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SearchCap: The Day In Search, May 27, 2008

Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web.

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Buchenwald - Auschwitz, Germany - Poland, Barack Fails History and Geography.

msm and the examination of obamaremember when the left and the democrats were all lathered up by bush and his geography challenge. in case you forgot, read this from 1999 slate:bush gets an f in foreign affairsthe texas governor who would be president can’t identify the leaders of chechnya, pakistan or india. has he been taking lessons from dan quayle?- - - - - - - - - - - -by david cornnov. 5, 1999 washington — have you ever gone to class unprepared and been surprised by a explosion quiz, and then scored only 25 percent? conjecture if that mortifying performance made the front pages.when andy hiller, the political correspondent for whdh-tv in boston, had george w. bush in front of a camera on wednesday, he asked the texas governor if he could name the president of chechnya. bush could not. nor could he name the general who recently took power in pakistan or the new prime abb? of india. bush only answered one of the four questions correctly when he identified the president of taiwan as “lee.”what made the q&a worse for bush was that he responded to the questions with petulance. rather than explaining that he is a big-picture guy and calmly providing a cardinal understanding of u.s. foreign policy with respect to these areas, he shot back at the cameraman.”can you name the foreign minister of mexico?” bush asked, apparently proud that he knew the answer. hiller reasonably replied that he was not the one running for president.bush’s session with hiller reinforced the notion that he is not quick for prime time. he may not placid be ready for a debate. and his campaign staff seemed to be in a similar arrange. when bush spokeswoman karen hughes attempted to defend her boss following the hiller assessment, she said that neither the bush campaign’s senior tramontane policy advisor, josh bolton, nor foreign policy advisor joel shinn could name all four of these world leaders.now for the benefit of a slightly different tone when the circulate is approximately the romantic messiah obama. keep in mind, barack is in judgement, change you can believe him. his qualifications obviously do not cover olden days of his own family, of wwii or european geography. still he is uniquely qualified to redirect us foreign method, indubitably based on his community organization skills:obama misspoke on fame of death body, campaign saysby christi parsons washington bureau7:41 pm cdt, may 27, 2008washington - sen. barack obama misspoke when he told a group of veterans that his uncle was among the troops who liberated the auschwitz concentration camp, aides to the democratic presidential candidate said tuesday.in details, obama’s great-uncle took part in the liberating of one of the concentration camps at buchenwald, spokesman tally burton said.obama “mistakenly referred to auschwitz instead of buchenwald in significant of his personal experience of a soldier in his family who served heroically,” burton said.the illinois senator made the erratum on memorial day while speaking to veterans in las cruces, n.m.according to front-page news accounts of monday’s incident, obama told of an uncle who was harmonious of the foremost american troops to go into auschwitz and liberate prisoners there. a video posted on youtube also records the account, in which obama goes on to maintain, “the story in our next of kin was that when he came home, he a moment ago went up into the attic and he didn’t leave the house because of six months.”

Ol i kina

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U.S. ports vulnerable to terrorists, probe finds

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Department of Homeland Security program to strengthen port security has gaps that terrorists could exploit to smuggle weapons of mass destruction in cargo containers, congressional investigators have found.

The report by the Government Accountability Office, being released Tuesday, assesses the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT), a federal program established after the September 11, 2001, attacks to deter a potential terrorist strike via cargo passing through 326 of the nation’s airports, seaports and designated land borders.

Under the program, roughly 8,000 importers, port authorities and air, sea and land carriers are granted benefits such as reduced scrutiny of their cargo. In exchange, the companies submit a security plan that must meet U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s minimum standards and allow officials to verify their measures are being followed.

A 2005 GAO report found many of the companies were receiving the reduced cargo scrutiny without the required full vetting by U.S. Customs, a division of DHS. The agency has since made some improvements, but the new report found that Customs officials still couldn’t provide guarantees that companies were in compliance. Watch a report on port security concerns

Among the problems:

–A company is generally certified as safer based on its self-reported security information that Customs employees use to determine if minimum government criteria are met. But due partly to limited resources, the agency does not typically test the member company’s supply-chain security practices and thus is challenged to know that members’ security measures are reliable, accurate and effective.

–Customs employees are not required to utilize third-party or other audits of a company’s security measures as an alternative to the agency’s direct testing, even if such audits exist.

–Companies can get certified for reduced Customs inspections before they fully implement any additional security improvements requested by the U.S. government. Under the program, Customs also does not require its employees to systematically follow up to make sure the requested improvements were made and that security practices remained consistent with the minimum criteria.

Until Customs overcomes these collective challenges, Customs will be unable to assure Congress and others that C-TPAT member companies that have been granted reduced scrutiny of their U.S.-bound containerized shipments actually employ adequate security practices, investigators wrote. It is vital that Customs maintain adequate internal controls to ensure that member companies deserve these benefits.

