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Pupil fingerprinting in schools is unnecessary, intrusive and insecure

Saturday, July 28th, 2007

Lib Dem Shadow Minister for Schools Greg Mulholland leads a House of Commons adjournment debate on use of biometric data in schools.

Opening the debate, Lib Dem Shadow Minister for Schools, Greg Mulholland said:

“In this country, thousands of schools are collecting fingerprints or other forms of biometric data from pupils as young as three. They are collected for registration, the lending of library books and the administration of school dinners. Several enterprising companies contact schools directly to sell these packages and the benefits that they bring. The new Department has no idea in how many schools this is happening. Despite the fact that unofficial surveys would suggest that it is taking place in every local education authority area in the country, the government have no records of how many schools are collecting biometric data.”

“Yet a survey conducted by the campaigning organisation Leave them Kids Alone has estimated that 3,500 primary and secondary schools now use biometric data systems and that approximately 750,000 children have been fingerprinted by their schools. It is estimated that 20 new schools a week are being added to those figures. Therefore, the issue needs to be addressed.”

“One thing is certain: we may not know how many schools this is happening in, but we do know that parents are often not being asked for consent and in many cases are not even being informed. Some schools will send a letter home - some do so before the system is introduced, some afterwards - but there is no requirement to do that. There is real concern among parents, parent groups and civil liberties organisations, which, I am afraid, up to this point has been ignored by the government.”

Mr Mulholland welcomed the fact that the government had finally published guidance for schools on use of biometric data on the very day of his debate.

On the security of the data collected in schools, Mr Mulholland said:

“Independent technology experts have stated that in their opinion it is impossible to say that data will remain secure. Advances in technology mean that it is inaccurate to say that it will not be possible to reverse-engineer the data stored in order to obtain the original fingerprint.”

“There is also concern about how the data is stored. It is generally stored on small school networks or stand-alone PCs, with the most basic level of firewall protection and anti-theft protection, or it is held by the agencies who provide the technologies - and we are talking, of course, about an industry that is unregulated. Further, as Action on Rights for Children points out, schools are not secure places. Theft of school equipment is alarmingly frequent and IT equipment is a magnet for thieves.”

“Banks invest millions of pounds in constantly updating and adapting their security systems to prevent identity fraud, but how can schools be expected to do the same? However, unlike a bank personal identification number – PIN - biometric data cannot be changed in the event of theft or identity fraud, and a person’s biometric data remains the same for a lifetime. Therefore, once stolen, it is compromised forever.”

“How long data is stored is also an issue. Schools act independently. Some might destroy the data they hold as soon as the child leaves school, but there is nothing to stop them keeping the data for longer, or permanently, if they have sufficient storage space. Not only does that raise questions about whether the data could be used by organisations, including the police or security services, in later life, or indeed while the child is still at school, it raises further concerns about the security of the data and the chance that it might be compromised.”

Mr Mulholland concluded:

“The collection of biometric data by schools is not necessary. It is interesting to note that swipe cards are 100 per cent. accurate when passed over a reader, but biometric systems such as fingerprint scanners are only 93 per cent. accurate. So they are less accurate than swipe cards and considerably more expensive.”

“It raises many issues, including those of security, consent and information, as well as benefit, necessity and cost. I mean cost not only in monetary terms, but in the possible ramifications and consequences of the introduction of that practice. The government have been too slow to listen and too slow to act. They are finally engaging with the issue, but their response is still inadequate. It is not enough to say that parents should be consulted. They must be consulted, if biometric data, such as fingerprints, are to be taken from their children. Like a child’s safety on a school trip, the collection of a child’s fingerprints or other biometric data is enormously important, and should be treated with the same respect.”

“I have come to the conclusion that the costs of introducing that technology into our schools utterly outweigh any positive benefits that may ensue. The collection of biometric data in our schools is unnecessary, intrusive and insecure. A can of worms has been opened and, as yet, the government have failed adequately to close it. The situation is now a little clearer, but we want real clarity. The only way to achieve real clarity is for the government to say that schools must always ask parents for consent before taking biometric data from children.”

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We’re still in denial about 9/11 and ongoing Bush/Republican Treason

Saturday, July 28th, 2007

By W. Christopher Epler (Bill)

We’re still in denial about 9/11 and ongoing Bush/Republican Treason.

The evidence just keeps growing and growing that sociopathic Bush/Republicans didn’t simply fall asleep at the wheel during 9/11 — they were DRIVING THE BLOODY CAR.

