Kellogg, Brown and Root (KBR) announced today that the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) component has awarded KBR an Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity contingency contract to support ICE facilities in the event of an emergency. KBR is the engineering and construction subsidiary of Halliburton.
With a maximum total value of $385 million over a five-year term, consisting of a one-year based period and four one-year options, the competitively awarded contract will be executed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Fort Worth District. KBR held the previous ICE contract from 2000 through 2005.
“We are especially gratified to be awarded this contract because it builds on our extremely strong track record in the arena of emergency operations support,” said Bruce Stanski, executive vice president, KBR Government and Infrastructure. “We look forward to continuing the good work we have been doing to support our customer whenever and wherever we are needed.”
The contract, which is effective immediately, provides for establishing temporary detention and processing capabilities to augment existing ICE Detention and Removal Operations Program facilities in the event of an emergency influx of immigrants into the U.S., or to support the rapid development of new programs. The contingency support contract provides for planning and, if required, initiation of specific engineering, construction and logistics support tasks to establish, operate and maintain one or more expansion facilities.
The contract may also provide migrant detention support to other U.S. Government organizations in the event of an immigration emergency, as well as the development of a plan to react to a national emergency, such as a natural disaster. In the event of a natural disaster, the contractor could be tasked with providing housing for ICE personnel performing law enforcement functions in support of relief efforts.
ICE is one of three agencies that make up the Border and Transportation Security (BTS) Directorate of the DHS. The mission of the BTS Directorate is to secure the nation’s air, land and sea borders. ICE, the largest investigative arm of the DHS, is responsible for identifying and shutting down vulnerabilities in the nation’s border, economic, transportation and infrastructure security.
KBR is a global engineering, construction, technology and services company. Whether designing an LNG facility, serving as a defense industry contractor, or providing small capital construction, KBR delivers world-class service and performance. KBR employs more than 60,000 people in 43 countries around the world.
Halliburton, founded in 1919, is one of the world’s largest providers of products and services to the petroleum and energy industries. The company serves its customers with a broad range of products and services through its Energy Services Group and KBR.
by Tom Hennessy, Long Beach [Calif.] Press-Telegram
Feb. 3, 2006
Maybe a lifetime in the news business makes one paranoid. Or maybe it was just a matter of timing.
The story showed up in Tuesday's Press-Telegram, as I was reading Night, Elie Wiesel's horrifying autobiography of a teenager in Buchenwald and Auschwitz.
Appearing on page A5, the story said the federal government had awarded a $385 million contract for the construction of "temporary detention facilities." These would be used, the story said, in the event of an "immigration emergency."
Jamie Zuieback, an official with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), explained such an emergency like this: "If, for example, there were some sort of upheaval in another country that would cause mass migration, that's the type of situation that the contract would address."
That sounds a tad fuzzy, but let's concede that the camps do have something to do with immigration, illegal or not. In fact, there already are thousands of beds in place at various U.S. locations for the purpose of housing illegal immigrants.
But for anyone familiar with history U.S. or European the construction of detention camps for whatever purpose should prompt a chilling scenario.
The new detention camps will be built by Kellogg, Brown and Root (KBR), a subsidiary of Halliburton. The latter, as you likely know, is the defense-related corporate giant with fists full of contracts involving the war in Iraq.
Halliburton was led by Vice President Dick Cheney from 1995 to 2000. Democrats in Congress have accused the administration of favoring the company via no-bid contracts. But KBR says the detention contract was competitive.
Tuesday's story also said the contract was awarded by the Army Corps of Engineers. However, Halliburton says it was awarded by the Department of Homeland Security in support of ICE.
The contract is for a year, but includes four one-year options. It is a renewal of an existing ICE contract, notes Halliburton. KBR, in fact, had the $9.7 million contract to build the
detention facility at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba. This facility, popularly dubbed "Gitmo," holds 660 prisoners classified by the government as "enemy combatants."
This column is written with the distinct feeling that not many people will give a hoot about any or all of this. But as already noted, a news story about construction of government detention centers should give us all pause.
Considering what took place in Nazi Germany, as well as the shameful incarceration of Japanese-Americans in 1942, no detention camp should be built without the widest possible public scrutiny.
Bottom line: The contract cries out for greater attention. So far, the government's expressed reason for building them is insufficient and ill-defined. And even if the camps do relate to illegal immigration, their purpose could be changed overnight.
This is an instance in which we could be well served by our representatives in Congress. They need to look at this and give constituents a better picture of what is going on.
Let's not have it said, years from now, that no one ever questioned this.
