Not until I walked with Bruce Schneier toward the mass of people unloading their laptops did it occur to me that it might not be possible for us to hang around unnoticed near Reagan National Airport’s security line. Much as upscale restaurants hang mug shots of local food writers in their kitchens, I realized, the Transportation Security Administration might post photographs of Schneier, a 48-year-old cryptographer and security technologist who is probably its most relentless critic. In addition to writing books and articles, Schneier has a popular blog; a recent search for ‘TSA
Saturday, December 24th, 2011
Smoke Screening
Stephan: I believe this is a fairly accurate representation of the truth concerning TSA. It seems to have two purposes, to induce a sense of stress to let you know the threat is real, and your government is working to keep you safe. And to serve as a jobs program. The last time I flew, a few weeks ago, there were 23 people staffing the two checkpoints operating when I went through.
Homeland Security is inherently fascist and over-reaching, and represents a militarized vision of America. It is also enormously profitable for the community of companies that service its needs. If you are a contractor in this system, the heavens have opened and poured down gold.
