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We've talked about Rep. Carolyn McCarthy's "No Fly" bill before. I've also made it the subject of my October Guns Magazine "Rights Watch" column: Having been thwarted in 2005, she recently reintroduced H.R. 2401, the “No Fly, No Buy Act of 2009,” with the stated objective “To increase public safety and reduce the threat to domestic security by including persons who may be prevented from boarding an aircraft in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, and for other purposes.” There's a danger that could catch citizens unawares with terrible consequences: Author and attorney Dave Kopel noted, “Under the New...

Critics of the government's secret no-fly list scored a potentially important victory Monday when a federal appeals court ruled that would-be passengers can ask a judge and jury to decide whether their inclusion on the list violates their rights. In a 2-1 ruling, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco reinstated a suit by a former Stanford University student who was detained and handcuffed in 2005 as she was about to board a plane to her native Malaysia. The ruling is apparently the first to allow a challenge to the no-fly list to proceed in a federal...

The next time you book a flight, make sure your name on the ticket is exactly the same as your ID. Otherwise it could take some time to get on the plane. The federal Transportation Security Administration is introducing a requirement that passenger names on tickets be exactly the same as the name on a government issued ID... The move is designed to reduce the amount of travelers incorrectly identified with names similar to those on terrorist watch lists. "We're doing some testing now, but we won't roll out the first phase until August," . About 58,000 travelers have filed...

CRAWFORD, Texas (Reuters) - An Arab American U.S. Secret Service agent heading to Texas to protect President Bush was barred from taking an American Airlines flight this week, the Secret Service said on Thursday. U.S. Secret Service spokesman Brian Marr said the agent, whom he declined to identify, was not allowed to take the flight but said he was unable to confirm details of a New York Times report saying the agent was asked to get off the plane. The newspaper said the agent, who was armed, was originally scheduled to accompany Bush to Texas on Air Force One but ...

NY Rep introduces bill to turn "No Fly" list into "no gun" list Notorious Anti-gunner Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy has introduced a bill that would takes name from the so-called "no fly list" and place them in the National Instant Criminal Background Check system as ineligible to purchase a firearm. H.R. 2401, the so-called "No Fly, No Buy Act of 2009" uses provisions of the Patriot Act and the Brady Bill to attack the Second Amendment rights of American travelers. It should be no surprise that McCarthy, an anti-gun leader extraordinaire, would introduce such a bill. In recent years, such legislation...

A Quebec businessman whose name is one of the many that have erroneously landed on the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's flight passenger watch list has decided to change his name to avoid lengthy security hassles at the airport. Mario Labbé, an executive with a Montreal-based record company, says his Canadian passport triggers a red alert on the computers of U.S. customs agents every time he tries to board a flight to the U.S. — which is about once a month for the past seven years. "I was pulled aside in a room ... and you have to wait your...

I Don't Believe in Imaginary Property writes "The database used by the government to generate lists like the No-Fly List is 'crippled by technical flaws,' according to the chairman of a House technology oversight subcommittee. And the upgrade may be worse than the original. Rep. Brad Miller (D-NC) says that 'if actually deployed, [the upgrade] will leave our country more vulnerable than the existing yet flawed system in operation today.' It seems that the current database doesn't have any easy way to do plain-text matching, forcing users to enter SQL queries. That might not sound so bad until you learn...

PITTSBURGH, Aug. 22 (UPI) -- A U.S. Army veteran on the U.S. terror watch list is suing the federal government to have his name removed from the list. CNN reported Friday that Erich Scherfen, who received an honorable discharge after 13 years of military service, was hired as a pilot by Colgan Air Inc., a regional airline. In April, the Schuylkill Haven, Pa., man's employer told him he was on a government terror suspect list and said he would be fired unless he could clear his name by Sept. 1. Scherfen, who is a convert to Islam and is married...