You may have heard of America's infamous "detention facility" at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where people the American President calls "enemy combattants" are held year after year without trial, subjected to what's politely called "harsh interrogation" because torture is such an unpleasant word. The official position of the U.S. government is that the rules of the Geneva Conventions don't apply to these prisoners.
Do you imagine that a government that runs amok, imprisoning people without trials, without charges, without safeguards in foreign countries, won't do the same within its own borders? US Attorney General John Ashcroft has proposed detention centers for Americans, where their civil rights would be suspended. The term for this is a concentration camp.
And in articles reprinted above, we learn that the Department of Homeland Security is spending $385-million to construct "temporary" detention facilities inside the US. If you're not concerned, dear reader, then you're fooling yourself.
Any government can build prisons and more prisons, and fill the prisons with anyone it wants behind bars. The power to imprison people is far more dangerous than any of the mundane crimes that fill every newscast -- muggers and murderers victimize one person at a time, but governments that abuse their powers victimize millions. To prevent the abuse of such awesome power, America has a system of justice, with laws requiring police and prosecutors to respect civil rights, and court rules to prevent innocent people from being railroaded and imprisoned or executed unjustly. You're innocent until proven guilty, you're entitled to know what you're accused of, you're entitled to a lawyer, you're entitled to a public trial, and you're proven guilty only if and when the evidence accumulates beyond all reasonable doubt. And even if you're found guilty, you're supposed to be protected from "cruel and unusual punishment."
The American system of justice isn't perfect and it often malfunctions, but we try to make it fair. The outcome usually comes close to justice, when the rules are followed and the safeguards are respected. Those rules and safeguards -- routinely despised, mocked, and belittled by right-wing pundits, radio stars, and politicians -- are the backbone of the American system of justice. But under the Bush-Cheney administration, U.S. government is very, very determined to sidestep all the "technicalities", disregard civil rights and safeguards, skip the trials, assume that the accused are always guilty and ship them directly to the gulags. The American government now imprisons people by the thousands, without rights, without trials, without even letting anyone know who's been imprisoned.
How can I put this more plainly? Why aren't Americans alarmed, terrified?
There's a word for government without checks and balances, and that word is tyranny -- an absolute rulership unrestrained by law or Constitution. If we aren't at that point already, we're within easy walking distance and we're dancing in that direction.
#A list of "confirmed suspicions" Ready-to-go detention centers in America
We've argued amongst ourselves about whether to publish this list. It was compiled by persons unknown, and has been published at numerous websites of dubious credibility. At one of those websites it was titled "confirmed suspicions", but in reality there's nothing "confirmed" about this list -- nobody's officially announced the locations for US detention facilities. They're supposed to be secret, remember?
So this is not what it purports to be, a list of "detention centers" in America. It's just a brief and far from complete compilation of abandoned or still-functioning military, police, or governmental facilities where the fencing or security is already there. These are buildings or barracks that could be converted to use as detention centers at minimal cost and effort. These are places that might look familiar to people who have lived under authoritarian regimes, and might make people accustomed to freedom feel ill-at-ease.
That's why we're publishing this list -- because it makes us ill-at-ease. It made us stop and think, and that's a worthwhile purpose in itself. We're hoping you'll stop and think too, and join us in working to make American government follow the Constitution and Bill of Rights. When that happens, the notion of a list like this will be silly, not worrisome.
H&HH
ALABAMA • Opelika -- Military compound either in or very near town •
Aliceville -- WWII German POW camp, capacity 15,000 •
Ft. McClellan (Anniston) -- Opposite side of town from Army Depot •
Maxwell Air Force Base (Montgomery) -- Civilian prison camp established under Operation Garden Plot, currently operating with support staff and small inmate population •
Talladega -- Federal prison "satellite" camp
ALASKA •
Eielson Air Force Base -- Southeast of Fairbanks. Operation Garden Plot facility •
Elmendorf Air Force Base -- Northeast area of Anchorage, far end of base. Garden Plot facility •
Ft. Wainwright -- East of Fairbanks •
Wilderness -- East of Anchorage. No roads, Air and Railroad access only. Estimated capacity of 500,000
ARIZONA •
Davis-Monthan Air Force Base (Tucson) -- Fully staffed and presently holding prisoners •
Florence -- WWII prison camp, now renovated and operational with staff and 400 prisoners, operational capacity of 3,500 •
Ft. Huachuca -- 20 miles from Mexican border, 30 miles from Nogales •
Phoenix -- Federal Prison Satellite Camp. Main federal facility expanded •
Pinal County -- on the Gila Riverm, a WWII Japanese detention camp. •
Wickenburg -- Airport is ready for conversion; total capacity unknown •
Yuma County -- on the Colorado River, site of former Japanese detention camp (near proving grounds). This site was completely removed in 1990, according to some reports
ARKANSAS •
Berryville -- FEMA facility located east of Eureka Springs off Hwy. 62 •
Blythville Air Force Base -- Closed airbase now being used as camp. New wooden barracks have been constructed at this location. Classic decorations: guard towers, barbed wire, high fences •
Ft. Chaffee (near Fort Smith, Arkansas) -- Has new runway for aircraft, new camp facility with capacity of 40,000 prisoners •
Jerome -- Chicot/Drew Counties, site of WWII Japanese camps •
Omaha -- Northeast of Berryville near Missouri state line, on Hwy 65 south of old wood processing plant.
