There is far more going on than what you see at the airport

Department of Homeland Security - in every nation of the world. What a damper in these days of frequent and cheap flights to practically anywhere on Earth.

Religious and sectarian intolerance spawned modern violent terrorism, which, in turn, gave birth to most governments demanding for almost extra-judicial powers.

This post previews a few of the behind-the-scenes details of modern anti-terrorism measures worldwide that may have some overlapping influences on privacy and citizenship rights:

[...In fact, Big Brother has cast its net wider and wider in its effort to collect personal data — biographical information, biometrical data and "encounter" data — on suspected terrorists and other "subjects of interest."

Those of us with U.S. passports might wonder why the line for "Non-U.S. Citizens" is so long and slow at our international airports. They may be comforted to learn that our government is now collecting more information about those arriving in our country by air, including fingerprinting each and every one of them.

This information, plus data submitted prior to take-off overseas, is collected, collated and warehoused in a high-tech computer database known as the Arrival and Departure Information System (ADIS).....

DHS is in fact proposing a secret database of unrestricted personal information closed to the prying eyes of the public — a system just like those employed by the Soviet KGB, the Nazi Gestapo and the East German Stasi. This is a development that all Americans should abhor.

I know that these provisions are theoretically directed only at foreigners, but if citizens cannot find out whether their name and personal information is included on these lists because the information is not subject to the Freedom of Information Act, how will anyone ever know?

And what about those immigrants who become citizens within the 75-year span of the information-retention rule? According to these rulemaking notices, the newly minted U.S. citizen's information will remain in this secret database.....]

UPDATES:

Holy water barred from Vatican flights
Fijilive.com Wed, 29 Aug 2007 1:46 PM PDT
Pilgrims on the Vatican's fledgling airline were stunned to discover that holy water from Lourdes, in southwest France, cannot be taken on board for security reasons, media reports said Wednesday.


[....

Officials at Tarbes-Lourdes airport in southern France said that bottles of water from the shrine at Lourdes could present a potential terrorist threat.

The pilgrims were told they could not carry holy water in bottles bigger than the maximum allowed: 100 ml.

Security staff at the airport said they were simply following international anti-terror regulations.

Measures limiting liquids allowed in carry-on baggage came in response to claims by British police in 2006 that there was a plot to bring down US-bound flights using liquid explosives.

Francesco Pizzo, Mistral Air's president, said the company had to respect international regulations on the matter.

The airline provided a small bottle of holy water, in the shape of the Virgin Mary, for each passenger, once they had boarded the plane for the flight home from Lourdes....]

Source