So, when oh when are we going to come to terms with this ultimate treason?

And when oh when are we going to associate this treason with the money, money, money neocon lobby (certainly not lobbying for the United States of America)? Maybe we should ask Paul Wolfowitz since he has been welcomed back into the neocon fold after his illegal antics at the World Bank.

We still can’t quite bring ourselves to see it and say it like it is. We are in the dead center of an historical and elaborately orchestrated corporate coup d’etat. These people have one goal: the extinction of the American Constitutional Republic. The problem is that this is so outside the pale of traditional American social patterns, that we keep trying to understand what’s happening in political terms.

But this ISN’T politics! This is a fascist revolution! These people aren’t just liars and greed vampires. They are also murderers and torturers and they are systematically killing the American soul. They are encouraging the formerly low profile American Dictatorship of the Rich to come out of their political closet and be the literal Kings and Queens of America. They are trying to regress our noble democratic institutions back into the Middle Ages. Might makes right and the end justifies any means are their battle cries — just as they were for Hitler, Stalin, and Mussolini.

This is why “centrist” Democrats, like the DLC Hillary Clinton doll and Judas Joe Lieberman are 21st Century Nazi collaborators, As are all diaper dems and establishment politicos who are a part of the problem, not the solution.

Of course “problem” is too anemic a word to use here. America doesn’t have a problem — America is DYING. WE are losing EVERYTHING. Our civil rights, our retirements, our health care, our children’s schools, our children’s LIVES (in Bush/Cheney Oil Wars), and even our much loved Mother Nature. All down the rat hole. Listen, can you hear the sobbing of America? All the rest of the planet does and they keep wondering why we keep bending over and eating s___.

In short, they keep wondering why WE DON’T FIGHT BACK. My God, what else can these neo Nazis do to us? When they start sending vans down our neighborhood streets, broadcasting that we have to start wearing uniforms and marching to reptilian music, what will we do then? Anything? Nothing?

Of course, in essence, that’s what they ALREADY ARE DOING, but it doesn’t seem to interfere much with our escapist television sitcoms. Gee, that’s what we have a Democratic Congress for, right? That’s why we busted our butts getting these clowns elected.

Yes and no. Yes, progressive Democrats DO get to take credit for electing these 2004 congressional mice, but no, they aren’t doing squat. There probably hasn’t been such a collection of elected cowards in recorded western history. Our Democratic congress has turned out to be the bottom of the barrel, squeaking their way to some hell of betrayal and tragically dragging all of rest of us with them.

Look, it all comes down to the following:

(1.) Bush/Republican “terrorists” are killing our Constitutional Democracy, with the funding of the money, money, money neocon lobby (and play it again Sam, the neocon lobby is lobbying for who?).

(2.) Our elected Democratic Congress is an obscene joke. And they always will be an obscene joke since we have a ONE party system (the Democratic/Republican Party) which are the “brown shirts” of America’s Dictatorship of the Rich.

It’s 100% up to us to save the Earth, our children’s lives, and our birthright Constitutional Republic. How? Yes, how indeed, but at least we know what DOESN’T work, i.e., business as usual politics. No, it’s hardball time and no mistake. Hey, would we hesitate to play hardball if some human filth broke into our homes and began killing our children and stealing everything in sight? But, isn’t that EXACTLY what is happening to us as we speak? It’s life and death that we start taking non-political, hardball options seriously.

In a sports (or life) contest when you discover that your opponent is playing dirty and breaking all the rules, you better by God rise to the occasion and take care of business. The alternative is dying face down in the mud.

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Producer of 9/11 conspiracy film arrested

Saturday, July 28th, 2007

By RYAN LENZ

A film producer and veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan who backed a movie about alleged conspiracy theories behind Sept. 11 has been arrested for deserting the 101st Airborne Division two years ago, military officials said Friday.

Korey Rowe, 24, a private in the Fort Campbell, Ky.-based division, was arrested in Oneonta, N.Y., and returned to Kentucky despite claiming to have been honorably discharged.

Military officials at Fort Campbell on Friday said Rowe was arrested by the Otsego County Sheriff’s Department in Cooperstown, N.Y., earlier this week and returned to his unit.

Rowe, a veteran of tours to Afghanistan and Iraq with the 101st, helped produce the movie “Loose Change,” which alleges a government conspiracy behind 9/11.