Pine Bluff Arsenal -- This location also is the repository for B-Z nerve agent, which causes sleepiness, dizziness, stupor; admitted use is for civilian control •
Rohwer -- Descha County, site of WWII Japanese camps
CALIFORNIA •
Fort Ord -- Closed in 1994, this facility is now an urban warfare training center for troops, and may have some POW enclosures •
Ft. Irwin -- FEMA facility near Barstow. Base is designated inactive but has staffed camp
Mather Air Force Base -- Road to facility is blocked off by cement barriers and a stop sign. Sign states area is restricted; barbed wire fences point inward, protecting what a friend has described as an old bomb storage facility ... •
McClellan Air Force Base -- facility capable for 30,000 - 35,000 •
Norton Air Force Base -- Closed base, but 'staffed', according to some reports •
Oakdale -- Camp capable of holding at least 20,000 people. 90 miles east of San Francisco •
Sacramento -- Army Depot. •
Terminal Island -- (Long Beach) located next to naval shipyards operated by ChiCom shipping interests. Federal prison facility located here. •
Tule Lake -- area of "wildlife refuge", accessible by unpaved road, just inside Modoc County •
Twentynine Palms Marine Base -- Birthplace of the infamous "Would you shoot American citizens?" Quiz. New camps being built on "back 40" •
Vandenburg Air Force Base -- near Lompoc and Santa Maria. Facility is located near the oceanside, close to Space Launch Complex #6, also called "Slick Six".
COLORADO •
Ft. Carson -- Along route 115 near Canon City •
Granada -- Prowers County, WWII Japanese internment camp •
Trinidad -- WWII German/Italian camp being renovated
FLORIDA •
Avon Park -- Air Force gunnery range, Avon Park has an on-base "correctional facility" which was a former WWII detention camp •
Camp Krome -- DoJ detention/interrogation center •
Eglin Air Force Base -- This base is over 30 miles long, from Pensacola to Hwy 331 in De Funiak Springs. High capacity facility, presently manned and populated with some prisoners •
Everglades -- It is believed that a facility may be carved out of the wilds here •
Pensacola -- Federal Prison Camp
GEORGIA •
Abbeville -- South of Hawkinsville on U.S.route 129; south of town off route 280 near Ocmulgee River. FEMA facility is staffed but without prisoners •
Camilla -- Mitchell County, south of Albany. This FEMA facility is located on Mt. Zion Rd approximately 5.7 miles south of Camilla. Unmanned, no prisoners, no staff •
Fort Gillem -- South side of Atlanta, FEMA designated detention facility •
Fort Stewart -- Savannah area, FEMA designated detention facility •
Ft. Benning -- Located east of Columbus near Alabama state line. Prisoners brought in via Lawson Army airfield •
Ft. Gordon -- West of Augusta. •
Ft. Mc Pherson -- Multiple reports that this will be the national headquarters and coordinating center for troop movement and detainee collection •
Hawkinsville -- Wilcox County; five miles east of town, fully manned and staffed but no prisoners. Located on fire road 100/Upper River Road •
McRae -- Telfair County, 1.5 miles west of McRae on Hwy 134 (8th St). Facility is on Irwinton Avenue off 8th St., manned and staffed, no prisoners •
Morgan -- Calhoun County, FEMA facility is fully manned and staffed, no prisoners •
Oglethorpe -- Macon County; facility is located five miles from Montezuma, three miles from Oglethorpe. This FEMA prison has no staff and no prisoners •
Unadilla -- Dooly County. Manned, staffed FEMA prison on route 230, no prisoners
HAWAII •
Barbers Point Naval Station •
Halawa Heights area -- Area is marked as a state department of health laboratory. •
Honolulu -- Detention transfer facility at the Honolulu airport similar in construction to the one in.Oklahoma (pentagon-shaped building where airplanes can taxi up to)
IDAHO •
Clearwater National Forest -- Near Lolo Pass, just miles from the Montana state line near Moose Creek, this unmanned facility is reported to have a nearby airfield •
Minidoka/Jerome Counties -- WWII Japanese-American internment facility
ILLINOIS •
Chanute Air Force Base -- Rantoul, near Champaign/Urbana. This closed base had WWII-era barracks that were condemned and torn down, but the medical facility was upgraded and additional fencing put up in the area. •
Greenfield -- Two federal correctional "satellite prison camps" •
Kankakee -- Abandoned industrial area on west side of town (Rt.17 & Main) designated as FEMA detention site. Equipped with water tower, incinerator, a small train yard behind it and the rear of the facility is surrounded by barbed wire facing inwards •
