The destruction of the Twin Towers changed America forever. The events of 9/11 made it abundantly clear to every single citizen that terrorism was about to become a major factor in their existence. However, it is doubtful that when President Bush announced America’s “War On Terror”, the average American could anticipate just how much this new war would change their lives. As we begin 2012, we are still living under the intrusive eye of the Patriot Act and Guantanamo Prison is still full of accused terrorists. The much despised Transportation Security Agency (TSA) continues strip searching grand mothers in wheel chairs and sticking their hands down the pants of 5 year old kids. To make matters worse, Big Sister Janet Napolitano hinted that Americans might be subjected to even more intrusive security with this comment on the Charlie Rose Show, “Terrorists are going to continue to probe the system and try to find a way through. I think the tighter we get on aviation, we have to also be thinking now about going on to mass transit or to trains or maritime. So, what do we need to be doing to strengthen our protections there?”

The American people have reached the boiling point over being exposed naked on potentially harmful body scanners while the even elderly and the very young are given physical searches that would lead to molestation charges in any civil society. Whether or not they are willing to continue to accept this on-going violation of their human dignity, not to mention possible violations of the Constitution, remains to be seen. We do know for a fact that the Airline Industry is going broke and the volume of flyers is falling steadily. Major carriers are filling for bankruptcy and certainly the TSA’s policies have not been helpful in convincing passengers to fly. Many Americans have decided to drive or take other alternative transportation and the struggling economy has led to many families cancelling their travel plans altogether.

There is an on-going debate about the effectiveness of the methods used by the TSA. Despite the fact that every single person boarding an airline in the United States is screened, there have been several alarming lapses in security, including the notorious Christmas Underwear bomber, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab. The very fact that this man was whisked through security in Amestredam, Holland exposed one of the biggest flaws in the TSA octopus. Air travel is international and until the TSA permits American carriers to be responsible for providing their own, additional security in foreign airports, American citizens are at the mercy of foreign governments when they travel outside the USA. Not only do we need private professional security of the highest standards to be used by American Carriers when they fly from foreign destinations, but all foreign carriers flying into the USA should be required to meet the same standards. The citizens of the United States should not have to suffer endless intrusions into their lives and risk to their very existence because some foreign governments or foreign carriers may refuse to properly secure their airlines. The FAA maintains a list of the safety of all foreign airlines and certainly lack of proper security should land any carrier on the banned section of the list.

When it comes to setting policy on how to protect travelers, the TSA has chosen what many many experts in the field feel is the least effective method. Despite a 2012 budget of 8 billion dollars and 58,000 employes, the TSA has failed many internal security tests with as many as 75% of the simulated bombs getting through screening. Even outside agencies, including newspapers and television stations, have exposed how they were able to repeatedly smuggle simulated contraband through security and find many alternative routes into secure areas of the airport that bypassed all the security checkpoints. To compound the problem, the TSA airport staff is composed of mainly low pay, hourly workers with little, if any, security training. There have even been documented cases of convicted criminals working the screening lines at our major airports. Reports abound of personal property disappearing from passenger’s luggage, abusive treatment by TSA staff and a general atmosphere of “Comply or Else.” We wonder how many Americans know that they can be charged with a felony if they object to the intrusiveness of the screening and attempt to leave the airport once they have entered the controlled security area. So much for the right to say “No” when a person feels their rights, their faith or their dignity is violated.

According to those who have worked in the field of Airport Security and terror prevention, there is a better way. It is called Behavioral Profiling. This method, which is in no way related to the politically in-correct and frankly in-effective method of Racial Profiling, has been used to perfection to protect the world’s most endangered airports in Israel. Behavioral Profiling involves using highly trained professionals at the security checkpoints instead of the vast legions of barely trained wage slaves, of which the TSA is so enamored. These professionals observe passengers and anyone else who happens to be in the area for any telltale indications of unusual behavior. They also ask direct questions of every single person about to board an airline. Simple, straight forward questions like “Who are you?, “Where have you been?”, “Where are you going?”, “Why are you going there?” and “Did anyone ask you to add anything to your luggage or carry on baggage?”. They observe the behavior and listen carefully to the traveler’s replies. If answers appear out of the ordinary or the passenger’s behavior does anything to indicate the need for a more extensive examination, they are then taken to a private area for an in-depth security screening. No one is putting their hands down the pants of a child in public at an Israeli airport. Respect for privacy and a calm, polite professional demeanor is expected of every member of the Israeli Airport Security Services.

