FBI in Port of Miami find 2 men of ME descent in back of truck (just breaking)

FOX

[sageb1]

Just breaking...no further news, no url yet

[STARWISE]

New security procedures are going into place at all ports:

Ports to use new employee ID cards in March

Workers at the nation's ports and docks will need special biometric ID cards beginning in March.

WASHINGTON - The Department of Homeland Security this March will begin requiring 750,000 U.S. port and maritime workers to carry identification cards imprinted with their biometric fingerprints, despite delays in developing devices to read them.

The agency announced Wednesday the start of the program, under which workers will undergo extensive background checks to obtain the cards to gain unescorted access to secure areas of U.S. ports and vessels. Installation of the card readers, however, appears to be more than a year away.

Local ports support the ID requirement.

''We do think a uniform ID card is necessary,'' said Port Everglades spokeswoman Ellen Kennedy, ``and we just need to learn more about how it's going to be implemented and how it fits in with state standards.''

Florida already has a very substantial credential program in place, said James Maes, assistant seaport director for safety and security at the Port of Miami.

''We think it's a good idea to have the same security standards applied to all of the ports,'' he said.

The Transportation Security Administration and U.S. Coast Guard decided that more research was needed on technology for the card readers, which must be durable enough to withstand saltwater environments and able to scan cards and fingers without direct contact, Coast Guard spokeswoman Angela McArdle said. The agencies said a separate rule covering the readers would be proposed later this year.

In the interim, McArdle said, the Coast Guard will conduct spot checks with hand-held scanners to verify the identify of cardholders.

MOVING FORWARD

With the final rule posted on the TSA's website on New Year's Day, the agency and the Coast Guard called it ''imperative'' to go forward, despite the delays, ``to improve the security of our nation's vessels and port facilities.''

McArdle said the agencies ``can still take advantage of the screening and the background checks, so we know the backgrounds of the people who are getting these cards.''

Under the regulation, applicants for the ID card will undergo a comprehensive check of their criminal histories, immigration status and whether their names show up on TSA's terrorist watch lists.

The rule lays out what crimes or terrorism-related concerns will disqualify applicants for the ID card. For example, money laundering is listed as a disqualifier because it is among ''crimes of dishonesty and fraud and can be a means of funding terrorism,'' while welfare fraud and passing bad checks won't preclude issuance of the credential.

Fees for the cards, known as the Transportation Worker Identification Credential, will range from $107-$159, with applicants getting discounts. The card, which also will carry a photo of each worker, will be valid for five years.

Todd Spencer, executive vice president of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association in Grain Valley, Mo., described the fees as ''really high'' for a program ''that isn't even functional.'' The group represents 148,000 drivers in an industry where turnover averages 120 percent a year, Spencer said.

'It's going to be another reason that drivers are simply going to say, `Phooey, I'm not going to get any of it,' '' Spencer said.

But Carlos Duenas, owner of the Miami-based trucking company MVC Transportation, said the fee, divided over five years, is better than the current cost of $50 or $60 annually.

''It's a pretty good deal,'' he said.

McArdle said maritime workers will be required to sign up to get the cards on a rolling basis, starting at the most critical ports, with all workers scheduled to be enrolled within 20 months.

[quesera]

Dang I thought "ME" had something to do with Bill Gates.

ME=Middle Eastern

No wonder 'Windows ME' was such a crappy OS.

[bonfire]

thanks.

[Knitting A Conundrum]

Company: SEABOLT
Address: 55 Vittoria Court
City: Birkenhead
State/Prov: Other
Country: United Kingdom
Postal Code: CH41 3LF
Phone: 0044 151 647 1882
Fax: 0044 151 647 1883
Contact: A Saajedi
Contact Title: Owner
Business: Import Trading Company
Employees: 1 - 50

[bonfire]

I posted that earlier upthread....guess my eyes are going!

[mewzilla]

One to 50 employees at Seabolt? Huh?

[Enosh]

sets my teeth on edge

Hoa! I cannot recall seeing anyone say that ever before. It was one of those little mysteries I peeked at a long time ago.

Jeremiah 31:29-30

[penelopesire]

Here is what i have found from the weird website that MM put up:

http://www.dnsstuff.com/tools/whois.ch?ip=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.seabolt.co.uk%2Fhome.htm

and this from the info sought on Seabolt Trading Company Ltd.

http://www.merseyside.com/info/12521/

Going to check out your link.....thanks

[STARWISE]

Seaboard is huge in FL .. where did you see the name? TV report?

[Txsleuth]

I don't know enough about the Muslim's religion to know about the dog part...

They are against so much of what we all have in our everyday lifestyle, it didn't surprise me, actually.

Remember in that Abu Ghraib case, they used dogs ON LEASHES to scare the prisoners...I thought of that when I heard about this story...so I figured that maybe dogs are considered "bad" in their religion.

BUT, like you said....if you have a job like that, you have to please the customer..and in this case it isn't just the passengers, but the airport itself.

[mewzilla]

Okay, color me confused. Is it Seaboard or Seabolt on the truck?

[Knitting A Conundrum]

Sounds like it's supposed to be a small UK export/import company.

[dinasour]

Seabolt Marine is a small company based in Merseyside, England that provides consultancy and inspection services to the marine industry. We have high caliber staff with varied expertise in design, formal safety, and survey.

Thank God, they don't do web design.

[mewzilla]

Mr. Mew thinks it was Seaboard. Anyone get a screen capture of the darn truck?

[creamnsugar2]

Thanks but I have been around for a while just moved and changed emails and forgot my old password .

I haven't been able to find anything on this on the net either . My source was a phone call from a friend who lives in Palm Beach driving home from work . Not sure if this is related or not but it wouldn't surprise me if one of the people involved in the port of Miami thing lives in this area . (remembers the anthrax scare in Palm Beach )Might be why they have an area closed off .

[Knitting A Conundrum]

I didn't see it...Seaboard Transit makes more sense to me than some tiny british import/export business...

[Political Junkie Too]

On a hunch, I took this WPB report as an eye-witness report, and assumed that it might not just be Lantana the town, and maybe was local shorthand for Lantana Rd, or Lantana Blvd. It would be logical to connect a nearby police action with what's going on at the port, especially since the 9/11 hijackers trained in West Palm Beach.

So, at Google Maps I found this map. Lantana Road runs alongside the Palm Beach County Park Airport. Could there be a police action near the airport? Wasn't that the airport that the 9/11 hijackers trained at?

Just speculation, I know.

-PJ

[KJC1]

Is it possible it could be "SeaLand?"

I haven't seen any of the logos in this thing, btw.

[mewzilla]

Thank God, they don't do web design.

ROTF!