Joint effort targets border crime

U.S. and Mexican forces, sharing patrols for the first time, take on drugs and migration. Corruption is feared.

By Sebastian Rotella

February 17, 2010

Reporting from Nogales, Ariz.

In a politically sensitive operation at the Arizona- Mexico border, U.S. Border Patrol agents and Mexican federal police officers are training together, sharing intelligence and coordinating patrols for the first time.

The goal of the historic partnership: a systematic joint attack on northbound flows of drugs and migrants, and southbound shipments of guns and cash. It is part of a major, unannounced crackdown started in recent months involving hundreds of U.S. and Mexican officers in the border's busiest smuggling corridor.

The initiative appears likely to expand. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Mexican Public Safety Secretary Genaro Garcia Luna will sign a declaration Thursday in Mexico City agreeing to replicate the experiment. Eventually, officials say, joint operations borderwide could lead to the creation of a Mexican force serving as a counterpart to the Border Patrol -- an agency once regarded with nationalistic aversion in Mexico.

"We are planting a seed of binational cooperation that interests all of us," Mexican federal police Cmdr. Armando Trevino said Tuesday in Nogales. "We are fighting a common enemy. We are going to work together like friends, like comrades, like brothers."

Political urgency drives both sides. The Obama administration needs results on border security in its uphill campaign for immigration reform. Mexican President Felipe Calderon's government wants progress in its war on drug mafias.

But the unprecedented effort faces imposing obstacles: violent drug cartels, long-standing Mexican reluctance to interfere with illegal immigration into the United States and a legacy of corruption that has scuttled past enforcement efforts.

"There's so much potential for corruption," said Jennifer Allen, executive director of the Border Action Network, a migrant advocate group in Arizona. "It could be destined for failure. . . . Right now law enforcement in Mexico cannot compete with the trafficking networks. It can't compete with the money, the power."

In the 1990s, the Border Patrol worked closely with Grupo Beta, an elite Mexican police unit. After a promising start, the unit faltered under allegations of wrongdoing and functions today as an unarmed humanitarian agency.

Nonetheless, Tuesday's visit by Trevino was full of signs that times are changing. The 69-year-old lean, white-haired, retired army general leads the Sonora, Mexico, contingent of the federal preventive police, which conducts street-level enforcement involving major crimes and patrols highways and airports.

Trevino watched a training session in which green-uniformed U.S. instructors shouted directions as nine Mexican officers in blue uniforms, goggles and helmets roared through mud and water on all-terrain vehicles that the Border Patrol uses to chase border-crossers.

Mexican officers, who undergo U.S. background checks, also train in close-quarters firearms techniques and medical rescue skills. The Border Patrol plans to vet and train several hundred Mexican federal officers who also will learn behavioral analysis and ways to detect contraband concealed in vehicles.

Trevino and U.S. chiefs took a rattling hour's drive over a dirt mountain road to inspect a remote base housing a dozen live-in agents. Trevino plans to set up two "mirror" bases south of the U.S. outposts to interdict smugglers, who use horses and ultra-light aircraft in the rugged terrain.

Joint U.S.-Mexican operations got underway when a detachment of Mexican federal police arrived in the Mexican state of Sonora about two months ago. They began communicating daily with the Americans and responded to security threats, disrupting smugglers' hilltop lookouts and breaking up rock-throwing gangs who often clash with U.S. agents in melees that have resulted in injuries, shootings and diplomatic tensions.

"There has been a decrease in rockings after their deployment," said Al White, the Border Patrol agent-in-charge in Nogales.

The Mexican forces also have developed new southern barriers to smuggling drugs and people. Trevino has deployed five roving checkpoints in Sonora that have pushed marijuana traffickers west from traditional land routes to emerging, more complicated maritime smuggling efforts on the Sea of Cortez, officials say.

The Border Patrol will send two liaison agents to Trevino's headquarters in Hermosillo; two Mexican officers will work at the Border Patrol station in Nogales.

"The coordination will make our pursuits more flexible so we can stop criminals from ducking back and forth across the border," Trevino told his U.S. counterparts, adding that his agency "is most ready to seal the border to put an end to this organized crime."

However, Trevino said that while his officers aggressively pursue smugglers, they do not intend to interfere with Mexicans crossing north illegally if there is no evidence of other criminal activity. The policy is dictated by longtime Mexican political sensitivity and public opinion, experts say.

Nonetheless, Mexican Ambassador Arturo Sarukhan praised the Arizona-Sonora model as part of an enforcement "sea change" resulting from government cooperation and the rising frequency of drug traffickers who also smuggle people.

"Drug smuggling organizations have diversified their portfolio," he said in an interview. "As organized crime has developed its footprint, we have to do so as well and combat all kinds of trafficking."

Border Patrol officials say the Mexican anti-smuggling effort helps disrupt the flow of illegal migrants and is the most they can hope for at the present time. Smugglers have retaliated against the five-month U.S. crackdown, dubbed the Alliance to Combat Transnational Threats.

Gunmen with automatic rifles wounded a Border Patrol agent in December. A month earlier, a sniper on Mexican turf fired volleys at the U.S. port of entry, causing havoc but no injuries. Officials suspect it was payback for the seizure of $300,000 by U.S. inspectors.

In addition to the more recent cooperation with Mexico, U.S. border agencies have deployed extra personnel in the Tucson sector, which leads the southwest border in arrests and marijuana busts.

They have begun concerted scrutiny of southbound traffic and pedestrians, a rare practice at the international line. The checks have enabled inspectors to seize $2.2 million in smuggled cash and identify more than 3,000 illegal immigrants since October. Although U.S. officers have seized only five weapons in that period, Mexican customs inspectors found 41 assault rifles hidden in a vehicle a month ago.

Bolstered defenses have caused an odd reverse scenario: Smugglers based in Tucson and Phoenix occasionally try to smuggle people and goods south into Mexico, officials say.

Meanwhile, the Sinaloa drug cartel has launched an offensive to take control of Nogales, Mexico, from the Beltran Leyva cartel. January brought 40 killings in the city and a spate of attacks on police officials. There are fears that gangsters could target the Border Patrol's new Mexican allies.

