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Does security get any worse under this administration?

A

Anonymous

Guest
Investigation: Illegal Workers On Elmendorf AFB

Andrea Gusty, CBS 11 News
CREATED: 12/16/2009 12:11:02 PM PST

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTVA-CBS 11 News) A contractor hired for a major construction project on Elmendorf Air Force Base broke both state and federal law.

At issue: the illegal immigrants that were granted access to the base to help construct the Air Force's new F-22 hangers.

This summer the Air Force started a multi-million dollar effort to build new F-22 hangers on Elmendorf Air Force Base. The contractor hired for the steel work was Steel System Erectors out of California.

An investigation has reviled the company employed undocumented workers and allowed them access to a national security site.

A "critical infrastructure site essential to national security." That is how the federal government describes Elmendorf Air Force Base.

At each entrance, security checks the ids and has the right to search the vehicles of all who enter the base. So then, how were illegal immigrants with forged and expired documents granted access?

"I do not have a clue how a contractor was able to take these individuals onto a military base, constructing a building for one of our most sophisticated fighter planes." Says Ironworkers Local 751 President/Organizer John Lewis.

Lewis noticed this summer that Steel System Erectors out of southern California had not hired any local workers. In fact, he found the company flew 30 employees from California to Alaska for the job.

"For you to be able to bid a job and win it with the cost of air fare and

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housing for that many men raises a huge red flag that something- there's another area where you are cheating," says Lewis, "Either your cutting costs on workers comp, or you are misclassifying your workers."
Lewis would find Steel System Erectors was doing both. Not only did the company not follow Alaska's workers comp law for their thirty employees, but four were found to be undocumented workers.

"It's extremely disturbing that a contractor is able to, day after day for months on end, take undocumented workers and get them through security," says Lewis.

While they declined to talk on camera, officials with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement did confirm four of Steel System Erectors' employees on the Elmendorf job did not have proper employment documents, and one of those even had a criminal history in California.

Since the federal investigation at the end of October, all four men have been arrested. One of the workers has been deported, two voluntarily returned to their country, and one will be pleading his case in front of an immigration judge.

Elmendorf officials say while the illegal workers did not have access to the sensitive areas of the base. Still, they are now looking more closely at their contractors.

In a statement sent to the Eye Team, 3rd Wing Public Affairs Deputy Chief Stephen Lee says, "We take this incident very seriously and have begun a complete review of all contractors working on the base."

Lewis says the damage has already been done in terms of the loss of jobs and wages for local workers. "When a contractor is allowed through fraudulent business practices, to come into Alaska and take jobs from Alaskans, its very detrimental to us as a whole, whether you are union or non union," he says.

The newly strengthened E-verify rules were supposed to prevent this exact thing from happening.

E-verify is a government program that compares information employers provide about their workers to federal government databases to verify worker's employment eligibility. It's designed to ensure only legal American workers are employed on government projects.

Only it was not followed for the Elmendorf project.

"The contractor is responsible for vetting any prospective employee to ensure they meet citizenship requirements," Lee said in his statement, "In this instance, undocumented workers used fake identification to gain employment with the contractor."

As for any legal action, Elmendorf officials say they are working to review their contract with Steel System Erectors to see what action if any should be taken.

Steel System Erectors did not return repeated calls for comment.
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Insurgents intercepted drone spy videos

By ASSOCIATED PRESS

Insurgents in Iraq have hacked into live video feeds from Predator drones, the military's eyes in the sky for surveillance and intelligence collection.

A senior Defense official says militants could see the video, but there is no evidence they were able to jam the electronic signals from the unmanned aerial crafts or take control of the vehicles. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence issues.

The Wall Street Journal first reported Thursday that Shiite fighters in Iraq used off-the-shelf software programs such as SkyGrabber -- available for as little as $25.95 on the Internet -- to regularly capture drone video feeds. The hacking was possible because some of the remotely flown planes have an unprotected communications link.

Officials say the Defense Department is working to encrypt the drone feeds.
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Updated December 17, 2009
Obama Pick for Salvador Post Withdrew Prior Nomination Over Cuba Concerns
FOXNews.com
President Obama's recent nominee for ambassador to El Salvador was forced to withdraw her nomination to another diplomatic post a decade ago following concerns about ties to Cuba, raising red flags as her name heads to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee once again for approval.

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President Obama's recent nominee for ambassador to El Salvador was forced to withdraw her nomination to another diplomatic post a decade ago following concerns about ties to Cuba, raising red flags as her name heads to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee once again for approval.

The White House announced the nomination of Mari Carmen Aponte last Wednesday along with a handful of other appointments. The selection has started to draw some attention given that former President Clinton nominated her for ambassador to the Dominican Republic in 1998, only to see the nomination fizzle after the foreign relations panel questioned her over her past relationship with someone who had apparently caught the attention of the FBI.

One former official with knowledge of that nomination said the committee started scrutinizing Aponte after learning that she had attended a party at the Cuban mission to the United Nations in New York City, and that she had a relationship with someone, Roberto Tamayo, who had raised concern at the FBI over "possible ties to the Cuban government" and "repeated trips there."

The former official said the matter "sure as hell" should come up this time around.

"I think it's a mistake to have someone who did not pass muster before to be nominated again," the former official told FoxNews.com. "It shows a disrespect to the process I think. ... Hopefully there'll be somebody on the committee who takes a sober look at the record."

According to reports at the time, a former Cuban intelligence agent also told a Spanish-language newspaper in Miami in 1993 that Cuban intelligence was trying to recruit her through her boyfriend.

By the time Clinton nominated her, that relationship had ended -- the former official said the Senate committee had no evidence of any such recruitment either. But the source said the committee was ultimately concerned about her relationship with Tamayo, and whether it could be exploited by the Cuban government.

The Miami Herald reported in 1999 that the FBI had cleared Aponte of being targeted in any recruitment scheme. The Washington Times quoted a former FBI agent at the time as saying Tamayo was actually a valuable source of information for the FBI.

White House spokesman Tommy Vietor cited the FBI's finding in defending the appointment.

