Terror Watch List Can Follow you to the Grave

March 11, 2010

Wired

By Kim Zetter

You may be dying, figuratively, to get off the government’s no-fly list, but death won’t guarantee removal.

The government’s no-fly list includes the names of dead suspects to help catch people who may try to assume the suspect’s identity, according to government officials who spoke with The Associated Press.

The no-fly list has been shrouded in mystery since it was first developed after the 9/11 attacks. How people get on the list or get off it has been a closely guarded secret, with only bits of information made public during congressional hearings.

The AP has pieced together the broad steps it takes for someone to get on the list, and some of the changes the list has undergone since it was created nine years ago.

The no-fly list has grown from 3,400 people to about 6,000 since last December, but it did not contain the name of airline passenger Umar Farouk Abdulmuttalab, the AP said. The Nigerian tried to bomb a Detroit-bound Northwest airlines flight on Christmas Day using explosives packed in his underwear.

Abdulmuttalab’s name appeared in a terrorism database after his father tipped off U.S. embassy officials in Nigeria that his son might be involved in extremist activity. The government determined that the information did not meet the standard for placing him on the list or for revoking his U.S. visa.

The new names added to the list since his bombing attempt include people associated with al-Qaida’s Yemen branch (with whom Abdulmuttalab had ties), as well as other people from Nigeria and Yemen who might be connected to Abdulmuttalab, the AP said.

The current number on the no-fly list represents a pared down version of the list in 2004 when 20,000 people were on it. Those numbers were culled in 2007, and people who were no longer considered a threat were removed. These included, for example, some former members of the Irish Republican Army who were considered no longer active in terrorist activity.

As AP notes, sometimes it takes just minutes to get on the no-fly list; other times it takes days or months, depending on the information amassed on a subject.

The first step might be a simple tip to law enforcement or an intelligence agent or may come from information gleaned from a wiretapped conversation. The tip is submitted to the National Counterterrorism Center in Virginia, where it’s entered into a classified database known as Terrorist Identities Datamart Enterprise, or TIDE. The database might include a suspect’s name and relatives and associates. About 2 percent of the names in the database belong to Americans.

Here information is data-mined to connect dots and flesh out partial names and identities. If enough information can be connected to a Terrorist Watchlist target, it’s escalated to the Terrorist Screening Center, also in Virginia, for more analysis. About 350 names are sent to the screening center daily.

Depending on what the analysis turns up, a suspect might wind up on the FBI’s terror watchlist, which includes the names of about 418,000 people — including a New Jersey eight-year-old who regularly gets frisked at the airport. Airport security personnel use the list to single out some travelers for extra screening or interrogation, and the watchlist is also used for screening U.S. visa applicants and gun buyers, as well as suspects stopped by local police.

To get on this list, there must be “reasonable suspicion” that the person is involved in terrorism, according to the AP. People whose names are on this list are singled out for questioning at U.S. borders, but they can still fly. A Justice Department inspector general report last year found that the FBI was mishandling the watch list and failing to add legitimate suspects under terrorist investigation to the list; at the same time not properly updating and removing records from the list so some U.S. citizens are subjected to unjustified scrutiny.

In order to get on the no-fly list, authorities must have the suspect’s full name and age and have information indicating that the suspect is a threat to aviation or national security. The final decision for adding a name to the no-fly list rests in the hands of about six people from the TSA, the AP said.

At this point, a suspect can either be added to a “selectee list,” a list of about 18,000 people who are singled out for extra screening at airports or be put on the no-fly list. Not all people on the no-fly list are prevented from flying, however. Sometimes authorities allow them to travel unimpeded, but place a tail on them to monitor their activity, the AP said.

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Thank you for being a shining beacon of hope amongst today’s polluted airwaves…

Dear Kevin,

I’m writing this letter on behalf of what I consider “the silent majority”. I’m an avid listener however, like thousands of others; I’ve never called in to the show or sent an email or anything. I just quietly tune in each week and absorb the information. I know there are many others like me who may not make their voice heard, but rest assured that you have an army of devoted supporters whose highlight of the week is listening to you on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Thank you for being a shining beacon of hope amongst today’s polluted airwaves.

