The Practical Nomad: Edward Hasbrouck's blog: Quoted in the News

Quoted in the News

Friday, 31 March 2023

Please, librarians, now can we finally talk?

I'm quoted in a thoughtful column by Kate Knibbs today in Wired, The Internet Archive’s Literary Civil War: As a general rule, I support the Internet Archive's work.... As another general rule, though, I support writers’ efforts to protect their intellectual property and make money.... I wasn’t sure how to... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 31 March 2023, 15:27 ( 3:27 PM) | Comments (1)

Sunday, 22 January 2023

The #NoFly list is a #MuslimBan list

[In case Osama Bin Laden's ghost tries to take a trip to the USA, he was still on the US government's No-Fly List as of 2019.] Swiss hacker maia arson crimew has found versions of the Transportation Security Administration’s “No-Fly” and “Selectee” lists dating from 2019 on insecure Amazon... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 22 January 2023, 09:29 ( 9:29 AM) | Comments (0)

Monday, 22 August 2022

Deutsche Telekom "responds" to my complaint -- but not to me.

Deutsche Telekom has responded to my privacy complaint -- not to me but to German journalist Matthias Monroy. Earlier this month, I reported on the failure of Deutsche Telekom to make their U.S. subsidiary, T-Mobile USA, comply with their purportedly "binding corporate rules" on privacy, and the violation of a... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 22 August 2022, 09:15 ( 9:15 AM) | Comments (0)

Tuesday, 9 August 2022

T-Mobile and Deutsche Telekom lie to customers

[Some of the categories of information about me that Deutsche Telekom's U.S. subsidiary, T-Mobile USA, has collected, including "olfactory information" -- but that neither T-Mobile USA nor Deutsche Telekom will allow me to see.] With more than a hundred million subscribers in the USA, T-Mobile USA -- the largest... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 9 August 2022, 06:46 ( 6:46 AM) | Comments (12)

Saturday, 20 February 2021

Who leaked the changes to Sen. Ted Cruz's airline reservations?

After U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) changed his airline reservations to cut short a family vacation in Cancún, Mexico, United Airlines has reportedly launched an internal investigation into how the change to Sen. Cruz's airline reservations became public. Sen. Cruz made reservations for himself and his family for three nights... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 20 February 2021, 10:38 (10:38 AM) | Comments (4)

Saturday, 23 January 2021

"Advanced surveillance tech on the border poses dangers to both migrants and citizens."

[Larger image of no-fly flowchart; PDF with key to acronyms and color-coding; FAQ.] Why Biden's 'Virtual' Border Could Be Worse Than Trump's Wall: Advanced surveillance tech on the border poses dangers to both migrants and citizens. (by Felipe de la Hoz, The Nation, 22 January 2021): ...Unlike a border... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 23 January 2021, 14:05 ( 2:05 PM) | Comments (0)

Sunday, 3 January 2021

Would a "vaccine passport" app make flying safer? No.

Travel advice columnist Christopher Elliott has already been taking flack from some travel companies and (sadly) some travelers for urging people tempted to travel to stay home until the COVID-19 pandemic is under control (as I've also urged). Now Chris has probably made some more enemies with his latest... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 3 January 2021, 14:16 ( 2:16 PM) | Comments (1)

Tuesday, 24 March 2020

National Commission recommends extending draft registration to women

Today the National Commission on Military, National, and Public Service (NCMNPS), after a three-year charade of stage-managed and largely one-sided public events paralleled by closed-door meetings and negotiations among the members of the Commission, released its final report, recommending that Congress amend the Military Selective Service Act to require that... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 24 March 2020, 23:09 (11:09 PM) | Comments (3)

Thursday, 5 December 2019

Will the DHS require mug shots of U.S. citizen travellers?

Over the Thanksgiving weekend, while I was preparing my testimony for a precedent-setting meeting of the Seattle Port Commission on December 10th to consider principles and policies for use of automated facial recognition for identification, surveillance, and control of airline passengers at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, I uncovered a previously-unnoticed... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 5 December 2019, 16:52 ( 4:52 PM) | Comments (2)

Sunday, 25 August 2019

An "Airline Passengers' Bill Of Rights"?

Christopher Elliott reports today in Forbes on S. 2341, a proposal for an "Airline Passengers' Bill of Rights" introduced last month by Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and four other Senators "If enacted, it would be the most significant consumer protection legislation for air travellers since the enactment of the Airline... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 25 August 2019, 07:37 ( 7:37 AM) | Comments (0)

Sunday, 28 April 2019

Former Director of Selective Service says it's time to end draft registration

[Dr. Bernard Rostker, Director of the Selective Service System from 1979-1981, testifies before the NCMNPS on Wednesday, 24 April 2019. Video clip, full video, transcript, written testimony.] In what could, and perhaps should, be the beginning of the end for draft registration, the former director of the Selective Service... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 28 April 2019, 09:43 ( 9:43 AM) | Comments (5)

Thursday, 25 April 2019

My testimony to the National Commission on Military Service

C-SPAN video (full hearing and clips of my opening statement and answers to questions) My written statement Official transcript Former Director of Selective Service says it's time to end draft registration NPR News: Selective Service registration comes under fire again I've been invited to testify as part of a... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 25 April 2019, 06:00 ( 6:00 AM) | Comments (3)

Thursday, 14 March 2019

What's wrong with automated facial recognition in airports?

I'm quoted at length in an investigative report by Davey Alba published this week by Buzzfeed News on the US government's use of automated facial recognition to track and control air travellers, in collaboration with airlines and airports that will operate the cameras and share the data for their own... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 14 March 2019, 09:53 ( 9:53 AM) | Comments (0)

Thursday, 14 February 2019

"An appeal to readers and librarians..."

As Co-Chair of the Book Division of the National Writers Union, I'm quoted today in Publishers Weekly in an article about "Controlled Digital Lending" (CDL), the flawed legal theory being used by the Internet Archive and its library "partners" as their jusitification for unauthorized, unpaid scanning and distribution on the... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 14 February 2019, 13:46 ( 1:46 PM) | Comments (1)

Wednesday, 23 January 2019

Interim Report of the National Commission on Military, National, and Public Service

[Members of the NCMNPS at the event yesterday launching the interim report. In foreground at podium: Debra Wada, Vice-Chair of the NCMNPS for military service issues and former Assistant Secretary of the Army for Manpower [sic] and Reserve Affairs. Photo from offical NCMNPS Twitter feed.] The National Commission on Military,... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 23 January 2019, 05:53 ( 5:53 AM) | Comments (4)

Sunday, 29 July 2018

Thoughts from Berlin on the Stasi and the TSA

Most of the writing I've published during the last couple of months has been on the Web site of the Identity Project (PapersPlease.org). I don't usually repost those articles here, but today's includes more than most about my recent travels. Some excerpts (full article here): Jana Winter has a detailed... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 29 July 2018, 08:28 ( 8:28 AM) | Comments (0)

Friday, 20 April 2018

Testimony and reports from the hearing of the National Commission on Military Service in Denver

[Some of the opponents of military conscription who attended the hearing in Denver, 19 April 2018. Left to right: Matt Nicodemus (publicly refused to register for the draft, 1980), Edward Hasbrouck (imprisoned for refusing to register for the draft, 1983-1984), Mary Beth Kern (Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center),... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 20 April 2018, 22:04 (10:04 PM) | Comments (1)

Wednesday, 24 January 2018

The Amazing Race 30, Episode 4

Tangiers (Morocco) - Nice (France) - St. Tropez (France) - Les Baux (France) - Arles (France) - Les Baux (France) [Looking back toward the Mediterranean coast from the Isles du Frioul, near Marseilles, Provence.] The Amazing Race 30 spent this double episode exploring Provence, in the south of France. The... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 24 January 2018, 23:59 (11:59 PM) | Comments (0)

Tuesday, 14 November 2017

Is Silicon Valley building the infrastructure for a police state? Yes, it is.

I was interviewed by Reason.TV for their latest report, Is Silicon Valley Building the Infrastructure for a Police State? New AI tools could empower the government to violate our civil liberties. If you have ten minutes to watch the video, it's a good introduction to some of the issues I've... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 14 November 2017, 15:12 ( 3:12 PM) | Comments (0)

Tuesday, 3 October 2017

U.S. government monitoring of social media

Yes, the U.S. government is monitoring you on social media if you live in or travel to the USA. Here are some of my answers to frequently asked questions and other recent articles and interviews about this: FAQ: U.S. government monitoring of social media Comments filed with the U.S. Department... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 3 October 2017, 10:28 (10:28 AM) | Comments (1)

Wednesday, 19 April 2017

Chicago airport police attack passenger on Republic Airlines plane

[Schedule of "United Airlines" flights from Chicago O'Hare to Louisville on April 9th] Many of my readers, and NPR listeners who heard me interviewed on WBEZ in Chicago last week about air travel and class, have been asking for my take on the airline passenger dragged off a plane... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 19 April 2017, 08:23 ( 8:23 AM) | Comments (37)

Friday, 24 March 2017

Tips for travellers about the "Muslim laptop ban"

The "Muslim laptop ban" goes into effect today: The U.S. government has ordered airlines to prevent passengers from bringing laptop or tablet computers or other electronic devices "larger than a cellphone" (whatever that means) on their person or in carry-on baggage on direct flights between 10 airports in countries with... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 24 March 2017, 12:27 (12:27 PM) | Comments (1)

Tuesday, 14 March 2017

Palantir, Peter Thiel, Big Data, and the DHS

[On the sidewalk in front of Palantir founder and Trump supporter Peter Thiel's house at 2920 Broadway in San Francisco.] On Saturday, I joined an ad hoc group of picketers outside the Pacific Heights mansion of Palantir Technologies founder and Trump supporter Peter Thiel (photo gallery from the SF... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 14 March 2017, 22:57 (10:57 PM) | Comments (2)

Monday, 27 February 2017

FAQs about travel in the time of Trump

President Trump's emphasis on control of travel and borders has prompted a surge of interest in freedom of movement as a civil liberties and human rights issue. Here are some of my FAQs and analyses of this issue over the last month for the Identity Project: FAQ: What should you... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 27 February 2017, 17:23 ( 5:23 PM) | Comments (0)

Friday, 27 January 2017

President Trump, Populist Politics, and the Prospects for Privacy

I was on a panel on Wednesday at the Computers, Privacy, and Data Protection conference in Brussels on the topic of "Populist Politics and the Prospects for Privacy". Through no fault of the organizers, who were extremely accommodating of my last-minute proposal for this panel after the US elections,... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 27 January 2017, 06:10 ( 6:10 AM) | Comments (4)

Wednesday, 18 January 2017

Unresponsive "comments" from Amadeus

Exactly three weeks after a public demonstration of the insecurity of public Web gateways to computerized reservation systems (CRSs) -- a threat to travellers that I've been writing, speaking and telling the CRS operators about for more than 15 years -- one of those companies has responded to my request... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 18 January 2017, 00:17 (12:17 AM) | Comments (0)

Thursday, 12 January 2017

"What can I do to protect my PNR data?"

