We have seen how easy it is to place blame with the benefit of hindsight in the case of alleged Nigerian suicide bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab. Two glaring glitches in airport security leap out as the suspect is being charged in federal court with trying to detonate an explosive device while Northwest Airlines Flight 253 approached Detroit from Amsterdam on Christmas … [Read more...] about Our Flawed Airport Security System
Amsterdam Airport Authorities: Special Scanners Not Used Because of Privacy Rights (UPDATED)
The Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad reports today that Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport was not using special millimeter wave scanners that would have detected the explosive powder that Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab used to set off the fizzled explosion aboard Northwest flight 253. According to Schiphol airport spokesperson Mirjam Snoerwang, "European regulations tell us we can only … [Read more...] about Amsterdam Airport Authorities: Special Scanners Not Used Because of Privacy Rights (UPDATED)
America Should ‘Hire Private Jets for Muslims’: Elaph, United Kingdom
Is it time for the United States to segregate Muslim passengers and force them to fly on Muslim-only flights? That is just one of the politically-incorrect suggestions of Khadir Taahar, an Arab-Muslim and a regular columnist for Iraq's Kitabat newspaper, who authored this article for Britain's Arabic Elaph news portal. For Elaph, Taahar writes in part: Yesterday, Allah … [Read more...] about America Should ‘Hire Private Jets for Muslims’: Elaph, United Kingdom
English Replacing Police Radio Codes
Unlike some of my peers in the twilight of their lives, I don't spend too much time lamenting the good old days. Yes, I feel saddened that my chosen profession in the newspaper business has failed to repair its economic model which has turned it into a dinosaur. But it did come as a shock that police departments throughout the country are phasing out the radio dispatch … [Read more...] about English Replacing Police Radio Codes
Nate Silver Does the Math on Airline Terror
What are the odds of being on a commercial air flight with a terrorist? After crunching the numbers, Nate Silver tells us: Not very high (emphasis is Nate's). … [Read more...] about Nate Silver Does the Math on Airline Terror
Reinventing Reality
Mary Matalin told CNN's John King yesterday that former Pres. Bush "inherited" 9/11 from the Clinton administration: … [Read more...] about Reinventing Reality
Iran Regime Crackdown: Moussavi’s Nephew’s Body Confiscated as Dissidents Arrested’
There are signs now that the regime in Iran is expanding its crackdown and that the news this week could be increasingly grim: some dissidents have been arrested and the body of a key of Ali Habibi-Mousavi, opposition leader Mir-Hossein Mousavi's nephew, is now missing. News reports are saying "allegedly confiscated" but the odds are it is unlikely to be a case of … [Read more...] about Iran Regime Crackdown: Moussavi’s Nephew’s Body Confiscated as Dissidents Arrested’
On the Failed Underwear Bomber
He failed, it took place and this shows that the United States won't be safe until Obama is out of office according to some. An interesting roundup... that shows again how the terrorism issue has become a huge political football. … [Read more...] about On the Failed Underwear Bomber
In Defense of Harry Reid (Guest Voice)
WASHINGTON -- Punditry in the nation's capital has its own rhythms, and one common practice involves almost everyone beating up on the same politician at the same time. Such assaults are rarely about ideology, though I have found that liberals or Democrats are often the object of these sustained attacks, perhaps because journalists are overly sensitive to charges of … [Read more...] about In Defense of Harry Reid (Guest Voice)
“Quietly” (i.e., with no press attention) “Widening Terror War to Yemen”
The New York Times has a weirdly disconnected article about the United States "widening the terror war to Yemen" that reads as if it was written a year ago and pulled out now because there's a handy news hook. Here are the opening paragraphs: … [Read more...] about “Quietly” (i.e., with no press attention) “Widening Terror War to Yemen”
‘Crusader-Americans’ Do Nothing As Iranians Invade Iraq: Al Mokhtasar, Saudi Arabia
Why, when Iranian troops crossed the Iraqi border earlier this month to take possession of an Iraqi oil well and raise the Iranian flag, didn't American forces do something? That's the question in the minds of people across the Middle East, and it's promoting a common Arab conception: that the United States and Persian Iran have been cooperating with one another all along - … [Read more...] about ‘Crusader-Americans’ Do Nothing As Iranians Invade Iraq: Al Mokhtasar, Saudi Arabia
