The Portland Alliance Portal to: CLG Breaking News.. http://www.ThePortlandAlliance.org/CLG News Updates from Citizens for Legitimate Government http://www.legitgov.org All links are here: http://www.legitgov.org/#breaking_news   British terror suspects quietly stripped of citizenship...then killed by US drones 28 Feb 2013 The Government has secretly ramped up a controversial programme that strips people of their British citizenship on national security grounds -- with two of the men subsequently killed by American drone attacks. An investigation by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism for The Independent has established that since 2010, the Home Secretary, Theresa May, has revoked the passports of 16 individuals, many of whom are alleged to have had links to militant or terrorist groups. Critics of the programme warn that it allows ministers to "wash their hands" of British nationals suspected of terrorism who could be subject to torture and illegal detention abroad. They add that it also allows those stripped of their citizenship to be killed or "rendered" without any onus on the British Government to intervene. US offers $60m for Syrian intervention as sequester cuts loom 28 Feb 2013 Syria's opposition has won fresh financial and material support from the US but its demands for weapons to fight Bashar al-Assad were ignored in favour of calls for a "political solution" to end the crisis. John Kerry, the new US secretary of state, announced at a conference in Rome on Thursday that $60m (£45m) in "non-lethal" assistance would go to the western-backed Syrian National Coalition (SNC) while food and medical supplies would -- for the first time -- go directly to the opposition's supreme military council, attempting to co-ordinate strategy by the Free Syrian Army and other units. [So, Congress and Obama are poised to slash Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid -- but there's no shortage of money to back the thugs and war criminals trying to overthrow al-Assad so US corpora-terrorists can steal Syria's oil.] 'Friends of Syria' decision to up aid to militants encourages extremists 01 Mar 2013 Russia has said that decisions made in the Rome meeting to increase aid to foreign-backed militants in Syria only encourage extremists who want to seize power by force. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Aleksandr Lukashevich said on Friday that the promises of aid to the Syrian opposition made by the US and other countries in the meeting of the so-called "Friends of Syria" in Rome will encourage further violence rather than a negotiated solution. "The decisions taken in Rome...directly encourage extremists towards precisely a violent seizure of power, despite the suffering of ordinary Syrians," Lukashevich said. Lukashevich's remarks came a day after "Friends of Syria" group decided to increase political and material support for the foreign-backed militants operating in Syria after a meeting in the Italian capital. Building IP pipeline starts in March despite US threats: Pakistan 01 Mar 2013 Pakistan says construction of the multi-billion-dollar Iran-Pakistan (IP) gas pipeline project will finally start on March 11, despite strong opposition of the US. An unnamed Pakistani official confirmed on Friday that an Iranian-Pakistani consortium will start working on the gas pipeline as of March 11, 2013. The pipeline will enable the export of 21.5 million cubic meters (mcm) of Iran's natural gas to Pakistan on a daily basis. [In that case, USociopaths will just blow up the IP pipeline and blame 'al-Qaeda.'] TV licence evader refused to pay because the 'BBC covered up facts about 9/11 and claimed tower fell 20 minutes before it did' --'I am withholding all funds from the BBC, the Government and subsidiaries under Section 15 of the Terrorism Act,' he told the inspector. 26 Feb 2013 A 49-year-old man refused to pay his TV licence because he believed the BBC covered up facts about the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Tony Rooke, who represented himself today at Horsham Magistrates' Court in West Sussex, said he did not want to give money to an organisation 'funding the practice of terrorism'. Rooke, who admitted owning a TV and watching it without a licence, was found guilty of using an unlicensed set, given a six-month conditional discharge and told to pay £200 costs. ...He said he was withholding the funds under the Terrorism Act. Section 15 of the 2000 Act states that it is an offence for someone to invite another to provide money, intending that it should be used, or having reasonable cause to suspect that it may be used, for terrorism purposes. Bradley Manning prosecution to call full witness list despite guilty plea 01 Mar 2013 The US government is pressing ahead with a full-blown prosecution of Bradley Manning, the soldier who has admitted to being the source of the massive WikiLeaks disclosures, even though he has pleaded guilty to charges that carry a top sentence of 20 years. Army prosecutors have indicated that they intend to proceed with a full court martial against the 25-year-old intelligence analyst in which he will face some of the most serious charges available in a leak case such as this. They include the charge under the Espionage Act that he "aided the enemy" -- in practice al-Qaida [al-CIAduh] -- by leaking information that ended up on the internet, an accusation that carries possible life in military custody with no chance of parole. Bradley Manning says U.S. 