Since the recent public demonstration of some of the security and privacy vulnerabilities of airline reservations systems that I've been writing and speaking about for more than 15 years, people have been asking me, "What can I do to protect myself against stalking, harassment, surveillance, and fraud when I travel?"... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 12 January 2017, 21:02 ( 9:02 PM) | Comments (3)

Friday, 30 December 2016

CRS/GDS companies and travellers' privacy

[In the middle of the presentation by SRLabs at 33C3 on Tuesday, Nemanja Nikodijevic discovered that Amadeus had taken its "CheckMyTrip.com" PNR-viewing Web site offline to prevent the vulnerabilities of the site from being demonstrated in real time. Screen capture from CC3C video by permission of SRLabs. Click images... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 30 December 2016, 21:13 ( 9:13 PM) | Comments (5)

Tuesday, 27 December 2016

"Travel data: fraud with booking codes is too easy"

[Some of the privacy and security threats to PNR data and the CRS network, from my testimony in 2013 as an invited expert witness before the Advisory Committee on Aviation Consumer Protection of the U.S. Department of Transportation. Click image for larger version.] Video, slides, and blog post of... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 27 December 2016, 02:54 ( 2:54 AM) | Comments (12)

Wednesday, 21 December 2016

"This is what 'extreme vetting' means."

I'm quoted at length in a story today in The Verge and on CNBC about the DHS "Analytical Framework for Intelligence" (AFI), a data-mining and profiling system outsourced to a company founded by a member of the Trump transition team and used to "vet" immigrants, foreign visitors, and US citizens,... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 21 December 2016, 14:58 ( 2:58 PM) | Comments (3)

Thursday, 15 December 2016

"Are Government Fines Really Improving Air Travel?"

Are Government Fines Really Improving Air Travel? (by Christoher Elliott, Huffington Post, 5 December 2016): The Department of Transportation fined airlines $4.5 million in 2016 for infractions ranging from lengthy tarmac delays to failing to compensate passengers for lost luggage, almost double last year's amount and the highest since 2013.... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 15 December 2016, 16:11 ( 4:11 PM) | Comments (0)

Wednesday, 30 November 2016

Elected to IFRRO's Board of Directors

I've been elected to the Board of Directors of the International Federation of Reproduction Rights Organizations (IFRRO). For the next three years, I will hold the sole seat on the Board reserved for a representative of journalists, authors, and other writers worldwide. Although the name sometimes leads to confusion, IFRRO... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 30 November 2016, 19:07 ( 7:07 PM) | Comments (3)

Sunday, 30 October 2016

"Generation X': A Brief History of Dropouts from the U. of Chicago"

I'm honored to be among the former U. of C. students from "Generation X" featured in a thoughtful article by Hannah Edgar in the current issue of the student newspaper, the Chicago Maroon, Generation X': A Brief History of Dropouts and Transfer Students at the University of Chicago. (The title... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 30 October 2016, 01:26 ( 1:26 AM) | Comments (0)

Friday, 6 May 2016

Can you opt out of having your home listed on TripAdvisor?

I heard from my brother that I was quoted on the front page of the Boston Globe earlier this week, in a story by Megan Woolhouse about a couple who run a restuarant in their home and are trying to get it removed fromt TripAdvisors's listings: "A five-star rating on... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 6 May 2016, 15:53 ( 3:53 PM) | Comments (1)

Tuesday, 3 May 2016

"Millions of Female Felons"? Government admits resistance made draft registration unenforceable

[Editorial cartoon by Mike Keefe, Denver Post, 1982] We won -- and now, thirty years later, the government has finally admitted it. It's not often that government officials admit to failure in the face of popular resistance. When they do, it's an occasion for celebration. Draft registration was reinstated... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 3 May 2016, 14:46 ( 2:46 PM) | Comments (5)

Wednesday, 20 April 2016

How safe is airline passenger data? Not secure at all.

[PNR data flows. Each node in the network is a point of vulnerability. Click image for larger version.] This week in the German IT news portal Golem and the German weekly news magazine Die Zeit, Hauke Gierow has a deep dive, based in substantial part on a long interview... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 20 April 2016, 12:03 (12:03 PM) | Comments (0)

Saturday, 9 April 2016

More news about blocking of money transfers

Hard on the heels of last month's report of the bank that blocked a request for a check to a dog-walker because the dog's name ("Dash") on the memo line of the check resembled the Arabic acronym "Daesh" for the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) comes a new... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 9 April 2016, 21:10 ( 9:10 PM) | Comments (2)

Wednesday, 30 March 2016

How does your bank know your dog's not a terrorist?

I was interviewed by Monte Francis of KTVU (Channel 2) News last week to help make sense out of what happened to Bruce Francis, a disabled San Francisco man whose online request to send a check to pay the person who walks his service dog was refused by Chase... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 30 March 2016, 10:56 (10:56 AM) | Comments (4)

Thursday, 10 March 2016

7 On Your Side: "When an airline loses your luggage"

I was interviewed on KGO-TV news in San Francisco last night in a "7 On Your Side" feature about "lost" airline luggage. I think they did a good job on the story (congrats to producer Randall Yip behind the camera). But as usual, there was more to be said... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 10 March 2016, 11:06 (11:06 AM) | Comments (1)

Saturday, 9 January 2016

What's the real story about the REAL-ID Act and air travel?

[Image from video by WCCO, CBS Minnesota, 7 January 2016] Travellers are understandably confused by recent news about the REAL-ID Act and purported new ID requirements for passengers on domestic flights within the USA. Accurate public understanding of what's going on is not helped by the fact that the... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 9 January 2016, 06:27 ( 6:27 AM) | Comments (11)

Saturday, 2 January 2016

Oakland incident highlights risks for absentee landlords

A couple who rented their Oakland home on Airbnb while they were out of town over New Year's Eve were called home early by neighbors alarmed at the large wild party going on in the house. Police arrived before the homeowners, who found garbage, blood, and damaged furniture and other... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 2 January 2016, 22:32 (10:32 PM) | Comments (2)

Tuesday, 29 December 2015

"T.S.A. Moves Closer to Rejecting Some State Driver"s Licenses for Travel"

I'm quoted in an article today in the New York Times about the Federal government's efforts to use the threat of denial of air travel to scare state legislators into connecting their state drivers license and ID databases to the distributed national "REAL-ID" database through the REAL-ID "hub" operated by... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 29 December 2015, 23:30 (11:30 PM) | Comments (4)

Friday, 17 October 2014

"Travelers, say bon voyage to privacy"

I talked at length with Watchdog investigative reporter Dave Lieber for his column in today's Dallas Morning News: Travelers, say bon voyage to privacy. Lieber hits the nail on the head by calling out how few travellers realize that the U.S. government is keeping a permanent file of complete mirror... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 17 October 2014, 00:12 (12:12 AM) | Comments (1)

Thursday, 9 October 2014

Peak Travel: Envisioning a post-air-travel age

One of the more disruptive consequences of peak oil is likely to be peak air travel. What does peak air travel mean? Why is it likely? Why haven't you already heard more about it? And what business and investment opportunities does this coming disruption create? I've been writing about the... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 9 October 2014, 21:42 ( 9:42 PM) | Comments (6)

Thursday, 2 October 2014

Is Google monopolizing flight and airfare search?

Not yet. But as the Washington Post quotes me today: "I don't think that [Google] Fare Search has had much impact on consumers," says Edward Hasbrouck, a critic of the ITA purchase. But he thinks that we"re not out of the woods yet. After the Justice Department"s consent decree expires... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 2 October 2014, 23:31 (11:31 PM) | Comments (1)

Thursday, 25 September 2014

"Kashmiris: A Forgotten People", Oct. 2nd at Cornell University

I'll be part of a discussion about Kashmir [calendar listing, event poster, Facebook event page] a week from today at Cornell University, initiated by the Islamic Alliance for Justice and co-sponsored by an unuusally wide range of Cornell academic departments and student and community organizations. I'll be joined by an... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 25 September 2014, 06:25 ( 6:25 AM) | Comments (3)

Monday, 28 July 2014

Speaking at SXSW Eco in Austin, 6-8 Oct. 2014

I've accepted an invitation to speak at the South By Southwest Eco conference on sustainability in Austin, TX, 6-8 October 2014: "Peak Travel" : Envisioning the Post-Air Travel Age The aviation industry hopes to obtain enough cheap biofuel to sustain air travel without diverting land, water, or labor from food... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 28 July 2014, 16:24 ( 4:24 PM) | Comments (6)

Tuesday, 27 May 2014

"Can I see what information the feds have on my travel?"

Ars Techica editor and technology journalist Cyrus Fariva reports today on the initial response to his Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA) request to US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) for CBP"s records about his travel history, including CBP"s copies of airline Passenger Name Records (PNRs): I then asked Edward Hasbrouck,... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 27 May 2014, 10:41 (10:41 AM) | Comments (7)

Monday, 24 February 2014

Book launch today for Julia Angwin's "Dragnet Nation"

Pulitzer Prize winning reporter and author Julia Angwin, formerly of the Wall Street Journal and now with the non-profit investigative journalism organization ProPublica, is speaking today on NPR's Fresh Air and at the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU about her new book, Dragnet Nation: A Quest for Privacy, Security,... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 24 February 2014, 06:26 ( 6:26 AM) | Comments (0)

Wednesday, 5 February 2014

"Have travelers lost the class war?"

