The New Year was just hours old when the administration of President Barack Obama began rounding up and deporting at least 121 people, some reportedly as young as four years old, presumably back to the drug wars and violence they are fleeing in predominantly Central American countries. The coordinated raids over the weekend focused mostly in Georgia, Texas, and North …
Hundreds of Women in Immigrant Prison on Hunger Strike for Immediate Release
Just one week in, an indefinite hunger strike at an all-women’s immigrant detention center in Texas—operated by the for-profit prison company Corrections Corporation of America—has swelled to hundreds of refugees and migrants who are uniting behind a single demand: immediate freedom. While the exact number of participants is unknown, a person who regularly visits the Hutto Detention Center in Taylor …
John Vibes – If You Live in One of These States You’ll Soon Need a Passport for Domestic Flights
To comply with the 2005 Real ID Act, which the U.S. government has been slowly implementing for the past decade, citizens in a number of different U.S. states will now be forced to obtain a passport if they want to board an airplane — even for domestic flights. The Department of Homeland Security and representatives with the U.S. Customs and …
Sandra Fulton – Cyber Bill Gives Companies Perfect Cover to Gut Your Privacy
Following several high-profile data breaches — such as those at Sony and the U.S. Office of Personnel Management — Congress is once again feeling the pressure to push “cybersecurity” legislation. The problem is, the bill they’re laser-focused on is misguided, wouldn’t protect us — and is a huge gift to companies wanting legal cover if and when they choose to …
Treasury Now Has Color-Coded Financial Terror Alerts By Pam Martens and Russ Martens
Remember when the Department of Homeland Security was issuing those color-coded terrorist alerts? Well, they don’t do that anymore. They’re back to using plain ole black-and-white words to describe threats. Apparently, however, the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Financial Research (OFR) thought it was such a cool idea that they’ve started color-coding threats to our financial security from the denizens on Wall …
The next epidemic, brought to you by the US government – Laura H. Kahn
The United States eradicated foot-and-mouth disease from its borders in 1929. The virus, deadly to livestock, persists in more than 100 countries, though, and travels with ease. It is able to hitchhike on shoes, clothes, and tires. Airborne, it can travel almost 40 miles overland and almost 190 over open ocean. When the United Kingdom experienced a foot-and-mouth epidemic in 2001, more than six million …
EXCLUSIVE: TSA Chief Sacked for 95% Failure Rate By JUSTIN FISHEL, PIERRE THOMAS, MIKE LEVINE and JACK DATE
The series of tests were conducted by Homeland Security Red Teams who pose as passengers, setting out to beat the system. According to officials briefed on the results of a recent Homeland Security Inspector General’s report, TSA agents failed 67 out of 70 tests, with Red Team members repeatedly able to get potential weapons through checkpoints. In one test an undercover agent …
The NSA’s Technotyranny: One Nation Under Surveillance – John Whitehead
We now have a fourth branch of government.As I document in my new book Battlefield America: The War on the American People, this fourth branch came into being without any electoral mandate or constitutional referendum, and yet it possesses superpowers, above and beyond those of any other government agency save the military. It is all-knowing, all-seeing and all-powerful. It operates beyond …
REPORT: TSA SCREENING EQUIPMENT NOT BEING MAINTAINED; SAFETY OF AMERICANS IN JEOPARDY – Steve Watson
A report published by a government accountability group states that the TSA is jeopardizing the safety of travelers and aircraft because it is not adequately maintaining security equipment. The report, by the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General, states that the TSA does not know which screening equipment is working correctly or in need of repair because maintenance procedures …
‘Profiting From Misery’: Private Prison Corporations Driving Harsh Immigration Policies – Sarah Lazare
Private prison companies are spending millions of dollars to lobby the U.S. government for harsher immigration laws that, in turn, spike corporate profits by driving up incarceration levels, a new report from the national social justice organization Grassroots Leadership reveals. Entitled Payoff: How Congress Ensures Private Prison Profit with an Immigrant Detention Quota, the report’s release on Wednesday coincided with a renewed …