The Israeli system works and it works well, because in addition to the fully trained security personnel at the airports, from the moment a traveler buys their ticket, Israeli security is checking for any factors that might indicate anything out of the ordinary. For example, someone who buys a one way ticket in cash, then requests a window seat over the wing, would be flagged, in advance, for a full security screening at the airport. Someone who enters an airport carrying an empty suitcase would be put through a high level screening because the Israelis would want to know if that person had already placed a bomb, if they were perhaps using the suitcase to try to conceal something they planned to steal from the airport or if they were trying to test the security. According to Shlomo Harnoy, the former chief of the Israel Security Agency’s Aviation Security Department, bloated agencies like the TSA, that spend billions on ineffective methods, are not the solution. He said, “Whoever is concentrating on stopping old ladies bringing a bottle of mineral water on to the plane will not find the terrorist, or the bomb. The old lady is not a suicide bomber and the bottle of water is not a bomb component.”

Of course, the TSA and  its enablers in the White House and Congress have some standard, pat replies to any attempt to bring the TSA back under control. Instead of taking steps to emulate the best airport security in the world, they moan the United States is too big to use the Israeli system and continue to treat all Americans like suspects. Rather than end the burden on the budget of 58,000 employees, 44,000 of whom are members of a union for Federal workers, the big spenders in Washington continue to roll out more and more costly programs to “protect” Americans from the threat of terror. Despite the fact that the TSA continues to fail at its mission and the Airline Industry is in the toilet, partly because passengers are sick and tired of being treated like criminals, there are no indications the TSA plans to change its methods and stop making travelers feel like actors in a bad porn movie. Many Americans have simply had enough and are quite happy to discover the charm and beauty in their own communities during vacation time, rather than go through another round of choosing between back scatter radiation or a “touch your junk” pat down. Meanwhile, we move another step closer towards a Police State and the economy suffers. We would hope the political elite who run the country might wake up to the fact that Americans are fed up, but then again, there hasn’t been a really good miracle since Moses parted the Red Sea and Jesus fed the 5000 with five loaves and two fish.

Airport Security In America – The TSA vs The American Citizen is a post from: The Inquisitr

Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai says he won’t meet with Taliban insurgents to discuss a peace treaty until a clear leader with authority to negotiate comes froward.

During a Sunday interview with CNN Karzai said the September assassination of former President Burhanuddin Rabban occurred after he attempted to meet with the Taliban leadership only to realize he was “actually talking to nobody.”

According to Karzai:

“A man who came in the name of a messenger for peace turned out to be a suicide bomber,” and “Therefore, we have now clearly said that we will welcome a Taliban address, but that address must have the clarity that this representative is authorized and is representing the Taliban movement as we see it.”

Karzai furthered his message by calling for Pakistani involvement in peace negotiations:

“Because we all know that the Taliban have their places there,” Karzai said. “They operate from there. And a meaningful peace process cannot go well or end in satisfactory results without Pakistan’s participation and help.”

Afghanistan and U.S. Troops managed to destroy much of the Taliban stronghold in the country after the U.S. invasion however the group quickly formed into a guerrilla movement bent on attacking U.S. and Afghan troops and government officials.

A peace accord is important for the Afghanistan president with troops expected to withdraw from the region in 2014. As Karzai has pointed out, political stability has been achieved with the help of international allies but “personal security” for individual citizens has “yet to come.”

Do you believe the Taliban can reach any sort of “peace accord” with any country they occupy?

Hamid Karzai Won’t Hold Peace Talks Until Clear Taliban Leader Comes Forward is a post from: The Inquisitr

The terrorist group Hezbollah (Army of God) seems to have a new interest…The Used Car Business.  Drug Enforcement Agents raided a used car dealership in Oklahoma where they says drugs and cars were sold to benefit the terrorist organization and fund attacks against the US.  The agents said this was one of 30 such used car dealerships being used for such purposes.

The raid Friday had DEA agents carrying out boxes of documents, filing cabinets and employees were questioned about inventory.