"Yes, it could increase danger for us," said Capt. Eduardo Pena, a 23-year veteran, after the training session. "But we are not going to back down."

The cultural change resulting from the joint operation seems profound. For years, the Border Patrol had a negative image among many Mexicans and Latinos, fed by film stereotypes of sadistic, racist agents. The caricature obscured the reality that many U.S. border agents are Latino and that the Border Patrol has improved relationships with Mexican consulates and migrant advocates.

But U.S. and Mexican officers admit the alliance would have been hard to imagine not long ago.

"It's historic," Pena said. "I was based in Tijuana 15 years ago, and there were bad feuds between the federal police and the Border Patrol. There was a bad image, the old ugly image of the Border Patrol. But now there is a new partnership. Good citizens won't dislike this collaboration. Criminals will dislike it."

http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la-na-border18-2010feb18,0,7135575,print.story

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Hand-swabbing said to be bigger part of air security

Air travelers may have their hands swabbed more often as part of a stepped-up effort to screen passengers for explosives, an Obama administration official said Wednesday.

 Airports were told Wednesday that more passengers should be randomly screened for explosives before, during and after they go through metal detectors, the official said. The screening could include swabbing travelers' hands or their carry-on luggage to check for traces of explosives, said the official, who requested anonymity to speak about security plans.

 The heightened screening follows a failed Christmas Day attack on a Detroit-bound airliner. A Nigerian man accused of being trained by al-Qaeda operatives has been charged with trying to blow up the plane with explosives hidden in his underwear.

 Other security measures have been enhanced since the alleged plot. Heightened screening measures have been tested at five airports over the last month.

 TSA spokeswoman Kristin Lee said the stepped-up screening is random and that travelers will not see the same procedures at all airports.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/dcnow/2010/02/handswabbing-said-to-be-bigger-part-of-air-security.html

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Border agents seize $766,000 worth of crystal meth and pot near San Clemente

Sheriff Baca to announce new policy meant to reduce violent confrontations between deputies, suspects

In response to an increase in fatal shootings by L.A. County sheriff's deputies, Sheriff Lee Baca today will announce a revised policy aimed at reducing violent confrontations between deputies and suspects.

Under the new policy, deputies will be encouraged to contain suspects and wait for back up rather than immediately confronting and attempting to arrest them.

"When dealing with a perceived armed suspect, sworn members shall be cautiously persistent in performing their duties,” the policy states. “Consistent with this philosophy, while every situation is not absolute, in many cases, it may be safer to chase to contain rather than chase to apprehend.”

The policy change is important because it is a key factor in how the department decides whether a deputy acted appropriately during a shooting.

The new containment approach stems from an expert panel Baca convened in September to address what deputies should do if a person they believe is armed runs from them.

That panel of veteran training officers was convened after a series of much-publicized deputy-involved shootings during chases. One of those killings involved a deputy shooting a 36-year unarmed man through a gate during a foot pursuit.

The man, it was later learned, was not the robbery suspect deputies were seeking. The new deadly-force policy will be announced later today by Baca.

According to a copy of the proposed policy change, it is intended to keep deputies from placing themselves in harm's way or putting anyone else in jeopardy.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/

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L.A. County ranks 26th of 56 in new health study; Orange County in top 10

Los Angeles County ranked 26th for health outcomes and 44th for health factors of the 56 California counties surveyed (Alpine and Sierra counties were not surveyed). By contrast, Orange County ranked seventh for health outcomes and ninth for health factors. Health outcomes measure how healthy a county is based on mortality and morbidity, and health factors measure influences on the health of the county such as residents' education, smoking and the environment.

According to the rankings, California's 10 healthiest counties are, from first to 10th, Marin, San Benito, Colusa, Santa Clara, San Mateo, Placer, Orange, Santa Cruz, Sonoma and El Dorado. The 10 counties in the poorest health are Del Norte, Siskiyou, Lake, Trinity, Yuba, Kern, Inyo, Tulare, Madera and Modoc.

“This report shows us that there are big differences in overall health across California's counties, due to many factors, ranging from individual behavior to quality of healthcare, to education and jobs, to access to healthy foods, and to quality of the air,” said Dr. Patrick Remington, associate dean for public health at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health.

Each county was ranked based on residents' health, longevity and factors such as smoking, obesity, binge drinking, access to primary care providers, rates of high school graduation, rates of violent crime, air pollution levels, liquor store density, unemployment rates and number of children living in poverty.

Researchers used five measures to assess the level of overall health: the rate of people dying before age 75; the percentage of people who reported being in fair or poor health; number of days people reported being in poor physical health; number of days in poor mental health; and the rate of low-birth-weight infants.

Researchers then looked at factors that affect people's health within four categories: health behaviors, clinical care, social and economic factors, and physical environment. Nationwide, the study showed poorly ranked counties often had multiple health problems, including higher rates of premature death, often from preventable conditions; and high smoking rates that lead to cancer, heart disease, bronchitis and emphysema.

“These rankings demonstrate that health happens where we live, learn, work and play," said Dr. Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, president and chief executive of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. "And much of what influences how healthy we are and how long we live happens outside the doctor's office.”

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/02/la-county-ranks-26-of-56-in-new-health-study-orange-county-in-top-10.html#more

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OPINION

UC Irvine's free speech debate

Students and others who disrupted an address by the Israeli ambassador to the U.S. can't claim 1st Amendment rights.

By Erwin Chemerinsky

February 18, 2010

College campuses, especially at public universities, are places where all ideas should be expressed and debated. No speech ever should be stopped or punished because of the viewpoint expressed. Of course, there must be rules to regulate the time, place and manner of such expression to preserve order and even to make sure that speech can occur.

These general principles are unassailable, but their application to recent events at the University of California, Irvine, has attracted international attention. Israeli Ambassador to the United States Michael Oren was invited by several sponsors, including the law school (of which I am dean) and the political science department (of which I am a member) to speak at the university on Feb. 8.