In a grainy hand-held video posted online, Rowe suggested being listed as a deserter in a military database was a clerical error.

Oneonta Police Department spokesman Sgt. Dennis Nayor said the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations contacted police asking to have Rowe arrested after people taking pictures were escorted off a military post in New York in a car registered in his name.

Messages were left Friday with the Office of Special Investigations public affairs office and the investigator who initially contacted police.

Cathy Gramling, a spokeswoman for Fort Campbell, said the Army does not actively pursue soldiers who desert but that soldiers who go AWOL are listed in a national database police can access.

An Associated Press examination last month of Pentagon figures found the U.S. military does almost nothing to find deserters, and that just 5 percent of the 3,301 soldiers who deserted in fiscal year 2006 were court-martialed.

Kristina Kissner, a spokesman for Rowe’s company Louder Than Words LLC, said filmmakers were at a military installation in New York asking permission to film when they were told to leave.

Kissner declined to comment further.

“We’ll comment once we know he’s home safe,” Kissner said.

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Astronauts ‘drunk during missions’

Saturday, July 28th, 2007

By Virginie Montet THE US space agency faced a full-blown crisis today as US politicians promised to probe how NASA allowed astronauts to fly missions while drunk as well as the sabotage of in-flight computers.

The US House of Representatives Science and Technology committee called an oversight hearing for September, after a NASA report found astronauts had shown up to work drunk.

House Space and Aeronautics subcommittee chairman Mark Udall warned that the report was a “wake-up” call.

“We need to understand what happened and why, whether anyone is going to be held accountable, and what the agency is going to do to fix these apparently deep-seated problems,” he said.

The report released by NASA found “heavy use of alcohol” inside the standard 12-hour “bottle to throttle” abstinence period for flight crew.

NASA has recently regained its confidence after the 2003 breakup of Columbia with seven aboard, and years of testing to prove the reliability of its shuttle program, as well as its management procedures.

However, in February, NASA’s reputation was sullied again when astronaut Lisa Nowak allegedly tried to kidnap a woman dating another astronaut.

In the wake of Nowak’s arrest, NASA set up an internal panel to review astronaut health, and was handed reports of astronaut drinking.

Air Force physician Richard Bachmann, who authored the report, said one drinking incident came ahead of a shuttle mission that was eventually delayed.

The astronauts then wanted to fly on a T-38 supersonic jet used by NASA.

The second case involved a Russian Soyuz mission bound for the International Space Station (ISS), Colonel Bachmann said.

There was “no way to know if they were isolated incidents or the top of large iceberg”, he said.

NASA said: “Both flight surgeons and astronauts identified some episodes of heavy use of alcohol by astronauts in the immediate preflight period which has led to flight safety concerns.”

“However, the individuals were still permitted to fly,” it said.

The panel interviewed 14 astronauts, eight flight surgeons, five family members and other staff for the 12-page report, which noted that astronauts lacked regular mental-health assessments and felt pressure to hide their problems.

There was more bad news for the space agency this week when NASA officials said workers found a computer due to be transported by shuttle Endeavour in an August mission to the ISS had been apparently sabotaged, its wires cut.

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U.S. Reportedly Planning $20B Saudi Arms Deal

Saturday, July 28th, 2007

Forbes

The Bush administration is preparing a $20 billion arms deal with Saudi Arabia as part of a strategy for countering Iran, according to published press reports.

The proposed 10-year package of advanced weaponry would include missile guidance systems, upgraded fighter jets and naval ships.

The New York Times says Bush administration officials are concerned that the size of the package and broader concerns about Saudi Arabia’s influence in Iraq could prompt critics in Congress to oppose the package.

To counter objections from Israel’s supporters in Washington, the newspaper said, that country would be offered significantly increased military aid.

The report quotes officials as saying that discussions with Congress on the arms package had just begun, and that no announcements were expected during a visit Defense Secretary Robert Gates is said to be planning to Saudi Arabia next week with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to discuss the package.

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Lies, scams and threats – banks are condemned

Saturday, July 28th, 2007

GraÍnne Gilmore and Elizabeth Colman

Britain’s banks and building societies have lied to and threatened customers who complain about overdraft charges, the Government’s financial regulator said.

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has rebuked current account providers for making “false or misleading statements” to customers. The City watchdog said that some institutions had lied to account holders to deter them from reclaiming unauthorised overdraft charges.

