By L.A. Times Editorial Now we have an idea why the U.S. Customs and Border Protection service was keeping secret an independent report of its encounters at the Mexican border. Because it has something to hide. As The Times’ Brian Bennett reported last week, an independent report by the nonprofit Police Executive Research Forum sharply…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com Budget cuts have forced Homeland Security to reduce the number of Federal Air Marshals whose job is to protect aircrafts from terrorists, CNN reports, citing internal emails. The department declined to say how many marshals the department has lost in the past three years. Critics blasted the department for its secrecy surrounding…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com A government activist named Dan McCall has been selling T-shirts that make fun of the NSA and Homeland Security by using the official seals. One shirt read, “U.S. Department of Homeland Stupidity.” Another: “The NSA: The only part of government that actually listens.” After discovering the re-appropriated logos, the federal agencies tried…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com Homeland Security hopes to build a national database based on information gathered from license-plate readers, the Washington Post reports. The idea is to help locate and arrest “absconders and criminal aliens” while also reducing surveillance hours. DHS spokesman Gillian Christensen emphasized that the database would “only be accessed in conjunction with ongoing…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com John Sandweg, a former defense attorney who became the acting head of ICE in August despite scant law enforcement experience, plans to resign Friday, Fox News reports. Sandweg notified agency employees in a letter that he’s joining the private sector. He offered no explanation for his departure. “Over the past several months…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com Homeland Security is in on a shopping spree for more than 140,000 rounds of sniper ammunition, Inforwars.com reports. The department is looking for 141,160 rounds of Hornady .308 Winchester 168gr A-MAX TAP ammunition. The cost per round – $1.20. It’s unclear why the department wants so many rounds of ammunition because the bullets…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com What is the likelihood of an explosive attack at the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia? According to the chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security on Sunday, there’s a “high degree of probability” of an explosion or bomb attack, CBS DC reports. “There’s a high degree of probability that something will…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com Air carriers flying to the Winter Olympics in Russia are being warned to look out for toothpaste tubes containing material for a bomb, Bloomberg reports. The warning comes just days before the start of the Olympics, where officials are on extra alert. It’s unclear what prompted the warnings, and Homeland Security would…
