Show Me Your REAL ID

You'd think the government would put at least as much effort into assisting a rational promotion and distribution of this bogus REAL ID program, wouldn't cha?  But that assumes there are responsible officials, great protective fathers (& mothers) in homeland security who dedicate their time to the PUBLIC's need to know, rather than covering their bureaucratic asses and climbing the corporate/government ladder.  It also very neatly provides enough confusion to ensure the right people "fall through the cracks."  Here's the latest on how we're gonna be safer.  Right. 

Real ID arrives on 1 January:
Will you be allowed to board a domestic flight? 

Published 15 December 2009

Unless Congress extends the deadline for implementing the Real ID Act, air travelers will have to produce a Real ID-compliant driver’s license as a means of identification – or they will not be allowed on board; trouble is, more than thirty states have not agreed to Real ID, and the driver’s licenses they issue may not be fully compliant with the act’s strictures
[...]  [Neala] Schwartzberg notes that currently there are more than thirty states that have not agreed to Real ID and are therefore out of compliance. On 1 January, unless an extension is granted by DHS (and it appears an extension will be issued), residents of those states have IDs that are not acceptable under the Real ID act and will not be able to use their driver’s licenses for identification for domestic flights.
The airlines have said nothing about this issue Schwartzberg contacted American Airlines and Southwest Airlines, two carriers with a significant presence in Albuquerque and Texas which also cover much of the United States. American Airlines spokesperson Tim Smith said:“We are not doing anything about it at this time, at the airline level. Here’s why: at this stage it is a ‘head-butting’ contest between TSA, Homeland Security, and Congress, which passed the law.” He continues: “With more than half the states in America unable to comply with the [Real ID] law at this time, we believe that this issue will have to be worked out among those parties in some fashion. We suspect none of them is prepared to turn away tens of thousands of travelers on January 1.”
[...]  Schwartzberg went to the TSA Web site to see what they had to say about it. The Web site said: “Effective June 21, 2008, adult passengers (18 and over) are required to show a U.S. federal or state-issued photo ID that contains the following: name, date of birth, gender, expiration date and a tamper-resistant feature in order to be allowed to go through the checkpoint and onto their flight.”
http://homelandsecuritynewswire.com/real-id-arrives-1-january-will-you-be-allowed-board-domestic-flight

US Air Force: Above It All?

One of the exciting aspects of blogging breaking news comes when a topic you hit upon goes mainstream. Yesterday I was surprised to see a commercial on NBC, sandwiched between the talking heads, for the Air Force's new baby, the Cyber Command Center. Here's the link from my original blog coverage: February 14, 2008, Geek Warriers in Loose Nukes Country.
The commercial opens with an aerial view of the Pentagon as a man says something about this building being attached, oh, a billion times a day. Then after scaring the crap out of ya, they show the busy bees in the Barksdale Air Force Cyber Command HQ, toiling away for your liberty and freedom.
Here's the hype:

So, maybe I’m just nit picking, but what ever happened to the sixth nuke that left Minot, North Dakota on August 29 and just wasn’t there when they landed at Barksdale? Isn’t that newsworthy anymore? Are we so worn out that no one is able to pursue this story? I’m just saying, here they are advertising their unbelievably expensive new cyber tracking station AT THE VERY BASE WHERE THEY LOST A NUCLEAR WEAPON! Oh, I see. The dog ate it.

War Games Alert

From Oct. 15 - 20, Operation Vigilant Shield 2008 (VS-08) will engage the Pentagon and Homeland Security in war games. The games “…resembles a war-time air scenario rather than an anti-terrorist drill.” In other words, this provides a further blurring of the lines between civil law enforcement and military rule. Be alert, be informed, be prepared.

Dangerous Crossroads:
US Sponsored War Games
by Prof. Michel Chossudovsky
Global Research, October 6, 2007
…the process of "domestic security" has become entrenched and integrated into military planning.
The 'linked exercises" provide an environment which favors the militarization of civilian institutions. They also impart the military with a further opportunity to interfere in domestic civilian law enforcement and judicial functions.

"Another [second 911] attack could create both a justification and an opportunity that is lacking today to retaliate against some known targets [Iran, Syria], according to current and former defense officials familiar with the plan." (WP 23 April 2006).

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=6997