It said that some banks and building societies had closed or threatened to close customers’ accounts to punish them for making a claim.

In a letter to the chief executives of every bank and building society, the FSA said: “Whilst there may be some circumstances that warrant the termination of the commercial relationship, we would expect this to be a relatively rare occurrence . . . and not as part of a standardised (and seemingly punitive) policy towards those who have merely exercised their right to complain.”

Customers who have their bank accounts closed are often forced to miss mortgage payments and other important direct debit deadlines. This can harm their credit rating. The FSA has taken enforcement action against two firms, which could lead to hefty fines.

Deficiencies identified by the FSA from a sample of banks and building societies, and set out in the regulator’s letter, include:

— A failure to respond to complaints fairly and consistently, to address adequately the subject matter of complaints, or to ensure that complaints are resolved at the earliest possible opportunity;

— Unfair closure of accounts, or threats to do so;

— False or misleading statements made to complainants.

Hundreds of thousands of account holders have reclaimed more than £200 million in overdraft penalty charges this year, complaining that the fees are illegal. Some banks charge £39 for slipping into the red without permission. Four million template letters used to reclaim the charges have been downloaded from consumer websites.

Overdraft charges boost the coffers of banks and building societies by around £1.7 billion a year.

The British Bankers’ Association (BBA) brushed the watchdog’s findings aside. A spokeswoman said: “This is part of what the FSA do, the FSA do these periodic reviews. We’ve worked entirely hand in hand with the FSA.”

Only last week, a report from the BBA praised Britain’s banks for their transparency and value for money.

The FSA has refused to name the two companies that have been referred to its enforcement division.

Lloyds TSB, Barclays, RBS/Natwest, HSBC, HBOS and Abbey between them control more than 80 per cent of the current account market, according to figures from Datamonitor, the business intelligence provider.

The FSA letter came on the day that the regulator agreed to give banks and building societies a reprieve from refunding bank charges to customers. The watchdog granted the waiver as eight institutions, including HBOS, Nationwide, Barclays and Lloyds TSB, began legal proceedings in conjuction with the Office of Fair Trading to establish the legality of unauthorised overdraft charges. The OFT has been reviewing overdraft charges since last year.

Customers who have made a claim or who are intending to do so will have to wait until the court case is decided before their complaint will be dealt with by their bank or building society. The case is expected to be heard before the end of the year.

Some customers have been forced to go to court to seek a refund, but these cases have been heard in county court and do not set a precedent. If the ruling goes against the banks, they could be forced to repay more than £10 billion of penalty charges dating back six years.

The BBA spokeswoman said: “If the FSA believed there had been a problem they wouldn’t have granted a waiver.” But consumer groups were unhappy at the FSA decision to stop refunds. Martin Lewis, of MoneySavingExpert, the consumer website, said: “The FSA may have slapped the banks’ wrists but I suspect the banks are jumping for joy. What they have done is stop people reclaiming money.”

Doug Taylor, of Which?, the consumer organisation, said: “We call on the FSA to name and shame the worst offenders and give consumers all the facts on which to base their banking decisions. Switching current accounts is a lot easier than people think. Vote with your feet and show the banks who is boss.”

John Howard, chairman of the Financial Services Consumer Panel, said: “The wide range of criticisms in this letter to chief executives, especially in relation to closing the accounts of customers who complain, suggests that some banks are having difficulty making judgments about the fair treatment of customers.”

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She rips cops, then gets raided

Saturday, July 28th, 2007

BY KATE N. GROSSMAN

Four days after a CHA resident was quoted in the Chicago Sun-Times complaining about the police, her home was turned upside down by officers looking for drugs.

Carol Wallace, a 63-year-old grandmother, has no criminal record and said she has never had any run-ins with the police in her 10 years at the Dearborn Homes public housing complex. She accused the police of trying to silence her.

“They did this just to harass me,” Wallace said. “My nerves are shot, and I’m afraid. I feel like I’ve been violated.”

Carol Wallace is in front of her Dearborn Homes apartment building Wednesday. Her apartment was searched Monday by police who said they were looking for drugs.
(Keith Hale/Sun-Times)

In the Sun-Times, Wallace decried police for demanding Dearborn residents’ and visitors’ information for “contact cards,” including names, nicknames, addresses, tattoos and other physical details. Her complaints also led to a recent tenants meeting with an area police commander, she said.Wallace is “widely recognized as a strong asset to this development and a community voice,” a case manager in the area said. Wallace has worked most of her life, as a medical technician and for the U.S. Postal Service. She’s retired now.