[TWA "Ambassadors Club" membership certificate presented to my grandfather, L.P. Hasbrouck, in 1953. Click image for full-sized version.] Thanks to Christopher Elliott for mentioning the unmentionable -- "class" -- in an article in USA Today on "the growing rift between the 'haves' and 'have-nots' in travel": As always, the... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 5 February 2014, 17:04 ( 5:04 PM) | Comments (4)

Monday, 23 December 2013

"US-Aktivist: Berlin tut gar nichts"

I was interviewed for a feature this past weekend in the Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung newspaper in Gernany, "Für deutsches Datenrecht" -- US-Aktivist: Berlin tut gar nichts (by Waltraud Messmann, 21 December 2013). The full interview (in German translation) ran in the print edition. But since only the introduction seems to... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 23 December 2013, 08:23 ( 8:23 AM) | Comments (0)

Monday, 16 December 2013

N.Y. Times editorial cites my reports from the "no-fly" trial

Photo of Dr. Rahinah Ibrahim (with one of her architectural models) by Nashairi Mohd Nawi in the New Straits Times (Malaysia) Because no other journalist attended more than a few hours of the week-long "no-fly" trial earlier this month in San Francisco, my coverage of the trial has been... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 16 December 2013, 13:19 ( 1:19 PM) | Comments (0)

Monday, 2 December 2013

"No-fly" trial in San Francisco this week

Courtroom sketches from day 4 of the trial by kind permission of Jackson West: Judge Alsup (left, rear), plaintiff's expert witness Prof. Sinnar (top right), Special Agent Lubman (FBI Terrorist Screening Center, center right), and Mr. Cooper (State Department, lower right). Some rights reserved, CC BY 3.0 US. I'll... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 2 December 2013, 06:27 ( 6:27 AM) | Comments (1)

Thursday, 14 November 2013

"Ed Hasbrouck versus the TSA"

Kelley Vlahos, who's been covering "homeland security" and civil liberties since before 9/11, has a sympathetic portrait of me and my last dozen years of work, particularly with the Identity Project, in her column today at Antiwar.com (a Web site which was itself wrongly investigated and surveilled for years by... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 14 November 2013, 09:44 ( 9:44 AM) | Comments (0)

Monday, 21 October 2013

"Security Check Now Starts Long Before You Fly"

"Security Check Now Starts Long Before You Fly" (by Susan Stellin, The New York Times, 21 October 2013, page A1): The Transportation Security Administration is expanding its screening of passengers before they arrive at the airport by searching a wide array of government and private databases that can include... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 21 October 2013, 19:15 ( 7:15 PM) | Comments (2)

Friday, 4 October 2013

Bicyclists and the San Francisco police

I testified yesterday at a landmark hearing before a committee of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors (city council) on "Police Department Protocol for Investigating Cyclist and Pedestrian Fatalities and Serious Injuries Resulting from Traffic Collisions", which actually turned into a broader -- and unprecedented, at least in San Francisco... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 4 October 2013, 08:36 ( 8:36 AM) | Comments (4)

Sunday, 29 September 2013

How the NSA obtains and uses PNR data (airline reservations)

If you are looking for my analysis of the report in today's New York Times that the NSA, like the DHS, obtained airline reservations (PNR data) and used them for social network analysis, it's here on PapersPlease.org (The Identity Project).... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 29 September 2013, 20:45 ( 8:45 PM) | Comments (1)

Thursday, 5 September 2013

I'm on the TSA's list of its enemies.

Part of my work with the Identity Project (PapersPlease.org) involves trying to use the Freedom Of Information act (FOIA) to obtain information about the travel surveillance and control activities of the U.S. government's Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) of which the TSA is a... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 5 September 2013, 13:20 ( 1:20 PM) | Comments (1)

Monday, 12 August 2013

While we were on the road...

Over the course of the summer, I've been quoted and seen on TV on a variety of travel topics from the implications of NSA spying scandal for travellers' privacy (I'll be posting more on this issue at PapersPlease.org) to travel mistakes and... toilet paper: United flight leaving from London... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 12 August 2013, 23:59 (11:59 PM) | Comments (0)

Wednesday, 24 April 2013

European parliamentarians question surveillance of air travellers

Today in Brussels the "LIBE" (civil liberties) committee of the European Parliament decisively rejected a proposal backed by European police and some European national governments (and heavily lobbied for by the USA) to establish systems throughout the EU, modeled on those in the USA, for government access to, and use... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 24 April 2013, 19:42 ( 7:42 PM) | Comments (0)

Tuesday, 23 April 2013

"Speak out now on the TSA's full-body scanners"

I'm quoted in Christopher Elliott's syndicated travel column today in the Chicago Tribune (and previously in the Washington Post and elsewhere) about the TSA's ongoing solicitation of public comments on its use of virtual strip-search machines and groping of travellers' genitals, breasts, and buttocks: Speak out now on the TSA's... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 23 April 2013, 13:33 ( 1:33 PM) | Comments (1)

Wednesday, 17 April 2013

"Mystery Computer Problem Grounds All AA Flights"

I'm quoted at some length in this article today on TechNewsWorld.com: Mystery Computer Problem Grounds All AA Flights By John P. Mello Jr. Finger Pointing Relations between Sabre and American have been deteriorating for years, according to travel consultant Edward Hasbrouck. That's ironic, since American created Sabre but later let... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 17 April 2013, 21:44 ( 9:44 PM) | Comments (0)

Thursday, 4 April 2013

"When you check in, your private information may be checked out"

I was quoted in Christopher Elliott's "Navigator" column in the Washington Post travel section last Sunday, talking about how personal information we provide to hotels -- including, but not limited to, credit card numbers -- is or isn't protected: When you check in, your private information may be checked out.... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 4 April 2013, 06:43 ( 6:43 AM) | Comments (0)

Tuesday, 26 March 2013

"Travel Surveillance, Traveler Intrusion" at the Cato Institute

I'll be speaking at a free, public forum on Travel Surveillance, Traveler Intrusion from noon-1 p.m. EDT next Tuesday, 2 April 2013, at the Cato Institute in Washington DC (with a live and archived webcast): Travel Surveillance, Traveler Intrusion [photo by kind permission of Jeramie D. Scott] Video from the... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 26 March 2013, 17:22 ( 5:22 PM) | Comments (1)

Monday, 4 February 2013

ACLU blog cites my research on DHS travel logs

My insightful friend Jay Stanley of the ACLU had a thought-provoking article last Friday in the ACLU's "Free Future" blog, using as examples some of the records I and other travellers obtained through my lawsuit and other Privacy Act and FOIA requests from our files in the DHS "Automated Targeting... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 4 February 2013, 18:23 ( 6:23 PM) | Comments (0)

Wednesday, 16 January 2013

"Mission Creep at the TSA?"

In the February/March 2013 issue of National Geographic Traveler magazine, Christopher Elliott discussses how the TSA has expanded its activities from air travel to other activities: You might encounter a TSA screening area when you"re at the train station or the subway. In one memorable 2011 incident, Amtrak passengers disembarking... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 16 January 2013, 13:53 ( 1:53 PM) | Comments (0)

Tuesday, 11 December 2012

"A Look at the 1997 Edition of The Practical Nomad"

In a welcome counterpoint to the occasional flames I get from readers of older editions of The Practical Nomad; How to Travel Around the World complaining about things I said that I've changed, removed, or updated in more recent editions of the book, Matt Long has a fascinating article in... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 11 December 2012, 09:47 ( 9:47 AM) | Comments (0)

Monday, 24 September 2012

State Dept. admits impossible passport form was illegal, but still wants it approved

The new U.S. passport application forms I warned you about last year are back, worse than ever. Ignoring massive public opposition, and despite having recently admitted that it is already using the "proposed" forms illegally without approval, the State Department is trying again to get approval for a pair of... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 24 September 2012, 14:13 ( 2:13 PM) | Comments (4)

Sunday, 23 September 2012

Chris Elliott: A "papers, please" society?

My fellow travel writer and consumer advocate Christopher Elliott has a thoughtful article in his blog today featuring my work with the Identity Project (PapersPlease.org): How close are we getting to a "papers please" society?: America is edging closer to a "papers please" society, at least when it comes to... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 23 September 2012, 21:39 ( 9:39 PM) | Comments (0)

Wednesday, 2 May 2012

Perceptive Travel reviews the 5th edition of "The Practical Nomad"

Many thanks to William Caverlee for his review of the 5th edition of The Practical Nomad: How to Travel Around the World in this month's edition of Perceptive Travel (part of the USA Today Travel Alliance). "The most detailed round-the-world travel book... The Practical Nomad is a stunning achievement of... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 2 May 2012, 17:18 ( 5:18 PM) | Comments (0)

Wednesday, 8 February 2012

Major US Federal aviation bill enacted: 3 steps forward, 2 steps back for travellers

Christopher Elliott has a perceptive analysis this week in the Washington Post on the implications for travellers of the new long-term Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill just passed by Congress, and the larger issue of who speaks for consumers in Washington, and how effectively, in Federal aviation policy-makng, legislation, and... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 8 February 2012, 14:50 ( 2:50 PM) | Comments (3)

Wednesday, 1 February 2012

"Will American's Layoffs Add to Flier Grief?" (Yes.)

I'm quoted (briefly) in a story today by Jonnelle Marte in Dow Jones' "Smart Money" consumer financial advice blog: American Airlines said Wednesday it wants to cut 13,000 jobs as part of its bankruptcy filing, a move analysts say could lead to shuffled or canceled flights, longer waits and poorer... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 1 February 2012, 19:45 ( 7:45 PM) | Comments (0)

Thursday, 26 January 2012

Review of "The Practical Nomad" by Wayne Bernhardson

Southern Cone expert Wayne Bernhardson is one of the best guidebook writers I know: knowledgeable, observant, thoughtful, and opinionated -- in the fine tradition of personal voices of Moon Handbooks authors -- yet able to communicate enough of the basis for his opinions that I can tell from his description... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 26 January 2012, 08:46 ( 8:46 AM) | Comments (0)

Tuesday, 24 January 2012

First rulings in my lawsuit over DHS travel records

I've been waiting since the oral argument I attended last September 15th for a decision from Federal District Judge Richard Seeborg in my Privacy Act and FOIA lawsuit against the DHS Customs and Border Protection (CBP) division for information about their records of my travels. By a bizarre coincidence, I... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 24 January 2012, 14:48 ( 2:48 PM) | Comments (1)

Thursday, 5 January 2012

TSA is expanding its "PreCheck" (pre-crime) traveller registration scheme

I'll be on the Patt Morrison show on KPCC (the main NPR station in greater Los Angeles) from 2-2:30 p.m. to talk about the expansion to LAX and more other airports of the TSA's PreCheck traveller registration program. Listen (on the air or online) and call in with your questions... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 5 January 2012, 13:50 ( 1:50 PM) | Comments (1)

Sunday, 11 December 2011

The Amazing Race 19, Episode 11

Panama City (Panama) - Atlanta (Georgia) "Reisefreiheit" (Freedom to Travel) Ironically, the final episode in which The Amazing Race 19 returned home to the USA from Panama was broadcast on the same day that Manuel Noriega, the dictator deposed and kidnapped to imprisonment in Florida during the US invasion of... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 11 December 2011, 23:59 (11:59 PM) | Comments (1)

Wednesday, 12 October 2011

Upcoming events in Europe

[At the c-base hackerspace, Berlin, 20 October 2011.] I'll be in Europe for most of the rest of this month representing the Identity Project in a series of public events and private meetings with European Union and European national officials on PNR data (airline reservations), privacy, data protection, and... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 12 October 2011, 18:14 ( 6:14 PM) | Comments (0)

Tuesday, 4 October 2011

"Bankruptcy talk rattles American Airlines' frequent fliers"

