WHO’S
Guarding the Henhouse
???

“SEEK and ye shall find.”

Matthew 7:7


 

Sightings from The Catbird Seat

~ o ~

February 11, 2006

Air Marshals Arrested On
Drug Trafficking Charges

Men Worked At Other Law Enforcement Agencies

www.click2houston.com

HOUSTON — Two air marshals were arrested in connection with using their positions for drug trafficking, KPRC Local 2 reported Friday.

A tipster told FBI agents that the men, whose names were not released, were buying and selling drugs as they flew around the country as air marshals.

The federal government hired thousands of air marshals after Sept. 11, posting the undercover, armed agents on board random airplanes.

Because they carry guns, the marshals bypass metal detectors and X-ray machines.

The air marshals arrested Thursday were scheduled on an overnight flight, possibly to Las Vegas. They were arrested before making it to the airport.

Agents searched the northwest-side home of one of the men. The search warrant, which details what was found, is sealed.

Both men worked with other law enforcement agencies before becoming air marshals, sources told KPRC. One of them was a Drug Enforcement Administration agent until 2002, when he joined the air marshals.

The men’s first court appearance is scheduled for Monday.

$ $ $

February 3, 2004

Airport security firm accused of bribery

By Jeffrey Gold, Associated Press

NEWARK, N.J. – A security company with contracts to protect New York-area airports, bridges and tunnels has been charged with paying bribes to get work and hiring dozens of employees with criminal records.

Haynes Security Inc. and its president, John D’Agostino, were charged with theft, bribery and conspiracy in an indictment announced Tuesday.

Among the allegations: Haynes paid more than $1,000 in August 2001 for repairs at the home of a Continental Airlines manager in return for consideration for a contract at the Newark airport. No charges were brought against any Continental employees.

“We need to ensure the highest level of safety, security and service,” said Pasquale DiFulco, a spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which oversees the facilities….

Investigators said Haynes hired 27 convicted criminals – who are barred from holding security posts – to work at the airport and for the state’s largest utility, Public Service Electric & Gas….

Also indicted was Benjamin R. Riggi, a former PSE&G manager was accused of accepting a $7,500 bribe in 2002 to approve Haynes’ contract with the utility….

… Continued at Haynes Security, Inc.

* * *

October 22, 2003

With U. S. Troops Still in the
Mideast, Private Firms Must Guard
Military Bases at Home

From The Daily Misleader

One of George Bush Jr.‘s campaign promises was to “rebuild the military power of the United States,” which Dick Cheney, his vice-presidential candidate, claimed had lapsed because of “multiplying missions and unclear goals.” However, Bush’s multiple deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan have overtaxed the military even more and now have led to hiring more civilian contractors for such basic duties as guarding U.S. military bases.

Private security firms have taken over what traditionally was a sole province of the military. In a typical contract, Akal Security has been awarded $70 million to guard eight stateside Army bases.

In Iraq, almost a third of the $4 billion monthly costs are going to private contractors. One foreign policy expert estimates the current Bush Administration has five times as many civilian contractors in Iraq as his father’s administration did during the first Gulf War in 1991.

The privatization practice, first explored when Cheney was Secretary of Defense for the senior Bush, led to an $8.9 million logistics contract for Brown and Root, a company Cheney later oversaw as head of Halliburton after he left government….

… Continued at Akal Security

* * *

< < < FLASHBACK TO WHEN THIS PAGE STARTED < < <

July 14, 2001

From: Name Withheld (for security reasons) –

Dear Catbird,

At this site http://www.freerepublic.com/ there is a discussion about a security guard company called Akal which owned another security company called Teg.

It turns out that this is the security company that was in charge of the Murrah building in Oklahoma. Evidently they didn’t do their job since they allowed trucks with explosives to park outside their building. However, the Freeper sleuths have researched the fact that Teg was run by a Sikh cult with ties to a man called E. Potter who is a heavy contributor to the Democratic party.

This Akal company later won a contract at the airports in Hawaii (quid pro quo?) but Teg is nowhere to be found.

Akal also had contracts with a BATF mission called Dipole Might testing explosives … prior to OKC.

It looks like a mystery that is up your alley …

~ ~ ~

July 16, 2001

Dear Name Withheld:

Thanks for your note. What say we share some of this intriguing information with our fellow frequent flyers!….

– The Catbird

~ ~ ~

From the Free Republic website:

To: Nita Nupress

Let’s look at this as taxpaying citizens. What have we learned?

A private security services company named “Teg” was responsible for security at the Murrah Building prior to the bombing of said building.

Security at the Murrah Building was, for all practical purposes, non-existent.

“Teg” promptly disappeared as an entity, if it indeed ever existed, after the OKC bombing.

A private security services company named “Akal” appears to have been in control of “Teg,” even sharing a home office address in New Mexico at the time of the OKC bombing.

Akal, a company politically connected to the democrats via one attorney and Clinton fundraiser named Earl Potter, and having never been required to answer for its failings in OKC, is still in the private security services business and raking in some of the biggest security services contracts that the US dept. of Justice has to offer – to the point that duties previously performed by the US Marshall Service are privatized and in Akal’s hands.

As a taxpayer, I’m incensed. We can omit from the above synopsis any conspiracy theories w/r to the Clintons and the wars between the Justice Department and the US Marshall Service over the handling of Waco and OKC evidence. We can even ignore the Sikh angle and the Timothy McVeigh connections for the moment.

We seem to have uncovered serious Justice Department patronage contracts going to an inept and possibly unlicensed contractor – culpable via criminal negligence – for the deaths of some 160 Americans. Already, we have enough for our elected representatives to question in open session. Hell, I’d even settle for a Judicial Watch charade of an investigation.

I say we make an issue where we have one and let the conspiracies unfold as they may. That will be the payoff of this investigative effort.

– 58 Posted on Free Republic 07/10/2001 by Harrison Bergeron

? ? ?

To: philman_36, Nita Nupress, Wallaby, rdavis84, all

Here are some of the things that have been more or less bothering me about the entire Akal story.

Consider each point:

A yoga teacher comes to NM with $5,000 and 11 students, and quickly becomes not only a conglomerate, but a “spiritual leader” for thousands.

The cultish aspects of the group–including accusations of mind control.

Ownership of an ever-growing security company with ties to Democrat leadership, shadowy characters who have appeared in black ops before, and international ties.

Court documents indicating members and employees involved in drug smuggling, arms smuggling, and money laundering, along with a laundry list of assaults and manslaughter.

Court documents indicating that at one time the Bhajans ran a boiler room phone scam.

Protection apparently from federal authorities in some cases, including from a Customs agent who was once BATF.

Anonymity: male members take the name of Khalsa, and return to their regular last names when needed.

Training camps, for yoga, arms, and combat training.

Paradoxically, a large web presence with pages promising love, peace and happiness.

Companies spawned, then dissolved, quickly–perhaps too quickly? TEG being one.

Now holding a large number of federal building contracts, as well as other sensitive contracts, including White Sands.

Maybe it’s not so sinister as I’m thinking.

Then again, maybe it is.

– 179 Posted on Free Republic 07/14/2001 by golitely

… Continued at Akal Security

? ? ?

Now, a closer look at some of the guardians
of our national security…



 

Akal Security – A Sikh-owned security service guarding our nation’s airports, courts, and nuclear labs.

October 22, 2003

With U. S. Troops Still in the Mideast, Private
Firms Must Guard Military Bases at Home

From The Daily Misleader

One of George Bush Jr.‘s campaign promises was to “rebuild the military power of the United States,” which Dick Cheney, his vice-presidential candidate, claimed had lapsed because of “multiplying missions and unclear goals.” However, Bush’s multiple deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan have overtaxed the military even more and now have led to hiring more civilian contractors for such basic duties as guarding U.S. military bases.

Private security firms have taken over what traditionally was a sole province of the military. In a typical contract, Akal Security has been awarded $70 million to guard eight stateside Army bases.

In Iraq, almost a third of the $4 billion monthly costs are going to private contractors. One foreign policy expert estimates the current Bush Administration has five times as many civilian contractors in Iraq as his father’s administration did during the first Gulf War in 1991.

The privatization practice, first explored when Cheney was Secretary of Defense for the senior Bush, led to an $8.9 million logistics contract for Brown and Root, a company Cheney later oversaw as head of Halliburton after he left government.

Of approximately 3,000 civilian contracts awarded by the Pentagon since 1994, about 2,700 have gone to Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg, Brown and Root and one other firm.

* * *

Here are more details direct from the Army:

 

FOR RELEASE AT


No. 733-03

5 p.m. ET


October 6, 2003

ARMY

Akal Security Inc., Santa Cruz, N.M., was awarded on Sept. 30, 2003, a delivery order amount of $31,791,980 as part of a $102,461,165 firm-fixed-price contract for security guard services. Work will be performed at Fort Campbell, Ky. (45%), Fort Stewart, Ga. (19%), Anniston Army Depot, Ala. (13%), Blue Grass Army Depot, Ky. (13%), and Sunny Point, N.C. (10%), and is expected to be completed by Sept. 29, 2004. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. There were an unknown number of bids solicited via the World Wide Web on July 15, 2003, and 20 bids were received. The Northern Region Contracting Center, Fort Eustis, Va., is the contracting activity (DABJ01-03-D-0038).

Akal Security Inc., Santa Cruz, N.M., was awarded on Sept. 30, 2003, a delivery order amount of $18,872,191 as part of a $61,823,792 firm-fixed-price contract for security guard services. Work will be performed at Fort Hood, Texas, and is expected to be completed by Sept. 29, 2004. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. There were an unknown number of bids solicited via the World Wide Web on July 15, 2003, and 20 bids were received. The Northern Region Contracting Center, Fort Eustis, Va., is the contracting activity (DABJ01-03-D-0039).

