Keyword: passports

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  • Guyanese National Charged with Smuggling Indian Nationals to the United States

    12/19/2009 5:11:21 PM PST · by Cindy · 6 replies · 249+ views
    Note: The following text is a quote: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEThursday, December 17, 2009 Guyanese National Charged with Smuggling Indian Nationals to the United States A Guyanese national has been indicted on charges of conspiracy and alien smuggling in connection with her role in the smuggling or attempted smuggling of four Indian nationals to the United States. Annita Devi Gerald, aka Annita Rampersad, 52, was charged in a nine-count indictment returned yesterday by a federal grand jury in the Southern District of Texas. Gerald was arrested by ICE special agents in Houston on Nov. 17, 2009, and has been held without...
  • Ninth defendant pleads guilty to passport snooping

    12/12/2009 12:05:19 PM PST · by STARWISE · 8 replies · 582+ views
    Town Hall ^ | 12-11-09
    A State Department filing clerk pleaded guilty Friday to illegally viewing passport files of celebrities, the ninth current or former employee of the agency to admit to snooping. Debra Sue Brown, 47, of Oxon Hill, Md., pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge John M. Facciola to one count of illegally accessing the files. Brown is scheduled to be sentenced March 23. Brown has worked full-time for the State Department since September 1995 as a file clerk and a file assistant in the Bureau of Consular Affairs, according to court documents. Brown admitted that between Mar. 25, 2005, and Feb. 7,...
  • Eighteen Charged Following Multi-Year Fraud Investigation

    11/25/2009 12:05:18 PM PST · by Cindy · 18 replies · 1,019+ views
    Cleveland.FBI.gov - DOJ Press Release ^ | November 23, 2009 | n/a
    Note: The following text is a quote: Eighteen Charged Following Multi-Year Fraud Investigation Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, today announced that a federal grand jury returned a 23-count indictment charging 18 defendants with violating federal laws following a multi-year investigation into fraud relating to identification documents. Named in the Indictment are the following individuals: Vitaly Fedorchuk, 30 , of Parma, OH; Pavlo Mostranskyy aka Pasha, 45, of North Royalton, OH Sonya Hilaszek, 45, of Cleveland, OH Azamjon Asadov, 34, of Cincinnati, OH; Martynas Bojarcius, 29, of Palatine, IL; Jaroslav Wladyka aka Bohdan Borsuk,...
  • Arrests Made in Case Involving Conspiracy to Procure Weapons, Including Anti-Aircraft Missiles

    11/23/2009 2:32:12 PM PST · by Cindy · 35 replies · 1,331+ views
    Note: The following text is a quote: Department of Justice Office of Public Affairs FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEMonday, November 23, 2009 Arrests Made in Case Involving Conspiracy to Procure Weapons, Including Anti-Aircraft Missiles Arrests were made today in a case involving a conspiracy to procure weapons, including anti-aircraft missiles. A criminal complaint, unsealed today, charged Dani Nemr Tarraf with conspiring to acquire anti-aircraft missiles (FIM-92 Stingers) and conspiring to possess machine guns (approximately 10,000 Colt M4 Carbines). In addition, Tarraf and other defendants — including Douri Nemr Tarraf, Hassan Mohamad Komeiha, and Hussein Ali Asfour — were charged with conspiring to...
  • Man Admits Using Alias for Immigration Status

    11/02/2009 6:49:07 PM PST · by Cindy · 9 replies · 523+ views
    Note: The following text is a quote: Man Admits Using Alias for Immigration Status COLUMBIA, SC—United States Attorney W. Walter Wilkins stated today that Sohail Feroz Ali Dossani, a/k/a Sohail Muhammad Jamal, age 29, a Pakistani national located in Florence, pled guilty to filing false statements to gain entry and citizenship, a violation of Title 8, United States Code, Section 1306(c). United States Magistrate Judge Thomas E. Rogers, III, accepted the plea and will impose sentence after he has reviewed the presentence report which will be prepared by the U.S. Probation Office. Evidence presented at the guilty plea hearing established...
  • Honduran Consulate Forced to Abandon Post

    10/24/2009 12:59:03 AM PDT · by sonofstrangelove · 13 replies · 860+ views
    Honduran News ^ | 10/23/2009 | Honduran News
    “Two people showed up saying they are responsible for making the consular changes demanded by Mrs. Patricia Rhodes, that of Marta Zuniga and Fernando Espinosa,” said David Hernandez, minister counselor of the consulate of Honduras in Washington. “They came in and locksmiths changed the locks without saying why.” The consulate is now run by people appointed by former Chancellor Rhodes, Hernandez said. Mario Fortin explained that Mrs. Marta Zuniga was named to the consular office by the former president Manuel Zelaya. The actions of former Foreign Minister Patricia Rhodes affects thousands of Hondurans living in the U.S., who now cannot...
  • Mexican Consul Investigated in Passport Scheme[Dallas, Texas]