Prior to this event, campus officials heard rumors that some members of the Muslim Student Union planned to disrupt the ambassador's speech by having a series of students yell so that he could not be heard. One after another they would rise and shout, so that as each was escorted away, another would be there to make sure that the ambassador did not get to speak. When asked, the officials of the Muslim Student Union denied any plans to do this.

Unfortunately, this is exactly what occurred. After the first disruptions, the audience was admonished that such behavior was not acceptable within the university and that those who engaged in such conduct would be arrested and face student disciplinary proceedings. Despite these warnings, 11 individuals rose and shouted so that the ambassador could not be heard. At one point he left the stage, but thankfully was persuaded to return and deliver his address.

Eleven individuals were arrested, and those who are UCI students are facing disciplinary action. In the last week, I have been deluged with messages from those saying the disruptive students did nothing wrong and deserve no punishment, and also from those saying that the students should be expelled and that others in the audience who cheered them on should be disciplined.

Both of these views are wrong. As to the former, there are now posters around campus referring to the unjust treatment of the "Irvine 11" and saying they were just engaging in speech themselves. However, freedom of speech never has been regarded as an absolute right to speak out at any time and in any manner. Long ago, Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes explained that there was no right to falsely shout "fire" in a crowded theater.

The government, including public universities, always can impose time, place and manner restrictions on speech. A person who comes into my classroom and shouts so that I cannot teach surely can be punished without offending the 1st Amendment. Likewise, those who yelled to keep the ambassador from being heard were not engaged in constitutionally protected behavior.

Freedom of speech, on campuses and elsewhere, is rendered meaningless if speakers can be shouted down by those who disagree. The law is well established that the government can act to prevent a heckler's veto -- to prevent the reaction of the audience from silencing the speaker. There is simply no 1st Amendment right to go into an auditorium and prevent a speaker from being heard, no matter who the speaker is or how strongly one disagrees with his or her message.

The remedy for those who disagreed with the ambassador was to engage in speech of their own, but in a way that was not disruptive. They could have handed out leaflets, stood with picket signs, spoken during the question-and-answer session, held a demonstration elsewhere on campus or invited their own speakers.

At the same time, I also disagree with those who call for draconian sanctions against these students or of punishment for a larger group. Only the students who were actually disruptive should be punished. Whether there will be criminal prosecutions is up to the Orange County district attorney. Within the university, the punishment should be great enough to convey that the conduct was wrong and unacceptable, but it should not be so severe as to ruin these students' educational careers.

As a matter of 1st Amendment law, this is an easy case. It would be so no matter the identity or views of the speaker or of the demonstrators. Perhaps some good can come from this ugly incident if the university uses it as an occasion to help teach its students about the meaning of free speech and civil discourse.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-chemerinsky18-2010feb18,0,6689461,print.story

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From the Daily News

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Study: Cuts would deny care to elderly, disabled

Hundreds of thousands of elderly and disabled Californians would lose vital home care and end up in nursing homes under a budget proposal from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, according to a new UCLA study.

The governor's proposed cuts to the $5.5 billion In-Home Supportive Services program would turn back the clock on three decades of how society cares for the elderly and disabled, the analysis by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research said.

The governor has proposed cutting about $950 million in state funding for the program, but the state also faces the potential loss of up to $2.5 billion in federal matching funds.

The program serves about 430,000 seniors and disabled statewide and about 180,000 in Los Angeles County.

Report author Steven P. Wallace, the associate director of the center, said without the care many of those seniors and disabled people will end up in nursing homes, while others will suffer quietly at home and some will die early.

"If you withdraw the help, they will end up getting sicker because they are not getting adequate nutrition, not taking their medications appropriately, aren't getting bathed and so they get dirty and have infections more often," Wallace said. "This will inevitably drive up the costs at nursing homes and hospitals."

But Schwarzenegger's spokeswoman, Rachel Arrezola, said a recent Legislative Analyst Office's report shows the best approach is to limit care to those that need it the most.

The cuts were proposed as part of an effort to close a $20billion budget shortfall.

"The governor sees the real Californians and real consequences behind these cuts," Arrezola said. "These are not cuts the governor wants to make, but it is his job to ensure the state lives within its means."

The IHSS program, the state's fastest-growing social services program, pays in-home caregivers -often family members and relatives - to take care of low-income elderly and disabled people. The program was created in 1979 to help individuals stay in their own homes and avoid costly nursing home stays.

The UCLA report found nearly 87 percent of seniors with cognitive impairments like Alzheimer's disease would lose all their in-home care.

In addition, 94 percent of those living alone would lose all their caregiver hours, as would approximately 90 percent of those age 80 and older.

The LAO report estimated up to 50 percent of those losing services would seek nursing home care, but the state only has 20,000 licensed beds available at any given time.

"Where will seniors go?" said Dr. Bruce Chernof, president and Chief Executive Officer of the Long Beach-based SCAN Foundation, a nonprofit foundation that paid for the research. "There is literally no room for them in the nursing home and virtually no extra help for them in their own homes."

A policy paper released Wednesday by the United Long Term Care Workers union stated the cuts would overwhelm the county's hospital emergency rooms and social services programs. The union estimated the county's unemployment rate would rise from 12.2 percent to 14.6 percent as more than 120,000 caregivers lost their jobs.

Despite the gloomy scenario, Wallace noted the governor made a similar proposal last year that was blocked by a federal judge.

"I think this is his beginning bet," Wallace said. "In poker, you make several rounds of bets and I think he's putting his hand on the table. By putting such an extreme hand on the table, what he's trying to do is force significant cuts in this program."

But if the Legislature approves the cuts, Wallace said there will be almost nothing left to help seniors remain in their communities.

"They're not trying to reduce costs with a scalpel," Wallace said. "They're going at it with a meat ax."

http://www.dailynews.com/breakingnews/ci_14422157

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Patricia S. Ploehn: DCFS is still committed to families

RECENTLY, some confusion has emerged about the commitment of the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services to reunify families.

Let me be clear: We remain committed to safe family preservation and reunification. As we continue to work to strengthen families we are moving with the same determination to prevent children from growing up in foster care.

