May 20th, 2013 at 4:00PM:
Pmocek, Flickr
Some "suspected or known terrorists" on the TSA's No Fly list were able to board commercial flights in and over the United States for years, according to a new internal report from the Department of Justice.
The report, released this month and cited by Breaking Travel News, focused on the U.S. Marshals Service and another office's handling of terrorists in the federal witness ...Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
terrorism posts
Report: Government Oversight Allowed Known Terrorists Onto US Flights
May 20th, 2013 at 4:00PM:
Pmocek, Flickr
Some "suspected or known terrorists" on the TSA's No Fly list were able to board commercial flights in and over the United States for years, according to a new internal report from the Department of Justice.
The report, released this month and cited by Breaking Travel News, focused on the U.S. Marshals Service and another office's handling of terrorists in the federal witness ...The Day I Was Mistaken For A Terrorist
May 7th, 2013 at 12:00PM: For some reason, people sometimes mistake me for a terrorist. Once I got interrogated by an air marshal for merely looking out a window, and the following year in London I totally freaked out several people on a bus.
The second incident was, I suppose, partially my fault. I boarded a city bus with a large suitcase, which I put on the luggage rack. Since the rack was right next to the door, I ...Scammer Found Selling Fake Bomb Detectors To Airports
Apr 24th, 2013 at 4:30PM: A British court has found a man guilty of selling fake bomb detectors to Iraq and Georgia, the BBC reports. James McCormick, 56, of Langport, Somerset, was found guilty of fraud after making a fortune from detectors he knew didn't work.
He's estimated to have made some $76 million from the worthless devices, which were modeled after a novelty golf ball finder. In his sales pitches he claimed ...Ethnic Element Of Boston Bombing Complicated By Geography Skills
Apr 21st, 2013 at 12:00PM: Killed and captured, Boston marathon suspects Tamerlan Tsarnaev and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev are understandably a trending topic across social media platforms. That's no surprise. Perhaps now some reasons behind the bombing will surface and we can begin to categorize the event, learn from it, vow to never forget and move along, albeit with a bit less of a secure feeling.
Also no surprise is that most ...Damage To Timbuktu's Antiquities Not As Bad As Originally Thought
Feb 1st, 2013 at 11:00AM:
Earlier this week we reported on the possible destruction of Timbuktu's collection of medieval manuscripts. Now it turns out those initial reports were exaggerated.
Timbuktu in Mali is a UNESCO World Heritage Site thanks to its many shrines to Muslim saints and its collection of some 300,000 manuscripts dating as far back as the beginning of the 13th century. They're in several languages and ...Islamists Renew Attack On Timbuktu's Heritage
Dec 24th, 2012 at 4:00PM:
The ancient treasures of Timbuktu have come under renewed attack by Islamists, the BBC reports.
The Islamist group Ansar Dine (Defenders of Faith) has vowed to destroy all the city's medieval shrines of Muslim saints, which they say are contrary to Islam. The city in northern Mali has been under the control of a coalition of Tuareg and Islamist rebels since April. They declared the ...Visiting Iraq: The Practicalities
Dec 12th, 2012 at 12:00PM:
Will Iraq become the next big adventure travel destination?
Short answer: Not yet.
Long answer:
At the moment most of Iraq is closed to solo travel. The Iraqi government has authorized only a few group tour companies such as Hinterland Travel and Babel Tours. These tours have a set itinerary and offer very little freedom for individual movement. This is not the fault of the tour ...A Family Night Out In Baghdad
Dec 5th, 2012 at 12:00PM:
After a long road trip around Iraq, I find myself back in Baghdad. It's our last night together as a group. For our final dinner we decide to eat a famous Baghdadi recipe at a famous landmark –mazgouf fish at Abu Nuwas Park.
Abu Nuwas park runs for one-and-a-half miles along the east bank of the Tigris in central Baghdad. It's named after an early medieval poet who was half Arab and ...A Run-In With The Iraqi Police
Nov 13th, 2012 at 10:00AM:
All I wanted was to buy an Iraq National Football Team uniform for my son, a perfectly normal thing for a father to do on his first day in Baghdad. The problem is, doing something normal in Baghdad can land you in serious trouble.
We were in one of the city's many souks, those famous Middle Eastern markets where you can buy just about anything. There were shops for metalwork, books, hardware, ...Going On Vacation In Iraq
Nov 12th, 2012 at 10:00AM:
Who the hell would want to spend their vacation in Iraq?