    08/19/2009 12:08:12 PM PDT · by SwinneySwitch · 3 replies · 791+ views
    KRGV ^ | 8-19-09
    DALLAS - An investigation has been launched into a passport scheme involving the Mexican consul in Dallas. Mexico's foreign minister has reassigned Consul General Enrique Hubbard while the investigation continues. While working at the Dallas Mexican consulate, Hubbard allegedly allowed staff members to personally profit from selling passport-size photos and permitted employees to skim money from passport fees. The irregularities in the fees charged were detected by internal controls.
  • Why Aren’t Americans Allowed To Know What Foreign Passports Were Issued To President Obama?

    08/12/2009 7:36:43 PM PDT · by STARWISE · 43 replies · 2,361+ views
    Natural Born Citizen ^ | 8-12-09 | Leo Donofrio
    Has Obama ever held a UK, Kenyan or Indonesian passport? Specifically, the issue of whether Obama held a UK passport is absolutely relevant to determine whether he is currently a British citizen. (I will be publishing comprehensive research on this issue soon.) What passport did Obama travel to Indonesia with at the age of 6 years old? Even if you believe Obama is eligible to be President, the question of what passports he held and what nations he was a citizen of should be of paramount importance to all US citizens. But more important than knowing the answer to this...
  • Hawaii tries again to snuff Barack Obama birth certificate controversy (L.A. Times)

    07/28/2009 6:43:16 AM PDT · by real_patriotic_american · 59 replies · 3,655+ views
    Los Angeles Times ^ | July 28, 2009 | Andrew Malcolm
    Well, surely this will settle finally once and for all that Barack Hussein Obama was really, actually and factually born in the United States and, therefore, is fully qualified according to the U.S. Constitution to be the president that he has been since he took the oath of office on Jan. 20 and a second time shortly after, just to make sure. Not! In yet another quite possibly futile attempt to silence the zombie birther controversy that won't die,
  • Obama IS a U.S. citizen, says exasperated White House (not telling the whole truth)

    07/27/2009 4:00:46 PM PDT · by real_patriotic_american · 78 replies · 3,273+ views
    Reuters ^ | July 27, 2009 | Ross Colvin
    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A vocal group of conspiracy theorists known as "birthers" are riling the White House with their persistent claim that Barack Obama is not an American citizen and therefore ineligible to be president. The claim that the United States' first African-American president was born in Kenya, not Hawaii, first emerged during his presidential campaign, but it has garnered more media attention in the summer "silly season," a traditionally slow news period when many Americans are on vacation. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs looked exasperated at his briefing on Monday when a reporter asked him, "Is there anything you...
  • BORN IN THE USA? - Gibbs: 10,000 more important issues than eligibility

    07/27/2009 2:29:15 PM PDT · by DesertRenegade · 50 replies · 3,273+ views
    World Net Daily ^ | 27 July 2009 | WND
    White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs today admitted that the questions about Barack Obama's eligibility to be president simply won't go away, even though he contends there are 10,000 things "more important" for Americans to worry about. Gibbs appeared exasperated by the issue, even when it was raised by left-leaning pundit Bill Press, who phrased his interest this way: "Robert, I hate to bring this up but somebody has to … Is there anything you can say that will make the birthers go away?" "No," said Gibbs. "I mean, the God's honest truth is no. I mean, Bill, let's understand...
  • Clearing the Smoke on Obama’s Eligibility: An Intelligence Investigator’s June 10 Report

    07/26/2009 7:20:56 PM PDT · by kellynla · 166 replies · 2,962+ views
    The Western Center for Journalism ^ | June 10, 2009 Report, updated July 18, 2009 | staff
    Editors Note: In December ‘08 a retired CIA officer commissioned an investigator to look into the Barack Obama birth certificate and eligibility issue. On July 21, 2009 westernjournalism.com obtained a copy of the investigator’s report. Here is an unedited version of the report. The Territorial Public Health Statistics Act in the 1955 Revised Laws of Hawaii I think that I now understand the legal background to the question of where Obama was born. Let’s begin with the statement that Dr. Chiyome Fukino, the Director of the Hawaii Department of Health released on October 31, 2008. The television and print media...
  • Where in the world is Barack Obama’s birth certificate? (Part 2)