“They’re making big time money and it’s going right into weapons acquisition, terrorist training, recruiting, corruption. Things needed to carry out terrorist attacks across the world,” said Rusty Payne of the DEA. “Some of that money is flowing back to the United States, back to these used car companies, to purchase more used cars to ship them to West Africa to sell those at a profit and then mix those used car proceeds in with the drug dollars.”

The government agents said the business received more than $30 Million dollars wired to various accounts in order to launder it into the lots and turn in legitimate.  The money was apparently wired by the Lebanese government (which Hezbollah controls).

“The used cars being purchased in the United States are being shipped into West Africa and they are making 15, 20, 25 percent profit and the proceeds are all being sent back into Lebanon and Hezbollah is benefiting,” DEA Agent Maltz told ABC News.

DEA: Cars and Drugs Funding Terrorism at Oklahoma Car Dealership is a post from: The Inquisitr

Americans are continuing to receive a message of confusion and out of control political correctness from the Obama Administration. During today’s first ever joint session of the Senate and House Homeland Security Committee, Maine’s Republican Senator Susan Collins spoke about a recent letter from the Department of Defense that described the Fort Hood shooting as “Workplace Violence.” Senator Collins expressed concern about the DOD’s refusal to call the shooting Islamic Terrorism despite the fact that Major Nidal Malik Hasan is reported to have shouted “Allahu Akbar” (Arabic for “God is Great”) when he killed 13 and wounded 29 on on November 5, 2009. After the Major Hasan was finally subdued, it was revealed that he had an additional 177 rounds of ammunition in his pockets including several large capacity magazines. It was only the heroic actions of Police officers Kimberly Munley and Mark Todd that prevented the deaths of many more at the Fort Hood Readiness Processing Center.

Major Hasan, who was a U.S. Army Psychiatrist, had a record of agitating among his fellow soldiers for his Islamic beliefs. “Some of Hasan’s former colleagues have said he performed substandard work and occasionally unnerved them by expressing fervent Islamic views and deep opposition to the U.S.-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.” (Yochi J. Dreazen (November 17, 2009). “Army Plans Fort Hood Probe”. Wall Street Journal.) It was later revealed by investigators that Major Hasan had been in email contact with notorious al Qaeda Leader Anwar al-Awlaki, who said “”Nidal Hasan is a hero, the fact that fighting against the U.S. army is an Islamic duty today cannot be disputed. Nidal has killed soldiers who were about to be deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan in order to kill Muslims.” (Michael Isikoff (November 9, 2009). “Imam anwar al awlaki calls hasan hero”. Newsweek.) Anwar al-Awlaki, also an American Citizen, was killed by an unmanned drone in Yemen On September 30th, 2011.

Representative Peter King of New York was equally outspoken in his comments at the Joint Hearings. King, the Republican chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, told Fox News that military service members are “symbols of America’s power, symbols of America’s might. And if [military personnel] can be killed, then that is a great propaganda victory for al Qaeda.” King went on to say “there is a serious threat within the military from people who have enlisted who are radical jihadists. Radical Islamists use our constitutional freedoms to sabotage our system of government from the inside. Once inside, they will work to shut the door on any dissent. That’s what organizations like the Council on American-Islamic Relations (C.A.I.R.) have been doing.” King is one of the strongest advocates against Islamic Terror in current American politics and has taken a strong stance against the Obama policy of refusing to identify the enemy.

Darius Long, the father of Army Pvt. William Andrew Long, who was shot and killed at an Arkansas military recruitment center in 2009, made the following statement on the confusing policy of the Obama Administration on terror, ”My faith in government is diminished. It invents euphemisms … Little Rock is a drive by and Fort Hood is just workplace violence. The truth is denied.” Private Long was killed by Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad, aka Carlos Leon Bledsoe, a recent convert to Islam, at an Arkansas military recruitment center in a shooting that left another soldier seriously wounded. The shooter told police,”"the attack was justified according to Islamic Laws and the Islamic Religion. Jihad—to fight those who wage war on Islam and Muslims.” Bledsoe had returned from 16 months terror training in Yemen and told police, “he had intended to kill as many Army personnel as possible.”

