Do Databases Cross a Line In Border Checks?

In the past three years, Ann Wright, who lives in Hawaii, has traveled to Canada five times and been denied entry twice. Each of the five times, Canadian authorities questioned the 63-year-old based on their own review of U.S. criminal justice databases containing Wright’s misdemeanor arrest record. In 2007, Wright says, she was turned back to the U.S. after being questioned about the prior arrests, despite holding an invitation to Ottawa from three Canadian Parliament members, who were waiting at the airport to pick her up.

Thousands of times each day, Canadian authorities tap into sensitive U.S. government databases to check the criminal histories of U.S. citizens who are crossing the border or have been entangled in the Canadian criminal justice system, FBI records show. The databases are an integral part of security operations for Canadian officials, who are preparing for June meetings of the Group of Eight summit of the world’s leading economic powers and the G-20 leaders of developed and developing countries. The summit meetings have drawn thousands of protesters in the past, including at last year’s G-20 meeting in Pittsburgh.

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Fighter Jets Escort Maui-bound Jet Back To Portland

A Hawaiian Airlines plane headed for Maui had turned around in the middle of the flight and arrived in safety at PDX.

TSA officials stated that the captain decided to fly the plane back to Portland as a result of a dubious traveler refusing to stow his carry-on baggage. Crews dug around the aircraft using a number of resources such as K9s. Authorities say there were no weapons or explosives found.

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Obama Ties Flight 253 Attack to al Qaeda in Yemen

Saturday, President Obama stated for the very first time that a part of Al Qaeda centered in Yemen had been behind the failed bombing of Nortwest Airlines flight 253 on Christmas Day, and he promised that the people behind the attempted attack “will be held to account.”

President Obama’s speech was recorded from Hawaii, where his 10-day vacation is coming to an end. This particular speech is the third time he had openly discussed the failed attack on Northwest Flight 253 headed for Detroit on Christmas Day. Obama mentioned that he had gotten initial reports, but offered no other information about how a man from Nigeria with known significant opinions was permitted to get on board a U.S.-bound plane hiding explosives in his underwear.

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• Yemen forces ‘kill al-Qaeda trio’ (bbc.co.uk)
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N. Korea: U.S. Plotting Pre-Emptive Nuclear War

The rhetoric out of North Korea continues…

North Korea criticized the U.S. on Monday for positioning missile defense systems around Hawaii, calling the deployment part of a plot to attack the regime and saying it would bolster its nuclear arsenal in retaliation.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has said he ordered the deployment of a ground-based, mobile missile intercept system and radar system to Hawaii amid concerns the North may fire a long-range missile toward the islands, about 4,500 miles away.

Gates Orders Missile Interceptors To Hawaii

The United States has positioned more missile defenses around Hawaii as a precaution against a possible North Korean launch across the Pacific, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said today.

“We do have some concerns if they were to launch a missile to the west in the direction of Hawaii,” Gates said.

North Korea May Launch Missile Toward Hawaii in July

North Korea may launch a long-range ballistic missile toward the U.S. state of Hawaii in early July, Japan’s Yomiuri daily said on Thursday, citing Defense Ministry analysis and U.S. intelligence.

The paper said the Defense Ministry believes the launch is most likely to take place between July 4 and July 8. The ministry has declined to comment on the report.

Man Arrested After Loaded Guns Found In Luggage At Honolulu Airport

A man was arrested Saturday night after he tried to board a plane at Honolulu’s airport to the Mainland with two fully-loaded guns.The State Sheriff’s Office said Christopher Hollie had hidden the semi-automatics in his luggage and refused to tell officers why.The Sheriffs’ Office said this was a very unusual incident, and that it’s extremely rare for them to arrest a passenger trying to fly out of Hawaii with loaded guns hidden in his or her luggage.