Akal Security Inc., Santa Cruz, N.M., was awarded on Sept. 30, 2003, a delivery order amount of $12,624,931 as part of a $40,812,110 firm-fixed-price contract for security guard services. Work will be performed at Fort Lewis, Wash. (75%), Fort Riley, Kan. (25%), and is expected to be completed by Sept. 29, 2004. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. There were an unknown number of bids solicited via the World Wide Web on July 15, 2003, and 20 bids were received. The Northern Region Contracting Center, Fort Eustis, Va., is the contracting activity (DABJ01-03-D-0040).

* * *

February 11, 2003

SIKH MAN PLEADS GUILTY
TO AIR INDIA BOMBING

The Courier Journal

A Sikh man who acquired the materials for a bomb that killed 329 people aboard an Air India flight in 1985 pleaded guilty to manslaughter charges yesterday and was sentenced to five years in prison.

Originally charged with 329 counts of first-degree murder, Inderjit Singh Reyat, 51, pleaded guilty to the same number of manslaughter charges.

Two other Sikh suspects still face 329 counts of first-degree murder and conspiracy.

Air India Flight 182 from Montreal to New Delhi exploded over the Atlantic Ocean on June 23, 1985. Most of the victims were Canadian.

* * *

From Golden Temple Web Shell –

Work with Us

Golden Temple of Oregon, Inc. is a member of the KIIT family of companies that employ over 4500 different people with international offices in California, Oregon, New Mexico, Germany, the Netherlands and India.

Over the past 30 years a community of people have worked together to build a new type of company. A company whose mission was to serve, heal and uplift humantity (sic). We sought to do this through the creation, production and distribution of quality products and services that reflect our yogic and Sikh lifestyle and promote happy, healthy and holy living. We called this family of companies KIIT. . . .

KIIT serves as an umbrella organization for an international group of varied companies (each defined below). KIIT works as a brain trust which nurtures the expansion of every company under its umbrella. KIIT companies share management, sales and marketing methods and systems while operating individually. It also provides financial planning, strategy and our own diagonal management system. Many of our KIIT personnel have worked in several of our KIIT companies which has allowed them to gain diverse business skills. Our expertise in every field of business allows us to anchor every problem and solve them with our vast resources and experienced personnel. . . .

The following companies are members of the KIIT group:

Akal Security, Inc. is a service company that provides security personnel and alarm services to federal, state and city governments, as well as large corporations, small businesses and homes. Currently Akal employed nearly 4500 security personnel in 40 U.S. states and overseas.

Ancient Healing Ways Catalog markets and distributes Yogi Tea, Golden Temple and Sunshine products as well as books, tapes, and other products for natural and spiritual living. Every year the Ancient Healing Ways catalog is mailed to over 50,000 homes all over the world.

Herb Technology is an herbal education, research and development company specializing in herbal supplements and other healing herbal products.

Golden Temple Bakery is a pioneer in the Natural Foods Industry. Within Golden Temple is Yogi Tea, Sunshine Spa, Soothing Touch, Peace Cereals, Sweet Home Farm, and Wha Guru Chews. Offices for Golden Temple are in Eugene OR, Los Angeles CA, and Española NM.

KIIT BV is located in Amsterdam, the Netherlands and produces and distributes Yogi Tea and other natural products throughout Europe. Yogi Tea is currently the market leader in the medicinal tea category for all of Europe.

Khalsa Consultants designs specific applications for personal and professional development based on the yogic technology taught by Yogi Bhajan and leading edge psychological research. They offer seminars and training, executive coaching and consulting programs. They also produce and retail products, including books and tapes, for the same purpose.

SGN Sales and Marketing is a food brokerage company with offices in seven US cities, representing natural food products, covering the East Coast, West Coast and the Northwest. SGN carries 35 lines of products including Clif Bar, Organic Valley Dairy, Yogi Tea and Golden Temple. SGN is considered the premier natural foods broker in the US.

Sun and Son, Inc. is a computer consulting firm specializing in business process consulting and work flow design, primarily using the Lotus Notes development environment.

Yoga West is a center for Kundalini yoga, healing and wellness. Yoga West hosts over 30 Kundalini yoga classes each week, as well as healing seminars, teacher training, prenatal and mediation classes. Yoga West also retails many KIIT products. . . .

– 148 Posted on FreeRepublic, 07/11/2001 by Tarakotchi

? ? ?

To: Nita Nupress

I’m not well versed in software applications possibilities, but….

Los Alamos National Laboratory hired Sun and Son for a office automation and engineering management system. The engineering management system includes purchase order tracking, order processing, training tracking and work breakdown structures. The office automation system lets researchers and administrators collaborate on projects. All users e-mail, calendars and task lists can be accessed.

….wouldn’t this kind of project give an IT contractor with the know-how access to whatever is needed to install a back door?

– 192 Posted on Free Republic, 07/14/2001 by LSJohn

* * *

From: Patterns of Global Terrorism. United States Department of State Publication 10321

SIKH TERRORISM

Description

Sikh terrorism is sponsored by expatriate and Indian Sikh groups who want to carve out an independent Sikh state called Khalistan (Land of the Pure) from Indian territory. Sikh violence outside India, which surged following the Indian Army’s 1984 assault on the Golden Temple, Sikhism’s holiest shrine, has decreased significantly since mid-1992, although Sikh militant cells are active internationally and extremists gather funds from overseas Sikh communities.

Active groups include Babbar Khalsa, Azad Khalistan Babbar Khalsa Force, Khalistan Liberation Front, Khalistan Commando Force, and Khalistan National Army. [1996 ed. omits Khalistan National Army.]

Many of these groups operate under umbrella organizations, the most significant of which is the Second Panthic committee.

Activities

Sikh attacks in India are mounted against Indian officials and facilities, other Sikhs, and Hindus; they include assassinations, bombings, and kidnappings.

Sikh extremists probably bombed the Air India jet downed over the Irish Sea in June 1985, killing 329 passengers and crew. On the same day, a bomb planted by Sikhs on an Air India flight from Vancouver exploded in Tokyo’s Narita Airport, killing two Japanese baggage handlers.

In 1991, Sikh terrorists attempted to assassinate the Indian Ambassador in Romania– once India’s senior police officer in Punjab from 1986 to 1989–and kidnapped and held the Romanian charge in New Delhi for seven weeks.

In January 1993, Indian police arrested Sikhs in New Delhi as they were conspiring to detonate a bomb to disrupt India’s Republic Day, and, in September 1993, Sikh militants attempted to assassinate the Sikh chief of the ruling Congress Party’s youth wing with a bomb.

Sikh attacks in India, ranging from kidnappings and assassinations to remote-controlled bombings, have dropped markedly since mid-1992 as Indian security forces have killed or captured a host of senior Sikh militant leaders. Total civilian deaths in Punjab have declined more than 95 percent since more than 3,300 civilians died in 1991.

The drop results largely from Indian Army, paramilitary, and police successes against extremist groups.

Strength

Unknown.

Location/Area of Operation

Northern India, Western Europe, Southeast Asia, and North America.

External Aid

[Sikh militant cells are active internationally and extremists gather funds from overseas Sikh communities.] Sikh expatriates have formed a variety of international organizations that lobby for the Sikh cause overseas.

Most prominent are the World Sikh Organization and the International Sikh Youth Federation.

? ? ?

February 1, 1993

“THE NEW ISLAMIST INTERNATIONAL”

EXCERPTS FROM THE REPORT OF TASK FORCE ON TERRORISM AND UNCONVENTIONAL WARFARE

SET UP BY US HOUSE REPUBLICAN RESEARCH COMMITTEE

Dated February 1, 1993.

Sponsoring international terrorism and separatist subversion and insurgency is not new to Pakistan. Since the 1970s, Islamabad has been training Sikh and other Indian separatist movements as part of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto’s strategy of “forward strategic depth”, and also as a part of his effort to gain revenge for India’s support of an independent Bangladesh…..

Thus, the further militarization and radicalization of the Sikh armed struggle increased, as larger quantities of high quality weapons became available.

Among the novelties of the revived terrorist campaign were sophisticated bomb making techniques and better training for Sikh terrorists of the Dal Khalsa separatist movement in the Afghan Mujahideen camps. Indeed, Sikh ‘trainees’ were killed in a Soviet raid on an Afghan training camp in Pakia and their documents were seized……

The extent of the external, that is Pakistani and Afghan, influence on the Islamist transformation of the Kashmiri insurgency is quite clear. Indeed, Kashmir was the only area in India where, as of the mid-]980s, Islamic revivalism had “taken a radical political stance” and where “the slogans of the Islamic state have been publicly raised” and had been received with growing popularity.

The population was increasingly adopting the leadership of Jamaat-i-Islami of Pakistan and Khomeynists representing ihe “following of the line of Imam Khomeyni” as their own leaders. Consequently, by 1984, an Islamic radicalization had developed that saw the rise of such movements as the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front, Mahaz-i-Azadi and the Liberation League.

Later, by 1985, both the Jamaat-i-Islami and Al-Jihad movements, the latter “a clandestine organization influenced by the ideology of the Iranian revolution,”were becoming highly influential in Kashmiri politics.”

Indeed, the Al-Jihad movement publicly raised the issue of an “Islamic Revolution” as “the only way to liberate” Kashmir in the mid-1980s.

Thus, in the space of a few short years, “there was a marked erosion of the secular Kashmiri personality and a Muslim identity with fundamentalist overtones started emerging rapidly”. Therefore, it also became imperative for the emerging separatist leaders to “give the struggle a Pan-Islamic character and extra-territorial dimension.”

Indeed, as noted, this transformation was assisted and reinforced by an active ISI program. Initially, the emphasis of this program was on using the Afghan-support infrastructure in Pakistan to support Kashmiri militants. Indeed, during the main escalation of Islamist violence in Indian Kashmir in mid-l988, Pakistan provided assistance in the training and arming of Kashmiri terrorists, as well as sanctuaries to Kashmiri insurgents across the border.

At times, the ISI’s assistance to the Kashmiri Islamists was even funnelled through Afghan rebel leader Gulbuddin Hikmatyar’s Hizb-i-Islami group, thus providing Islamabad with deniability…..