Galesburg, Lincoln, Menard, Pontiac, Sheridan, -- State prison facilities equipped for major expansion and close or adjacent to highways and railroad tracks •
Marion -- Federal Penitentiary and satellite prison camp inside Crab Orchard Nat'l Wildlife Refuge. Manned, staffed, populated fully •
Marseilles -- Located on the Illinois River off Interstate 80 on Hwy 6. It is a relatively small facility with a capacity of 1400 prisoners. Though it is small it is designed like prison facilities with barred windows, military vehicles repeatedly seen. This facility is approximately 75 miles west of Chicago. National Guard training area nearby •
Pekin -- This Federal satellite prison camp is also on the Illinois River, just south of Peoria. It supplements the federal penitentiary in Marion, which is equipped to handle additional population outside on the grounds •
Savanna Army Depot -- NW area of state on Mississippi River •
Scott Air Force Base -- Barbed wire prisoner enclosure, just off-base. Another facility on-base is beieved to exist. •
Shawnee National Forest -- Pope County. This area has seen heavy traffic of military equipment and troops via Illinois Central Railroad, which runs through the area. Suspected location is unknown, but may be close to Vienna and Shawnee correctional centers, located 6 miles west of Dixon Springs
INDIANA •
Camp Atterbury -- Facility is converted to hold prisoners and boasts two active compounds presently configured for minumum security detainees. Located just west of Interstate 65 near Edinburgh, south of Indianapolis •
Crown Point -- Across street from county jail, former hospital. One wing presently being used for county work-release program, 80% of facility still unused. Possible FEMA detention center or holding facility •
Fort Wayne -- This city located in Northeast Indiana has a FEMA designated detention facility, accessible by air, road and nearby rail •
Ft. Benjamin Harrison -- Located in the northeast part of Indianapolis, this base has been decomissioned from "active" use but portions are still ideally converted to hold detainees. Helicopter landing areas still exist for prisoners to be brought in by air, land and rail •
Grissom Air Force Base -- This closed airbase still handles a lot of traffic, and has a "state-owned" prison compound on the southern part of the facility •
Hammond -- large enclosure identified in FEMA plans •
Indianapolis/Marion County -- Amtrak railcar repair facility (closed). This large facility contains helicopter landing pads, railheads for prisoners, one-way turnstiles, barracks, towers, high fences with razor wire, etc. Personnel with government clearance took a guided tour of the facility to confirm this site. Located next to a closed refrigeration plant facility •
Jasper-Pulaski Wildlife Area -- Youth Corrections farm located here. Facility is closed, but is still staffed and being renovated. Total capacity unknown •
Jefferson Proving Grounds -- Southern Indiana. This facility was an active base with test firing occuring daily. Portions of the base have been opened to create an industrial park, but other areas are still highly restricted. A camp is believed to be located "downrange". Facility is equipped with an airfield and has a nearby rail line. •
Kingsbury -- This closed military base is adjacent to a state fish and wildlife preserve. Part of the base is converted to an industrial park, but the southern portion of this property is still used. It is bordered on the south by railroad, and is reportedly staffed. A local police officer who was hunting and camping close to the base in the game preserve was accosted, roughed up, and warned by the English-speaking unit commander to stay away from the area. It was suggested to the officer that the welfare of his family would depend on his "silence". Located just southeast of LaPorte •
Newport -- Army Depot. VX nerve gas storage facility. •
Terre Haute -- Federal Correctional Institution, FEMA designated facility
KANSAS •
Concordia -- WWII German POW camp used to exist at this location but there is no known facility there at this time •
El Dorado -- Federal prison, UNICOR industries •
Ft. Riley -- Just north of Interstate 70, airport, near city of Manhattan •
Leavenworth -- U.S. Marshal's federal holding facility, U.S. Penitentiary, Federal Prison Camp, Federal death penalty facility •
Topeka -- 80 acres has been converted into a temporary holding camp
