Why do they do this?
Rule #1 of how to start talk of conspiracy and wrongdoing: Change your story and then refuse to provide supporting information to either your first or second one.
Apparently, our wonderful government agencies are at it again. Trying to keep information classified that should be let out, trying to keep us in the dark and wasting more of our own money to do it.
The Homeland Security Paper Chase
When, last September, a spokeswoman for DHS's Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) phoned me to ask that I voluntarily withdraw a month-old Freedom of Information Act request, I had to wonder why.
The request was for any documents pertaining to an earlier failure of a sensitive DHS system used to screen incoming visitors to the US. Called US-VISIT, the system is a network of Windows PCs and mainframe servers that takes fingerprints and digital photos of travelers as they enter the country, and checks each visitor against scores of national security and criminal watchlists.
The August computer failure led to long queues at airports across the country, but was only tersely explained to the public. The DHS initially said a computer virus had infected one of the mainframe servers -- in Virginia. Later, the agency reversed itself and claimed there was no virus, and the outage was a normal computer crash.
We now know that neither version was entirely true. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
Now, if that weren't bad enough, there was this follow-up post made a little later in the day. Apparently, they aren't just trying to keep us from the information, they're trying to make us feel good about the broken system and the fact we can't get our hands on the information.
US-VISIT: We May Get Worms, But Our PR is Stellar
Homeland Security employees are likely tasking themselves with action items following Kevin's piece on his Freedom of Information Act battle that led to the revelation that the Zotob worm took down the nation's system for registering and identifying visitors to the country, a system known as US-VISIT.
At least, one should hope they are, given that the Department of Homeland Security is paying PR giant Fleishman Hillard some $13 million a year to scan the news for coverage of US-VISIT, ghost-write editorials, and educate Americans and foreigners about the benefits of the program.
In all, US-VISIT may spend more than $70 million dollars over five years for the services of Fleishman Hillard flacks.
Your tax dollars at work--making the world at least seem like a better place.
Or something like that.
Apparently, our wonderful government agencies are at it again. Trying to keep information classified that should be let out, trying to keep us in the dark and wasting more of our own money to do it.
The Homeland Security Paper Chase
When, last September, a spokeswoman for DHS's Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) phoned me to ask that I voluntarily withdraw a month-old Freedom of Information Act request, I had to wonder why.
The request was for any documents pertaining to an earlier failure of a sensitive DHS system used to screen incoming visitors to the US. Called US-VISIT, the system is a network of Windows PCs and mainframe servers that takes fingerprints and digital photos of travelers as they enter the country, and checks each visitor against scores of national security and criminal watchlists.
The August computer failure led to long queues at airports across the country, but was only tersely explained to the public. The DHS initially said a computer virus had infected one of the mainframe servers -- in Virginia. Later, the agency reversed itself and claimed there was no virus, and the outage was a normal computer crash.
We now know that neither version was entirely true. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
Now, if that weren't bad enough, there was this follow-up post made a little later in the day. Apparently, they aren't just trying to keep us from the information, they're trying to make us feel good about the broken system and the fact we can't get our hands on the information.
US-VISIT: We May Get Worms, But Our PR is Stellar
Homeland Security employees are likely tasking themselves with action items following Kevin's piece on his Freedom of Information Act battle that led to the revelation that the Zotob worm took down the nation's system for registering and identifying visitors to the country, a system known as US-VISIT.
At least, one should hope they are, given that the Department of Homeland Security is paying PR giant Fleishman Hillard some $13 million a year to scan the news for coverage of US-VISIT, ghost-write editorials, and educate Americans and foreigners about the benefits of the program.
In all, US-VISIT may spend more than $70 million dollars over five years for the services of Fleishman Hillard flacks.
Your tax dollars at work--making the world at least seem like a better place.
Or something like that.