Archive for April, 2008
Wednesday, April 30th, 2008
Air Marshals on No-Fly List
Audrey Hudson reports exclusively for the Washington Times that bureaucratic errors have landed some Air Marshals on the no-fly list.
That would be the same no-fly list that has allegedly undergone a rigorous clean up — thanks to new rules according to Homeland Security's acronymed agency known as TERP, or the Terrorist Encounter Review Process. […]
No Comments » - Posted in Federal Air Marshals by Annie Jacobsen
Wednesday, April 30th, 2008
TSA Is Failing Armed Pilots on Psyche Test
My newest installment from Pajamas Media on TSA's secretive and bogus psyche testing policy — and why this should unnerve you: Unarmed Pilots, Unsafe Skies — Thanks to TSA.
Pilots who are licensed firearms instructors have been deemed unfit to carry weapons in the cockpit. Yet the TSA is fast-tracking unqualified screeners to become air […]
No Comments » - Posted in Government Secrecy, U.S. Homeland Security by Annie Jacobsen
Thursday, April 24th, 2008
U.K. Planes Plot Ringleader Visited Saudi Arabia
It's been widely reported that several of the London Planes Plot jihadists visited Pakistan in the months and weeks leading up to their arrest.
Yesterday, the court learned the group's ringleader, Abdulla Ahmed Ali, also visited Saudi Arabia. In an attempt to hide those visits and the passport marks they leave behind, Ali claimed he […]
No Comments » - Posted in The Al-Qaeda Threat by Annie Jacobsen
Tuesday, April 22nd, 2008
Planes Plot Leader Checked Flight Timetables While Under Surveillance
British undercover agents conducted surveillance on Abdullah Ahmed Ali, the ringleader of the London Planes Plot, as he checked flight timetables and relayed information to other operatives — a British court heard today.
Ali and seven other Muslim males are accused of plotting to blow up as many as eighteen passenger aircraft en route from […]
No Comments » - Posted in The Al-Qaeda Threat by Annie Jacobsen
Monday, April 21st, 2008
TSA: Yes, 36 Screeners Have Become Air Marshals
Yes, Virginia, the TSA is now making screeners air marshals. Chris Strohm, reporting for Government Executive, reveals the official number. "According to TSA, 36 screeners, have become air marshals."
Strohm also cites a quote from Kip Hawley to members of Congress that is appalling. Even Hawley can't wrap his brain around a Screener becoming an […]
No Comments » - Posted in Federal Air Marshals by Annie Jacobsen
Friday, April 18th, 2008
Homeless Man Finds Confidential Ground Zero Plans
A Homeless man has found a 150-page ground zero blueprint marked "Secure Document — Confidential" and dated October 5, 2007 in a New York City trash can.
The document includes schematics for the thickness of the building's concrete core as well as the location of the building's ventilation and electrical systems.
NEW YORK (AP) - […]
No Comments » - Posted in U.S. Homeland Security by Annie Jacobsen
Thursday, April 17th, 2008
TSA Fast Tracking Screeners to Become Air Marshals
CNN's Drew Griffin has been taking the TSA to task. In a report last month, CNN revealed that air marshals are leaving the agency in droves and not being replaced. The result is that 1% of America's flights are protected. This morning, Griffin's follow up piece for CNN is more bad news for the secretive […]
No Comments » - Posted in Federal Air Marshals by Annie Jacobsen
Wednesday, April 16th, 2008
London Planes Plot Trial Reveals Key Details
A British court hearing more testimony in the trial charging eight Muslim men in a conspiracy to blow up as many as eighteen transatlantic airliners en route from England to various cities in the United States (New York, Washington, D.C., Chicago, San Francisco) and Canada (Montreal and Toronto) in August 2006.
From the Times […]