Saturday, August 22, 2009

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Mock Executions Conducted By CIA – Report


Posted: 21 Aug 2009 10:25 PM PDT




gitmo


There is little doubt that a report to be revealed next week will once
again ignite a firestorm of controversy surrounding the interrogation
methods used on suspected terrorists. The timing of it’s release is
already being questioned.


The long-suppressed report by the Central Intelligence Agency’s
inspector general to be released next week reveals that CIA interrogators
staged mock executions as part of the agency’s post-9/11 program to detain
and question terror suspects,
NEWSWEEK has learned.


According to two sources one who has read a draft of the paper and one
who was briefed on it the report describes how one detainee, suspected USS
Cole bomber Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, was threatened with a gun and a power
drill during the course of CIA interrogation. According to the sources,
who like others quoted in this article asked not to be named while
discussing sensitive information, Nashiri’s interrogators brandished the
gun in an effort to convince him that he was going to be shot.
Interrogators also turned on a power drill and held it near him. “The
purpose was to scare him into giving [information] up,” said one of the
sources. A federal law banning the use of torture expressly forbids
threatening a detainee with “imminent death.”


The report also says, according to the sources, that a mock execution
was staged in a room next to a detainee, during which a gunshot was fired
in an effort to make the suspect believe that another prisoner had been
killed. The inspector general’s report alludes to more than one mock
execution.


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Mock Executions Conducted By CIA – Report





State Department Warns About Mexico Travel


Posted: 21 Aug 2009 05:46 PM PDT




mexico_violence


Citing rising violence, the U.S. State Department’s latest Mexico alert
urges travelers to delay trips to parts of Michoacan and Chihuahua states.
The alert, issued Thursday, advises U.S. citizens to delay unnecessary
travel to those areas and to exercise “extreme caution” if a visit is
necessary.


From The State Department Travel
Alert

Throughout Mexico, the State Department said,
travelers should try to travel on main roads during daylight hours,
especially toll roads, which are typically more secure. Officials also
recommend that Americans avoid traveling alone, put away fancy jewelry,
stay in well-known tourist areas and leave itineraries with friends or
family.


Mexican drug cartels are engaged in violent conflict – both among
themselves and with Mexican security services – for control of narcotics
trafficking routes along the U.S.-Mexico border. In order to combat
violence, the government of Mexico has deployed military troops in various
parts of the country. U.S. citizens should cooperate fully with
official checkpoints when traveling on Mexican highways.


Some recent Mexican army and police confrontations with drug cartels
have resembled small-unit combat, with cartels employing automatic weapons
and grenades. Large firefights have taken place in towns and cities
across Mexico, but occur mostly in northern Mexico, including Tijuana,
Chihuahua City, Monterrey and Ciudad Juarez. During some of these
incidents, U.S. citizens have been trapped and temporarily prevented from
leaving the area. The U.S. Mission in Mexico currently restricts
non-essential travel within the state of Durango, the northwest quadrant
of Chihuahua and an area southeast of Ciudad Juarez, and all parts of the
state of Coahuila south of Mexican Highways 25 and 22 and the Alamos River
for US Government employees assigned to Mexico. This restriction was
implemented in light of the recent increase in assaults, murders, and
kidnappings in those three states. The situation in northern Mexico
remains fluid; the location and timing of future armed engagements cannot
be predicted.


A number of areas along the border are experiencing rapid growth in the
rates of many types of crime. Robberies, homicides, petty thefts,
and carjackings have all increased over the last year across Mexico
generally, with notable spikes in Tijuana and northern Baja
California. Ciudad Juarez, Tijuana and Nogales are among the cities
which have experienced public shootouts during daylight hours in shopping
centers and other public venues. Criminals have followed and
harassed U.S. citizens traveling in their vehicles in border areas
including Nuevo Laredo, Matamoros, and Tijuana.


The situation in the state of Chihuahua including Ciudad Juarez is of
special concern. The U.S. Consulate General recommends that
American citizens defer non-essential travel to the Guadalupe Bravo area
southeast of Ciudad Juarez and to the northwest quarter of the state
of Chihuahua including the city of Nuevo Casas Grandes and
surrounding communities. From the United States, these areas are
often reached through the Columbus, NM and Fabens and Fort Hancock, TX
ports-of-entry. In both areas, American citizens have been victims
of drug related violence.


Mexican authorities report that more than 1,000 people have been killed
in Ciudad Juarez in the first six-months of 2009. Additionally, this
city of 1.6 million people experienced more than 17,000 car thefts and
1,650 carjackings in 2008. U.S. citizens should pay close attention
to their surroundings while traveling in Ciudad Juarez, avoid isolated
locations during late night and early morning hours, and remain alert to
news reports. Visa and other service seekers visiting the Consulate
are encouraged to make arrangements to pay for those services using a
non-cash method.


U.S. citizens are urged to be alert to safety and security concerns
when visiting the border region. Criminals are armed with a wide
array of sophisticated weapons. In some cases, assailants have worn
full or partial police or military uniforms and have used vehicles that
resemble police vehicles. While most crime victims are Mexican
citizens, the uncertain security situation poses serious risks for U.S.
citizens as well. U.S. citizen victims of crime in Mexico are urged
to contact the consular section of the nearest U.S. consulate or Embassy
for advice and assistance.

See Full Travel Alert


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Terror Alert. National Terror Alert is America's trusted source for
homeland security news and information.

State Department Warns About Mexico Travel





Homeland Security Arrests Photographer In Lower Manhattan


Posted: 21 Aug 2009 03:28 PM PDT




fbi_manhattan


Just when it looked like The Man was standing up for photographer’s
rights, or at least understanding the law, things have gone sour again.
Carlos Miller reports that 43-year-old professional photographer Randall
Thomas “was jailed for six hours—and had his camera and memory card
confiscated by a judge—after filming an FBI building from across the
street in New York City Monday.”


He was standing at the corner of Duane Street and Broadway and was
doing a pan of the building with his video camera when he was accosted by
security. When Homeland Security was called in and asked what he was
filming, he said, “That’s none of your business.” Probably the magic words
that landed him behind bars for six hours. They brought him up to the 10th
floor of the building he was filming, and placed him in a holding cell,
charging him with disorderly conduct, failure to comply and impeding
duties of a federal officer. They also got a judge to sign a search
warrant, which allowed them to confiscate his camera and memory card,
neither of which were returned.


Source


This story comes to us via Homeland Security - National
Terror Alert. National Terror Alert is America's trusted source for
homeland security news and information.

Homeland Security Arrests Photographer In Lower Manhattan











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