NSA & Phone Records

I certainly respect the position of principle that Qwest has taken in not cooperating with the Federal Government. And I applaude the reports of lawsuits against Verizon, BellSouth and AT&T for $200 Billion for allegedly violating customer privacy laws.

On the other hand, it is hard to get horribly bothered by NSA running Social Network Analysis, and phone call pattern recognition as a tool of national security. But the line must be categorically drawn rigidly, so as not to go beyond any clear and present danger relating to national security. If a radical fundamentalist organization, is under investigation, why not try to understand the topography of their network. I think it is reasonable to ask, " how many calls do they make to southern villagesin Afghanistan?"

Because the US government was so incompetent in protecting thiscountry against 9-11, the pendulum has swung the other way, and many people are willing to give the government the tools, and sacrifice privacy in order for the government not to be in the position to make any excuses in the future. (Although the incompetence surrounding 9-11 was so profound that nobody really attempted to make any excuses,which must be seen as one of the highest forms of pathetic behavior.)

Having said that, do I have no confidence whatsoever in the TSA (Transportation Security Administration) which is responsible for security at our airports. These folks don't know whether passengers should have lighters, matches, razors, or whether people are required to take their shoes off for X-ray.

I have initiated complaints in the past against the TSA with the Inspector General's office of theDepartment of Homeland Security. It is hard to believe that TSA is a federal agency. Security at each airport is run differently. It is as if they do not believe in common protocols and standards. Don't get me wrong, I am a hardcore pro-security guy, and TSA employees would not make my cut. I don't trust these people to cover my front, my back, nor my side.

So when I hear about the NSA, phone records and Social, NetworkAnalysis, a techie, part of me thinks, "cool." But another part of me thinks, "gee we haven't even learned the lessons from
9-11, which was the over-reliance on cool tech spy gadgetry in the background, while we basically ignored the role of high quality humans on the front lines of security. Until we can resolve our unsecure boarders, and until we can fix organizations like TSA, I would argue lets focus on the basics, before we get suduced by James Bond, spy gadgets.