The Sun-Times story ran July 19, and a search warrant for her apartment, looking for drugs, was issued three days later. About 11 police officers showed up at her door at 29th and State streets Monday.

Files misconduct complaint

Wallace said about six of the officers dumped clothes from a dresser and closet on her bed and floor and rifled through her medications. Police also told a friend at the apartment that visitors weren’t allowed, she said.Wallace filed a complaint of alleged misconduct with the Police Department’s Office of Professional Standards on Wednesday.

“They will interview her, others in her building, there will be an official investigation,” said police spokeswoman Monique Bond.

Bond said officers fill out contact cards only if someone is doing something wrong, such as littering, drinking in public or hanging out in a park after hours.

“It kind of serves as a warning,” she said.

Wallace called that a “lie,” saying police regularly fill out cards on residents and visitors who are just minding their own business.

Bond defended the cards, saying they are a way for police to keep track of interactions with citizens and that the information has proved useful in solving other crimes.

Wallace also noted a mistake on the search warrant. It included the correct name, age and address, but cited an alias used by a neighbor on her floor.

The physical description of the occupant — 5-foot-1 and 140 pounds — also matched that neighbor. Wallace is 5-foot-8 and 180 pounds.

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Congress delivers blow to Bush’s European missile project by slashing funding

Saturday, July 28th, 2007

· Bipartisan committee cuts overall defence spending
· President may be reluctant to use legislative veto

Ewen MacAskill in Washington
Friday July 27, 2007
The Guardian

The US president, George Bush. Photograph: Chip Somodevilla/Getty

George Bush’s plans to establish a European missile defence system suffered a big setback yesterday when a Congressional committee slashed the funding.The House appropriations committee cut $139m (£69.5m) from the $310m the Bush administration wants for preparatory work on the missile project in Europe. It approved funds for a radar system in the Czech Republic but cut the $139m Mr Bush requested to establish a missile interception system in Poland, the most controversial part of the defence system.

In addition, the committee cut a further $159m from US-based parts of the missile plan.

John Murtha, chairman of the committee, said the Bush administration has “got to convince us this is worthwhile”.

In a report attached to the revised budget, the committee said: “It is premature to provide full funding for the European component, given the uncertainty surrounding the programme”.

The Congressional move came as Des Browne, the defence secretary, said on Wednesday that the UK had agreed to allow the US to upgrade the Menwith Hill airbase in Yorkshire as part of the proposed missile defence system. Britain has already approved a radar system at Fylingdales on the North York Moors.

Mr Bush wants to place 10 interceptor missiles in silos in Poland, saying they are needed as a matter of urgency to defend against Iran, which the US claims is pushing ahead with a nuclear weapons programme.

The budget cuts are part of $3.5bn that the committee has slashed from the overall defence budget, which now stands at $459bn.

As well as reducing the budget, Congress is shifting priorities from futuristic programmes to more immediate concerns, such as improved healthcare for soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, pay rises for soldiers and marines, and much-needed weaponry for Iraq, such as the heavily-armoured Stryker vehicles.

The committee’s pared-down budget will go to the full House for a vote next week but is almost certain to be passed.

The House and Senate have questioned whether establishing the system in eastern Europe is sensible given the extent of the opposition it has aroused in Russia. They also question its technical feasibility and the failure of other Nato countries to commit fully to it.

Republicans on the committee joined the Democrats in voting for the bill.

Mr Murtha said Congress was trying to change the direction of the defence department across the board, not just on missile defence.

The Senate is not scheduled to vote on the budget until after the August recess. While the Democrats and Republicans are divided over proposals to withhold war spending for Iraq, legislators from both parties have expressed scepticism about the European missile defence proposal. Mr Bush could veto congressional changes but may be reluctant to do this, given he might have to also use it in September in the Iraq war funding row.

Bill Young, the most senior Republican on the committee, said: “I don’t think this bill is subject to a veto.”

He said it had been designed for quick passage.

Even if Mr Bush was to block it, the extent of congressional opposition will leave doubts over the European missile defence system, signalling that if the Democrats take the White House next year the plan would be scrapped. The congressional opposition will also embolden Russia to maintain its opposition.

