Maybe I'll take a boat

Homeland Security tracks travelers' meals

Without notifying the public, federal agents have assigned millions of international travelers, including Americans, computer-generated scores rating the risk they pose of being terrorists or criminals.

The travelers are not allowed to see or directly challenge these risk assessments. The government intends to keep the scores on file for 40 years.

The scores are assigned to people entering and leaving the United States after computers assess their travel records, including where they are from, how they paid for tickets, their motor vehicle records, past one-way travel, seating preference and what kind of meal they ordered.

The program's existence was quietly disclosed earlier in November when the government put an announcement detailing the Automated Targeting System, or ATS, for the first time in the Federal Register, a fine-print compendium of federal rules.

I wonder who's tracking government travel.

Playing the race card... wrong!

Los Angeles fire chief retires amid racial, hazing flaps

I couldn't find the link to the original article. But essentially, this guy has claimed racial discrimination based on some firehouse hazing. They put dog food in his spaghetti. Now, this guy has, himself, engaged in hazing. And apparently refers to himself as "Big Dog". Sounds to me like he was getting equal treatment from other firefighters and he's decided to try to get a free ride out of it.

But the issue blew up last month after the City Council approved a $2.7 million settlement to firefighter Tennie Pierce, who claimed racial discrimination after being fed the spaghetti.

A department investigation had suggested it was a prank prompted by Pierce's references to himself as the "Big Dog." The council approved the settlement on advice of the city attorney before photos surfaced showing the Pierce himself engaged in crude firehouse hazing.

The mayor vetoed the settlement, and a council majority refused to override it despite an emotional plea by Pierce, backed by black community leaders. Pierce's lawsuit is now headed to trial.

This guy screwed up. I hope he loses his lawsuit.