'obsessed with killing' opponents 28 Feb 2013 Army Pfc. Bradley Manning pleaded guilty Thursday to 10 charges that he illegally acquired and transferred highly classified U.S. materials later published by WikiLeaks, saying he was motivated by a U.S. foreign policy that "became obsessed with killing and capturing people rather than cooperating" with other governments. "I felt we were risking so much for people who seemed unwilling to cooperate with us due to the mistrust and hatred on both sides," Manning said, reading a 35-page, hand-written statement describing his angst over the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. "I began to become depressed with the situation we had become mired in year after year," he added. Rising doubts about Japan's official radiation figures 27 Feb 2013 As the two-year anniversary of the world's second-worst nuclear accident nears, citizen groups are questioning the accuracy of the government's contamination data for the area around the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant. As she watched footage of the first nuclear reactor located in Fukushima Prefecture exploding in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake on March 11, 2012, Yuko Hirono said it felt as if she were watching a movie. Hirono has since moved to Glasgow with her Scottish husband and their daughter because she believes the situation at that plant is "not under control." She also has little faith in the accuracy of information provided by the authorities. Georgia Power: Nuclear plant expansion over budget 28 Feb 2013 The first American nuclear power plant project in more than two decades is $381 million over budget and a year behind schedule, officials with Georgia Power Co. announced Thursday. In documents filed with the Georgia Public Service Commission, the Atlanta-based unit of Southern Co. for the first time asked for approval of expenses incurred in the construction of two additional nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle near Augusta beyond estimates the PSC certified when it approved the project. Georgia Power's share of the project's $14 billion price tag is $6.1 billion. Obama Allows Dirty, Dangerous Keystone Tar Sands Pipeline to Move Forward 01 Mar 2013 The Obama administration today took the next potential step toward approval of the 1,700-mile Keystone XL pipeline, despite the heavy toll the pipeline and its oil will take on the climate crisis, wildlife and the environment. Some 50,000 people protested outside the White House last month in opposition to the pipeline. Today's announcement came in the form of a supplemental environmental impact statement on Keystone XL. "If President Obama is serious about confronting the deepening climate crisis, he needs to take Keystone XL off the table," said Bill Snape of the Center for Biological Diversity. The proposed Keystone XL pipeline would, every day, carry up to 35 million gallons of oil strip-mined from Canada’s "tar sands" -- some of the dirtiest fuels on the planet. The pipeline would cross the heart of the Midwest and deliver oil to the Gulf of Mexico, where most of it would exported to other countries. Along the way, the pipeline would cut through rivers, streams and prime wildlife habitat, including habitat for at least 20 imperiled species such as the whooping crane and pallid sturgeon. 'Frozen Dirt' and Methane...'We Cannot Go There' 28 Feb 2013 When permafrost ['frozen dirt'] thaws, so do the microorganisms. With no oxygen, the microorganisms make methane, and with it they make carbon dioxide, Kevin Schaefer of the U.S. National Snow and Ice Data Centre explains. The concern is that much of the carbon stored in permafrost -- in frozen dirt -- could be released into the carbon cycle, says scientist Charles Miller of NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The Arctic, Miller says, is being affected by warming faster and more significantly than models had predicted. Methane concentrations, and even CO2 concentrations, "that one might associate with flying near a large oil or natural gas production facility or even flying through the middle of a large city" can be observed from an airplane, he says. Federal court upholds polar bear status as threatened species 01 Mar 2013 The federal law listing polar bears as a threatened species was upheld Friday by a federal appeals court, which rejected arguments that it is wrong to impose far-ranging and possibly costly protections for a species that remains fairly abundant in many regions of the Arctic. The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., upheld the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's 2008 decision to protect the animals because the dramatic loss of sea ice leaves them likely to become in danger of extinction. Still, environmental groups say they are frustrated that the Fish and Wildlife Service has exempted greenhouse gases from consideration as one of the prohibited threats to polar bears, now that they are protected. Police spies: in bed with a fictional character 01 Mar 2013 ...An investigation by the Guardian has established that his real name is