Are you on a government watch list? I know I am.

Are you on a government watch list? I know I am.

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According to the article "How to land on a government watch list" you have to be nominated for a place on a list by a government agent. This is why we shouldn't use our full names on the internet. I imagine facebook's datamining is responsible for the majority of the list's occupants. The information is probably filtered through some machine looking for keywords in our headlines, comments, and links we post. Certain websites will most certainly land you on some shady list.

Getting put on the watch list isn't exactly like making prom queen, but it does require a nomination. An agent from the FBI, NSA or other federal agency nominates you. Then, that nomination moves on to the FBI's Terrorist Review and Examination Unit. If you check out as a known or potential terrorist, it's on to the Terrorist Screening Center and the watch list.

So how do we know if we are on a gov. list? That same article states:

The easiest way to find out is to take an airplane trip. It doesn't matter the destination, just try booking a flight and see what happens. The Transportation Security Administration that oversees air travel in the United States will automatically flag anyone with a name on the TSC's master list. As a result, when you arrive at the airport, someone will likely pull you aside for an extensive security check and possibly questioning before permitting you to board.

Well, I found another way to check. Simply apply for a passport if you don't have one already. When I applied for mine it took weeks upon weeks without me hearing anything from them. I called several times trying to figure out what happened to it to no avail. Eventually I was able to reach someone who had said my passport was sent to another state for advanced analysis.
The woman on the phone let me know that I was in fact on some government watch-lists and that they must perform a series of additional background checks because of this. Unfortunately she would not allow me to know why, but then she went on to say that it would be against policy, and that she didn't have that information anyway.

How are we supposed to get off a list if we don't even know we are on one in the first place?

Once you think you are either on, or the collateral damage of, a watch list, you need to figure out which one got you.

If you're attempting to shake free of a list you are actually on, it can only be done by the agency that put you on the list in the first place. DHS may forward your complaint to the Terrorist Screening Center, which runs the master watch list, but the department won't tell you which agency blacklisted you.

So we must contact the agency which placed us on it, however, we are not aloud to know which agency placed us on it OR why?

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While in Detroit In 2008 my GPS led me too closely to "The bridge to Canada". Traffic was too thick to turn around, and I was forced to go over the bridge. Although there were places available to turn around, they yelled at me to continue through the first checkpoint. I did not have my passport on me, I was not planning on leaving the country that day. I asked the person at the first checkpoint if I could just turn around; I explained my GPS led me there. After calling me cheech for wearing glasses and mocking me by pretending to sound like me "wah wah I just want to turn around" (yes that really happened) he then gave me a ticket and explained what to say to the next set of security. When I got to the next set they took the ticket and told me to pull my car into the security area for searches. They removed the cellphones from everyone in the car, and we were detained by DHS. I sat in a glass box for nearly 4 or 5 hours and was commanded to do several procedures by some DHS grunt with a military sergeant like attitude. The procedures included lining us up in a single file line, and going down the line asking family history, the spelling of my last name from to back, back to front. They asked how we knew each other, when we met, why we met, and our intentions. The measured how tall I was, and my license was off 2 inches. They tried to make me confess to creating a fake license which was untrue. Eventually I was let free; free until the US would claim my citizenship (1 - 2 hours longer). They tore my car apart looking for nonexistent drugs and contraband but that was the least of my worries. At least I didn't have it as bad as the warehouse full of arabs I had to pass through, who were all being retina scanned and questioned. All of this because of a wrong turn. I have absolutely no criminal record.

What lands you on a list? Well it's really hard to say for sure. One "tip" lands you on the list. Some of those "tips" include signing certain petitions (They like to use Ron Paul's), ordering a vegetarian meal on a flight, and other HARMLESS activities.

I'm not alone when it comes to being on one of these lists. The Terrorist Watch List contained over one million names as of summer 2010, according to the TSC.

I say we shouldn't fear these lists. If they tag every American citizen on the list there will be no-one left to be singled out. It is my opinion that these lists are unconstitutional, but we as Americans don't have a say anymore. The bill of rights is a thing of the past.

Resources
How to land on a government watch-list
How to get off a government watch list

Living in america, being an american, as well as being Anti-America I am probably on it due to several reasons. Saying bomb on the phone, hanging out with top officials etc etc etc. Being next to a secret base. I am sure I am on it, not because of who I am, because who I am with

I am from the UK and your nation saddens me from our war between our own countries you went so far then fell into the same hole as us, our governments relationships are all shams but we are still family watch list or not they can insert actions here...

Are you sure you weren't driving from Warsaw to Berlin in 1940 ? Think of it as a something else to add to your resume.

reply to post by Jordan River


Who are you with?

Originally posted by LightofLiberty
reply to post by Jordan River

 

Who are you with?

Gotta hang with the right people who have seen a lot of weird stuff.

reply to post by 12voltz


liking your signature that was my motto for a bit but then i was told he also made no progress not being intentionally annoying

Precisely why I lied on my Census.