Bankruptcy talk rattles American Airlines' frequent fliers (By Arlene Satchell, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, 4 October 2011): The rocky financial situation at AMR Corp. -- parent company of American Airlines -- has unnerved some members of the airline's AAdvantage frequent flier program, especially those sitting on a stash of unclaimed miles.... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 4 October 2011, 17:35 ( 5:35 PM) | Comments (1)

Sunday, 25 September 2011

The Amazing Race 19, Episode 1

Los Angeles, CA (USA) - Taipei, Taiwan (Republic of China) The producers of The Amazing Race seem to be choosing the cast more and more for celebrity or potential celebrity, with fewer and fewer ordinary travellers in the race. This is, of course, a for-profit production whose goal is to... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 25 September 2011, 23:59 (11:59 PM) | Comments (0)

Thursday, 15 September 2011

After more than a year, my first day in court

A little more than a year after I filed suit against the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) division of DHS to find out what records they are keeping about my international travels, and what they have done with those records, I had my first real day in court today in... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 15 September 2011, 19:51 ( 7:51 PM) | Comments (1)

Thursday, 25 August 2011

Testimony to BART's Board of Directors

I testified yesterday at a public meeting of the Bay Area Rapid Transit district (BART) Board of Directors in Oakland. My statement was constrained by the time limit for public comments; you can read a longer version with links on the Identity Project blog. [Update: I also testified on the... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 25 August 2011, 13:35 ( 1:35 PM) | Comments (4)

Thursday, 30 June 2011

Radio tour of Canada Monday

I'll be doing a series of interviews with local CBC radio stations across Canada Monday morning, at the end of the Canada Day holiday weekend, focusing on home exchanges and house and apartment rentals for travelers (a topic that gets significantly expanded coverage in the forthcoming 5th edition of "The... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 30 June 2011, 19:13 ( 7:13 PM) | Comments (0)

Tuesday, 21 June 2011

Video from CFP: "A Clash of Civilizations?"

Video of the opening plenary of last week's Computers, Freedom, and Privacy conference has been posted on Youtube: A Clash of Civilizations? The EU and US Negotiate the Future of Privacy Part 1 of 6 Part 2 of 6 (my presentation starts at10:50) Part 3 of 6 (continuation of... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 21 June 2011, 19:20 ( 7:20 PM) | Comments (0)

Friday, 3 June 2011

Speaking at "Computers, Freedom, and Privacy" conference

I'm excited, and a bit overwhelmed, to be the sole non-governmental panelist in the opening plenary session of this year's Computers, Freedom, and Privacy conference in Washington: A Clash of Civilizations: The EU and US Negotiate the Future of Privacy Tuesday, June 14, 2011; 9:00 AM - 10:30 AM... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 3 June 2011, 23:07 (11:07 PM) | Comments (0)

Growing opposition to U.S. access to European airline reservations

My analysis of the leaked draft of a proposed ""Agreement between the United States of America and the European Union on the use transfer of Passenger Name Record [PNR] data to the United States Department of Homeland Security" has gotten extensive coverage in Europe, including reports and links from the... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 3 June 2011, 22:12 (10:12 PM) | Comments (0)

Thursday, 28 April 2011

Form DS-5513: Proposed "Biographical Questionnaire" for (some) passport applicants

I never expected to see my words coming out of the mouth of Glenn Beck (see video above) on the same day that they were quoted by the Daily Kos, but I guess that's what can happen when (a) one of your stories goes viral and (b) the subject... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 28 April 2011, 12:58 (12:58 PM) | Comments (2)

Monday, 28 February 2011

Would you like a side order of speculation with your airline ticket?

Today Chris Elliott reports on a bizarre proposal by Allegiant Air to sell tickets at prices that would be subject to change even after you buy them, on the basis of changes in oil prices between the date of ticketing and the date of travel. Allegiant is a low-fare airline... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 28 February 2011, 15:17 ( 3:17 PM) | Comments (3)

Thursday, 24 February 2011

NBC Today Show looks into "shills" and fake reviews

An interview with me about "shills" and fake reviews for hotels, cruises, etc. on travel Web sites airs this morning at 7:40 a.m. on the TODAY show. Click here or click the picture of me below for the full segment: The quotes from me (starting at 5:00 of the segment;... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 24 February 2011, 01:00 ( 1:00 AM) | Comments (2)

Wednesday, 23 February 2011

Included in the "Travel 10" of the inaugural "SAY 100" voices that shape opinion

There's a new badge off to the right in the sidebar of my blog, marking my inclusion as one of 10 inaugural "online voices that shape opinion" in the travel category of the worldwide SAY 100 launched today: Author, journalist, blogger, travel expert... there's seemingly nothing Edward Hasbrouck doesn't do.... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 23 February 2011, 07:45 ( 7:45 AM) | Comments (0)

Wednesday, 26 January 2011

Travel "shills" back in the news

I'm quoted in a lengthy story in the Guardian [U.K.] newspaper yesterday about the accuracy of hotel reviews: "Why TripAdvisor is getting a bad review". The focus of the story is on some U.K. hoteliers' threats to sue Tripadvisor.com for libel, but it mentions that: Not only is there a... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 26 January 2011, 16:41 ( 4:41 PM) | Comments (1)

Reporting live from Albuquerque, New Mexico

I was in Albuquerque, NM, last week (again by Amtrak) to cover the TSA checkpoint trial of Phil Mocek for the Identity Project (PapersPlease.org): Why are we here in Albuquerque at Phil Mocek's trial? (Trial Day 1) Phil Mocek found "NOT GUILTY" by Albuquerque jury (Trial Day 2) Audio... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 26 January 2011, 15:51 ( 3:51 PM) | Comments (0)

Monday, 10 January 2011

Interviews with Antiwar.com and KPFK radio

No sooner had I posted the preceding article, "Entering radio silence" on Friday morning than I was invited to talk about the work of the Identity Project on Scott Horton's "Antiwar radio" podcast on Antiwar.com and on KPFK Pacifica Radio in Los Angeles (play stream) (download) Friday evening. The two... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 10 January 2011, 06:45 ( 6:45 AM) | Comments (0)

Friday, 7 January 2011

Quoted here and there

Security concerns for IDs with microchips: New 'Ready Lanes' incentive for border crossers by Alejandro Martinez-Cabrera, El Paso Inc. (27 December 2010): Privacy advocates and civil rights groups raised their concerns with the Department of State when it first proposed equipping passport books with RFID tags in 2005. In response,... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 7 January 2011, 08:45 ( 8:45 AM) | Comments (1)

Tuesday, 21 December 2010

Government's answer to my lawsuit: Deny everything, and claim that nobody has any rights

Where has your PNR data gone? (click image for larger version or here for details) The U.S. government has filed its initial answer to my lawsuit against U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) for illegally withholding records of its travel surveillance system, and an initial procedural hearing in the case... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 21 December 2010, 15:26 ( 3:26 PM) | Comments (3)

Saturday, 4 December 2010

Off to Albuquerque on Amtrak

I'm off to Albuquerque on Amtrak this morning to observe and report on the trial next week of "Freedom Flyer" Phil Mocek, the person to be prosecuted for (nonviolently, politely, and legally) questioning the TDSA's "security" procedures at ABQ airport. I'll be posting updates on the trial at PapersPlease.org. But... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 4 December 2010, 06:10 ( 6:10 AM) | Comments (2)

Tuesday, 30 November 2010

Testifying today to the Canadian Parliament

I got a last-minute invitation to testify today (by videoconference from San Francisco) on behalf of the Liberty Coalition at a hearing before the Canadian House of Commons' Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities on Bill C-42, which would override Canada's "Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act" (PIPEDA)... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 30 November 2010, 00:18 (12:18 AM) | Comments (1)

Tuesday, 23 November 2010

Holiday air travel updates and advice

Some of my recent articles from PapersPlease.org: FAQ: What you need to know about your rights at the airport Airlines lie, but you can get a refund if you opt out of being x-rayed or groped. Here's what to do. What to do if an airline cancels your reservation or... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 23 November 2010, 10:57 (10:57 AM) | Comments (0)

Friday, 29 October 2010

DHS Privacy office ordered TSA not to respond to my FOIA request

Details here from the Identity Project (PapersPlease.org).... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 29 October 2010, 20:37 ( 8:37 PM) | Comments (0)

Tuesday, 14 September 2010

Relations between travel bloggers and travel marketers and publicists

I spoke at the Travel Bloggers Show in Orlando on Saturday about "Working with travel marketers and publicists", and to travel marketers, publicists, and national tourism organizations about, "How to work with travel bloggers" at two sessions of the associated ASTA (American Society of Travel Agents) Trade Show on Monday.... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 14 September 2010, 13:54 ( 1:54 PM) | Comments (3)

Wednesday, 25 August 2010

Why I'm suing the Department of Homeland Security

[Update: Several readers have asked, "What can I do to help?" See the Identity Project's FAQ: Edward Hasbrouck v. U.S. Customs and Border Protection for answers to this and other questions about the lawsuit. If you'd like to be kept informed (and to receive other travel news and articles), sign... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 25 August 2010, 08:00 ( 8:00 AM) | Comments (18)

Friday, 30 July 2010

Washington Post: "Secure Flight may be making your privacy less secure"

I'm quoted today as spokesperson for the Identity Project (PapersPlease.org) in the Washington Post in a story by Christopher Elliott about how airlines are able to use personal information -- collected under government duress for the TSA's Secure Flight passenger surveillance and control scheme -- for the airlines' own marketing... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 30 July 2010, 16:09 ( 4:09 PM) | Comments (1)

Wednesday, 14 July 2010

Google buys ITA Software (Part 3: What's it mean for travellers?)

Monday in Part 1 I discussed the origins of ITA Software, the air travel pricing and reservation software company bought this month by Google for US$700 million. Yesterday in Part 2 I tried to explain what ITA Software actually does (and doesn't) do. Today in Part 3, below, I'll get... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 14 July 2010, 12:39 (12:39 PM) | Comments (12)

Tuesday, 13 July 2010

Google buys ITA Software (Part 2: What does ITA Software do?)

