Archive for February, 2008
Thursday, February 28th, 2008
ABC: 8,000 Foreigners Received Illegal Pilot Licenses
In one of the most damaging reports ever filed about the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), ABC news headlined yesterday with "9/11 Redoux:'Thousands of Aliens' in U.S. Flight Schools Illegally." The article paints a pathetic portrait of the TSA in a free-fall, unable to handle the most basic of its Constitutionally-mandated jobs.
If you thought news […]
No Comments » - Posted in The Al-Qaeda Threat, U.S. Homeland Security by Annie Jacobsen
Tuesday, February 26th, 2008
Faid Beydoun, Alias Miguel Garcia, Flees Feds & Leaps From Concourse in Miami
Faid Beydoun, a man with multiple passports including one from Lebanon, leapt off a second-floor Concourse at Miami Airport yesterday, falling 25-feet and breaking his arm and ribs — as he fled from law enforcement after TSA officers became suspicious of him.
In an interview yesterday with TSA Headquarters, Spokesman Christopher White told me, "Our behavior […]
No Comments » - Posted in Airport Security & Screening by Annie Jacobsen
Monday, February 25th, 2008
Passenger Death on American 896 Raises Questions
An American Airlines passenger named Carine Desir, 44, died Friday during a flight from Haiti to New York's JFK Airport. The circumstances leading up to her death are unclear with the airline saying one thing and the woman's cousin, Antonio Oliver, saying another.
Oliver told the Associated Press that a flight attendant twice refused to give […]
No Comments » - Posted in Behind the Scenes by Annie Jacobsen
Wednesday, February 20th, 2008
Passenger Arrested with Box Cutter in Hollow Book
21-year old Benjamin Baines, Jr. was arrested on Sunday at Tampa International Airport after a TSA screener found a box cutter in a hollowed-out book in his backpack. The photograph at right was provided by the Hillsborough County Aviation Authority.
According to a report from the TSA, the books in Baines' backpack included "Muhammad in […]
No Comments » - Posted in Airport Security & Screening by Annie Jacobsen
Tuesday, February 19th, 2008
DHS: 10 Fingerprints from Foreigners at Detroit Airport
More non-standardized requirements from DHS to create room for future buck passing, this time regarding foreigners who arrive at the Detroit airport. Notice how vague the requirements are (in bold). And why are 10 fingerprints wanted from foreigners who arrive in Detroit only?
If it's a pilot program, why not say so? If the […]
No Comments » - Posted in U.S. Homeland Security by Annie Jacobsen
Thursday, February 14th, 2008
3 Afghans Arrested At Indian Airport with Mexican Passports
Three Afghan nationals are being held in New Delhi, India after they tried boarding a flight to France, via Kuwait, using Mexican passsports identifying themselves as:
Antonio Lopez Juan (42)
Javier Sanchez Alberto (20)
Atonio Lopez Ernesto (16)
According to Indian press reports, the three men departed from Nedumbaserry Airport in India, on February 11, without incident. When […]
No Comments » - Posted in Airport Security & Screening by Annie Jacobsen
Thursday, February 14th, 2008
Hezbollah Declares “Open War” Against Israel
Broadcasting from a giant video screen during the funeral for Imad Mughniyeh in South Beirut, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah threatened Israel with "open war." Mughniyeh was killed by a car bomb in Damascus, Syria on February 12th; Hezbollah blames Israel. From the Associated Press:
"You have crossed the borders," he [Nasrallah] said. "With this […]
No Comments » - Posted in U.S. Homeland Security by Annie Jacobsen
Wednesday, February 13th, 2008
Former Hostage Terry Anderson on Mughniyeh
Terry Anderson, the former Associated Press chief Middle East correspondent who was kidnapped and held hostage for six years by Hezbollah, spoke to the Associated Press today by phone from the Caribbean island of St. Lucia where he was sailing.
"I can't say I'm either surprised or sad. He was not a good man — […]