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Say what you like, the right to free speech not only protects speech, it also prohibits the more excessive and arbitrary lawmaking currently being witnessed in Sydney, Australia, prior to the World Youth Day. For those of you who are not up to speed on World Youth Day, it is an event where the World’s Catholic Youth assemble in one city and is scheduled to take place in Sydney later this month.
Counterterrorism Blog: More Evidence of the Criminal-Terrorist Nexus
Those who are skeptical of the growing ties between drug trafficking organizations and terrorist groups-which I think will be the real war we will be fighting for many years, given the resources obtainable by drug trafficking organizations-should read the latest UN Office of Drugs and Crime report.
Aviation Daily on Airports: Police Officers, TSA Offer Views on Screener Badges
To give airport screeners police like badges and uniforms is a grave mistake. You are not only putting the screeners themselves in harm’s way in that they will be mistaken as sworn law enforcement, but you are creating more of a safety risk to [...]
Fellow Security Debrief blogger David Olive wrote recently about the conflicting messages and mandates that flow from the 86 conflicting and contending homeland security committees in Congress. The latest example of this Hamlet-like system of self-contradiction comes from the House Appropriations Committee, which complains that US Immigration and Enforcement spends too much time on … well, immigration enforcement.
FEDagent - Federal Law Enforcement & Homeland Security News
Julie L. Myers, Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and Juan Jose Bravo Moises, Director for Mexico Customs, announced a major effort Monday to identify and disrupt trans-border weapons smuggling networks between the two countries’ borders
Recording Industry Decries AM-FM Broadcasting as ‘A Form of Piracy’ | Threat Level from Wired.com
The recording industry and U.S. radio companies have squared off for decades about whether AM and FM radio broadcasters should pay royalties to singers, musicians and their labels.
But now the debate is getting meaner; there’s more at stake as the recording [...]
SpyTalk: We Rage, Europeans Yawn, Over Domestic Counterterrorism Ops
Outside the United Kingdom, which invented civil liberties with the Magna Carta, ordinary Europeans couldn’t care less about wiretapping, national ID cards, preventive detention and police spies in mosques.
Responsible and effective public order activities will be evidenced by the proactive policing of order, rather than the reactive policing of disorder. What is increasingly looking like the inability on the part of Denver to engage with the protesters and include them in the planning process rather than alienating them does not bode well for proactive policing of order.
Let’s be clear - TSA screeners are not law enforcement officers. They are not certified inspectors. They do not require access to crime scenes and they are not equipped or trained to respond to law enforcement incidents. They only special access they require is to certain areas of airports - for which their TSA badge and credential provides them access.
In Homeland Security: Supreme Court Ruling Makes Money Laundering Tougher to Prove and Prosecute
In a landmark decision on Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned 2 money laundering cases, redefining the statute and increasing the burden of proof needed to prosecute the crime.
ABC makes a run for the ‘Border’
A new ABC unscripted series will take an unprecedented look behind the scenes at the government’s fight against terrorism.
The network has ordered 11 hours of “Border Security USA” from executive producer Arnold Shapiro (”Big Brother”). Shot on location throughout the United States, the series will focus on the efforts [...]
I’m surprised not to have seen reporting in the mainstream or at least security-oriented media about a significant leadership change at US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The long-time No. 2 man at ICE, John Clark, recently retired and was succeeded by John Torres, a very respected agent who has held a number of leadership positions at ICE. The change is more important than individuals only; it represents a significant evolution for ICE as a cohesive and maturing law enforcement agency.
U.S. denies man arrested in Venezuela is drug agent | U.S. | Reuters
The United States on Friday denied that a man arrested in Venezuela worked for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, after local authorities reported the detainee had identified himself as a DEA agent.
“He is not a DEA agent and he is not a U.S. [...]
On Wednesday (May 28, 2008), ABC Television announced that it will be broadcasting a series that will “focus on the efforts of border protection agencies to halt illegal smuggling and immigration.” Entitled “Border Security USA,” the series will cover operations around the US with Customs & Border Patrol (CBP) Officers, US Coast Guard, Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE), Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and other parts of the Department of Homeland Security that work to safeguard the nation. Working with DHS, the show’s cameras will be given unprecedented access to take viewers along for the ride to see what these people do, how they do it and what difference they make.
This is another instance where human rights abuses and the arrogance of security forces turn the oppressed against the security forces (and supporting governments), hampering the ability of the police and army to successfully do their jobs (in this case, prosecute the war on drugs).
I am an increasingly frequent visitor to DC, and am increasingly struck by the ever-offensive posture of the law enforcement entities in the nation’s capital. Three incidents spring to mind: the obvious use of armed response personnel in some convoys, the lack of manners displayed by the personnel on duty outside the White House, and the imminent arming of the Metropolitan police with rifles for patrol.