"As has been previously reported, the FBI fully investigated this issue in 1999, and Ms. Aponte received a thorough background check by diplomatic security as part of the nomination process this time around," Vietor said in an e-mail to FoxNews.com. "Had there been any doubt, the president would not have nominated Ms. Aponte to this position."

But the former official with knowledge of the nomination said Tamayo was probably not an FBI "mole," and his contact with the agency didn't mean he was innocuous.

Aponte has been a prolific contributor to Democrats, including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton when she was running for Senate, and others. The attorney has an extensive legal background, having served as president of the Hispanic National Bar Association, as well as on the board of the National Council of La Raza and the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund. She was born in Puerto Rico.

Watchdog group Judicial Watch raised alarm over the appointment, but predicted that she will ultimately be confirmed.

FoxNews.com's Judson Berger contributed to this report.
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Updated December 17, 2009
White House Wades Into Terror Intel Dispute Between FBI, Homeland Security
By Mike Levine - FOXNews.com
The White House has taken the unusual step of wading into a dispute between the nation's top law enforcement agencies over how much terrorist-threat information should be shared with state and local law enforcement, according to officials.

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FBI Director Robert Mueller testifies alongside Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano on Capitol Hill in Washington Sept. 30. (Reuters Photo)

The White House has taken the unusual step of wading into a dispute between the nation's top law enforcement agencies over how much terrorist-threat information should be shared with state and local law enforcement, according to officials.

The White House involvement reflects the unusual nature of recent high-profile terrorism cases, including that of alleged bomb-maker Najibullah Zazi, which along with some undisclosed terrorist "activities" have raised tensions between the FBI and Department of Homeland Security, officials said.

Those tensions were aired during a weekend meeting at the White House with President Obama's counterterrorism chief, John Brennan, Attorney General Eric Holder, FBI Director Robert Mueller, DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano and others, according to officials.

DHS officials say information about on-going investigations should be shared broadly so local authorities can identify threats in their communities, but FBI officials say some of that information could compromise their investigations and ultimately sabotage anti-terrorism efforts.

On Tuesday, Napolitano and Holder announced "major steps" to improve the sharing of threat information, but such new efforts may be undermined by the recent tensions, one U.S. official said.


"There's been a lot of progress achieved," the official said of information sharing. "But at the end of the day, the success of those efforts is going to ride to some degree on getting this disconnect resolved."

Two officials said the "disconnect" reached a "boiling point" during the case of Zazi, a Colorado airport shuttle driver whose alleged bombing plot Holder recently described as "one of the most serious terror threats to our country" since the Sept. 11 attacks.

A White House official denied any "boiling point," but acknowledged there was "an honest difference of view regarding what information needed to be shared broadly and publicly."

"This difference reflects what we consider to be a healthy tension between those who are racing against time to find the potential perpetrators -- the (FBI) investigators -- and those who want to button down potential targets -- homeland security," the White House official said. "The departments and agencies all worked with the White House to make the call."

A joint statement from the FBI, DHS and Justice Department said information sharing "at every level is key to preventing terrorism and crime, and it was precisely through such intelligence sharing that we were able to disrupt the alleged plot by Najibullah Zazi."

One U.S. official, though, insisted there's more to the story, suggesting the White House has prevented useful information from being disseminated to state and local law enforcement.

"The White House has allowed the FBI to revert back to the mindset of the past," the official said. "The FBI had been a tremendous partner (for DHS) up until right before the change of administrations."

These issues became the topic of an intense discussion at the White House about two weeks after the Zazi case made headlines.

In mid-September, the FBI arrested the Afghan-born Zazi after he allegedly tried to build bombs with "large quantities" of hydrogen peroxide purchased at beauty shops in the Denver area.

Days earlier, media reports had disclosed that Zazi, 24, and others were allegedly planning to hide the bombs in backpacks and detonate them in New York City.

On a Friday night, National Counterterrorism Center Director Michael Leiter joined Brennan, Mueller, Napolitano and Holder for a two-hour meeting, which turned into an "excited" back-and-forth over information sharing, officials familiar with the meeting said.

Mueller was "angry" and "upset" over leaks to the media, while Napolitano expressed dismay that DHS was not more involved in the Zazi case, and she relayed concerns that only limited information was being offered to local authorities through joint FBI-DHS intelligence bulletins, according to the officials.

"It was very clear that the FBI's position was: The investigation is what's important, and you can't do anything to compromise the investigation ... because it is only through these investigations that we can stop attacks," one official said.

Napolitano insisted "there are things that we can take out of threat streams, and even investigative information, that can be provided in such a way that it both protects an investigation and provides context to (local authorities)," according to the official.

Throughout the meeting, Leiter tended to side with Napolitano, and Holder often aligned with Mueller, the official said.

As for Brennan, representing the White House's National Security Council, "He was in listening mode," according to the official.

Since then, at least two lower-level meetings have been held at the White House to further discuss information sharing, according to two officials. They said the underlying issues addressed at those meetings are "on-going."

Both former DHS secretaries said they couldn't recall a time during their tenures when the White House was included in discussions over information sharing.

Michael Chertoff, now a private lawyer in Washington, said disputes with the FBI about information sharing were rare, and "by and large, if there was an issue, I resolved it with (FBI Director) Mueller."

The first DHS secretary, Tom Ridge, described a similar experience in the years after DHS was first established in 2003.

"Occasionally we duked it out," said Ridge, now the head of his own security consulting firm in Washington. But, he said, "That's something that Mueller and I worked out."

Asked whether White House involvement in these discussions between the FBI and DHS could pose any conflicts, Ridge firmly said no.

"It's probably as good a place as any" to hash out such disagreements, Ridge said, adding that he has confidence in Brennan's ability to be a "bridge builder."

A senior law enforcement official stressed that the issue of information sharing "wasn't elevated to the White House because of contention."

"(The Zazi case) was already being briefed at those levels," the senior law enforcement official said. "This was the first counterterrorism case of this magnitude for this administration, so there was a desire on all sides to sit down and figure out how you deal with these kinds of issues."