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- For Erich Scherfen, being on a government terror watch list isn't just a matter of inconvenience. It could end his career. Scherfen served in the U.S. military for 13 years, as an Army infantryman in the first Gulf War and then as a helicopter pilot in the National Guard. After receiving an honorable discharge, he was hired as a pilot by Colgan Air Inc., a regional airline operating in the Northeast and Texas. In April, Colgan informed Scherfen that he was on a government list and would be suspended from his job. He was told he faced...

SAN FRANCISCO, California (CNN) -- James Robinson is a retired Air National Guard brigadier general and a commercial pilot for a major airline who flies passenger planes around the country. He has even been certified by the Transportation Security Administration to carry a weapon into the cockpit as part of the government's defense program should a terrorist try to commandeer a plane. But there's one problem: James Robinson, the pilot, has difficulty even getting to his plane because his name is on the government's terrorist "watch list." That means he can't use an airport kiosk to check in; he can't...

Critics of the government's secret no-fly list scored a potentially important victory Monday when a federal appeals court ruled that would-be passengers can ask a judge and jury to decide whether their inclusion on the list violates their rights. In a 2-1 ruling, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco reinstated a suit by a former Stanford University student who was detained and handcuffed in 2005 as she was about to board a plane to her native Malaysia. The ruling is apparently the first to allow a challenge to the no-fly list to proceed in a federal...

Some federal air marshals have been denied entry to flights they are assigned to protect when their names matched those on the terrorist no-fly list, and the agency says it's now taking steps to make sure their agents are allowed to board in the future. The problem with federal air marshals (FAM) names matching those of suspected terrorists on the no-fly list has persisted for years, say air marshals familiar with the situation. One air marshal said it has been “a major problem, where guys are denied boarding by the airline.” “In some cases, planes have departed without any coverage...

WASHINGTON - The FBI failed to put as many as 20 suspected terrorists on watch lists tailored to alert border agents and immigration officials because of a technology glitch, a Justice Department audit concluded Thursday. It was not immediately clear whether any of the suspects entered the United States as a result of the security lapse. Responding, the director of the FBI's Terrorist Screening Center acknowledged the gap, but said it soon will be fixed. The audit by Justice Department Inspector General Glenn A. Fine gave the FBI mixed reviews for its efforts over the last two years to clean...

For seven-year-old Javaid Iqbal, the holiday to Florida was a dream trip to reward him for doing well at school. But he was left in tears after he was stopped repeatedly at airports on suspicion of being a terrorist. The security alerts were triggered because Javaid shares his name with a Pakistani man deported from the US, prompting staff at three airports to question his family about his identity. The family even missed their flight home from the U.S. after officials cancelled their tickets in the confusion. And Javaid's passport now contains a sticker saying he has undergone highlevel security...

LOS ANGELES -- The Customs and Border Protection computer glitch that stranded more than 20,000 inbound international travelers at Los Angeles International Airport over the weekend recurred overnight, affecting about 1,700 inbound international passengers between 11:50 p.m. Sunday and 1:15 a.m. Monday, KNBC reported. More than 20,000 inbound international travelers were stranded over the weekend as a result of a computer crash that began Saturday afternoon. The computer system helps officials identify people who have been placed on a no-fly list and who are denied entry into the United States as security risks. KNBC's Jinah Kim said many of the...

Marshals Say They Must File One Surveillance Detection Report, Or SDR, Per Month DENVER -- You could be on a secret government database or watch list for simply taking a picture on an airplane. Some federal air marshals say they're reporting your actions to meet a quota, even though some top officials deny it. The air marshals, whose identities are being concealed, told 7NEWS that they're required to submit at least one report a month. If they don't, there's no raise, no bonus, no awards and no special assignments. "Innocent passengers are being entered into an international intelligence database as...

A Marine reservist returning home after eight months in Iraq was told he couldn't board a plane to Minneapolis because his name appeared on a watch list as a possible terrorist. Staff Sgt. Daniel Brown, who was in uniform and returning from the war Tuesday with 26 other Marine military police reservists, was delayed briefly in Los Angeles until the issue was cleared up.

