the person's identity,"
[That’s not realistic with clever people who don’t want to be identified.
Knowledgeable criminals will always find ways to circumvent systems like this,
and our law enforcement agencies know this.
This is about controlling the average American.] Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta (news - web sites) said.

An oversight panel, which will include a member of the public
[which member, who found this person, what are this persons qualifications, affiliations, funding sources, etc.?], is being formed.
The Transportation Security Administration will set up procedures to resolve complaints by people who say they don't belong on the watch lists.
[Guilty until proven innocent…yeah, that’s real constitutional.
This is a great idea guaranteed to be embraced the trial lawyers of America
as it will line their pockets defending all those poor individuals
who arbitrarily end up on the list because someone in the government doesn’t like them.
I think it should be very clear the government is attempting to secure control over our ability to travel free.
Soon, we’ll have to apply for travel permits/visas and go through a thorough review process.
“May I see your papers please?”]

Transportation Department spokesman Chet Lunner said a Federal Register notice saying the background information will be stored for 50 years is inaccurate.
He said such information will be held only for people deemed security risks [Yeah, I’m a moron so I believe that].

Jay Stanley, an ACLU spokesman, was skeptical.
"When it says in print, 50 years, we'd like to see something else in print to counter that," he said.
[That’s a reasonable demand]

Airlines already do rudimentary checks of passenger information, such as method of payment, address and date the ticket was reserved
[This is an absurd statement and comparison; of course they do.
All businesses collect a certain level of information on their customers,
however, that information tends to directly relate to the operation of the business,
but the information they’re now talking about is a long way from that, isn’t it?
How will looking into your bank account, tax records, credit report, etc. tell them what your intentions are?].
The system was developed by Northwest Airlines in the early 1990s to spot possible hijackers.
[How successful was that? It really worked on 9/11 didn’t it?
So let’s add more irrelevant information to a failed system.
The only way you’re going know someone’s intentions is to read their mind.
I’m sure the dream police are only a few years away.]

Unusual behavior, such as purchasing a one-way ticket with cash, is supposed to prompt increased scrutiny at the airport. [Don’t you think a terrorist knows this? So, using cash is now exclusive to criminals?
I’m sure Osama and his buds have a few credit cards—under aliases of course.]

Capt. Steve Luckey, an airline pilot who helped develop the system, said CAPPS II
will help discern a passenger's possible intentions before he gets on a plane [Oh, reeeeaaallly? How will a credit report, bank account, and tax records tell you that, huh?????
Who does this moron fly for, so I can avoid that airline in the event that I have to, "God forbid, fly somewhere"].

Unlike the current system, in which data stays with the airlines' reservation systems,
the new setup will be managed by TSA. Only government officials with proper security clearance will be able to use it.
[I believe that. After all, our beloved public servants are the most intelligent, loving, careful, and trustworthy people we know.]

CAPPS II will collect data and rate each passenger's risk potential according to a three-color system: green, yellow, red.
[I think they should’ve consulted Martha Stewart or Ru Paul on color selection.
Those colors are just so boring and unoriginal.]
When travelers check in, their names will be punched into the system
and their boarding passes encrypted with the ranking. TSA screeners will check the passes at checkpoints.

The vast majority of passengers will be rated green and won't be subjected to anything more than normal checks,
while yellow will get extra screening and red won't fly. [The vast majority??? Jeez, I wasn’t aware so many “terrorists” were flying every day.]

Paul Hudson, executive director of the Aviation Consumer Action Project,
which advocates airline safety and security, is skeptical the system will work.
[Sounds like a very smart guy who’s using his head and maybe reading between the obvious lines.]

"The whole track record of profiling is a very poor to mixed one," Hudson said, noting incorrect profiles of the Unabomber and the Washington-area snipers.

Nine to 11 of the 19 hijackers on Sept. 11 were flagged by the original CAPPS,
but weren't searched because the system gave a pass to passengers who didn't check their bags, Hudson said. People without checked bags are now included.

Remember, only in a police state is police work easy.

Commentary by by Ralph Quinby

Update on Wed Apr 23, 6:38 AM ET
ACLU Seeks Gov't Data on 'No-Fly' List
SAN FRANCISCO - The American Civil Liberties Union sued the FBI (news - web sites) and other government agencies Tuesday on behalf of two peace activists detained at an airport because their names popped up on a secret "no-fly" list.
The women were among 339 travelers briefly detained and questioned at San Francisco International Airport during the past two years after their names were found in the database, the ACLU said, citing government documents. Those travelers ultimately were allowed to continue on their journeys.
The database was created after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks as a way to prevent potential terrorists from boarding planes. The Transportation Security Administration gets names from law enforcement officials and gives the lists to airlines to screen passengers.

With Saturn entering Cancer on June 4th to soon approach the position of the US Natal Sun along with Venus and Jupiter, expect even more curtailing of our rights and liberties.

Stay tuned for new articles by Arthur R Gianfermo and Other Guest Authors
Arthur is the Founder and Editor of AquaSoul.