80,000+ red-flagged on "No Fly" Lists

"The latest figures that I have seen are that at least 80,000 Americans are now on FBI and Homeland Security's red-flagged "no fly" lists with another 325,000 on yellow-flagged "watch lists" (the latter being subject to body and luggage searches). Hundreds more names are added every week."

"The criteria for being put in these lists is secret, and there is no official procedure for getting off a list."

"Government propaganda for these lists implies that only "known terrorists" and terror "suspects" are on the lists, but the reality is far different."

Those are interesting numbers, and I wish he'd provided a source for them. Assuming those numbers are accurate, then either we're literally crawling with terrorists, or, like everything else in government, something is ridiculously wrong. Only known terrorists are supposed to be on the list, but at 405,000+ names, something's not right.

The article is very short (it actually qualifies as a "memo"), and it only makes the point that the lists real purpose is to monitor and control us, implying that they will be used against government opponants. I suppose it's possible, and those numbers are just too damn high to be only "known" and "suspected" terrorists, all American. I wonder how large the non-American list is?

Anyway, I haven't seen those figures anywhere other than that page, but earlier this month there was a Senate Committee Hearing on the subject you might be interested in:

TSA's Secure Flight and Registered Traveler Programs

Thursday, February 9 2006

"Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) and Co-Chairman Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) have scheduled a Full Committee oversight hearing on commercial aviation security for Thursday, February 9, 2006, at 10:00 a.m. in Room 562 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building. The Committee expects to examine two of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA)'s aviation passenger screening programs, Secure Flight and Registered Traveler, to discuss the issues that have prevented these programs from being launched, and to determine their future."

If you're interested, you can watch the video stream (1hr 53min) of the Hearing, or click on the names of any of the speakers and you'll be taken to a page to download that individuals' testimony as a PDF.