The vast majority of our foster children return safely to their parents or caregivers as a direct result of our department's steadfast commitment to reuniting children with their families when it is safe to do so.

It's important to remember that safety and reunification with a child's biological family are not mutually exclusive. In reality, they are inextricably linked. Foster care should only be a temporary safe haven, not a long-term solution. We know that the longer children stay in foster care the more likely they are to do poorly in school, experience homelessness, and mental health issues.

That's why we are working to reduce the number of children in foster care, especially long-term foster care. But the numbers are not how we measure success. It's what the numbers represent that's important.

What we at DCFS value most - and what remains at the heart of our work - is knowing that every child is safe and lives with loving parents or caregivers. Every child deserves a healthy, stable home, and that is the core value that guides our work with every child, every day.

The fact that we keep thousands of Los Angeles County children safe each year does not minimize the pain we feel when a child is injured or dies. There is no greater tragedy for us, and we are committed to doing everything we can to keep every child safe.

In September, we developed a plan to strengthen safety through a series of actions, including intensive retraining, increased oversight, additional staff, and new tools for managers. We implemented innovative new programs to immediately assess parental risk factors and connect families to local resources.

This is why we are participating in a federal project that allows us to use funds to provide direct services to parents and families instead of being largely constricted to services for children who've already entered foster care.

And we're not done. Our next goal is to significantly lower the caseloads of emergency response investigators so that they can be more effective.

As we continue to strengthen our safety protocols, we have never abandoned our core belief in the importance of family preservation and reunification. The many families and community partners who have worked with us know this fact.

We have dramatically improved the lives of Los Angeles' families through innovative programs such as Team Decision-Making and Up-Front Assessments for parents at risk of mental health problems, substance abuse or domestic violence. DCFS remains committed to keeping children safe and to ensuring that every child in our community has a caring, permanent family.

That commitment will never waver.

http://www.dailynews.com/opinions/ci_14421759

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From the Wall Street Journal

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Broad New Hacking Attack Detected

Global Offensive Snagged Corporate, Personal Data at nearly 2,500 Companies; Operation Is Still Running

Hackers in Europe and China successfully broke into computers at nearly 2,500 companies and government agencies over the last 18 months in a coordinated global attack that exposed vast amounts of personal and corporate secrets to theft, according to a computer-security company that discovered the breach.

The damage from the latest cyberattack is still being assessed, and affected companies are still being notified. But data compiled by NetWitness, the closely held firm that discovered the breaches, showed that hackers gained access to a wide array of data at 2,411 companies, from credit-card transactions to intellectual property.

The hacking operation, the latest of several major hacks that have raised alarms for companies and government officials, is still running and it isn't clear to what extent it has been contained, NetWitness said. Also unclear is the full amount of data stolen and how it was used. Two companies that were infiltrated, pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co. and Cardinal Health Inc., said they had isolated and contained the problem.

In more than 100 cases, the hackers gained access to corporate servers that store large quantities of business data, such as company files, databases and email.

They also broke into computers at 10 U.S. government agencies. In one case, they obtained the user name and password of a soldier's military email account, NetWitness found. A Pentagon spokesman said the military didn't comment on specific threats or intrusions.

At one company, the hackers gained access to a corporate server used for processing online credit-card payments. At others, stolen passwords provided access to computers used to store and swap proprietary corporate documents, presentations, contracts and even upcoming versions of software products, NetWitness said.

Data stolen from another U.S. company pointed to an employee's apparent involvement in criminal activities; authorities have been called in to investigate, NetWitness said. Criminal groups have used such information to extort sensitive information from employees in the past.

The spyware used in this attack allows hackers to control computers remotely, said Amit Yoran, chief executive of NetWitness. NetWitness engineer Alex Cox said he uncovered the scheme Jan. 26 while installing technology for a large corporation to hunt for cyberattacks.

That discovery points to the growing number of attacks in recent years that have drafted computers into cyber armies known as botnets—intrusions not blocked by standard antivirus software. Researchers estimate millions of computers are conscripted into these armies.

"It highlights the weaknesses in cyber security right now," said Adam Meyers, a senior engineer at government contractor SRA International Inc. who reviewed the NetWitness data. "If you're a Fortune 500 company or a government agency or a home DSL user, you could be successfully victimized."

Disclosure of the attack comes on the heels of Google Inc.'s allegation that it and more than 20 other companies were breached by Chinese hackers. This operation appears to be more far-reaching, infiltrating some 75,000 computers and touching 196 countries. The highest concentrations of infected computers are in Egypt, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the U.S.

NetWitness, based in Herndon, Va., said it was sharing information with the companies infected. Mr. Yoran declined to name them. The company provides computer security for U.S. government agencies and companies. Mr. Yoran is a former Air Force officer who also served as cyber security chief at the Department of Homeland Security.

Merck said in a statement that one computer had been infected. It said it had isolated the attack and that "no sensitive information was compromised."

Cardinal said it removed the infected computer from its network. Paramount declined to comment. Juniper's security chief, Barry Greene, wouldn't speak about any specific incidents but said the company worked aggressively to counter infections.

NetWitness, which does extensive work for the U.S. government and private-sector clients, said it was sharing its information with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The FBI said it received numerous allegations about potential compromises of network systems and responded promptly, in coordination with law-enforcement partners.

The computers were infected with spyware called ZeuS, which is available free on the Internet in its basic form. It works with the FireFox browser, according to computer-security firm SecureWorks. This version included a $2,000 feature that works with FireFox, according to SecureWorks.

Evidence suggests an Eastern European criminal group is behind the operation, likely using some computers in China because it's easier to operate there without being caught, said NetWitness's Mr. Yoran.

There are some electronic fingerprints suggesting the same group was behind a recent effort to dupe government officials and others into downloading spyware via emails purporting to be from the National Security Agency and the U.S. military, NetWitness's Mr. Yoran said.

That attack was described in a Feb. 5 report from the Department of Homeland Security, which said it was issuing an alert to the government and other organizations to "prevent further compromises."

