Radioactive Canadians A Daily Occurrence At U.S. Border
August 10, 2009 by national
Filed under Emergency Preparedness
In an effort to catch “dirty” radioactive bombs and weapons of terrorists, the U.S. government has in recent years installed highly sensitive radiation sensors at all of its land, sea and air points of entry. Ten days ago they caught Don Tracey’s radioactive blood.
In what one U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer says is now “a daily occurrence,” American border agents are pulling aside people who have undergone nuclear medical procedures such as stress tests and radiation treatments. You could say they’re now catching Canadians with glowing hearts.
They’re also catching everything from glazed plates made with naturally radioactive earth to industrial radiation sources used in surveying equipment.
The discoveries come as a result of the U.S. installing “radiation portal monitors” so sensitive that they can detect radiation emanating from the luminescent dial of an old Second World War military compass.
Passports Become Mandatory at Mexico, Canada Borders
May 31, 2009 by national
Filed under Homeland Security News
New rules requiring passports or new high-tech documents to cross the United States’ northern and southern borders are taking effect Monday, as some rue the tightening of security and others hail it as long overdue.
The rules are being implemented nearly eight years after the Sept. 11 attacks and long after the 9/11 Commission recommended the changes. They were delayed by complaints from state officials who worried the restrictions would hinder the flow of people and commerce and affect border towns dependent on international crossings.
In 2001 a driver’s license and an oral declaration of citizenship were enough to cross the Canadian and Mexican borders; Monday’s changes are the last step in a gradual ratcheting up of the rules. Now thousands of Americans are preparing by applying for passports or obtaining special driver’s licenses that can also be used to cross the border.
Homeland Security Secretary Clarifies Canadian Border Remarks
The US Homeland Security Secretary suggests there are “instances” when suspected terrorists have attempted to enter the United States from Canada.
In a statement, Janet Napolitano said “some of these are well-known to the public such as the Millennium Bomber, while others are not due to security reasons.”
Napolitano issued the statement to reassure Canadians she knows that no 9-11 terrorists entered the US through Canada.
Napolitano said earlier this week on the CBC that terrorists routinely enter the US through Canada, including the perpetrators of the September 11th attacks.
America’s 9-11 commission concluded in the 2004 that none of those terrorists made it into the US through Canada.