Vladimir Putin, Russia’s president, ordered a Kremlin meeting of senior military and intelligence officers on Wednesday to build up the armed forces and intelligence gathering to confront what he said was a new US global threat.

“The United States is becoming more active in pushing forward plans to deploy new bases in Eastern Europe,” he said.

Mr Putin rejects US claims that the missile system is directed not against Russia but a possible attack from Iran.

He has suggested an alternative plan in which the interceptor missiles would be based in either Russia or a sympathetic neighbour but the White House is cool about this.

The Democrats have attached amendments to the spending bill, such as withdrawal of US troops from Iraq and closure of the Guantánamo detention centre in Cuba within 60 days, but these have no chance of being accepted by the Senate.

A separate vote on Iraq withdrawal is scheduled for September when Democrats may be able to win over some Republican senators.

The vote will follow a report by the US commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, and the US ambassador, Ryan Crocker.

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Biometrics Slammed by UK’s Largest Visa and Immigration Company

Saturday, July 28th, 2007

The UK’s largest visa and immigration company, www.globalvisas.com, is fundamentally challenging Gordon Brown’s anti-terrorist strategy, branding it as “inconvenient, highly questionable and not thought through in the slightest”.

The prime minister has made it clear that biometrics will be collected from all people in the UK, or coming to the UK in future, when applying for a passport or visa. In addition, UK Visas and a department within Customs and Excise will join the Immigration Nationality Directorate under the newly renamed Borders & Immigration Agency as a supposed effective measure against terrorism. However, the company believes that no terror attack would have been prevented had the UK held biometric data on the perpetrators.

Director Liam Clifford says: “This is yet another inconvenience to law-abiding British citizens, and genuine business travellers and tourists coming to our country.”

He continues: “The war on terror must be intelligence-led, not an excuse to impose such infringements on people’s liberties just because the government is not capable of addressing the terrorist directly and firmly.”

Mr Clifford believes that even the name ‘Borders & Immigration Agency’ was ill-thought through to the point that B.I.A also stands for Birmingham International Airport. Home Office staff at the Borders and Immigration Agency have been warned not to use the abbreviation B.I.A in any correspondence, instead typing it out in full when referring to it. Ironically this warning came via an email address that was xxxxxxx@bia.gov.uk. It has become an inside joke and highlights how poorly thought through the current immigration strategy is.

According to Mr Clifford, a few major holes in the latest headline grabbers include:-

1. Biometric data collection in India and Pakistan will be managed by an Indian company on behalf of the UK government. The people working for this company are civilian employees, not government officials, yet have considerable powers. To save money, Mr Brown’s biggest weapon on terror has been moved offshore to a private business.

2. Law-abiding citizens travelling legitimately for business or pleasure are to be penalised and delayed, yet to claim asylum in the UK a person does not need any form of ID and can stay in the UK for long periods under the provisions of the Human Rights Act.

3. Biometrics are to be gathered and stored as computer data, which is itself highly vulnerable to tampering and exploitation, and maybe more so if held by private, offshore companies. Credit Card companies are the first to confirm that any system used will provide loopholes to be exploited.

4. Immigration into the UK for respectable visitors is hard enough already, without the new anti-terror measures. Far from preventing terrorism, the measures will simply restrict the opportunities for people to take a last minute break in the UK.

Liam Clifford adds: “In my 18 years of working in the service of our country, I have never heard of a terror attack being put off by a need for the right paperwork.”

Liam Clifford started life with UK Immigration, working for years under the Official Secrets Act.

He now runs the UK’s largest visa and immigration business with over 4,000 requests for help per week from people wishing to leave the UK or come to the UK to work. The company only deals with highly skilled individuals and employers who require overseas skills to provide a competitive advantage.

The company does not agree with the way the UK immigration strategy seems to admit low skilled people and refugees while at every step it hinders the movement of those highly educated and hard working people the UK needs.

Liam Clifford has become a leading figure in UK Immigration and Visas worldwide. He has even sat on the Government UK Work Permit User Panels and UK Visas panels and has met over a dozen Home Secretaries.

Once he was even arrested and thrown in the cells of the Old Bailey due to his previous government job of keeping people outside the UK. During his time in the Old Bailey cells he realised his country needs help and people who work for HM Government. UK Plc should never have to spend time in the cells for a job well done.