An administration official agreed, calling any disputes "minor" and "certainly nothing that needed to be resolved by the White House."

Among the disputes addressed at the White House was a squabble over the joint FBI-DHS intelligence bulletins that are distributed to more than 18,000 local law enforcement agencies, according to officials.

After the Zazi case made its way into headlines and TV news reports, DHS and FBI sent out at least six bulletins, telling local law enforcement to be vigilant for, among other things, large purchases of hydrogen peroxide and backpacks.

Those bulletins sparked "big screaming" from local authorities -- some hundreds of miles away from New York City or Denver -- lamenting that they hadn't received sufficient information earlier, one FBI official said. In fact, the chief of police in Albuquerque, N.M., wrote a letter of complaint to federal authorities, the official said.

DHS, which is responsible for integrating federal safety and security efforts with local ones, agreed to some degree.

"The only way you can hope to pass this net across the country that is going to have the highest degree of potential to interdict or mitigate an evolving threat is to bring everybody that's on the front lines to a basic level of understanding of what they should be looking for," one DHS official said.

According to the DHS official, the FBI has been "resistant" to disseminate even a "contextual statement" such as, "We seem to be concerned about the potential of attacks against mass transit systems in (which) the attackers will utilize explosives concealed in backpacks (and) produced using the following types of chemicals."

"They feel it would be too close to the specifics of an investigation," the official said.

An FBI official said there was no resistance to sending out information "that helps keep people safe," and police chiefs in Denver, New York and New Jersey were regularly briefed about the case.

"(DHS) is catering to locals and states," the FBI official said. "DHS feels obligated to send something out, and our guys are saying 'Why do we need to send it to Albuquerque?' If (Albuquerque) didn't watch it on the news they wouldn't care."

A larger "problem," the FBI official said, is that "within 10 minutes of those things going out, they're in the media."

"Dissemination guarantees release to the public," the FBI official said.

In addition, according to officials on both sides of the debate, many in the FBI see little value in the joint bulletins as currently produced. One FBI official called them a "milk-toast" product and a "piece of paper that looks pretty."

It's unclear what impact -- if any -- a dispute over bulletins and information-sharing could have on homeland security efforts.

Asked whether local authorities are getting all the information they need to protect their citizens, one FBI official answered, "Yes," then paused for five seconds and concluded, "I don't know, I don't know, I don't know."

A DHS official similarly said, "I don't know."

Ridge, meanwhile, gave a more direct assessment.

"I don't care whether you're on the battlefield in Iraq or Afghanistan, or in the battlefield of some city in the United States, having knowledge and information about a potential problem is absolutely critical ... to making Americans more secure," he said.

In a statement released Tuesday with the "major steps" for improved information sharing, Napolitano said there is a "need for a more open, standardized approach."

A task force led by Napolitano and Holder recommended disseminating "sensitive but unclassified" information through a "single" framework, which Napolitano said would improve "engagement with our partners in state and local law enforcement as we work together to combat terrorism."

In addition, Napolitano and Holder announced the creation of new inter-agency offices to coordinate information sharing with state and local authorities.

Holder said the new efforts "represent a significant milestone toward fully implementing information sharing reforms called for following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001."

In May, President Obama directed Holder and Napolitano to lead a 90-day review of how unclassified information is categorized and shared, so that "the handling and dissemination of information is not restricted unless there is a compelling need."
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Penetration Even At The Pentagon: Muslim Spies Setting Muslim Policy

By PAUL SPERRYPosted 12/17/2009 07:34 PM ET


Gordon England, then deputy secretary of defense, is shown in 2006 at a convention that focused on issues facing American Muslims and their evolving...View Enlarged Image

IBD Special Series:
Jihadist 5th Column: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3
The internal threat from Muslim extremists in the military extends to high-level Defense Department aides who have undermined military policy. In fact, one top Muslim adviser pushed out an intelligence analyst who warned of the sudden jihad syndrome that led to the Fort Hood terrorist attack.

An honored guest of the Ramadan dinner at the Pentagon this September was Hesham Islam, who infiltrated the highest echelons of the Ring despite proven ties to U.S. terror front groups and a shady past in his native Egypt.

As senior adviser for international affairs to former deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England, Islam ran interference for the Islamic Society of North America and other radical fronts for the Egypt-based Muslim Brotherhood, the subject of my new book "Muslim Mafia."

For example, Islam persuaded brass to sack a Pentagon analyst, Stephen Coughlin, after he advised cutting off outreach to ISNA, which he accurately ID'd as part of a covert terror-support network in the U.S. — something the Justice Department recently confirmed in a major terror finance trial.

Islam invited ISNA officials to lunch with the avuncular England, known by insiders as Gullible Gordon, who in turn spoke at ISNA confabs. Islam also helped set up a Pentagon job booth at one recent ISNA convention to recruit Muslim chaplains and linguists.

Most disturbing, Islam met regularly with Saudi and other embassy officials lobbying for the release and repatriation of their citizens held at Gitmo. He in turn advised England, who authorized the release of dozens of Gitmo detainees. Some have resumed terrorist activities.

No one really knew who Islam was when he was promoted — in fact, the Pentagon removed his bio from its Web site after reporters noted major inconsistencies in it — yet he was allowed to get inside the office of the Pentagon's No. 2 official.

"In effect," a senior U.S. Army intelligence official told me, "we've got terrorist supporters calling the shots on our policies toward Muslims from the highest levels."

Meanwhile, politically incorrect prophets like Coughlin have been frozen out. After the betrayal at Fort Hood, the military could use his analysis of Islamic doctrine more than ever.

I attended a private briefing by Coughlin in February. In a PowerPoint presentation, he detailed how jihadists use the Quran to justify their actions. Some of his slides matched almost word-for-word Hasan's own PowerPoint slides extolling the virtues of jihad and martyrdom. Both, for instance, quoted from the same Quranic passage known as the "Verse of the Sword."
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Friday, December 18, 2009

INFILTRATION: MUSLIM SPIES SETTING MUSLIM POLICY AT THE PENTAGON

Unlike the terrified and Islamist media, Investors Business Daily is exposing the enemy within. Atlas covered the infiltration at the Pentagon described below here. Patriots at the Pentagon were routed by devout Muslims.