Mark Jenner. He was an undercover police officer in the Metropolitan police's special demonstration squad (SDS), one of two units that specialised in infiltrating protest groups. The MPs are so troubled about the treatment of the women – as well as the "ghoulish" practice in which undercover police adopted the identities of dead children – that they have called for an urgent clean-up of the laws governing covert surveillance operations. Jenner infiltrated leftwing political groups from 1994 to 2000, pretending to be a joiner interested in radical politics. Jury Finds Occupy Wall Street Protester Innocent After Video Contradicts Police Testimony 01 Mar 2013 In the first jury trial stemming from an Occupy Wall Street protest, Michael Premo was found innocent of all charges yesterday after his lawyers presented video evidence directly contradicting the version of events offered by police and prosecutors. Premo, an activist and community organizer who has in recent months been a central figure in the efforts of Occupy Sandy, was one of many hundred people who took part in a demonstration in Lower Manhattan on December 17 of 2011, when some protesters broke into a vacant lot in Duarte Square in an attempt to start a new occupation. Here's what an actual 'six strikes' copyright alert looks like --C*mcast provides copies of Alerts 1, 2, 4, and 5. 27 Feb 2013 Earlier this week, the Copyright Alert System (CAS)--better known as "six strikes"--finally debuted. Both Veriz*n and Comc*st activated the service on Wednesday. The new system is funded by a group known as the Center for Copyright Information (CCI), which is made up of five major American ISPs, the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), and the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). It's been in the works for years and may provide a significant change to the copyright infringement policing regime in the United States. At the end of a series of six alerts, accused infringing customers could have their home Internet connection significantly slowed down. Those accused of infringing can file an appeal for $35. Michigan governor clears way for state takeover of Detroit 01 Mar 2013 Michigan Governor Rick Snyder cleared the way for a state corporate takeover of Detroit, declaring that the birthplace of the U.S. automotive industry faces a fiscal emergency and that he has identified a top candidate to assume its management. Friday's declaration by the Republican governor virtually assures that the state of Michigan will assume control of Detroit's books, and eventually decide whether the city should file the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history. Earlier on Friday, a majority of the council said they wanted to challenge Snyder's decision but did not decide how to proceed. While Snyder made his announcement on Wayne State University's campus, a few dozen protesters gathered about two miles away at city hall, clutching signs that read "Snyder, Go Home!" and "This is a takeover!" Snyder Says Detroit Needs State Manager to End Fiscal Crisis 01 Mar 2013 Michigan Governor Rick Snyder (R) plans to name an emergency manager to handle Detroit’s fiscal crisis, stripping power from officials in a withered city that in 1940 was the fourth biggest in the U.S. and a capital of industry. Snyder, 54, said today at a public meeting in Detroit that he plans to take a step he avoided a year ago, empowering an appointee to take over the city government with sweeping powers: selling municipal assets, canceling union contracts, restructuring services and reordering finances. Snyder's decision may inflame opponents, as the administration of a white Republican seizes control of a community that is predominantly Democratic and more than 80 percent black. Americans see biggest monthly income drop in 20 years 01 Mar 2013 Americans saw their income drop so dramatically in January that it marked the deepest one-month decline in 20 years. Personal income decreased by $505.5 billion in January, or 3.6%, compared to December (on a seasonally adjusted and annualized basis). That's the most dramatic decline since January 1993, according to the Commerce Department. It's something of a combination of one-time events, though. Obama signs order for 'sequester' budget cuts 01 Mar 2013 President Barack Obama on Friday signed an order that starts putting into effect across-the-board budget cuts known as the "sequester" after he and congressional leaders failed to find an alternative budget plan. The White House released a copy of Obama's directive entitled "Sequestration Order for Fiscal Year 2013." Government agencies will now begin to hack a total of $85 billion from their budgets between Saturday and October 1. Lew takes oath in private ceremony 28 Feb 2013 Former White House chief of staff Jacob Lew was sworn in as the nation's new Treasury Secretary in a private ceremony Thursday in the Oval Office. An official photo will be the only public image of the event -- press secretary Jay Carney said that the president had requested that the swearing in be a private affair, much to the chagrin of the White House press corps, which has been complaining about restricted access to the president. Why Did Democrats Give Jack Lew a Pass? 28 Feb 2013 On Wednesday, the Senate confirmed Jack Lew to be