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Spymasters reveal untold story of Libby’s commutation

Saturday, July 28th, 2007

ROBERT MORTON

Lewis “Scooter” Libby, the former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, received a 30-month prison sentence for his repeated and blatant lies, which bamboozled the serious criminal investigation into who disclosed the identity of Valerie Plame (Wilson), a CIA covert intelligence officer. Shortly after, President Bush commuted the convicted felon’s 21¼2 year prison sentence, saying it was “too harsh.”

Unfortunately, most undercover CIA case officers charged with preventing WMDs from reaching America’s shores disagree with the President’s assessment. James Marcinkowski served 24 years in the CIA and went through intensive training with Plame in 1985. She was recruited upon graduation from college and was much younger than Marcinkowski and the other CIA recruits. He told me that she (Plame) accepted a risky non-official cover (NOC) assignment after the training ended. Third world countries merely deport a CIA officer with official cover (OC), but NOCs like Plame could be executed.

Most overseas CIA operatives use state department official cover (OC) to play the James Bond role, commonly seen wearing fancy attire and mingling with foreign bigwigs at embassy cocktail parties. By assuming non-official cover (NOC), Valerie Plame didn’t pretend to be a “fake diplomat” and enjoy the protection of diplomatic immunity. If caught by foreign intelligence, she wouldn’t be granted a Libby-style “get out of jail free” card to protect her from prosecution under that country’s laws. The deep cover she assumed was her only chance of survival. Due to Libby’s mendacity, Americans may never know the persons employed at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue who exposed Plame and the CIA front company, BJ & Associates. I’m amazed at his potential to dutifully shield and protect his White House superiors, while waywardly betraying his conscience and country. America’s security hinges on the CIA’s ability to create “deep cover” to protect NOCs like Plame. She used a vast mosaic of lies and props to penetrate foreign organizations in order to detect and prevent rogue states from getting their hands on nuclear material. She concealed her true identity as an intelligence operative who worked for the CIA’s enigmatic Non-Proliferation Center, a cadre of analysts, technical experts, and former field operatives, by venturing to Middle Eastern countries masquerading as an analyst for a CIA front company registered on the Dun & Bradstreet database, called Brewster-Jennings & Associates. Shortly after the Plame leak, I looked up the company’s listing in Dun & Bradstreet’s database. It had vanished.

The word “betrayal!” resonates in my mind as I recall conversing with Marcinkowski about how CIA case officers fret over the safety of the foreign assets (spies) they recruit. He spent much time with them at Christmas and met their spouses and children during the recruitment process. When CIA operatives recruit assets (spies) overseas, their spouses and kids will pay the price as well if the operation is uncovered, or should I say leaked?

NOCs like Plame have double anxiety … they worry not only about themselves, but the foreign assets and their families as well.

To America’s CIA clandestine spymasters, President Bush’s commutation of Libby’s prison sentence was, indeed, an act of betrayal. These highly trained operatives can no longer carry “promises of protection” or maintain the level of trust they once maintained among the foreign spies they handle. It’s tougher for them to not only recruit new spies, but to convince existing ones to continue sharing vital secrets about the proliferation of WMD.

Marcinkowski believes Valerie Plame’s exposure triggered foreign intelligence services to pore through passport databases to determine if she ever set foot upon their soil. They undoubtedly tracked down those she had contact with, placing the lives of many CIA foreign spies and their families in peril.

The White House leak and the commutation of Libby’s 21¼2 year prison sentenced damaged our national security. Due to a drop in foreign spy recruitment, an information shortage exists on unaccounted for nuclear material and weapons of mass destruction (WMD) proliferation. It will take years for our overseas CIA operatives to regain the trust among their various spies and to recruit new ones. Until then, America remains more vulnerable to terrorist attack.

It’s time to redeem the CIA for the wasted human sweat and money spent in creating Plame’s BJ & Associates deep cover operation and to help overseas operatives regain the trust they need to recruit foreign spies. A patriotic president would re-evaluate his hasty commutation of Libby’s sentence and judge it to be immoral… unless he fears the 2 1/2-year prison stretch may tempt Libby to sing.

Robert Morton writes commentaries about the U.S. intelligence community. Contact him at robertsmorton@hotmail.com or visit his Declassified Secrets Web site on Yahoo at: www.robertmorton.net.

Have Your Say: Spymasters reveal untold story of Libby’s commutation
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This entry was posted on Saturday, July 28th, 2007 at 5:17 pm and is filed under Surveillance, Civil Liberties & Human Rights News . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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