    07/26/2009 5:07:16 AM PDT · by real_patriotic_american · 108 replies · 2,718+ views
    Orange County Conservative Examiner ^ | July 25, 2009 | Gregory Dail
    Researching the Obama birth certificate conspiracy has yielded many theories and wild speculations. Despite the likelihood that most of them are without merit, the one haunting theme i: what is Obama hiding? The forged birth certificate that appeared on Obama’s campaign site has spawned new curiosities, theories and demands to know where in the world is Barack Obama’s birth certificate. Is it in Kenya, Hawaii, Chicago, and Indonesia? We believe the Certification of Live Birth is authentic, but that is not that part where it gets tricky with parsing of words and comparing apples to oranges. The document provided by...
  • Media Mischief, the Eligibility Issue and the Dispositive Fact

    07/25/2009 4:03:49 PM PDT · by real_patriotic_american · 30 replies · 2,016+ views
    Australia.To News ^ | July 25, 2009 | Zach Jones
    Last week, the media was forced into reporting on the Obama birth-certificate/eligibility issue. It had little choice because respected CNN Journalist Lou Dobbs had the audacity to suggest that Obama should produce his long-form birth certificate to put to rest the doubts of millions of Americans who believe Obama is not constitutionally eligible to serve as President. Immediately and predictably, much of the reporting from the main stream media was in the form of vicious attacks, seeking to discredit Mr. Dobbs and others looking for clear and convincing evidence that Mr. Obama is or is not a “Natural Born Citizen”...
  • Cook v Obama Complaint filed today (Taitz, SIMTEC)

    07/24/2009 3:48:12 PM PDT · by rxsid · 31 replies · 2,093+ views
    orlytaitzesq ^ | 7/24/2009 | rxsid
    "Cook v Obama Complaint filed today cook-v-obama-tro-fl Tampa, Florida 33602-3800 MAJOR STEFAN FREDERICK COOK, Plaintiff, Civil Action Number: v. 8:09-cv-01382-RAL-EAJ SIMTECH, INC., LARRY GRICE, CEO OF SIMTECH, DEFENSE SECURITY SERVICES, COLONEL LOUIS B. WINGATE, DR. ROBERT M. GATES, UNITED TRIAL-BY-JURY DEMANDED STATES SECRETARY OF DEFENSE, Pursuant to 28 USC §1861 and BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA, de facto Seventh Amendment PRESIDENT of the UNITED STATES, Defendants. COMPLAINT FOR DAMAGES, DECLARATORY JUDGMENT, AND INJUNCTIVE RELIEF 1. Comes now the Plaintiff Stefan Frederick Cook with this Complaint, Declaratory Judgment, and Application for a Temporary Restraining Order and Preliminary Injunction to preserve the status quo...
  • Obama birth certificate links buried on Google News site

    07/24/2009 3:35:54 PM PDT · by real_patriotic_american · 17 replies · 1,634+ views
    WorldNetDaily ^ | July 24, 2009 | Drew Zahn
    On a story that no news organization has followed more closely than WND – questions surrounding Barack Obama's birth certificate – one of the Internet's top news portals, Google News, is now placing dozens of sources and even left-leaning blogs higher in the search rankings than WND. So appears to be Bing, the new Google competitor. Weeks ago, when WND was one of the few sources for news information about President Obama's eligibility controversy, a search for "Obama birth certificate" on Google News would have produced dozens of WND story links. Today, however, typing in "Obama birth certificate" and sorting...
  • Where in the world is Barack Obama’s birth certificate?

    07/24/2009 5:08:58 AM PDT · by real_patriotic_american · 42 replies · 2,593+ views
    Orange County Conservative Examiner ^ | July 23, 2009 | Gregory Dail
    For the last week the OCCE (Orange County Conservative Examiner) has plowed through many of the complaints and reports on Obama’s birth certificate. Like many Americans we felt that despite the partisanship of our leaders that no Democrat or Republican would let someone run for the highest office in the land that was unconstitutionally unqualified. There is a reason they’re called vital records. However, to the OCCE does surprise and chagrin we found merit to the claim and disappointment that the POTUS has thumbed his nose at Americans want reassurance. Despite the zealots that are involve there are points that...
  • The Fourteenth Amendment and a “natural born citizen” (Obama NOT nbc even if born in Hawaii)

    07/23/2009 2:37:34 PM PDT · by real_patriotic_american · 116 replies · 4,738+ views
    The Birthers ^ | Unknown | Staff
    The Fourteenth Amendment and a “natural born citizen” A common misunderstanding of “natural born” citizenship comes from the Fourteenth Amendment, but a strict reading of the fourteenth amendment is quite clear that this only conveys an at birth naturalized citizenship. Those born in the United States at the time of adoption and afterwards were only citizens. Those who wrote the amendment knew exactly what they were doing. Because of the distinctive use of “natural born citizen” and “citizen,” in Article II, Section 1 the simple fact that being born in the United States does not make one a “natural born...
  • Who really is Barack Obama?

