U.S. Alerts Schools About Terror Threat

WASHINGTON - The Education Department has advised school leaders nationwide to watch for people spying on their buildings or buses to help detect any possibility of terrorism like the deadly school siege in Russia.

The warning follows an analysis by the FBI (news - web sites) and the Homeland Security Department of the siege that killed nearly 340 people, many of them students, in the city of Beslan last month.

"The horror of this attack may have created significant anxiety in our own country among parents, students, faculty staff and other community members," Deputy Education Secretary Eugene Hickok said in a letter to schools and education groups.

The safety advice is based on lessons learned from the Russia incident. But there is "no specific information indicating that there is a terrorist threat to any schools or universities in the United States," Hickok said.

Federal law enforcement officials also have encouraged local police to stay in contact with school officials and have encouraged reporting of suspicious activities, the letter says.

In particular, schools were told to watch for activities that may be legitimate on their own — but may suggest a heightened terrorist threat if many of them occur.

_ Interest in obtaining site plans for schools, bus routes and attendance lists;

_ Prolonged "static surveillance" by people disguised as panhandlers, shoe shiners, newspaper or flower vendors or street sweepers not previously seen in the area;

_ People staring at or quickly looking away from employees or vehicles as they enter or leave parking areas;

The effort is the latest by the Education Department and other federal agencies to encourage school officials to maintain and practice a plan for responding to emergencies.

After the terrorist takeover of the Russian school, President Bush (news - web sites) asked his top advisers to review their strategies for dealing with hostage situations, Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge has said.

The federal government is advising schools to take many steps to improve the security of their buildings. Those include installing locks for all doors and windows, having a single entry point into buildings and ensuring they can reach school bus drivers in an emergency.

The Education Department sent its letter by e-mail Wednesday to school police, state school officers, school boards, groups representing principals and many other organizations.

The Homeland Security Department also sent a bulletin Wednesday to federal, state and local emergency officials to provide fresh guidance based on the review of the school siege in Russia.

FReepers vs MSM and again FReepers win.

I saw this story last week:
S.D. school crisis plan is found on disk in Iraq San Diego Union Trib ^ | September 30, 2004 | By Kelly Thornton

What concerned me most about this article is the fact that the terrorist was found in June in Iraq and we were just hearing about it in September. Little did I know that "we" would be among the very few that were hearing about it.

Yesterday, I was listening to Rush and heard a caller talking to Roger Hedgcock (standing in for Rush), and recognized the story. My thought then was, "hmmmm, I saw this a week ago on FRee Republic and didn't hear anything about it in the MSM, wonder if it will get play time now?"

Woke up this morning, and surprise, surprise, it was TOP story on every single station.

Now my question is, why did CBS, NBC, ABC, MSNBC, CNN and even FOX fail to do anything with this information? Why were all the NEWS(?) networks scooped by a caller to a conservative talk show? The original story was AP report and not a single mention by the MSM.

When I tell people that my primary news source is FRee Republic, they think I am kidding. My logic is sound. Here, I choose what I want to read, what catches my eye, what stays bounced to the top, I have fact checkers and checkers of the fact checkers, I have thousands of eyes and ears, who notice, and report things of interest to themselves, or things that might be interesting to others.

I don't know if Roger's caller yesterday was a FReeper, I would not be surprised to find out that he was, but I am confident that we would not be hearing this story from the MSM had he not called Rush's Show.

New Media wins again!

