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nanofever · 01-12-2004, 05:50 PM

The January issue of Wired had a pretty cool article about this and why it is a horrible idea. Also, props to Wired for putting their magazines on-line in full.

"Big Brother's Keep

Beware a good PR man with a cause. Bill Scannell, an Austin, Texas, flack and self-proclaimed media whore, blew the whistle on JetBlue after it shared 5 million customer records for a test of passenger-tracking software. The airline's apology was the latest victory for Scannell, a former Army intelligence officer whose stint in 1980s Eastern Europe made him passionate about privacy. It was purely personal until last spring, when he declared war on Capps II, a homeland security program that surveils air passengers. When Delta agreed to test it, Scannell created www.boycottdelta.org and www.dontspyon.us. The goal: keeping our records off the record.

WIRED: Why take on Capps II?

SCANNELL: I read about Capps II and completely lost it. I started to think, well, what can I do? From a PR point of view I thought, man, how stupid can Delta be? They're out there on their own.

So you threw a boycott. Did anyone come?
I received over 17,000 emails supporting the boycott, and at least three Fortune 500 companies stopped using Delta as a preferred carrier. The airline's stock stagnated. The secret with Boycott Delta and now Don't Spy On Us is that we use monosyllables, a lot of humor, and a lot of nastiness. But it's 2004, so have a good team of lawyers to check your copy.

As a former soldier, does it feel unpatriotic to go after the government?
I had a sit-down meeting with [Homeland Security chief privacy officer] Nuala O'Connor Kelly in which she said, "You know, you're widely feared and hated in Homeland Security, but everyone has to admit that everything you have written has turned out to be true." One of the things that came out of the Delta situation was that I got adopted by all sorts of different groups. Liberals immediately assume I'm one of them because I'm beating up on the Bush administration. But I am now officially a poster child for the libertarians and the ultra-conservatives. The day [conservative activist] Paul Weyrich called to tell me what a fine patriotic American I was you could have knocked me over with a feather.

OK, but Capps II is just the government's way of trying to protect us, right?
It makes flying more dangerous. You've created a system that can be gamed. You send some people through, and if they're green, those are the people you wire up with explosives. For $150 you can buy yourself a good photo ID. Should there be an actual bad-guy watch list with 400 names on it? Sure. But Dr. Evil is not going to be flying under "Evil, Doctor" in seat 8B eating a special meal. I don't see why 19 mass murderers should make 280 million people into a bunch of raving, drooling-at-the-mouth lunatics. People are happy to fly naked, cathetered, and chained if they think that this will make them safer. It will not.

And if it could?
Some people are willing to give up their freedom and privacy for the chance to win a Snickers bar or a coupon for 25 percent off at Target. And you have the perfect right to make that choice. In the JetBlue case, you didn't have a choice. Don't decide for me. Once you do that, I'm going to get out my big can of you-know-what and cause some trouble."

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/1...art.html?pg=11

01-12-2004, 05:50 PM	#5 (permalink)
nanofever Huzzah for Welcome Week, Much beer shall I imbibe. Location: UCSB	The January issue of Wired had a pretty cool article about this and why it is a horrible idea. Also, props to Wired for putting their magazines on-line in full. "Big Brother's Keep Beware a good PR man with a cause. Bill Scannell, an Austin, Texas, flack and self-proclaimed media whore, blew the whistle on JetBlue after it shared 5 million customer records for a test of passenger-tracking software. The airline's apology was the latest victory for Scannell, a former Army intelligence officer whose stint in 1980s Eastern Europe made him passionate about privacy. It was purely personal until last spring, when he declared war on Capps II, a homeland security program that surveils air passengers. When Delta agreed to test it, Scannell created www.boycottdelta.org and www.dontspyon.us. The goal: keeping our records off the record. WIRED: Why take on Capps II? SCANNELL: I read about Capps II and completely lost it. I started to think, well, what can I do? From a PR point of view I thought, man, how stupid can Delta be? They're out there on their own. So you threw a boycott. Did anyone come? I received over 17,000 emails supporting the boycott, and at least three Fortune 500 companies stopped using Delta as a preferred carrier. The airline's stock stagnated. The secret with Boycott Delta and now Don't Spy On Us is that we use monosyllables, a lot of humor, and a lot of nastiness. But it's 2004, so have a good team of lawyers to check your copy. As a former soldier, does it feel unpatriotic to go after the government? I had a sit-down meeting with [Homeland Security chief privacy officer] Nuala O'Connor Kelly in which she said, "You know, you're widely feared and hated in Homeland Security, but everyone has to admit that everything you have written has turned out to be true." One of the things that came out of the Delta situation was that I got adopted by all sorts of different groups. Liberals immediately assume I'm one of them because I'm beating up on the Bush administration. But I am now officially a poster child for the libertarians and the ultra-conservatives. The day [conservative activist] Paul Weyrich called to tell me what a fine patriotic American I was you could have knocked me over with a feather. OK, but Capps II is just the government's way of trying to protect us, right? It makes flying more dangerous. You've created a system that can be gamed. You send some people through, and if they're green, those are the people you wire up with explosives. For $150 you can buy yourself a good photo ID. Should there be an actual bad-guy watch list with 400 names on it? Sure. But Dr. Evil is not going to be flying under "Evil, Doctor" in seat 8B eating a special meal. I don't see why 19 mass murderers should make 280 million people into a bunch of raving, drooling-at-the-mouth lunatics. People are happy to fly naked, cathetered, and chained if they think that this will make them safer. It will not. And if it could? Some people are willing to give up their freedom and privacy for the chance to win a Snickers bar or a coupon for 25 percent off at Target. And you have the perfect right to make that choice. In the JetBlue case, you didn't have a choice. Don't decide for me. Once you do that, I'm going to get out my big can of you-know-what and cause some trouble." http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/1...art.html?pg=11 __________________ I'm leaving for the University of California: Santa Barbara in 5 hours, give me your best college advice - things I need, good ideas, bad ideas, nooky, ect. Originally Posted by Norseman on another forum: "Yeah, the problem with the world is the stupid people are all cocksure of themselves and the intellectuals are full of doubt."