OMG! Palin As President
It's the season for the Remmers Report Annual Awards which run the gamut from the serious to the mundane, We take no prisoners and offer no pity for the absurd, especially when we gaze into the crystal ball and prognosticate the future of political mayhem. First, let's get the serious out of the way. Hero of the Year -- US Airways pilot Capt. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger … [Read more...] about OMG! Palin As President
Dawn Johnsen’s Nomination Is Officially Dead
It has been obvious for a long time now that Pres. Obama had no intention of fighting for his own nominee's confirmation, but now Johnsen's nomination is formally a dead letter. According to Senate rules, any nominations not confirmed by the end of the legislative session must be carried over to the next one by unanimous consent. Those candidates whose nominations are left … [Read more...] about Dawn Johnsen’s Nomination Is Officially Dead
Another Northwest Airplane Radios FAA Saying “Problem”
This morning Emergency units surrounded Northwest Airlines flight # 253 (same flight number as flight with Nigerian man who attempted incendiary ignition of alleged explosive substance while in flight) on the airfield at Detroit. This morning's flight was also from Amsterdam to Detroit. The pilot's request for emergency assistance on touchdown appears to have noted the … [Read more...] about Another Northwest Airplane Radios FAA Saying “Problem”
A Tragic Christmas Day Health Care Suicide
My life-partner, Doug, hails from Athens, GA, 70 miles up the road from where we live now. On Christmas day Doug was shocked and saddened by the death of Athens' folk singer and songwriter Vic Chesnutt. Death by suicide ends Chesnutt's heroic and tragic life story: Vic Chesnutt, 45, a singer-songwriter of spare, idiosyncratic folk tunes tinged with melancholy, died Christmas … [Read more...] about A Tragic Christmas Day Health Care Suicide
Iran Anti-Government Protests Turn Bloody: Mousavi’s nephew ‘killed
Renewed clashes between the Iranian regime and the Green movement in Tehran are turning increasingly bloody -- and one of them claimed the life of a key opposition leader's nephew. Times Online reports: At least four Iranian protesters were reported to have been shot dead in Tehran today — including a nephew of the opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi — during the … [Read more...] about Iran Anti-Government Protests Turn Bloody: Mousavi’s nephew ‘killed
Quote of the Day: The World Needs U.S. Leadership
Our Quote of the Day comes from an extensive commentary by Greg Sheridan, Foreign Editor of the Australian, posted on RealClearWorld that needs to be read in full. His point: the world needs U.S. leadership. Here are a few highlights: There seems to be a whole class of international relations commentators, not least among our bunyip faux wise men in Australia, eagerly … [Read more...] about Quote of the Day: The World Needs U.S. Leadership
Airport Screening Machines’ “Achilles Heel”: If Detonator Worked Northwest Flight 253 Plane Would Have Come Down
Amid all of the inspiring stories about heroism on Northwest flight 253 when a terrorist tried to set off a detonator, officials now say there are two sobering facts: FACT ONE: The fact that suspect Umar farouk Abdulmutallab got on board with the device indicates a serious -- potential grave -- achilles heel in existing scanning machines, precisely the kind of achilles heel … [Read more...] about Airport Screening Machines’ “Achilles Heel”: If Detonator Worked Northwest Flight 253 Plane Would Have Come Down
The Way We Live Now
The terrorist who set his pants on fire on a crowded plane is a Christmas bookend to the Thanksgiving White House party-crashers--reminders that, as the Marx Brothers would put it, there is "no sanity clause" in our contract for security in today's world. Both incidents undermine the belief that poverty and oppression are the main sources of danger, with the perpetrators … [Read more...] about The Way We Live Now
Al-Qaeda Shows Up at Yemen Protest; Warns Yemenis Not to Resist: Yemen Times, Yemen
Members of al-Qaeda address a crowd and take photos in Yemen's southern province of Abyan, where the government and Saudi Arabia have been bombing al-Qaeda positions. They said they had no issues with the Yemen Army, and warned civilians not oppose al-Qaeda or its war against America. With news emerging that the Nigerian terror suspect who tried to bomb a U.S. plane may … [Read more...] about Al-Qaeda Shows Up at Yemen Protest; Warns Yemenis Not to Resist: Yemen Times, Yemen