ACLU Recommends Budget Cuts Amid Imminent Government Shutdown Threats

Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com  New FBI Director James Comey may have to make big cuts to the bureau’s budget because of a government shutdown and last year’s sequester. The ACLU has some ideas about “programs that deserve to get the axe, because they’re ineffective, undermine innocent Americans’ privacy and civil liberties, or simply offend American values.”…

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Tech Companies Urge Congress to Shed More Light on Secret Information Requests

Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com  More than two dozen companies and numerous trade groups are endorsing bills that would open more light on the government’s secret information requests, the Verge.com reports. The businesses and trade groups are showing their support for bills that would allow them to reveal when they receive requests for national security-related data. Among…

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Judge Drops Wrongful Termination Lawsuit Against Former FBI Agent

Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com  A former FBI agent who filed a $2.2 million federal lawsuit against the FBI claiming retaliation and racial discrimination lost her case, WFMJ-NBC reports. U.S. District Judge Benita Pearson dismissed the case, saying the former agent, Sheila Lawson, never made herself available for depositions. Lawson, who worked for the FBI between 2002…

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Counterfeiting in the 21st Century and the Response by Michigan State University

By Ross Parker ticklethewire.com Counterfeiting brings to the public mind a rare fake $20 bill, knockoff handbags (spelled “Gucchi”), and a bootleg Tom Cruise DVD. The typical consumer attitude about product counterfeiting ranges from tolerance to apathy, nothing threatening or particularly sinister. But the reality today is more sobering. Not only does counterfeiting and product…

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