Honestly at this point I would be disappointed in the government if I wasn't on a list already. I have a CCW permit, own more firearms than I can count on one hand including a M4 carbine and have a position with a federal contractor doing IT work. If that doesn't create enough reason to keep an eye on me by the paranoid standards the Government uses then perhaps they are asleep at the wheel. Do I care about being on a list? Nope! So far it hasn't impacted my life in any perceptible way, I walked out of a store the other week with a new handgun without so much as a hiccup other than having to dig my second from of ID out of my glove box in the car.

reply to post by The_Zomar


Send the details to your Congressperson. Make sure they are complete and absolutely true and leave emotion out of it. You will find their office quite helpful contrary to the wrong minded opinions of those who don't know. It works. I've had to cut through bureaucratic crap a time or two in the past. You can't beat the system but you can use it to your advantage.

Good luck with that.

I have only been to an airport once and have not had any issues. I work for an intl financial organization. I have just submitted my requests for a passport/license to carry/ & will soon go for a sky diving license.

On another note I did not get my state id/license/purchase alcohol till I turned 24 years old. I have held off on doing alot and do things spontaneously. Just recently I drove from Pitt, PA to Missouri. I was pulled over and searched by police for following closely. I was about 50ft from a semi, I used turn signals and was in the clear.He did a background check and everything was clear. He did however find it extremely suspicious that I drove over 900 miles for the hell of it...

Then again, I haven't been to the airport since I purchased over 30 books on amazon. (Plato/Karl Marx/Charles Darwin/Hawkings/Einstein/ etc etc)

Time will tell for me!

S&F!

Lol, the irony of people admitting to things which can look to be dangerous in the eyes of the government, in a thread about how the Government are watching people who they deem to be dangerous.

ordering a vegetarian meal on a flight, and other HARMLESS activities.

reply to post by The_Zomar


I hope that was sarcasm, lol. I don't doubt any of your story, but as a former flight attendant, I had many people who requested vegetarian meals and wasn't required to report who got them and who didn't. Then again, they didn't have to request them pre-flight. Don't know about other airlines. Not saying you're wrong. It just didn't work that way in my job.

Originally posted by gemineye

ordering a vegetarian meal on a flight, and other HARMLESS activities.

reply to post by The_Zomar

 

I hope that was sarcasm, lol. I don't doubt any of your story, but as a former flight attendant, I had many people who requested vegetarian meals and wasn't required to report who got them and who didn't. Then again, they didn't have to request them pre-flight. Don't know about other airlines. Not saying you're wrong. It just didn't work that way in my job.

No sarcasm, however, after researching again it appears to be only on UK flights. We can bet the US have since adopted this procedure though, unfortunately.

All the information passengers give to travel agents, including home addresses, telephone numbers, email addresses, passport details and the names of family members, is shared with an unknown number of Government agencies for ‘analysis’ and stored for up to ten years. ‘Suspect’ requests likely to cause innocent holidaymakers to get ‘red flags’ as potential terrorists include ordering a vegetarian meal, asking for an over-wing seat and traveling with a foreign-born husband or wife. The system will also ‘red flag’ passengers buying a one-way ticket and making a last-minute reservation and those with a history of booking tickets and not showing up for the flights.

Source

we're all on some kind of list.....just different people watching.....technology will be the double edged sword that completely eliminates any sort of personal privacy a person feels entitled to....

With some of my family members, I've probably been on a list for before I was even born.

I may be a little paranoid here, but am pretty sure that an agent was sent to spy on me at a local bar I went to for a while. I think maybe this was some sort of unspoken interview to see if I truly was a threat to the government and needed to be dealt with, or if I was just someone who was curious but not really prone to violence or anything.

The guy came into the bar, and honestly did some subtle, yet creepy things to gain insight into my beliefs, and reasonings behind them. The guy looked highly intelligent, and yet had a cunning deceitfulness to him. I think he may honestly have been CIA.

Anyways, I don't think that landed me on a list, so the guy must have thought I was just a curious outspoken guy is all. Why do I think I'm not on a list? Because I've flown a few times since then without any problems, and I got my passport shortly after it was required to fly to Mexico. The process was rather quick. That much I remember.

Just don't say anything stupid like directly threatening the government. In all honesty, I'm pretty much okay with the way things are going considering the circumstances. I had some sort of change in my mindset after stumbling on an insight last week. Ever since then, things make much more sense, but tragically I just don't think most people here would relate, so haven't bothered to post a thread on it. I'm still debating whether or not to do so.

reply to post by unityemissions

Chances are you are probably correct. The government employs a staggering amount of "feds" to watch over regular citizens such as ourselves.

I had some sort of change in my mindset after stumbling on an insight last week. Ever since then, things make much more sense, but tragically I just don't think most people here would relate, so haven't bothered to post a thread on it. I'm still debating whether or not to do so.

Do tell.

Do not be fooled. You have no anonymity on the internet. It does not matter if you use your name at all. TPTB have all bases covered on the net. I remember reading a thread about a three letter agency having backdoor codes in software. I did a search and couldn't find it.
I have had an experience that I know put me on the list. There are some google exercises that you can do to get their watchful eye and maybe a house call. The problem is that the list is so darn big so were pretty safe.

reply to post by Nventual


Being spontaneous is not illegal just yet as far as I know, till then I will keep on keeping on!