secretary of the Treasury, by a vote of 71 to 26... After serving in the Clinton Administration, Lew went to work at New York University. During his tenure as executive vice president for operations, from 2001 to 2006, the university came under scrutiny for making Citigroup the "preferred lender" for students, in exchange for getting a cut of loan revenue. After then-New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo started investigating these kickbacks, NYU returned $1.4 million to students and agreed to a $2 million settlement with the state. Lew's salary at NYU was more than $800,000--higher even than the university president's. When Lew left NYU in 2006 to work for Citigroup--yes, the same bank with which NYU had the preferred lender arrangement--the university gave him a $685,000 severance payment. White House asks justices to reject Prop. 8 28 Feb 2013 The Obama administration has urged the Supreme Court to strike down California's voter-passed law barring same-sex marriage, arguing for the first time that the Constitution protects an equal right to marry for gays and lesbians. The administration's legal argument also would apply in at least seven other states that already have granted same-sex couples nearly all the rights of marriage through civil unions. To give those rights while withholding the status of marriage would amount to discrimination based on a person's sexual orientation, and that cannot be justified under the Constitution, the brief says. [Right, Obusha's *suddenly* the civil-rights protecting busy little bee, to provide cover for his 'liberal' base when he slashes Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid to please his Wall Street/GOP overlords. Meanwhile, his CIA-pwned regime successfully entreated the Supreme 'Court' to preclude anyone from questioning Bush's surveillance law. --LRP] Riddle me this: Adam Lanza, 'computer genius,' left no online footprint by Lori Price, www.legitgov.org 16 Dec 2012 According to numerous media reports and witnesses, alleged Newtown, Connecticut shooter Adam Lanza was a 'genius' with computers. And yet, we are told that Lanza apparently left no online footprint. The question must be asked: Was the electronic history of Adam Lanza scrubbed?   Bushmaster rifle used in CT shootings was same weapon used in Washington, D.C. sniper killings in 2002 --Agents visit Conn. gun shops after school massacre 16 Dec 2012 Federal agents planned to fan out to dozens of gun stores and shooting ranges across Connecticut, chasing leads they hoped would cast light on the life of [alleged] school shooter, Adam Lanza. The rifle used was a Bushmaster .223-caliber [described all day Friday as the weapon 'left on the car seat'], according to an official with knowledge of the investigation who was not authorized to speak about it and talked on condition of anonymity. The gun is commonly seen at shooting competitions and was used in a series of sniper killings in the Washington, D.C., area in 2002. Also found in the school were two handguns, a Glock 10 mm and a Sig Sauer 9 mm. [Yes, and we all know that D.C. sniper, John Allen Muhammad, was in the U.S. Army and worked for the FBI and CIA, so this is a real 'puzzler,' to say the least.]   Here's a little jog down the Bushmaster .223 memory lane: Prime suspect in U.S. sniper shootings boasted of being CIA agent and sharpshooter (AP) 26 Oct 2002 When John Allen Muhammad's life started unraveling, he sought refuge in Antigua, living in a sparsely furnished room while he boasted of being a CIA agent and sharpshooter who could "take out a man" from a quarter of a mile (hundreds of meters). To Randy Nelson, the 41-year-old U.S. Army veteran of the Gulf War was a miracle worker who got his aging pickup truck back on the road and the bearer of gifts like blank CDs and batteries. He said they got talking about guns because Muhammad told him he was in the U.S. Army and had worked with the FBI and CIA. Muhammad was trained as a mechanic, combat engineer and specialist metal worker. He never received sniper training but qualified as an expert with the M-16. A Bushmaster .223-caliber rifle, the civilian version of the M-16, was found when he was arrested Thursday in Fredericksburg, Maryland.   More than a dozen state troopers armed with assault rifles enter Newtown church after threat --Newtown Church Evacuated After Threat 16 Dec 2012 Police gave the "all clear" at St. Rose of Lima Church in Newtown after it was evacuated during a noon mass on Sunday due to a threat. Someone made a very menacing phone call to the church, according to Brian Wallace, a spokesperson for the diocese. Rev. Luke Suarez was giving the homily around 12:30 p.m. when the church pastor, Monsignor Robert Weiss, interrupted him and told parishioners they had to evacuate. More than a dozen state troopers armed with assault rifles entered the church and then the church's education center on Church Hill Road, according to NBC Connecticut.   Man with 47 guns arrested after school threat --Police said in statement they notified school officials and boosted security at all area schools Friday 16 Dec 2012 A northern Indiana man who allegedly threatened to "kill as many people as he could" at an elementary school near his home was arrested by officers who later found 47 guns and ammunition hidden throughout his home. Von. I. Meyer, 60, of Cedar Lake, was arrested Saturday after prosecutors filed formal charges of felony intimidation, domestic battery and resisting law enforcement against him. He was being held Sunday without bond at the Lake County Jail, pending an initial hearing on the charges, police said in a statement.   