KENTUCKY •
Ashland -- Federal prison camp in Eastern Kentucky near the Ohio River •
Ft. Knox -- Detention center, located near Salt River, in restricted area of base. •
Land Between the Lakes -- This area was declared a U.N. biosphere and is an ideal geographic location for detention facilities. Area is an isthmus extending out from Tennessee, between Lake Barkley on the east and Kentucky Lake on the west. Just scant miles from Fort Campbell in Tennessee. •
Lexington -- FEMA detention facility, National Guard base with adjacent airport facility •
Louisville -- FEMA detention facility, located near restricted area U.S. naval ordnance plant. Military airfield located at facility, which is on south side of city •
Manchester -- Federal prison camp located inside Dan Boone National Forest
LOUISIANA •
Ft. Polk -- This is a main base for troops and personnel, and a training center •
Livingston -- WWII internment camp being renovated; halfway between Baton Rouge and Hammond, several miles north of Interstate 12 •
Oakdale -- Located on U.S. route 165 about 50 miles south of Alexandria; two federal detention centers just southeast of Fort Polk
MAINE •
Houlton -- WWII internment camp in Northern Maine, off U.S. Route 1
MARYLAND •
Ft. Detrick -- Biological warfare center, located in Frederick •
Ft. Meade -- Halfway between the District of Criminals and Baltimore.
MASSACHUSETTS •
Camp Edwards/Otis Air Force Base -- This inactive base is being renovated. •
Ft. Devens -- Active detention facility.
MICHIGAN •
Bay City -- Classic enclosure with guard towers, high fence, and close to shipping port on Saginaw Bay, which connects to Lake Huron. •
Camp Grayling -- Michigan Nat'l Guard base has several confirmed detention camps, classic setup with high fences, razor wire, etc. Guard towers are very well-built, sturdy. Multiple compounds within larger enclosures. Facility deep within forest area. •
Lansing -- FEMA detention facility •
Sawyer Air Force Base -- Upper Peninsula, south of Marquette. •
Southwest -- Berrien County, FEMA detention center
MINNESOTA •
Camp Ripley -- new prison facility •
Duluth -- Federal prison camp facility
MISSOURI •
Ft. Leonard Wood -- Situated in the middle of Mark Twain National Forest in Pulaski County. This site has been home to the U.S. Army Urban Warfare Training school. •
Richards-Gebaur Air Force Base -- located in Grandview, near K.C.MO. A very large facility has been built on this base, and all base personnel are restricted from coming near it.
MONTANA •
Malmstrom Air Force Base
NEBRASKA •
Northwest, Northeast corners of state. FEMA detention facilities •
Scottsbluff -- WWII German POW camp •
South Central part of state -- Many old WWII sites
NEVADA •
Elko -- Ten miles south of town •
Nellis Air Force Range -- Northwest from Las Vegas on Route 95. Nellis Air Force Base is just north of Las Vegas on Hwy 604 •
Pershing County -- Camp is located at I-80 mile marker 112, south side of the highway, about a mile back on the county road and then just off the road about 3/4 mile •
Stillwater Naval Air Station -- east of Reno. •
Wells -- Camp is located in the O'Niel basin area, 40 miles north of Wells, past Thousand Springs, west off Hwy 93 for 25 miles •
Winnemucca -- Battle Mountain area, at the base of the mountains
NEW HAMPSHIRE •
Northern New Hampshire -- near Lake Francis.
NEW JERSEY •
Ft. Dix/McGuire Air Force Base
NEW MEXICO •
Fort Stanton -- currently being used as a youth detention facility approximately 35 miles north of Ruidoso, New Mexico. •
Ft. Bliss -- This base actually straddles Texas state line. Just south of Alomogordo, Ft. Bliss has thousands of acres •
Holloman Air Force Base (Alomogordo) -- New facility being built on this base, according to recent visitors. •
White Sands Missile Range -- Currently being used as a storage facility for vehicles and equipment. Observers have seen this material brought in on the Whitesands rail spur in Oro Grande New Mexico about thirty miles from the Texas, New Mexico Border
NEW YORK •
Albany -- FEMA detention facility •
Buffalo -- FEMA detention facility •
Ft. Drum -- two compounds: Detention camp and FEMA detention facility •
Otisville -- Federal correctional facility, near Middletown
NORTH CAROLINA •
Camp Lejeune/New River Marine Airfield -- facility has renovated, occupied WWII detention compounds and "mock city" that closely resembles Anytown, USA •
Fort Bragg -- Special Warfare Training Center. Renovated WWII detention facility
NORTH DAKOTA •
Minot Air Force Base.
