The SDS Solution to the Immigrant Vetting Challenge

 

President Trump has lately been credited with coming up with a security screening process which was actually instituted and put into action by President Obama. That’s right; President Trump is being credited by the mainstream media with implementing a policy which belonged to President Obama. We would like to demand that President Obama be granted the credit to which he is entitled. United States policy under President Obama to restrict and target people “who have been present in Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, at any time on or after March 1, 2011 excepting military and authorized government employees and contractors.” This was text of the US Customs and Border Protection in 2015 relating to “the Visa Waiver Program and Terrorist Travel Protection Act of 2015”. The link even includes the seven nation list in it: “Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia, or Yemen.” The information can be located at the following link in the section titled, “What is the Visa Waiver Program Improvement and Terrorist Travel Prevention Act of 2015? Why is it necessary to once again expand the amount of ESTA information being collected from VWP travelers?” Note that all of these restrictions were started under President Obama and were to continue until the end of his administration and for the most part, all President Trump has done is to reinstate the policies of the Immigration and Naturalization Service which were put in place by his predecessor. This is nothing new under the sun but simply a continuation of policies already in place. President Obama likely allowed them to lapse at the end of his term simply so an incoming President Trump would need to reinstate the policy and then catch the full acrimonious and viperous attention of the mainstream media who would deceive by making this entirely the mean-spiritedness of President Trump rather than honestly report this was but a continuation of the mean-spiritedness of President Obama. Talk about “fake news” and the people who craft it.

 

Is there reason to slow or even prevent the free flow of refugees from these war-torn and economically starving areas despite the refugee problems? Yes, as it is well-known and documented that Islamic State, Hezballah, Hamas, al-Qaeda, IRGC (Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps) and who knows who else are all discreetly hiding agents, terror organizers, bomb makers, radicalized Imams, terrorists, trainers and other necessary elements to start full ground operations. Their plans go way beyond simply terrorism with such activities as recruitment, radicalization, and political subversion; but also range to using the freedoms of the Constitution against the nation, subverting rights as a weapon and others who would, among other items, be committing to the Muslim Brotherhood plans to perform grand Jihad in eliminating and destroying the Western civilization from within and “sabotaging” its miserable house by their hands and the hands of the believers so that it is eliminated and God’s religion (Islam) is made victorious over all other religions. If any of this sends chills up your spine, then congratulations, you are a thinking and feeling individual. If your reaction is simply a shrug and commenting, so what else is new, then we hope that is because you already understand the threats. If this is all new and confusing, read on as the solution could be so straightforward as to amaze you and have you writing your Congressional representatives, both in the House and Senate, demanding they take action to implement what we will reveal.

 

First a very brief history which will include how 9/11 could have been very likely averted but cost analysis made it apparently unprofitable and in the service of remaining competitive the American and European air carriers refused to change. Back when the PLO first made airline hijacking popular and other terror groups and political malcontents were using their designs of terror and in the United States aircraft were being hijacked to Cuba, the American airline companies met in a joint session and later one-on-one with representatives of El Al, the Israeli airlines, to find out how and why El Al had such a clean record when they had to be target number one. The security experts from El Al explained their layered approach where each passenger was screened at least three times with no single screener asking more than four or five pertinent questions taking under three minutes at each station. The greeter at the curb, the baggage handler, the ticket and seating agent and finally at the gate itself were the areas where the passengers made contact with El Al personnel and each had their responsibilities. Simple questions such as final destination for your baggage, connecting flights, reason for trip, are you traveling alone, who with if not alone, relationship, where do your reside, where will you be staying, and other seemingly innocuous questions all together paint a picture and if that picture does not fit together well, then additional screening would be in order and if probability of serious discrepancies, then serious questions and checks of luggage and all with the person removed from the normal flow so as not to disturb others. This required trained people at each layer and higher salaries to attract people capable of such operations, thus very few if any near minimum wage people greeting or working directly with passengers. These people would have salaries in excess of their American and European counterparts. These were much of why El Al flights often were and still are more expensive. But the El Al system works for El Al but they have far fewer flights daily, fewer terminals in which they operate, and far fewer employees total. The costs for the rest of the developed world’s airlines was determined to be cost prohibitive thus were rejected out of hand even to the implementation of even the most rudimentary of the system which might have allowed for the detection of terrorists on 9/11.

