[IP] TSA Says It Can Decide Who Can Learn

[David Farber <dave@farber.net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: John Gilmore <gnu@toad.com>
Date: October 24, 2004 4:44:16 AM EDT
To: dave@farber.net, gnu@toad.com
Subject: TSA Says It Can Decide Who Can Learn

[for I-P]

TSA has started issuing "Learner's Permits" and demanding that people
who wish to learn get a Learner's Permit from TSA.  Every innocent
student is to be forced to be "assessed" for their "threat potential".

This violates the fundamental right of freedom of inquiry, which is
guaranteed to all persons in the United States, whether they are
citizens or not.

For the moment, these permits are only required if you want to learn
about flying, but I predict that they will soon be required for other
areas of forbidden knowledge.  Unless the education community and the
citizenry reject the whole concept that the government can tell them
who is permitted to study and what subjects they are permitted to learn.

Don't worry though -- today it only applies at a few schools, and only
to non-US citizens.  It only delays the student by four to six weeks,
and only requires them to provide their full name, passport and visa,
current photograph, specifics about their course of study, and
$130.  Approval is, of course, not guaranteed.

It doesn't threaten *you* -- probably.  By the time they come for your
school and your students and your subject, nobody will remember who
Rev. Martin Niemoller was.

	John Gilmore


October 22, 2004

Media Contact: TSA Public Affairs
571-227-2829

TSA Takes Over Security Threat Assessments on Non-U.S. Citizens Seeking
Flight School Training
Agency also expands program scope to include non-commercial pilot
candidates

LONG BEACH, CALIF. -- The Transportation Security Administration (TSA)
today announced it is now requiring security threat assessments for
non-U.S. citizens seeking training at U.S. flight schools, regardless of
the type and size of the aircraft.

Following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the Aviation and
Transportation Security Act mandated the U.S. Department of Justice to
conduct threat assessments for non-U.S. citizens who sought training on
aircraft weighing 12,500 pounds or more including commercial aircraft.
Vision 100 -- Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act transferred this
responsibility from Justice to TSA as of October 5, 2004.

"September 11th taught us that terrorists exploited the use of U.S 
flight
schools," said Rear Adm. David M. Stone, USN (Ret.), Assistant Secretary
of Homeland Security for TSA.  "Fortifying security by knowing who 
trains
at these schools is an integral part of our mission to secure the
homeland."

The program is designed to prevent terrorists from receiving pilot
training from flight schools.  As a prerequisite to flight training,
non-U.S. citizens must provide to TSA fingerprints, biographical
information, including full name, passport and visa information, and
training specifics such as the type of aircraft the candidate seeks
instruction to operate.

In addition to security assessments, TSA?s new initiative will:

*  Streamline the threat assessment process from 45 to 30 days for most
applicants, and 5 days for some

*  Require flight schools to submit a student?s photograph to TSA to
ensure the student reporting for flight training is the same individual
who successfully completed a security threat assessment

*  Implement an application fee of $130 for the security threat 
assessment

*  Require flight schools to provide security awareness training for
appropriate staff on an annual basis.  To help fulfill this requirement,
TSA plans to offer an on-line course on the agency?s Web site within a 
few
weeks.

Beginning this week, TSA will accept applications for non-U.S. citizens
seeking flight training in aircraft weighing 12,500 pounds or less who 
do
not currently hold a FAA or foreign pilot?s certificate.  Starting on
December 19, 2004, TSA will accept applications for all non-U.S. 
citizens
who seek training in aircraft weighing 12,500 pounds or less, including
those who already have an airman?s certificate and seeking additional
training for a new certificate and/or rating.

For more information, please visit our Web site at www.tsa.gov and click
on "Industry Partners" and find "Flight Training for non-U.S. Citizens."

# # #


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