In 1986, with growing experience in training, organizing and running the Afghan mujahideen, and with military supplies available (through US, Saudi, and other foreign assistance), Pakistan began expanding its operation to sponsor and promote separatism and terrorism, primarily in Kashmir, as a strategic long-term program. Among the most crucial activities of the ISI were the following:

* “Religious fundamentalism was propagated in small but lethal doses to promote separatism and communal outlook”.

* “Training and indoctrination of selected leaders from the Kashmir valley was arranged to create militant cadres”.

* “A large number of youth from the Kashmir valley and Poonch Sector were given extensive training in the use of automatic weapons, sabotage and attacks on security force. Automatic weapons and explosives were now issued to these people”.

* “Special teams were trained to organize agitations and hartals, and to engineer incidents to damage the democratic and secular image of India”.

Thus the rise of Islamist ideology to predominance throughout Indian Kashmir facilitated the emergence of a tight link between the Kashmiri insurgents, their supporters, and Islamabad. Thus, it was with the widespread adoption of Islamist ideologies that Kashmiri Muslims could not seek ideological sustenance from a transnational Islam, while simultaneously basking in the guaranteed patronage from across the border.

Concurrently, for the Pakistani defense establishment, the Kashmir cause constituted a combination of regional interest and commitment to the global Islamist cause.

“Muslim fundamemalists in Pakistan… see the Islamic surge in Kashmir as the long awaited hour for jihad against Indian infidels, a holy war for which Pakistan must funnel material and moral backing”…..

There is a profound difference between support for Sikh terrorism in Punjab, which is a matter of harassing New Delhi, and Islamist terrorism in Kashmir, where there is a genuine whole-hearted commitment to Jihad.

Furthermore, in the increase of support for terrorism in India, Islamabad has been able to find a task for the Pakistani and Afghan cadres that Islamabad had developed during the Afghan War and must now keep from meddling in Pakistani domestic politics. Indeed, to secure that goal, Brig (Rtd.), Imtiaz, head of the ISI Political Section, has developed a long-term program called ‘K-2’.

The ‘K-2’ program is aimed at unifying and better coordinating the Kashmiri and Sikh subversion efforts by “bringing under one umbrella Sikh and Kashmiri extremists and Muslim fundamentalists who would then intensify acts of violence in Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir, and the Terai region of Uttar Pradesh.

“Indeed, the escalation of terrorism and subversion since the early 1990s is believed to have been a direct outgrowth of the ISI’s implementation of the ‘K-2’ long-term program….

The ISI established and runs its own “Kashmiri organization”. The most important among these are the Hizb-i-Islami, which is comprised of former Kashmiri Mujahideen who were trained by the ISI and then fought with Gulbuddin Hikmatyar’s organization in Afghanistan. Also, there is Harakat-ul-Jihad another highly professional terrorist group created in Pakistan. It is made up of veteran ‘Afghans’ from Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Kashmir who receive extensive ISI support….

By early 1991, the importance of thc Pakistani-Afghan terrorist infrastructure for the international Islamist movement further increased as a result of changes in Libya in the aftermath of the economic sanctions that were imposed on the country because of Qadhafi’s support for international terrorism.

The Libyans assisted in the upgrading of the terrorist infrastructure in the camps of the Afghan resistance both inside Pakistan and just across the border in Afghanistan, because, as Qadhafi pointed out, “Afghanistan is open to anyone who wants to train”.

By then, as the fighting in Afghanistan was grinding to a near halt, the Islamist Mujahideen were shifting more and more attention to the training of thousands of “brethren” from all over the Muslim world. Some 2,000-3,000 volunteers were in the Khost area alone in early-1991. The organized transfer of training installations to several camps in Pakistan-Afghanistan began in the summer of 1991 and still continues as terrorist teams arrive from Libya or via other countries.

For example, some 30-35 Libyan expert terrorist trainers arrived in Peshawar in November 1991 with the declared objective “to train national liberation forces” in Mujahideen camps, mainly those of Gulbuddin and Sayyaf.

It is noteworthy that the Armed Islamic Movement also played a major role in the consolidation of the capabilities of the Islamist terrorists. In the spring of 1991,13 Kashmiri Islamists were accepted for about 6 months of highly specialized terrorist training in Sudan under the personal supervision of the Sudanese leaders Turabi and Mustafa Uthman.

By then, AIM’s leader, al-Turabi, had already visited Pakistan and Afghanistan in September 1991 to coordinate terrorist support activities.

Indeed, Jam’at-i-Islami (Pakistan), Hizb-i-Islami and Jamiat-i-Islami (Afghanistan) and Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (Kashmir) had all bccome members of the Turabi-led Popular International Organization (PIO), and, in this capacity, provided assistance to, and closely cooperated with, Islamists from Egypt, the Hizbullah in Lebanon, FIS in Algeria, and NIF in Sudan. PIO members exchanged experts and cooperated in joint support and training activities.

In the early-summer of 1992, some 200 highly-trained and well armed Afghan Mujahidcen infiltrated into Indian Kashmir in order to assist in what was by now a full blown armed struggle. They are directly responsible for the increase in violence in Kashmir, in itself a part of a concentrated effort sponsored and backed by the ISI.

Another group of 300 Arghans in command of a larger force of Pakistani- trained Kashmiris are waiting in Pakistani Kashmir for the opportune conditions in order to infiltrate into Indian Kashmir and open a new terrorist front…..

ISI’s vast and highly experienced terrorist support infrastructure, tempered by years of assistance to such regional armed struggles as those in Afghanistan and India, is increasingly expanding its operations to include and sponsoring of global Islamist terrorism.

At present, the Armed Islamic Movement supports and trains Islamist terrorists and fighters for Jihads throughout the world from centers in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

? ? ?

INDIA ABROAD, DEC. 1, 1995

(BY AZIZ HANIFFA)

Washington – In a letter that is likely to ignite yet another controversy in Indo-U.S. political and diplomatic relations, President Clinton has said that he shares the concern of several pro-Khalistani legislators over the abduction of a Sikh human rights activist.

In a missive to Rep. Gary Condit, Democrat from California, who has publicly endorsed the concept of a separate state of Khalistan, Clinton said, `I, too, am concerned by the reports regarding Jaswant Singh Khalra,’ the general secretary of the Human Rights Wing (Shiromani Akali Dal).

The President, while thanking Condit `for sharing with me your recent letter to Prime Minister (Narasimha) Rao of India regarding the situation in Punjab,’ said that `the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi has already made inquiries into these allegations with various Indian government agencies, and Ambassador Wisner has raised the issue with high-ranking Indian officials.’ `We will continue these efforts,’ Clinton promised Condit, and informed the legislator that he appreciated `your interest and concern on the issue.’

Last month, Condit initiated a letter to Rao that was co-signed by a bipartisan group of 64 other legislators that demanded that Khalra be released.

The letter to Rao, a copy of which was sent to Clinton, said that according to Amnesty International’s `Urgent Action’ bulletin issued on Sept. 7, Punjab police had abducted Khalra from his home in Amritsar on Sept. 6, and his whereabouts were unknown.

The letter, written at the urging of the Council of Khalistan, the leading pro-Khalistan lobbying group in the United States, headed by Dr. Gurmit Singh Aulakh, noted that Khalra had published a report showing that the Punjab police have arrested more than 25,000 young Sikh men, tortured them, murdered them, then declared them `unidentified’ and cremated their bodies.

The letter by the 65 legislators to Rao said, `These atrocities are intolerable in any country, especially one that calls itself a democracy.’

It said that after Khalra’s report was published he had been told by the Amritsar district police chief, `We have made 25,000 disappear (and) it would be easy to make one more disappear.’

The lawmakers told Rao that `this abuse of police power is inexcusable.’

`The right to speak out and expose atrocities is one of the most fundamental rights of free individuals,’ they said and asserted that `as long as Mr. Khalra remains in detention, how can anyone in India feel secure exercising his or her democratic liberties?’

They noted that several of them had written to Rao previously urging that the passports of Sikh leader Simranjit Singh Mann and Dalit leader V.T. Rajshekar be restored.

The letter to Rao, which was then passed on to Clinton, carried more signatures than any previous letter the Council of Khalistan has been able to muster in its over 10 years of lobbying Congress, and included members of the leadership of both parties such as Reps. Gerald Solomon, Republican from New York who chairs the House Rules Committee; Robert Livingston, Republican from Louisiana, chairman of the Appropriations Committee; Christopher Smith, Republican from New Jersey, chairman of the House International Relations Subcommittee on International Operations and Human Rights; Ronald Dellums, Democrat from California, ranking minority member of the National Security Committee; Donald Payne, Democrat from New Jersey, chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus; Philip Crane, Republican from Illinois, chairman of the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Trade; and Vic Fazio, Democrat from California, chairman of the Democratic Caucus.

Aulakh was elated over Clinton’s expression of concern in his letter to Condit, saying, `President Clinton’s letter once again exposes the Indian regime’s true face and explodes the myth of Indian democracy.’

`We appreciate the support of President Clinton in this issue,’ Aulakh declared. `India cannot withstand this kind of pressure. This scrutiny should make the regime release Mr. Khalra soon.’

? ? ?

US CONGRESSMEN RECEIVED ILLEGAL CONTRIBUTION FROM KHALISTANI GROUPS

Republican Congressman Dan Burton and others who champion the cause of Khalistan in the US Congress have received campaign contributions from the Council of Khalistan — a Washington-based organisation established 10 years ago by some militant Sikhs.

The council has funneled at least $65,000 to the Republican Party and several congressional candidates, including Burton, in an apparent violation of federal tax laws because the money was collected by a charitable non-profit group, says the weekly newspaper, Hill.

An investigation by the Hill has also revealed that Burton, who is heading the house investigation into campaign finance abuses, has received illegal campaign contributions directly from at least two Sikh temples.

The newspaper quotes Burton’s personal attorney Joseph Digenova as saying that Burton ”does not personally review each and every cheque and if there is any problem with a cheque, it will be returned.”