A DHS official said that ZeuS was among the top five reported tools for malware infections.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704398804575071103834150536.html?mod=WSJ_WSJ_US_News_5#printMode

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From the Washington Times

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U.S. indicts arms 'Merchant of Death'

by Jerry Seper

International arms dealer Viktor Bout, the so-called "Merchant of Death" being held in Thailand on charges of selling weapons to Marxist rebels in Colombia to kill Americans, was named Wednesday in an indictment unsealed in New York as conspiring to finance an aircraft fleet to arm bloody conflicts and support rogue regimes worldwide.

Mr. Bout and an associate, Richard A. Chichakli, were accused of money-laundering conspiracy, wire-fraud conspiracy, and six separate counts of wire fraud, along with charges of conspiring to purchase two aircraft from companies in the U.S. in violation of economic sanctions that prohibited such financial transactions, said Michele M. Leonhart, acting head of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

The indictment coincides with renewed efforts by the U.S. government to extradite Mr. Bout to New York from Thailand.

Thai courts have declined to extradite Mr. Bout on the basis of the original charges. But on Wednesday, they also declined a request by Mr. Bout to be released on bond.

"The United States has apprised Thai authorities of the new charges against Bout … and will continue to work closely with them on this matter," the Justice Department said in a statement.

According to the federal indictment, Mr. Bout, 43, carried out a massive weapons-trafficking business by assembling a fleet of cargo airplanes capable of transporting weapons and military equipment to various parts of the world, including Africa, South America and the Middle East.

The arms that Mr. Bout has sold or brokered have fueled conflicts and supported regimes in Afghanistan, Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liberia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone and Sudan, the indictment said. He has controlled a large fleet of Soviet-era cargo aircraft since at least 1996, it said.

The indictment said that since the breakup of the Soviet Union, Mr. Bout was able to acquire surplus or obsolete aircraft that he used to deliver arms and ammunition. It said that because of his extensive network of aircraft and operations companies, he had the ability to "transport large-scale military machinery, as well as extensive stores of weapons to virtually any location in the world."

Because of U.N. sanctions against many of the aircraft companies they ran, the indictment said, Mr. Bout and Mr. Chichakli began in 2007 to form new aviation and other companies to further their goal of transporting arms and ammunition worldwide and did so secretly — by registering the new companies in the names of others and hiding the involvement of the two men.

The indictment said they created and registered Samar Airlines in Tajikistan in the others' names, and then set out to purchase airplanes on Samar's behalf — mainly a Boeing 727-200 and a Boeing 737-200. Nearly $2 million was transferred by wire into the U.S. from banks overseas to facilitate the purchase.

"Viktor Bout was originally charged in March 2008 with conspiring to kill Americans by selling millions of dollars worth of weapons to Colombia-based narco-terrorists," said Mrs. Leonhart. "Further investigation has revealed additional criminal activities by Bout including money-laundering and wire-fraud conspiracy.

"The additional charges contained in the newly unsealed superseding indictment amply illustrate the extraordinary breadth of Bout's deadly criminal enterprise," she said.

Mr. Bout was indicted by a federal grand jury in New York in May 2008, accused of conspiring to sell to Marxist guerrillas in Colombia millions of dollars worth of weapons to be used to kill Americans in that country.

Then-U.S. Attorney Michael J. Garcia said Mr. Bout had carried out his weapons-trafficking business since the 1990s by assembling a fleet of cargo airplanes capable of transporting weapons and military equipment to various parts of the world, including Africa, South America and the Middle East.

"Viktor Bout has long been considered by the international community as one of the world's most-prolific arms traffickers," Mr. Garcia said at the time.

As part of the 2008 indictment, Mrs. Leonhart noted that between November 2007 and March 2008, Mr. Bout agreed to sell to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) millions of dollars worth of weapons, including surface-to-air missile systems, armor-piercing rocket launchers, AK-47 firearms, millions of rounds of ammunition, anti-personnel land mines, C-4 plastic explosives, night-vision equipment, ultralight airplanes that could be outfitted with grenade launchers and missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles.

Mrs. Leonhart said Mr. Bout was arrested by Thai authorities on a provisional arrest warrant, based on a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, charging conspiracy to provide material support or resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization.

She said Mr. Bout agreed to sell the weapons to two sources working with the DEA, who said they were acquiring the weapons for the FARC, with the specific understanding that the weapons were to be used to attack U.S. helicopters in Colombia.

According to the first indictment, during a covertly recorded meeting in Thailand on March 6, 2008, Mr. Bout told undercover agents he could arrange to airdrop the arms to the FARC in Colombia, and offered to sell to the FARC two cargo planes that could be used for arms deliveries.

That indictment said Mr. Bout told the agents he understood they wanted to use the arms against American personnel in Colombia, adding that the U.S. also was his enemy and that the FARC's fight against the U.S. also was his fight.

It accused Mr. Bout of conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals; conspiracy to kill U.S. officers or employees; conspiracy to acquire and use an anti-aircraft missile; and conspiracy to provide material support or resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization.

Mr. Bout, a Russian who formerly served as a military translator but has been in the arms business since the mid-1990s, and Mr. Chichakli, 51, a U.S. citizen who was born in Syria and served in the U.S. Army, have been close business associates for the past several years.

Since at least 2000, Mr. Bout's role in providing international conflicts with weapons, as well as his close relationship with Mr. Chichakli, have been recognized by the international community.

Based in part on their close association with former Liberian President Charles Taylor, both Mr. Bout and Mr. Chichakli were the subjects of United Nations Security Council sanctions restricting their travel and their ability to conduct business around the world.

According to the U.N. sanctions, Mr. Bout "supported former President Taylor's regime in [an] effort to destabilize Sierra Leone and gain illicit access to diamonds."

The sanctions also noted that Mr. Chichakli had a "significant role in assisting [Mr. Bout] in setting up and managing a number of his key firms and moving money."

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/feb/18/us-indicts-merchant-of-death-arms-dealer//print/

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U.S. aid restrictions hurting hungry Somalis, U.N. says

by Katharine Houreld

ASSOCIATED PRESS

NAIROBI, Kenya | U.S. restrictions designed to stop terrorists in Somalia from diverting aid are hurting humanitarian operations in the lawless Horn of Africa country, U.N. officials said Wednesday.

