Homeland Stupidity

Graham says FBI should confront people who view ‘Islamist’ websites

"Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), appearing Sunday on CBS’s 'Face the Nation,' said that he believes Americans would be made safer if Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) agents would physically confront non-criminals over their web surfing activities, especially if that person is on a watch list and has been looking at 'Islamist' sites online. He added that if someone federal agencies had received tips about 'goes on the Internet for the whole world to see, to interact with radical Islamic websites, how do we miss that?'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGraham says FBI should confront people who view ‘Islamist’ websites

US Military and Civil Officials Set to Police in Canada

"In the wake of a dramatic RCMP reveal of two people arrested in Canada in connection with a plot to derail a passenger train, Canadians may have questioned why the United States Department of Homeland Security and the US Federal Bureau of Investigation were involved in the operation. Those who have followed the quiet evolution of Canada-US cross-border policing, however, weren't surprised. Law enforcement agencies in Canada and the US are now working together in an unprecedented way, says the RCMP—and the two countries are hammering out a plan to let agents in both countries drive back and forth across the border as though it wasn't there." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingUS Military and Civil Officials Set to Police in Canada

Egypt holds Swiss teacher over ‘terrorist name’

"A Swiss primary school teacher from the canton of Bern who went to Egypt for a holiday is being held there on suspicion of being a terrorist because of his name. Rolf Künti, 29, went to the North African country with a colleague for a one-week holiday. But on the day of his planned return to Switzerland he was detained on Monday at the Sharm el-Sheikh airport where he was told by customs he was banned from leaving, according to Swiss media. 'They told me that my name was that of a terrorist if you translate it into Arabic,' Künti is quoted as saying by 20 Minuten, the online news site." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEgypt holds Swiss teacher over ‘terrorist name’

Sen. Rubio ‘open’ to cutting off all Muslim student visas

"Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) on Wednesday said that he was 'open' to considering the idea of halting all student visas from Muslim countries as a reaction to this month’s Boston Marathon bombings, even though the two men suspected of carrying out the Boston bombings emigrated from Russia as refugees. 'We need to be open to changes that provide more security,' Rubio replied. 'I don’t like profiling anybody or singling or generally leading, on the other hand student visas are something this country does because it’s in our national interest but you don’t have a right to a student visa.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSen. Rubio ‘open’ to cutting off all Muslim student visas

Williams-Sonoma Pulls Pressure Cookers From Store Shelves

"In what can only be described as a posthumous victory for raging asshole Tamerlan Tsarnaev, Williams-Sonoma, the (absolutely amazing) kitchen-stuff company, has pulled pressure cookers--which the Tsarnaevs built into bombs--from shelves in Massachusetts. Pressure cookers will still be available on the Williams-Sonoma website." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWilliams-Sonoma Pulls Pressure Cookers From Store Shelves

EU chief: Brits fighting alongside Syrian rebels pose ‘serious threat’ upon return

"Hundreds of young men from across Europe are fighting with rebel forces in Syria, the European Union’s security chief has warned. Britain has promised to step up its support for the rebels, hinting that it could be ready to send arms. But intelligence agencies have stepped up operations after a rise in the number of Europeans, notably from Britain, France and Ireland, joining fighters. Security bodies are tracking Brits and Belgians while the Netherlands has raised its terror threat to ‘substantial’ in part because of fears about citizens being radicalised in Syria. Mr de Kerchove, the EU’s counter-terrorism coordinator, said: ‘We are concerned, of course.’" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEU chief: Brits fighting alongside Syrian rebels pose ‘serious threat’ upon return

When Homeland Security Theater goes Off-Script

"The FBI, whose chief occupation since 2002 has been the manufacture of ersatz terrorism plots, induced Tounisi into an act described as providing 'material aid' to a foreign terrorist group. If he is convicted, he will be found guilty of carrying out the Obama administration's official policy without official permission. He is not the only American presently facing the prospect of imprisonment on this charge. The administration has filed felony charges against a US Army Veteran from Arizona named Eric Harroun, who traveled to Syria to join the fight against Assad." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWhen Homeland Security Theater goes Off-Script

Snarling, Robotic Police in House-to-House Search

"There is no question of anyone giving on-the-spot consent to a search when an occupant is facing a dozen men with rifles and guns pointing at him or her. The reporter describes the police searches as 'terrifying', as in police terror. Such searches are non-consensual. These police have all been trained to act robotically to control the people and intimidate them. They have been programmed. They will point the guns at a woman with a baby as readily as at someone who looks like their suspect. They will make everyone obey. The reporter says that people were not allowed back into their homes but left on the street for 14-15 hours." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSnarling, Robotic Police in House-to-House Search

Bulletproof whiteboards installed in Minnesota school district

"A Minnesota school district where two students were killed in a 2003 shooting unveiled a new device Tuesday aimed at adding a last-ditch layer of safety for teachers and students: bulletproof whiteboards. The Rocori School District has acquired nearly 200 of the whiteboards, made of a material touted by its manufacturer as stronger than that in police-issue bulletproof vests. The 18-by-20-inch whiteboards can be used by teachers for instruction and used as a shield in an emergency. Police Chief Phil Jones demonstrated the whiteboards Tuesday in a school gym by leveling a karate kick at one, whacking it with a police baton and stabbing it with a knife." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBulletproof whiteboards installed in Minnesota school district

U.S. Government Preparing for Major Terrorism Exercises In Three Cities

"Beginning sometime between May 7 and May 29, local, state and top level federal authorities will respond to simulated weapons of mass destruction attacks in three cities — Denver, Portsmouth, N.H., and the Washington, D.C.-area. Volunteers and professional actors will play the roles of victims, who will be rescued, diagnosed, decontaminated and treated over the 10-day period. A 'virtual news network' will be created that will broadcast on the exercises every hour on the hour. This marks the first time that an exercise of this scope, with the participation of top-level federal, state and local officials, has ever been conducted." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingU.S. Government Preparing for Major Terrorism Exercises In Three Cities