Yesterday in Part 1 I told some of the history of ITA Software, the air travel pricing and reservation software company bought this month by Google for US$700 million. Today I'll discuss ITA Software's strengths, weaknesses, and strategic approach to the airfare puzzle (Part 2, below). Tomorrow I'll finish up... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 13 July 2010, 15:15 ( 3:15 PM) | Comments (7)

Monday, 12 July 2010

Google buys ITA Software (Part 1: The back story)

At the start of this month Google announced its purchase of ITA Software -- if the antitrust division of the USA Department of Justice, and/or the Department of Transportation, decide the deal won't restrain trade by giving Google any sort of monopoly -- for US$700 million in cash. Even for... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 12 July 2010, 12:31 (12:31 PM) | Comments (4)

Thursday, 17 June 2010

European cooperation with US dataveillance

Lee Tien and Katitza Rodriguez of the Electronic Frontier Foundation kindly invited me to join them at the last minute on a panel on current privacy hot topics at the 2010 conference on Computers, Freedom, and Privacy which I've been attending this week at San Jose State University. (Kudos to... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 17 June 2010, 20:50 ( 8:50 PM) | Comments (0)

Friday, 30 April 2010

Arizona radio call-in discussion on ID and "immigration" law

I'll be on the Jay Lawrence Show on KTAR (92.3 FM) in Phoenix this Sunday, May 2nd, from 7-8 p.m. Arizona time (7-8 p.m. PDT, 10-11 p.m. EDT), on behalf of the Identity Project , to discuss and take calls on the new Arizona "immigration enforcement" law, S.B. 1070, its... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 30 April 2010, 18:36 ( 6:36 PM) | Comments (0)

European air travel after Eyjafjallajökull

[In the Hemicycle of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, the message "START OF MEETING POSTPONED" (by the ash cloud crisis) is displayed on the screens behind the dias, above and to the left and right of the rows of flags.] Now that the volcanic dust has settled (for the... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 30 April 2010, 13:20 ( 1:20 PM) | Comments (2)

Wednesday, 28 April 2010

Podcast on "Passenger Name Records" (PNR)

Swedish libertarian blogger "HAX" (Henrik Alexandersson) has an 25-minute podcast in his English-language blog, The Embedded Citizen and in his Swedish blog of a conversation we had last week over an al fresco lunch on a perfect spring day in Strasbourg (pictured above) about Passenger Name Record data. Also... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 28 April 2010, 20:30 ( 8:30 PM) | Comments (0)

Friday, 16 April 2010

Workshop on PNR data at Re:Publica (Berlin)

I'm speaking about Passenger Name Record (PNR) data as part of a workshop from 15:00-16:00 (GMT +1, PDT +9) today at the Re:Publica blogger, media, and net society conference in Berlin. The keynote presentations are being Webcast, but not the workshops. Some links for more information: Slides with annotation How... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 16 April 2010, 01:56 ( 1:56 AM) | Comments (0)

Thursday, 8 April 2010

Testimony to Members of the European Parliament

[Hearing in progress. MEP Jan Philipp Albrecht in the chair, center.] [My presentation. European Data Protection Supervisor Peter Hustinx at right.] I'm testifying Thursday afternoon in Brussels (Thursday morning in the USA) on the hotly debated proposed agreement between the EU and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on transfers... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 8 April 2010, 00:01 (12:01 AM) | Comments (3)

Monday, 1 March 2010

"Edward Hasbrouck's World's Travel Worsts"

My nominations for the Titanic Awards ("celebrating the dubious achievements of travel") are posted today at TitanicAwards.com: Worst Airline: Emirates. Consistently incompetent and unhelpful staff at ticket counters and sales offices on 4 continents. Worst Toilet: A hole in the ground behind our "hotel" in Tashkurgan, Chinese-occupied East Turkestan, only... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 1 March 2010, 22:28 (10:28 PM) | Comments (1)

Thursday, 21 January 2010

Why the NWU thinks the proposed Google Books settlement is unfair

[Left to right: Edward Hasbrouck (NWU), Sally Shannon (ASJA), Lynn Chu (Writers Reps), James Grimmelmann (NYLS), Paul Aiken (Authors Guild), Michael Capobianco (SFWA), Larry Goldbetter (moderator, NWU). Photo by kind permission of Bud Korotzer.] [Photos by kind permission of Bud Korotzer (left) and Joly MacFie (right, from from video).]... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 21 January 2010, 11:25 (11:25 AM) | Comments (2)

Wednesday, 13 January 2010

The Google Book Settlement: What's in it for writers?

As part of my work as co-chair of the Book Division of the National Writers Union, I'm speaking on behalf of the NWU at events on both coasts next week, in exceptionally distinguished legal and scholarly company: The Google Book Settlement: What's in it for writers? Free public informational events... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 13 January 2010, 20:12 ( 8:12 PM) | Comments (2)

Thursday, 17 December 2009

Regional airlines lie about codesharing in USA Today op-ed

Given space for a rebuttal on the same page with today's USA Today editorial, When airlines share codes, truth-in-labeling suffers , president Roger Cohen of the Regional Airline Association (RAA) trots out the airlines' usual "big lie" on code sharing, in unusually blatant form: As complex as travel may seem... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 17 December 2009, 12:24 (12:24 PM) | Comments (7)

Sunday, 13 December 2009

TSA Screening Management Procedures

There's been a lot of news in the last week about the USA Transportation Security Administration's posting of the TSA "Screening Management Standard Operating Procedures (SOP)" on a public Federal government Web site. The Identity Project has previously obtained portions of this document in response to our requests under the... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 13 December 2009, 16:01 ( 4:01 PM) | Comments (0)

Thursday, 26 November 2009

"Keeping Track of Travelers' Personal Information"

WSAV-TV in Savannah, Georgia, used my forms and instructions to request the U.S. government's records about one of their reporters' travels from the "Automated Targeting Ssystem". Two months later, after getting an (incomplete) response, they've broadcast a detailed Thanksgiving travel-season report on what they found and its significance: Keeping Track... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 26 November 2009, 04:58 ( 4:58 AM) | Comments (0)

Friday, 6 November 2009

Travelling in Mexico despite drug violence, swine flu

There's some useful advice, reports from travellers to Mexico, and quotes from yours truly to give perspective in Traveling in Mexico despite drug violence, H1N1 flu (by Christopher Reynolds, Los Angeles Times Sunday Travel section, 8 November 2009): Charles Pope ... visits Tijuana and Mexicali up to four times a... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 6 November 2009, 17:00 ( 5:00 PM) | Comments (1)

Friday, 23 October 2009

Federal airline consumer protection agenda

The navigator: Airline passengers' rights overshadowed by tarmac delay fight (By Christopher Elliott, Washington Post Sunday Travel Section, 25 October 2009): I think it goes without saying that other, far more important passenger issues are being overlooked. But I'll say it anyway: We're missing a lot. I asked author and... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 23 October 2009, 07:23 ( 7:23 AM) | Comments (0)

Thursday, 1 October 2009

"New ICANN agreement runs into criticism"

If you're looking for my comments on ICANN's latest adventures in wonderland, as mentioned in this article in Macworld and PC World from Grant Gross of IDG News Service, they're here at ICANNwatch.org. If you are just tuning in, check out the back story and my previous ICANNwatch articles. I'm... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 1 October 2009, 16:11 ( 4:11 PM) | Comments (0)

"How an airline's bankruptcy might affect travelers"

"If I were a bettin' man, I'd put some money on a big airline filing for bankruptcy protection in the not-too-distant future," says my fellow travel journalist and consumer advocate Christopher Elliott in this wire-service story in the Settle Times, other newspapers, and on his own Elliott.org Web site. I... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 1 October 2009, 12:03 (12:03 PM) | Comments (0)

Monday, 7 September 2009

KQED's "Forum" on Google Books settlement Tuesday

I'll be representing the National Writers Union on KQED's Forum with Michael Krasny tomorrow morning, Tuesday, 8 September 2009, from 9-10 a.m. PDT (noon-1 p.m. EDT; 16:00-17:00 UTC/GMT) to discuss the Google Books copyright infringement lawsuit and writers' rights. The NWU will be filing a friend of the court brief... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 7 September 2009, 07:25 ( 7:25 AM) | Comments (2)

Wednesday, 2 September 2009

NPR's "All Things Considered" on Google Books settlement

I was interviewed this evening (it was recorded a few days ago, actually) on "All Things Considered" about why, as an author, I'm opting out of the proposed settlement of the lawsuit against Google for its unauthorized scanning and electronic republication of millions of books -- including, I've learned, some... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 2 September 2009, 14:09 ( 2:09 PM) | Comments (0)

Wednesday, 15 July 2009

Mentions here and there

This blog has been selected as one of the Best Travel Guide blogs for 2009 by Tripbase in their inaugural travel blog awards: WomenEntrepreneur.com singles me out as follows: Get the Inside Scoop on Travel: Here are 5 bloggers who offer eye-opening advice and information about life on the road... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 15 July 2009, 21:29 ( 9:29 PM) | Comments (2)

Thursday, 2 July 2009

Shills on travel Web sites

I'm quoted in the BBC's online magazine about the problems of shills (impostors associated with a business who pretend to be ordinary customers while talking up the company and/or talking down its competitors) on travel Web sites, a phenomenon I wrote about most recently here a few months ago. The... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 2 July 2009, 09:05 ( 9:05 AM) | Comments (2)

"Clear" shuts down its registered-traveller system

Verified Identity Pass, Inc. ("VIP") shut down its Clear traveller registration and airport fast-lane scheme last week. Under the Clear scheme, and two much smaller competing ones run by other companies, air travellers could get access to dedicated lanes leading up to TSA checkpoints in airports, in exchange for payment... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 2 July 2009, 08:55 ( 8:55 AM) | Comments (3)

Tuesday, 26 May 2009

Jeff Farias radio show today

It's short notice, but I'll be on the Jeff Farias Show today at 5 p.m. PDT, 8 p.m. EDT. You can listen on KXXT radio, 1010 AM in Phoenix, AZ, or live online on the Internet wherever you are. [Update: Here's the archived "podcast": of the show; the segment with... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 26 May 2009, 11:09 (11:09 AM) | Comments (0)

Wednesday, 29 April 2009

Times Online: "Best business travel blogs"

Like my books, my blog is read by both business travellers and backpackers (among others). On their own, without a guide, they have more in common with each other than either has with package holiday-makers. A special welcome today to readers of the Times (UK), where business travel editor Mark... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 29 April 2009, 07:46 ( 7:46 AM) | Comments (3)

Wednesday, 18 March 2009

"All Things Considered" on RFID chips in passports

Today's edition of "All Things Considered" includes a puff piece on e-passports with embedded RFID chips, based entirely on government propaganda. They quoted not a single critic of RFID chips in passports or other travel and identity documents, even though members of the public who submitted comments on the proposal... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 18 March 2009, 16:49 ( 4:49 PM) | Comments (1)

NYTimes.com on changes to AmEx cardholder terms

The New York Times "Gadgetwise" blog kicks off its new security and privacy beat today with a feature on the changes in credit and charge card terms I've been reporting in recent weeks. As of now, the card issuers and card labels imposing similar terms include, for at least some... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 18 March 2009, 15:34 ( 3:34 PM) | Comments (1)

Sunday, 15 March 2009

Travel reading, travel writing, and the public library

[The Fells Branch of the Wellesley Free Library, where I got my first library card] I spent the weekend in Sacramento, where I was interviewed by Jeffrey Callison on Capital Public Radio's Insight show (the segment with me is from 20-35 minutes into the audio archive) and gave one of... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 15 March 2009, 19:45 ( 7:45 PM) | Comments (3)

Thursday, 5 March 2009

"Notes from the Electronic Cottage"

Welcome to listeners to today's segment of Jim Campbell's "Notes from the Electronic Cottage" on community radio WERU-FM in Blue Hill and Bangor, Maine. It's archived online and worth a listen. (And it put me back in touch with a long-lost relative who now lives near Blue Hill, heard the... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 5 March 2009, 13:46 ( 1:46 PM) | Comments (0)

Sunday, 1 March 2009

AmEx cancelled my card. Now what should I do?