    07/22/2009 5:23:02 PM PDT · by 2ndDivisionVet · 109 replies · 4,784+ views
    The Tampa Tribune ^ | July 21, 2009 | Joseph Tomaselli
    Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution of the United States states, "No person except a natural born citizen of the United States shall be eligible to the Office of the President." If this is the law of the land, why is President Barack Obama hiding all references to much of his past, and why has he never produced his birth certificate? In fact, a study from the United States Justice Foundation has released information showing that Obama has spent upwards of $950,000 in campaign funds with 11 law firms in 12 states for legal resources to block disclosure of...
  • Truth will out (Obama, birth certificate- Certifigate)

    07/18/2009 2:45:02 PM PDT · by real_patriotic_american · 94 replies · 4,669+ views
    WorldNetDaily ^ | July 18, 2009 | Pat Boone
    "Be sure, the truth will find you out." Interesting phrase, isn't it? Not "you will find the truth ..." Not even the biblical promise, "You shall know the truth, and the truth will make you free," in the Gospel of John, 8:32...................... He has paid his team of lawyers almost a million dollars to produce a Certification of Live Birth, a "short form" document, a print-out of information that has been entered – at some point in time, by someone – into a computer database. This is not a birth certificate. The state of Hawaii does not accept a Certification...
  • Retired general, lieutenant colonel join reservist’s lawsuit over Obama's birth status

    07/15/2009 5:09:42 PM PDT · by real_patriotic_american · 61 replies · 3,466+ views
    Ledger-Enquirer ^ | July 15, 2009 | Lily Gordon
    A controversial suit brought by a U.S. Army reservist has been joined by a retired Army two-star general and an active reserve Air Force lieutenant colonel. Maj. Stefan Frederick Cook filed the suit July 8 in federal court here asking for conscientious objector status and a preliminary injunction based upon his belief that Barack Obama is not a natural-born citizen of the United States and is therefore ineligible to serve as commander-in-chief of the U.S. Armed Forces. But before the issue got to court, Cook’s orders to deploy to Afghanistan were revoked. Lt. Col. Maria Quon, U.S. Army Public Affairs...
  • (Military.com) Anti-Obama GI's Afghan Orders Revoked

    07/15/2009 1:36:42 PM PDT · by real_patriotic_american · 49 replies · 2,451+ views
    Military.com ^ | July 15, 2009 | Bryant Jordan
    The attorney representing an Army major fighting deployment to Afghanistan because he believes Barack Obama is not legally his commander-in-chief is declaring victory after the Soldier's orders were revoked yesterday. California lawyer Orly Taitz says any service member may now refuse any order by questioning Obama's legitimacy. "Do you know what this means?" Taitz asked in a telephone interview with Military.com Tuesday, about an hour after hearing from Maj. Stefan Cook, the officer fighting his deployment to Afghanistan. "It means the Obama administration has blinked. They have no cards to play with. The moment I filed a lawsuit, they didn't...
  • "DOD RETALIATION AGAINST MR. COOK IS SWIFT AND BRUTAL" (Orly Taitz Esq. Application for Injunction)

    07/15/2009 11:24:16 AM PDT · by balls · 272 replies · 15,996+ views
    Orly Taitz Blog ^ | 7/15/2009 | Orly Taitz
    Major Cook has been fired from his civilian defense contractor job. See details at link.
  • Bombshell: Orders revoked for soldier challenging prez

    07/15/2009 5:37:44 AM PDT · by buggy02 · 452 replies · 16,759+ views
    Drudge Report, WorldNetDaily ^ | 7/15/09 | Chelsea Schilling and Joe Kovacs
    A U.S. Army Reserve major from Florida scheduled to report for deployment to Afghanistan within days has had his military orders revoked after arguing he should not be required to serve under a president who has not proven his eligibility for office. His attorney, Orly Taitz, confirmed to WND the military has rescinded his impending deployment orders. "We won! We won before we even arrived," she said with excitement. "It means that the military has nothing to show for Obama. It means that the military has directly responded by saying Obama is illegitimate – and they cannot fight it. Therefore,...
  • Birther or believer? (Judge rules in favor of trial challenging Obama's eligibility)

