Why don't they tell us?

There has been a steady Stream of Bad News from Washington lately, having to do with Surveillance, Privacy and related Issues.

There was the Associated Press Reporters Story.

Then there were the IRS Stories, involving, of all People, some Tea Party Groups seeking Tax Exempt Status.

Overnight, last Night, the Story regarding the Gathering of Telephone Call Logs by the National Security Agency from Verizon broke out.  Quickly rumours spread that other Carriers, notably A T & T are involved also.

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/06/06/18796204-nsa-snooping-has-foiled-multiple-terror-plots-feinstein?lite

Now it further appears that an enormous Amount of Internet Traffic, eMails, Web Site Visits, we don't know exactly the Extent of it, is under Surveillance also.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/07/us/nsa-verizon-calls.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20130607&_r=0

http://openchannel.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/06/06/18809021-sources-us-intelligence-agencies-tap-servers-of-top-internet-companies?lite

There is Legal Precedent, for those of us who have studied Law for having serious Concerns regarding something called „Overreach.”  The Reason the Government has given for obtaining Secret Court Orders for such extraordinary Surveillance, unprecedented in American History is Terrorism.  And, Terrorism is a serious Issue, witness the recent Events in Boston, not to mention 9/11 and everything else that has happened in between.  Nonetheless, many are beginning to look at whether the War against Terrorism can be achieved without resorting to Secrecy when undertaking such extraordinary Measures which many also view, correctly, as Invasions of Privacy; something which the American Constitution and American Tradition have fiercely guarded for over Two Centuries and something which has become a Model, an Ideal, a Beacon for the Rest of the World.  In other Words, the War against Terrorism can be used to justify many Government Actions but not all of them in this Context.

To be sure, the Roots of these Kinds of Actions go back to the (George W.) Bush Administration.  But President's Obama's Administration has to shoulder the Responsibility and, right now, it appears more and more likely that Attorney General Eric Holder will be asked to fall on his own Sword.  But that may only be a Stop Gap Measure unless President Obama confronts the Issue and also establishes a Model, a Policy for successive Administrations to follow.

The simple Question is this:  why don't they tell us beforehand?

Senator Lindsey Graham (R., North Carolina) stated today that he is himself a Verizon Customer and if the Government was keeping track on his Calls to Waziristan, we think he said Waziristan, he would not have a Problem with it.  Neither would we or anyone else, we don't think, but would it not be appropriate to tell Senator Graham and everyone else that the National Security Agency would be doing this?  Then everybody knows and understands that Telephone Calls, Internet Traffic, whatever, is being subjected to some Sort of Surveillance and that can be the End of that, rather than the Facts coming out Slice by Slice in what one might refer to as a „Salami Tactic.”

Likewise, it may all be well and good that Senator Dianne Feinstein (D., California) states that all this was cleared and approved in Advance Years ago but, the Issue seems to be of sufficient Magnitude to where one has the Right to ask, why were the American People not informed this was going on?  It is difficult, we believe, to formulate an Argument that Secrecy adds Value to the Program; Carrier Pigeons and other antiquated Methods are not alternatives which Terrorists and Enemies of the United States could use with much Success.

 

Using Tablets, Laptop Computers and Telephones on Planes during Take Off and Landing

A recent Article caught our Attention:

„EmployeeProductivity” is being lost because Airlines have Rules prohibiting the Use of Portable Electronic Devices during Take Off and Landing on Planes.

The Study documenting this was done by no less an Authority than someone at de Paul University.

http://www.nbcnews.com/travel/millions-productivity-hours-lost-due-faa-gadget-ban-6C10100962

Folks, can we get serious for a Moment about this? Is this what we want, while getting on and off a Plane, or settling for a Seat in what could be an unconfortable Flight, if flying Coach, with Goodness knows how many People around us getting out their Laptops, Tablets and iPhones and starting to furiously poke at them during Take Off and Landing?

Is it not enough the Explosion of Noises, after a Plane lands, with Cell Phones going on all around us while still others are practicing Weight Lifting trying to get out of Overhead Bins Pieces of Luggage which would have gone into the Belly of the Plane, were it not for the $ 25,00 or so Checked Baggage Fee?  You might be surprised how much less Carry on Baggage is brought on Board on an International Flight, where these Fees largely do not exist.

In the cramped, overcrowded Environment of a Plane, some where Passangers, including Women with Children and the Elderly are making the Best of trying to get from Point „A” to Point „B” with the Minimum amount of Hassle, is the Use of Electronic Devices for a few extra Minutes of such paramount Importance? Is an Argument being made here that Passengers have some Sort of Right to an „Uninterrupted Office in the Plane?”

 

This is what it looks like when you are Boarding a Plane

There seem to be enough Issues of concern to the Flying Public, Factors such as Safety and Confort, the Latter of which has suffered dismally over the Years, where focusing on something like „Employee Productivity” in order to justify unterrupted Use of Electronic Devices on Airplanes would simply distract from other more important Things; cause us to diffuse our Attention rather than to focus.

What Confidence would you have in a Company which is having its Employees make Decisions while Planes are landing and taking off?