Korean Job Discussion Forums

[igotthisguitar]

US Govt Collects Data On Americans Overseas:
Washington Post
Sat Sep 22, 2:25 AM ET

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The US government is compiling electronic files on the travel habits of millions of Americans who take trips overseas, The Washington Post reported Saturday.

Citing documents obtained by a civil liberties group and statements by unnamed government officials, the newspaper said the retained data included travel companions, persons with whom Americans plan to stay abroad, the personal items they carry during their journeys, and even the books that travelers have carried.

The personal travel records are intended to be stored for as long as 15 years as part of the Department of Homeland Security's effort to "assess the security threat" posed by all travelers entering the country, the report said.

Officials say the records, which are analyzed by the department's Automated "Targeting" System, help border officials distinguish "potential" "terrorists" from "innocent" people entering the country, The Post said.

But new details about the information being retained suggest that the government is monitoring the personal habits of travelers more closely than it has previously acknowledged, the report said.

The Automated Targeting System has been used to screen passengers since the mid-1990s, but the collection of data for it has been greatly expanded and automated since 2002, according to the paper.

Officials defended the retention of highly personal data on travelers not involved in or linked to any violations of the law, the report said.

But civil liberties advocates have alleged that the type of information preserved by the department raises alarms about the government's ability to intrude into the lives of ordinary people, The Post pointed out.

The millions of travelers whose records are kept by the government are generally unaware of what their records say, and the government has not created an effective mechanism for reviewing the data and correcting any errors, activists said, the paper said.

The activists alleged that the data collection effort, as carried out now, violates the Privacy Act, which bars the gathering of data related to Americans' exercise of their First Amendment rights, such as their choice of reading material or persons with whom to associate, according to the report.

[Passions]

If you have nothing to hide, then why complain?

[ChinaBoy]

yeah, like they really know what books I had in my bag

people will believe anything

[normalcyispasse]

[Njord]

[Beeyee]

[xingyiman]

Let's face it....we the US is not a free country anymore. Thats why I'm glad I no longer live there.

[PeteJB]

Ah, the reminders of "Nightwatch" from B5 are flooding back again. JMS was on the ball back then.

[lastat06513]

The one thing I found out is that the US keeps track of citizens who come and go from the US

How else was the DoD able to know that I was back in the US?

[newteacher]

Since when do we have the expectation of privacy when traveling through an airport?

This is a pretty far cry from putting cameras in people's homes.

I'd be more worried about the governments notorious irresponsibility with other people's personal records. I'd be more worried about non-government people and hackers getting access to this info because the government doesn't take enough precautions to keep it safe.

[Czarjorge]

proof yet again that ignorance is bliss.

i'm not surprised, but to be honest i wish i didn't know that the government does these things. oh, to be an ostrich, head buried in the sand, like my brother-in-law.

and, by writing this, and using napalm as a metaphor in an email i wrote earlier today, i will probably be barred from leaving the country.

maybe you all should stay in korea. it might be safer. i need to get out of this country.

[GaryCooper]

Check out the OP's story. Not a single individual or agency went on record in that story. No particular civil-liberties groups are mentioned as opposing this practice -- and they certainly would love the attention to their organization if something like this actually came to light. No inside sources are quoted by name. No defenders of this practice are quoted as defending it. The entire approach of the story is "Somebody said we spy on our own somehow, and somebody doesn't like it, but somebody does." There is n explanation as to how the near-omniscience required to pull off such surveillance would even be possible. The story is remarkable in its complete absence of proper names or credible explanations. I have my doubts that the Washington Post published, since the OP didn't even bother to provide a link. If it is Washington Post story, it's the WP at low ebb. You have to have a passion for hating Bush and/or hating the USA to believe this story. More rational people would conclude that it is legal to wear an anti-Bush t-shirt , to travel with whoever you want to, and to have Noam Chomsky in one's checked and cabin luggage.

If it makes you feel important to think you're a surveillance target, then blame yourself for keeping quiet and for staying in Korea. My theory is that igotthisguitar is a radical right-winger targeting gullible left-wingers by finding incredulous stories that left-wingers will be quick to believe, particularly stories that make them think they'll never go back to the USA. Fewer such people return to the USA, participating less in American politics. The Democrats suffer at the polls due to having fewer boots (sandals?) on the ground, inching Rudy or Fred closer to the White House. From igotthisguitar's red-state point of view, Korea's loss becomes America's gain.

[newteacher]

I actually read this article somewhere else, but it wasn't the Post. It was MSNBC's website and they've since taken it down and discontinued access to it.

It must be accurate though, because we all know how conscientious cable news is in their reporting of the truth. I'm mean they'd never report something sensationalistic just to scare people into watching more and more and increasing their ratings.

[sojourner1]

Of course, the US government as well as other governments are tracking us. With the documenting of books and personal effects thing, I seriously doubt they log all that info, unless you are considered high profile or a possible security risk. I believe some of us are tracked more than others for unknown reasons. It just depends on if an officer notated in a computer that you are to be specially documented in some context. All these sorts of things are a secret, but if you're not doing anything illegal or have arrest warrants, then all should be well.

Be advised that simply traveling, especially internationally, is a huge personal and financial safety risk to undertake, whether tracked or not. I feel that USD $28,000 a year in Korea is too little of a salary for the risks and discomforts experienced, though for other expats, it is just fine as many I met in Korea refuse to ever live in America, Australia, New Zealand, or Canada again. Many are running from criminal charges in their home country as one expat I know said if he ever took a trip to America, he would never return to Asia again. He dodged the question of why this is so. And many expats actually do like living and teaching in Korea which keeps them traveling in and out of Korea.

Me, I am returning home early next year, without a care about being searched and tracked, since I am not doing anything to worry about. I just hope to leverage this special experience abroad in positioning myself adequately in the US job market next year. They can track me all they want, but I only expect honesty and fairness, never a false charge or unreasonable holding or unfair discriminatory treatment from police, immigration, and homeland security. I found St. Louis Missouri Lambert Field to be the most intimidating out of all my world travels when it comes to dealing with TSA and homeland security as they tend to be judgmental in a negative manner of the jet set who they perceive to be rich and privileged. They give you a hard time, pressure you, excessively search you, and ask all these stupid questions with the obvious ambition of causing you failure in light of jealousy. On the other hand, I found Germany to be the least intimidating and least judgmental. Korea and Japan don't seem bad at all either when it comes to air travel, nothing like STL Missouri. STL sucks big time.

Just don't be rude or aggressive when dealing with those guys wherever you go folks and you should be fine despite being tracked and having no privacy or anonymity. And stay away from countries who are not allies or friends of America or who are corrupt in requiring bribes to pass through as to not be unfairly detained and stripped of all financial resources and personal effects someplace far away from home. That's what I am scared of, besides any situation finding me broke.

[igotthisguitar]