    07/14/2009 6:16:26 AM PDT · by real_patriotic_american · 123 replies · 4,657+ views
    Beaufort Observer ^ | July 14, 2009 | Elizabeth Sauls
    Urban Dictionary defines a 'birther' as "A person who believes that Barack Obama has controversy and/or fraud surrounding his birth…" At last count, at least 17 lawsuits had been filed in 17 different states questioning Barack Obama's status as an American citizen and his right to prop his feet up on the desk in the Oval Office. One of those lawsuits will now get the chance to see the light of day. Dr. Orly Taitz, attorney for Alan Keyes in Keyes vs. Obama, announced late this evening that a judge has ruled in favor of Mr Keyes' request for a...
  • Cook v Good et al(Military Officer Seeks Stay Of Deployment To Determine Obama's Eligibilty)

    07/10/2009 4:35:28 PM PDT · by Man50D · 14 replies · 1,519+ views
    orlytaitzesq.com ^ | July 10 ,2009 | Orly Taitz
    Hearing in Major Cook case is set for July 16th, 9:30 in the morning, Federal District Judge Clay D. Land » Cook v Good, summons issuedCook v Good et al I will post the pleadings, but the case filed on behalf of Major Cook, states that he is being deployed to Afghanistan and he is seeking a TRO (it is like a stay) of his deployment until Obama’s legitimacy (eligibility ) for presidency is ascertained. The judge is Federal District Judge for the middle district of GA -Clay D. Land. If you want to write to the judge it...
  • Eligibility claims attracting high-level interest;Joint Chiefs counsel,Justice Dept. now involved

    07/10/2009 3:31:52 AM PDT · by Red Steel · 44 replies · 3,117+ views
    wnd ^ | July 09, 2009 11:50 pm Eastern | Bob Unruh
    California attorney Orly Taitz, who has pursued multiple legal challenges to Barack Obama's eligibility to be the president, is attracting some high-level attention, with the Justice Department trying to add itself onto one of her cases and the legal counsel for the Joint Chiefs of Staff being assigned to review another issue. Taitz has filed multiple legal actions around the country alleging Obama does not meet the constitutional requirements to occupy the Oval Office. One of her cases, filed against Obama as an individual for actions before he took office, is scheduled for a hearing in a California court on...
  • Some Guantanamo Detainees Resisting Move to Palau (Want Passports)

    06/20/2009 2:56:42 AM PDT · by gusopol3 · 28 replies · 1,617+ views
    WSJ via Fox ^ | June 20.2009
    The Obama administration's drive to close the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, has hit a new snag: At least some of the 13 detainees accepted for resettlement by the island nation of Palau don't want to go there..... Palau has no Muslim community, and the majority of residents are Roman Catholic. Clarke said his clients are particularly concerned about the legal status they would hold on Palau, and whether they could obtain documentation such as a passport.
  • ONE OF THEIR TARGETS WAS THE GABALA RADAR STATION

    06/12/2009 3:31:33 AM PDT · by Cindy · 6 replies · 1,396+ views
    ONE OF THEIR TARGETS WAS THE GABALA RADAR STATION The Gabala radar station is evidently capable of detecting Iranian missile launches. The facility was built by the Soviets and is now leased back from Azerbaijan by Russia. There has been talk of US/Russian cooperation in operating the site for the purpose of monitoring Iranian actions, much to the chagrin of the mullahs.
  • Italian police arrest al-Qaeda suspects

    05/12/2009 1:38:07 PM PDT · by knighthawk · 10 replies · 922+ views
    Radio Netherlands ^ | May 12 2009
    The Italian police have arrested two men suspected of planning an attack on the Charles de Gaulle airport near Paris. They are also suspected of planning other attacks in France and Great Britain. The two are thought to play a leading role in the al-Qaeda network.
  • Roger Ailes and Murdock Supressing Obama Eligibility Story (Vanity)..And Elvis and JFK ZOT!!!

    02/26/2009 1:15:06 PM PST · by jackofhearts · 318 replies · 6,732+ views
    trust me, I know (Vanity) | JackofHearts
    I have it on impeccable authority but cannot disclose my source within the Fox Network. Rest assured that Roger Ailes and Rupert Murdock are sitting on the Obama eligibility/birth certficate story. Everyone else wants to jump all over it, including Sean Hannity. I say storm the Ailes/Murdock fax machine/email servers--let them know (politely) we need this issue thoroughly. Maybe someone has the email/fax numbers?
  • True Story: UPS Driver Tells Me More Birth Certificates Being Ordered...