Many of us listeners are still struggling in life and we would be in shambles without your amazing value. I have a little bit of an idea of how much time and energy you must put into your show because I host a weekly conference call. You may not have as many listeners as some of the mainstream guys, but your value is over the top! You simply provide more value than anyone else and that’s why you can overtake them in ratings, given the time.

Honestly, words cannot express how thankful I am for your show. I know the implications of the show’s existence on a global and even universal scale will not be realized for a long time. Keep up the good work! You are the voice of the people! You are the spokesman for the lowly laborer trying to find a job to support his family, the Iraq veteran who was disabled in combat and is being denied the proper treatment, you’re the voice for our lovely senior population, who have put lifetimes of effort into building this great country only to have politicians plunder their retirement, you are the voice of “US”. And as you know it’s “us against them”. Your steadfast courage and brutal honesty is unmatched. Your compassion and understanding for blind and uninformed people, who accuse you of “fear mongering” and such shows that your character in a class of its own. I look up to you in many, many ways. Speaking to you in Chicago was the highlight of my life!

Thank You VERY much for everything you do!
Jeff Smith
Sutherlin, OR

The Kevin Trudeau Show: 1-27-10

Today, Kevin explains how the government is using the mind as its biggest weapon and how the CIA is embedded within every aspect of your life!

Glacier Scientists Knew Data Wasn’t Verified
That New-Car Smell May Be Toxic
Zero Deaths Caused By Vitamins & Herbs
Alex Jones & KT Join Forces To Expose Corruption

Plus, Eddie Freeman of eXfuze stopped by to explain how you, too, can become wealthy from the comfort of your own home. Click here to get rich today!

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Army Corps of Engineer Change Chemical in Drinking Water

January 14, 2010

Washington Examiner

By Michael Neibauer

The main disinfectant in the drinking water of nearly 1 million D.C. and Northern Virginia residents is being switched by the Army Corps of Engineers to thwart the threat of terrorists releasing deadly chlorine gas.

The switch will be from chlorine gas to a liquid form of chlorine called sodium hypochlorite. Both are equally effective, according to the Washington Aqueduct, an arm of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. But the liquid, “is considered much safer to transport, store and use than gaseous chlorine,” said an official.

Chlorine and water disinfection “may be the best thing to happen to the world” in the last 100 years, Thomas Jacobus, Washington Aqueduct general manager, told The Examiner. But the gaseous chlorine that currently is being used is potentially deadly if released; it was used in World War I as a choking agent.

“If you’ve got individuals or movements who want to try to use your own products againt you, if someone were to intercept a rail car, reroute it and release its contents, it could be devastating,” Jacobus said.

The aqueduct provides roughly 180 million gallons of drinking water a day to about 1 million residents in the District, Arlington and Falls Church.

The switch is “absolutely a good sign” for homeland security in the nation’s capital, said D.C. Councilman Phil Mendelson, chairman of the public safety committee.

But a broader fear remains: Dangerous materials are regularly transported through the District by rail, Mendelson said, and the federal government is far too secretive with that information.

“It appears that the shipments of the most hazardous materials have been removed from the Virginia Avenue [rail] line but they continue on the Northeast line,” Mendelson said. “We just don’t know.”

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency approved the chlorine swap in mid-December. Changeover presents no hazard, officials said. But the corps and the D.C. Water and Sewer Authority will nevertheless increase monitoring and testing for 18 months.

The change to liquid chlorine will start in the next month, Jacobus said. At the same time, the aqueduct also will begin adding caustic soda and a sulfuric acid solution to the water to balance pH levels.

Officials say city and Northern Virginia residents will not notice any difference in the way local water tastes or smells.

Washington Aqueduct water is disinfected in two stages — the primary phase features chlorine and the second chloramine, a combination of chlorine and ammonia. Fluoride is added to reduce tooth decay, orthophosphate to control pipe corrosion and minimize lead release, and occasionally powdered activated carbon for taste and odor control.

