Archive for December, 2007
Monday, December 31st, 2007
NASA Releases Thousands of Pages of Pilot Complaints
NASA has just released thousands of pages of pilot complaints that were part of a report which the federal space agency originally classified. Under pressure from Congress, that classification was partially reversed. NASA explains on its website:
"In the interest of timeliness, this first release is by nature conservative to ensure the responses do not contain […]
No Comments » - Posted in Government Secrecy by Annie Jacobsen
Sunday, December 30th, 2007
TSA Leaked Memo Calls Associated Press “The Grinch”
The TSA has 43,000 employees. One of them leaked a pre-Christmas internal memo to me. In it, the author — who appears to be TSA Chief Kip Hawley — reveals how upset he is with the recent Associated Press poll, one which says the TSA is as unpopular with Americans as the IRS. The author […]
No Comments » - Posted in U.S. Homeland Security, Airport Security & Screening by Annie Jacobsen
Sunday, December 23rd, 2007
Rashid Rauf’s Friends Say ISI Agents Kidnapped Him
More propaganda coming out of Pakistan about the prison escape of British-Pakistani citizen and Al Qaeda operative Rashid Rauf — the alleged mastermind of the London Planes Plot of August 2006.
In "Pakistan agents 'staged escape' of terror suspect," The Sunday Times reports that according to Rashid Rauf's "friends," he was kidnapped by […]
No Comments » - Posted in The Al-Qaeda Threat by Annie Jacobsen
Friday, December 21st, 2007
AP Poll: TSA as Unpopular as IRS
According to an Associated Press poll, "TSA has tied with the perennially unpopular tax collectors in a favorability ranking of a dozen executive branch agencies."
One person's complaint seems to sum up the conundrum:
"I am so frustrated with TSA that I am ready to stop flying," one traveler wrote in a Sept. 7 complaint […]
No Comments » - Posted in Airport Security & Screening by Annie Jacobsen
Tuesday, December 18th, 2007
Uncle Helped Rashid Rauf Escape
New details have emerged as to how airplane terror suspect Rashid Rauf escaped his jail captors in Pakistan. If this all wasn't so serious, it would belong in a comedy skit: Rauf's uncle allegedly convinced jail guards to let him drive the prisoner back to jail after a court hearing — in the uncle's personal […]
No Comments » - Posted in The Al-Qaeda Threat by Annie Jacobsen
Sunday, December 16th, 2007
Airline Mega-Plot Suspect Escapes Jail
Rashid Rauf, believed to be the mastermind of the London Airline Plot of 2006, has escaped from his Pakistani jailers following a court appearance in Islamabad on Sunday. A massive manhunt is alleged to be underway to find the young terrorist. "Two police officers who were accompanying [Rashid Rauf] at the time of his disappearance […]
No Comments » - Posted in The Al-Qaeda Threat by Annie Jacobsen
Friday, December 14th, 2007
British Link Glasgow Airport Plot to Al Qaeda Iraq
An article in today's New York Times says that British investigators have linked the Glasgow car bombers and the failed London car bombers to Al Qaeda in Iraq. The two key plotters were a British-born Muslim doctor and an Indian-born Muslim aeronautical engineer.
LONDON — Investigators examining the bungled terrorist attacks in London and Glasgow […]
No Comments » - Posted in The Al-Qaeda Threat by Annie Jacobsen
Friday, December 14th, 2007
Caught on Tape: Muslim Man Goes Beserk Mid-Flight
Will in-flight video cameras become the new tool used by airlines to combat legal jihad?
Michelle Malkin posts Video: Meltdown on an alleged Air Canada Flight which is most definitely worth watching. The video tape is of a Muslim man (likely Pakistani or Indian based on his accent), handcuffed but still going beserk, mid-flight, shouting […]