The GAO urged Customs and Border Protection to require consideration of third-party and other outside audits and take steps to make certain companies comply with any additional security improvements requested. The report also calls for some technological improvements to help improve consistency and better information-gathering in Customs’ security checks.

Responding in part, Customs officials in the report agreed they could do more to follow up on suggested security improvements but noted that employees often use their expert discretion in assessing the potential danger before certifying a company. The agency has also said the program overall has made the nation safer.

Congress has been working to improve port security after the independent Sept. 11 commission cited the potential dangers in its 2004 final report. The commission stated that compared to commercial aviation, opportunities to do harm are as great, or greater, in maritime or surface transportation.

DHS has said that while the likelihood of terrorists smuggling weapons of mass destruction into the U.S. in cargo containers is low, the nation’s vulnerability and consequences of such an attack are potentially high.

Maine Sen. Susan Collins, the top Republican on the Senate Homeland Security Committee, said the report shows the importance of the private sector’s continued cooperation in helping improve port security.

found here.

U.S. ports vulnerable to terrorists, probe finds

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Department of Homeland Security program to strengthen port security has gaps that terrorists could exploit to smuggle weapons of mass destruction in cargo containers, congressional investigators have found.

The report by the Government Accountability Office, being released Tuesday, assesses the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT), a federal program established after the September 11, 2001, attacks to deter a potential terrorist strike via cargo passing through 326 of the nation’s airports, seaports and designated land borders.

Under the program, roughly 8,000 importers, port authorities and air, sea and land carriers are granted benefits such as reduced scrutiny of their cargo. In exchange, the companies submit a security plan that must meet U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s minimum standards and allow officials to verify their measures are being followed.

A 2005 GAO report found many of the companies were receiving the reduced cargo scrutiny without the required full vetting by U.S. Customs, a division of DHS. The agency has since made some improvements, but the new report found that Customs officials still couldn’t provide guarantees that companies were in compliance. Watch a report on port security concerns

Among the problems:

–A company is generally certified as safer based on its self-reported security information that Customs employees use to determine if minimum government criteria are met. But due partly to limited resources, the agency does not typically test the member company’s supply-chain security practices and thus is challenged to know that members’ security measures are reliable, accurate and effective.

–Customs employees are not required to utilize third-party or other audits of a company’s security measures as an alternative to the agency’s direct testing, even if such audits exist.

–Companies can get certified for reduced Customs inspections before they fully implement any additional security improvements requested by the U.S. government. Under the program, Customs also does not require its employees to systematically follow up to make sure the requested improvements were made and that security practices remained consistent with the minimum criteria.

Until Customs overcomes these collective challenges, Customs will be unable to assure Congress and others that C-TPAT member companies that have been granted reduced scrutiny of their U.S.-bound containerized shipments actually employ adequate security practices, investigators wrote. It is vital that Customs maintain adequate internal controls to ensure that member companies deserve these benefits.

The GAO urged Customs and Border Protection to require consideration of third-party and other outside audits and take steps to make certain companies comply with any additional security improvements requested. The report also calls for some technological improvements to help improve consistency and better information-gathering in Customs’ security checks.

Responding in part, Customs officials in the report agreed they could do more to follow up on suggested security improvements but noted that employees often use their expert discretion in assessing the potential danger before certifying a company. The agency has also said the program overall has made the nation safer.

Congress has been working to improve port security after the independent Sept. 11 commission cited the potential dangers in its 2004 final report. The commission stated that compared to commercial aviation, opportunities to do harm are as great, or greater, in maritime or surface transportation.

DHS has said that while the likelihood of terrorists smuggling weapons of mass destruction into the U.S. in cargo containers is low, the nation’s vulnerability and consequences of such an attack are potentially high.

Maine Sen. Susan Collins, the top Republican on the Senate Homeland Security Committee, said the report shows the importance of the private sector’s continued cooperation in helping improve port security.

found here.

U.S. ports vulnerable to terrorists, probe finds

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Department of Homeland Security program to strengthen port security has gaps that terrorists could exploit to smuggle weapons of mass destruction in cargo containers, congressional investigators have found.

The report by the Government Accountability Office, being released Tuesday, assesses the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT), a federal program established after the September 11, 2001, attacks to deter a potential terrorist strike via cargo passing through 326 of the nation’s airports, seaports and designated land borders.

Under the program, roughly 8,000 importers, port authorities and air, sea and land carriers are granted benefits such as reduced scrutiny of their cargo. In exchange, the companies submit a security plan that must meet U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s minimum standards and allow officials to verify their measures are being followed.

A 2005 GAO report found many of the companies were receiving the reduced cargo scrutiny without the required full vetting by U.S. Customs, a division of DHS. The agency has since made some improvements, but the new report found that Customs officials still couldn’t provide guarantees that companies were in compliance. Watch a report on port security concerns

Among the problems:

–A company is generally certified as safer based on its self-reported security information that Customs employees use to determine if minimum government criteria are met. But due partly to limited resources, the agency does not typically test the member company’s supply-chain security practices and thus is challenged to know that members’ security measures are reliable, accurate and effective.