Penetration Even At The Pentagon: Muslim Spies Setting Muslim Policy Paul Sperry, Investors.com (hat tip big mac)

The internal threat from Muslim extremists in the military extends to high-level Defense Department aides who have undermined military policy. In fact, one top Muslim adviser pushed out an intelligence analyst who warned of the sudden jihad syndrome that led to the Fort Hood terrorist attack.

An honored guest of the Ramadan dinner at the Pentagon this September was Hesham Islam, who infiltrated the highest echelons of the Ring despite proven ties to U.S. terror front groups and a shady past in his native Egypt.

As senior adviser for international affairs to former deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England, Islam ran interference for the Islamic Society of North America and other radical fronts for the Egypt-based Muslim Brotherhood, the subject of my new book "Muslim Mafia."

For example, Islam persuaded brass to sack a Pentagon analyst, Stephen Coughlin, after he advised cutting off outreach to ISNA, which he accurately ID'd as part of a covert terror-support network in the U.S. — something the Justice Department recently confirmed in a major terror finance trial.

Islam invited ISNA officials to lunch with the avuncular England, known by insiders as Gullible Gordon, who in turn spoke at ISNA confabs. Islam also helped set up a Pentagon job booth at one recent ISNA convention to recruit Muslim chaplains and linguists.

Most disturbing, Islam met regularly with Saudi and other embassy officials lobbying for the release and repatriation of their citizens held at Gitmo. He in turn advised England, who authorized the release of dozens of Gitmo detainees. Some have resumed terrorist activities.

No one really knew who Islam was when he was promoted — in fact, the Pentagon removed his bio from its Web site after reporters noted major inconsistencies in it — yet he was allowed to get inside the office of the Pentagon's No. 2 official.

"In effect," a senior U.S. Army intelligence official told me, "we've got terrorist supporters calling the shots on our policies toward Muslims from the highest levels."

Meanwhile, politically incorrect prophets like Coughlin have been frozen out. After the betrayal at Fort Hood, the military could use his analysis of Islamic doctrine more than ever.

I attended a private briefing by Coughlin in February. In a PowerPoint presentation, he detailed how jihadists use the Quran to justify their actions. Some of his slides matched almost word-for-word Hasan's own PowerPoint slides extolling the virtues of jihad and martyrdom. Both, for instance, quoted from the same Quranic passage known as the "Verse of the Sword."

Eerily, Coughlin predicted Hasan's mind-set. He first began briefing the Pentagon on this jihadist doctrine in 2002. So brass can't say they didn't know.

They were warned that the enemy was drawing on religious principles, and that our own Muslim soldiers could succumb to such thinking.

And they were warned that by using ISNA and other radical Brotherhood fronts to endorse Muslim chaplains and recruit Muslim soldiers, they were courting enemies of the U.S. — and courting disaster. But they were too drunk with political correctness to listen.

The jihadist threat to U.S.-based armed forces is external as well as internal — and far greater than reported. It comes from both inside and outside the military.

Fort Hood follows in a line of attacks or plots against military personnel and installations since 2006, when al-Qaida spokesman Adam Gadahn, an American convert to Islam, appeared in a video with Osama bin Laden and encouraged fellow Muslim-Americans to "go on a shooting spree at the Marines' housing facilities at Camp Pendleton" in California.

Over the past few years, an alarming number of homegrown Muslim terrorists have targeted military installations, including:

• A North Carolina cell of white converts to Islam who trained to attack Marine headquarters in Quantico, Va.

• A New York cell of black jailhouse converts who planned to down planes at an Air National Guard base with shoulder-fired missiles.

• A lone Muslim convert who shot two soldiers at a Little Rock, Ark., Army recruiting station, killing one.

• A Los Angeles cell of black Muslim converts who plotted to hit military bases in California.

• A New Jersey cell of hardened jihadists who trained to attack Fort Dix by posing as pizza delivery drivers.

The Fort Dix terrorists had also talked about joining the U.S. Army so they could kill U.S soldiers from the "inside." They planned to hit the post just days after a National Guard unit arrived back from Gitmo. Some of them were inspired by al-Qaida preacher Anwar Awlaki, who on his Yemen-based Web site calls for jihad against U.S. military targets inside and outside the U.S.

But so do so-called moderate American clerics like Zaid Shakir. In "Muslim Mafia," I transcribe for readers a CD recording of one of his sermons circulating in mosques across America. In it, he exhorts the Muslim faithful to attack planes carrying the 82nd Airborne.

Frequently booked by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) as a guest speaker at its events, Shakir tells his Muslim audience: "Jihad is physically fighting the enemies of Islam to protect and advance the religion of Islam. This is jihad."

Acceptable targets of jihad, he says, include U.S. military aircraft. "Islam doesn't permit us to hijack airplanes filled with civilian people," he said, but "if you hijack an airplane filled with the 82nd Airborne, that's something else."

The 82nd Airborne is based out of Fort Bragg, which is part of North Carolina state Sen. Larry Shaw's home district. Shaw is CAIR's new chairman. He is also a minority contractor who operates Shaw Food Services Co. near Fort Bragg. According to the legislator's financial disclosure form, Shaw Food customers include the Defense Department.

Yet CAIR, like ISNA, is an unindicted terrorist co-conspirator. The FBI says CAIR is a terrorist front group and has cut off formal ties to it. So should the military.

Will Fort Bragg be next? Does anybody care?

This enemy is hiding behind a religion, making it easier for them to infiltrate our sensitive security agencies. Communist spooks did not have such an advantage.

Read the whole thing.
 

schnurrbart

Well-known member
Pig Farmer said:
Investigation: Illegal Workers On Elmendorf AFB

Andrea Gusty, CBS 11 News
CREATED: 12/16/2009 12:11:02 PM PST

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTVA-CBS 11 News) A contractor hired for a major construction project on Elmendorf Air Force Base broke both state and federal law.

