US terror watchlist 80,000 names long

[rick_reno]

Let's see, 1000 at the end of 2001, 40,000 a year later and now 80,000. Todays pop quiz is at this rate of growth, how many years will it take until the entire worlds population is on this list?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20051208/pl_afp/usswedenattackstravel

STOCKHOLM (AFP) - A watchlist of possible terror suspects distributed by the US government to airlines for pre-flight checks is now 80,000 names long, a Swedish newspaper reported, citing European air industry sources.

The classified list, which carried just 16 names before the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York and Washington had grown to 1,000 by the end of 2001, to 40,000 a year later and now stands at 80,000, Svenska Dagbladet reported.

Airlines must check each passenger flying to a US destination against the list, and contact the US Department of Homeland Security for further investigation if there is a matching name.

The list contains a strict "no fly" section, which requires airline staff to contact police, and a "selectee" section, which requires passengers to undergo further security checks.

Some 2,000 passengers checking in at Stockholm's Arlanda airport have had to be cleared with the US authorities because of name matches on the "selectee" list this year, although none was prevented from boarding, Svenska Dagbladet said.

 

[S_O_Laban]

I suspect there will be a curve in the number of names on the list. We can see how it has ramped up as they have had time and intel to grow the list of key people. I would think you will hit a point where the number added each year will decline rapidly. We will have to wait and see.

Would be interesting to know what "qualifies" one for the list....

 

[mountainclmbr]

Oh, it takes very little to get on the list....as I found out.

Here is my long and horrible story. Note that I have worked in the defense industry for over 20 years and have extensive government background investigations every few years. This is my letter (with company name changed) trying to get things fixed. To this day I am on the watch list.....

I used a Corporate American Express card without a single problem for about 17 years. That all changed when the American Express grace period policy for Company X accounts was changed. The old policy had a 30 day grace period. The new policy requires that the account be paid in full by the bill due date. Any late payments incur a substantial penalty. The time between the billing cycle closing date and the bill due date varies, but is often about 3 weeks. The billing cycle causes big problems if airline tickets are purchased in advance, if the trip is long or if business charges are made near the close of the billing cycle. The bill for airline tickets may be due before the trip occurs. There is also a big problem if the expense report is not done in a timely manner. Being on field assignment in Colorado and, many times, not even knowing that travel arrangements were being made caused me even more problems than what would be normal. I should repeat that the late penalties are substantial; mine were often in the $100 range per month.

When the grace period was removed I tried to do things to expedite the expense report process. On the first day back from travel, I FAXed copies of receipts to the person who would be doing my expense report and then mailed the original receipts in the hope that the expense report would be ready to be submitted when the receipts arrived. This plan was not fast enough to avoid penalties most months for several reasons: US mail is slow; Company X internal mail is slower; letters with receipts often got delivered to the wrong person; airline tickets were often purchased too far in advance at the direction of someone other than myself; the person doing the expense report would sometimes forget to complete them promptly; I requested, but never found anyone who knew how to expense the airline ticket before the trip occurred (until 2 years after my AMEX card was cancelled); Company X Travel is often too slow to approve submitted expense reports.

This is the summary of what happened to me: Over the first year that the grace period was removed I incurred about $1,000.00 in late payment penalties. Every month I tried to fix the existing problems in the process and something new would happen to cause the payment from Company X to American Express to be late. And no one could figure out how to pay the penalties, it could not be charged to a program. American Express cancelled my card and turned the bill over to a collection agency that called me several times a day at work. My desk at customer's facility in Colorado is in a big cubicle area and everyone around me could hear my conversations with the collection agency. It is the most humiliating feeling I have ever experienced. The collection agency had all of my personal information from Company X and American Express. One day the collection agency called me and gave me the date that they would begin proceedings to place a lien on my house. The American Express legal person that I spoke with told me that signing the card and presenting it for payment obligated me to the terms of the card, not Company X, as stated in the fine print when the card is delivered. My department finally agreed to pay the penalty, but I was reprimanded by the division Controller and by my Director first. Company X still did not pay the penalty promptly and the next month I still had the penalty on the penalty amount that had to be paid. I paid it myself the day before the proceedings to place a lien on my house were to start and I have never been reimbursed. I got a terrible performance review that year because of the penalties and because my card got cancelled.

I began using my personal credit card for travel, and the timeliness for expense report processing did not get any better. Out of many expense reports I can only remember one that was done quickly enough that a penalty would not be incurred against the AMEX timelines and several expense reports have taken almost 2 months to complete, for various reasons. I pay the bill to avoid interest on the travel expenses and have to wait to be reimbursed by Company X. I must keep about $3,000 in my checking account to cover business expenses that have not been reimbursed in a timely manner.

The Company X travel department eventually refused to make travel arrangements with my personal credit card. I found out that I can personally pay the AMEX bill and get the reimbursement sent to my bank account. While I really don't like this, it is the same as I have been doing. I filled out an AMEX reinstatement form, explaining what had happened to cause the late payments and stated that I would personally pay the bills to make sure they were not late. The reinstatement request was denied by AMEX with no suggestion of any options.

Currently, my airline tickets are purchased using the AMEX credit card of other people working with me for Company X and then they are expensed for them. Today, October 17, 2004, as I was checking in to travel from Denver to Orlando on Company X business I found that my name had been placed on the Federal No-Fly List because the name on the credit card did not match the name of the traveler (me). I was detained and questioned by security before finally being allowed to check in. I have been randomly detained to this day 12-8-2005, always with a big show by airport security.

In summary, due to the problems with American Express caused by the "no grace period" policy and the inability of Company X to complete ALL of my expense reports in a timely manner, I have been harassed on a daily basis over a period of several months in front of customer employees by a debt collection agency, was threatened with a lien against my house, paid hundreds of dollars out of my own funds and have been placed on a terrorist watch list. I understand that Company X receives "revenue sharing" from AMEX and the no grace period probably results in an increased revenue sharing percentage. I have Company X stock and I want Company X to be as profitable as possible. However, I am not sure what else I can do; I can't get the AMEX card reinstated and I would never, ever try to get an AMEX card again except for Company X policy. I am also not sure what else could happen as a result of being associated with use of the American Express card in the future, but what ever it is, I am sure it will be absolutely horrible. Note: I have heavily edited this text to take out bad language.



There....It could happen to you too!!!!!

 

[Parker Dean]

^^^^

Company X is giving you the shaft by taking an interest-free loan from you for an unknown amount of time every time they insist you travel for them. I can guarantee the reimbursement times will become longer until eventually they'll file bankruptcy.

IMO if they require that you travel, they need to pay up front. Time to put your foot down.

 

[Parker Dean]

Oh, and on the list size. It'll do nothing but go up. Gotta justify their budget somehow, and what better way than an ever-expanding amount of "terrorists".

There's also that thing about government having no power over free men, and all that.

 

[Standing Wolf]

IMO if they require that you travel, they need to pay up front. Time to put your foot down.

I used to work for a company that blithely expected me to lend it money. I voted with my feet.

 

[Alex45ACP]

In a few years the number of people on the "Terror" Watch List will be equal to the number of American citizens.

IBTinfoilhat, etc.

 

[mountainclmbr]

I am still pissed off as hell and have contacted nasty lawyers. I hate lawyers but I did not start this.

 

[Peet]

80 thousand?

Wasn't there a study recently released that foune that 30,000 of the names on the list were in error?

If true, that is an astonishing error rate.

/P

(I saw that item here or on TFL - can't remember)