Those Who Hate Us Can Take the Ferry

Bruce Schneier detects a minor flaw in BushCo's plan to keep America safe from border-crossing evildoers:

By January 1st, 2007, everyone crossing the border between the U.S. and Canada is supposed to have a passport. This is because of terrorism, of course. But now we learn that ferries and private watercraft will be exempt.

If that sounds odd, it's only because you haven't yet been soothed by the avuncular bedside manner of Michael Chertoff (who wouldn't dream of lying to you unless it were absolutely necessary):

[W]e will not be, for example, including in this set of regulations a requirement for passports for ferries or private watercraft, recognizing that this is a particular form of transportation that we don't want to interfere with," said Chertoff.

One of Schneier's commenters suggests that BushCo is simply acknowledging the well-known scientific fact that evil spirits can't cross water, which I think is as good an explanation as any.

In other HS news, Strategic Security Blog describes some problems with the revamped version of Ready.gov, a site which is supposed to provide guidance to citizens in the event of a disaster:

Even though DHS claims that its disabilities information is revised, a simple comparison to a 2003 version of Ready.gov demonstrates that not a single word has changed in the past three years....

DHS has also failed to rectify inaccurate information on other pages of its site, such as a recommendation to get out of the area if possible during an outdoor chemical attack. Experts at RAND have declared that evacuation should never be considered as a response to this kind of attack.

The advice for those who find themselves inconvenienced by an unexpected thermonuclear attack is somewhat more practical. The first step? "Quickly assess the situation."