At issue: the illegal immigrants that were granted access to the base to help construct the Air Force's new F-22 hangers.

This summer the Air Force started a multi-million dollar effort to build new F-22 hangers on Elmendorf Air Force Base. The contractor hired for the steel work was Steel System Erectors out of California.

An investigation has reviled the company employed undocumented workers and allowed them access to a national security site.

A "critical infrastructure site essential to national security." That is how the federal government describes Elmendorf Air Force Base.

At each entrance, security checks the ids and has the right to search the vehicles of all who enter the base. So then, how were illegal immigrants with forged and expired documents granted access?

"I do not have a clue how a contractor was able to take these individuals onto a military base, constructing a building for one of our most sophisticated fighter planes." Says Ironworkers Local 751 President/Organizer John Lewis.

Lewis noticed this summer that Steel System Erectors out of southern California had not hired any local workers. In fact, he found the company flew 30 employees from California to Alaska for the job.

"For you to be able to bid a job and win it with the cost of air fare and

Advertisement

housing for that many men raises a huge red flag that something- there's another area where you are cheating," says Lewis, "Either your cutting costs on workers comp, or you are misclassifying your workers."
Lewis would find Steel System Erectors was doing both. Not only did the company not follow Alaska's workers comp law for their thirty employees, but four were found to be undocumented workers.

"It's extremely disturbing that a contractor is able to, day after day for months on end, take undocumented workers and get them through security," says Lewis.

While they declined to talk on camera, officials with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement did confirm four of Steel System Erectors' employees on the Elmendorf job did not have proper employment documents, and one of those even had a criminal history in California.

Since the federal investigation at the end of October, all four men have been arrested. One of the workers has been deported, two voluntarily returned to their country, and one will be pleading his case in front of an immigration judge.

Elmendorf officials say while the illegal workers did not have access to the sensitive areas of the base. Still, they are now looking more closely at their contractors.

In a statement sent to the Eye Team, 3rd Wing Public Affairs Deputy Chief Stephen Lee says, "We take this incident very seriously and have begun a complete review of all contractors working on the base."

Lewis says the damage has already been done in terms of the loss of jobs and wages for local workers. "When a contractor is allowed through fraudulent business practices, to come into Alaska and take jobs from Alaskans, its very detrimental to us as a whole, whether you are union or non union," he says.

The newly strengthened E-verify rules were supposed to prevent this exact thing from happening.

E-verify is a government program that compares information employers provide about their workers to federal government databases to verify worker's employment eligibility. It's designed to ensure only legal American workers are employed on government projects.

Only it was not followed for the Elmendorf project.

"The contractor is responsible for vetting any prospective employee to ensure they meet citizenship requirements," Lee said in his statement, "In this instance, undocumented workers used fake identification to gain employment with the contractor."

As for any legal action, Elmendorf officials say they are working to review their contract with Steel System Erectors to see what action if any should be taken.

Steel System Erectors did not return repeated calls for comment.

Yes, that is a bad thing. However, just exactly how is this the fault of "this" administration? Were all the security people in every department and all the clerks processing clearances under bush and clinton before bush suddenly fired and all new ones under Obama hired?? I know you have a major problem with Obama (I won't get into that) but not everything that happens is HIS fault and these career FBI and Homeland security guys were not all hired after last January.
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
schnurrbart said:
Pig Farmer said:
Investigation: Illegal Workers On Elmendorf AFB

Andrea Gusty, CBS 11 News
CREATED: 12/16/2009 12:11:02 PM PST

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTVA-CBS 11 News) A contractor hired for a major construction project on Elmendorf Air Force Base broke both state and federal law.

At issue: the illegal immigrants that were granted access to the base to help construct the Air Force's new F-22 hangers.

This summer the Air Force started a multi-million dollar effort to build new F-22 hangers on Elmendorf Air Force Base. The contractor hired for the steel work was Steel System Erectors out of California.

An investigation has reviled the company employed undocumented workers and allowed them access to a national security site.

A "critical infrastructure site essential to national security." That is how the federal government describes Elmendorf Air Force Base.

At each entrance, security checks the ids and has the right to search the vehicles of all who enter the base. So then, how were illegal immigrants with forged and expired documents granted access?

"I do not have a clue how a contractor was able to take these individuals onto a military base, constructing a building for one of our most sophisticated fighter planes." Says Ironworkers Local 751 President/Organizer John Lewis.

Lewis noticed this summer that Steel System Erectors out of southern California had not hired any local workers. In fact, he found the company flew 30 employees from California to Alaska for the job.

"For you to be able to bid a job and win it with the cost of air fare and

Advertisement

housing for that many men raises a huge red flag that something- there's another area where you are cheating," says Lewis, "Either your cutting costs on workers comp, or you are misclassifying your workers."
Lewis would find Steel System Erectors was doing both. Not only did the company not follow Alaska's workers comp law for their thirty employees, but four were found to be undocumented workers.

"It's extremely disturbing that a contractor is able to, day after day for months on end, take undocumented workers and get them through security," says Lewis.

While they declined to talk on camera, officials with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement did confirm four of Steel System Erectors' employees on the Elmendorf job did not have proper employment documents, and one of those even had a criminal history in California.

Since the federal investigation at the end of October, all four men have been arrested. One of the workers has been deported, two voluntarily returned to their country, and one will be pleading his case in front of an immigration judge.

Elmendorf officials say while the illegal workers did not have access to the sensitive areas of the base. Still, they are now looking more closely at their contractors.

In a statement sent to the Eye Team, 3rd Wing Public Affairs Deputy Chief Stephen Lee says, "We take this incident very seriously and have begun a complete review of all contractors working on the base."

Lewis says the damage has already been done in terms of the loss of jobs and wages for local workers. "When a contractor is allowed through fraudulent business practices, to come into Alaska and take jobs from Alaskans, its very detrimental to us as a whole, whether you are union or non union," he says.

The newly strengthened E-verify rules were supposed to prevent this exact thing from happening.