^{(cross posting to related threads)}

http://www.washtimes.com/national/20041013-121643-5028r.htm

October 13, 2004
"Chechen terrorists probed"

By Bill Gertz
THE WASHINGTON TIMES

ARTICLE SNIPPET: "U.S. security officials are investigating a recent intelligence report that a group of 25 Chechen terrorists illegally entered the United States from Mexico in July.
    The Chechen group is suspected of having links to Islamist terrorists seeking to separate the southern enclave of Chechnya from Russia, according to officials familiar with intelligence reports.
    Members of the group, said to be wearing backpacks, secretly traveled to northern Mexico and crossed into a mountainous part of Arizona that is difficult for U.S. border security agents to monitor, said officials speaking on the condition of anonymity.
The intelligence report was supplied to the U.S. government in late August or early September and was based on information from an intelligence source that has been proved reliable in other instances, one official said.
    A second U.S. official said the report is being investigated, but said it could not be determined whether the group of Chechens actually entered the country, as the intelligence source reported.
    "We don't know whether or not that report is true," this official said.
    A spokesman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection confirmed that the intelligence report was provided by another government agency, but said Border Patrol agents were unable to verify its accuracy.
    It could not be learned whether the reported infiltration is related to the recent Education Department warning to school officials to examine security in the aftermath of the attack last month by pro-Chechnya Muslim terrorists on a school in Russia, in which more than 300 people were killed and some 700 wounded."

NOTE: Repost (from FreeRepublic.com, Threat Matrix, Thread 20) here minus the graphic. Click on this link to view original post.
===
===

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1243381/posts?q=1&&page=227#227

To: All

Could Terrorists Enter our School System from Within?
Source: TT Exclusive | Elementary Teacher | 8:00:41 PM EST

Today we were alerted by an Elementary School teacher, one that would like to remain anonymous for specific reasons, of an event that has occurred at her school. This event occurs daily at schools across America. It's the simple act of using substitute teachers. With all the recent threats about the possibility of terrorists pulling off a Beslan operation in an American school, did you ever wonder if it was at all possible for a terrorist or terrorists to perhaps enter our school from within the system? Just how hard is it for someone to get hired as a substitute teacher? Could this be a direct gateway for terrorists to enter our schools?

In an effort to alert authorities and teachers nationwide of the possibility for this to occur, we are posting the following email as it was received, with permission from the sender.

"I'm an elementary teacher in a mid-sized district where the largest Exxon Mobil refinery and chemical plants are located. Yesterday, a teacher on my team was absent. The sub that was sent was a muslim with a heavy middle eastern accent. He was a devout Muslim as he said his prayers during the school day. Keep in mind, this is an elementary school, and my team teacher and I teach kindergarten through fifth grade. We had never seen him before, but he had the district credentials. Some staff members made comments about feeling uncomfortable about him. As we were picking up our last class of the day, he told me he wanted to come back in the morning and who should he talk to about it. (The teacher he was subbing for wasn't going to be out the next day, and he was very excited about the possibility of coming back to my campus.) Although I am not paranoid, it dawned on me the possibility of terrorism in schools coming in legit-wise through substitute teachers.

The whole thing was strange as our dress codes for teachers, including substitute teachers, require mens' beards be trimmed very neatly and close to the face. This sub's beard was long like osama's. One teacher commented "who let osama in here". I'm not an expert on the islamic faith, but I thought a man's beard represented something within their belief system.

I don't think anyone has thought of this, but in my opinion, this is a way terrorism could enter our schools without it being detected. At the least, the possibility exists for getting the layout of the school from an inside vantage point. Is there anyone you could alert to this possibly overlooked method of gaining undetected entrance into our schools? I know I wasn't the only one with the same concern at my campus about this. This sub will no longer be called to work at our school, but he had to be blocked through the computer system in order not to be called to our campus. However, this won't stop him from being called to other campuses in our district. In my opinion, this is a wide opened door for a terrorist to not only enter, but be on the payroll while he or she is carrying out or planning an attack.

Perhaps you can let others know on your website about this so others in the education field and parents of school kids can be aware. Thanks."

With regards to this message, our analysts quickly began to research the thought.

What exactly does one need to do in order to become a substitute teacher?

Although each school district is different with regards to how they hire their substitute teachers, many follow the exact same process. The process we will list below is from a school district in Arizona.

How to Apply to Substitute Teacher:

Submit a substitute teacher application along with a stamped and recorded substitute or teaching certificate.

