 It's not what's in their shoes or underwear. It's what's in their minds. For eight years, travelers in the United States getting ready to head to the airport have had to think hard about their footwear. Knowing that we’ll be forced to remove our shoes to go through the X-ray machines, we make sure that they are an easily removed pair — and that socks have been recently washed to prevent embarrassment.
In warm weather, the ordeal can’t be prevented by a clever choice to wear open sandals that expose the feet, as the TSA employees are under strict orders to closely examine even the strappiest shoes. But Israelis heading for Ben-Gurion Airport need not worry about donning even the most complicated pair of lace-up boots, as passengers are never asked to take off their shoes as part of the security process. Airport security in Israel is not about what’s on your feet, or in your pockets, or — god forbid — in your underwear. It’s about what’s in your head. While the Israeli security system is certainly not perfect, it is unlikely that Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab could have successfully boarded a plane without being detained, questioned in-depth, and hopefully caught — even if his risk level hadn’t been so clearly documented. The secret of Israeli airport security doesn’t just lie in super-sophisticated technology. Simply put, in Israel’s airport, there are simply far more opportunities to get caught. As Rafi Sela, an expert on security, outlined for the Toronto Star, the security system at Ben-Gurion Airport is multi-layered, comprised of the following elements: – Roadside check: Drivers are stopped and asked who they are and where they came from. Even at that early stage, they are examined for behavioral giveaways that would mark them as suspicious. – Armed guards at the entrance to the terminal and the entrance of the airport give you the visual once-over as you enter. They can pull you aside for a random check. – Before you arrive at the main check-in counter, you stand in a security line where a young, clearly intelligent young man or woman examines your passport and ticket, looks straight into your eyes, and asks you about who you are, where you came from, where you are heading, who packed your luggage, and whether you are carrying any packages for anyone. If you offer an ambiguous answer, or raise any red flags by your behavior, the grilling continues, and the questions can frankly become irritatingly personal. My ire was up in an airport stop pre-9/11, when, to check whether I was in fact an American Jew, I was asked questions about my Bat Mitzvah. Suspicious behavior results in closer examinations. – Luggage is X-rayed before check-in. Suspicious items are put in blast-proof containers and moved away to a safe area. The airport doesn’t shut down over a suspicious object. – Only then comes the walk through the X-ray machine (with your shoes on) and the check of your hand luggage. Yes, they are checking out your bags, but again, they are mainly checking you out. Nobody cares about your bottle of water, baby formula, moisturizer, nail scissors, or tweezers. The journey through this process, with multiple stations at every stop, is usually fairly rapid for low-risk travelers, even at the height of holiday season. So, as the Star points out, the Israeli way is both more efficient and more effective. So why not adopt it in the U.S.? More at Pajamas Media 
Perhaps there are some useful tips worth taking note of.
 By Art Moore The Council on American-Islamic Relations has filed a federal lawsuit against a co-author of the newly released book "Muslim Mafia" and his son, charging they conspired to carry out a six-month undercover operation in which they secretly recorded meetings and stole thousands of pages of sensitive documents from the Washington, D.C.-based Muslim group. In the book, "Muslim Mafia: Inside the Secret Underworld That's Conspiring to Islamize America," published by WND Books, P. David Gaubatz and "Infiltration" author Paul Sperry present first-hand evidence CAIR is acting as a front for a well-funded conspiracy of the Muslim Brotherhood – the parent of al-Qaida and Hamas – to infiltrate the American system and help pave the way for Saudi-style Islamic law to rule the U.S. In the lawsuit, however, CAIR, which describes itself as a Muslim civil-rights group, does not defend itself against the book's claims. U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly ordered P. David Gaubatz and his son, Chris Gaubatz, to appear in her District of Columbia court today to respond to CAIR's demand for a restraining order.
CAIR says it seeks to prevent any further disclosure or distribution of the 12,000 pages of documents Chris Gaubatz acquired from the group while working as an intern under the pseudonym David Marshall. The two defendants did not appear in court. Dave Gaubatz told WND he had not seen the complaint and had not been served with a subpoena. The complaint says CAIR is seeking punitive damages for trespass, breach of contract, conversion and breach of fiduciary duty. The FBI cut off ties to CAIR in January after the group was named an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation case in Texas, the largest terrorism-finance case in U.S. history. Democratic Sen. Charles Schumer of New York and other senators have called for a government-wide ban on CAIR. CAIR's lawsuit alleges Chris Gaubatz obtained access to CAIR property under false pretenses and removed the internal documents and made recordings of officials and employees "without any consent or authorization and in violation of his contractual, fiduciary and other legal obligations to CAIR." Dave Gaubatz told WND the "research project pertaining to CAIR was conducted in a professional and legal manner." He said it was "funded by a high profile U.S. organization with very close ties to senior law enforcement and U.S. government officials." Gaubatz said he cannot name the group now, but noted it is not SANE, the Society of Americans for National Existence, as widely believed. "This organization is very professional, and every step of the research was coordinated with their legal team and senior personnel," he said. "From the very onset of the research, our researchers observed intelligence in CAIR documents which appeared to be national security concerns." Read more here ... Source: WND
 By Robert Spencer Give up terrorism? Renounce Sharia? Cut out the rocket attacks? End the suicide bombings? Stop the genocidal rhetoric? Nope. They don't have to do a single thing. No preconditions. Let's establish that terror base state now! "National Security Advisor Reiterates US Commitment to Peace, Palestinian State at ATFP Gala," from the American Task Force for Palestine, October 16 (thanks to Pamela): Washington, DC, Oct. 16 -- At the Oct. 15 Fourth Annual Gala of the American Task Force on Palestine (ATFP), the National Security Advisor, General James L. Jones, reiterated the Administration's commitment to establishing a Palestinian state and determination to move forward with peace talks. "We are clear, unambiguous and consistent," said Gen. Jones, "The time has come to relaunch negotiations without preconditions to reach a final status agreement on two states."
