Virginia teen detained in Kuwait sues U.S. over no-fly list

(Washington Examiner) - A Northern Virginia teenager detained in Kuwait is suing the U.S. government, saying officials violated his rights by apparently placing him on the no-fly list without reason.

Gulet Mohamed, 19, claims in the suit that he was detained in Kuwait in December at the request of U.S. authorities. The lawsuit says Mohamed, an Alexandria resident, was beaten, tortured and interrogated by Kuwaiti authorities about his prior travels in Yemen and Somalia.

Mohamed was taken into custody in Kuwait when he tried to renew his visa at the Kuwait International Airport on Dec. 20. He claims in the suit that he was tortured for more than week, then taken to a deportation facility. When Mohamed tried to board a flight to the United States on Sunday, the lawsuit says, he was not allowed onto the plane.

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The U.S. protects its own terrorists

Billion-dollar spy center being built in Utah.

CAMP WILLIAMS (Desert News) - Today's groundbreaking for a $1.5 billion National Security Agency data center is being billed as important in the short term for construction jobs and important in the long term for Utah's reputation as a technology center.

"This will bring 5,000 to 10,000 new jobs during its construction and development phase," Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said on Wednesday. "Once completed, it will support 100 to 200 permanent high-paid employees."

Officially named the Utah Data Center, the facility's role in aggregating and verifying dizzying volumes of data for the intelligence community has already earned it the nickname "Spy Center." Its really long moniker is the Community Comprehensive National Cyber-security Initiative Data Center — the first in the nation's intelligence community.

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Pilot punished for video exposing the farce of "airport security"

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KXTV News) - An airline pilot is being disciplined by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) for posting video on YouTube pointing out what he believes are serious flaws in airport security.

The 50-year-old pilot, who lives outside Sacramento, asked that neither he nor his airline be identified. He has worked for the airline for more than a decade and was deputized by the TSA to carry a gun in the cockpit.

He is also a helicopter test pilot in the Army Reserve and flew missions for the United Nations in Macedonia.

Three days after he posted a series of six video clips recorded with a cell phone camera at San Francisco International Airport, four federal air marshals and two sheriff's deputies arrived at his house to confiscate his federally-issued firearm. The pilot recorded that event as well and provided all the video to News10.

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UPDATE: Chris Liu: I am the YouTube airline pilot

How can any nation be expected to win a "war on terror"...

...when the train station at military headquarters is shut down because of a blinking Christmas ornament?

iPhone snitch network launched

(Infowars.com) - A new iPhone App with the misleading name "PatriotApp" attempts to draw on the power of the patriot movement, turning smartphone users into a gigantic snitch network.

You might think an app with such a patriotic name might have useful functions like a pocket constitution or quotes from our forefathers. But contrary to the services one might expect, this app allows users to report any "suspicious" behavior directly linking them with top government agencies.

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No threat, but counterterror operation targets bus station

ATLANTA, Ga. (WSB TV) - Federal agents launched a counterterrorism operation in Metro Atlanta for the third time in 10 days, inspecting every inch of a downtown Atlanta bus station.

Bomb sniffing dogs and officers from several agencies searched passengers, baggage and vehicles at the Forsyth Street bus station on Wednesday night.

Officials told Channel 2's Eric Philips there is no particular threat sparking the surge in activity, just their desire to ward off any potential attacks.

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Feds drop charges against supposed OC terrorist

(OC Weekly) - Remember Craig Monteilh? The convicted con artist and OC Weekly cover story subject who claims he helped the FBI foil an OC terrorist cell operating inside local mosques only to be abandoned by the agency after they stopped believing his stories? The guy who first claimed he was a hero for helping the feds fight terror, but whose activities led only to the arrest of an Afghan immigrant named Ahmadullah Sais Niazi, who allegedly lied on his visa application about one of his in-laws being involved with Al Qaeda? The guy who promised that Niazi's arrest was just the tip of the iceberg and that soon the feds would be taking down an entire terrorist cell in Orange County?

Well, surprise, surprise, no big terror plot was ever uncovered.