Obama to visit grief-stricken Newtown as pressure grows to take action on gun controls --Democrat[ic] lawmakers have shied away from discussing gun control in recent years, fearful of incurring the wrath of the National Rifle Association (NRA) 16 Dec 2012 As President Obama prepared to speak at a vigil in Newtown tonight, back in Washington there were growing calls for him to make good on his promise of "meaningful action" on gun control. Speaking to NBC's 'Meet the Press,' Senator Dianne Feinstein announced she would introduce a bill to ban assault weapons on the opening day of the new Congress next month. The bill, she explained, would ban "the sale, the transfer, the importation and the possession" of assault weapons, as well as magazines that carry more than 10 bullets.   Unexpected Shutdown Reported at Pa. Nuclear Plant 16 Dec 2012  An energy company says it's trying to figure out why a central Pennsylvania nuclear power plant reactor shut down unexpectedly. PPL Corp. says Unit 2 at the Susquehanna nuclear facility near Berwick shut down early Sunday morning. In a statement, Allentown-based PPL says the shutdown occurred during routine testing of a valve on the unit's main turbine system.   Brazen attack: Taliban blitz Peshawar airport near PAF base 16 Dec 2012 Militants launched a brazen assault on one of Peshawar's most tightly guarded installations late Saturday, killing four people, wounding dozens more and forcing the city to go in lockdown. The attack on Bacha Khan International Airport, which is attached to Peshawar Air Force (PAF) base, was marked by a prolonged exchange of gunfire between militants and army troops. The militants allegedly planned to enter the airport with suicide vests and an explosives laden vehicle in two separate groups.   Reports: Obama to nominate Kerry for secretary of State 15 Dec 2012 President Obama has decided to nominate Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) as the next secretary of State, according to news reports. An unidentified source told CNN that a formal announcement could come as early as next week. ABC News, quoting unidentified sources, said news, including the mass shooting at a school in Newtown, Connecticut, had delayed the announcement.   'Polar bears could be extinct in 25 years' --Scientists feel that hunting and the trade in body parts are the most serious threat facing the polar bear [in addition to global warming] 09 Dec 2012 For a millennium, the majestic, lily-white polar bear has lorded over the frozen wastes of the Arctic. But if two Russian experts are to be believed, the enigmatic "monarch of the ice" could be extinct in 25 years due to global warming and human incursions into their traditional habitat. "If current policies are not changed, we can lose polar bears, which currently number 20,000-25,000 globally, within one (human) generation," Nikita Ovsyanikov, member of the polar bear specialist group of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), said. News Updates from Citizens for Legitimate Government Breaking News and Commentary from Citizens for Legitimate Government 20 Nov 2012 http://www.legitgov.org All links are here: http://www.legitgov.org/#breaking_news   Senate bill, quietly rewritten, allows feds to read e-mail without warrants 20 Nov 2012 A Senate proposal touted as protecting Americans' e-mail privacy has been quietly rewritten, giving government agencies more surveillance power than they possess under current law. CNET has learned that Patrick Leahy, the influential Democratic chairman of the Senate Judiciary committee, has dramatically reshaped his legislation in response to law enforcement concerns. A vote on his bill, which now authorizes warrantless access to Americans' e-mail, is scheduled for next week. Leahy's rewritten bill would allow more than 22 agencies -- including the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Communications Commission -- to access Americans' e-mail, Google Docs files, Facebook wall posts, and Twitter direct messages without a search warrant. It also would give the FBI and Homeland Security more authority, in some circumstances, to gain full access to Internet accounts without notifying either the owner or a judge.   Oil leak forces PPL nuclear reactor off line 20 Nov 2012 (PA) One of the nuclear reactors at PPL's Susquehanna plant near Berwick was shut down due to an oil leak Monday night after returning briefly to service following an 11-day outage caused by a computer problem. The leak of hydraulic oil in a system that controls the flow of steam into the turbine at Unit 2 did not affect public or employee safety [?] and was contained to the building housing the  turbine, according to a PPL news release. Unit 2 shut down on Nov. 9 following a malfunction in a computer system that monitors two water systems, one that circulates cooling water within the reactor and another that runs water through the reactor to produce steam to drive the turbine.   