U.N. agencies have not seen any evidence from the American government that food aid is being diverted to Islamists fighting the U.N.-backed Somali government, said the top U.N. humanitarian official for Somalia, Mark Bowden.

"What we are seeing is a politicization of humanitarian issues," Mr. Bowden told journalists in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi. "The options for a lot of Somalis look pretty bleak."

The U.S. reduced its funding to Somalia last year after its Office of Foreign Assets Control expressed fear that the extended supply line and insurgent-heavy areas where aid agencies were operating meant aid could be diverted to a group with links to al Qaeda.

The reduction contributed to a shortfall in funding that meant only two-thirds of the $900 million needed in 2009 was raised, said Kiki Ghebo, the head of the office responsible for coordinating humanitarian affairs in Somalia. The U.S. is the biggest contributor of humanitarian aid in Somalia.

Mr. Bowden says agencies were being asked to comply with impractical requirements by the U.S., but he declined to give details. He said stateside employees of the U.S. government's aid agency, USAID, were eager to resolve the impasse, but said they faced resistance from higher up in the administration.

"The whole issue seems to be dragging on for far too long," he said.

A spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi said he was not able to comment.

American reluctance to release funds is not the only problem that agencies are facing. The World Food Program (WFP) pulled out of much of southern and central Somalia after local Islamist commanders demanded $20,000 payments every six months to allow them to operate.

The Islamists also demanded that WFP fire all women working for them unless they were in clinics or health centers.

WFP will not restart its operations until the conditions are lifted and it is given assurances that WFP staff will be allowed to operate safely, said spokesman Peter Smerdon.

The funding crisis and partial withdrawal of WFP comes as the government is preparing to launch an offensive against the Islamists. The U.N. refugee agency says 100,000 people have fled their homes throughout the country since January amid an upsurge in fighting.

Somalia has not had a functioning government for a generation. Successive administrations supported by the international community have failed to deliver either security or services to the people. Nearly half the Somali population is dependent on external aid.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/feb/18/us-aid-restrictions-hurting-hungry-somalis-un-says//print/

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From Fox News

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Ala. Professor Working on Novel With Similarities to Own Life

February 18, 2010

FOX News

The Alabama biology professor accused of killing three colleagues in a campus shooting was working on a novel that contained eerie similarities to her own life.

Amy Bishop, charged with opening fire Friday at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, had an unpublished manuscript for a book titled "Amazon Fever," obtained by the Boston Globe, that focuses on a female scientist, Olivia, who struggles with depression and fears losing tenure.

Bishop was denied tenure late last year, though police have yet to identify a motive in the killings.

Her book refers to the University of Alabama as the MIT of the South, and one character, James Anderson — also the name of Bishop's husband — is a genetic sequencer at the university, the Globe reported.

Bishop book also slams Harvard, where she once was a student. And it includes a dream sequence in which Olivia sees her herself as a tenured professor surrounded by family, the Globe reports.

"She felt warm, happy, fulfilled and yet she knew it was just a dream," the book reads, according to the Globe.

Bishop is charged with one count of capital murder and three counts of attempted murder in the shootings Friday in a campus conference room where members of the biology department were meeting.

She is being held without bond and does not yet have an attorney. Colleagues say she was vocal in her displeasure about being denied tenure in March of last year, and her appeal was denied in November.

In the days after the shooting, it was revealed that she killed her brother with a shotgun in Braintree, Mass., in 1986 but was never charged because police concluded that it was an accident.

In 1993, she and her husband faced scrutiny after someone sent pipe bombs to a Harvard professor she worked with, though the bombs did not go off and no one was ever charged in that case either.

In 2002, Bishop was charged with assault, battery and disorderly conduct after a tirade at the International House of Pancakes in Peabody, Mass.

http://www.foxnews.com/printer_friendly_story/0,3566,586505,00.html

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From MSNBC

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Man breached security, got near Biden

VANCOUVER, British Columbia - A man using false accreditation was able to get within several meters (yards) of U.S. Vice President Joe Biden before being arrested at the Olympics' opening ceremony, police said Wednesday.

Cpl. Joe Taplin, a Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer serving with the Olympics security task force, said the man was stopped when he got about 12 rows from where Biden was sitting in a specially protected VIP section in BC Place Stadium.

The unarmed man was escorted into a hallway, tried to flee, and then was apprehended again, said Taplin, who added Biden was not in danger at any time.

The man, whose name has not been released, was turned over the Vancouver Police Department.

"They are not recommending charges at this time but believe mental health issues were a contributing factor," Taplin said.

An investigation is under way to determine how the man got inside.

The news first was reported by CTV.

Taplin said U.S. Secret Service agents with Biden were alerted about the incident and were satisfied with how it was handled.

"We believe it was an isolated incident committed by an individual who had no malicious intent," Taplin said. "We believe he was possibly going to say hi or talk the vice president."

CTV, the TV network broadcasting the games in Canada, reported the entry pass used by the man appeared to have been printed off the Internet and then laminated.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35449490/ns/world_news-vancouver_winter_olympics/

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Mexican leader listens to border city on drug war

CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico - President Felipe Calderon promised federal investigations into all complaints of extortion and kidnapping in a Mexican border city overwhelmed by drug gang violence.

Calderon made the pledge after meeting Wednesday with hundreds of residents of Ciudad Juarez, across the border from El Paso, Texas.

"The city will again become a city of law," said Calderon, who traveled to Ciudad Juarez after meeting with U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano in Mexico City to discuss the drug war and aviation security.

It was the second time Calderon visited the city since the Jan. 30 massacre of 15 people in a working class neighborhood fueled anger over the government's failure to stem the bloodshed. More than 2,600 people were killed in the city of 1.3 million people last year despite the presence of thousands of federal troops and police, making it one of the world's deadliest cities.

Hours after Calderon spoke, gunmen killed the mayor of Guadalupe y Calvo, a town on the other side of Chihuahua state from Ciudad Juarez, said Eduardo Ezparza, spokesman for the state prosecutors' office.

