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(Ed. note: I received a this email today and thought if worthy of sharing.)

Captain Rodriguez:

It’s been interesting following your and your reader’s adventures with TWIC. I have a buddy who’s a long-haul trucker, and the stories he’s been telling me over the past few years regarding credentials (he’s certified to haul “hazardous waste,” among other things) have been fairly bizarre. More like East Germany under the Stasi than the good ol’ USA. Considering some of the past comments on your blog, you may find this interesting if you haven’t yet read it.

Regards, Mike F.

This via the New York Times: Blunt Federal Letters Tell Students They’re Security Threats

WASHINGTON — A German graduate student in oceanography at M.I.T. applied to the Transportation Security Administration for a new ID card allowing him to work around ships and docks.

What the student, Wilken-Jon von Appen, received in return was a letter that not only turned him down but added an ominous warning from John M. Busch, a security administration official: “I have determined that you pose a security threat.”

Similar letters have gone to 5,000 applicants across the country who have at least initially been turned down for a Transportation Worker Identification Credential, an ID card meant to guard against acts of terrorism, agency officials said Monday.

The officials also said they were sorry about the language, which they may change in the future, but had no intention of withdrawing letters already sent.

Related Articles:

1. Coast Guard Issues A Maritime Security Directive in Response to Piracy
2. TWIC Update – 1 Million Now Enrolled in TWIC Program