TEPCO, Japanese government denying Fukushima radiation reaching ocean fish 20 Nov 2012 In what must the most dumbfounding state of denial seen in modern times, both the Japanese government and utility Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) are disputing the recent study that showed radiation from the Fukushima nuclear plant is leaking into the ocean. Eighteen months after the March 2011 nuclear disaster, the U.S. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution reported that 40% of the fish caught off the coast of Fukushima were still testing positive for radioactive contamination above the government's safety own limits. Scientist Ken Buesseler of Woods Hole stated that while it was expected to still find some levels of contamination, 40% was far too high of a measurement after a year and a half had passed.   Over 13,000 file second criminal complaint against Tepco, Government for Fukushima disaster 16 Nov 2012 It's been more than a year, but life in Japan is still revolving around the Fukushima disaster and if and how it could have been averted. The government's now-defunct Nuclear Safety Commission and officials of Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) were aware of the hazards involved, in case of an earthquake and tsunami. Anger by the way these people in power and position reacted to this knowledge has led to a second mass suit claiming damages. More than thirteen thousand people have filed a criminal complaint against Japanese government officials, thirty-three executives of Tokyo Electric Power Co., and experts for their role in the Fukushima nuclear power plant's disaster. The complaint outlines professional negligence resulting in deaths and injuries and violation of Japan's environmental laws by emitting substances harmful to human health.   Globe Risks 'Cataclysmic Changes' From Warming, World Bank Says 19 Nov 2012 The globe risks "cataclysmic changes" caused by extreme heatwaves, rising seas and depleted food stocks as it heads toward global warming of 4 degrees Celsius this century, according to a World Bank report. Current national pledges to reduce greenhouse gases won't do much to change the current trajectory of temperatures, which are set to rise by about double the United Nations target of 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) by 2100, the scientific study e-mailed by the World Bank shows today. That level of warming threatens to cause sea levels to rise by a meter (3 feet) or more by 2100, flooding cities in nations from Mexico to Mozambique and the Philippines, according to the study.   U.S. blocks U.N. Security Council action Israel, Gaza conflict 20 Nov 2012 The United States blocked on Tuesday a U.N. Security Council statement condemning the escalating conflict between Israel and the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, setting the scene for a possible showdown between Washington and Russia on the issue. [How do you excuse this one, Obama apologists?]   Turkey Labels Israel a 'Terrorist State' 19 Nov 2012 Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Israel of being a "terrorist state" on Monday and criticized world powers for supporting the weeklong bombardment of Gaza that has killed more some 115 people, signaling that the three-year-old rift between the countries is deepening. Speaking in Istanbul shortly after returning from Cairo... Mr. Erdogan railed against what he called Western powers' failure to take concerted action to stop bloodshed in Syria. But harsher words were aimed at one-time ally Israel. "Those who speak of Muslims and terror side by side are turning a blind eye when Muslims are massacred en masse," he told a gathering of the Eurasian Islamic Council. "Those who turn a blind eye to discrimination toward Muslims in their own countries, are also closing their eyes to the savage massacre of innocent children in Gaza... Therefore, I say Israel is a terrorist state."   Gaza crisis: 'More than 100' killed in Israeli strikes 19 Nov 2012 At least 105 people have died in the Gaza Strip in six days of violence, Hamas officials say, as Israeli forces continue their bombardment. Monday's fatalities include a commander of the Islamic Jihad militant group and a couple and their two small children. More than 100 rockets were fired on Israel on Monday, but no casualties were reported. Last week, three Israelis died in one such attack.   Journalists injured in Israeli attack 18 Nov 2012 Israeli war planes have struck two media buildings in Gaza City, injuring at least eight journalists, including one who lost his leg, medical officials say. Separately, Israeli air strikes continued in other parts of Gaza, including the north, where two children were killed in raids on homes. The first Israeli strike on a media building came around 2am on Sunday. "At least six journalists were wounded, with minor and moderate injuries, when Israeli warplanes hit the al-Quds TV office in the Showa and Housari building in the Rimal neighbourhood of Gaza City," health ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra said.   