An Aeroflot flight headed for Moscow from Athens turned around over the Aegean Sea after a bomb was reported to be on board the aircraft. From AFP:

"The plane landed safely, the passengers have disembarked and it will now be searched," the source told AFP.

Forty-nine passengers were safely evacuated, she added.

Share This Article

The CIA twice warned India about an upcoming attack. From The Hindu:

The first one was delivered through the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) on September 18. The sources said the information was of general nature, suggesting that the Lashkar-e-Taiba was planning to attack Mumbai.

In this second warning, the U.S. agency expressly stated that the Lashkar was planning an attack on targets where large numbers of foreigners were present, including the Taj Mahal hotel.

And the State Department is now warning Americans traveling to India to be advised of the newest airport threat there. Where was the advisory about staying at the Taj Mahal hotel?

This is, of course, a huge question. The CIA/State Department/FBI can't issue warnings all the time about all the threats they receive. Or can they? I've seen the numbers on threat warnings that come in every hour of every day — from DHS sources of mine. 

Nerves in India are jittery. Yesterday, I was driving in my car here in Los Angeles, listening to National Public Radio, when the regular newscast was interrupted to say the BBC was reporting several gunmen had been killed in a shootout at the New Delhi airport. This turned out to be not true. (India's NDTV had reported witnesses describing "sharp sounds.)

Meanwhile, at a symposium for some Congress people today, analyst Farhana Ali warned warned that some of the terrorists from the Mumbai attack may still on the loose. From Reuters.

"I think there are more. My sources say (there were) at least 23 of the gunmen," said Farhana Ali, a former CIA and Rand Corp counterterrorism analyst and expert on militant networks. Ali, who most recently visited India and Pakistan last month before the attacks, said her information came from Pakistan, but declined to further identify the source.

"If that's true, that makes one wonder why we haven't seen more attacks. Are they lying low?" she said "I think they (Indian authorities) are bracing themselves for more," she said.

Share This Article

India is on alert for a 9/11-style terrorist attack. The India Bureau for Civil Aviation has warned officials at four major Indian airports of an attempt to hijack one or more planes out of Dehli, Mumbai, Chennai (Madras) and Bangalore.

The Telegraph UK has details:

Indian Defence Minister A K Antony has told military chiefs to be prepared for attacks from the air and sea in the wake of growing criticism about slack security after the Mumbai attacks. 

Mr Antony was told by Air Marshall FH Major that credible intelligence indicated a plot to commandeer a jet at a provincial airport for an attack on a major population centre. 

Counter-terrorism teams have been sent to the airports. 

Tensions between India and Pakistan, two nuclear-armed nations, continue to rise. The Times of India headlines: India has proof of ISI role in Mumbai attacks.

India has proof that the Inter Services Intelligence was involved in planning the Mumbai terror attacks and training the terrorists who killed more than 180 people during a 60-hour siege of the country's financial capital, sources said in New Delhi on Thursday.

The names of trainers and the places where meticulous training took place are also known to the government, the sources said. 

Share This Article

"Hey TSA, We See Through You!" — could be a good new slogan for airline passengers to express what they think about the effectiveness and security commitment by TSA to the people.

But unfortunately, it's also a derivation on the name of yet another insane, ineffective, money-wasting endeavor by America's least popular federal agency (tied for last with INS).

CNN reports on the TSA's new partnership with a company called WeCU. 

One firm, WeCU (pronounced "We See You") Technologies, employs a combination of infra-red technology, remote sensors and imagers, and flashing of subliminal images, such as a photo of Osama bin Laden. Developers say the combination of these technologies can detect a person's reaction to certain stimuli by reading body temperature, heart rate and respiration, signals a terrorist unwittingly emits before he plans to commit an attack.

This is silly. And it gets worse. 

The technology is still under development, says [Ehud] Givon, [CEO of WeCU] who believes it will be strong enough to pick up biometric information from a footstep. If a passenger is wearing heavy hiking boots, for example, WeCU will rely on biometric sensors combined with video and thermal biometric imaging to detect malicious intent.

Silly. Farcical. Dangerous. 