A week ago today I reported on the announcement by American Express of new terms effective 2 April 2009 for personal AmEx cards issued in the USA, under which, in order to obtain or retain an AmEx card, you will have to "agree" that AmEx has your "consent" to send... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 1 March 2009, 16:17 ( 4:17 PM) | Comments (11)

Wednesday, 25 February 2009

"Pecha Kucha Night San Francisco Vol. 31"

My presentation at the Pecha Kucha night in San Francisco last Wednesday gets a nice mention today in (where else) the Pecha Kucha Daily : After Tokyo, the longest-running PechaKucha Night is in San Francisco, and that city's organizer Paul Jamtgaard sends in the following report for last week's Vol.... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 25 February 2009, 19:06 ( 7:06 PM) | Comments (2)

Sunday, 22 February 2009

Urgent warning to American Express cardholders

If you have an American Express card, you need to take action now: Unless you cancel your card and close your account, or unless AmEx is persuaded to withdraw changes it has announced (effective 2 April 2009) to the terms of its agreement with cardholders, you will be deemed to... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 22 February 2009, 12:52 (12:52 PM) | Comments (24)

Thursday, 22 January 2009

Reminder: Talk tonight in San Francisco

I'll speaking on World Travel in Troubled Economic Times at 7 p.m. tonight at Get Lost Books in San Francisco. My talk got a nice writeup in the San Francisco Bay Guardian as their pick of this week's events, as well as a plug on "7 × 7", and the... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 22 January 2009, 14:12 ( 2:12 PM) | Comments (0)

Thursday, 8 January 2009

"World Travel In Troubled Economic Times"

I'll be speaking at Get Lost Travel Books in San Francisco on Thursday evening, January 22nd, on "World Travel In Troubled Economic Times": Jump-start your next international journey with this talk by Edward Hasbrouck author of "The Practical Nomad". Back in San Francisco after a 13 month, 6 continent, 80,000... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 8 January 2009, 07:20 ( 7:20 AM) | Comments (2)

Tuesday, 30 December 2008

Can you really see what records are kept about your travel?

One of the big differences between American and European attitudes is that people in the USA tend to be much less willing to trust that the government is doing its job in accordance with the law. Many Europeans have told me this, and it's also what I've observed in the... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 30 December 2008, 10:49 (10:49 AM) | Comments (2)

Thursday, 27 November 2008

KCBS: Holiday travel bargains?

KCBS called today to ask about whether the decline in the economy has made bargain airfares available for holiday travel -- and if so, how to find them. For my answers, you can download the mp3 podcast (5 minutes). A lot of travel is discretionary, and both individuals and businesses... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 27 November 2008, 20:50 ( 8:50 PM) | Comments (1)

Tuesday, 28 October 2008

"The Practical Nomad" in National Geographic magazines

Exit Strategy: Why You Need a Real Vacation (by Holly Morris, "National Geographic Adventure", November 2008): Q. I've been at a desk job for eight years and need a change. I want to break away and explore the world but don't know where to start. A. Life is meant to... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 28 October 2008, 15:23 ( 3:23 PM) | Comments (0)

Thursday, 23 October 2008

Radio hour today on "Secure Flight"

I'll be on the Katherine Albrecht Show today from 2-3 p.m. Pacific time (5-6 p.m. Eastern Time, 2200-2300 GMT/UTC), talking about the final rules issued yesterday by the USA Transportation Security Administration for the Secure Flight scheme for control and surveillance of passengers on domestic airline flights in the USA.... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 23 October 2008, 09:55 ( 9:55 AM) | Comments (0)

Monday, 22 September 2008

"The Amazing Race" resumes this Sunday

The Amazing Race 13 premieres this Sunday, 28 September 2008, from 8-9 p.m. Eastern and Pacific Time, 7-8 p.m. Central and Mountain Time on CBS-TV in the USA. I was travelling and skipped season 12. If you're tempted to say, "You could have downloaded it as a bit torrent and... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 22 September 2008, 19:50 ( 7:50 PM) | Comments (0)

Sunday, 16 March 2008

AP and Chicago Tribune review new edition of "The Practical Nomad"

It's always fun to get good news from back home while travelling. In my case, the news that's reached me here in Sana'a, Yemen (a delightful place to visit, if you ever get the chance, with the first high-speed Internet connection we've had in weeks) is of a couple of... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 16 March 2008, 09:42 ( 9:42 AM) | Comments (1)

Friday, 21 September 2007

Results of requests for my "targeting" records

Following the disclosure in late 2006 of the USA government's illegal Automated Targeting System (ATS), which has been secretly keeping dossiers on tens of millions of innocent international travelers to and from the USA, I and several other activists requested our ATS files under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 21 September 2007, 11:04 (11:04 AM) | Comments (0)

Thursday, 13 September 2007

Public hearing in Washington on "Secure Flight"

An obscure notice buried in the Federal Register on 5 September 2007 announced a public meeting in Washington, DC, on Thursday, 20 September 2007, to hear comments on the Department of Homeland Security's "Secure Flight" scheme for additional control and monitoring of domestic air travel within the USA. The current... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 13 September 2007, 18:08 ( 6:08 PM) | Comments (6)

Tuesday, 21 August 2007

German press on airline reservation privacy

I'm quoted at some length in this article in "heise" online (with audio) on the lack of privacy protection for PNRs (airline reservation data), especially when they are stored or processed in the USA. The article notes the problems that result when European airlines "share" data with agents, contractors, and... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 21 August 2007, 08:54 ( 8:54 AM) | Comments (1)

Sunday, 12 August 2007

Another USA-EU "agreement" on airline reservations

Wendy Grossman has a good story today in The Register on the latest "agreement" between the USA and the European Union on transfers of Passenger Name Record (PNR) data from the EU to the government of the USA. I haven't posted much about the latest PNR "agreement", largely because I... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 12 August 2007, 11:26 (11:26 AM) | Comments (3)

Air travel and global warming

Just before leaving the USA (on a jet plane) for my current trip around the world, I was interviewed at length for a story that has now been published in the Ottawa Citizen on the growing concern (more in the UK than, to date, in the USA) about the contribution... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 12 August 2007, 11:02 (11:02 AM) | Comments (12)

Tuesday, 7 August 2007

"Automated Targeting System" redux

In November 2006, the USA Department of Homeland Security (DHS) revealed the existence of a so-called Automated Targeting System (ATS) of lifetime government dossiers on millions of international travellers to and from the USA, including airline reservations obtained (by unspecified means) from international airlines, as well as a wide range... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 7 August 2007, 12:29 (12:29 PM) | Comments (1)

Sunday, 24 June 2007

USA government refuses to learn from passport problems

From the day they went into effect in January of this year, the new USA government rules requiring passports for all travel by air between the USA and Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean (even for citizens of the USA returning home from abroad) have been a disaster. I told them... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 24 June 2007, 10:36 (10:36 AM) | Comments (4)

Friday, 18 May 2007

.travel registry near death

Aside from any of the other problems with the way that the franchise to "sponsor" the ".travel" top-level Internet domain name was awarded by ICANN to what is now the Tralliance division of TheGlobe.com, a travel business would have to be run by a real speculator to risk their Internet... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 18 May 2007, 16:27 ( 4:27 PM) | Comments (0)

Friday, 11 May 2007

While I was away

I had a great time with Evan Korth's students at NYU, and at CFP in Montréal. But the hard disk on my home computer failed while I was out of town, and I'm still working on recovering as much as possible of my data. A friendly reminder: How recent are... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 11 May 2007, 17:28 ( 5:28 PM) | Comments (0)

Saturday, 21 April 2007

"Bottom Line Personal" on travel insurance

There's an interview with me on "Travel Insurance: What You Need -- and Don't Need" in the May 2007 issue of Bottom Line Personal magazine. If you are looking for more detailed advice and suggested providers of insurance for travellers, see my FAQ on Travel Insurance and the chapter and... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 21 April 2007, 13:21 ( 1:21 PM) | Comments (0)

Tuesday, 17 April 2007

On Internet radio Wednesday; in New York next Wednesday

I'll be talking about similar issues of privacy and travel in an Internet radio interview this Wednesday morning (18 April) and in a guest lecture at New York University next Wednesday afternoon (25 April): Wednesday, 18 April 2007: Guest on the inaugural broadcast of "Uncovering the Truth" with Katherine Albrecht... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 17 April 2007, 18:11 ( 6:11 PM) | Comments (1)

Tuesday, 10 April 2007

Privacy advice for travel managers

I'm featured in the cover story on How to protect travelers' personal data on pages 28-32 of the April 2007 issue of T & E [Travel and Entertainment] Magazine , a leading trade journal for corporate travel managers. (If you don't like the funky page viewer on the magazine's Web... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 10 April 2007, 20:52 ( 8:52 PM) | Comments (2)

Wednesday, 28 March 2007

Correction in the Wall Street Journal

From: "readersfeedback@wsj.com" To: Edward hasbrouck Subject: FW: correction re: US-UK flights Date sent: Wed, 28 Mar 2007 12:43:19 -0400 Thank you for e-mailing The Wall Street Journal. Below is the correction we ran on 3/21/07. "While British Airways is one of four U.S. and United Kingdom carriers allowed to fly... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 28 March 2007, 18:23 ( 6:23 PM) | Comments (1)

Sunday, 18 February 2007

The Amazing Race 11 (All-Star Edition), Episode 1

Miami, FL (USA) - Quito (Ecuador) - Cotopaxi National Park (Ecuador) The cast of The Amazing Race , which started its new All-Star season tonight with relatively short flights from Miami to Quito, Ecuador, typically spend about two weeks of the month-long race around the world on airplanes or in... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 18 February 2007, 23:59 (11:59 PM) | Comments (0)

Monday, 12 February 2007

Un/Welcome in Washington

I arrived in Washington, DC, yesterday evening (after speaking at the memorial for my dear departed friend Eric Weinberger Saturday in Boston, which made the trip to the East Coast not a complete waste) to what I can only describe as a mixed welcome. At the downtown D.C. hostel, the... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 12 February 2007, 20:04 ( 8:04 PM) | Comments (3)

Thursday, 25 January 2007

Radio hour in L.A.