Provide letters of reference from current or past employers for the last five years.
Provide evidence of teaching experience on application.
Attend a substitute teacher orientation. If selected, you will be scheduled to attend an orientation.
Bring original social security card and a picture I.D. to orientation. TUSD cannot hire anyone without an original social security card. If applicant does not have original social security card, bring in the receipt that the Social Security Department issues for social security card application.

Now, anyone can go about completing that process, but what exactly does getting a certificate entail?

How to Apply for a Certificate with the Arizona State Board of Education:

Check the Arizona State Board of Education web site for up-to-date information: www.ade.state.az.us/certification

First time applicants must obtain a fingerprint packet from the Arizona Department of Public Safety, Applicant Clearance Card Team, at (602) 223-2279, P O Box 6638, Phoenix, AZ 85005-6638. The Arizona State Board of Education will not release a teaching certificate without a fingerprint clearance card.
Applicant must submit official transcripts of Bachelor’s or Master’s Degree. Official transcripts do not need to be in a sealed envelope.
Applicant must complete four-page yellow Arizona State Board of Education application.
Applicant must submit class 1 or class 2 fingerprint clearance card.
Applicant must submit a check/money order for the total amount, made payable to the Arizona State Board of Education.
Entire packet should be mailed to the Phoenix Office – P O Box 6490, Phoenix, Arizona, 85005-6490.
Applicant must have certificate stamped and recorded by the Pima County School Superintendent’s office, located at 130 West Congress, 4th floor.

As you can see, Arizona is one of the more secured state's, going as far as requiring you to log your fingerprint on file with the state. Now, whether or not school's actually follow these policies when hiring substitute teacher's is anyone's guess.

If you're a substitute teacher, we would like to hear from you! What process did you have to go through, to get hired as a substitute teacher in your school's district?

Email us at: news@trackingterrorism.com

ORIGINAL STORY: http://www.trackingterrorism.com/Default.asp?dismode=article&artid=436

228 posted on 10/13/2004 5:15:44 PM PDT by fullwave (TrackingTerrorism.com)

A suggested mass E-mailing---just copy and paste:

subject:
OUR CHILDREN AND THE KERRY PERIL:
in Kerry's own words

YOO-HOO! SECURITY MOMS:
THE TERRORISTS ARE TARGETING YOUR KIDS! (ABC report)

GEORGE BUSH WILL ACT PREEMPTIVELY TO PROTECT YOUR CHILDREN
AS HIS 34-YEAR RECORD PROVES . . . JOHN KERRY WILL NOT

discussion, analysis

"It's absolutely essential that eight weeks from today on November 2^nd , we make the right choice because if we make the wrong choice, the danger is that we'll get hit again, that we'll be hit in a way that will be devastating from the standpoint of the United States and then we'll fall back into the pre-9/11 mindset , if you will, that in fact these terrorist attacks are just criminal acts and that we're not really at war."

Dick Cheney

"We were not at war in the 1990s."

John Kerry
(missing the point entirely that
the War on Terror began in earnest
with the bombing of the WTC in 1993
and bin Laden's subsequent repeated (and unanswered)
declarations and acts of war against America
throughout the clinton years).

"I think there's been an exaggeration; [President Bush] has exaggerated the threat of terrorism. There needs to be a refocusing. They are really misleading all of America... in a profound way."

John Kerry
Democratic presidential debate, January 29, 2004, Greenville, S.C.

"The War on Terror is less... is occasionally military but it's primarily an intelligence and law enforcement operation.

John Kerry

"The Bush Administration is so entralled by the idea of preemption and American military might. This is the consequence of the policy that regards legitimacy as largely a product of force and victory as primarily a triump of arms."

John Kerry
COUNCIL FOR FOREIGN RELATIONS , 3 December 2003

"A threat that is real and imminent. That is the only justificatiion for going to war."