Other members of Congress who have benefitted from the Sikh contributions include Gary Condit (Democrat-California) Gerald Solomon (Republican-New York), Dana Rohrabacher (Republican-California), Vic Fazio (Democrat-California), Amo Houghton (Republican-New York), Edolphus Towns (Democrat-New York), Senator Bob Torricelli (Democrat-New Jersey) and former senator Bob Dole, who unsuccessfully ran against Bill Clinton in the last presidential election.

However, the largest recipient of funds was the Republican Party, whose various campaign committees received more than $ 22,000 in contributions bundled by the Council of Khalistan.

Most of the recipients of this money have been allies of Burton in pro-Khalistan causes, says the newspaper.

Over the past decade, Burton has been the chief congressional proponent of the Council of Khalistan, the group whose campaign donations has helped generate growing support in Congress for a separate Sikh homeland in India.

The Hill also reveals that Burton, at the behest of the council, urged the state department to revise the extradition treaty with India, which would have the effect of making it more difficult to extradite to India terrorists arrested in the US.

It recalls that Burton’s crusade grew from his personal ties to Dr Gurmit Singh Aulakh, a gregarious and persistent Sikh lobbyist whom he met in 1986.

Dr Aulakh was appointed by militant separatists the following year to be president of the Khalistan government in exile. He draws a salary of $59,000 as president of the council, a $ 250,000-a-year-operation, according to the newspaper.

It says at least five of Dr Aulakh’s 10 co-founders, many of whom have since been killed in clashes with the Indian police, represented some of India’s most notorious terrorist groups. They have been blamed for killing of hundreds, if not thousands, of civilians, and helped foment widespread violence by police and Sikh militants that led to the more than 100,000 deaths.

Dr Aulakh received contributions from Sikhs and, on behalf of the council, handed them to congressional campaigns.

This point is significant because the council is operationally indistinguishable from the International Sikh Organisation, a registered religious charity, which is prohibited by federal law from engaging in partisan activities. And taking money from such organisations is an offence.

Copyright 1997 Rediff On The Net – All rights reserved

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March 19, 1997

Pakistan Lobbyist’s Memo Alleges Shakedown by House Probe Leader

By Charles R. Babcock, Washington Post Staff Writer

An American lobbyist for the government of Pakistan complained to his client last summer that he had been “shaken down” for campaign contributions by Rep. Dan Burton (R-Ind.), who now is heading a House probe of alleged Democratic campaign fund-raising abuses.

Mark A. Siegel, then a lobbyist for the government of Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, said he was approached by Burton early last year to raise “at least $5,000” for Burton’s reelection campaign. When he was unable to do so, Siegel said, the congressman complained to the ambassador for the Bhutto government here and later threatened to make sure “none of his friends or colleagues” would meet with Siegel or his associates.

“I should tell you,” Siegel wrote on July 25, in a two-page memo to a Bhutto aide in Islamabad, “that I worked in Washington for over 25 years and have never been shaken down by anyone before like Dan Burton’s threats. No one has ever dared to threaten me into contributing money, and no one has ever followed through on such threats by contacting one of my clients.”

“Despite what you may see in the movies,” Siegel wrote, “this isn’t the way most U.S. politicians conduct themselves.”

The memo was made available to The Washington Post by a Democratic source in Congress. Siegel, a longtime Democratic activist, confirmed its authenticity in an interview yesterday.

Burton declined to be interviewed yesterday.

Kevin Binger, a top aide, said the congressman asked Siegel in early 1995 if he could raise $5,000 in campaign funds from Pakistani Americans and confirmed that Burton had mentioned Siegel’s failure to do so to the Pakistani ambassador last year. But Binger said the memo “is full of egregious exaggerations and untruths,” and he took issue with most of the quotes attributed to Burton.

The disclosure of Burton’s complaints last year to Siegel and the Pakistani ambassador comes at an awkward time, as the congressman is taking the spotlight as chairman of the House Government Reform and Oversight Committee, which is investigating alleged fund-raising abuses in last year’s election campaigns.

Siegel’s unusual memo was written in response to a faxed message from a top Bhutto aide, Zafar Hilaly, earlier that same day. Hilaly wrote that “we were distressed to know from the embassy that Congressman Dan Burton says that you were unable to keep certain promises regarding fundraising for his reelection campaign and that you were also very unhelpful in other matters. So much so that you are no longer `persona grata’ in his office. This is most upsetting as he is good friend of Pakistan.”

Rifaat Hussain, minister of information at the Pakistani Embassy here, said yesterday that senior officials at the embassy had no knowledge of the communications between Hilaly and Siegel and no record of Burton contacting the embassy about campaign donations. After Bhutto was removed from office late last year, following a corruption scandal, the ambassador involved, Maleeha Lodhi, returned to Pakistan.

Burton is a longtime member of the House International Relations Committee who co-chairs an informal caucus on U.S.-Pakistani relations. The congressman has regularly backed causes of importance to Pakistan and is a longtime recipient of campaign donations from the Sikh community. He was a key supporter of a bill that would have blocked $25 million in U.S. aid to India because of its refusal to allow human rights investigations of alleged atrocities in Punjab state, where Sikh separatists seeking a homeland they call Khalistan have battled New Delhi’s security forces.

Two years ago, Burton also backed an effort to lift a long-standing ban on aid to Pakistan that cleared the way for delivery of $368 million worth of U.S. missiles and other military equipment for which it already had paid.

According to Siegel’s memo, in conversations last year about fund-raising efforts, Burton said that he was “owed support” and that “he had been there for Pakistan and he expected me to be there for him.”

Siegel, who represented the Bhutto government in Washington for several years until her government fell, was paid $452,941 for his services for the year ending July 1995, according to his filing at the Justice Department as a registered foreign agent. A longtime Democrat, Siegel was executive director of the Democratic National Committee in the 1970s and served as a political aide in the Carter White House.

According to the memo, Siegel told Burton he “would do [his] best to try to identify Republican Pakistani-Americans who might contribute to his campaign.” But it soon became clear, the memo continues, “that it was impossible to raise the funds he was asking for without the congressman’s attendance at an event. When I informed him of this, he said he wouldn’t attend an event for less than $10,000, and added that if I `were smart’ I’d put together that much or more for him.”

Siegel said he tried to organize a fund-raising event for Burton on July 15, but the plans fell through. “When I informed Congressman Burton of this he became extremely agitated and in fact abusive,” Siegel’s memo states. “He said if `I knew what was good for me’ I’d deliver the money.”

Burton contacted Lodhi directly last year, according to Siegel, to voice his complaints about the lobbyist’s failure to raise money for his reelection campaign. The congressman told the ambassador, according to Siegel’s memo, “that I wouldn’t support his campaign . . . and she twice warned me that he was `really hot’ and going after me.”

Burton, through his aide, denied making any of the threats quoted in the Siegel memo or that he had “shaken down” the lobbyist. The congressman did tell Siegel, his aide said, that “if you make a commitment you should keep it.”

Siegel said in an interview yesterday that he was surprised that Burton solicited him because of his background in Democratic politics. “I don’t usually get fund-raising solicitations from Republican members of Congress,” he said.

Asked if he would have written a similar memo about a Democratic member of Congress, Siegel said, “Yes, and I would have said, `Cool it.’ ”

Burton called several times early last year to check on his fund-raising efforts in the Pakistani American community, Siegel recalled in the interview, adding that “it got rough and tumble” after he told the congressman he couldn’t raise the money.

Kevin Sailer, an associate of Siegel’s, confirmed last night that Burton told him — as the Pakistani aide’s message suggests — that Siegel was “persona non gratis” in the congressman’s office and that “none of his friends or colleagues” would meet with Siegel or his aides. “It was an unfortunate and extraordinary circumstance,” Sailer said of the confrontation with Burton.

Binger, the Burton aide, took exception yesterday to the timing of the disclosure of the congressman’s conversations with Siegel and the Pakistani ambassador.

“I really think this demonstrates how far people on the other side are willing to go to call into question Dan Burton’s integrity because he is the chairman of the committee doing this investigation,” Binger said.

“It’s probably not a coincidence that this came to you a couple of days before our budget is voted on.”

© Copyright 1997 The Washington Post Company

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July 30, 2001

JOHN FUND’S POLITICAL DIARY

THE CONDIT CASE ISN’T JUST ABOUT ADULTERY. IT’S ABOUT PUBLIC TRUST AND NATIONAL SECURITY.

Last week, I asked a senior House member why Rep. Gary Condit was still on the Intelligence Committee. Mr. Condit himself describes the committee as concerned with “very sensitive issues of immediate and long-term national security.” I reminded the lawmaker that Mr. Condit’s behavior has clearly made him a prime candidate for blackmail. “Well, with all this coverage he no longer looks to be blackmailable,” this Condit colleague said before quickly changing the subject.

That abdication of responsibility won’t do. Mr. Condit has more to hide about his double life. That became clear when, just hours before police were to search his apartment, the California congressman was spotted throwing away a watch case another erstwhile paramour had given him. Presumably Mr. Condit’s affairs are no longer news to his wife, so from whom was he trying to hide?

It’s true that whether Mr. Condit can continue to be an effective representative is for the people in Modesto to decide. But it’s clear he has abused the public trust in the course of a criminal investigation by withholding evidence and allowing himself to be compromised in ways that are far more serious than having a discreet affair.

Mr. Condit should resign his membership on the Intelligence Committee. If he won’t, it’s up to House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt, who named the Democratic members of that committee, to remove him. But there’s “no reason to act now,” Mr. Gephardt says.

Victoria Toensing, who served as chief council for the Senate Intelligence Committee in the 1980s, begs to differ. Mr. Condit is a “classic national-security risk,” she says. There must be “a marriage-like trust” between the intelligence agencies and congressional intelligence committees.

Back in 1995 President Clinton made known his concerns about the danger of blackmail against high-ranking officials. In August of that year he signed Executive Order 12968, which states that individuals eligible for access to classified material must have “strength of character, trustworthiness, honesty, reliability, discretion, and sound judgment, as well as freedom from conflicting allegiances and potential for coercion.”