    02/11/2009 2:43:18 PM PST · by Recovering_Democrat · 83 replies · 2,659+ views
    Me
    True story. In anticipation of the coming Red Tsunami (courtesy of Hussein, his party and a few RINOs), the family has been discussing possible options. As we are true to our principles, this is not mere talk--we are preparing. Guns have been purchased, and passports (some long expired) are being pursued just in case we decide the Republic is not going to be saved. As I've never had a PP, I needed a birth certificate to get one. Being something-something years old, I don't have my original, so the State Department (now run by IMPEACHED42's "wife") tells me I need...
  • Spain: At least 10 arrested on suspicion of forging documents for jihadists

    02/03/2009 5:29:12 AM PST · by Cindy · 4 replies · 523+ views
    JIHAD WATCH.org ^ | Posted by Marisol at February 3, 2009 8:11 AM | n/a
    SNIPPET: ""Spanish police suspect terrorism links in arrests," from the Associated Press, February 3 (thanks to all who sent this in): The Spanish police arrested 13 people on Tuesday on suspicion of links to organized crime and terrorism groups. A police statement said the detainees — 11 Pakistanis, a Nigerian and an Indian — are suspected of belonging to an international criminal gang involved in passport forgery, drug trafficking and the smuggling of people." SNIPPET: "The police statement said the group is suspected of having contacts in Belgium, Britain, France, Germany, Switzerland and Thailand. The group allegedly stole passports in...
  • Terrorists Getting Mexican Passports?

    01/30/2009 7:23:14 PM PST · by Free ThinkerNY · 19 replies · 664+ views
    newsmax.com ^ | Jan. 30, 2009 | Rick Pedraza
    An Americas Report news investigation shows individuals posing a terror threat to the United States are increasingly obtaining access to stolen or doctored passports, which then can be used to obtain visas to enter the U.S. with the purpose of carrying out terrorist attacks. The report notes several instances where this has already happened: # Four of the 19 hijackers from 9/11 carried genuine Saudi passports that had been "manipulated in a fraudulent manner" to obtain genuine U.S. visas. # In 2005, four individuals were charged with smuggling dozens of Iraqis and Jordanians into the U.S. through South America beginning...
  • Obama the Hypocrite

    01/24/2009 4:36:06 PM PST · by JohnnyTu · 1 replies · 143+ views
    Less than one day into his term as president, and Barack Obama is already illustrating why those who did not vote for him voted as they did. Obama is an extreme hypocrite. Notice, for example, this summary from http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090121/ap_on_go_pr_wh/obama_executive_pay concerning his desire to loosen up restrictions on releasing information under the Freedom of Information Act. Obama stated that "Just because a government agency has the legal power to keep information private does not mean that it should" and "For a long time now, there's been too much secrecy in this city." The order that he issued Wednesday is an attempt...
  • Carrying Several Passports? It’s Not Just for Spies

    01/22/2009 4:12:44 PM PST · by BGHater · 12 replies · 506+ views
    The New York Times ^ | 19 Jan 2009 | MICHAEL T. LUONGO
    Alessandro Pappalardo, an artist in New York, holds passports from Italy and Argentina and, last year, added an American one. Previously an executive with Aerolíneas Argentinas, he said, “I used to go a lot to Brazil, and I would always decide what passport to show depending on what line was shorter.” Stefan Stefanov, a citizen of the United States and Bulgaria who works for FirstApex Group in Warsaw, said he decided which passport to use depending on where he was going. “Of course, I don’t hide that I am a U.S. citizen,” Mr. Stefanov said. “But I don’t parade it...
  • Passports probe focuses on worker

    03/22/2008 11:25:04 AM PDT · by smoothsailing · 20 replies · 839+ views
    washington Times ^ | 3-22-08 | Bill Gertz & Jon Ward
    Article published Mar 22, 2008 Passports probe focuses on worker March 22, 2008 By Bill Gertz and Jon Ward - The State Department investigation of improper computer access to passport records of three presidential candidates is focusing on one remaining employee — a contract worker with a company headed by an adviser to the presidential campaign of Sen. Barack Obama The probe by State's inspector general will include polygraph tests for supervisors in the passport section to find out whether the three contract employees who accessed the records had a political motive or were part of a political operation to...
  • Scheme to smuggle guns, visas uncovered

