Both the fourth circuit and the ninth circuit courts have ruled that Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) searches of laptops and other electronics are legal; however, people are still proclaiming their protests. A recent USA Today op-ed accused the CBP practice to be “without focus” and “arbitrar[y].” Constitutional objections have also been invoked, claiming the searches to be in violation of the Fourth Amendment.

From Jeff Stein’s Spytalk:

Perhaps not since Whittaker Chambers accused Alger Hiss of being a Russian mole at a hearing 60 years ago next week has a journalist made more waves from the witness table than the press gallery.
But when controversial reporter/author/blogger/anti-terrorist crusader Steven Emerson testifies today at a hearing on Islamist groups and U.S. [...]

We are providing too much money in port security not to invest pennies to save dollars. DHS, through the CEDAP and SAVERS Program, have provided a significant amount of financial assistance to first responders conducting objective assessments and validations on commercial equipment and systems - a process that has been crucial to ensuring we are investing our security funding wisely. Yet Congress is now considering reducing the funding for these programs significantly, or cutting them altogether - steps that would have serious implications for the security of our nation’s ports.

From the Counterterrorism Blog:
A new Rand Corporation report on the end of terrorist organizations supports the views that police and law enforcement tools are generally more effective than military force in countering most options.
This useful report focuses on how various terrorist groups have ended their activities. It said that by analyzing the 648 terrorist groups [...]

The Terror Finance Blog: Support Free Speech in the U.S.
As many readers may know, The Free Speech Protection Act, is currently being considered by the House and Senate Judiciary Committees. The Act is essentially a federal version of New York State’s “Libel Terrorism Protection Act,” aka “Rachel’s Law,” designed to protect U.S. authors from [...]

CRS: Satellite Surveillance: Domestic Issues
Reconnaissance satellites, first deployed in the early 1960s to peer into denied regions of the Soviet Union and other secretive enemy states, have from time to time been used by civilian agencies of the federal government to assist with mapping, disaster relief, and environmental concerns. These uses have been coordinated [...]

On Wednesday, July 30th, Security DeBrief contributor and Olive, Edwards & Cooper principal David Olive will join a panel discussion sponsored by the Heritage Foundation to address the failure of Congress’ oversight for the Department of Homeland Security.

The TSA’s air cargo screening regime has gotten much attention lately, including significant time at two recent Congressional hearings. As part of the 9/11 Act, TSA is required to screen 50% of air cargo carried on passenger aircraft by February 2009 and 100% of air cargo by August 2010, at a level “commensurate” to that of checked baggage. Since the Administration has not asked for nor has the Congress appropriated sufficient funds, TSA has decided to implement a Certified Cargo Screening Program (CCSP) under which third-party vendors (such as freight forwarders, indirect air carriers, shippers, etc.) volunteer to participate to screen cargo earlier in the supply chain, before it reaches the airport.

The Terror Finance Blog: Congress Should Protect Free Speech and those Exposing Terror Financiers
Senators Arlen Specter (R-PA) and Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) argued in a WSJ the need for national legislation to protect free speech and those who expose sponsor of terrorism. “Our Constitution is one of our greatest assets in the fight against terrorism. A [...]

A growing, urgent and bipartisan consensus is emerging to demand that Congress implement the recommendation by the 9/11 Commission that it reform its maze of eighty-plus committees that set competing and often conflicting priorities.

Spook News - Government Inc.
Spook News
Intelligence contractors would not be allowed to interrogate detainees under a bill approved by the House on Wednesday.

Counterterrorism Blog: Ortega Steps Into the Breach with the FARC
While Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez seem content for the time being to keep is distance from his (erstwhile?) allies in Colombia, the FARC guerrillas-tied to international drug trafficking, kidnapping and assorted criminal and terrorist activities-Nicaraguan president Daniel Ortega seems to have few such qualms.

It is always interesting to see the spin placed on a cold hard business decision for the media. Put simply, Eric Prince and his staff have played a blinder over the last 48 hours. Inviting the press into their headquarters, Eric Prince explained that Blackwater Worldwide would be reducing the reliance on security, particularly as this part of the business was an unintended consequence and never part of the overall business plan.

New Disclosures Tighten ISNA-Muslim Brotherhood Bonds :: Articles by IPT :: The Investigative Project on Terrorism
The Islamic Society of North America’s (ISNA) roots in the Muslim Brotherhood have been strengthened by newly declassified FBI memos and from a second, highly unlikely source.

Immigration Watchdog » Mexico Will No Longer Jail Illegal Immigrants
Mexico will no longer jail illegal immigrants detained within its borders.
A measure that takes effect Tuesday eliminates jail times for illegal immigrants caught in Mexico. Most are crossing the country from Central America en route to the U.S.

ImmigrationProf Blog: Iraq War Hero Sues Over Naturalization Delay
The American Civil Liberties Union has sued the government in a federal court in Kansas for unlawfully delaying the citizen application of Julian Polous Al Matchy, a highly decorated U.S. Army war hero.

Evolving Eco-Terrorist Groups
The 2008 Camp for Climate Action group is the latest group that appears to be willing to drift from protest to violent action. Whether this makes them a terrorist group has yet to be seen. If they content themselves with a human assault on the fences of the power plant they remain protestors, [...]

Folks who want to ruin their lives have the right to do so, I guess. More of us have probably come closer than we’d like to admit. But none of us have the right to ruin the lives of others, especially those who aren’t given the chance to make their own decisions in life and must suffer the awful choices made by others. And that’s what the Legalization Lobby - those who want to legalize drugs in America - fails to understand.

On a recent flight I noticed that within a couple of hundred meters there were residential, pseudo residential or mixed residential / commercial areas, which brought to mind one of the classic attacks by the Provisional IRA – the mortaring of London’s Heathrow airport. What are the implications? If there is a perceived threat of such an asymmetric attack, then every space where a vehicle can be parked within the range of an improvised system must be subject to some kind of monitoring.

It seems that what were once considered random voices in the wilderness calling for improvements to Congressional oversight are starting to assemble and become a louder and louder choir singing a hymn to Congress to ‘heal thyself.’