• Voter Registration at AFA International
• U.S. Lowers Terror Alert to Yellow
• The International Youth Exchange Program (IYE)

Voter Registration at AFA International

Register to vote online with AFA Voter Registration. Allow AFA to take you through a simple step-by-step process to become a registered voter or change your voter registration. The entire process takes just a minute or two. You must be a U.S. Citizen either through birth or naturalization to register to vote. Follow this link to the AFA Voter Registration; https://register.votenet.com/afa/
 
DISCLAIMER 

Most states will accept the National Mail Voter Registration Form application printed from the computer image on regular paper stock, signed by the applicant and mailed in an envelope with the correct postage. 

Association Of Flight Attendents is aware that some states may not accept the form. Should your application be denied, please use our form to request the original National Mail Voter Registration Form. Or, request a State voter registration form by written request mailed to the address of the State election office listed in the instructions for your State. 
 
 

U.S. Lowers Terror Alert to Yellow

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Bush lowered the nationwide "high risk" terror alert back to code yellow — "significant risk" — on Tuesday. 

Administration officials credited the arrests of suspected terrorists from Buffalo to Pakistan to Bahrain, while warning that the danger of another attack remains. 

U.S. intelligence officials continue to believe that operatives of Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda terror network are at work on American soil, Attorney General John Ashcroft said. 

"I want to emphasize that we are not saying there is no risk," Ashcroft said. "We consider the risk to still be an elevated risk. It's a very serious risk. And we ask for citizens to remain alert." 

On the unanimous recommendation of his homeland security council, Bush returned the national threat level to "elevated" — in the middle of the government's color-coded scale — two weeks after kicking it up a notch to the orange, high-risk status in time for the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. 

Ashcroft and Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge, two of the officials contributing to the recommendation to Bush, cited recent arrests of suspected members of al-Qaeda in Buffalo, Singapore, Yemen, Bahrain and Pakistan. 

"These actions have disrupted terrorist operations by neutralizing certain senior al-Qaeda leadership and removing other terrorist planners and operatives," Ashcroft and Ridge said in a joint statement announcing Bush's decision. 

Ashcroft elaborated at a news conference, saying that information from the intelligence community and the passing of time since the Sept. 11 anniversary also contributed to the status change. 

"We have no reason to believe that the United States is absent al-Qaeda-associated individuals," he said. "We have not lost sight of the fact that tens of thousands of individuals were trained by al-Qaeda." 

Tuesday's change came after Bush met with senior administration officials who review daily intelligence, weigh the potential for attack on U.S. targets and prepare threat-level recommendations for the president. 

In the days leading up to the Sept. 11 anniversary, intelligence agencies warned the White House that terrorists operating in several South Asian countries and linked to al-Qaeda hoped to explode car bombs or launch other attacks on American facilities abroad. 

While there was no direct evidence of a plot against the United States, intelligence officials noted that a similar pattern had existed before last year's attacks. Bush accepted a recommendation from Ashcroft, Ridge, FBI Director Robert Mueller and CIA Director George Tenet to raise the alert level. 

The anniversary passed without incident; Ramzi Binalshibh, one of the suspected planners of the Sept. 11 suicide hijackings, was apprehended in Pakistan; six suspected members of a New York-based terrorism cell were arrested in Buffalo; and federal officials detained a Sudanese pilot in North Carolina as investigators worked to determine whether he was plotting to fly a plane into a U.S. target. 

The color-coded system ranks threats by colors, starting at the bottom with green and followed by blue, yellow, orange and red as perceived dangers intensify. The warning level can be upgraded for the entire country or for specific regions or economic sectors, such as the nuclear industry. 

Ridge put the nation on yellow alert when he imposed the system in March. The status was unchanged until just before Sept. 11. 

(Copyright 2002 The Associated Press)
 

The International Youth Exchange Program

The International Youth Exchange Program (IYE) is for families of airline employees. The IYE youth program was begun in 1994. IYE matches young adults, ages 14-18 years, with other youth worldwide for a two-week exchange. Airlines that have been involved include: Air France, Lufthansa, KLM, United, American, Alaska Air and Northwest. 

IYE is now accepting applications for the summer of 2003. Host families are matched with young adults ages 14-18 years of age. The length of stay is two weeks. The application fee for the program is $200.00. The young adults furnish their own spending money and airline pass. For further information please contact: IYE, P.O. Box 11625, St. Paul, MN 55111-0625 USA. Email: cwhee23773@aol.com
 

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