Note concerning Patriot Act. . . HOMELAND SECURITY: IT ISN'T A JOKE ANY LONGER -- IT'S A CRIME

[Dave Farber <dave () farber net>]

------ Forwarded Message
From: Dylan Northrup <docx () io com>
Date: Sun, 06 Apr 2003 07:33:24 -0400
To: Dave Farber <dave () farber net>
Subject: Note concerning Patriot Act. . .

This URL was forwarded to me from another list.  For IP if you like:

http://coldfury.com/reason/comments.php?id=P507_0_1_0


HOMELAND SECURITY:  IT ISN'T A JOKE ANY LONGER -- IT'S A CRIME

I came across this story via History News Network , and you have to read it
to believe it -- and even then you won't (emphasis mine):


The mysterious itinerary that caused Gayle Gould heart-pounding concern over
President Bush¹s safety arrived unexpectedly in her mail last week.

Someone had stolen her credit card number and charged airline tickets to her
MasterCard. 

The traveler booked a seat aboard US Airways Flight 722, which left Atlanta
at 6:40 p.m. Sunday, March 23, and arrived in Philadelphia two hours later.

A return trip to Atlanta was booked a week later for March 31, departing
Philadelphia at 8 a.m.

At the bottom of the itinerary was the traveler¹s name: Far D. Nasir. ...

It¹s a fact that Middle Eastern terrorists engage in credit card fraud to
fund their activities.

And the nation is at Code Orange which, according to the U.S. Department of
Homeland Security, means we face a "high risk of terrorist attacks."

"My worst-case suspicion? That [Nasir] is a terrorist who had come to
Philadelphia to do harm. Maybe a suicide bomber," Gould said.

But when Gayle Gould tried to alert the authorities, they weren¹t
interested. 

She called US Airways, who told her a boarding agent had, in fact,
questioned Nasir about the discrepancy between his name and the one on the
credit card. 

Nasir told US Airways that Gould is his mother. He was allowed to board. ...

[I]f you¹re a terrorist of the jihad variety who scouts or stalks big
targets, Philadelphia was the place to be last week.

President Bush and Tom Ridge, the director of Homeland Security, were due
for a visit. 

The local press was awash in the controversy over terror-proofing
Independence Hall, a juicy symbolic target mere feet from newly reopened
Chestnut Street. 

Gould called the FBI¹s Philadelphia office. An agent said her information
amounted to credit card fraud, which they don¹t handle.

The agent referred her to the U.S. Secret Service.

A Secret Service agent told Gould the agency handles credit card fraud, but
only if it¹s a substantial loss, say $50,000 or more. Since her loss was
$454, they¹d pass. 

She called the Pennsylvania State Police terrorist tip line. It was busy.

She called the Philadelphia International Airport police. She was told they
would act only if the information came from a police source.

So, she called the Lower Makefield police.

"They couldn¹t believe, with the information I had, that no one wanted to
listen to me," she said.

She spent last Friday and the weekend trying to get someone to listen to
her. 

She e-mailed the White House, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the
General Services Administration, all the Philadelphia TV stations.

She received two responses.

A man from the Pennsylvania homeland security office called late Saturday
night to say he could do nothing with her information until 9 a.m. Monday ‹
an hour after Nasir was due to depart Philadelphia ‹ because the agency¹s
employees work "banker¹s hours."

A GSA employee named Jim Zawada sent Gould an e-mail sympathizing with her,
but said the issue was not under GSA¹s jurisdiction.
Toward the end of this column, the writer says:


I called the Philadelphia airport police. An officer checked reports for
last Monday. No Far D. Nasir was stopped, questioned or arrested for credit
card fraud. 

Funny. We¹ve all heard those stories of airport security screeners around
the country indiscriminately yanking little old ladies from line to rudely
search them for weapons.

But a mystery man with a Middle Eastern name travelling illegally in the
United States to a city where the president is set to visit during wartime
gets a pass. 

I wish the people paid to protect us from terrorism would take this stuff as
seriously as Gayle Gould does.
In addition to the outrageous incompetence this story reveals (and read the
whole piece, for even more unbelievable details), I have a question: exactly
why does the government want all the additional surveillance and police
powers it says it needs to protect us from future terrorist attacks?

They don't seem to be using the powers they have now to do a damned thing
about what may be real threats today. So what are they planning to do with
all those powers -- and what would they do with all the powers contained in
Patriot Act II, should it get passed?

You have to wonder.  But if you're becoming anywhere close to as cynical as
I am at this point, maybe you're not wondering any longer.

UPDATE:  Matt Welch just wrote an excellent article about the dangers in
Patriot II, which you can read here .  And Matt has lots of additional links
on the subject here .


Posted by: Arthur Silber on Apr. 05, 2003 | 7:46 pm 

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