Glenn Garvin The Columbus Dispatch Last month, when the Senate passed an amendment to its immigration-reform bill that included $46 billion to beef up border security, Sen. John McCain declared: “We’ll be the most militarized border since the fall of the Berlin Wall!” He didn’t know the half of it. Since then, documents released…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com Border Patrol officials are hoping to soon use “non-lethal weapons designed to immobilize” people on surveillance drones, the Atlantic reports. The discovery comes from documents obtained by the Electronic Frontier Foundation. “This is the first we’ve heard of any federal agency proposing using weapons on drones flown domestically,” the EFF wrote. “The…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com President Obama’s nominee for FBI director, James Comey, faces a tough confirmation battle over a host of controversial issues facing the agency. Comey, who served as deputy attorney general in President George W. Bush, is seeking Senate confirmation at a tough time for the FBI, reports The Hill. The Hill reports that…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com Outgoing FBI Director Robert Mueller acknowledged for the first time that the bureau uses surveillance drones inside the U.S., the L.A. Times reports. Testifying at a Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, Mueller said remotely piloted aircraft are used “in a very, very minimal way and very seldom.” Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-California, called…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com The U.S. government would rely heavily on drones to inspect the borders under a new bipartisan proposal to reform immigration, the Medill News Service reports. The unarmed drones are considered to be more effective and efficient than helicopters Critics charge the drones are anything but. “There’s been no evidence that (drones) have…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com The FBI is investigating a mysterious drone spotted Monday by a commercial pilot near the John F. Kennedy International Airport, the Christian Science Monitor reports. The Federal Aviation Administration said the pilot “saw a small, unmanned or remote-controlled aircraft while on final approach to Runway 31 Right at John F. Kennedy International…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com Customs and Border Protection has purchased 10 drones since 2005 to hunt down illegal immigrants, ABC 10 News reports. The Predator drones helped track down nearly 4,000 illegal immigrants and nine tons of marijuana, ABC News reported, citing records obtained under the Freedom of Information Act. The local ACLU said drones pose…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com A confidential memo obtained by NBC News reveals that the Justice Department has found no legal reason to bar the U.S. government from killing American citizens who are involved with al-Qaida or its alliances. The 16-page memo, reported by NBC News, paints a clearer picture of President Obama’s legal reasoning for increasing the…