Of course, three months later Mr. Clinton began his relationship with 22-year-old White House intern Monica Lewinsky. He later told her he feared their phone sessions had been monitored by a “foreign embassy.”

In the end the president escaped accountability for his reckless disregard of national security. But that bad precedent is no reason for Congress to let Mr. Condit off the hook, as some of his colleague appear more than willing to do.

The House Ethics Committee has already received two separate complaints asking it to look into Rep. Condit’s behavior. The first was by Judicial Watch, a conservative watchdog group. The second was by Rep. Bob Barr, the Georgia Republican who was the first member of Congress to call for an impeachment inquiry of President Clinton.

Mr. Barr’s complaint notes there is “already substantial evidence” that Mr. Condit obstructed a law-enforcement investigation and has brought discredit to the House. He clearly misled police during their first two interviews about Ms. Levy’s disappearance, confessing to their relationship only when cornered.

In addition, stewardess Anne Marie Smith claims that Mr. Condit pressured her to deny their year-long affair. Mr. Condit’s law firm has admitted it e-mailed a “draft” statement to her that claimed she had not had a “romantic relationship” with him. If Mr. Condit encouraged perjury, that alone merits the close attention of the House Ethics Committee.

Unfortunately, the committee has a spotty reputation. Mort Kondracke of Roll Call, the Capitol Hill newspaper, calls it a “Keystone Kops outfit” that too often will “take endless years to come up with a conclusion.”

Certainly, neither the committee nor House leaders are eager to act. Ethics Chairman Joel Hefley, a Colorado Republican, told National Public Radio: “Far as we know, Congressman Condit has not violated any laws. . . . I would hope I wouldn’t have handled it quite that way, but who knows?”

Just last Wednesday, Mr. Gephardt actually told Alan Colmes of Fox News Channel that “Gary, as far as I know from reports I’ve read, is cooperating fully with the police.” Lanny Davis, an erstwhile Clinton spinner, was “just dumbfounded. . . . He now knows that for two months, Mr. Condit misled and withheld material evidence from the police concerning his relationship, including that his wife was in town the last weekend.”

Congress is allowing its desire to protect one of its own to override its responsibility to police its own ranks. Obviously, some members of Congress have strayed from their wedding vows. Mr. Condit, though, has engaged in reckless behavior and compromised the public trust.

It’s imperative that the House remove him from the Intelligence Committee and initiate an Ethics Committee probe that doesn’t interfere with the police search for Chandra Levy.

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HOUSE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE

REPUBLICANS

Porter Goss, FL
Jerry Lewis, CA
Bill McCollum, FL
Michael Castle, DE
Sherwood Boehlert, NY
Charles Bass, NH
James Gibbons, NV

DEMOCRATS

Ray LaHood, IL
Heather Wilson
Julian Dixon, CA
Nancy Pelosi, CA
CA Sanford Bishop, GA
Norman Sisisky, VA
Gary Condit, CA

Tim Roemer, IN
Alcee Hastings, FL

© 1999-2000 Dow AgroSciences LLC

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August 26, 2001

Lowell: Condit has no reason to quit committee

WASHINGTON (AP) —- Rep. Gary Condit has no reason to quit the House Intelligence Committee, his lawyer said Sunday, despite concerns by colleagues about his relationship with Chandra Levy and his actions since the former federal intern disappeared.

Condit may be the only committee member without any secrets left and “he’s probably the person on the Intelligence Committee who can’t be blackmailed anymore,” lawyer Abbe Lowell said on NBC’s Meet the Press.

“If it’s not punitive for some reason, there’s no good reason” for the California Democrat to leave the committee, Lowell said. “He’s served very well, as colleagues will tell you.”

House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt, D-Mo., has criticized Condit for failing to be “candid and forward” in an ABC interview last week about his relationship with Levy, a Bureau of Prisons intern who disappeared four months ago.

Asked repeatedly if he had a sexual affair with Levy, Condit said only that they had a “very close” relationship but sidestepped questions about its nature. He offered no apologies for his involvement with Levy or his level of cooperation with police.

Gephardt characterized Condit’s answers as “disturbing and wrong,” and said he would talk to House Democrats about possible action against Condit, including his removal from the committee.

Rep. Scott McInnis, R-Colo., said Gephardt “has an obligation that’s inherent to his responsibilities to immediately remove Condit.”

Service on the committee “requires very high integrity,” McInnis said on CNN’s Late Edition.

“Certainly any kind of indication that someone has not been forthcoming or truthful when put under pressure should not be in charge or sitting on the committee that oversees central intelligence and our spy networks throughout the world.”

Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., said Condit’s behavior was “embarrassing.”

But, Rangel said on Fox News Sunday, “there’s nothing that we can do in the Congress. Unless there is something to take before the Ethics Committee, I don’t see how we can do anything.”

Later, on CNN, Rangel added: “What is it that we could possibly charge him with in the Ethics Committee? Not one thing.”

Lowell asked that Gephardt consider comments Condit made in other media interviews last week before determining any possible action.

Asked by Newsweek what message he would have liked to have relayed during the ABC interview, Condit said he would have made it clear “how disheartened and heartbroken I am that it’s been four months and we haven’t been able to find Chandra.”…

Several Republicans have said Condit should resign from office because they said he has not fully cooperated with authorities searching for Levy.

“I think that his conduct is inappropriate and it brings discredit to the institution of the United States Congress,” McInnis said Sunday….

Last month, Rep. Bob Barr, R-Ga., requested an ethics investigation into Condit in a letter he sent to the House Committee on Standards and Official Conduct.

“The evidence is more than sufficient that there has been an effort by a member of Congress to impede a lawful investigation,” Barr said at the time. “That warrants an official inquiry.”

Copyright 2001 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

* * *

CAN YOU BELIEVE THIS ???

September 22, 2001

CONDIT NAMED TO SUBCOMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY

News10.net

Rep. Gary Condit has been named to a House subcommittee on terrorism and security. His first move was to send a letter to law enforcement agencies to ask their thoughts on improving homeland security.

Condit, who represents Modesto and other communities in the Central Valley, is now a member of the House Permanent Select Committee’s newly formed Subcommittee on Terrorism and Homeland Security, according to William Russell, Condit’s legislative correspondent.

Condit has been a member of the House Intelligence Committee, but there was talk the Democratic leadership would have him removed because of his involvement with a Modesto woman who disappeared from Washington in May. Condit is not a suspect in her disappearance, but he has come under fire for remaining largely silent on the matter….

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SIKH SECURITY

by Andrew Hay

In the late seventies, Gurutej Khalsa, a member of the Santa Cruz Sikh community, went through the state police academy. His turban and long beard meant he could not get a job as a state trooper. He and Daya Khalsa, another member of the community, decided to start a security company. They called it “Akal,” an Indian word for “deathless” or “undying.”

Akal started out by “cleaning up” Santa Fe’s wild bar scene. The company got a reputation for pulling pistols and slapping handcuffs on bar patrons, a reputation that has stuck. Khalsa says 80 percent of New Mexico’s private security companies are now made up of former Akal employees.

Around two thirds of Akal’s 1996 revenues of between $30 million and $40 million came from contracts with the federal government. Nearly 1,000 of the company’s officers work for the Justice Department. . . .

Akal is among the top three largest companies in the state’s private security industry. Leading the field is Day and Zimmermann, an international security company that runs Protection Technology Los Alamos (PTLA), the security contractor for Los Alamos National Laboratory.

PTLA employs around 400 people to guard the lab as part of a security contract worth approximately $26 million a year. Day and Zimmermann also has the security contract for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in southeast New Mexico….

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An Introduction to some cited in
a drug-related federal indictment – once,
or currently involved in 3HO

By Siri Scandal Singh, S.S.S. – a former member of 3HO

“Gurujot Singh Khalsa” aka Robert Alwin Taylor

Guru Jot Singh is an important follower and “left hand man” to Yogi Bhajan. He was the head of a 3HO ashram located in Herndon, Virginia during the 70’s and 80’s. Guru Jot Singh was sentenced to Federal Prison regarding his indictment for related illegal drug related crimes. But upon his release he was welcomed back to 3HO by Yogi Bhajan. He now resides in the Espanola, New Mexico 3HO compound. His current title is “Adviser of International Affairs” to Yogi Bhajan and 3HO. Guru Jot Singh’s daughter is now married to the son of Al Ellis, another person named in the same federal indictment that sent him to prison.

Albert “Al” Ellis

Al Ellis, whose son is married to the daughter of Guru Jot Singh, was also once his business associate. His wife, was also a model for 3HO related business catalogue regarding a cosmetic company in the 80’s. Al Ellis and his family were welcomed as guests within 3HO by Yogi Bhajan and were frequently seen as members of his elite inner circle. Al Ellis was never taken into custody regarding his indictment by the federal government and remains at large, as far as we know–today.

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September 6, 1999

AIRPORT GUARDS NOT CLEARED
FOR SOME AREAS

by Malia Zimmerman, Pacific Business News

A New Mexico-based company that Wednesday took over armed-guard service at Honolulu International Airport has been denied access to highly secured areas at the airport.

Nat Aycox, port director for United States Customs, confirmed that Akal Security Inc. personnel have neither applied for nor been cleared to guard highly secured areas of the airport under U.S. Customs jurisdiction.

The application and clearance process for new personnel depends on the number of clearances required and can take several days, he said Sept. 1.

The head licensee of Akal in Hawaii, Art McCollough, did not return calls to PBN.

The lack of airport security may leave some areas of the airport under U.S. Customs control unnecessarily in jeopardy, although those areas are limited, Aycox says.

“Really, the seriousness of the situation depends on if there is a problem,” he says. “If there is an incident, the Akal security can’t just come in and help us fix it without clearing personnel first.”

Kazu Hayashida, state Director of Transportation, says he was not aware of the clearance problem at the airport. His only comment was that the department would research the problem and contact PBN. No calls were returned by PBN’s deadline.

Federal Aviation Administration officials who oversee the western region of the United States also were not aware of the situation.

Akal took over security at the Honolulu International Airport at midnight Tuesday following its winning a $20.4 million bid, around $300,000 lower than that of the state airport’s former security firm, Wackenhut.

