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Fatwa Arbuckle: Misanthropologist

It’s middle-of-teh-week day here in Happy Larryville…and presumably elsewhere across the GN. And I’ll be glad to assist teh thread kitteh with a grumpiness top-up; I haz plenty.

Fatwa Arbuckle: Misanthropologist

Security state thuggery? We’re soaking drowning in it.

WASHINGTON — In an initiative aimed at rooting out future leakers and other security violators, President Barack Obama has ordered federal employees to report suspicious actions of their colleagues based on behavioral profiling techniques that are not scientifically proven to work, according to experts and government documents.

The techniques are a key pillar of the Insider Threat Program, an unprecedented government-wide crackdown under which millions of federal bureaucrats and contractors must watch out for “high-risk persons or behaviors” among co-workers. Those who fail to report them could face penalties, including criminal charges.

Federal employees and contractors are asked to pay particular attention to the lifestyles, attitudes and behaviors – like financial troubles, odd working hours or unexplained travel – of co-workers as a way to predict whether they might do “harm to the United States.” Managers of special insider threat offices will have “regular, timely, and, if possible, electronic, access” to employees’ personnel, payroll, disciplinary and “personal contact” files, as well as records of their use of classified and unclassified computer networks, polygraph results, travel reports and financial disclosure forms.

Fatwa Arbuckle: Misanthropologist

Been having intermittent access problems again the past couple of days; teh site either takes a very long time to load, or I get a 500 error.

(Not fussing, just sayin’.) 😉

Paddy O'Furnijur
Editor
11 years ago

Happy Hump Day, Gerbil Nation!
Good morning, Fatwa!
I was getting 500 errors last night, as well.

I can understand cracking down on the leaking of classified material, but when administrations have used selective leaking as a political tool for decades -- well, they lose a lot of credibility.

Fatwa Arbuckle: Misanthropologist

Plus, vague language such as “harm to the United States” leaves waaaaaaay too much room for mischief, given the “L’Etat, ç’est Il Douchey” tendencies with which we’re all too familiar.

Fatwa Arbuckle: Misanthropologist
Reply to  Mac

Excellent news; thanks for the update, Mac!

Paddy O'Furnijur
Editor
11 years ago

Teh Yay!

Just Sven
Editor
11 years ago
Reply to  Mac

Good news indeed, Mac. Thoguhts and prayers.

Sven