OHIO •
Camp Perry -- Site renovated; once used as a POW camp to house German and Italian prisoners of WWII. Some tar paper covered huts built for housing these prisoners are still standing. Recently, the construction of multiple 200-man barracks have replaced most of the huts. •
Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus -- FEMA detention facilities. •
Lima -- FEMA detention facility. Another facility located in/near old stone quarry near Interstate 75. Railroad access to property, fences etc.
OKLAHOMA •
El Reno -- Renovated federal facility with current population of 12,000 on Route 66 •
Ft. Sill (Lawton) -- Former WWII detention camps. •
McAlester -- near Army Munitions Plant property, former WWII German/Italian POW camp designated for future use •
Tinker Air Force Base (Oklahoma City) -- All base personnel are prohibited from going near civilian detention area, which is under constant guard •
Will Rogers World Airport -- FEMA's main processing center for west of the Mississippi. All personnel are kept out of the security zone. Federal prisoner transfer center located here.
OREGON •
Josephine County -- WWII Japanese internment camp. •
Sheridan -- Federal prison satellite camp northwest of Salem •
Sheridan -- FEMA detention center
PENNSYLVANIA •
Allenwood -- Federal prison camp located south of Williamsport on the Susquehanna River. It has a current inmate population of 300, and is identified by William Pabst as having a capacity in excess of 15,000 on 400 acres •
Camp Hill -- State prison close to Army depot. Lots of room, located in Camp Hill, Pa. •
Indiantown Gap Military Reservation -- located north of Harrisburg. Used for WWII POW camp and renovated during Carter administration. Was used to hold Cubans during Mariel boat lift. •
New Cumberland Army Depot -- on the Susquehanna River, located off Interstate 83 and Interstate 76 •
Schuylkill Haven -- Federal prison camp, north of Reading
SOUTH CAROLINA •
Charleston -- Naval Reserve and Air Force base, restricted area on naval base •
Greenville -- Unoccupied youth prison camp; total capacity unknown
SOUTH DAKOTA •
Black Hills Nat'l Forest -- north of Edgemont, southwest part of state. WWII internment camp being renovated. •
Yankton -- Federal prison camp
TENNESSEE •
Crossville -- Site of WWII German/Italian prison camp has been renovated; completed barracks and behind the camp in the woods is a training facility with high tight ropes and a rappelling deck. •
Ft. Campbell -- Next to Land Between the Lakes; adjacent to airfield and U.S. Alt. 41 •
Millington -- Federal prison camp next door to Memphis Naval Air Station •
Nashville -- There are two buildings built on State property that are definitely built to hold prisoners. They are identical buildings, side by side on Old Briley Parkway. High barbed wire fence that curves inward.
TEXAS •
Amarillo -- FEMA designated detention facility •
Austin -- Robert Mueller Municipal airport has detenion areas inside hangars. •
Beaumont/Port Arthur area -- hundreds of acres of federal camps already built on large-scale detention camp design, complete with the double rows of chain link fencing with razor type concertina wire on top of each row. Some (but not all) of these facilities are currently being used for low-risk state prisoners who require a minimum of supervision. •
Eden -- 1500 bed privately run federal center. Currently holds illegal aliens. •
Ft. Bliss (El Paso) -- Extensive renovation of buildings, surrounded by razor wire •
Ft. Hood (Killeen) -- Newly built facility, with towers, barbed wire etc., just like the one featured in the movie Amerika. Mock city for urban warfare training. •
Ft. Worth -- Federal prison under construction on the site of Carswell Air Force Base. •
Mexia -- East of Waco 33 miles; WWII German prisoners facility •
North Dallas -- near Carrolton, close to interstate and railroad. •
Reese Air Force Base (Lubbock) -- FEMA designated detention facility •
Sheppard Air Force Base -- in Wichita Falls just south of Ft. Sill, OK. FEMA designated detention facility
UTAH •
Cedar City -- East of city. •
Ft. Douglas -- This inactive military reservation has a renovated WWII concentration camp. •
Migratory Bird Refuge -- West of Brigham City, contains a WWII internment camp that was built before the game preserve was established. •
Millard County -- Central Utah WWII Japanese camp. •
Skull Valley -- southwestern Camp William property, east of the old bombing range, southwest of Tooele •
Wendover -- WWII internment camp
VIRGINIA •
Ft. A.P. Hill (Fredericksburg) -- FEMA facility. Estimated capacity 45,000 •
Petersburg -- Federal satellite prison camp, south of Richmond
WEST VIRGINIA •