Several local and national companies competed for the three-year contract, considered the largest and one of the most coveted in the state. It also is the only state contract where guards are allowed to bear firearms.

In addition to clearance problems from Akal’s delays in the application process, the guard firm also may be facing other problems.

Hayashida, the state’s transportation director, said a federal investigator is looking into reports of illegal activity by Akal.

Personnel associated with the company and its affiliated companies have been accused of running illegal drugs and illegal weapons into the United States and of money laundering.

If the reports are substantiated, the contract could be pulled and given to the next lowest bidder, Hayashida says.

Earl Anzai, attorney general for the state of Hawaii, says his office had prior knowledge of neither the company’s background nor failure to file for the access permit….

… Continued in Part II – The Hawaiian Henhouse

* * *

September 12, 2001

Sikhs become targets of ire
in New York

Tanmaya Kumar Nanda in New York, www.rediff.com

Following Tuesday’s terrorist strikes on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon, Sikhs in New York have come under suspicion and attack, for no fault of theirs.

On Tuesday night, the Richmond Hill gurdwara [a Sikh place of worship] was attacked when miscreants in a car who drove by firing what were believed to be rubber bullets at the building.

Ranvir Singh, who was at the gurdwara when the incident took place, told rediff.com that the attackers failed to inflict any damage. The police precinct, confirming the incident, said the miscreants had only thrown rubber balls at the gurdwara.

In a more gruesome incident, however, an elderly Sikh gentleman was attacked with baseball bats and seriously injured as he walked down the street.

Both incidents have left the Sikh community shaken.

According to a member of the Richmond Hill gurdwara management, who did not identify himself, instructions have been sent out to the Sikh community to stay indoors as much as possible and not take any ‘unnecessary risks’.

“There is not much we can do except take whatever precautions we can,” he said.

The reason for the incidents is believed to be misunderstanding about the appearance of Sikh men. To the lay American, the Sikh with his turban and flowing beard looks very much like Saudi millionaire turned terrorist Osama bin Laden, who is suspected of being behind the attacks on the US and whose images are being telecast regularly on all the news channels.

Confirming the attack on the gurdwara, India’s Consul General in New York Shashi Tripathi told rediff.com that one of the miscreants had been arrested when the group went back on Wednesday morning for another attack.

She said she had spoken to the diplomatic police, the New York police department, and Mayor Rudolph Giuliani to sensitise them to the Indian community’s vulnerability.

“If any Indian(s) feel insecure in their neighbourhoods or if they face any threats, they can alert their nearest police precinct immediately,” she said. “But there are a lot of rumours floating, and the Indian community should guard against that.”

Tripathi said the consulate was contemplating issuing instructions to the Indian community. “Ideally, they should stay home for a couple of days, or if they have to go out, carry some ID with them,” she said. “We are also considering asking Indian women to wear a bindi as a distinguishing mark. Right now, everybody should be careful.”

Following Tuesday’s attack, the gurdwara management committee called a meeting on Wednesday afternoon to decide a further course of action. At the time of writing this report, they were still in a huddle.

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September 26, 2001

Bush appeals for tolerance during meeting with Sikhs

Associated Press

WASHINGTON – President Bush appealed again today for greater religious tolerance, saying his administration will not allow hateful mistreatment of Muslims or others targeted for rage after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

“We’re all Americans, bound together by common ideas and common values,” Bush said as he met with a group of American Sikhs in the White House Roosevelt Room.

He planned to meet in the same room later today with Muslim leaders.

Bush noted the death of Balbir Singh Sodhi, an Indian store owner killed in Mesa shortly after the terrorist attacks because, police say, he wore a turban in keeping with his Sikh faith. The president said his administration would seek justice in Sodhi’s case, and wants to ensure that everyone is treated with respect, “particularly during this time.”

“These citizens bring their hearts with them,” Bush said. “I can assure them that our government will do everything we can … to treat every human life as dear, and respect the values that made our country so different and so unique.”

Afterward, Bush toured the Central Intelligence Agency to encourage employees who are working on the terrorism case. He said he is satisfied with the intelligence the CIA provides and defended CIA Director George Tenet.

“I’ve got a lot of confidence in him, and I’ve got a lot of confidence in the CIA,” Bush said. “And so should America. It’s important for America to realize there are men and women spending hours on the task and making sure our country remains free.”

* * *

October 26, 2001

TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY NORMAN Y. MINETA MEETS WITH LEADING SIKH ORGANIZATIONS

Real Solutions to Stopping Racial Profiling and Turban Searches Discussed by Participants

WASHINGTON, DC, October 26, 2001 — In the wake of the tragedy of September 11 and concerned by repeated incidents of religious profiling and continued civil rights violations taking place on the national transportation system, top representatives from four of the nation’s leading Sikh organizations and two Arab American organizations held an unprecedented meeting today with US Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta.

The meeting touched not only on the urgency of the situation and the types of violations taking place but it focused on some possible solutions and suggestions put forth by the group.

Meeting with Mineta today in Washington DC were the Sikh Council on Religion and Education (SCORE), The Sikh Coalition, Sikh Mediawatch And Resource Task Force (SMART) and Sikh Communications Council.

“I think that we had a very productive meeting and commend Secretary Mineta on the good work that he is doing in trying to keep air transportation safe while at the same time ensuring that the civil liberties of individuals are not violated,” said Amardeep Singh, Director of Legal Affairs for The Sikh Coalition.

“The challenge before us is to safeguard the security of passengers and the public but also protect the very foundations of our democracy. Unfortunately we have too many cases of airline and security personnel crossing the line and illegally profiling and violating religious rights,” added Dr. Rajwant Singh, President, SCORE.

Secretary Mineta was well informed and concerned that Sikhs are being subjected to improper orders to remove their turbans when going through airline security checkpoints,” said Tejpal Singh Chawla, SMART Attorney, Civil Rights.

Secretary Mineta recognized that these incidents are taking place even after Sikhs are successfully passing the already heightened metal detector scrutiny,” added Chawla.

Nearly all people wearing turbans in the U.S. are Sikhs. A turban is not a hat, but a mandatory requirement of the Sikh religion. For many Sikh men, and some women, a turban is as essential to their personal dress uniform as undergarments. The group asked for Mineta’s assistance to ensure that Sikhs are not singled out and asked to remove their turban without some specific justification.

“We’re encouraged that Secretary Mineta responded positively to solutions that included the implementation of airport security guidelines and procedures relating specifically to the appropriate search of turbans,” said Harmeet Dhillon, Legal Counsel, Sikh Communications Council.

The groups are also requesting DOT and FAA to distribute information on Sikh Americans and other targeted communities and call for mandatory cultural and religious sensitivity training of all airport security personnel.

About the Organizations: http://www.sikhcoalition.org/ ; http://www.sikhmediawatch.org/ ; http://www.sikhcommunications.com/

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February 6, 2002

Government bucks

Akal Security has become the nation’s largest provider of security for U.S. courthouses, netting more than $133 million in federal contracts

By Shea Andersen, Tribune Reporter

It’s no secret that security is a booming business in the post 9-11 environment.

What has been a well-kept secret is that a little-known company in New Mexico has all but cornered the federal security market nationwide.

Akal Security of Espanola is the nation’s largest provider of security for federal courthouses. It’s also one of the largest providers of security officers to the federal government, period.

Data from the federal General Services Administration obtained by The Tribune show that Akal Security is one of New Mexico’s largest federal contractors, garnering more than $133 million in hundreds of contracts in fiscal year 2001 alone.

“Most people, when they realize that a company of our size is located in Espanola, their jaw drops,” says Daya Khalsa, senior vice president and a founder of Akal Security.

The company had humble beginnings in 1980, but now counts revenues of between $200 million and $300 million annually, according to Khalsa. More than 7,000 people work for Akal nationwide.

The company employs about 65 people at its Espanola headquarters. Because of modern business technologies, including the Internet, e-mail and Federal Express – which makes two deliveries a day to the Espanola office – the company can afford to keep its out-of-the-way location.

“Overall, government contracting is over 90 percent of our business,” says Khalsa. That includes contracts with state and local governments. Just last year, the company won a five-year contract from the U.S. Marshals Service to provide courthouse security in three states. The contract is worth $88 million to Akal and covers the 5th U.S. Judicial District, which includes Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi.

Growth at the company has been steady, he says, and spiked after Sept. 11.

“The focus on our business has increased dramatically since September 11,” says Khalsa. Examples include the Honolulu International Airport, which doubled the number of Akal Security officers, from 175 to 350, after Sept. 11.

Likewise, the federal courthouse system went from Level Three to Level Four security restrictions, requiring that every person entering the building be screened by a metal-detection device and that every exit be staffed by security guards.

Khalsa says the nation’s new focus on security can only benefit a company whose primary focus is federal security-officer work.

Focusing on snaring federal contract dollars has its ups and downs, says Khalsa.

Government contracts are handed out according to a strict, and sometimes byzantine, set of regulations.

“You have a giant set of regulations with an effort to level the playing field for everybody,” says Khalsa.

A corporate client might allow more flexibility in how a contract is fulfilled, says Khalsa.

Funding, however, tends to be consistent with federal jobs. And security is rarely seen as an expendable budget item in the federal government.

The security industry isn’t an easy one. A recent study by the Service Employees International Union, the nation’s largest union of security officers, states that turnover and a lack of training continue to plague the industry.

The SEIU study also points out that four in 10 private security officers report no new security procedures at their buildings since Sept. 11.

Akal Security has no SEIU representation among its employees, Khalsa says.

Khalsa says his company tries to buck the turnover trend by paying guards above average. He says the average security guard can expect to make between $7 and $10 an hour. Akal officers working on federal contracts are paid between $10 and $25 an hour, depending on the location, says Khalsa.

“Turnover is a huge problem that plagues the security industry,” says Khalsa. “It’s not an issue on these government contracts.”

And being a company run by Sikhs (Khalsa and the other co-founders are Sikh) does have its challenges when working with a increasingly paranoid federal government.