Higgins Outraged When Sinn Fein Leader Stopped By Terrorist Watch List Mar 18, 2006 - A St. Patricks day crowd in South Buffalo didn’t get to hear the star attraction…he was detained in Washington after turning up on a terrorist watch list. Gerry Adams, leader of Sinn Fein was detained at Reagan National Airport. Sinn Fein is the political arm of the Irish Republican Army. Congressman Brian Higgins broke the news to hundreds of people celebrating the holiday at the Irish Center in South Buffalo. “We got a call tonight that Gerry Adams is being detained in Washington for in...

SAN FRANCISCO -- A lead FBI agent on Tuesday linked two local Muslim clerics to the Taliban and Osama bin Laden, contending the two were planning to set up a school near Lodi that would breed anti-American terrorism. The agent testified that Lodi clerics Shabbir Ahmed and Mohammed Adil Khan were prepared to relay information on terrorist plots from sources close to bin Laden. The allegations were dismissed by Ahmed's lawyer, who said the FBI and federal prosecutors have "made the whole thing up." The striking allegations came during an immigration hearing for Ahmed at which Immigration Judge Anthony Murry...

SAN FRANCISCO -- Two federal agencies agreed Tuesday to pay the American Civil Liberties Union $200,000 to settle a lawsuit brought to uncover information about the government's no-fly list, which bars suspected terrorists from airliners. The government will compensate the ACLU for attorneys' fees, settling a lawsuit initiated by two San Francisco peace activists who were detained while checking in for a flight three years ago. In October 2004, documents that the FBI and Transportation Security Administration provided in the lawsuit revealed the government has "two primary principles" but no "hard and fast" rules for deciding who gets put on...

A Lebanese-Canadian who was denied entry to Mexico after his name appeared on an American no-fly list is a former member of the militant group Hezbollah and was twice denied refugee status in Canada, according to media reports. Sami Kahil returned to Canada under police escort after being denied entry to Mexico on Jan. 7 during a vacation with his wife and two children. The United States would not let him travel through U.S. airspace because his name was on a no-fly list. Kahil, a 38-year-old resident of Mississauga near Toronto, expressed shock and anger at the time, and since...

Sarah Zapolsky was checking in for a flight to Italy when she discovered her 9-month-old son's name was on the United States' "no-fly" list of suspected terrorists. "We pointed down to the stroller, and he sat there and gurgled," Zapolsky said, recalling the incident at Dulles International Airport outside Washington in July. "The desk agent started laughing. ... She couldn't print us out a boarding pass because he's on the no-fly list." Zapolsky, who did not want her son's name made public, said she was initially amused by the mix-up. "But when I found out you can't actually get off...

US terror watchlist 80,000 names long Thu Dec 8,10:59 AM ET STOCKHOLM (AFP) - A watchlist of possible terror suspects distributed by the US government to airlines for pre-flight checks is now 80,000 names long, a Swedish newspaper reported, citing European air industry sources. The classified list, which carried just 16 names before the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York and Washington had grown to 1,000 by the end of 2001, to 40,000 a year later and now stands at 80,000, Svenska Dagbladet reported. Airlines must check each passenger flying to a US destination against the list, and contact...

WASHINGTON - Infants have been stopped from boarding planes at airports throughout the U.S. because their names are the same as or similar to those of possible terrorists on the government's "no-fly list." It sounds like a joke, but it's not funny to parents who miss flights while scrambling to have babies' passports and other documents faxed. Ingrid Sanden's 1-year-old daughter was stopped in Phoenix before boarding a flight home to Washington at Thanksgiving. "I completely understand the war on terrorism, and I completely understand people wanting to be safe when they fly," Sanden said. "But focusing the target a...

HALIFAX, Nova Scotia (AP) -- Canada is developing its own version of a no-fly list in an effort to prevent terrorist attacks and make air travel safer, the federal transport minister said Friday. The U.S. created a no-fly list in response to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on New York and Washington. The Canadian list could help satisfy American demands that Canadian airlines provide passenger lists for all flights that go through American airspace. Washington also has been pressuring Ottawa to take a greater role in protecting North American security, particularly along the 4,000-mile border with the United States....

