Major Stories: HOMELAND INSECURITY

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The Ohio PATRIOT Act

The Ohio Patriot Act has made it to the Taft's desk, and with the stroke of a pen, it would most likely become the toughest terrorism bill in the country. The lengthy piece of legislation would let police arrest people in public places who will not give their names, address and birth dates, even if they are not doing anything wrong.

WEWS reported it would also pave the way for everyone entering critical transportation sites such as, train stations, airports and bus stations to show ID.

"It brings us frighteningly close to a show me your papers society," said Carrie Davis of the ACLU, which opposes the Ohio Patriot Act.

Link to article
posted by John Smith at Saturday, December 24, 2005 © PATRIOTWatch



Ohio Governor Bob Taft Locked in Armed Stand-Off With Police

Welcome to Ohio: Your papers please! Your papers are NOT in order!

December 24, 2005 -- Bush's ideological and GOP dynasty doppelganger, convicted Governor of Ohio Bob Taft (at 15 percent approval rating), set to sign a Gestapo-like law, the Ohio Patriot Act. Merry Christmas and show us your papers!

© Copyright 2006 Wayne Madsen Report

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Lump of Coal for Condi

by Gordon Prather
December 24, 2005

If Santa has been keeping a list, Secretary of State Condi Rice will be lucky to find even a lump of coal in her Christmas stocking.

Where on the list to begin?

© Copyright 2003 Antiwar.com

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HOMELAND INSECURITY

As 2005 comes to a close, Americans (fingers crossed) can celebrate another year without a major terrorist strike on their soil. That might seem like cause for celebraton at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the principal agency involved in securing the United States. But, as Newsweek reports, the year brought little reason for DHS to cheer. In fact, CFR National Security Fellow Stephen Flynn says in an interview that little progress has been made on some of America’s most glaring vulnerabilities. The co-chairs of the 9/11 commission make this same point in a December 5 New York Times op-ed.

Ironically, DHS, constantly on the lookout for dirty bombs and terrorist cells, had its reputation laid low by a hurricane. Aside from another terrorist attack, it is hard to imagine anything, writes security expert Bruce Schneier, that could have shaken Americans’ faith in the ability of their government to protect them more than the sluggish response to the devastation of New Orleans. DHS has been forced to retreat bureaucratically (Washington Times). DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff, reviewing the past year’s accomplishments, says he has “every reason to be optimistic” about the future. But the Associated Press obtained an internal memo quoting Chertoff calling many of his agency’s changes merely cosmetic. Says Flynn: “If we learn anything from [Hurricane] Katrina, it should be that what you fail to do in advance sows the seeds of catastrophe. That lesson still seems to be unlearned.”

© Copyright 2005 by the Council on Foreign Relations

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Stiamo spiando per voi. Forse

Le giustificazioni addotte dall'amministrazione per il caso delle intercettazioni senza mandato non sono state particolarmente apprezzate. In particolare ci si chiede perché non si siano usati i mezzi consentiti dalla legge. Anche perché si è scoperto che il programma è stato usato - contrariamente alle assicurazioni - per spiare telefonate all'interno degli Stati Uniti. E che Bush nel suo discorso ha imbrogliato un po' le carte. Così un giudice di quelli che in teoria avrebbero dovuto autorizzare le intercettazioni si è dimesso per protesta. E la mossa a questo punto è vista per quello che è: l'ennesimo modo in cui questa amministrazione tenta di ampliare i poteri dell'esecutivo.
Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, New Yolk Times

Posted: Dicembre 21, 2005 © Paolo Ferrandi


Is spying on US citizens an impeachable offense. US President Bush would rather not talk about it.

Spying on Americans: Bush's Impeachable Offense
By Michelle Goldberg
© SPIEGEL ONLINE - December 22, 2005


The US Senate doesn't want these in Alaska. And Germans don't want any nukes -- or do they?
manager-magazin.de
German Papers: Nukes and Rebukes
© SPIEGEL ONLINE - December 23, 2005

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The House has passed legislation that authorizes the construction of a fence along parts of the US-Mexico border. It also calls on the support of military and local law enforcement and calls for employers to verify legal status of employees but fails to provide identification standards. December 29, 2005 (© Photo: Denis Poroy / AP)

Holes in Fence
Waco Tribune 29 December 2005
:::
Some members of Congress want to build a steel curtain all the way from the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico, about 2,000 miles.
Early last month the Bush administration recognized the folly of attempting to solve the nation's immigration problems with a wall.
"We will not build a giant wall across our border," said Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff when asked about border controls.
That was then. This is now.
Not only would a border wall or fence waste a fortune in taxpayers' money, it also would send the world a message of U.S. paranoia, intolerance and foolishness.

© Waco Tribune




© Separation Barrier

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Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff

Democrats Question DHS Effectiveness
By LARA JAKES JORDAN
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON -- Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS) released a report today ...

TBO.com > News > AP
Dec 28, 11:18 AM EST

Homeland Security, Democratic Staff
U.S. House of Representatives

Lack of Information Sharing Continues to Hinder Local Law Enforcement: Report Finds that Federal Government Needs New Model to Stop Terrorism

DECEMBER 28, 2005 -- Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS) released a report today showing that more than four years after 9/11 the federal government still does not have working systems for getting law enforcement officers the information they need to identify terrorists and to thwart their plans.