Things went so well the last time I was on KNX radio (1070-AM in Los Angeles) that we're going to do it again this week: I'll be on Money 101 from 10-11 a.m. (Pacific Standard Time) on Friday, 26 January 2007, with some consumer protection and smart buying advice on... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 25 January 2007, 21:32 ( 9:32 PM) | Comments (1)

Friday, 22 December 2006

On the air in L.A.

If you're in Southern California, or online, on the morning after Christmas, and either wishing you were still on vacation or starting to think about your next trip, I'll have some tips for "Planning a last-minute trip" and other travel advice, and maybe get to answer some questions from listeners,... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 22 December 2006, 16:21 ( 4:21 PM) | Comments (0)

Sunday, 10 December 2006

Half a million people denied their right to travel

As I noted in one of my previous articles about the USA Department of Homeland Security's "Automated Targeting System" (ATS): I find it somewhat strange that the assignment of scores or "risk assessments" seems to have gotten more attention than the earlier DHS announcement of its intention to require individualized... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 10 December 2006, 16:45 ( 4:45 PM) | Comments (1)

Thursday, 7 December 2006

Fallout from illegal "targetting" of travellers

A Wired News story today, also picked up by Slashdot , gives the first hint of how officials of the USA Department of Homeland Security will try to rationalize having defied direct orders from Congress by developing and operating a secret "Automated Targeting System" that "builds a risk assessment for... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 7 December 2006, 14:38 ( 2:38 PM) | Comments (0)

Friday, 10 November 2006

Consumer Reports' tips for holiday flying

CR's tips for holiday flying -- sans sleigh (Consumer Reports, December 2006): Air travel might not be merry this season. Passenger loads are at a record high, and at press time you could not even carry eggnog aboard unless you bought it after the security checkpoint.... If holiday flying is... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 10 November 2006, 18:05 ( 6:05 PM) | Comments (1)

Wednesday, 18 October 2006

Time for Europeans to ask for your travel records

In accordance with a decision made Monday, today the European Union and the USA Department of Homeland Security were expected to complete the signing of a face-saving new agreement on the use of passenger name record data by the DHS and other USA government agencies. This brings to an ignominious... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 18 October 2006, 16:35 ( 4:35 PM) | Comments (2)

Sunday, 15 October 2006

Permission to travel

Should you have to ask for permission from the government before you are allowed to get on a plane or cruise ship? ("Mother, may I?") The USA Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has proposed that airlines cruise lines, and operators of all other ships and planes -- including charter flights,... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 15 October 2006, 19:25 ( 7:25 PM) | Comments (32)

Sunday, 1 October 2006

Airlines and CRS's violating European privacy laws -- again

At midnight last night a decision of the European Court of Justice announced in May took effect, annulling both the "finding" by the European Council that airline reservation data transferred to the USA is protected adequately to satisfy European Union (EU) privacy and data protection rules, and the nonbinding "agreement"... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 1 October 2006, 21:29 ( 9:29 PM) | Comments (0)

Wednesday, 20 September 2006

Resources for solo travellers

Work & Family (by columnist Sue Shellenbarger, Wall Street Journal, 31 August 2006): Question: Regarding your column on couples traveling separately: Can you provide information for people who want to make solo trips, including adventure travel? Answer: The most comprehensive information on traveling alone can be found in books. "The... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 20 September 2006, 13:19 ( 1:19 PM) | Comments (0)

Tuesday, 19 September 2006

"Forecasting The Best Airfare: Is It Possible?"

Forecasting The Best Airfare: Is It Possible? (By Eric Thomas, ABC 7 / KGO-TV, San Francisco, 30 August 2006) Several new companies that monitor and claim to be able to predict airfares have been bugging me to review their Web sites. I haven't, because I don't think any of them... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 19 September 2006, 06:13 ( 6:13 AM) | Comments (1)

Monday, 18 September 2006

The power of travel blogs

Using Technology: Blogs About Business Travel Begin to Feel the Power (by Christopher Elliott, New York Times, 18 September 2006): But business-travel bloggers are still a long way from wielding the power of political bloggers. Edward Hasbrouck, who writes The Practical Nomad blog (hasbrouck.org/blog), says that policy changes that result... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 18 September 2006, 09:31 ( 9:31 AM) | Comments (2)

Monday, 21 August 2006

Bankrupt airlines and cancelled flights

Strategies for when you're stranded: What can you do when a foreign airline cancels its flights? (by Jane Engle, Los Angeles Times Sunday travel section, 6 August 2006; also in the St. Paul Pioneer Press Sunday travel section, 20 August 2006, as Research viability of carrier before ticket purchase to... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 21 August 2006, 09:00 ( 9:00 AM) | Comments (0)

Friday, 18 August 2006

What's on the horizon in travel security/surveillance?

I've spent a lot of time this week answering questions from other journalists about every aspect of air travel, from the most significant to the most mundane. Here's a sampling: Anti-terror hassles may keep travelers off planes (by Chris Welsch, Minneapolis Star Tribune Sunday travel section, 13 August 2006): Even... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 18 August 2006, 19:10 ( 7:10 PM) | Comments (0)

Thursday, 10 August 2006

Advice on today's changes in airline carry-on rules

Air travel worldwide is disrupted today. Many flights to, from, and within the United Kingdom (including short-haul flights between the UK and Europe as well as long-haul flights to and from the USA) have been cancelled entirely or delayed by many hours. Heathrow Airport in London is the world busiest... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 10 August 2006, 14:56 ( 2:56 PM) | Comments (5)

Tuesday, 1 August 2006

Interview with Eons.com on "Travel around the world"

A new Web site for people over 50 years old, "Eons.com" ("everything over 50...") launched today. I'm only 46, but I'm inteviewed at length on how to travel around the world, as one of their first features on how to achieve your goals in life.... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 1 August 2006, 20:14 ( 8:14 PM) | Comments (1)

Saturday, 8 July 2006

"Cheap vacations for broke procrastinators"

I'm home today drinking hot lemonade with honey, but if my voice cooperates, I'll be on the Your Call show on KALW public radio (91.7 FM in San Francisco, or streamed live on the Web) from 10-11 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time (1-2 p.m. EDT; 18:00-19:00 GMT/UTC) on Monday, 10 July... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 8 July 2006, 11:18 (11:18 AM) | Comments (1)

Monday, 26 June 2006

New York Times on changing money

Practical Traveler: How to Get the Best Exchange Rate (by David A. Kelly, New York Times, Sunday Travel Section, 26 June 2006): Make sure you check ahead to learn what bank cards or traveler's checks will be accepted at your destination, and have a backup plan. "The main thing is... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 26 June 2006, 08:43 ( 8:43 AM) | Comments (0)

Monday, 19 June 2006

As seen in the Wall Street Journal

Welcome to readers of the Wall Street Journal , where this blog is recommended today in Julien Vernet's "Blog Watch" column: Edward Hasbrouck posts infrequently, but his blog is adept at exploring the balance between airline security and passenger privacy. A journalist and travel expert, Mr. Hasbrouck brings to the... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 19 June 2006, 09:59 ( 9:59 AM) | Comments (0)

Friday, 2 June 2006

"Flying the friendlier skies?"

I'll be talking about Flying the friendlier skies? (specifically, tips for summer air travel) for an hour on Monday, 5 June 2006, from 10-11 a.m. Central Daylight time (8-9 a.m PDT, 11a.m.-noon EDT), live with call-ins, on Minnesota Public Radio's MPR Midmorning program with Kerri Miller. MPR is streamed live... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 2 June 2006, 15:11 ( 3:11 PM) | Comments (0)

Friday, 28 April 2006

KGO-TV on frequent flyer miles

New Rules For Redeeming Frequent Flyer Miles ("7 on Your Side", ABC 7 / KGO-TV, San Francisco, 28 April 2006): If you like to travel, you probably belong to a frequent flyer program or have a credit card that helps you earn miles. But many of the major players are... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 28 April 2006, 19:41 ( 7:41 PM) | Comments (0)

AP on summer air travel

Air travel: Book now, or book later? (by Stephanie Hoo, Associated Press, 18 April 2006): Plan to fly this summer? Experts say you should book now because already-high airfares are only going to continue skyward thanks to rising fuel costs and other financial woes at the nation's carriers.... Is it... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 28 April 2006, 19:29 ( 7:29 PM) | Comments (0)

Monday, 17 April 2006

Newsweek travel tip sheet: "A Vacation Well Spent"

Travel: A Vacation Well Spent (by Ramin Setoodeh, Newsweek, 24 April 2006 print issue): The average American will take eight vacation days this summer--and spend several hundred dollars to get there. To help you plan ahead, we asked ... for advice on how to save some change. Here are their... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 17 April 2006, 08:03 ( 8:03 AM) | Comments (0)

Thursday, 30 March 2006

Business Week on rising airfares

Soaring Above High-Priced Airfares (by Marc Hogan, BusinessWeek online, 30 March 2006): SAVVIER AIRLINES. With peak travel season on the way, rates will move inexorably higher, industry watchers say. "Fares are going to go up one way or the other," says Edward Hasbrouck, author of the travel book series The... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 30 March 2006, 08:24 ( 8:24 AM) | Comments (3)

Friday, 24 March 2006

Sacramento Bee review of "How To Travel Around the World"

Writers aren't usually notified when our books are reviewed or mentioned in print. So I only I just received a clipping in the mail of a very nice review of The Practical Nomad: How to Travel Around the World in the 23 October 2005 edition of the Sacramento Bee by... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 24 March 2006, 07:54 ( 7:54 AM) | Comments (0)

Tuesday, 21 March 2006

Wired News on airport searches

Fliers Can't Balk at Search (by Ryan Singel , Wired News, 20 March 2006): [A] federal court ruled that airline passengers who enter the airport screening process cannot change their minds once they're singled out for a more extensive search. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled (.pdf) that travelers... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 21 March 2006, 21:03 ( 9:03 PM) | Comments (1)

Sunday, 5 March 2006

Oregonian and Kansas City Star on "country collectors"

Country Collectors (by Dan Leeth, The [Portland] Oregonian, Sunday travel section, 5 March 2006; also in the Kansas City Star as The one with the most passport stamps wins ): Some people collect stamps. These people collect countries. Why? Because they're there. While some people collect postage stamps, travelers such... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 5 March 2006, 16:43 ( 4:43 PM) | Comments (0)

Thursday, 23 February 2006

BellaOnline review of "The Practical Nomad"

Most book reviewers focus on new first editions. It's hard to get them to notice a new edition or an established "backlist" title that wasn't just published. So my thanks to Kimberly Button, Budget Travel Editor for BellaOnline ("The Voice of Women"), for her new review of the 3rd edition... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 23 February 2006, 07:11 ( 7:11 AM) | Comments (0)

Friday, 13 January 2006

L.A. Times on airline vouchers

Sometimes, those airline vouchers are like a lump of coal (Jane Engle, Los Angeles Times Sunday travel section, 25 December 2005): If you get bumped off your flight, help might -- or might not -- be at hand. As always, the devil is in the details. Home for the holidays?... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 13 January 2006, 06:49 ( 6:49 AM) | Comments (0)

Tuesday, 13 December 2005

Bankrate.com on bankrupt airlines

Travelers brace for turbulence on bankrupt airlines (Brigitte Yuille, Bankrate.com, 13 December 2005): "A bankruptcy filing is your final warning before an airline could be shut down by the bankruptcy court," says travel expert Edward Hasbrouck. Hasbrouck warns that although operations of these airlines will look normal, this appearance may... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 13 December 2005, 09:32 ( 9:32 AM) | Comments (0)

Wednesday, 7 December 2005

Blog-based articles in print

I mostly write printed books and electronic articles. But occasionally my articles end up in print, and I'm always open to offers for print licensing or adaptation of articles from my blog, Web site, or e-mail newsletter. The Fall 2005 issue of American Writer (see pages 10-11), the magazine of... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 7 December 2005, 08:18 ( 8:18 AM) | Comments (0)

Friday, 7 October 2005

"Spot the Terrorist"

USA-EU dual citizen and fellow CFP-er Wendy Grossman has more on the new demands for passenger information by the USA government and airlines, as well as the latest USA plans for a Ministry of Silly Walks , in her net.wars column here and here : Spot the Terrorist ... Some... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 7 October 2005, 07:09 ( 7:09 AM) | Comments (2)

Monday, 3 October 2005

".travel" launched. ICANN still ignores my request for stay.