John Kerry
acceptance speech, July 29, 2004

"Some have said we must not act until the threat is imminent. Since when have terrorists and tyrants announced their intentions, politely putting us on notice before they strike? If this threat is permitted to fully and suddenly emerge, all actions, all words, and all recriminations would come too late. Trusting in [their] sanity and restraint... is not a strategy, and it is not an option."

George Bush
State of the Union Address, The U.S. Capitol, January 28, 2003

"I listened to what Senator Kerry had to say in Boston [Kerry acceptance speech], and, with all due respect to the Senator, he views the world as if we had never been attacked on September 11th. The job of the Commander-in-Chief, as he sees it, is to use America's military strength to respond to attacks. But September 11th showed us, as surely as anything can, that we must act against gathering dangers - not wait for to be attacked. That awful day left some 3,000 of our fellow citizens dead, and everything we have learned since tells us the terrorists would do worse if they could, and that they will even use chemical, biological, or nuclear weapons against us if they can. In the world we live in now, responding to attacks is not enough. We must do everything in our power to prevent attacks -- and that includes using military force."

Dick Cheney

PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE ONE:

LEHRER: New question. Two minutes, Senator Kerry.
What is your position on the whole concept of preemptive war?

KERRY: The president always has the right, and always has had the right, for preemptive strike. That was a great doctrine throughout the Cold War. And it was always one of the things we argued about with respect to arms control.... But if and when you do it, Jim, you have to do it in a way that passes the test, that passes the global test where your countrymen, your people understand fully why you're doing what you're doing and you can prove to the world that you did it for legitimate reasons....

LEHRER: Ninety seconds.

BUSH: Let me -- I'm not exactly sure what you mean, "passes the global test," you take preemptive action if you pass a global test.
My attitude is you take preemptive action in order to protect the American people, that you act in order to make this country secure.

Good Morning America
September 29, 2004

JOHN KERRY:
"We should not have gone to war, knowing the information we know today....

DIANE SAWYER:
"So, it was not worth it."

JOHN KERRY:
"You should not -- eh -- it depends on the outcome, ultimately, and that depends on the leadership. And we need better leadership to get the job done successfully. I would not have gone to war knowing there was no imminent threat, weapons of mass destruction, there was no connection with al Qaeda and to Saddam Hussein. The president -- eh -- misled the American people. Plain and simple. Bottom line."

DIANE SAWYER:
"So, if it turns out okay, it was worth it? -- "

JOHN KERRY (interrupts) :
"No."

DIANE SAWYER:
"...but now it wasn -- ?"

JOHN KERRY (interrupts again) :
"It was a mistake to do what he did but we have to succeed now that we've done it.

Good Morning America
September 29, 2004
for discussion, goto:
Diane Sawyer Nails Kerry Peril (PREEMPTION + KERRY'S EX POST FACTO REASONING)

Larry King Live
July 8, 2004

"Well, I haven't been briefed [about the new al Qaeda plans of a large-scale attack on the United States] yet, Larry. They have offered to brief me; I just haven't had time.": John Kerry
Larry King Live, July 8, 2004
(NB: Radio City, July 8, 2004, Nantucket, July 17, 2004)

(viewing movie requires Flash Player 7, available HERE)

election update!
JOHN KERRY IS UNFIT~THE SERIES

NUISANCE' NUANCE: KERRY'S TERROR PROBLEM

SEVERAL SIMPLE ENDGAME SUGGESTIONS FOR PRESIDENT BUSH

DEBATE 3: JOHN KERRY OUTS JOHN KERRY
"THIS IS NOT A GOOD MAN"

YOU CAN TAKE THE BOY OUT OF AMBULANCE-CHASING
BUT YOU CAN'T TAKE AMBULANCE-CHASING OUT OF THE BOY

RAISING TAXES, YOU POOR SLOBS + TERESA'S 11.5% TAX RATE
(LAISSEZ-LES MANGER LE GÂTEAU)

THE LETHAL DANGER OF JOHN KERRY:
SPACE-TIME, TESSELLATIONS OF THE PLANET + TERRORISM
Kerry aims for 9/10, the good old days when terrorists were a "NUISANCE" and "not the focus of our lives"

Shadow War: The Untold Story of How Bush is Winning the War on Terror

DEBATE 2: Bush KOs Kerry
(The Lethal Danger of Kerry-Edwards + Old Media)

DUELFER REPORT ON IRAQ RENDERS KERRY "A COMPLACENT FOOL" OR "AN UTTER FRAUD"

WHICH DANGEROUS MAN?

