The Ridgewood Blog Brings a Free Market Laissez-faire Point of View to Local, New Jersey State and National Issues.
December 7,2017
By Christopher Kelly
On Sunday December 7, 1941, seventy-six years ago, planes of the Imperial Japanese Navy streaked over Pearl Harbor bombing and torpedoing the American fleet at anchor. More than 2,400 Americans were killed that day. President Roosevelt quickly called it a “Day of Infamy.”
Continue reading Day of Infamy: The Lessons and Legacy of Pearl Harbor Day
February 4,2018
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Washington DC, Illustrating the national security threats created by the nation’s immigration system, the overwhelming majority of individuals convicted of terrorism are foreigners who entered the United States legally through various federal programs. Three out of every four convicted terrorists between September 11, 2001 and December 31, 2016 are foreign born and came to the United States through our immigration system, according to a new report issued jointly by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Justice (DOJ).
At least 549 individuals were convicted of terrorism-related charges in American federal courts since 2001 and 402 of them—approximately 73%–were foreign-born, the report says. Here’s the breakdown by citizenship at the time of their convictions; 254 were not U.S. citizens, 148 were naturalized and received American citizenship and 147 were U.S. born. Additionally, 1,716 foreigners with national security concerns were removed from the United States. The Trump administration stresses that figures include only those aliens who were convicted or removed and therefore do not represent the total measure of foreign terrorist infiltration of the United States. Statistics on individuals facing terrorism charges who have not yet been convicted will be provided in follow-up reports that will be made available to the public.
This DHS/DOJ report, issued this month, is disturbing enough and reveals that a significant number of terrorists entered the country through immigration programs that use family ties and extended-family chain migration as a basis for entry. Among them is Mufid Elfgeeh, a national of Yemen who benefitted from chain migration in 1997 and was sentenced to more than 22 years in prison for attempting to recruit fighters for ISIS. Sudanese Mahmoud Amin Mohamed Elhassan came to the U.S. in 2012 as a relative of a lawful permanent resident and eventually pleaded guilty to attempting to provide material support to ISIS. Pakistani Uzair Paracha was admitted to the U.S. in 1980 as a family member of a lawful permanent resident and in 2006 was sentenced to more than three decades in prison for providing material support to Al Qaeda. Khaleel Ahmed, a national of India, was admitted to the United States in 1998 as a family member of a naturalized United States citizen. Ahmed eventually became an American citizen and in 2010 was sentenced to more than eight years in prison for conspiring to provide material support to terrorists.
Other convicted terrorists came to the U.S. through the controversial visa lottery program, the multi-agency probe found. Among them is Abdurasaul Hasanovich Juraboev, a national of Uzbekistan who was admitted into the country as a diversity visa lottery recipient in 2011. In 2015, he pleaded guilty to conspiring to support ISIS and in 2017 Juraboev was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Sudanese Ali Shukri Amin was admitted to the U.S. in 1999 as the child of a diversity visa lottery recipient and subsequently obtained American citizenship through naturalization. In 2015, he was sentenced to more than 11 years in prison for conspiring to provide material support and resources to ISIS. Amin admitted to using social media to provide advice and encouragement to ISIS and its supporters and facilitated ISIS supporters seeking to travel to Syria to join the terrorist group. Amin also helped a Virginia teen named Reza Niknejad get to Syria to join ISIS in 2015.
“The United States faces a serious and persistent terror threat, and individuals with ties to terror can and will use any pathway to enter our country,” the new DHS/DOJ report states. “Accordingly, DHS has taken significant steps to improve the security of all potential routes used by known or suspected terrorists (KST) to travel to the United States to ensure that individuals who would do harm to Americans are identified and detected, and their plots are disrupted. These figures reflect the challenges faced by the United States and demonstrate the necessity to remain vigilant and proactive in our counterterrorism posture.”
file photo by Boyd Loving
October 20,2017
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, according to the Ridgewood Board of Education the Ridgewood Police asked that our buildings shelter-in-place for a brief period this afternoon. Everything is fine and back to learning as usual!
October 19, 2017
Dear Ridgewood Public Schools Community,
Following is a message from Chief Luthcke of the Ridewood Police Department.
SUSPICIOUS PERSON INCIDENT UPDATE 10-19-17
Yesterday afternoon, Ridgewood Schools were advised to shelter in students in place after a resident reported a man wearing what appeared to be a bullet proof vest gruffly asked for directions to Willard school. The person described by the resident was located by patrol a short time later and it was discovered he was wearing a black weighted vest, which has the appearance of a bullet proof vest. The man was transported to the Ridgewood Police Department for questioning as there was a language barrier with the man. All schools were cleared of the shelter in place at 2:15pm. This shelter in place was issued out of an abundance of caution to the school community. After an investigation, it was determined the man was headed to Willard School to pick up his grandchild and had gotten lost along the way and was attempting to ask for directions. The situation was explained and he understood the confusion. The man was released without any charges.