E-verify is a government program that compares information employers provide about their workers to federal government databases to verify worker's employment eligibility. It's designed to ensure only legal American workers are employed on government projects.

Only it was not followed for the Elmendorf project.

"The contractor is responsible for vetting any prospective employee to ensure they meet citizenship requirements," Lee said in his statement, "In this instance, undocumented workers used fake identification to gain employment with the contractor."

As for any legal action, Elmendorf officials say they are working to review their contract with Steel System Erectors to see what action if any should be taken.

Steel System Erectors did not return repeated calls for comment.

Yes, that is a bad thing. However, just exactly how is this the fault of "this" administration? Were all the security people in every department and all the clerks processing clearances under bush and clinton before bush suddenly fired and all new ones under Obama hired?? I know you have a major problem with Obama (I won't get into that) but not everything that happens is HIS fault and these career FBI and Homeland security guys were not all hired after last January.


Hey Schnubert


I am quite sure from your posts which shows your IQ that you are unaware of how current administration policy influences what the FBI, HOMELAND SECURITY AND OTHER AGENCIES FOLLOW.

Do a little search on the black panthers and there polling booth escapades nov 2008. It is well known obama has said to the ag and other agencies don't cooperate with any investigations.

Now don't let your fantasies and perverted lifestyle worry you about my sex life. You should try typing with two hands and leave the fantasizing alone till you need to be doing it.


One more thing if anyone else has access to your computer be human kind and considerate and sanitize it as well as your thoughts. :cry:
 

Steve

Well-known member
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTVA-CBS 11 News) A contractor hired for a major construction project on Elmendorf Air Force Base broke both state and federal law.

The newly strengthened E-verify rules were supposed to prevent this exact thing from happening.

Yes, that is a bad thing. However, just exactly how is this the fault of "this" administration? Were all the security people in every department and all the clerks processing clearances under bush and clinton before bush suddenly fired and all new ones under Obama hired?? I know you have a major problem with Obama (I won't get into that) but not everything that happens is HIS fault and these career FBI and Homeland security guys were not all hired after last January.

actually..

Obama administration stalls E-Verify for the 4th Time Leaving Illegal Immigration Employment Open

E-Verify is an online employment verification system operated jointly by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Social Security Administration (SSA). The simple and effective program allows participating employers to check the work status of new hires online by comparing information from an employee’s I-9 form against SSA and DHS databases.

“The administration needs to stop playing political games and rectify this situation immediately so taxpayer money isn’t funding illegitimate employment and hard-working citizens aren’t pushed to the back of the employment line,”

Then why has the White House put off the implementation of E-Verify?

“The new administration just needs an adequate opportunity to review the rule.”

yep when it comes to security.. the Obama administration is taking a nap... [
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Terrorists, Crooks Allowed to Keep FAA Pilot's Licenses
Citing ABC News Report, Senators Call for Investigation of TSA Vetting Process
By ERIC LONGABARDI and JOSEPH RHEE
Dec. 18, 2009
24 comments
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A bipartisan group of U.S. senators has asked the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Inspector General to investigate why suspect individuals – including terrorists and drug kingpins – have been able to retain their Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) pilot's licenses.


Fernando Zevallos Gonzalez, called the "Al Capone of Peru" by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency....
(ABC News Photo Illustration)
In a letter to DHS Inspector General Richard Skinner, the senators cited media reports, including an ABC News investigation, that questioned the ability of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to purge the FAA's aviation list of individuals posing a threat to transportation security.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE LETTER

In one high-profile case reported by the Blotter, a well-known drug boss named Fernando Zevallos Gonzalez was able to keep his U.S. aviation license despite being on a "black list" of foreign drug kingpins since 2004.

Related
Con Air: Convicted Drug Kingpin, Arms Smugglers Keep Licenses to Fly in the U.S.Armed F-16s "Prepared" to Shoot Down Errant Northwest FlightMore from Brian Ross and the Investigative Team
The Blotter also reported the names of two other men tied to drug trafficking and two convicted arms traffickers who still had their licenses as of Oct. The New York Times revealed that individuals charged or convicted of terrorism-related crimes were also able to retain their FAA licenses. While some of the individuals named in the ABC News and Times reports have since been stripped of their licenses, others have not, according to Safe Banking Systems (SBS), the New York computer security firm that first uncovered the suspect cases.



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"These reports are disturbing, and suggest that people who are believed to pose security threats to our nation continue to have ready access to aircraft and airport facilities," the letter to Skinner states. The letter is signed by senators Jay Rockefeller, D-W. Va., chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation; Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Tex., ranking member of the committee; Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Aviation Operations, Safety, and Security; and Jim DeMint, R-S.C., ranking member of the subcommittee.
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Cartel ‘spies’ infiltrate U.S. customs agency
Mexican drug traffickers step up efforts to corrupt border agents
Interactive: Mexican drug cartels



By Randal C. Archibold

updated 4:46 a.m. ET, Fri., Dec . 18, 2009
SAN DIEGO - At first, Luis F. Alarid seemed well on his way to becoming a customs agency success story. He had risen from a childhood of poverty and foster homes, some of them abusive, earned praise and commendations while serving in the Army and the Marines, including two tours in Iraq, and returned to Southern California to fulfill a goal of serving in law enforcement.

But, early last year, after just a few months as a customs inspector, he was waving in trucks from Mexico carrying loads of marijuana and illegal immigrants. He pocketed some $200,000 in cash that paid for, as far as the government could tell, a $15,000 motorcycle, flat-screen televisions, a laptop computer and more.

Some investigators believe that Mr. Alarid, 32, who was paid off by a Mexican smuggling crew that included several members of his family, intended to work for smugglers all along. At one point, Mr. Alarid, who was sentenced to seven years in federal prison in February, told investigators that he had researched just how much prison time he might get for his crimes and believed, as investigators later reported, that he could do it “standing on his head.”

Story continues below ↓
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Mr. Alarid’s case is not the only one that has law enforcement officials worried that Mexican traffickers — facing beefed-up security on the border that now includes miles of new fencing, floodlights, drones, motion sensors and cameras — have stepped up their efforts to corrupt the border police.