Since 2001 there have been a reported 33 terror attacks or attempted terror attacks in the United States involving accused perpetrators who were Islamic and claimed to be in support of Jihad against America and Israel. It is puzzling to many why the Obama Administration has such a confusing policy. On the one hand is the Administration’s refusal to even mention Islam in connection with terror and other hand, there is the targeted killing of American Citizen Anwar al-Awlaki, who went over to the side of Radical Islam. While many of Obama’s policies are difficult to gauge, perhaps nothing is as baffling as his utter refusal to link Radical Islam with Terror. This refusal has served to push Americans into opposing camps with liberals supporting Obama’s every move and conservatives even accusing Obama of being a foreign born Muslim. It is a failure of leadership that has only deepened the political divide in America. Could it be that Obama is more concerned with doing and saying whatever he thinks will get him re-elected than acting Presidential. In troubling times, with the many difficulties facing America, it is time for clear policies and true leadership; not more politics as usual.

Do you think Obama should be more open about who is behind the terror?

[Image via Ryan Rodrick Beiler / Shutterstock.com]

Obama Administration Won’t Call Military Base Attacks Acts Of Terrorism is a post from: The Inquisitr

You know how we were supposed to be scared about shadowy groups of terrorists who like, hate our Chevy Cruzers and double shot no foam skinny extra hot lattes or something?

The government now would like to add shadowy non-groups of people to the list of shadowy terrors of which we should be terrified while milling about Target trying to stimulate the economy this Christmas season. US Homeland Security Chief Janet Napolitano is in France to discuss the importance of international partnerships at a meeting of security chiefs at the Institut des Hautes Études de Défense Nationale, and she spoke more broadly about the issue of working together as nations to comprehensively protect citizens about the threat posed by both “lone wolf” terror suspects as well as secretive cabals.

“In our globalized economy, our international partnerships are critical to our nation’s domestic security, and strong international engagement and cooperation is essential,” said Napolitano at the Ecole Militaire. “DHS is committed to working closely with our allies and partners who face common threats to build a more secure and resilient nation while strengthening the commerce, travel, and communication networks that we all share.”

Napolitano highlighted US cooperation with other nations and added that the US currently has “more than 1,500 employees stationed abroad in 75 countries working bilaterally with nations and other major multilateral bodies and organizations to strengthen the security of the networks of global trade and travel.” Up next, Napolitano is headed to the Middle East, starting in Qatar, to discuss US involvement in global anti-terror initiatives and international law enforcement efforts.

‘Lone Wolf’ Terror Threat Growing, Napolitano Said is a post from: The Inquisitr

A bomb plot to kill police and U.S. troops returning home in New York has been foiled after police arrested a 27-year-old ‘al-Qa-ida sympathiser.’

Jose Pimentel of Manhattan, a U.S. citizen originally from the Dominican Republic, is accused of conspiracy dating back to October 2010. His charge sheet includes first-degree criminal possession of a weapon as a crime of terrorism, and soliciting support for a terrorist act. At his arraignment late yesterday, he was ordered held without bail.

Pimentel was arrested yesterday, and police say he was ready to carry out his plan to “bomb police patrol cars and also postal facilities as well as targeted members of our armed services returning from abroad.”

Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said:

“We had to act quickly yesterday because he was in fact putting this bomb together. He was drilling holes and it would have been not appropriate for us to let him walk out the door with that bomb.”

New York Michael Bloomberg told journalists that Pimentel had acted alone, and that he was driven by terrorist propaganda and his resentment of US troops in Afghanistan and Iraq:

“He appears to be a total lone wolf. He was not part of a larger conspiracy emanating from abroad.”

Bloomberg added that this was the thirteenth attempted terrorist attack on New York in the ten years since 9/11. No attack has been successful to date, while Pakistani immigrant Faisal Shahzad is serving life for attempting to detonate a car bomb in Times Square in 2010.

Each day, the NYPD dedicates about 1,000 of the city’s 35,000 officers to counterterrorism operations.

Bomb Plot Foiled in New York City, Police Arrest Suspect is a post from: The Inquisitr

A Chatauqua Airlines pilot caused a terrorism alert this week after becoming stuff in the lavatory during an in-progress flight.

During a trip from Asheville to New York City the pilot exited the cock-pit to use the bathroom when he became trapped, after a passenger heard the pilot banging on the door he told the passenger to tell his co-pilot and the cockpit crew what had happened.