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Is the White House Hiding Info on Fort Hood?

November 13, 2009

The Hill

By Eric Zimmermann

The ranking Republican on the House intelligence committee on Tuesday night accused the White House of withholding information on the Fort Hood attack.

Rep. Pete Hoekstra (Mich.) said administration officials delayed briefing members of Congress about the alleged gunman, raising “red flags” about what the White House was hiding.

“When they withhold information, you always start asking questions,” Hoekstra told Fox News. “That’s what raises red flags. What do they know that they don’t want us to know?”

Hoekstra linked President Barack Obama’s handling of Fort Hood to a chain of other GOP criticisms of the president, including the administration’s treatment of detainees and an investigation into possible CIA abuse.

“It is a political correctness that is making it unable for us to identify the real threat of homegrown terrorism,” he alleged.

Hoekstra warned that “we have similar Hasans” in the country. The Michigan Republican has called for his committee to investigate the incident. Chairman Silvestre Reyes (D-Texas) has so far declined, preferring to wait for the conclusion of the joint FBI-Army investigation.

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The Kevin Trudeau Show: 11-3-09

Today, Kevin explains how traffic cameras could ruin your life and why all the real reporters aren’t being heard!

Lead in Face Paint
Bug Spray Blamed for Infant Death
Another Beef Recall
The Only Answer to Cancer
The Future of Our Army
Unemployment Rates Skyrocket!

Plus, The Amazing Kreskin reveals the secret to being the world’s greatest mentalist and reflects back on his 50 year career.

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Army’s Robot-Man Makes Star Wars a Reality!

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NSA to Spend $1.5 Billion on New Spy Center

November 2, 2009

Information Week

By J. Nicholas Hoover

The NSA is building the facility to provide intelligence and warnings related to cybersecurity threats, cybersecurity support to defense and civilian agency networks, and technical assistance to the Department of Homeland Security, according to a transcript of remarks by Glenn Gaffney, deputy director of national intelligence for collection, who is responsible for oversight of cyber intelligence activities in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
“Our country must continue to advance its national security efforts and that includes improvements in cybersecurity,” Sen. Robert Bennett, R-Utah, said in a statement. “As we rely more and more on our communications networks for business, government and everyday use, we must be vigilant and provide agencies with the necessary resources to protect our country from a cyber attack.”

The data center will be built at Camp Williams, a National Guard training center 26 miles south of Salt Lake City, which was chosen for its access to cheap power, communications infrastructure, and availability of space, Gaffney said. The complex will comprise up to 1.5 million square feet of building space on 120 to 200 acres, according to the NBC affiliate in Salt Lake City.

According to a budget document for the project, the 30-megawatt data center will be cooled by chilled water and capable of Tier 3, or near carrier-grade, reliability. The design calls for the highest LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standard within available resources.

The U.S. Army Corps of engineers will host a conference in Salt Lake City to provide further detail the data center building and acquisition plans. The project will require between 5,000 and 10,000 workers during construction, and the data center will eventually employ between 100 and 200 workers.

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Torture Plane Spotted

November 2, 2009

The Guardian

By Robert Booth

An American plane named in an inquiry by the European parliament into alleged CIA torture flights landed at Birmingham airport last month and was met by British special forces helicopters.

Plane spotters said the Gulfstream jet touched down from an undisclosed location on 2 October and was met by two army air corps Dauphin 2 helicopters used by the SAS at Hereford.

The 22-seat plane is registered to L-3 Integrated Systems, a Montana-based subsidiary of a US defence corporation. It made numerous flights between Ireland and Egypt in 2003 and was involved in an accident at Bucharest airport in Romania in 2004 after a flight from Bagram airbase in Afghanistan.

The European parliament reported that seven passengers disappeared after the accident and deplored the CIA’s use of Romania as a stopover for extraordinary renditions of terror suspects including the British national Binyam Mohammed.

The report’s authors said they regretted “the lack of control of the Gulfstream aircraft with registration number N478GS”.