Lots of people, if they knew the reality behind the media image.
Iraq is the cradle of civilization, with famous sites such as Babylon, Ur, and Uruk. It's also home to stunning Islamic architecture, lively souks and a variety of terrain ranging from snowy mountains to marshland, along with way too much desert.
And then there are ...Video: Happy Halloween From The Department Of Homeland Security
Oct 21st, 2012 at 1:00PM: So it's Saturday night, and I'm sitting here surfing the interweb looking for a scary, travel-themed video to post. You know, because it's almost Halloween (and my social life is a bit lacking, apparently). Here's what popped up on Google, courtesy of the Department of Homeland Security. It certainly scared the crap out of me.
...
Admiring Greenland From The Air While Freaking Out An Air Marshal
Jul 8th, 2012 at 2:00PM:
Intercontinental flights are usually pretty dull. The route between London and Chicago, however, is one I always look forward to. That's because it flies over the southern tip of Greenland. The airplane heads northwest over Ireland, then arcs across the North Atlantic, barely missing Iceland before crossing Greenland.
I always seem to be lucky with the weather and get a clear view of the ...The best way to fight terrorism is to ignore it
Mar 28th, 2012 at 10:30AM: Last week, the global intelligence company Stratfor finished a series about terrorism. Their final article, "Keeping Terrorism in Perspective" is especially important for travelers. The entire series is fascinating and enlightening and I recommend it highly.
In a nutshell, the analysts at Stratfor say terrorism is not going to go away and can never be entirely defeated. No government, even the ...Somali National Theatre reopens in Mogadishu
Mar 20th, 2012 at 11:00AM:
Who ever thought going to a play could count as adventure travel? Now it can, because the Somali National Theatre has reopened in Mogadishu, Somalia.
This is the latest sign of growing normalcy in the battered capital. Traffic cops have returned to the streets, the markets are thriving and there are now regular commercial flights to Somalia from Turkey.
The theatre closed in the early ...
Arab American National Museum examines legacy of 9/11
Sep 9th, 2011 at 9:00AM: With the tenth anniversary of 9/11 just two days away, the Arab American National Museum in Dearborn, Michigan, is examining how the Arab-American community has been affected by the terrorist attacks.
U.S. Rising: Emerging Voices in post-9/11 America runs from September 8-11 and is a series of forums and events both in Detroit and Dearborn. On the actual anniversary of September 11, the museum ...Remembering 9/11 ten years later: Where you can pay respect
Sep 7th, 2011 at 1:00PM:
Everyone remembers what he or she was doing on September 11, 2001. From the moment American Airlines Flight 11 struck the North Tower of the World Trade Center (8:46 a.m. EDT) to the horrific realization that the United States was under attack, every person has a story to share, whether of what they were doing on that fateful day to memories of personal survival or tragic loss.
Ten years ...September 11 Memorial distributes more than 24,000 passes in first day
Jul 12th, 2011 at 7:30AM: As we mentioned yesterday, the National September 11 Memorial & Museum started handing out free passes on Monday in anticipation of their opening to the public on September 12. Everyone anticipated a huge response, and there certainly was one. In just the first few hours that tickets were available, 24,000 were been handed out. Figures for the whole day are not yet available.
The memorial ...9/11 Memorial advance tickets on sale today
Jul 11th, 2011 at 7:30AM:
After many years of construction, the 9/11 Memorial at the site of the World Trade Center in New York City will open on September 12. Advance tickets go on sale today.
It's officially called the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, and entrance is free but reservations must be made over the Internet in advance from the memorial's website. A phone line will also open to handle group ...Crowds flocking to Navy SEAL Museum
Jun 4th, 2011 at 9:00AM:
While Navy SEALs normally work in the shadows, they came into the international limelight on May 2 when they killed Osama bin Laden.
Now the National Navy UDT-SEAL Museum has seen its daily attendance triple. The museum in Fort Pierce, Florida, documents the history of the SEALs from their humble beginnings in 1943 as the Naval Combat Demolition Teams and Underwater Demolition Teams to the ...Politics and people: an immigrant's impressions of Spain's Basque region
Jun 3rd, 2011 at 3:00PM: One downside to being an immigrant is that you have to learn a whole new set of politics and social divisions. Since moving to Madrid six years ago, I've heard a lot of people talking about Spain's Basque region. Everyone has an opinion about it but most haven't actually been there.
I've recently returned from six days hiking in the Basque region with a group of Americans and two Basque guides. ...