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10,000 TSA employees get secret clearances

(AP) - The new head of the Transportation Security Administration say he's giving 10,000 of the agency's employees access to secret intelligence information to better enable them to detect threats and stop terrorists.

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Bomb-plot informant testifies FBI sent him to terrorist camp in Pakistan

(Bloomberg) - The confidential informant at the center of the case against four men accused of plotting to bomb New York City synagogues testified that the Federal Bureau of Investigation sent him to Pakistan in 2008 to attend a terrorist training camp.

The informant, Shahed Hussain, told a jury in New York today he went to his native country in December of that year to meet someone at the camp. He didn’t identify the organization running the camp or discuss the result of the investigation.

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U.K. teenager banned from America for life over obscene Obama email

(Fox News) - A British teenager who sent an email to the White House calling President Obama an obscenity was banned from America for life, The Sun reported Monday.

The FBI asked local cops to tell college student Luke Angel, 17, his drunken insult was "unacceptable."

Angel said he fired off a single email criticizing the U.S. government after seeing a TV program about the 9/11 attacks.

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Napolitano: Internet monitoring needed to fight homegrown terrorism

WASHINGTON (Fox News) - Fighting homegrown terrorism by monitoring Internet communications is a civil liberties trade-off the U.S. government must make to beef up national security, the nation's homeland security chief said Friday.

As terrorists increasingly recruit U.S. citizens, the government needs to constantly balance Americans' civil rights and privacy with the need to keep people safe, said Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano.

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Pushy fliers may show up on TSA's radar

WASHINGTON (USA Today) - Airline passengers who get frustrated and kick a wall, throw a suitcase or make a pithy comment to a screener could find themselves in a little-known Homeland Security database.

The Transportation Security Administration says it is keeping records of people who make its screeners feel threatened as part of an effort to prevent workplace violence.

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New terror monitors: parking attendants

LAS VEGAS (AP) - Parking attendants and meter maids could be the nation's latest line of defense against terrorist attacks.

A new government program aims to train thousands of parking industry employees nationwide to watch for and report anything suspicious — abandoned cars, for example, or people hanging around garages, taking photographs or asking unusual questions.

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Change to Miranda interrogation laws may be coming, White House says

(NY Daily News) - The White House signaled Sunday it wants to work with Congress to change the way terrorists are interrogated, a hot-button issue made hotter by the attempted Times Square bombing.

"I think we have to look at the rules that we have and look at the situation that we now confront," Attorney General Eric Holder told ABC News' "This Week."

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Keeping Americans safe...from Canadian shoppers

Just another day in the life of those defending America against terrorists:



Three things should immediately jump out at you as you listen. First, those in the employment of the U.S. government are not required to give a reason for why they are detaining you. You are expected to comply with any and all orders given without question.

Second, this country must be under attack! Note that the border guard interrogating the Canadian citizen (at 6:00 into the recording) says that he personally sees at least three terrorists coming into the United States. Per day. From Canada.

Third, it is considered a criminal act to back away from a federal officer who is trying to manhandle you. Note what is said at the 8:52 mark: "As soon as you pulled away from my officers when they went to grab your arm, that's assault. ... You're going to jail." Makes sense to me.

You see, protecting us from Canadian shoppers is just one of the many dangerous duties performed by the brave men and women of our border patrol. I don't know about you, but I'll certainly sleep better tonight.

U.S. won't militarize cyberspace, Congress told

(CNN) - Cyberspace will not be militarized by the United States to protect the country from attacks on civilian computer networks, according to the Pentagon's nominee to head the new U.S. Cyber Command.

During Senate confirmation hearings, Lt. Gen. Keith Alexander tried to alleviate concerns by senators who were nervous the new position could violate laws which prevent the military from operating in domestic issues.

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FBI: "Extremist" group sent letter demanding resignation of Nevada governor

(Las Vegas Sun) - The FBI confirmed today that it sent an advisory to Nevada and other states notifying authorities of an extremist group's demand to remove governors from office, but said federal officials did not believe the group was an "immediate or credible" threat of violence.

Stricter security measures were put in place in the Nevada Capitol this week after police received a letter addressed to Gov. Jim Gibbons, telling him to resign his office. It made a reference to "commandeering" the office if Gibbons declined.

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