YOO-HOO! SECURITY MOMS:
THE TERRORISTS ARE TARGETING YOUR KIDS!

DEBATE ONE
NO GYP SHEET

Est-ce que je peux?
préemption et l'essai global

KERRY'S "GLOBAL TEST" FOR PREEMPTION:
WHY SECURITY MOMS WILL VOTE FOR BUSH

Diane Sawyer Nails Kerry Peril
PREEMPTION + KERRY'S EX POST FACTO REASONING

WINDSURFER WATERLOO
why the surfboard--not the snowboard--is (to mix war metaphors) Kerry's Achilles' heel

Windsurfing in the Persian Gulf

John "One Position on Iraq" Kerry's 1971 Replay

YOO-HOO DAN RATHER!
KERRY'S BELATED "HONORABLE" DISCHARGE:
Is a less-than-honorable discharge and clinton "pardon" behind Kerry's refusal to sign form 180 to release ALL of his records?

RATHERGATE IS ANOTHER WATERGATE: The Nexus

CARL BERNSTEIN: RATHERGATE MAY BE ANOTHER WATERGATE

CLUELESS: O'REILLY AND PODHORETZ ON RATHERGATE

THE KERRY-RATHER-BARNES FORGERIES DECONSTRUCTED

HEAR THE FIRST VEEP DEBATE NOW! (the whole ball of wax)
CHENEY WARNS AMERICA: THIS ELECTION IS ABOUT OUR SURVIVAL
KERRY-EDWARDS TRIES TO SHUT DOWN DEBATE

KERRY'S VIETNAM FIXATION
PART 1: advice from bill

Kerry's new W offensive

YOO-HOO! UNDECIDEDS + "PERSUADABLES"
HEAR THE SPEECH JOHN KERRY DOESN'T WANT YOU TO HEAR
(WHY INFORMED, RATIONAL DEMOCRATS WILL VOTE FOR BUSH)

DECONSTRUCTING ZELL MILLER

EXPLOITING MAX CLELAND

Kerry is UNFIT #21: THUMBSUCKER SERIES
BOARDHEAD TO THE RESCUE

T he Left's Fatally Flawed "Animal Farm" Mentality
(Why America Must NEVER AGAIN Elect a Democrat President)

Kerry is UNFIT #20: THUMBSUCKER SERIES
PREEMPTION-(the whole ball of wax)

CONTEMPLATING KERRY'S "GUT"

A PRESIDENT KERRY MAY BE ABHORRENT
...BUT IS IT EVEN CONSTITUTIONAL?

getting kerry's goat
john kerry lacks presidential temperament

Two Psychologists on Kerry: Dangerous on National Security

YOO-HOO! followthemoney.org. . .
OVER HERE!

"bombastic ass" is not the antidote to "boorish ass"
(or why Keith Olbermann Cannot Do Cleanup for Chris Matthews)

UNFIT #19:
JOHN KERRY'S "MORE SENSITIVE WAR ON TERROR"

THE COMPLEAT JOHN KERRY
WHY JOHN KERRY IS DANGEROUS FOR AMERICA

Kerry, NOT Bush, paralyzed by 9/11 attacks
Hear Kerry admit he could not think

THE DEMOCRATS ARE GONNA GET US KILLED (kerry, clinton + sandy berger's pants) SERlES³UNFIT #10: 9/10 mindset

THE DEMOCRATS ARE GONNA GET US KILLED (kerry, clinton + sandy berger's pants) SERlES₂
KERRY-DEMOCRAT CONTEMPT FOR NATIONAL SECURITY[annotated]

THE DEMOCRATS-ARE-GONNA-GET-US-KILLED (kerry, clinton + sandy berger's pants) SERlES₁

dox in sox on lummox in box on fox

THE REAL "REAL DEAL"
(what Kerry's commanders and crewmates REALLY think of him--with transcripts)

Did John Kerry pick a running mate or hire a lawyer when he selected John Edwards?