 

Now for us to sound like an infomercial, as there is no other way to talk about this system which could completely revolutionize screening and vetting people. The systems are already in use in reportedly a dozen countries by government or private entities. The system requires minimal operator intervention and a single operator can monitor numerous units, reportedly up to ten though we might advise merely five to eight knowing the little we have researched. Each unit consists of a laptop computer screen and keyboard and headphones. The system asks questions in words on the screen as well as speaking them through the headphones. There are eight to twelve questions depending on criteria in the system and it returns a safe or suspect determination on which the operator can act. The system is over 90% accurate in determining sage vs suspect in testing and follow-up on its use in the real world. Whatever the cost, the first time it prevents a hijacking or an actual terror attack the price has just become well worth the investment for all involved, especially the innocent lives saved by its allowing intervention before any terror or criminal act has been able to materialize. The system uses no X-rays or other medically critical elements other than body mechanics and facial trending recognitions. The system is entirely noninvasive checking various parameters such as skin conductivity, blood pressure, changes in facial temperatures and pupil dilation. Pupil analysis is more accurate than fingerprint analysis, as the pupil is harder to fake and its form varies from person to person. The subject’s fingerprints and vocal imprints are also recorded. These physiological parameters may indicate stress, and stress raises suspicion. The systems can be deployed to be used in border checkpoints, airports, offices and other sensitive spots.

 

Shabtai Shoval’s SDS (Suspect Detection Systems) Cogito System with Booth

 

Here is how the company explains the systems operation. The subjects sit down and place their hand on a sensor, put on the attached headphones and look at the display in front of them. A series of questions is presented, which takes up to seven minutes to answer. The answers are analyzed, information is cross-referenced using an integrated database and eventually the system determines whether the subject is an innocent or a suspect. Suspects are subjected to further interrogation while innocents are free to continue. (Company information and other information can be found or linked from here) The system was developed partly using funding from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, yet the system has not been implemented to replace the majority of TSA personnel and allowing Americans traveling by air to keep their shoes on and not receive a lifetime dose of X-rays in order to board an airliner. The least the TSA could do is provide the full body X-rays to your medical provider so you will not need to X-ray another part of your body unless you break a bone. Well, you’re right, not exactly. But at least they could tell if everything is where it should be within your body and perhaps some glaring problem might be evident which can be nipped in the bud immediately rather than waiting for the onset of symptoms, we hate symptom. I realize we have sounded more like one of Shabtai Shoval’s paid salespeople, but we assure you we are not as had we received commissions for selling his products, we would likely be living in our own custom home on the beach (which we do in our dreams) but assure you that is not yet the case. Perhaps if the TSA show him our article when ordering these units we might then get a small commission, or a large one, we are not proud. Anyway, the real question is as this system has proven so effective, why is it not being implemented in every airport in the world and used wherever security checks are required in numbers and both reliably and quickly. That is what astounds us and likely Shabtai Shoval as well.

 

Beyond the Cusp 

 

Dreading Being TSA’ed to Death

 

Well, agreed, the TSA is not likely to take our lives but they may very well squelch the spirit out of our upcoming trip. It is expected but still haunting how when you start approaching a planned trip you start noticing every TSA horror story and the nerves start to fray. Add to it that at this moment there is a brouhaha at the TSA over the intolerable lines and longer than believable wait times. The TSA has even just fired Kelly Hoggan, their security chief with the TSA Chief Administrator Neffenger told USA TODAY, “I felt it was important to have a different approach going forward than we’ve had in the past.” This may be a slight improvement over claiming that the lines at TSA checkpoints were really not all that much different than those at the Disney theme parks. Thinking back to the last time we went through TSA checkpoints, let’s face it, they are more like military checkpoints as far as their stringent rules and a lot like Keystone Cops when it comes to organization and efficiency but with much less and slower movement. Then when you read that they fail to catch planted dummy explosives and firearms when tested by random testing at virtually every airport; well, the last report on this I read did point out there were four or five airports which had passed over fifty percent of their tests, which makes the rest even worse. What was sad is the airports listed I had never and likely never will fly in or out of and one of them was in a city I had not realized actually had an airport. The one thing these airports all had in common was they had chosen to hire their own TSA employees rather than relying on the government screening and hiring systems. Fortunately, we will be flying with an airline which takes their own security very seriously and have a top notch screening system consisting of various levels and well trained interviewers and techniques used at every contact point including their own boarding security check in addition to the TSA.

 

That got us to thinking that perhaps security and safety would be better served by having each airline provide whatever level of checkpoints they felt was necessary with a set minimum level required and everything beyond something similar in coverage and efficiency of the best TSA working system. The advantages are obvious and legion. First every airline would have their business on the line and airline advertisements would boast of their efficient and layered security checks and their luggage screening systems. Who knows, some might even choose to use an automated computerized system where each individual is asked a set of questions taking under thirty seconds and using advanced software, facial recognition and monitoring facial movements is capable of determining who requires more close scrutiny and who passes from the start. Such systems would speed checks and remove the human fallibility factor and have been proven to be close to ninety percent accurate. The efficiency includes false positives as well as missed problem persons. We would trust such a system and understand that these systems will only improve and eventually be all but foolproof. Of course, anybody who has ever been a repair technician or engineer can tell you, nothing can be made completely foolproof because fools can be so ingenious. Still, with the automation of security screening there is no reason to continue with a bureaucratic behemoth which has become nothing much more than another government jobs program and union run system where incompetence runs amuck and lives are placed in danger with government job security placed as a higher priority than passenger safety.