Speaking in an accented voice the passenger told the co-pilot what was happening at which point the co-pilot contacted air traffic control and said:

“The captain disappeared in the back, and, uh, I have someone with a thick foreign accent trying to access the cockpit. What I’m being told is he’s stuck in the lav, and, uh, someone with a thick foreign accent is giving me a password to access the cockpit.”

Not convinced by the passengers accent the controller told the co-pilot to declare an emergency (the plane had been sitting in a holding pattern above the airport), the co-pilot was then instructed to “just get on the ground.”

Eventually the captain was able to break free from his confines, enter the cock-pit and land the airplane with no further incidents.

[Image via ShutterStock.com]

Pilot Gets Stuck In Airplane Bathroom, Causes Terrorism Alert is a post from: The Inquisitr

The 62-year-old Venezuelan, real name Ilich Ramirez Sanchez, is already serving a life sentence for a triple murder committed in 1975. On Monday, he appeared before a special Paris court on terrorism-linked charges. The trial is expected to last six weeks, after which Ramirez may be handed his second life sentence. French law does not carry the death penalty.

The latest charges are tied to four attacks in 1982 and 1983 that eventually killed 11 people and injured 140 others in France. Ramirez has vigorously denied any role in the attacks.

In Paris on Monday, Ramirez identified himself as a “a professional revolutionary,” and sporadically raised his fist in defiance. His speech was peppered with Anti-Zionist rhetoric, and he smiled and looked confident throughout.

Before the trial began, Isabelle Coutant-Peyre, Ramirez’s lawyer and amorous partner, told reporters outside the courtroom: “He’s in a fighting mood as always.” She added there was “no reason” for the trial to take place nearly thirty years after the events, and suggested French prosecutors were indulging in “propaganda or some other interests rather than the ones of justice.”

Coutant-Peyre’s assertion was disputed by Francis Szpiner, lawyer for some civil parties to the case, who argued the trial was vital in showing that the actions of terrorists will never go unpunished. Szpiner said the trial would contribute to “the end of the culture of impunity [for terrorists].”

Of the four bombings Ramirez is alleged to have carried out, two were against French trains, another at a Paris office of an Arabic-language newspaper, and a fourth at a French cultural center in what was then West Berlin. It is alleged two of the attacks were an attempt to pressure the French government to free his girlfriend Magdalena Kopp (who he would later marry and have a daughter with) and comrade Bruno Breguet.

Ramirez inspired fear in many western European cities for many years in the 1970s and 1980s. From 1973, he carried out eight attacks over two years. His causes varied from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine to some far-left European terror groups.

However, as the Cold War dissipated in 1989, safe havens for the Venezuelan became more scarce, and he was eventually swiped by French agents from his refuge in Khartoum, Sudan in 1994, and brought back to Paris in a sack.

In Venezuela this week, President Hugo Chavez called Ramirez a “revolutionary fighter,” and insisted that Ramirez’s rights be respected during his trial in France:

“We cannot allow any Venezuelan, accused of anything, to be abused in any part of the world. We have a responsibility and we are obliged to uphold it.”

The trial continues.

Carlos the Jackal on Trial in France is a post from: The Inquisitr

Apparently if you’re attempts to attack the U.S. have failed you’re next target should be David Letterman. The talk show host recently made fun of dead terrorist Ilyas Kashmiri on his show and now a jihadist has taken to the web to issue a jihad against Letterman.

The radical terrorist appeared on the Shumukh al-Islam web forum asking that forum members “cut the tongue of the lowly jew.” There’s only one problem with the remarks, Letterman is a Presbyterian.

The terrorist wrote on the forum:

“I saw with my own eyes and heard with my own ears, one of the lowlifes of the Jews, and one of their pigs, mocking one of the leaders of the mujahedeen.”

The New York Daily News spoke with a former FBI agent who said threats of this type should not be taken lightly, noting:

“If I am the guy targeted in one of those things, I would be taking it seriously and hunker down.”

Letterman’s reps have refused to comment on the threat to his life and Letterman is currently on his summer hiatus from the show.

Letterman isn’t the first comedian to have calls of jihad raised against him, when Trey Parker and Matt Stone thought about showing a cartoon image of Muhammad on their popular Comedy Central cartoon South Park they had so many threats against them and their loved ones that they decided to skip producing the episode, marking one of the only times in the shows history that the South Park team has backed down from a piece of controversy.