WASHINGTON - They have served in our wars, they enforce and adjudicate our laws, they hold top secret security clearances and their entrepreneurial spirit helps energize the economy. Leading lives of ordinary distinction they have little in common, save this: when they fly they are pulled into a demeaning orbit of “suspect until proven innocent” because their names are on a government terrorist watch list. Every day thousands of airline passengers are wrongly identified as being on the Transportation Security Administration list of known or potential threats to commercial aviation. Actually, there are two lists. One is the hardcore "No...

PARIS (AP) - An Air France flight from Paris to Boston was being diverted to Maine on Thursday because U.S. authorities wanted to check a passenger, officials said. Flight 332 was diverted because a passenger had the same name as someone on the U.S. government's no-fly list, said Ann Davis, spokeswoman for the Transportation Security Administration in Boston. The plane was carrying 169 passengers, according to Air France. Air France and the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration were in contact with the flight, ``and there are no reports of unusual activity on board,'' Davis said. Flight 332 had been scheduled to...

Terror Suspect Gets Invitation To Have Dinner With President HARTFORD, Conn. -- A year after federal agents raided his home in a terrorism investigation, Muslim businessman Syed Maswood is lucky to get on an airplane without being detained and searched. But that didn't stop him from getting an invitation to dine with President Bush. Maswood, a nuclear engineer who has not been charged with any crime and has been trying for months to get his name off no-fly lists, received an invitation to serve as an honorary chairman at a Republican fundraiser with Bush in Washington next month. A Republican...

Air travelers with names similar to those on the "no-fly" list face continuing hassles at airports. The Transportation Security Administration plans to improve their screening system with a new program called Secure Flight.

NEWSWEEK: Two Saudi Passengers Aboard April 8 KLM Flight Had Attended the Same Arizona Flight School as a 9/11 Hijacker; Mexico City-Bound Flight Returned to Amsterdam - Some U.S. Counterterrorism Officials Fear Latin America May Become Staging Ground for Al Qaeda On April 8, KLM Flight 685 took off from Amsterdam, scheduled to pass through U.S. airspace after making a long swing over Canada on its way to Mexico City. By the time the Boeing 747 had finished its three-hour crossing of the Atlantic, U.S. Department of Homeland Security screeners were on high alert. The names of two Saudi passengers...

Fifteen minutes after KLM Flight 685 took off from Amsterdam for Mexico City on April 8, Mexican authorities forwarded the names of all the passengers to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The reason: the flight was scheduled to pass through U.S. airspace. by the time the Boeing 747 had finished its three-hour crossing of the Atlantic, Homeland Security screeners were on high alert. The names of two Saudi passengers aboard the KLM flight had begun producing "hits" on the screening center's lists of 70,000 suspect foreigners. The two Saudis, the database reported, were brothers and pilots who had attended...

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) - A KLM Royal Dutch Airlines flight from Amsterdam to Mexico City was blocked mid-flight by U.S. authorities for having two undesirable people on board, the airline said Sunday. KLM spokesman Bart Koster said the flight was approaching the U.S. border from Canada when the pilots was told they would not be allowed to enter U.S. airspace because of the two passengers who were considered a risk, apparently due to terrorism fears. Their names were not released. The flight turned around and went back to Amsterdam. A new flight traveled as normal on Saturday, without the two...

U.S. authorities refused to allow a KLM Royal Dutch Airlines 747 to fly over the United States, officials said Sunday. Flight 685 from Amsterdam to Mexico City was denied permission to fly south across the Canada-U.S. border on Friday because the names of two passengers aboard were included on a U.S. "no-fly" terrorist watch list, KLM spokesman Bart Koster said. The flight, carrying 278 passengers, returned to Amsterdam, Koster said. He told The Associated Press that on Saturday, a flight without the two listed passengers departed Amsterdam and arrived in Mexico City.