 

TSA Lines Waiting to Miss Their Flight

 

With the current missteps being front and foremost in the public’s eyes at the moment, perhaps this would be a great opportunity for the airlines to take over their own security and demand an end to the TSA boondoggle. The first complaint is that having the airlines handle their own security is it will raise the price of tickets. Actually it would likely only slightly raise the price but the level of actual security would be improved by a large factor and worth the difference. Further, currently everybody whether they fly or not are paying for the TSA and it is providing employment, government union jobs and providing a veneer of an appearance of security while doing very little to make air travel any safer. Would it not be better for those who benefit most by the added security to pay for the security? Airlines could choose what level they desired to put in place and advertise any advantage their systems provide. With each airline responsible for their own security the government would possibly still be tasked with security of the airways themselves. The argument against having the airlines take care of their own security is that each airline will use their own system and there will be little government assurance of the level of security each provides and how will anyone be assured that the airlines will actually perform a competent level of security coverage. The assurance is that the airlines will take whatever precaution they feel will provide best for their customers and will all compete for the same travel dollars and thus the ones which provide the best security and have the best record and stellar recommendations will know they will gain the extra flying public who are safety conscious. No airline will take any chance of an incident as just one faltering could mean millions of dollars in lost revenue while whenever the TSA fails to take sufficient levels for security it does not cost the government a single penny in lost taxes. The only reason that the airlines rely on the government is because there is no competition. If one of the major airlines were to suddenly provide additional security checks, we would soon see every other airline follow suit as whoever provided the additional layer, even if it was just as cosmetic as the TSA checkpoints, they would receive additional passenger demand and get this additional demand even if their prices were a few dollars more than their main competitors. Once the airlines get into the security business we would see the requirement for the TSA disappear and a call would come from the general public for the elimination of the TSA as an unnecessary and time wasting inconvenience that it is, but that is easy for us to say as we are flying the most secure airlines in the world today.

 

Airline security is just one additional example of the government demanding to repair something which was not really broken, would of or was already being done as part of business already, would have been provided at a higher level and less expensively than the government programs ended up costing and lastly would have never become as big a waste of time requiring the affected industry to provide their own layer in addition to the unacceptably poor level provided by government at ten times the cost taking many multiples of time and effort to accomplish next to nothing. The TSA and their flippant response to an inquiry to the wait times is another reminder as was the wait times costing veterans their lives because of protracted waits for treatment through the VA hospital systems. The government does perform some areas better than could be provided at a similar cost by private industry such as the military, but that is also an area where we would hope never to require the full use and further would probably not desire to trust a private provider to hold that kind of power at their disposal. Even the space program will soon be proven to be capable of being performed just as well and eventually with better and more advanced systems in quicker processions with numerous private providers in competition for the riches which will invariably be found beyond the horizons of mother earth. Where law enforcement has traditionally been the providence of government, we are seeing a transition to private security in more and more situations. Security, even armed security, in malls and public amusement parks and other venues has become something expected and accepted by the public and there are even places where the government has retreated from providing security and instead placed that requirement onto those who hold events. In area after area we find that private practice often outperforms government provided systems and does so for less cost than having government perform such functions. Think about testing products and ranking them as performing at a level of quality which is a measure of an acceptable level and within known safety standards. One would think that such a system would be a government agency and many people believe that the Underwriters Laboratories is a government agency but is and always has been a private company which makes their profits by charging manufacturers for their testing and licensing programs which they run. Their testing is comprehensive and any manufacturer who sends their product for testing is not guaranteed to receive the seal of approval and knows this going in and also understands that they need pay for the testing pass or fail. The advantage is if their product fails to attain approval they will receive documentation about their failures as well as where their product was sufficient and they can then reengineer and adjust the manufacturing and reapply, for a fee, of course. Even product quality is best tested, licensed and provided by a completely, for profit, private corporation whose name is as good as gold and their label is sought by consumers and industries alike. Their service and so many other things are often, even surprisingly, are best provided by private companies and done so more efficiently with more competence and at a lower cost than anything the government could put together and if done privately and for profit, then all are guaranteed that all possible efficiencies and cost savings will be determined and implemented with an eye always seeking to maximize profit and quality knowing that they are closely related as people will not long pay for that which is ineffective unless forced to do so, which is why government can be so invariably inefficient and clumsily incompetent. Sad but true.