They research potential targets, anticorruption investigators said, exploiting the cross-border clans and relationships that define the region, offering money, sex, whatever it takes. But, with the border police in the midst of a hiring boom, law enforcement officers believe that traffickers are pulling out the stops, even soliciting some of their own operatives to apply for jobs.

“In some ways,” said Keith Slotter, the agent in charge of the F.B.I.’s San Diego office, “it’s like the old spy game between the old Soviet Union and the U.S. — trying to compromise each other’s spies.”

Infiltration
James Tomsheck, the assistant commissioner for internal affairs at Customs and Border Protection, and other investigators said they had seen many signs that the drug organizations were making a concerted effort to infiltrate the ranks.

“We are very concerned,” Mr. Tomsheck said. “There have been verifiable instances where people were directed to C.B.P. to apply for positions only for the purpose of enhancing the goals of criminal organizations. They had been selected because they had no criminal record; a background investigation would not develop derogatory information.”

During a federal trial of a recently hired Border Patrol agent this year, one drug trafficker with ties to organized crime in Mexico described how he had enticed the agent, a close friend from high school in Del Rio, Tex., who was entering the training academy, to join his crew smuggling tons of marijuana into Texas.

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External links
The agent, Raquel Esquivel, 25, was sentenced to 15 years in prison last week for tipping smugglers on where border guards were and suggesting how they could avoid getting caught.

The smuggler, Diego Esquivel, who is not related to the agent, said he told her that her decision to enter the academy was a good career move and, he said, “I thought it was good for me, too.”

Under the Bush administration, the United States has spent billions of dollars — $11 billion this year alone for Customs and Border Protection — to tighten the border between the United States and Mexico, building up physical barriers and going on a hiring spree to develop the nation’s largest law enforcement agency to patrol the area.

But the battle for survival among cartels in Mexico, in which thousands of people, mostly in the drug trade or fighting it, have been killed, has only led drug traffickers to redouble their efforts to get their drugs to market in the United States.

Exploiting ties
Along the border, many residents have family members on both sides. Generations of residents have been accustomed to passing back and forth relatively freely, often daily, and exchanging goods, legal or not.

Federal officials believe that drug traffickers are seeking to exploit those ties more than ever, urging family and friends on the American side to take advantage of the hiring rush for customs agents. The majority of agents and officers stay out of crime. But smuggling can be appealing. The average officer makes $70,000 a year, a sum that can be dwarfed by what smugglers pay to get just a few trucks full of drugs into the United States.

Right now, only a fraction — 10 percent or so — of Customs and Border Protection recruits are given a polygraph screening that federal investigators say has proved effective in weeding out people with drug ties and other troublesome backgrounds. Officials say they do not have the money to test more recruits.


CLICK FOR RELATED CONTENT
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In years past, new hires rarely served in the areas where they had grown up, but recently that practice has been relaxed somewhat to attract more recruits, said Thomas Frost, an assistant inspector general at the Department of Homeland Security. Mr. Frost and other internal affairs veterans say that has made it easier for traffickers.

Mr. Tomsheck said that several prospective hires had been turned away after investigators suspected that they had been directed to Customs and Border Enforcement by drug trafficking organizations, and that several recent hires were under investigation as well, though he declined to provide details.

As one exasperated investigator at the border put it, “There is so much hiring; if you have a warm body and pulse, you have a job.”

The F.B.I. is planning to add three multiagency corruption squads to the 10 already on the Southwest border, and the Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general, the department’s primary investigative arm, has also added agents. But such hiring has not kept up with the growth of the agency they are entrusted to keep watch over.

Over all, arrests of Customs and Border Protection agents and officers have increased 40 percent in the last few years, outpacing the 24 percent growth in the agency itself, according to the Department of Homeland Security inspector general’s office. The office has 400 open investigations, each often spanning a few years or more


National security threat
Keith A. Byers, who supervises the F.B.I.’s border corruption units, said corruption posed a national security threat because guards seldom verify what is in the vehicles they have agreed to let pass, raising concerns “they could be letting something much more dangerous into the U.S.”

Most corrupt officers gravitate to smuggling illegal immigrants, rationalizing that is less onerous than getting involved with drugs, investigators say.

But Mr. Byers and others point to a string of drug-related cases that make them wonder if the conventional wisdom is holding.

Story continues below ↓
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Margarita Crispin, a former customs inspector in El Paso, pleaded guilty in April 2008 and received a 20-year prison sentence in what the F.B.I. considers one of the more egregious corruption cases.

Through a succession of boyfriends and other associates with ties to major drug trafficking organizations in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, Ms. Crispin helped smuggle thousands of pounds of marijuana over three years, almost from the time she began working for the agency.

She waved off drug-sniffing dogs in her lane, complaining she was afraid of them, although investigators later learned she had had dogs as pets.

“She is someone who from the beginning said this would be a good job to help the people I am associated with,” Mr. Byers said.

Mother, daughter team
Just last month, Martha Garnica, a 12-year Customs and Border Protection employee near El Paso, was charged with bribery and marijuana smuggling in concert with traffickers in Ciudad Juárez.

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External links
Ms. Garnica’s 21-year-old daughter had also sought a job with the Border Patrol, in what investigators deemed a suspicious move given her mother’s alleged involvement in the drug trade. The daughter, testifying in court last week, admitted she had lied on the application both about being a United States citizen and about owning property in Mexico. A spokesman for the United States Attorney’s Office in El Paso declined to comment.

Mr. Alarid’s history in the military probably made him seem like a good candidate for the customs job. But he had a tangled family history. According to court papers, both his parents were drug addicts.

Mr. Alarid was born in Tijuana, Mexico, but raised largely in foster homes in Southern California. He emerged from high school a track star and, over the next 10 years, did stints in the Marines and the Army, drawing praise from commanders for his dedication and service.

“I would willingly trust Luis with my life,” Sgt. Maj. Michael W. Abbey of the Army wrote in a letter to the judge before Mr. Alarid was sentenced in February.