Today the Tralliance Corp. subsidiary of TheGlobe.com (d/b/a "Voiceglo"), with approval from ICANN and the USA Department of Commerce, began accepting registrations from suppliers of travel services (travellers themselves aren't eligible, unless they sell travel services) for second-level .travel Internet domain names. I've received no response or acknowledgement at all... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 3 October 2005, 05:36 ( 5:36 AM) | Comments (1)

Monday, 26 September 2005

Miami Herald on frequent-flier miles

What to know: News, tips and values (Miami Herald Sunday travel section, 25 September 2005): Like Delta, NWA is also promising to honor tickets and award points (in past bankruptcies , courts have protected them, recognizing that airlines in financial pain need customer loyalty more than ever). So not to... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 26 September 2005, 22:21 (10:21 PM) | Comments (0)

Friday, 23 September 2005

USA Today on holiday flights

Now's the time to book holiday flights (Laura Bly, USA Today, 23 September 2005): "I would be surprised to see any airlines go under before New Year's, but holiday schedule disruptions could be problematic," warns Edward Hasbrouck, a San Francisco-based travel expert. "When flights are already fully booked at the... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 23 September 2005, 00:46 (12:46 AM) | Comments (0)

Wednesday, 14 September 2005

Northwest Airlines and Delta Air Lines are bankrupt

Just before the close of business today at the courthouse in New York, Northwest Airlines and Delta Air Lines (including its Comair subsidiary and its Song brand) petitioned for protection from their creditors under Chapter 11 of the Federal bankruptcy laws. United Airlines, US Airways, ATA Airlines ("American Trans Air"),... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 14 September 2005, 17:21 ( 5:21 PM) | Comments (1)

Wednesday, 24 August 2005

Airline bankruptcy fears in the news

As I said in an interview with Minnesota Public Radio in June, just before I left for Africa, "I think people have been lulled into an entirely unwarranted complacency about the possibility of [airline] bankruptcy." That complacency may be fading, with renewed speculation as to which additional airlines in the... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 24 August 2005, 08:35 ( 8:35 AM) | Comments (2)

Tuesday, 26 April 2005

Follow-up to CFP debate on RFID passports

Lots of continuing reports and fallout from the panel and subsequent discussions on RFID chips in passports last week at the Computers, Freedom, and Privacy conference: Fed and activist:, Computers Freedom and Privacy Conference, Seattle, 2005: One man is balding, liverspotted, tie-wearing, and shouting. The other is wearing a long... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 26 April 2005, 13:18 ( 1:18 PM) | Comments (0)

Monday, 13 December 2004

"Privacy and Human Rights 2004" published

Privacy International international.org and the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) have released their annual Privacy and Human Rights 2004 yearbook, including an entirely new chapter on Privacy and Travel of which I was the principal author (with several other significant contributors). Given book production schedules, it's inevitable that some important... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 13 December 2004, 23:25 (11:25 PM) | Comments (0)

Tuesday, 2 November 2004

New York Times on "Getting off a watch list"

Christopher Elliott reports today in the business section of the New York Times that, Getting Off a Security Watch List Is the Hard Part (free registration and cookie acceptance required): There is no way to find out if you are on the list until you check in for a flight.... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 2 November 2004, 09:42 ( 9:42 AM) | Comments (1)

Tuesday, 26 October 2004

Robert Young Pelton on "The Practical Nomad"

Robert Young Pelton (author of The World's Most Dangerous Places ), devotes his column this month in National Geographic Adventure magazine to, "the top five secrets ... that guidebook publishers don't want you to know about their products." In no particular order, but starting with, "(1) They're outdated." His advice?... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 26 October 2004, 11:57 (11:57 AM) | Comments (2)

Tuesday, 5 October 2004

Disparate treatment for airline lenders

In the wake of recent coverage of the lack of consumer protection for ticket holders if airline go bankrupt, the Business Travel Coalition (BTC) and the Association of Retail Travel Agents (ARTA) yesterday issued a joint appeal to USA-based airlines voluntarily to agree to honor tickets of bankrupt airlines --... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 5 October 2004, 09:38 ( 9:38 AM) | Comments (0)

Friday, 1 October 2004

More airlines on the brink of bankruptcy or liquidation

With more airlines on the brink of bankruptcy, and some of those already in bankruptcy moving closer to possible liquidation, there's been steadily rising concern for what travellers need to know about tickets, travel, and frequent flyer mileage credits with bankrupt or liquidated airlines. In addition to my FAQ About... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 1 October 2004, 15:39 ( 3:39 PM) | Comments (0)

Thursday, 9 September 2004

Interview in Motionsickness magazine

The latest issue of Motionsickness magazine focuses on The San Francisco Connection , with features on several S.F. Bay Area travel writers and activists including an interview with yours truly . You can read excerpts (it's a fairly raw transcript) on the Web, but there's lots more good stuff in... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 9 September 2004, 10:54 (10:54 AM) | Comments (0)

Wednesday, 11 August 2004

"This 'Privocrat' Believes In the Freedom to Travel"

Today the Wall Street Journal published my letter in reply to last week's ad hominem attack on their op-ed page: This 'Privocrat' Believes in the Freedom to Travel In regard to Heather Mac Donald's Aug. 5 editorial-page commentary "Hijacked by the 'Privocrats'": Whatever Ms. Mac Donald means by calling me... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 11 August 2004, 07:52 ( 7:52 AM) | Comments (1)

Wednesday, 28 July 2004

"Identity is Front and Center at the Airport"

Bruce Schneier and I are quoted extensively in Michael Pastore's lead story today at InsideID.com, focusing on the key concept that, "Security in American airports is essentially an identity issue." Excerpts: Leading the fight against CAPPS II were the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), and... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 28 July 2004, 18:16 ( 6:16 PM) | Comments (0)

Sunday, 25 July 2004

"How to Travel Around the World" reviewed in the Chicago Tribune

The 3rd edition of The Practical Nomad: How To Travel Around the World (February 2004) is reviewed today in the travel section of the Chicago Tribune (registration and cookie acceptance required): THE RESOURCEFUL TRAVELER By Toni Stroud Tribune staff reporter Travel reference The Practical Nomad: How to Travel Around the... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 25 July 2004, 12:40 (12:40 PM) | Comments (0)

Thursday, 1 July 2004

"Flight Risk" Friday on KPFA Morning Show

I'll be making a brief appearance tomorrow morning (Friday, 2 July 2004) sometime between 7:30 and 7:50 a.m. PDT (15:30-15:50 UTC/GMT) on The Morning Show on KPFA , 94.1 FM in Berkeley, CA. For those outside the broadcast area, there's real-time streaming audio and archived audio files . I'll be... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 1 July 2004, 13:47 ( 1:47 PM) | Comments (0)

Friday, 13 February 2004

Why CAPPS-II would cost a billion dollars

Several people have asked for the basis of my cost estimate for CAPPS-II, quoted today in Business Travel News online and elsewhere. My estimate of US$1 billion or more in in infrastructure and implementation costs to airlines, computerized reservations systems (CRS's), travel agencies and agents, other intermediaries, and software and... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 13 February 2004, 12:41 (12:41 PM) | Comments (0)

"CAPPS II Faces Massive Technical Challenges"

Industry: CAPPS II Faces Massive Technical Challenges (Business Travel News online, 13 February 2004) On top of myriad concerns already being debated (BTNonline, Feb. 12), sources said technical challenges to garnering additional passenger data for the planned computer assisted passenger prescreening system not only have gone unstudied, but may be... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 13 February 2004, 12:03 (12:03 PM) | Comments (0)

Sunday, 8 February 2004

"Last-minute travel: Does it pay to wait?"

I'm featured today in the travel section of USA Weekend , the Sunday magazine supplement to Gannett newspapers throughout the USA: Last-minute travel: Does it pay to wait? It used to be a steadfast rule of travel: Plan ahead, save a bundle. But more and more vacationers are waiting until... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 8 February 2004, 22:21 (10:21 PM) | Comments (0)

Monday, 10 November 2003

Lowell Thomas Award for PracticalNomad.com article on travel and privacy

I was notified today by the Society of American Travel Writers Foundation that my article, Total Travel Information Awareness, as first published on this Web site (PracticalNomad.com and Hasbrouck.org) has been selected as the bronze medal winner in the "Travel News/ Investigative Reporting" category of the 19th annual Lowell Thomas... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 10 November 2003, 15:56 ( 3:56 PM) | Comments (0)

Thursday, 30 October 2003

Seattle P-I on Amazon.com "search" and page view

New Amazon search feature angers authors: Writers weren't consulted on searchability of work ( Seattle Post-Intelligencer , Friday, 31 October 2003) The P-I reports, on the basis of an Amazon.com press release, that "Amazon.com's new "Search Inside the Book" feature -- introduced last week to let visitors search the full... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 30 October 2003, 22:43 (10:43 PM) | Comments (0)

Tuesday, 21 October 2003

Overseas? Dial home on the cheap

"Your own mobile phone is probably useless abroad. You have plenty of other options, some outrageously expensive and others almost free...." Read the full story from Bankrate.com or MSN Money. This is a surprisingly thorough survey of a complex topic: pricing options for mobile (cellular) phone use outside your home... (...Read Entire Entry)

Link | Posted by Edward, 21 October 2003, 16:26 ( 4:26 PM) | Comments (0)