The TSA has some great news for kids 12 and under. They may be able to keep their shoes on while going through security the next time they fly. Read more »
The two security guards caught napping have been fired, but George Washington Bridge security apparently has a deadly sleeping disorder: “A guard was reportedly asleep when a man walked by and jumped to his death off the bridge.” |CBS|
This story about the feds successfully mock-bombing federal buildings should put you at ease: “Plainclothes investigators sent to test security at federal buildings in four U.S. cities were successful in smuggling bomb components through guard posts at all 10 of the sites they visited, according to a government report.” |CNN|
To help assist the ongoing fight in the War on Terror Drugs, the Department of Homeland Security announced a joint program between Customs and the U.S. Coast Guard—despite the unreadiness of the latter —to “coordinate the use of unmanned aerial vehicles in coastal areas.” The UAVs they’re referring to of course being the Predator B drones the CIA has been killing people in Iraq and Afghanistan with for the past few years, even expanding the project recently to attack targets in Pakistan too. Customs currently uses their mini-fleet of pilotless killer-bots to patrol the Mexican border mostly, but they also got a little goodwill PR boost when the Predators were deployed to help map Hurricane Ike damage. Wait till these things start patrolling the city’s streets. We’ve got one word for ya: Skynet!
As the ominous mobile surveillance system known as SkyWatch continues to invade the city’s neighborhoods, we decided to take a closer look at both the privacy invading people watcher and the company responsible for it. ICx Technologies (Nasdaq GS:ICXT) is a weapons manufacturer enabler and SkyWatch is just one item in its stable of military products* rebranded for law enforcement purposes. Most police departments—the NYPD included—utlizie the ‘Sentinel‘ version. According to the brochure, it’s perfect for any occasion, “from a prisoner working party to disaster response,” but also recommended for “crowd control, long range surveillance, and “VIP/Dignitary protection.” The unit weighs 6600 lbs., comes with a 5.5 KW gas generator that can for about 24 hours, sports an impressive set up time of “less than 10 minutes,” and costs about $100K a pop.
Taking a cue from the Secret Service’s anti-cycling policy at the DNC, the United States Tennis Association is also reportedly taking steps against the possibility of terrorists riding in on bomb filled bicycles and locking them to unsuspecting bike racks: “U.S. Open officials are working with NYC Parks Department in Flushing Meadows to remove all bikes locked” near the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center—like anyone cares enough to even bother lighting that fuse. A cop on scene told an amNY staffer his timing couldn’t be any better: “The officer said had I come 30 minutes later, I would have found that my locks had been clipped, a summons issued and a $50 storage fee levied.” Didn’t they ever see this site? Paranoid officials got it all backwards. |amNY|
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