The attackers ambushed Mayor Ramon Mendivil's car on a highway as he headed back to his town from a meeting in Chihuahua city, the state capital. One of his body guards was also killed.

The motive for the attack was not immediately known. The town has seen a burst of violence recently. The bodies of five men were found dumped on a dirt road there last weekend, and on Wednesday, three police investigators were killed hours before the attack on the mayor.

Calderon's government has vowed to implement a new plan that will focus on improving law enforcement in Ciudad Juarez and addressing the social ills feeding organized crime.

Calderon said he has instructed his security Cabinet to immediately look into complaints of extortion and kidnapping in Ciudad Juarez. He said a team of federal investigators specializing in those crimes would be sent to the city.

Authorities say drug cartels have increasingly resorted to kidnapping for ransom and extorting businesses.

Small business are frequently torched in Ciudad Juarez, presumably for failing to provide "protection money" to criminal gangs. Business owners say extortion has increased, although there are no reliable figures because most people fail to report the crime, fearing that police are in league with gangs.

"I can either pay taxes, my workers or the extortion fee," one woman called out to Calderon. She did not identify herself.

More than 100 high school and university students protested against Calderon outside the building where the meeting took place. They clashed with police who dragged them away from the entrance, a repeat of scenes that occurred during Calderon's first visit last week.

Calderon angered many in Ciudad Juarez when he initially suggested that the Jan. 30 massacre was the result of a fight between gangs, even though investigators had said most of the dead were students with no known criminal ties, and that the gunmen may have been acting on mistaken information. Calderon apologized for his remarks last week.

The president also promised to reconstruct a system of emergency calls in Ciudad Juarez so police can respond to complaints faster. It took police almost an hour to arrive at the scene of the January shooting, where many of those killed were teenagers at a party.

The Health Department, meanwhile is opening Mexico's first government-run drug rehabilitation clinics in Ciudad Juarez. Authorities say cartels had been infiltrating private clinics to recruit addicts.

Civic groups want the government to register addicts at clinics.

Health Secretary Jose Angel Cordova pledged to invest $100 million pesos ($7.7 million) for rehab centers and other programs in the city. However, he acknowledged that a key challenge persuading qualified doctors to work in Ciudad Juarez at all.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35450771/ns/world_news-americas/

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Fake pot that acts real stymies law enforcement

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - There may be nothing like the real thing, but some industrious marijuana users have seized on an obscure but easily accessible substance that mimics the drug's effects on the brain —creating a popular trade in legal dope that has stymied law enforcement authorities.

The users are buying a product known as K2 — or "Spice," Genie" and "Zohai" — that is commonly sold in headshops as incense. Produced in China and Korea, the mixture of herbs and spices is sprayed with a synthetic compound chemically similar to THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana. Users roll it up in joints or inhale it from pipes, just like the real thing.

Though banned in most of Europe, K2's key ingredients are not regulated in the United States — a gap that has prompted lawmakers in Missouri and Kansas to consider new legislation.

"This isn't Jerry Garcia's marijuana," said state Rep. Jeff Roorda, a Democrat from the eastern Missouri town of Barnhart. "They've used chemicals to avoid creating something that's already illegal."

Authorities in Johnson County, Kan., discovered ex-convicts on probation smoking K2, and said it is spreading to high school students.

"This has become extremely popular," said Linda Weber, owner of The Vise smoke shop in the St. Louis suburb of St. Peters, who said she only sells to adults.

She said she sells about 60 packages a week, with suppliers calling her weekly to pitch new brands. She said she's keeping an eye on what state lawmakers decide, though, because "I definitely don't want to be selling it if it comes out that it's harmful."

K2 costs between $20 and $50 for three grams — similar to the street price of marijuana — but with the key advantages of bring legal and undetectable in drug tests.

The key ingredients are believed to be the unintended result of scientific research on marijuana's effects.

Dr. John Huffman, a Clemson University organic chemistry professor, was researching the effects of cannabinoids on the brain when his work resulted in a 1995 paper that contained the method and ingredients used to make the compound. That recipe found its way to marijuana users, who replicated Huffman's work and began spraying it onto dried flowers, herbs and tobacco.

"People who use it are idiots," said Huffman, referring to K2 smokers.

Proposed bill would make possession a felony
A proposed bill in Missouri would make possession a felony punishable by up to seven years in prison — identical to punishments given to users of real marijuana. A similar bill in Kansas would make possession a misdemeanor punishable, with up to a year in jail and a $2,500 fine, also the same as marijuana convictions.

The products are sold widely, but authorities in other states contacted by The Associated Press, including Pennsylvania, California and Michigan, said they haven't heard of their use as a drug.

Police in Missouri and Kansas said they've become aware of K2 in recent weeks.

In the rural southern Missouri city of West Plains, K2 is sold in a head shop just blocks from the high school. A botched attempt by teens to steal K2 from the shop brought the substance to the attention of police.

"A 10-year-old child could walk into a head shop and buy it," said West Plains Detective Shawn Rhoads. "It's not a tobacco, it's not regulated by anything. It would be like sending my 10-year-old son into Wal-Mart to buy potpourri."

Although it is legal, the military has banned possession of K2. The federal Drug Enforcement Administration has classified it a "drug or chemical of concern.

No research of drugs toxicity
Conner Moore, 20, who is taking a semester off from Moberly Community College, said he and his friends started smoking K2 after reading online news articles and postings about the substance. He compares the high to smoking medical marijuana. The high, he says, is shorter.

"We just got on forums and looked it up and saw what other people said about it," he said. "Obviously if it comes out being bad, I'll obviously stop using it," Moore said. "There's really no sites out there that says what is in K2."

There is no data on the drug's toxicity or how long it stays in the body. In mice, it can lead to a lower body temperature, partial paralysis and the temporary inability to feel pain, according to the DEA.

One of the few studies of the compound's use was performed by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, a Portugal-based agency of the European Union, in November 2009. The study found the amount of synthetic compound varies widely between brands, and that despite being widely available, it isn't clear how many Europeans use it.