–Customs employees are not required to utilize third-party or other audits of a company’s security measures as an alternative to the agency’s direct testing, even if such audits exist.

–Companies can get certified for reduced Customs inspections before they fully implement any additional security improvements requested by the U.S. government. Under the program, Customs also does not require its employees to systematically follow up to make sure the requested improvements were made and that security practices remained consistent with the minimum criteria.

Until Customs overcomes these collective challenges, Customs will be unable to assure Congress and others that C-TPAT member companies that have been granted reduced scrutiny of their U.S.-bound containerized shipments actually employ adequate security practices, investigators wrote. It is vital that Customs maintain adequate internal controls to ensure that member companies deserve these benefits.

The GAO urged Customs and Border Protection to require consideration of third-party and other outside audits and take steps to make certain companies comply with any additional security improvements requested. The report also calls for some technological improvements to help improve consistency and better information-gathering in Customs’ security checks.

Responding in part, Customs officials in the report agreed they could do more to follow up on suggested security improvements but noted that employees often use their expert discretion in assessing the potential danger before certifying a company. The agency has also said the program overall has made the nation safer.

Congress has been working to improve port security after the independent Sept. 11 commission cited the potential dangers in its 2004 final report. The commission stated that compared to commercial aviation, opportunities to do harm are as great, or greater, in maritime or surface transportation.

DHS has said that while the likelihood of terrorists smuggling weapons of mass destruction into the U.S. in cargo containers is low, the nation’s vulnerability and consequences of such an attack are potentially high.

Maine Sen. Susan Collins, the top Republican on the Senate Homeland Security Committee, said the report shows the importance of the private sector’s continued cooperation in helping improve port security.

found here.

U.S. ports vulnerable to terrorists, probe finds

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Department of Homeland Security program to strengthen port security has gaps that terrorists could exploit to smuggle weapons of mass destruction in cargo containers, congressional investigators have found.

The report by the Government Accountability Office, being released Tuesday, assesses the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT), a federal program established after the September 11, 2001, attacks to deter a potential terrorist strike via cargo passing through 326 of the nation’s airports, seaports and designated land borders.

Under the program, roughly 8,000 importers, port authorities and air, sea and land carriers are granted benefits such as reduced scrutiny of their cargo. In exchange, the companies submit a security plan that must meet U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s minimum standards and allow officials to verify their measures are being followed.

A 2005 GAO report found many of the companies were receiving the reduced cargo scrutiny without the required full vetting by U.S. Customs, a division of DHS. The agency has since made some improvements, but the new report found that Customs officials still couldn’t provide guarantees that companies were in compliance. Watch a report on port security concerns

Among the problems:

–A company is generally certified as safer based on its self-reported security information that Customs employees use to determine if minimum government criteria are met. But due partly to limited resources, the agency does not typically test the member company’s supply-chain security practices and thus is challenged to know that members’ security measures are reliable, accurate and effective.

–Customs employees are not required to utilize third-party or other audits of a company’s security measures as an alternative to the agency’s direct testing, even if such audits exist.

–Companies can get certified for reduced Customs inspections before they fully implement any additional security improvements requested by the U.S. government. Under the program, Customs also does not require its employees to systematically follow up to make sure the requested improvements were made and that security practices remained consistent with the minimum criteria.

Until Customs overcomes these collective challenges, Customs will be unable to assure Congress and others that C-TPAT member companies that have been granted reduced scrutiny of their U.S.-bound containerized shipments actually employ adequate security practices, investigators wrote. It is vital that Customs maintain adequate internal controls to ensure that member companies deserve these benefits.

The GAO urged Customs and Border Protection to require consideration of third-party and other outside audits and take steps to make certain companies comply with any additional security improvements requested. The report also calls for some technological improvements to help improve consistency and better information-gathering in Customs’ security checks.

Responding in part, Customs officials in the report agreed they could do more to follow up on suggested security improvements but noted that employees often use their expert discretion in assessing the potential danger before certifying a company. The agency has also said the program overall has made the nation safer.

Congress has been working to improve port security after the independent Sept. 11 commission cited the potential dangers in its 2004 final report. The commission stated that compared to commercial aviation, opportunities to do harm are as great, or greater, in maritime or surface transportation.

DHS has said that while the likelihood of terrorists smuggling weapons of mass destruction into the U.S. in cargo containers is low, the nation’s vulnerability and consequences of such an attack are potentially high.

Maine Sen. Susan Collins, the top Republican on the Senate Homeland Security Committee, said the report shows the importance of the private sector’s continued cooperation in helping improve port security.

found here.