    11/12/2008 2:45:31 PM PST · by 3AngelaD · 17 replies · 1,678+ views
    DC Examiner ^ | 11/12/08 | reeman Klopott
    An FBI informant helped agents uncover a visa fraud and gun smuggling scheme run by two Annandale men, one of whom told the informant he could sell him a missile that “can reach the Pentagon,” according to a sworn statement unsealed Monday. The investigation started when the informant met with Amjad Hamed, a Jordanian native and legal U.S. resident since 1978, in Hamed’s Annandale home in April 2006, the affidavit said. Hamed reportedly asked the informant to obtain visas for six associates who wanted to immigrate to the U.S. from Jordan and the West Bank. Hamed reportedly told the informant...
  • Passports will be needed to buy mobile phones (UK)

    10/19/2008 11:19:06 AM PDT · by LibWhacker · 12 replies · 524+ views
    Times Online ^ | 10/19/08 | David Leppard
    Everyone who buys a mobile telephone will be forced to register their identity on a national database under government plans to extend massively the powers of state surveillance. Phone buyers would have to present a passport or other official form of identification at the point of purchase. Privacy campaigners fear it marks the latest government move to create a surveillance society.
  • The Risk of ePassports and RFID

    10/02/2008 8:12:04 AM PDT · by BGHater · 2 replies · 228+ views
    THC ^ | 29 Sep 2008 | THC
    Today vonJeek/THC released his tool and a video how to duplicate (clone) and modify a Passport with RFID chip. http://freeworld.thc.org/thc-epassport/ The weakness is in the way the system has been rolled out. The terminal accepts self-signed data. This attack is different to the grunwald attack. VonJeek's attack makes it possible to copy, forge and modify the data so that it is still accepted as a genuine valid passport by the terminal. Using a Certification Authority (CA) could solve the attack but at the same time introduces a new set of attack vectors: 1. The CA becomes a single point of...
  • State employee pleads guilty to passport snooping (Obama)

    09/22/2008 8:25:53 PM PDT · by red flanker · 44 replies · 860+ views
    Zdnet News ^ | September 22, 2008 | Richard Koman
    Former State Dept. employee Lawrence C. Yontz, 48, pled guilty before a U.S. magistrate to illegally accessing hundreds of passport files, including those of Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and John McCain. He didn’t access Sarah Palin’s passport file, presumably because she obtained a passport for the first time last year. According to the Justice Dept.: In pleading guilty, Yontz admitted that between February 2005 and March 2008, he logged onto the PIERS database and viewed the passport applications of approximately 200 celebrities, athletes, actors, politicians and their immediate families, musicians, game show contestants, members of the media corps, prominent business...
  • LAX mechanic charged with immigrant smuggling

    09/20/2008 5:37:21 PM PDT · by La Enchiladita · 10 replies · 279+ views
    Imperial Valley News ^ | Sept. 15, 2008 | Staff
    Los Angeles, California - An elevator mechanic employed by Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) was formally indicted today for smuggling foreign nationals into the United States by bypassing established security at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). Roberto Amaya Canchola, 53, a United States citizen and Los Angeles resident, is charged in a six-count indictment handed down by a federal grand jury here this afternoon with bringing illegal aliens into the United States for financial gain and with bringing illegal aliens into the country without presenting them to an immigration officer. If convicted on all six counts, Canchola faces a maximum...
  • Threat Matrix: July 2008

    07/02/2008 7:02:59 PM PDT · by nwctwx · 1,101 replies · 6,966+ views
    Al-Qaeda Draws New Recruits Via Internet Al-Qaeda is using the Internet to recruit vulnerable young people to its terrorist network, according to a programme aired on Saudi Arabian TV late on Tuesday. Umm Osama, the founder of al-Qaeda's first women-only website, al-Khansa, joined several others on the programme to discuss how they renounced jihadist ideology. Among those who sought a response to this question was an imam from the Medina mosque, Saleh Ibn Awad al-Mudamsi, and the father of a young al-Qaeda suspect held in an Iraqi prison. Read More Qaeda Targets U.S. Oil Interests in North Africa U.S....
  • Hijackers steal British passport stash

    07/29/2008 1:02:33 PM PDT · by nuconvert · 18 replies · 270+ views
    Hijackers steal British passport stash LONDON (AFP) - Hijackers made off with boxes of blank British passports worth a fortune on the black market in a raid on a delivery van, police said Tuesday, in the latest blow to the government's record on security. Detectives said the 24 boxes of about 3,000 passports and visa documents, destined for British embassies around the world, were worth some 2.5 million pounds (five million dollars, 3.2 million euros). A hijacker sped off with the vehicle Monday when the driver stopped to buy a newspaper in the Manchester suburb of Oldham in northwest England....
  • Passport cards called security vulnerability

