With wild googly eyes and a crazy unkempt orange beard, Edward Hasbrouck looks a bit crazy. But not terrorist crazy. Geeky crazy. Actually, he’s a very proud American: proud enough to assert his rights in the fear that if he doesn’t, he’ll lose them. He isn’t afraid to question authority. And most importantly, he isn’t afraid to question the murky and nebulous “authority” of TSA contractors demanding to see his identification.
homeland security
Homeland Insecurity
By 6.13.06
In case there was an inkling that the Department of Homeland Security might not be up to snuff, well, here’s affirmation.
The Government Data Mines Everyone
By 5.23.06
If you’re curious exactly how far the government’s data mining is going, the Wall Street Journal has a scary article up about how the government is literally combing through every single record you have these days for evidence of criminality. It doesn’t stop at the nation’s telecoms: your AOL account, your bank records, any record that could possibly be used against you is routinely being requested by and granted to the Federal Government.
The Terrorists May Have Already Won, In Bed
By 5.5.06
According to this article, your identity can be stolen simply from your airplane ticket stub. The story also has some interesting information about how American travelers are classified to government security experts, based on sophisticated data mining techniques drawing from every piece of information available about you. The system is purported to rank travelers as risks using an increasing danger code of green, amber and red.
We Love Gizmondo Founder ‘Fat Stefan’ Eriksson
By 3.7.06
Here at the Consumerist, we just love crazy corporate executives. Young, old, it doesn’t matter… in the dark. So the gelatin circumference of our belly has been quivering in fond mirth over the recent adventures of Gizmondo (not to be confused with our pocket-protector sister site, Gizmodo) founder Stefan Eriksson, who resigned from the company the night before its American launch after Scandinavian reporters discovered he was a convicted counterfeiter.
The Car Pool Lane of Airport Security
By 1.24.06
t possibly have a Nike full of plastique.
Soon, first class may not just refer to where you sit on an airliner, but how you get on board.