Allen St. Pierre, executive director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, said K2 isn't much discussed within marijuana culture. "If government is genuinely concerned about controlling cannabis-related products, there is really only one thing that seems to have an effect: a tax stamp," St. Pierre said.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35444158/ns/health-addictions/

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Students complained about Ala. professor

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. - Students said they signed a petition and complained to no avail about the classroom conduct of a University of Alabama-Huntsville professor accused of killing three colleagues and wounding three others in a shooting rampage at a faculty meeting.

The students upset with biology professor Amy Bishop told The Associated Press they went to university administrators at least three times a year ago, complaining that she was ineffective in the classroom and had odd, unsettling ways.

The students said Bishop never made eye contact during conversations, taught by reading out of a textbook and made frequent references to Harvard University, her alma mater.

"We could tell something was off, that she was not like other teachers," said nursing student Caitlin Phillips.

Still, they said, they saw no sign she might turn violent.

Bishop is charged with one count of capital murder and three counts of attempted murder in the shootings Friday in a campus conference room where members of the biology department were meeting.

She is being held without bond and does not yet have an attorney. Police have not revealed a motive, but colleagues say she was vocal in her displeasure about being denied tenure in March of last year. Her appeal was denied in November.

Past run-ins with police
There have been revelations since the shooting that she killed her brother with a shotgun in Braintree, Mass., in 1986 but was never charged because police said at the time it was an accident.

Norfolk District Attorney William R. Keating on Tuesday said that he reviewed the case files and concluded that probable cause existed in 1986 to charge Bishop with assault and weapons crimes. However, Keating said, the statute of limitations has run out on any possible charges.

Bishop and her husband were also scrutinized in 1993 after someone sent pipe bombs to a Harvard professor she worked with. The bombs did not go off and no one was ever charged in that case either.

In 2002, Bishop was charged with assault, battery and disorderly conduct after a tirade at the International House of Pancakes in Peabody, Mass. Peabody police Capt. Dennis Bonaiuto said Bishop became incensed when she found out another woman had received the restaurant's last booster seat. Bishop hit the woman while shouting, "I am Dr. Amy Bishop," according to the police report.

"The whole incident was just stupid," Bishop's husband, James Anderson, said Wednesday.

Asked if he was referring to his wife's actions, he said: "Everything."

"It was way overblown," he said. "Someone trying to make something out of nothing."

He also defended his wife's teaching, saying the "vast majority" of students were happy with her. He said his wife taught the "cut course" for nursing students, who would either go on toward a degree or quit the program based on how they did in her class.

"If they didn't make it through, they didn't make it," he said. "So it's natural for some to be unhappy."

He said classroom performance was not an issue in her tenure file, which has not been made public.

Tenured denied

Bishop's students said they first wrote a letter to biology department chairman Gopi K. Podila — one of the victims of Friday's shooting — then met with him and finally submitted a petition that dozens of them had signed.

"Podila just sort of blew us off," said Phillips, who was among a group of five students who met with him in fall 2008 or early 2009 to air their concerns.

After students met privately with Podila, Phillips said, Bishop seemingly made a point in class to use some of the same phrases they had so they would know she knew about it.

"It was like she was parroting what we had said," Phillips said.

University President David B. Williams said Tuesday that student evaluations were one of many factors in the tenure evaluation process, but he was unaware of any student petition against Bishop.

Other tenured professors in the department made the decision not to grant her tenure, a type of job security given to academics, but the votes of the committee were not made public. Podila was supportive of her, Williams noted.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35420396/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/

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From the Department of Homeland Security

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Secretary Napolitano Meets with Western Hemisphere Officials in Mexico on Ways to Enhance International Aviation Security

“The international dimensions of the Dec. 25 attempted terrorist attack and the international threats posed by violent extremists require an international response to bolster global aviation security measures,” said Secretary Napolitano. “Today's meetings with representatives from countries across the Western Hemisphere underscore our ongoing commitment to working together to enhance and strengthen the ways we protect the global aviation network from terrorists.”

Following today's meetings, Secretary Napolitano and the participating officials issued a joint declaration on a way forward to strengthen the international civil aviation system through enhanced information collection and sharing, cooperation on technological development, and modernized aviation security standards—viewable at http://www.dhs.gov/xabout/international/gc_1266421175567.shtm .

While the U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) does not conduct screening at foreign airports, Secretary Napolitano is committed to strengthening coordination with international partners to implement stronger and more effective measures to protect the integrity of the global aviation network.

In Mexico City, Secretary Napolitano stressed the need for collaborative international action to prevent terrorists from boarding commercial aircraft during meetings with ministers and representatives from Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, the Dominican Republic, Mexico and Panama—the second in a series of major international meetings intended to build consensus on strengthening global aviation security.

Secretary Napolitano also emphasized the Obama administration's commitment to strengthening information sharing with international partners about terrorists and other dangerous individuals who pose a threat to the global aviation system. In 2009, DHS, the Department of Justice, and the Department of State worked together to forge agreements to prevent and combat crime with Greece, Italy, Spain and Portugal by allowing for the exchange of biometric and biographic data to bolster counterterrorism and law enforcement efforts while ensuring privacy protections.

In Mexico City, Secretary Napolitano met with Mexican President Felipe Calderon to discuss both aviation and border security collaboration. She also joined Secretary Gómez-Mont to sign a letter of intent to coordinate closely on a number of mutual aviation security initiatives—including deploying enhanced airport screening technologies, strengthening passenger information sharing, and ensuring passengers have proper travel documents.

In January, Secretary Napolitano met with her European counterparts in Toledo, Spain, resulting in a similar joint declaration between the United States and the European Union on a way forward to strengthen the international civil aviation system.

Secretary Napolitano also traveled to Geneva to meet with members of the International Air Transport Association—which represents approximately 230 airlines and more than 90 percent of the world's air traffic—as part of the Department's efforts to work with the airline industry to ensure all flights to the United States meet both international and TSA security standards now and in the future. She also met with officials from the International Civil Aviation Organization in Geneva on these issues.

For more information, visit www.dhs.gov

http://www.dhs.gov/ynews/releases/pr_1266447993278.shtm

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