David Letterman Targeted By Jihadist Over Terrorist Death Remarks is a post from: The Inquisitr

Anthrax is a dangerous bacteria that is a weapon of choice for terrorists in our modern world but because it looks so innocuous it is difficult to spot it for what it is. This is why simple envelopes filled with baby powder can be enough to clear a building and send the threat level up.

To make the detect job easier researchers at the University of Albany and Cornell University have created a device the size of a suitcase that can identify whether that powder is anthrax or not within an hour.

The basic design, which is small enough to fit in the overhead compartment of an airplane, potentially could be tailored to detect countless other pathogens, such as salmonella, or be used in the field for DNA forensics.

“It was built with the notion of being portable,” said Carl Batt, Liberty Hyde Bailey Professor in the Department of Food Science at Cornell and a co-author of the paper published in July in the International Journal of Biomedical Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (Vol. 2, No. 2). Nathaniel Cady, Ph.D. ’06, a nanoscale engineer at the University of Albany, is the paper’s lead author.

Seven years in the making, the detector requires that a sample be inserted into the device. From there the machine automatically recovers cells, collects and purifies DNA and then conducts real-time polymerase chain reactions (PCR) to identify if anthrax is present. PCR can amplify extremely small amounts of DNA and is a well-established platform for rapidly detecting biological material.

The researchers began by acquiring what amounts to a small suitcase-sized plastic box with the notion that, “whatever we do, it has to fit in here. It was a line in the sand, an engineering challenge where everything had to fit in the box,” Batt said.

The shape of a heavily reinforced suitcase, the device is complete with pumps, heating and cooling elements, and optical and computational circuitry.

via PhysOrg

Chalk one up for the good guys. Can we do something about those airport scanners next please.

A suitcase-sized anthrax detector created by researchers is a post from: The Inquisitr

The new Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 trailer has only been out 48 hours, but already one UK newspaper is kicking up a fuss because there’s an attack on an underground train in the video and London’s real underground was attacked in 2005 and that’s a bit like this and oh god I don’t know the sheer idiocy is making my head throb.

Games THAT ARE RATED FOR ADULTS have long attracted poorly researched criticism from cheap scare newspapers. Because of its popularity, the Call of Duty series is often a target. Right on cue, the Daily Mail today described one scene from the Modern Warfare 3 trailer (which you can see in full here) as “a chilling echo of the 7/7 terrorist attacks in London.” The scene in question shows a truck driving in front of a speeding underground train, causing it to derail.

Even though that’s NEVER ACTUALLY HAPPENED IN LONDON, the Daily Mail calls for Modern Warfare 3 to be banned, and quotes a lady from Mediawatch UK as saying, “In light of the fact we have just had the 7/7 inquests, it is in incredibly poor taste.”

This anti-videogame agenda is nothing new, yet remains flawed. Aside from the significant fact that the game is ENTIRELY FICTIONAL, what really gets me is how presumptious the Mail is being here. After all, the trailer gives us zero context in this scene: is this an underground train full of innocent commuters, is it completely empty, or is it loaded with, say, a bomb? Nobody outside Activision or Infinity Ward truly knows. Least of all the Daily Mail.

Anyway, please excuse all the UNDERLINED CAPS. I’m keeping things nice and simple for any stray Mail readers we get here.

[Via Daily Mail]

Modern Warfare 3 already compared to London terrorist attacks is a post from: The Inquisitr

The Department of Homeland security has confirmed that they are looking into a “credible threat” that terrorists may be planning to strike buffets and salad bars with poisons including ricin and cyanide en masse over a brief period in the United States.

The DHS’ Janet Napolitano said “individuals are prepared to carry out” the trough-dining attacks, and CBS elaborates:

A key Intelligence source has confirmed the threat as “credible.” Department of Homeland Security officials, along with members of the Department of Agriculture and the FDA, have briefed a small group of corporate security officers from the hotel and restaurant industries about it.

The group who is thought to be behind the threat are the same ones linked with the October plot to sabotage cargo planes, part of a larger terrorist scheme called “Operation Hemorrhage.” CBS spoke with a pharmaceutical professor who demonstrated how the attack could be carried out in a terrifyingly simple way:

“Initially it would look very much like food poisoning,” said St. John’s University professor of pharmaceutical sciences Dr. Susan Ford… She showed how little of each poison could be fatal by putting a small amount of poison in cups.