The Ridgewood Police Department would like to thank all of the surrounding agencies, including Midland Park, Wyckoff and Glen Rock, for their assistance during this incident. We know this incident may have caused stress in the community, but we need to take all incidents, such as this, very seriously as our community’s safety is of paramount importance. Fortunately, this was an innocent misunderstanding and simply was a lost resident.
Sincerely,
Daniel Fishbein, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools
https://ridgewood.k12.nj.us/UserFiles/Servers/Server_207516/File/Superintendent’s%20News/2017-2018/Shelter%20in%20place%2010.18.17.pdf
The Ridgewood Police added this afternoon (Wednesday) Ridgewood Schools were advised to shelter the students in place after a resident reported a man wearing what appeared to be a bullet proof vest asked for directions to Willard School. The person described by the resident was located by patrol a short time later wearing a black weighted vest which has the appearance of a bullet proof vest. All schools were cleared of the shelter in place at 2:15pm. This shelter in place was issued out of an abundance of caution to the school community.
What Shelter-in-Place Means:
One of the instructions you may be given in an emergency where hazardous materials may have been released into the atmosphere is to shelter-in-place. This is a precaution aimed to keep you safe while remaining indoors. (This is not the same thing as going to a shelter in case of a storm.) Shelter-in-place means selecting a small, interior room, with no or few windows, and taking refuge there. It does not mean sealing off your entire home or office building. If you are told to shelter-in-place
At School:
Close the school. Activate the school’s emergency plan. Follow reverse evacuation procedures to bring students, faculty, and staff indoors.
If there are visitors in the building, provide for their safety by asking them to stay – not leave. When authorities provide directions to shelter-in-place, they want everyone to take those steps now, where they are, and not drive or walk outdoors.
Provide for answering telephone inquiries from concerned parents by having at least one telephone with the school’s listed telephone number available in the room selected to provide shelter for the school secretary, or person designated to answer these calls. This room should also be sealed. There should be a way to communicate among all rooms where people are sheltering-in-place in the school.
Ideally, provide for a way to make announcements over the school-wide public address system from the room where the top school official takes shelter.
If children have cell phones, allow them to use them to call a parent or guardian to let them know that they have been asked to remain in school until further notice, and that they are safe.
If the school has voice mail or an automated attendant, change the recording to indicate that the school is closed, students and staff are remaining in the building until authorities advise that it is safe to leave.
Provide directions to close and lock all windows, exterior doors, and any other openings to the outside.
If you are told there is danger of explosion, direct that window shades, blinds, or curtains be closed.
Have employees familiar with your building’s mechanical systems turn off all fans, heating and air conditioning systems. Some systems automatically provide for exchange of inside air with outside air – these systems, in particular, need to be turned off, sealed, or disabled.
Gather essential disaster supplies, such as nonperishable food, bottled water, battery-powered radios, first aid supplies, flashlights, batteries, duct tape, plastic sheeting, and plastic garbage bags.
Select interior room(s) above the ground floor, with the fewest windows or vents. The room(s) should have adequate space for everyone to be able to sit in. Avoid overcrowding by selecting several rooms if necessary. Classrooms may be used if there are no windows or the windows are sealed and can not be opened. Large storage closets, utility rooms, meeting rooms, and even a gymnasium without exterior windows will also work well.
It is ideal to have a hard-wired telephone in the room(s) you select. Call emergency contacts and have the phone available if you need to report a life-threatening condition. Cellular telephone equipment may be overwhelmed or damaged during an emergency.
Bring everyone into the room. Shut and lock the door.
Use duct tape and plastic sheeting (heavier than food wrap) to seal all cracks around the door(s) and any vents into the room.
Write down the names of everyone in the room, and call your schools’ designated emergency contact to report who is in the room with you.
Listen for an official announcement from school officials via the public address system, and stay where you are until you are told all is safe or you are told to evacuate. Local officials may call for evacuation in specific areas at greatest risk in your community.
By MATT APUZZOMARCH 12, 2016
WASHINGTON — While the Justice Department wages a public fight withApple over access to a locked iPhone, government officials are privately debating how to resolve a prolonged standoff with another technology company, WhatsApp, over access to its popular instant messaging application, officials and others involved in the case said.
No decision has been made, but a court fight with WhatsApp, the world’s largest mobile messaging service, would open a new front in the Obama administration’s dispute with Silicon Valley over encryption, security and privacy.
WhatsApp, which is owned by Facebook, allows customers to send messages and make phone calls over the Internet. In the last year, the company has been adding encryption to those conversations, making it impossible for the Justice Department to read or eavesdrop, even with a judge’s wiretap order.
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/13/us/politics/whatsapp-encryption-said-to-stymie-wiretap-order.html