The National Security Advisor emphasized that, "President Obama's dedication to achieve these goals is unshaken, is committed, and we will be relentless in our pursuit of achieving these." He said that ending the conflict and the occupation is essential because what is at stake is "nothing less than the dignity and the security of all human beings." "We must move beyond talking about talks and get to the hard work of addressing the core issues that separate Israelis and Palestinians," Jones said.... Source: JihadWatch
 By Yoram Ettinger The idea that a Palestinian state can lead to enduring peace in the Middle East has become a diplomatic obsession for American policy makers. Bringing such a state into being has become the equivalent of finding the Holy Grail. In fact, however, a Palestinian state would not only fail to bring peace and stability to the region, but would make it an even more dangerous place than it already is. And ironically, given its adamant backing for a government that would have been led by Yasser Arafat and now would be headed by Abu Mazen, U.S. support for the creation of “Palestine,” which would immediately ally itself with and become a client of rivals and enemies of America such as Iran, would harm American, Israeli, and even Arab interests. The history of the PLO's Abu Mazen – who is hailed by the US administration as a peaceful leader – tells us something important about the likely character of a Palestinian state. As a graduate of Moscow University (Ph.D. thesis: Holocaust Denial) and a beneficiary of KGB training, he managed the logistics of the Munich Massacre of eleven Israeli athletes in 1972. He was the architect of PLO ties with ruthless communist regimes until 1989 and, since 1993, a series of PLO accords with Hamas. In 1950, 1966 and 1970, he was forced to flee Egypt, Syria and Jordan, respectively, for subversive activities. During the 1970s and 1980s he participated in PLO attempts to topple the Christian regime in Beirut, which resulted in the 1976 Syrian invasion of Lebanon and a series of civil wars, causing close to 200,000 deaths and hundreds of thousands of refugees. As Yasser Arafat’s confidante and first deputy for over fifty years until Arafat's death, Abu Mazen is one of the engineers of contemporary Palestinian hate education, which has become a production line for terrorists. In 1990, he collaborated with Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait, despite the Gulf country’s unique hospitality to 400,000 PLO-affiliated Palestinians. Read more ...Source: FPM
Citing unnamed senior administration officials, The Washington Post said the decision was part of a broader effort to revamp US policy on detention and interrogation.
Mr Obama signed off on the unit, named the High-Value Detainee Interrogation Group (HIG) late last week, the report says.
It will be made up of experts from several intelligence and law enforcement agencies and housed at the FBI, the paper noted.
The group will be overseen by the National Security Council, which means shifting the centre of gravity away from the CIA and giving the White House direct oversight, The Post said.
Mr Obama moved to overhaul interrogation and detention guidelines soon after taking office, including the creation of a task force on interrogation and transfer policies, the report says.
The task force, whose findings will be made public today, recommended the new interrogation unit, along with other changes regarding the way prisoners are transferred overseas.
 By Bill West Last week, the Wall Street Journal offered an op-ed article detailing the difficulties facing the Obama Administration in closing the Guantanamo detention center: what to do with those detainees and how to handle terrorism suspects captured in the future on foreign battlefields by our military and intelligence services. The article notes that a possible option to solve these problems would be the Congressional creation of a new "National Security Court." Such a court would be a hybrid of federal civilian criminal courts, U.S. military courts and the Guantanamo-based military commissions. This concept has been around for a couple of years now. It was initially proposed by Andrew McCarthy, the former senior Assistant U.S. Attorney in New York who successfully prosecuted Omar Abdel Rahman, the "Blind Sheikh," as well as the perpetrators of the first World Trade Center attack. The concept appears to have substantial merit. Theoretically, such a court would be able to try cases against terrorist enemy combatants utilizing both overt evidence and, under tightly controlled circumstances, classified intelligence evidence. The creation of a National Security Court would require the proverbial act of Congress. Read more ...Source: IPT News
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It's not what's in their shoes or underwear. It's what's in their minds.
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