Experts also say the attacks could initially appear to be food poisoning, and that government and hospitality industry leaders are “on alert.”

[Image]

DHS probes ‘credible’ threat that terrorists could strike salad bars with ricin, cyanide is a post from: The Inquisitr

A flight en route from La Guardia to Louisville, Kentucky made an emergency landing in Philadelphia today after a passenger rang the alarm on a Jewish teenager carrying a prayer box.

The 17-year-old’s tefillin- a box filled with religious verses and strapped to the body- sparked fears of a terrorist attack among passengers. Although the boychick explained the purpose of the phylacteries to the pilot, his nervous demeanor and frantic praying frightened fellow passengers:

“Someone on the plane construed it as some kind of device,” said Christine O’Brien, a spokeswoman for the Philadelphia police Department.

The teen was taken from the flight after it landed in Philadelphia, and authorities searched the plane. Despite the fact that information about Jewish traditions is readily available- none of these people have apparently been on an F train in their lives- Fox News reports that passengers were “safely removed” from the flight. The flight was met by several fire trucks and police officers, and passengers were diverted to another flight to Louisville. It was unclear as to whether the teen was also on the second flight.

Senior law enforcement officials say that the yarmulke bomber was just a “nervous flier.”

[Image]

Jewish teen causes flight scare, diversion with religious items is a post from: The Inquisitr

To back up the reasoning for the program Sir Norman Bettison, the chief constable of West Yorkshire Police and the most senior British police officer in charge of terror prevention, refers back to the July 7 subway bombings.

"One of the four bombers of 7 July was, on the face of it, a model student. He had never been in trouble with the police, was the son of a well-established family and was employed and integrated into society.

"But when we went back to his teachers they remarked on the things he used to write. In his exercise books he had written comments praising al-Qa’ida. That was not seen at the time as being substantive. Now we would hope that teachers might intervene, speak to the child’s family or perhaps the local imam who could then speak to the young man."

Source: The Independent

The program which is being funded by the British Home Office has police officers working with Muslim communities to discover if they can the children that are at risk of radicalization; or who show an interest in extremist material.

Once identified the children are subject to a "programme of intervention tailored to the needs of the individual". Sir Norman said this could involve discussions with family, outreach workers or the local imam, but he added that "a handful have had intervention directly by the police".

He stressed that the system was not being used to target the Muslim community. "The whole ethos is to build a relationship, on the basis of trust and confidence, with those communities," said Sir Norman.

I’m really of a mixed mind on this one but tend to look up the program with a fair amount of suspicion given how the British police are the frontline for the Government’s desire to know pretty well what every citizen is doing – or has done. At the same time programs like these if conducted properly could actually work. I guess time as usual will be  the deciding factor.

[hat tip to Cory Doctorow – Boing Boing]

Children in Britain being watched for terrorist tendencies is a post from: The Inquisitr

Site execs agreed to the change following an ongoing effort from Senator Joseph Lieberman. Lieberman had pointed out the high number of terrorist-affiliated videos on the site, many of which even had Al Qaeda logos stamped in the corners, and demanded the clips be removed.

Initially, YouTube shot the senator’s request down, as the videos didn’t technically violate the site’s terms of use. (They didn’t show graphic violence, even if they suggested it.) Representatives said they didn’t prescreen videos, instead banking on the site’s user flagging system to mark out any inappropriate submissions. A statement also raised the issue of free speech:

“While we respect and understand [Lieberman's] views, YouTube encourages free speech and defends everyone’s right to express unpopular points of view.”

Now, though, YouTube has revisited its terms of use and left open the door to subjective decisions on what content might be considered “inciting others to violence.” A spokesperson told the Washington Post the site will follow the “common sense rule” when deciding whether or not to remove a video.

It’s that ever-fine line between free speech and national security, and it’s never an easy answer. In agreeing to remove the Al Qaeda content, YouTube may have also opened the door to subjectively censoring other content that may or may not pose any real danger. Did they make the right decision?

Should YouTube Ban Violent Videos? is a post from: The Inquisitr