Finally, you can't credit Adm. Michael Mullen, vice chief of naval operations, with obscuring what he really thinks behind a veil of military-speak. Speaking at Naval IT Day in March, Mullen said this about NMCI, according to FCW: "If you don't like it, leave. Because we're going to do this. Resistance to it is costing me money and costing me time, and I won't stand for it. I'll plow through or over anybody and do whatever it takes. We're not doing NMCI because it's a cute idea, but because it will provide a bridge – a road – to the efficiencies we want to achieve."

Protection Is Key

The federal government is handing some government contracting firms a free pass against liability lawsuits for their homeland security work. "The Department of Homeland Security, in a gambit aimed at luring companies to develop more goods and services to protect the country from terrorist attacks, has granted four companies liability protection from lawsuits. Teledyne Technologies Inc., Michael Stapleton Associates Inc., Lockheed Martin Corp. and Northrop Grumman Corp. have developed five antiterrorism technologies that as of today will enjoy indemnity in case their products fail to perform during a terrorist attack. The technologies, which underwent a six-month review process, range from an anthrax-sniffing device to a giant water pick capable of cutting through steel and concrete," The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.

The Washington Post said many other companies have applied for the special legal protection "and a dozen or so more will receive the designation before long, officials said." Here is a window into the rationale the contractors are using. "It was critically important for us and for the department to get approval [for protection] so the technology can be used to help save lives," said Terry Kees, vice president of homeland security systems at Lockheed Martin, according to Washington Technology. "Without it, we would have to consider the liability implications of its use."

Fly the Chatty Skies

Your travel itineraries might not be so private after all, thanks to Uncle Sam's prying eyes and new data on previously undisclosed information about airlines ponying up passenger data to the feds. Acting Transportation Security Administration chief David Stone testified at his confirmation hearing in the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee yesterday that more airlines than reported before gave the government personal data to test a computerized background-check project, The Associated Press reported. "Passenger data was obtained from at least two computerized reservation systems, Sabre and Galileo International, and from four more airlines than previously revealed: Delta, Continental Airlines, America West Airlines and Frontier Airlines, Stone said. ... The program for screening passengers, called the Computer-Assisted Passenger Prescreening System, or CAPPS II, has been delayed because U.S. airlines refused to turn over passenger data for testing after revelations that some had already done so. Northwest, JetBlue and American have been criticized for handing over such data – without the knowledge of their passengers – to the government or its vendors in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terror attacks," the article said.

United Press International picked up on some negative remarks about CAPPS II from the Electronic Privacy Information Center. "The admission follows repeated denials to the public, Congress, General Accounting Office and Department of Homeland Security Privacy Office that the agency had acquired or used real passenger data,' to test the technology," EPIC said.

"I would like to see a full-blown investigation by Congress. For a year and a half we have been begging and screaming to find out the truth," Bill Scannell, a privacy rights advocate, told The Washington Post. He "started a Web site encouraging passengers to boycott Delta Air Lines after the airline volunteered in 2002 to help TSA develop the CAPPS II system. The carrier backed out after a public outcry," the paper said. The Wall Street Journal provided additional details on the development in today's paper.

Plastic Food Stamps

The government's food stamp program has joined the digital age. "The paper stamps issued under the government's Food Stamp Program will be phased out this month in favor of a plastic card much like a bank debit card, the department said Tuesday," the Associated Press reported. The wire also said that the Agriculture Department is also looking for an updated name for the program. The New York Times had this interesting factoid about electronic benefit efforts at the state level. "Electronic benefits have replaced food stamp coupons in all states, and more than half the states now issue electronic benefits in place of welfare checks as well. In addition, some states are using debit cards for Medicaid and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children."

More on the transition, from Federal Computer Week: "USDA Secretary Ann Veneman said at the event, 'My only surprise is how long it took the whole country to get there.' The conversion to an all–electronic system, which took 20 years to complete, required cooperation from banks, grocery stores, state governments, Congress and the National Association of Clearinghouse Administrators, among others."

Loganberries

* Massachusetts State Police officials at Boston's Logan Airport are sporting souped–up Blackberry wireless e–mail and communications devices and other hand-held gadgets as part of their efforts to screen passengers for potential terrorism links. "Some of the troopers who regularly patrol the airport will be equipped with BlackBerrys linked to a repository of databases run by LocatePlus Holdings Corp., of Beverly, Mass. Others will get mobile iPaq hand–held devices made by Hewlett–Packard Co., which offer direct access to National Crime Information Center data about arrest records and terrorism watch lists," The Wall Street Journal reported. "Quick access to the database will allow police to 'either confirm or dispute someone's identity information a lot more quickly' than calling in for information over a patrol radio, said Lt. Thomas Coffey of the state police. But civil libertarians criticized the move, saying it will let police learn personal details even when people aren't under arrest."

LocatePlus chief executive Jon Latorella told The Boston Globe: "A name, that's all he needs," Latorella said. "He can find out who you lived with, where you lived, anything about you. We have every unlisted phone number in the country. Our stuff is instant, instead of having to wait until after the fact of a bombing." The Boston Herald also picked up the news.

Other Noteworthy Government IT News

* You might have heard about sick buildings, but how about ones that are immune to certain bioterrorism attacks? The idea is being bandied about as part of a research project at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Wired reported. "Specifics are mostly classified, but the goal is to defend against weapons like anthrax and sarin in heating, ventilation, and AC systems. Internal sensors would switch the building into 'precautionary mode,' activating defenses such as ultraviolet light to kill bacteria, and venting the dangerous stuff away from occupied areas. A higher–level response would include 'techniques that would be toxic to the occupants still in the release area,' according to Darpa. A test facility will be unveiled in Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, later this year," Noah Shachtman wrote. He links to the write–up on his defense technology blog.

* Sun Microsystems is the latest tech firm to ramp up its government contracting efforts. The company has created a special unit – Sun Microsystems Federal Inc. – that will be led by executive Clark Masters. "Masters said Santa Clara, Calif.–based Sun 'over–rotated' in the late 1990s toward Internet service providers and dot–coms. The new government group signals the company's goal of realigning its government efforts under one umbrella and elevating its importance in Sun's overall strategy, he said. ... Masters said Sun will boost its participation in government research and development efforts. The company is working on the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's High Productivity Computing Systems program," Washington Technology reported. The unit will be based in San Diego and Vienna, Va., the article said.

* Finally, some good news about government Web sites, an online class often slammed for being clunky or hard to navigate. A new survey is giving high marks to improvements made at several federal agency sites. "The State Department's student site (www.future.state.gov) and the Federal Aviation Administration's site (www.faa.gov) improved most over a nine-month period measured by the index. Other sites that improved their rankings included the Office of Personnel Management's recruitment site (www.usajobs.opm.gov), the State Department's job site (www.careers.state.gov) and the National Library of Medicine site (www.nlm.nih.gov)," The Washington Post reported, citing results from a ranking of 53 federal Web sites by The American Customer Satisfaction Index. But government sites overall don't get a top grade. "Overall, the index shows 'mixed results in terms of how successful agencies are,' said Larry Freed, chief executive of ForeSee Results Inc., which helps produce the e-gov satisfaction report."

E-mail government IT tips, comments and links to cindyDOTwebbATwashingtonpost.com