[LINK] SMH: Award for Terrorism Fridge Magnets

[Roger Clarke]

Well done Simon, Dave, Tim!  A quick Media Release, and coverage in the Herald:

Terrorism kit so dumb it's a winner
The Sydney Morning Herald
By Sue Lowe
April 10 2003
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/04/09/1049567739732.html

The Australian Government's $15 million fridge magnet campaign to 
educate Australians about terrorism has scooped an international 
award as one of the most stupid security measures introduced since 
September 11.

The competition, run by Privacy International, which is best known 
for its annual Big Brother awards for intrusive  practices, received 
almost 5000 nominations from 35 countries.

The Government took out the Most Egregiously Stupid Award for the kit 
which urged Australians to report anything suspicious while asking 
them to be "alert but not alarmed".

The Delta Terminal at JFK Airport in New York won the most flagrantly 
intrusive award for forcing a mother travelling with a four-month-old 
baby to drink three bottles of her own breast milk, for fear that the 
bottles contained explosives or chemical agents.

Heathrow Airport, also picked up an award for quarantining a quantity 
of Gunpowder (green) tea. The tea was eventually allowed but the 
packaging bearing the Gunpowder labelling, was confiscated and 
destroyed.

Another airport, Philadelphia International, received the most 
inexplicably stupid award for issuing a code-red hazardous materials 
alert that closed a hospital emergency ward and two local shops 
because of a bottle of suspect cologne.

"There is a serious issue of respect for people's rights being eroded 
by stupid security measures," said Tim Dixon, a judge on the Stupid 
Security competition panel and a spokesman for the Australian Privacy 
Foundation.   "Many of these measures do not make us any safer."

Mr Dixon said the Australian Government-backed public education 
scheme stood out because of its scale, cost and its "meaningless 
nature".

The Attorney-General, Daryl Williams, who launched the fridge door 
anti-terrorism kit in February,  declined to comment.

Winners  receive a luxury package of Gunpowder tea.

-- 
Roger Clarke              http://www.anu.edu.au/people/Roger.Clarke/
			            
Xamax Consultancy Pty Ltd, 78 Sidaway St, Chapman ACT 2611 AUSTRALIA
                 Tel: +61 2 6288 1472, and 6288 6916
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Visiting Professor in the eCommerce Program, University of Hong Kong
Visiting Professor in the Baker Cyberspace Law & Policy Centre, U.N.S.W
Visiting Fellow in Computer Science, Australian National University