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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Karen Lawrence who wrote (289846)	8/23/2002 6:08:50 PM
From: goldworldnet	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769670

I'm way too serious. I need to lighten up. * * *

To: Karen Lawrence who wrote (289846)	8/23/2002 6:16:38 PM
From: nolimitz	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769670

Another TIPS program. what a joke! Officials Ask Florida Residents to Watch Waterways Fri Aug 23, 4:59 PM ET By Kristin Roberts MIAMI BEACH, Fla. (Reuters) - The U.S. Coast Guard ( news - web sites) asked marina workers and private boaters on Friday to monitor South Florida's waterways, tracking suspicious activity and reporting to law enforcement in the name of homeland defense. Coast Guard Capt. James Watson compared the effort to a call during World War II for civilians to watch the coast line for German U-boats. "None of us can ensure the safety of our citizens without the active participation of our citizens," Steve Lauer, Florida's domestic security chief, told reporters. But civil liberties groups were quick to denounce the new program, saying it would encourage citizens to act as spies. Recreational boating is enormously popular along Florida's coast, with people taking to the water in droves on weekends. Its waters have also seen much illegal activity, notably drug and people smuggling. The Coast Guard, with federal and state law enforcement officers in Miami Beach, asked people to report "strange behavior" using a hotline routed into a Washington, D.C. call center. WHAT'S SUSPICIOUS? The American Civil Liberties Union ( news - web sites) of Florida said the Coast Guard plan was much the same as the Operation Terrorism Information and Prevention System, or TIPS, program floated by U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft ( news - web sites). Under TIPS, millions of citizens would volunteer to report "unusual" activity to the Justice Department ( news - web sites). "This program is as ill conceived as TIPS," said Howard Simon, ACLU executive director in Florida. If the government wants civilians to report suspicious activity, it must give them guidance on what is indeed suspicious, Simon said. "We all need to be vigilant in deterring terrorism but there is a fine line between being vigilant and turning America into a nation of citizen spies," he said. Law enforcement officials in Miami shied away from detailing what activity would be considered unusual. Instead, the Coast Guard said that in general, behavior to monitor on the water includes suspicious people photographing or sketching along the waterfront, loitering for long periods, asking detailed questions and renting watercraft. "OPERATION ON GUARD" Tips collected at the call center would be consolidated and directed to the appropriate agency, such as the Coast Guard, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Immigration and Naturalization Service, Customers Service or state departments. While the program, dubbed "Operation On Guard," is specific to Florida rather than national in scope, the FBI ( news - web sites) said Miami was not being fingered by officials as a more likely entry point for would-be attackers than any other port. "We are not at any more risk," said Kelly Darden, assistant FBI special agent in charge of South Florida. "But we have to look at our ports. We have to focus on them especially because they are the gateway for Central and South America," he told Reuters. Officials began planning the program in January as federal law enforcement was under fire for failing to pull together the bits of information various agencies had on the men involved in the Sept. 11 attacks. The FBI's Darden said the program may evolve into an advisory system like the Amber Alert system now being used in some states to advise media and residents of child abductions.