The Washington Timeswww.washingtontimes.com Bills would ban salesBy Audrey HudsonTHE WASHINGTON TIMESPublished April 8, 2005 Bills are moving through Congress to ban gun sales to individuals named on terrorist watch lists, but critics question the lists' accuracy and say mistakes will deprive citizens of their Second Amendment rights.     Rep. Steve King, Iowa Republican and member of the Judiciary Committee, said yesterday he will not support legislation that would deny U.S. citizens their constitutional right through a secret list without adjudication.     "Boarding an airplane is a privilege, owning a gun is a right," Mr. King said.     Bills in the House and...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A House Democrat introduced legislation on Wednesday to ban terror suspects on the "No Fly List" from buying weapons, a day after a government report showed that at least 47 had been able to legally purchase firearms. New York Democrat Rep. Carolyn McCarthy introduced legislation barring anyone included on the Transportation Security Administration's (TSA) No Fly List from purchasing firearms. House of Representatives Republican leaders generally oppose gun control legislation, but in the Senate there have been some bipartisan efforts in the past. New Jersey Democratic Sen. Frank Lautenberg and several Democratic colleagues on Wednesday wrote to...

The Homeland Security Department's No-Fly List has always seemed a bit absurd to me. Only the stupidest terrorist would try booking a flight under his own name (or his known aliases) three years after the 9/11 attacks, and one thing I hope we've all learned is that our most dangerous enemies aren't stupid.

Feds divert plane to Keys, remove man on watch list BY SCOTT FUSARO Citizen Staff A jetliner en route from Colombia to Atlanta landed at Naval Air Station Key West Sunday afternoon where federal officials pulled from the plane a passenger believed to be on a government "no-fly" list. Federal officials were not releasing the identity of the passenger whom FBI and U.S. Customs agents continued questioning after the plane resumed its journey to Atlanta just after 4 p.m., according to officials. "The name was a positive match on the TSA's no-fly list," said Transportation Security Administration spokeswoman Lauren Stover....

Delta flight from Colombia diverted in Key West Associated Press KEY WEST, Fla. - A Delta Air Lines passenger jet from Colombia was diverted Sunday to a Navy station in the Florida Keys because a passenger was on a federal watch list, the FBI said. The passenger was removed from the plane at U.S. Navy's Boca Chica airfield just north of Key West at about 1:30 p.m., said FBI spokeswoman Judy Orihuela. The passenger's luggage was also removed, then the flight continued to it's original destination of Atlanta. "There was a person on board that was on some sort of...

WASHINGTON (AP) - Anyone who works at an airport or aboard a cruise ship will have his identity checked against government watch lists, just like commercial airline passengers. The change, included in the intelligence bill passed by Congress this week, means hundreds of thousands of additional names will be compared with those on two lists - one for people suspected of terrorism, the other for people the government says require additional scrutiny for some other reason. Cruise passengers, but not crews, already are checked against the lists within 15 minutes of a ship's departure. Once President Bush signs the bill...

SAMMAMISH -- Interrogations and sideways stares at the check-in counter have ruined air travel for the Rev. John F. Shaw. The retired Presbyterian minister from Sammamish is one of seven people from across the country named as plaintiffs in the first nationwide class-action lawsuit challenging the government's no-fly list of high-risk passengers. The list is distributed to all airlines with instructions to detain or interrogate passengers whose names appear on it. Like his son, John F. Shaw Jr., Shaw shares a name with someone on the list. But after being singled out and questioned in public repeatedly since 2002, the...

Federal officials yesterday deported a Moroccan man on the no-fly list who was taken into custody Saturday after his Washington-bound flight was diverted for security reasons. The passenger carried an expired Portuguese passport, a revoked U.S. work visa, and was aboard Air France Flight 026 to Washington Dulles International Airport — the same flight grounded four times because of a terrorist threat in February. Neither his name nor that of his flying companion, who left the country voluntarily, were released. Homeland Security officials did not name them when asked. CNN identified the passengers as Ahmed Lhacti, 47, and Mohammad Oukassou,...