THE MAN FROM HOPE: been there, done that

"Hope is on the way!" (the scoop)

THE TERRORISTS' USEFUL IDIOTS
all the usual suspects

A Vote for Kerry is a Vote for the Terrorists

ELECTION BOTTOM LINE:
TERRORIST SYMPATHIZER or TERRORIST ANNIHILATOR

JOHN KERRY IS UNFIT SERIES: 8/10/04 UPDATE!
taking the measure of a would-be commander-in-chief

JOHN KERRY IS UNFIT SERIES:
taking the measure of a would-be commander-in-chief

UNFIT #9-JOHN KERRY: DEADLY OPPORTUNIST
SELF-CONFESSED WAR CRIMlNAL MORPHS INTO SELF-PROMOTER WAR HERO

UNFIT #6: The Deadly Kerry-Hollywood Axis
HOW CAN YOU PUT YOUR CHILDREN'S LIVES IN ITS HANDS?

UNFIT: taking the measure of a would-be commander-in-chief
#1-making the tough choices in a post-9/11 world
UNFIT: taking the measure of a would-be commander-in-chief
#2-understanding the job description

UNFIT: taking the measure of a would-be commander-in-chief
#3-sang-froid and the "nuclear" button

UNFIT: taking the measure of a would-be commander-in-chief
#4 - Kerry champions tolerance for terrorists

sanitizing evil
Kerry Cabal Censors Nick Berg Decapitation

"Loose Cannon" Kerry's AWOL/PURPLE-HEART FRAUD

pro-islamofascist-terrorist radical chic

USEFUL IDIOTS

MOORE IS LESS--THE MOVIE

The Cycle of Violence:
NOW WITH HYPERLINKED INSTRUCTION MANUAL

JOHN KERRY'S RECKLESS TET-OFFENSIVE-GAMBIT REPLAY:
the left's jihad against America is killing our troops, aiding + abetting the terrorists and imperiling all Americans

bill clinton, boy "genius," unwittingly bares all on BBC

deconstructing clinton… "just because I could"

vetting missus clinton...

The Parallel Universe of Jamie Gorelick

nepotism + tokenism = a nancy pelosi
(or a hillary clinton)

Kerry's Belated Condemnation Focuses on Process
Kerry Lacks Moral Authority to Condemn Content

"CRY BUSH" + Iraqi-Prisoner "Abuse"
What are the Dems up to?

DON'T BELIEVE YOUR LYING EARS (The Perjurer Returns)
(Clinton: Claims I Turned Down Bin Laden are 'Bull')

The Mary Jo White Memo:
Documentation of clintons' and Gorelick's willful, seditious malfeasance

What is the REAL Reason for Gorelick's Wall?

giant sucking sound
KERRY MAKES DUKAKIS LOOK CONSERVATIVE, SMART + JUDICIOUS

Q ERTY6 ^utter ^failure_BUMP

Lib Author Regrets Voting (TWICE!) for clinton
"Sickened" by clinton's Failure to Protect America from Terrorism

MUST-READ BOOK FOR DEMOCRATS:
How clintons' Failures Unleashed Global Terror
(Who in his right mind would ever want the clintons back in the Oval Office?)

The Man Who Warned America
(Why a Rapist is Not a Fit President)

UDAY: "The end is near… this time I think the… Americans are serious, Bush is not like Clinton."

MORE

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