Alderson, Beckley, Lewisburg -- Former WWII detention camps that are now converted into active federal prison complexes capable of holding several times their current populations. Alderson is presently a women's federal reformatory •
Kingwood -- Newly built detention camp at Camp Dawson Army Reservation. •
Mill Creek -- FEMA detention facility •
Morgantown -- Federal prison camp located in northern WV; just north of Kingwood
WASHINGTON •
Ft. Lewis/McChord Air Force Base -- near Tacoma •
Okanogan County -- Borders Canada and is a site for a massive facility capable of holding hundreds of thousands of people •
Sand Point Naval Station -- Seattle, FEMA detention center used actively during the 1999 WTO protests to classify prisoners. •
Seattle/Tacoma -- SeaTac Airport: fully operational federal transfer center
WISCONSIN •
Ft. McCoy -- Facility with several complete interment compounds •
Oxford -- Central part of state. Federal prison and staellite camp and FEMA detention facility
WYOMING •
East Yellowstone -- Manned facility. Federal government assumed custody of the persons and arranged their release. •
Hart Mountain -- Park County north of Cody, WWII Japanese interment camp. •
Laramie -- FEMA detention facility •
Southwest -- near Lyman, FEMA detention facility
CANADA •
Our Canadian friends tell us that virtually all Canadian military bases, especially those north of the 50th Parallel, are all set up with extensive detention facilities. Here are a few sites with the massive land space to handle any population: •
Ft. McPherson -- Very cold, in the Northwest Territories •
Ft. Nelson -- Northernmost point on the BC Railway line •
Ft. Providence -- Located on Great Slave Lake •
Halifax -- Nova Scotia. Dept. of National Defense reserve ... •
Primrose Lake Air Range -- 70 miles northeast of Edmonton •
Suffield CFB -- just north of Medicine Hat, less than 60 miles from the USA •
Wainwright CFB -- halfway between Medicine Hat and Primrose Lake
THIS NOTE WAS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE ORIGINAL LIST:
There are many other locations not listed above that are worthy of consideration as a possible detention camp site, but due to space limitations and the time needed to verify, could not be included here. Virtually all military reservations, posts, bases, stations, and depots; and "regional Airports" and "International Airports" also fall under federal jurisdiction and have limited-access areas. Mental hospitals, closed hospitals and nursing homes, closed military bases, wildlife refuges, state prisons, toxic waste dumps, hotels and other areas all have varying degrees of potential for being a detention camp area.
The likelihood of a site being suspect increases with transportation access to the site, including airports/airstrips, railheads, navigable waterways and ports, interstate and U.S. highways. Some facilities may be "disguised" as industrial or commercial properties, camouflaged or even wholly contained inside large buildings or factories.
AND THE EDITORS OF UNKNOWN NEWS ADD:
Feel free to dismiss us as nuts, if that makes you more comfortable. And remember, the best location for a secret detention center would be someplace where you wouldn't suspect anything, the kind of facility that wouldn't be on this list at all. How's that for a cheery thought?
We often reassure ourselves that things can't possibly be as bad as we're worried that they are. But throughout history, virtually without exception, governments given great power have abused that power. And no government in the world's history has ever had the power of present-day America (with the possible exception of Communist China or the U.S.S.R. -- not exactly reassuring exceptions).
Like the URL says, this website is about unknown news.
We present a once-weekly wrap-up of news that was underplayed, ignored, or simply lost in the non-stop news cycle. Our news comes only from mainstream, professional journalists or (rarely) other sources we trust entirely, with no nuttiness and no interest in the same news you see everywhere else.
What we believe
We believe in liberty and justice for all, so of course, we oppose many US government policies. This doesn't mean we're anti-American, redneck scum, pinko commies, militia members, or terrorist-sympathizers. It means we believe in freedom, as more than merely a cliché.
We believe you have the right to live your own life as you choose, and others have the equal right to live their lives as they choose. It's not complicated.
We believe freedom leads to peace, progress, and prosperity, while its opposite -- oppression -- leads to war, terrorism, poverty, and misery.
We believe it's preposterously stupid to hate people because of their appearance, their race or nationality, their religion or lack of religion, how they have sex with other consenting adults, etc. There are far more apropos reasons to hate most people.
