September 2011
Opinions Mixed on Assassination of US Born Radical Cleric Anwar al-Awlaki
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com On tv, radio and on the Internet, pro and con opinions are rapidly cropping up over the assassination in Yemen of Anwar al-Awlaki, a radical U.S.-born Muslim cleric. Plenty folks in the U.S. were simply elated. Period. But others are questioning whether the U.S. has stepped over the line by assassinating the…
Illegal Video Download Host Who Let Millions See Free Movies and TV Shows Pleads Guilty
By Danny Fenster ticklethewire.com In June of last year the feds shut down the website NinjaVideo.net, which let millions of viewers see copyright-protected movies and television programs in high-quality formats for free or for a nominal fee. On Thursday, one of the site’s founders, Hana A. Beshara of Las Vegas, pleaded guilty in Alexandria, Va. to…
FBI’s Ten Most Wanted List Really Just Eight Most Wanted for Now
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com The FBI’s legendary Ten Most Wanted list is really only the Eight Most Wanted list these days. Two of the the most well-known figures on the list — Osama bin Laden and Boston mobster James “Whitey” Bulger — are no longer wanted. Bin Laden was killed by the U.S. military in…
Great Strides Made in Nation’s Biodefenses Since 2001 Anthrax Attacks; But Concerns Linger
By Dan Vergano USA TODAY Anthrax-laced letters that killed five people, targeted U.S. senators and paralyzed post offices a decade ago have reshaped the nation’s biodefenses. While confidence is higher that the United States is better protected, there are continuing worries about potential threats in the coming era of “synthetic biology,” man-made designer microbes. Nationwide,…
FBI Plans to Change Definition of Rape to Better Capture Stats
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com Are rapes recorded accurately? Apparently not, which is why the the FBI is in the process of changing the definition of rape for the first time in 80 years, reports the Baltimore Sun. The Sun reports that critics have insisted the definition is too narrow, resulting in fewer stats and less…
Rumor Mill Works Overtime in Controversy Between FBI and LA County Sheriff’s Dept.
Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com The rumor mill has been working overtime involving the controversy between FBI and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Sheriff Lee Baca is fuming that the FBI didn’t tell him about its investigation into inmate abuse, or the fact that the FBI, in an undercover sting, paid a sheriff’s deputy about…