A Ministry of Defence source said that the meeting at Birmingham airport had nothing to do with the rendition of prisoners, whatever the allegations about the plane’s past use. “This was routine military liaison between two allies,” he said.

The plane departed the next day at the same time as a Boeing 757 operated by Comco, a private company that provides flights for the US defence department, which had arrived a day earlier.

The Gulfstream has also been photographed at Glasgow Prestwick airport, Shannon airport in Ireland and Stuttgart airport in Germany.

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Stimulus Contracts From Criminal Companies

October 26, 2009

ProPublica

By Michael Grabell

The Department of Defense awarded nearly $30 million in stimulus contracts to six companies while they were under federal criminal investigation on suspicion of defrauding the government.

According to Air Force documents, the companies claimed to be small, minority-owned businesses, which allowed them to gain special preference in bidding for government contracts. But investigators found that they were all part of a larger minority-owned enterprise in Southern California, making them ineligible for the contracts.

The Air Force and the Army awarded the companies 112 stimulus projects at U.S. military bases, federal contracting records show. It wasn’t until Sept. 23 – more than a year after the criminal investigation started – that the Air Force suspended the firms from receiving new government contracts.

Federal rules allow agencies to terminate contracts when it’s in the government’s interest. But neither military branch plans to terminate the stimulus contracts awarded to the suspended companies as long as they are performing satisfactorily, said Air Force spokeswoman Lt. Col. Ann Stefanek and Army spokesman Maj. Jimmie Cummings.

According to the Air Force, the companies were controlled by Craig Jackson, an African-American businessman whose firm, Sanders Engineering, has won awards from the Small Business Administration.

Jackson did not return calls seeking comment. But an attorney for his firm, Tony Franco, said the company would “vigorously contest” the suspension. He said Jackson has been praised as “someone who has helped small businesses and we believe the facts will bear out that he continues doing so.”

Allegations about one of the firms, APM LLC, became public a year ago, when an SBA audit led to the firm’s suspension from the small-business program and prompted the Defense Department’s criminal probe. That such a warning could go unheeded exposes a gap in the government’s contracting process, said Scott Amey, general counsel for the nonprofit Project on Government Oversight, which tracks contractor misconduct.

“The big problem I have – was there any disclosure of the contractors’ missteps prior to them receiving the stimulus money?” said Amey, when told of the suspended companies. “That’s the type of information you would hope government officials would have in front of them when making responsibility determinations.”

Stefanek said the projects were awarded independently by contracting officers at military bases who wouldn’t have spotted problems unless the contractors were suspended or debarred. The Air Force didn’t suspend the firms until Sept. 23 because it wasn’t officially notified by the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, which is conducting the investigation, until late August.

Gary Comerford, spokesman for the investigative service, said a criminal investigation isn’t enough to suspend a firm “because there is a presumption of innocence until proven guilty.”

Records show that on Sept. 24, a day after the Air Force suspensions, Scott Air Force Base in Illinois awarded two more projects worth $423,000 to APM. Stefanek said the contracting officer at Scott didn’t notice the suspension and that the awards have been rescinded.

To spend the stimulus money quickly, many of the projects to improve military facilities were added to existing contracts. Although those contracts had been competitively bid in the past, none of the new stimulus work the companies received was open to competition.

In addition to APM, based in Yorba Linda, Calif., the suspended contractors that won stimulus projects include 1CI Inc., of Gaithersburg, Md.; All Cities Enterprises of Ontario, Calif; Cherokee Chainlink and Construction of Hemet, Calif.; Chung and Associates of Anaheim, Calif.; and Coleman Construction in Los Angeles.

John Brewer, president of Cherokee Chainlink, said Jackson had no control over his company.

“I’m just a client,” Brewer said. “His company does my accounting. He doesn’t run my company and never has.” Brewer called the contracting suspension unfair, saying federal officials “just threw out a big net and grabbed everybody up.”

Managers of the other firms did not return calls or declined to comment.

The suspensions are temporary pending completion of the DOD criminal investigation, and none of the companies has been charged with a crime.

To continue reading this report, click here.

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