We believe in questioning ourselves, our assumptions, each other -- and we especially believe in questioning authority (the more authority, the more questions). We believe obedience is a fine quality in dogs and young children, but not in adults.
Like America's right-wingers, we believe in
individual responsibility,
hard work to get ahead,
and stern punishment for serious crimes.
We believe big government should not be blindly trusted.
But unlike most right-wing leaders, we mean it.
Like America's left-wingers, we believe in
equal treatment under law,
war as a last (not first) resort,
and sensible stewardship of natural resources.
We believe big business should not be blindly trusted.
But unlike most left-wing leaders, we mean it.
Like libertarians, we believe it's wrong and reprehensible to arrest people for what they think, believe, look like, wear, eat, smoke, drink, inhale, inject, or otherwise do to themselves.
But unlike many libertarians, we're not obsessed with the gold standard, we don't believe incorporation is humanity's highest achievement, and we don't believe everything in life comes down to dollars and cents. We've read and enjoyed Ayn Rand's novels, but we understand that they're works of fiction.
We're skeptical, and we're sick of so-called 'journalists' who aren't skeptical at all.
A reader asks, what are our solutions?
We propose no solutions except common sense, which is never common. We like the principles of democracy, and the ideals broadly described as 'American'. The US Constitution is a fine and workable framework for solutions, when it's actually read and thoughtfully understood by intelligent statesmen and women. So, no manifestos from us. We don't dream that big, and if there's one thing the world doesn't need it's yet another manifesto.
Our suggestion is: think.
A fact-based instead of faith-based approach leads to solutions for most of the recurring issues of our time, from abortion to global climate change, pollution to universal health care, careful but real regulation of industry and economy, hunger, war, terror, human rights for humans not for corporations, science not religious doctrine in public schools, equal protection and prosecution under law, etc. Approach problems without glorifying stupidity, without demonizing intelligence, and answers usually come into focus.
These pages are published by Harry and Helen Highwater, happily married low-income nom de plumes and rabble-rousers from Madison, Wisconsin (with a few friends scattered around the world helping out).
We try to spotlight news that hasn't gotten enough (or appropriate) attention in American media, along with our opinions and yours.
We bang our keyboards against the wall, because it doesn't hurt as much as banging our heads.
We assume our readers are well-informed before they click here, so we focus on news that's generally unknown or under-reported. We're generally disinterested in such non-news as reports on what politicians might do, may do, or should do, and we don't usually mention the murders, kidnappings, house fires, auto wrecks, celebrity crap, wacky fluff, and other nonsense that's pushed real news right out of the newscasts.
Disclaimer for dummies: Our front page is free from nudity, but we make no promise on profanity. If your surfing is monitored this site might not be safe for work, and you may be shocked, offended, or in trouble with your boss. A link doesn't imply that we agree with every sentence and every sentiment on every site we link to. We use our noggins, and suggest you use yours.
We always welcome comments from readers, and we're especially interested in hearing and considering different perspectives, so please don't be shy. All we ask is that you conduct yourself sanely and civilly, so consider yourself invited to speak your mind. Our email address and other info is on our contact page.
Please don't email us unless you're sending an original communication that you're not sending to anyone or everyone else. If you add us to your mailing list or chat group without asking us first, or if you send "Dear friend" newsletters, or "link exchange" form letters, or if you send a press release every time you add a post to your blog, you're a spammer and we'll soon block your emails. Also, as a matter of security, we don't open emails from strangers which include attachments or have any kind of programming imbedded, and we recommend a similar policy for others. If you're sending us an email, please send it in plain text only.
Our RSS feed of Unknown News headlines is updated whenever we update the site. Click the orange button for more information, or just get the feed at http://unknownnews.org/ RSSfeeds/dailyRSS.xml.
(Enormous and eternal thanksto Doug at mistersquirrel.net, for setting up our RSS feed.)
Our privacy policy has a page of its own, but the short and sweet version is: We're in favor of privacy. We make no effort to track or identify anything about visitors to our website. We never share, trade, or sell email addresses. We never send spam. We never send email, except in response to readers' queries. We never send (or open) attachments of any kind, and we delete un-opened any emails received with attachments.
Anything sent to Unknown News may be published. If you don't want it published, say so plainly. When we publish incoming emails, we edit out the sender's last name and email address — if we slip up (or if you want your full name and email address published) please let us know. Of course, if your email is unambiguously intended only to annoy, insult, or threaten us, we'll publish it with all the details and leave it on-line forever.