 

Beyond the Cusp

 

A Morning With the TSA

Found myself in the position of having absolutely no other option than to fly to my destination. Normally I will go to almost any extreme to avoid airports with the new security regulations and the accompanying myriad of other inconveniences. Unfortunately, this trip’s itinerary was planned by somebody else leaving me little choice. My preparations for my encounter with some of the elite federal security personnel who stand to safeguard our skies from any miscreant or other causers of mayhem began with my selection of T-shirt. I optioned into a midrange blue T-shirt with well worn sports logo over wearing my T-shirts with Hebrew lettering or any of my ones with a logo and the words, “Guns & Moses” emblazoned across the front. I suspected such a logo would have immediately caused me hours upon hours trying to explain that the logo was a joke play on words of the band Guns & Roses and was not some political expression or other threat of any kind. I did make the error of wearing my tennis shoes and later realized that, no matter the appearance, I really should have simply left on my slippers. Well, next time I’ll know.

 

Then came the drive across town to the airport at some inhumanly early hour and still there was traffic. I thought I lived in a sleepy little town and apparently it has had some growing pains, one being the roads have not kept up with the traffic. I know, tell you about it as this is the case almost everywhere. I often am amused at how nearly every city never seems able to build with future requirements in mind. It would cost less to do it big at the get go and would prevent that urban horror of closed lanes during rush hours. Enough about that as it could make an entire article on its own. Arriving at the airport we used the airport parking facility, there are only two from which to choose and one is open air and not patrolled or equipped with security of any sort, and the other where the service is advertised to be so fast that they claim to be loading your luggage before you finish closing your doors. After we lugged our luggage to the waiting area, we stood around for a little while until the shuttle arrived. Then check-in and on to “the line”, and I do mean the line, a line that appeared deceptively short giving off the impression of being six lines when in reality there were but two lines made up of three sections and a long interconnect linking them together.

 

I have had experience with these sort of lines before when I took my daughter to Disney World out in California. I have to give them credit for utilizing the Disney method of snaking the line back and forth and around and back around and some more snaking making an excessively long line appear to be rather short. Each time you approach what you believe is the front of the line to enter the inspection area you instead find the line circles around back to another snaking line similar to the one just navigated. With about five minutes till take-off we finally hit the inspection area where there were approximately six stations with each having two stages, one for the little trays that hold your shoes, wallet, keys, carry-on baggage, lap-top computer, and other sundry items and, most importantly, your belt. Then you shuffle along grabbing your jeans holding them up as your belt is being X-rayed for who knows what and they place you in the round chamber of death, or something like that. They have you stand with your feet exactly covering the yellow feet painted on the floor, which must be more difficult for people who are very short, and then you are ordered to raise your hands over your head. This immediately leaves one wondering whether their pants are about to slip down past their knees or can one hold their stomach distended for the duration. Then, if you appeared suspicious or if you are an attractive female you are pulled aside and at a minimum, given a closer look with the wand and more if determined necessary. As an older and not that attractive male, I got to go claim my belt and other items and get dressed all over again, well, at least my belt and shoes and at my age the shoes are a challenge. Then my only interaction with a member of the TSA arrived, other than meekly complying as being close to missing my flight, resistance was ill-advised.

 

This last individual did posses a disarming smile which hid his antagonistic attitude which I was soon to appreciate. Apparently one is supposed to virtually unpack all carry-on luggage and place any number of classes and variety of items loose in an additional tray. As it was explained to me it was this way as by taking everything out of your luggage and placing it in trays it saves the poor, overworked, wonderful, caring, intelligent and flustered people from needing to actually open your carry-on luggage and inspect anything that was even slightly questionable on the X-ray. Then, while this gentleman, and I use that word very generously, painstakingly slowly opened my carry-on pieces, all two of them, and began to rummage through them removing a few select items scowling with each extraction, he proceeded to give me my class on which items must be separated so as to facilitate his not having to do one stitch of actual work. Apparently, other than my laptop computer and a few toiletries, items which it is understandable that they might require individual attention, I also learned that anything made of plastic such as brushes and combs, anything made of metal such as jewelry and such, and anything that would cause an X-ray unit to either be blocked or cause the image to appear distorted or fuzzy, I am sure that these are highly technical terms with precise definitions and our vigilant TSA screeners are fully trained to detect these anomalies. This concluded my experience with some of those who our government has placed on the front lines to protect our skies from anybody with evil intent. I still have one question about the staffing, why are there twelve or so TSA employees at each screening location when only five are actually manning equipment or rotating the trays from the end of the line back to the front. Perhaps the rest of these TSA employees are supervisory and elite personnel who are capable of discerning evil intent simply by being in the relative presence of such miscreants. All I know is that seeing such overwhelming numbers that is such a relief, sort-of.

 

Beyond the Cusp