WASHINGTON U-S Customs officials have detained two passengers from an Air France flight bound for Dulles International Airport near Washington. Transportation Security Administration officials say the plane was diverted to Bangor, Maine because they discovered that one of the passengers is on the U-S no-fly list. The plane eventually flew on to Dulles - arriving more than two hours late. T-S-A spokeswoman Yolanda Clark says the other person detained was traveling with the banned passenger. Both are in the custody of local law enforcement in Bangor. She says T-S-A is investigating why the passenger was allowed to board the plane...

...Among those subjected to extra scrutiny in recent months was Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass. The singer formerly known as Cat Stevens, now Yusuf Islam, is trying to get off the no-fly list after he was removed from a London-to-Washington flight because the list said he had links to terrorists...

SEATTLE -- A Justice Department lawyer on Thursday asked a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit that alleges the government's handling of its "no-fly" list violates air travelers' rights. The American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit says the government has put in place insufficient safeguards to ensure that people with names similar to those on the list aren't treated with suspicion because of mistaken identity. The seven plaintiffs say they have been repeatedly stopped at airports and questioned for as long as an hour before being allowed to board flights. Joseph W. LoBue, representing the government, told U.S. District Judge Thomas...

James Rogers is a Bethesda attorney. Mary Smith is a political economy major at Georgetown University. And Kevin Johnson is a pop music critic from St. Louis. Catching a flight has become a headache for all three frequent fliers because they have common names that resemble entries on the government's “no-fly” list. They have been stopped at airline ticket counters and even missed flights as airline employees checked databases to be sure the travelers weren't terrorists. And they are among readers who responded to an invitation to share their no-fly experiences with us. The federal list has come under increased...

Question: If those whose names appear on "No Fly" or "Watch" lists are so dangerous they cannot be allowed to board an aircraft or are barred entry -- on sight -- to this nation, why don't we arrest them? It's not just that I, for one, would have liked to have seen Ted Kennedy imprisoned for the full three weeks it took to have his name removed from the No Fly list. It's that such cognitive dissonance practically SCREAMS the fact that we are either extremely stupid or extremely dishonest about how we are proceeding with this War on Terror...

LONDON - Lawyers for the singer once known as Cat Stevens said Friday that they have asked American officials to remove his name from a "no fly" list. The musician, now a peace activist named Yusuf Islam, was expelled from the United States last week after authorities diverted his London-to-Washington flight to Maine to remove him, saying he was suspected of ties to terrorism. The Carter-Ruck law firm said it had asked the U.S. government to explain why it considered Islam a security risk. "I remain bewildered by the decision of the U.S. authorities to refuse me entry to the...

Ottawa compiles 'no-fly' list of banned passengers By JANE TABER Friday, September 3, 2004 OTTAWA -- The Martin government is compiling a "no-fly list" to keep potential terrorists off domestic flights, according to the Canadian airline industry, which is concerned about taking on responsibility for enforcement. Transport Canada said yesterday it is negotiating with the air carriers to implement one of the tools in the new Public Safety Act. It requires airlines to provide the government with information about people on, or expected to be on, a flight who the Transport Minister believes may pose an "immediate threat." But Warren...

WASHINGTON -- Rep. John Lewis is known for his nonviolent protests during the civil rights movement, but when he visits airports, he's treated like a suspected terrorist. Lewis himself isn't on a Department of Homeland Security terrorist watch list, but airline attendants have told him his name is. That has caused him months of hassle and embarrassment, preventing him from using an electronic ticket to board a plane and subjecting him to extra identification checks and baggage searches. The Georgia Democrat revealed the mix up Friday in an interview with The Associated Press, a day after Sen. Edward M. Kennedy,...

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Sen. Edward Kennedy is not alone.A second prominent lawmaker said Friday that he's been subjected to extra security at airports because his name appears on a list designed to prevent terrorists from boarding planes.Rep. John Lewis, D - Georgia, a nine-term congressman famous for his civil rights work with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., has been stopped 35 to 40 times over the past year, his office said.Kennedy, D-Massachusetts, told a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on border security Thursday that he's been stopped several times because his name appeared on an airline watch list.Lewis contacted the...