Share This Article

A 71-year old amputee named Robert Perry, en route to Florida to celebrate his 50th wedding anniversary, gets his pants pulled down by a power hungry TSO. Do we really pay this agency $5+/- billion dollars a year to behave like this? It's time to read Erich Fromm.

"I have power, I have power, I have power!" screamed the female TSO.

These are the humans that TSA is fast-tracking to become air marshals — and carry semi-automatic weapons on airplanes.

Pam Zekman reports for CBS 2 in Chicago:  

In Chicago, people like Robert Perry are subjected to exhaustive security checks. He was patted down, his wheel chair was examined and his hands were swabbed, all in public view in a see-through room at the security checkpoint. Perry, 71, is not alone

"It's humiliation," Perry said.

Perry was also taken to a see-through room by a TSA agent when his artificial knee set off the metal detector.

"He yelled at me to get the belt off. 'I told you to get the belt off.' So I took the belt off. He ran his hands down over and pulled the pants down, they went down around my ankle," Perry said.

At that point, Perry was standing in his underwear in public view. He asked to see a supervisor. That made things worse.

"She was yelling 'I have power, I have power, I have power," Perry said. The power to stop him from flying to Florida with his wife that day to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary.

Share This Article

Bookmark this one. The Aviation Intelligencer posts news clips under this moniker:

"A video is worth a thousand TSA lies and denials."

Share This Article

The Washington Times has a new Aviation Security Blog written exclusively by U.S. Federal Air Marshal P. Jeffrey Black and former U.S. Air Marshal Jeffrey Denning.

These two have unique insight into the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), its bizarre bureaucratic policies and its even more suspect ideas for the future.

Like their most recent post. In "Want Some Torture With Your Peanuts?" Black and Denning reveal DHS interest in a government-funded, GPS tracking bracelet for each airline passengers to wear from door to destination, one which can stun the wearer on command. 

A senior government official with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has expressed great interest in a so-called safety bracelet that would serve as a stun device, similar to that of a police Taser®. According to this promotional video found at the Lamperd Less Lethal website, the bracelet would be worn by all airline passengers.

This bracelet would:

• take the place of an airline boarding pass

• contain personal information about the traveler

• be able to monitor the whereabouts of each passenger and his/her luggage

• shock the wearer on command, completely immobilizing him/her for several minutes

So what exactly does it mean when these guys say DHS "has expressed interest" in the "so-called safety bracelet?" Unfortunate for any embarrassed DHS official who might wants to deny the veracity of the claim, Black and Denning have posted a copy of part of the letter on their Washington Times blog. 

According to a letter from DHS official, Paul S. Ruwaldt of the Science and Technology Directorate, office of Research and Development, to the inventor whom he had previously met with, he wrote, “To make it clear, we [the federal government] are interested in…the immobilizing security bracelet, and look forward to receiving a written proposal.” The letterhead, in case you were wondering, came from the DHS office at the William J. Hughes Technical Center at the Atlantic City International Airport, or the Federal Aviation Administration headquarters. 

Share This Article

In a major blow to Israel's airport security, an Israeli policeman apparently shot and killed himself while guarding a farewell ceremony for French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy at the Ben Gurion Airport.

Also in attendance were Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and President Shimon Peres.

The Ben Guiron International Airport is often referred to as one of the safest airports in the world. It is guarded by both police forces and the military — uniformed and undercover. That one of Israel's own policemen killed himself with his duty weapon in the presence of three world leaders is an unprecedented security breach for the airport. 

From The Jerusalem Post:

After hearing about the shot on their radio earpieces, Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) agents immediately went into action, surrounding the prime minister and rushing him into a bullet-proof vehicles. Peres was also escorted to a separate secure vehicle.

Sarkozy's security guards whisked him onboard the plane. In a panic, Sarkozy's wife, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, rushed up the stairs ahead of her husband.

A spokesman for Peres's security detail said bodyguards had followed an emergency procedure.

The Associated Press reports that the suicidal policeman was on a roof top 100 yards from Sarkozy's plane and that he fell to the ground after shooting himself. A spokesman for the police has not confirmed the suicide.

(photo credit: Reuters/Avi Ohayon/GPO/Handout) 

Share This Article