The company is kept separate from the religion, and no formal connections exist, says Khalsa. But Khalsa points out several core values of the Sikh religion that carried over into the corporate philosophy, he says.

“Sikhs are known as `soldier saints.’ You maintain your values, but you defend those who can’t defend themselves,” says Khalsa. “Sikhs have a reputation of being leaders in the military, of being very fierce warriors when they were protecting the innocent. That spirit has certainly stayed with the company, and attracted all kinds of people who find that unique.”

The name of the company comes from a language based in Sanskrit of northern India. The word can be translated to mean “deathless” or “undying.”

Nonetheless, Khalsa says, because many of the al-Qaida terrorists are Muslim, he’s had to educate people who perceived a connection between Sikhs and Muslims.

“We understand people’s reaction and concern,” says Khalsa. “It’s just a matter of being able to identify who’s who. There are a lot of people who wear turbans in the world.”

Khalsa wears a beard and a turban, and says the visual effect of a turban-wearing executive of a major federal security contractor can be unsettling.

But, says Khalsa, the company isn’t necessarily about its founders.

“We’re able to provide very qualified and well-paid officers under government contracts,” he says. “That’s really who we are.”

? ? ?

January 4 – January 10, 2002

THE YEAR IN REVIEW

By AsianWeek Staff

2001 started out with Asian Pacific Americans infiltrating a Republican administration —- Norman Mineta and Elaine Chao were appointed and confirmed into top positions in the cabinet—- and ended with months of the most extreme, violent anti-immigrant backlash this country has seen in years.

In less than a week, after one fateful day in September that changed world history, hate crimes rose dramatically in number. Some parts of the country recorded increases in thousands of percent from the beginning of the year….

Alert: Attack on Pearl Harbor

The 3-hour, $140-million epic movie Pearl Harbor swept box offices during its first-week run to become the No. 1 movie in the United States. But along with heavy-handed clichés and simplistic dialogue, the movie displayed an utter ignorance of the existence and struggles of entire communities of people. Asian Pacific American leaders in San Francisco were less critical of the movie than they were concerned about reactions to it. JACL National Director John Tateishi said his organization received hate mail with references to the movie soon after it was released. (May 31)

Japanese American Memorial to Patriotism

The National Japanese American Memorial was unveiled to the public, featuring sculptured cranes holding barbed wire in their beaks, soaring to the sky. The memorial honors the 120,000 Japanese Americans who were interned during World War II. About 300 people were on hand for the opening ceremony, including Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta, Sen. Daniel Inouye and Rep. Bob Matsui. (July 5)

San Jose to Name Airport After Norman Mineta

Hundreds of people gathered at San Jose International Airport to dedicate San Jose’s new $65 million airport runway —- and also to hear a surprise announccement. After dignitaries, including Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta and Rep. Mike Honda, etched their names in cement, Mayor Ron Gonzales told the large crowd, “I am pleased to announce that I will be asking the San Jose City Council to rename our airport in honor of Norman Mineta.” (Aug. 23)….

For more on the honorable Norman Mineta, GO TO > > > Year of the Dragon




 

Argenbright SecurityAnother major guardian of our national security….

* * *

< < < ARGENBRIGHT FLASHBACK – A YEAR BEFORE 9-11 < < <

October 23, 2000

Airport Security Co. Fined
$1.5 Million

Pleads Guilty to Hiring Criminals as Guards

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — An airport security company was fined more than $1.5 million for allowing untrained employees, some with criminal backgrounds, to operate checkpoints at Philadelphia International Airport.

Philadelphia employees of Argenbright Holdings Ltd. had backgrounds that included drug dealing, kidnapping, aggravated assault and theft.

The company pleaded guilty Friday to two counts of making false statements to the Federal Aviation Administration. U.S. District Judge Marvin Katz on Friday fined Argenbright $1 million, the maximum possible under federal law.

The company had agreed in April to pay $1.2 million in fines and costs for falsifying training and background checks.

Argenbright also must pay $350,000 to 38 airlines and will be on probation for three years, during which time inspectors will conduct audits of its hiring and training, and $200,000 to reimburse the U.S. attorney’s office costs to investigate and prosecute the case.

“Argenbright is deeply embarrassed by this situation,” said Edward S.G. Dennis Jr., the company’s attorney. “This does not represent the way they do business.”

Three employees also charged

Argenbright’s 25,000 employees work at all major U.S. airports, but company officials said the fraud occurred only in Philadelphia. Prosecutors said there was no evidence that the scheme, which ran from 1995 through 1998, harmed passengers, equipment or facilities.

Three former Argenbright employees have also pleaded guilty to conspiracy and fraud-related charges.

Sandra H. Lawrence, 61, the firm’s former administrative manager in Philadelphia, was sentenced to five years’ probation and fined $15,000.

Steven E. Saffer, 50, Argenbright’s former district manager, and Helen Fields, 56, the company’s local personnel recruiter, will be sentenced next week.

Prosecutors said Saffer devised the scheme to increase the Philadelphia office’s profit margin and his bonus….


 

Haynes Security, Inc. – No connection with the underwear company, as far as I know.

February 3, 2004

Airport security firm accused of bribery

By Jeffrey Gold, Associated Press

NEWARK, N.J. – A security company with contracts to protect New York-area airports, bridges and tunnels has been charged with paying bribes to get work and hiring dozens of employees with criminal records.

Haynes Security Inc. and its president, John D’Agostino, were charged with theft, bribery and conspiracy in an indictment announced Tuesday.

Among the allegations: Haynes paid more than $1,000 in August 2001 for repairs at the home of a Continental Airlines manager in return for consideration for a contract at the Newark airport. No charges were brought against any Continental employees.

“We need to ensure the highest level of safety, security and service,” said Pasquale DiFulco, a spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which oversees the facilities.

Haynes no longer handles airport passenger screening, which is now overseen by the federal Transportation Security Administration. But the company’s unarmed guards still provide security in other parts of the airports, including patrolling parking lots and checking the identification of vehicles entering runways.

Haynes lawyer Seth T. Taube said the company has cooperated fully in the investigation.

“This is nonsense. The state is desperate for political corruption cases, and this is their way of squeezing Haynes Security to make up stories about politicians,” Taube said.

Investigators said Haynes hired 27 convicted criminals – who are barred from holding security posts – to work at the airport and for the state’s largest utility, Public Service Electric & Gas. After learning of the investigation, the company sent thousands of fingerprints to state police for review, authorities said.

Also indicted was Benjamin R. Riggi, a former PSE&G manager was accused of accepting a $7,500 bribe in 2002 to approve Haynes’ contract with the utility….

Haynes provided security at the utility’s Newark headquarters, and for workers at street-repair sites.


 

Los Alamos National Laboratory – The top-secret national laboratory where national security is paramount.

November 18, 2002

Report: $3 Million in Lab Property Lost

LOS ALAMOS, N.M. – (AP) – Nearly $3 million worth of items owned by Los Alamos National Laboratory have disappeared or were reported missing over a three year period, according to a published report.

The lab’s system of reporting lost items “is conducive to covering (up) for items that are actually stolen,” said the internal report, prepared within the lab’s Office of Security Inquiries in March.

The author’s name was not on the report, which was obtained by the Albuquerque Journal for a story in yesterday’s editions. It outlined missing items ranging from computers to a fork lift that disappeared between 1999 and 2001.

Lab spokeswoman Linn Tytler said it goes through a rigorous accounting process each year by both lab officials and the Department of Energy.

A U.S. House committee is investigating allegations that Los Alamos employees used lab credit cards to make illegal purchases….

* * *

June 14, 2002

SIX SUSPENDED IN LOS ALAMOS SECURITY LAPSE

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – The Los Alamos National Laboratory has suspended six employees as the FBI intensified its investigation into the disappearance from the lab of two computer hard drives loaded with nuclear secrets.

Energy Secretary Bill Richardson, under fire from Republicans for insufficient security at the laboratory, launched a bipartisan probe on Tuesday into the loss.

He said espionage was not suspected, but vowed to take disciplinary action against those responsible.

Republicans said Richardson was ultimately to blame.

An Energy Department official said six managers at the lab were put on paid leave for failing to immediately report the disappearance of the hard drives when it was discovered May 7.

The managers said they were unable to get back into the vault where the hard drives were kept until May 24, when the facility reopened after wildfires that caused over $300 million in damage. Coming up empty-handed after an intensive search, the managers notified the laboratory’s security chief on May 31, and a day later word was passed to Washington.

Richardson said he was outraged by the incident.

“I will not tolerate security lapses and I’m outraged at what happened,” he said in a written statement, announcing his appointment of former Tennessee Republican Sen. Howard Baker and ex-Indiana Democratic Rep. Lee Hamilton to perform a “thorough investigation and assessment” of the loss.

Baker and Hamilton are to recommend security fixes for Los Alamos, the nation’s premier nuclear laboratory.

Energy Department security chief Eugene Habiger said the hard drives were probably misplaced, not stolen, and he defended those with access to them as “dedicated, loyal Americans” who were not suspected of spying.

FBI TO START POLYGRAPH TESTS

But he said FBI and department investigators plan to start using polygraph tests on Wednesday in questioning employees. The roughly 85 people with access to the area where data were stored, including 28 with unescorted access, already have been interviewed as part of the investigation, he added.

Security at Los Alamos was thrust into the spotlight in March last year when one of its researchers, Dr. Wen Ho Lee, was fired for allegedly copying nuclear weapons secrets and storing them on an unclassified computer network.

Lee’s lawyer, Mark Holscher, on Tuesday said the incident involved “far more sensitive” classified materials than the files Lee allegedly transferred to another computer. He said he plans to show evidence of “much more egregious incidents of people mishandling computer files” than in Lee’s case.

A U.S. citizen born in Taiwan, Lee has been charged with 59 criminal counts, but not espionage, and the lab came under fire for the ease with which he was allegedly able to download and copy sensitive information. Lee has pleaded not guilty.

Republicans are furious about the latest flap.

Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Shelby, urged Richardson and other officials to explain what happened at a hastily-called hearing on Wednesday, but Richardson decided to send his deputy instead.

Shelby, an Alabama Republican, told MSNBC it was time the Energy Department got a new leader.

“I think it’s time we have put in place a Secretary of Energy who’s going to be accountable to the American people, and I submit to you that Richardson is not that man,” he said.

Rep. Porter Goss, a Florida Republican who chairs the House Intelligence Committee, said panel members will be briefed by Energy Department officials on Wednesday. The House and Senate armed services committees are both planning their own hearings into the matter.

“You can point the finger at one man,” said Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John Warner, a Virginia Republican, of Richardson. “He gave us the assurance that everything was under control.”

SENATE TO VOTE ON NEW NUCLEAR SECURITY CHIEF

Senate Republicans said the latest security snafu showed the need for immediate Senate confirmation of Air Force Gen. John Gordon to head a new nuclear security agency, whose creation Richardson had opposed, and with Democratic agreement a vote on his nomination was quickly scheduled for Wednesday.

White House spokesman Joe Lockhart said Clinton was pleased about Richardson’s probe and expected it to be “thorough, expeditious and conducted in a manner that does not interfere with the FBI’s investigation of this very serious matter.”

“The president has full confidence in Secretary Richardson and his ability to get to the bottom of this,” Lockhart said.

Richardson, often cited as a potential vice presidential running mate for Democrat Al Gore, was brought in two years ago to help beef up DOE’s flawed security network.

The hard drives, about two-thirds the size of a deck of playing cards, were housed in locked suitcase-like “kits” that are used by the department’s Nuclear Emergency Support Team, which responds to accidents and any nuclear terrorist acts….

< < < FLASHBACK < < <

Posted on Free Republic, 06/18/99, by Thanatos:

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/library/opinions/saffire/061799safi.html

‘CULTURE OF ARROGANCE’

by William Safire

Computers at our nuclear laboratories are again being ordered to “stand down.” Our most secret work on our most powerful weaponry is coming to a screeching two-day halt.

That’s because of a line in a report issued this week by “Piffiab,” the President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board:

“A nefarious employee can still download secret weapons information to a tape, put it in his or her pocket, and walk out the door.”

This despite Energy Secretary Bill Richardson’s previous public assurances that the barn door had been locked, now that China has our warhead secrets….

Poor Richardson. He is Clinton’s designated punching bag, held out front to absorb the punishment properly belonging to Sandy Berger, who didn’t want to upset his “strategic partnership” with China, and Janet Reno, who didn’t want to investigate espionage at Los Alamos or Chinese influence-buying at the White House….

Two listening devices – bugs – were discovered planted in one of our nuclear research facilities. Although the date of this penetration is classified for no good reason, I believe it to be before 1992.

Was this investigated, and if not, why not? Richardson’s top counterspy doesn’t know; it’s up to Congress to find out.

More recently than 1995, an illegal telephone wiretap was found installed in a national lab. “The employee who installed it confessed,” reads the cryptic line, “but was not prosecuted by the government.”

Was some guy spying on his girlfriend? Was it a Los Alamos scientist playing a prank behind top-secret doors? Who took the confession?

“I have no idea,” says Piffiab’s Rudman. “But the fact is there was no reaction. When listening devices or wiretaps are found in such a secure place, the hounds of law enforcement should be unleashed the moment they are discovered.”

“But the F.B.I. was never told.”

* * * * *

STATEMENT BY WARREN B. RUDMAN,

CHAIRMAN OF THE PRESIDENT’S

FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE ADVISORY BOARD (PFIAB)

In response to the President’s request for the PFIAB to undertake a review of the security and counterintelligence threat to the Department of Energy’s weapons labs, I am pleased to announce that I have asked PFIAB Members Ms. Ann Caracristi and Dr. Sidney Drell to join me on a special panel of the Board to conduct this inquiry.

In addition, the President (Clinton) recently has announced his intent to appoint Mr. Stephen Friedman to the PFIAB, and I intend to ask Mr. Friedman to become a panel member immediately upon his appointment.

Ms. Caracristi, as esteemed intelligence veteran, was Deputy Director of the National Security Agency (NSA) from 1980 to 1982. . . . She currently serves on the Board of Visitors of the Joint Military Intelligence College and as a Consultant to the NSA Scientific Board. Ms. Caracristi also sits on the Intelligence Oversight Board, a standing committee of the PFIAB that advised the President on the legality of US foreign intelligence activities.

Dr. Drell, a world-renowned physicist and arms control specialist, is Professor Emeritus of Theoretical Physics at the Stanford University Linear Accelerator Center and a Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institute, Stanford University….

Mr. Friedman, a highly-respected and successful businessman, was for years a General Partner of Goldman, Sachs & Co., and retired as its Chairman in 1994. He is Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Columbia University, Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Brookings Institution, and a member of the Executive Committee of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Mr. Friedman served on the Commission of the Roles and Capabilities of the US Intelligence Community and on the Jeremiah Panel, which reviewed the National Reconnaissance Office. He currently is a Senior Principal of Marsh & McLennan Capital, Inc ….

For more on the ‘highly-respected’ Mr. Friedman, GO TO > > > The Stephen Friedman Flock

See more on our Nuclear Security, GO TO > > > The Nuclear Nests


 

Securicor – Sleep well tonight, WORLD.

October 11, 2001

South African government will not ban foreign security companies

BBC News

Foreign companies have been given the green light to continue investing in South African security firms, after the government threw out a controversial plan to block overseas investment in the sector.

Fear had existed that a foreign presence in the booming domestic security firm market was a risk, particularly in the light of the recent attacks in the US.

By some estimates, the security industry employs almost 300,000 people in South Africa, enjoying strong demand for its services from customers who distrust the local police service and are unnerved by the high crime rate.

Foreign companies have invested some 3bn rand or $327m (£210m) in the sector.

Chubb , Securicor Gray, Group Four and ADT are already active in the South African market and had faced the prospect of having to sell their holdings there.

“It was felt it was a security risk that such a strategic industry was left in the hands of foreign investors,” Sven Lunsche, editor of Jonik Online, publisher of Business Day and Sunday Times, told the BBC’s World Business Report.

“They also felt that strong foreign investment would hinder black empowerment.”

In practice, it could have been difficult for black-controlled companies to make huge-scale investments to buy out foreign investors.

The proposal was put forward two weeks ago by members of the African National Congress (ANC) on the parliamentary committee for safety and security.

* * *

January 23, 2002

Press Release from HK SARICAL ( www.icac.org.hk/ )

Former security guards received bribes to smuggle $2.7m mobile phone

Two former employees of a security company today (Wednesday) admitted that they had accepted bribes to help smuggle mobile phones and phone batteries worth $2.7 million to the Mainland, using the company’s armoured vehicles for delivery.

Hui Ping-kee, 51 and Sze Ho-chun, 54, respectively former Security Guard and Crew Commander of Securicor HK Limited (Securicor), today pleaded guilty at the District Court to three charges of conspiracy to offer advantages and export unmanifested goods.

Judge Peter Line adjourned sentencing, pending the completion of the trial of two co-defendants. Hui and Sze were each granted bail of $20,000 in cash and were ordered not to leave Hong Kong.

Hui pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring with Sze, Chau Sau-kit, Chow Cho-fung and Wong Man-sau to export unmanifested goods, namely mobile phones and accessories.

Chau Sau-kit and Chow Cho-fung were respectively owner and employee of Shing Fat Trading Company, while Wong, now deceased, was a Securicor staff while the offence took place….

The case originated from a corruption complaint, alleging that some crew members of Securicor might have bribed their crew controller for favourable postings. However, ICAC investigations later revealed the graft facilitated smuggling activities….

* * *

March, 2000

From Prison Privatisation Report International No. 34:

More penalties for Securicor

Securicor has been penalised £199,950 for contract failures at HM Prison Parc in Wales for the period 1 March 1999 to 31 December 1999.

This brings the total of Securicor’s penalties to £999,163 since the prison opened in November 1997.

The reasons for the most recent penalties include:

211 incidents of prisoner self harm; 29 incidents of concerted indiscipline; 19 assaults on staff and others; 13 assaults on prisoners; 39 failures to complete 90 per cent of mandatory drug tests; 17 incidents involving class ”A” drugs and opiates; 165 incidents involving other drugs; one escape; 65 failures in procedure [in the category Keep Prisoners in Custody]; 178 failures of prisoners seeing a medical officer on arrival; 122 failures to respond to prisoners’ complaints; 44 failures to deliver required hours of activities; 158 failures to provide sentence plans; 80 failures to start visits within 30 minutes of an appointment; 20 failures to provide pre-release job searching; 18 failures to provide prisoners with a discharge report; nine failures to implement [Prison Service] audit report recommendations; and eight failures to report on performance measures.

Significant shareholders in Securicor include Deutsche Bank, Mercury Asset Management, Royal & Sun Alliance Group, Morgan Grenfell, Warburg Dillon Read, Prudential and Standard Life….


 

Wackenhut – A nest too big for this henhouse.

For more, GO TO > > > An Octopus Named Wackenhut

# # #

 


 

Peck here to GO TO > > >

PART IITHE HAWAIIAN HENHUT


 

 

For more reassuring looks at National Security, GO TO > > >

THE CARLYLE GROUP: BIRDS THAT DRINK FROM CESSPOOLS

CROUCHING DRAGON ~ HIDDEN RATS

THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

DIRTY MONEY, DIRTY POLITICS & BISHOP ESTATE

THE EAGLE AWAKES

THE EAGLE HOODED

INVESTIGATING INVESTCORP

THE KISSINGER OF DEATH

THE MERCENARIES

NESTS IN THE PENTAGON

THE NESTS OF OSAMA BIN LADEN

THE PUNA CONNECTION

THE SECRET NESTS

THE STEPHEN FRIEDMAN FLOCK

THE TORCH OF ERIC SHINE

AN OCTOPUS NAMED WACKENHUT

YEAR OF THE DRAGON




 

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Last Update February 14, 2006, by The Catbird

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