Drill reveals problems in terror response
NEW ENGLAND IN BRIEF
December 26, 2005

Terrorism preparedness exercises conducted in Boston in late spring showed that local law enforcement agencies are lacking in several areas, city officials said last night. According to a report issued late last week, local and State Police did not work together effectively because of confusion over who was in charge, and ambulances were delayed from reaching the mock scene at Logan International Airport. Mismatched computer programs also hindered the ''Operation Atlas" response efforts. Metro Boston Homeland Security Region, an interagency task force, simulated a plane hijacking during several table-top exercises and one real-time drill. ''Operation Atlas did a fantastic job of showing where the various security agencies are doing a great job, and where more work needs to be done," said Seth Gitell, spokesman for Mayor Thomas M. Menino. Some of the problems, including the mismatched computer systems, have been fixed, Gitell said.
© Copyright 2005 Boston Globe





Report finds fault with Hub’s terror response Hijacking preparedness exercises at Logan revealed concerns.
(Staff file photo by Renee DeKona)
By Kevin Rothstein/ Herald Exclusive
Monday, December 26, 2005
© Copyright Boston Herald

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Katrina evacuees Stacie LeJeune, her son, Alex, 4, and her boyfriend, George Corcoran, await a rental voucher at a FEMA center in Houston. (Photos By Sylvia Moreno / The Washington Post)

Evacuees Feel Stress From FEMA Deadlines
By Sylvia Moreno
December 25, 2005
© Copyright The Washington Post



As winter approaches, many Hurricane Katrina victims are still homeless in the tent city in Pass Christian, Mississippi. (Photo: Ozier Muhammad / The New York Times) December 22, 2005

In Mississippi, Canvas Cities Rise Amid Hurricane's Rubble
By ERIC LIPTON - The New York Times
December 20, 2005

DISPLAYING FIRST 50 OF 1320 WORDS -From a distance, it looks like an Army base camp, or perhaps the old set from the television series ''M*A*S*H.'' But here, a little more than a stone's throw from the Gulf of Mexico, on a muddy gravel lot that used to be a Little League field, a makeshift...
© Copyright TimesSelect

Submitted by Gordon on Tue, 12/20/2005 - 11:16am. :: Volunteer Posts





Amid Devastation, Mounds of Toxic Waste Vie for Attention
By JOHN SCHWARTZ
December 20, 2005
© Copyright The NY Times

Tent City, USA - the BLDGBLOG
December 20, 2005

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Companies with no link to attacks got 9/11 loans
Assciated Press in Washington
Friday December 30, 2005
Most companies interviewed about the government-backed September 11 loans they received told investigators in the US they were not hurt by the attacks and did not know they were getting terrorism assistance, an investigation has found.
Among those who received loans from the Small Business Administration, a federal agency, were a South Dakota radio station, a Virgin Islands perfume shop, a Utah dog boutique, and fast food shops.
The agency's watchdog said that lenders who distributed billions of dollars in such loans failed 85% of the time to document that recipients were eligible.
© The Guardian


49 charged over hurricane relief fraud
December 29, 2005
US federal prosecutors have indicted 49 people suspected of conning the American Red Cross out of cash earmarked for victims of the hurricanes that devastated the Gulf Coast this year.
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© 2005 ABC

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US intelligence service bugged website visitors despite ban

· Agency apologises for use of 'cookie' tracking files
· Exposure adds to pressure over White House powers

Suzanne Goldenberg in Washington
Friday December 30, 2005
© The Guardian



Double rebuke for Bush as judges attack terror moves
Suzanne Goldenberg in Washington
Friday December 23, 2005

President George Bush faced a rare challenge from the judiciary yesterday when two courts questioned the legality of his expansion of presidential powers in the war on terror.
In a startling rebuke, a federal appeals court refused to allow the transfer of a terror suspect, Jose Padilla, from military to civilian custody and strongly suggested that the Bush administration was trying to manipulate the judicial system.
Meanwhile, the Washington Post reported that judges of the secret court established under the foreign intelligence surveillance act (Fisa) had demanded a briefing from Bush administration officials on why they believed it was legal to bypass their authority and eavesdrop on the telephone conversations and email of American citizens without a warrant.
:::
© The Guardian



Terrorism cases in US may be reopened after wiretap scandal
By Rupert Cornwell in Washington
Published: 29 December 2005

Defence lawyers in several terrorism cases in the United States are planning to appeal against the convictions of their clients on the ground that evidence may have been garnered from illegal wiretapping by a federal government surveillance agency.
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© Independent

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Laila's father, Sami Al-Arian, remains in federal prison.

Her Father's Trial
What's Life Like for a Child of the Patriot Act?
by John Gravois
December 16th, 2005

This semester at Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism, a professor kicked off a seminar on newspaper reporting by asking his students a few questions. One woman, he knew from his files, had attended the University of South Florida. "Were you there when that professor was arrested?" he asked.
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© Village Voice


After Four Years, Stories Remain to Be Written
By Laila Al-Arian
Friday, April 25, 2003
Laila Al-Arian is a senior in the College and a former Assistant Features Editor and member of THE HOYA’s Editorial Board.
© The Hoya