    05/17/2008 8:00:42 AM PDT · by AngieGal · 3 replies · 113+ views
    The Washington Times ^ | May 16, 2008 | Bill Gertz
    The State Department will soon begin production of an electronic passport card that security specialists and members of Congress fear will be vulnerable to alteration or counterfeiting. The agency has contracted with L-1 Identity Solutions Inc. to produce electronic-passport cards as a substitute for booklet passports for use by Americans who travel frequently by road or sea to Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean. About the size of a credit card, the electronic-passport card displays a photo of the user and a radio frequency identification (RFID) chip containing data about the user. The State Department announced recently that it will begin...
  • Iraqi Border Patrol Prepares for Automated Passport Scanning

    04/16/2008 4:49:22 PM PDT · by SandRat · 2 replies · 41+ views
    Muntasir H. Khashan, member of the Basra Directorate of Traveling and Identity Section, screens an Iraqi citizen’s passport after entering from Iran. Once new computer software is installed, the screening process will be streamlined for a quicker, more reliable way of identifying those wanting to enter Iraq. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Gary Hawkins. BASRA — A passport scanning system, which will read passports of those wanting to enter the country, is being installed for use by the Iraqi Border Patrol officers near the Um Qsar Port. Once trained to operate the system, the IBP will have approximately 16 stations...
  • U.S.-made chips in passports sought (Duncan Hunter, of course..)

    04/13/2008 7:58:32 AM PDT · by pissant · 21 replies · 153+ views
    Wash,. Times ^ | 4/11/08 | Bill Gertz
    A group of House Republicans have introduced legislation that would require the State Department to use U.S.-made components for new electronic passports and to assemble the booklets here. The bill is aimed at improving the security of passports, and points out that all U.S. passports currently use foreign components and are assembled with a computer chip inside the cover in Thailand. "National security is best served when the manufacture and assembly of United States passports occurs within the borders of the United States," the legislation states. The bill, introduced earlier this week, also states that the U.S. government must set...
  • Airline terror trial: 'Heathrow, Canary Wharf and nuclear plants in bomb plot'

    04/05/2008 12:18:40 AM PDT · by bruinbirdman · 4 replies · 348+ views
    The Telegraph ^ | 4/5/2008 | Sean O'Neill and David Byers
    Attacks on nuclear power stations, oil and gas terminals, Canary Wharf and Heathrow’s control tower were being considered by leaders of the plot to blow up seven transatlantic airliners in mid-flight, a court was told yesterday. Documents found on computer memory sticks at the home of an alleged terrorist ringleader contained a list of targets across Britain – including the gas pipeline between Britain and Belgium. The man, Assad Sarwar, was said to be in contact with terrorist leaders overseas and visited Pakistan a month before his arrest as preparations for the airline attacks were being finalised. Peter Wright, QC,...
  • Fake Passport Scheme Suspected (Punjabi Members Duped)

    03/24/2008 6:12:20 PM PDT · by Diana in Wisconsin · 5 replies · 384+ views
    JSOnline ^ | March 23, 2008 | Georgia Pabst
    A Milwaukee businessman has complained to the Indian Embassy in Washington, D.C., about what he claims is a passport-selling scheme involving individuals at the Indian consulate in Chicago.Amrit N. Patel, who owns a local accounting firm and is president of the India Cultural Society, outlined the suspected scheme in a letter to Indian Ambassador Ronen Sen last March. Milwaukee has a large Punjabi community, many members of which have come here with political asylum, which does not make them eligible for an Indian passport, he said in the letter. But over the last two years, Patel said, the Chicago consulate...
  • Chief of firm involved in breach is Obama adviser

    03/22/2008 2:10:04 PM PDT · by tomnbeverly · 63 replies · 2,200+ views
    cnn ^ | 3/22/08 | WASHINGTON (CNN)
    WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The CEO of a company whose employee is accused of improperly looking at the passport files of presidential candidates is a consultant to the Barack Obama campaign, a source said Saturday. John Brennan, president of the Analysis Corp., advises the Illinois Democrat on foreign policy and intelligence issues, the source said. Brennan briefed the media on behalf of the campaign this month. The executive is a former senior CIA official and former interim director of the National Counterterrorism Center. He contributed $2,300 to the Obama campaign in January.