Mr. Alarid began working at the border in San Diego in October 2007. In his guilty plea, he admitted that he had started smuggling in February 2008. He was arrested three months later.

Mr. Alarid would wave in vehicles that should have raised suspicion, either because their license plates were partly covered or because the plates did not belong to the vehicle, something he would have seen on the computer screen in his inspection booth.

Before reporting to his lane, he would go out to the employee parking lot to use his cellphone, which federal agents believe was his way of telling the smugglers which lane to approach.


CLICK FOR RELATED CONTENT
U.S. drug cartel crackdown misses the money
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Driving factors
At his sentencing, all involved — the prosecutors, the judge, his lawyer — expressed bewilderment at the turn in Mr. Alarid’s life. But in an interview, a family member who was not part of the case said Mr. Alarid had mounting gambling debts and, despite it all, had always sought a bond with his biological mother.

Interactive: Mexican drug cartels


Learn more about how Mexican drug cartels are extending their reach farther into the U.S.

Still, Judge Janis L. Sammartino accepted the government’s argument that a deterrent message needed to be sent.

“I do think that the public, for a while at least, needs to be assured that who we have at the border are 100 percent individuals of integrity,” she said. “I think you were at one time. I don’t know what went wrong for you, sir, and I hope that you attain that again.”

This story, "Hired by Customs, but Working for the Cartels," originally appeared in The New York Times.
 

hopalong

Well-known member
Give snooze a break guys,he is still on the meds that they gave him when he got out of rehab, sent there when he found out his wife was votng REPUBLICAN :wink: :wink: :wink:
 

schnurrbart

Well-known member
Pig Farmer said:
schnurrbart said:
Pig Farmer said:
Investigation: Illegal Workers On Elmendorf AFB

Andrea Gusty, CBS 11 News
CREATED: 12/16/2009 12:11:02 PM PST

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTVA-CBS 11 News) A contractor hired for a major construction project on Elmendorf Air Force Base broke both state and federal law.

At issue: the illegal immigrants that were granted access to the base to help construct the Air Force's new F-22 hangers.

This summer the Air Force started a multi-million dollar effort to build new F-22 hangers on Elmendorf Air Force Base. The contractor hired for the steel work was Steel System Erectors out of California.

An investigation has reviled the company employed undocumented workers and allowed them access to a national security site.

A "critical infrastructure site essential to national security." That is how the federal government describes Elmendorf Air Force Base.

At each entrance, security checks the ids and has the right to search the vehicles of all who enter the base. So then, how were illegal immigrants with forged and expired documents granted access?

"I do not have a clue how a contractor was able to take these individuals onto a military base, constructing a building for one of our most sophisticated fighter planes." Says Ironworkers Local 751 President/Organizer John Lewis.

Lewis noticed this summer that Steel System Erectors out of southern California had not hired any local workers. In fact, he found the company flew 30 employees from California to Alaska for the job.

"For you to be able to bid a job and win it with the cost of air fare and

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housing for that many men raises a huge red flag that something- there's another area where you are cheating," says Lewis, "Either your cutting costs on workers comp, or you are misclassifying your workers."
Lewis would find Steel System Erectors was doing both. Not only did the company not follow Alaska's workers comp law for their thirty employees, but four were found to be undocumented workers.

"It's extremely disturbing that a contractor is able to, day after day for months on end, take undocumented workers and get them through security," says Lewis.

While they declined to talk on camera, officials with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement did confirm four of Steel System Erectors' employees on the Elmendorf job did not have proper employment documents, and one of those even had a criminal history in California.

Since the federal investigation at the end of October, all four men have been arrested. One of the workers has been deported, two voluntarily returned to their country, and one will be pleading his case in front of an immigration judge.

Elmendorf officials say while the illegal workers did not have access to the sensitive areas of the base. Still, they are now looking more closely at their contractors.

In a statement sent to the Eye Team, 3rd Wing Public Affairs Deputy Chief Stephen Lee says, "We take this incident very seriously and have begun a complete review of all contractors working on the base."

Lewis says the damage has already been done in terms of the loss of jobs and wages for local workers. "When a contractor is allowed through fraudulent business practices, to come into Alaska and take jobs from Alaskans, its very detrimental to us as a whole, whether you are union or non union," he says.

The newly strengthened E-verify rules were supposed to prevent this exact thing from happening.

E-verify is a government program that compares information employers provide about their workers to federal government databases to verify worker's employment eligibility. It's designed to ensure only legal American workers are employed on government projects.

Only it was not followed for the Elmendorf project.

"The contractor is responsible for vetting any prospective employee to ensure they meet citizenship requirements," Lee said in his statement, "In this instance, undocumented workers used fake identification to gain employment with the contractor."

As for any legal action, Elmendorf officials say they are working to review their contract with Steel System Erectors to see what action if any should be taken.

Steel System Erectors did not return repeated calls for comment.

Yes, that is a bad thing. However, just exactly how is this the fault of "this" administration? Were all the security people in every department and all the clerks processing clearances under bush and clinton before bush suddenly fired and all new ones under Obama hired?? I know you have a major problem with Obama (I won't get into that) but not everything that happens is HIS fault and these career FBI and Homeland security guys were not all hired after last January.


Hey Schnubert


I am quite sure from your posts which shows your IQ that you are unaware of how current administration policy influences what the FBI, HOMELAND SECURITY AND OTHER AGENCIES FOLLOW.

Do a little search on the black panthers and there polling booth escapades nov 2008. It is well known obama has said to the ag and other agencies don't cooperate with any investigations.

Now don't let your fantasies and perverted lifestyle worry you about my sex life. You should try typing with two hands and leave the fantasizing alone till you need to be doing it.


One more thing if anyone else has access to your computer be human kind and considerate and sanitize it as well as your thoughts. :cry:

You are funny. You really should seek professional help with your fantasies. No one said anything about your sex life. Personally, I would think any discussion of that would be quite disgusting. You need to quit blaming Obama and liberals for everything that comes along and wake up. You would like everyone to be just like you huh?? Don't be giving orders to anyone pal.
 
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