Faster than NATO, France ends Afghan combat role 20 Nov 2012 France on Tuesday ended its combat operations in Afghanistan, pulling hundreds of troops from a base in a volatile region northeast of Kabul and fulfilling promises to end its combat role on a faster track than other NATO allies. After a handover ceremony with Afghan troops, 500 French combat soldiers in trucks and armored vehicles left the Nijrab base in the Kapisa region -- where anti-government insurgents have been active -- and traveled southwest to Kabul, the capital, said Col. Thierry Burkhard, a French military spokesman.   Report: French officials accuse US of hacking Sarkozy's computers 20 Nov 2012 The United States used U.S.-Israeli spy software to hack into the French presidential office earlier this year, the French cyberwarfare agency has concluded, according to the newsmagazine l'Express. The magazine reported late Tuesday that the computers of several close advisers to then-president Nicolas Sarkozy – including Chief of Staff Xavier Musca – were compromised in May by a computer virus that bears the hallmarks of Flame, which was allegedly created by a U.S.-Israeli team to target Iran's nuclear program. Anonymous French officials pointed the finger at the United States.   Anonymous Doxes General Petraeus, Claims to Reveal Personal Address and Phone Number --Phone number has since been disconnected 19 Nov 2012 Doxtor Dox, a hacker affiliated with Anonymous, has published what he claims is the personal information of former CIA head General David Petraeus. Included in the dox, which was published to Pastebin on November 16th and spotted by the Daily Dot, is the personal address and phone number of both General Petraeus and his wife, Holly.   Fort Bragg officials investigate body found on post 20 Nov 2012 Officials are investigating reports of a remains found on post in a remote area of Fort Bragg. The Army's Criminal Investigation Command has now removed the remains which were found in the Eastern Training Area. Due to their condition, the remains have been moved to an Army forensic laboratory for identification.   Indianapolis house explosion becomes homicide investigation --Authorities now searching for (the proverbial) 'white van' 19 Nov 2012 Indianapolis officials have opened a homicide investigation into the massive house explosion Nov. 10 that killed a married couple and ruined more than 30 homes. The announcement was made at a Monday night news conference. Officials offered few details, but said they had executed warrants and spoken with witnesses. Marion County Prosecutor Terry Curry said a "parallel investigation" into the explosion's cause now had them searching for a white van spotted in the area around the time of the blast.   Why Cell Phones Went Dead After Hurricane Sandy 15 Nov 2012 After Hurricane Sandy, survivors needed, in addition to safety and power, the ability to communicate. Yet in parts of New York City, mobile communications services were knocked out for days. The problem? The companies that provide them had successfully resisted Federal Communications Commission calls to make emergency preparations, leaving New Yorkers to rely on the carriers' voluntary efforts. We have so far heard few details about why the companies made the particular business choices they did on backup power and what the consequences of those choices were, because the FCC has been blocked from asking -- even though about a third of people rely on mobile service as their only voice-communications connection.   NJ Drug Company Execs Charged With Insider Trading 19 Nov 2012 Two pharmaceutical company executives are among six people charged in what federal authorities in New Jersey are calling a five-year insider trading scheme. John Lazorchak was director of financial reporting at Celgene Corp. and Mark Cupo held a similar position at Sanofi-Aventis. The U.S. attorney's office in New Jersey says that between 2007 and 2012, Lazorchak and Cupo passed privileged information on their companies' merger and acquisition plans, financial results and regulatory applications to others who would make stock trades. Speaker Boehner taps Paul Ryan to help strike 'deal' on budget 19 Nov 2012 Speaker John A. Boehner has tapped Wisconsin Representative Paul D. Ryan, who has returned to his post as the House Budget Committee chairman after an unsuccessful run for vice president, to help strike a deal to avoid big tax increases and spending cuts by the end of the year, and to bring along fellow Republicans. "He helps us toward creating a product," said Senator Rob Portman, Republican of Ohio, "and he helps sell the product." While President Obama and the Democrats are expected to give ground on entitlements and discretionary spending, it is likely that Mr. Ryan will be the player under the most pressure to back away from his previous conservative positions in order to form a bipartisan Wall Street/GOP/Obama agreement [to burn the working class]. [I predict Obusha will betray the middle and working class and give Boehner '98% of what he (and Obama himself) wants' again on Monday, 24 December, at 5PM ET. --LRP]   28 Oct 2012 http://www.legitgov.org All links are here: http://www.legitgov.org/#breaking_news  Breaking: Tsunami warning issued for Hawaii 28 Oct 2012 A tsunami warning has been issued for Hawaii after a 7.7-magnitude earthquake rocked an island off the west coast of Canada Saturday. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center originally said there was no threat to the islands, but a warning was issued later Saturday and remains in effect until 7 p.m. Sunday. Tsunami Warning Issued for Southern Alaska 28 Oct 2012 A tsunami warning for southern Alaska and northern British Columbia has been downgraded to an advisory, while a warning has been issued for Hawaii. In addition, the West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center says parts of coastal Oregon and northern California have been placed under a tsunami advisory. The alerts came after the U.S. Geological Survey said the 7.7-magnitude earthquake hit in the Queen Charlotte Islands area Saturday night. 7.7 earthquake hits Haida Gwaii Region 27 Oct 2012 A tsunami warning is in effect for the British Columbia coast after a major magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the Queen Charlotte Islands region at 8:04 p.m. local time Saturday night. The epicenter of the earthquake was located 198 kilometres south-southwest of Prince Rupert at a depth of 10 km in a seismically active region, said the U.S. Geological Survey and Earthquakes Canada, who measured the quake at a magnitude of 7.7. Earthquake Canada initially measured it at magnitude 7.1 but altered their report later Saturday. 16 nuclear plants in Hurricane Sandy's potential path 26 Oct 2012 U.S. electric companies from Maine to Florida are preparing for heavy wind, rain and flooding that could take down power lines and could close some East Coast nuclear plants early next week when Hurricane Sandy comes ashore. There are more than a dozen nuclear plants near Hurricane Sandy's path in North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York and Connecticut. NRC Monitors Nuclear Plants in Hurricane's Projected Path 26 Oct 2012 Nuclear reactors in the mid-Atlantic and Northeast are being monitored for potential impacts by Hurricane Sandy, a Category 1 storm that may strike anywhere from Delaware to southern New England. "Because of the size of it, we could see an impact to coastal and inland plants," Neil Sheehan, a spokesman based in Philadelphia for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, said by phone today. "We will station inspectors at the sites if we know they could be directly impacted." The NRC met earlier today to discuss the necessary precautions to take for the storm, Sheehan said. Plants must begin to shut if wind speeds exceed certain limits, he said. Radioactive cesium found in West Coast albacore tuna 25 Oct 2012 Oregon State University researchers have found traces of radioactive cesium from last year's Japanese nuclear reactor disaster in West Coast albacore tuna. Scientists from the university and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration collected and tested fish caught off the West Coast before and after the [Fukushima nuclear meltdowns], the Longview Daily News reported. The team's findings are in line with work by researchers in California, who announced in May that they had found traces of radioactive cesium in bluefin tuna caught off the southern coast. 60,000 National Guard troops in nine states ready to assist local authorities 28 Oct 2012 More than 50 million people from the mid-Atlantic to New England braced Saturday for a potentially massive storm, as Hurricane Sandy churned northward on a collision course with another storm system that is sweeping in from the west. More than 60,000 National Guard troops in nine states were ready to assist the local authorities... Gov. Chris Christie (R) of New Jersey told residents that they should be prepared to go 7 to 10 days without electricity. [Right, that's so no one in the 'blue states' will be able vote on November 6. --LRP] Conn. Towns Order Mandatory Evacuations Sunday --Mandatory evacuations underway 27 Oct 2012 Three Connecticut towns have ordered mandatory evacuations for flood-prone areas ahead of Hurricane Sandy. East Haven is asking residents near the shore to begin evacuations starting at 8 a.m., Sunday. Fairfield First Selectman Michael Tetreau has issued a mandatory evacuation for the town's beach area beginning at noon on Sunday. Bridgeport has ordered families out of low-lying areas also starting at noon on Sunday. NYC moves to protect rail, subway lines 27 Oct 2012 Work was underway Saturday to protect the nation's largest transportation network, the rail and subway lines in and out of New York City, from Hurricane Sandy. The storm headed toward the city held the potential for high winds and heavy rain that could make operating transit lines as well as tunnels and bridges dangerous, according to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Transit officials were preparing "for the worst," MTA Chairman Joseph Lhota said in a statement. Hurricane Sandy prompts Obama, Romney to cancel Virginia rallies 27 Oct 2012 Hurricane Sandy has prompted the two presidential campaigns to cancel scheduled events in Virginia. Mitt Romney's campaign said it was cancelling scheduled Virginia appearances Sunday at Haymarket, about 35 miles west of Washington, D.C., and in Richmond. Also, The White House said President Barack Obama would be returning to Washington to monitor Sandy's progress after an event in Ohio and thus cancelling a planned northern Virginia event. Obama had planned to attend a rally Monday in Prince William County with former President Bill Clinton. Pentagon warns WikiLeaks against releasing information about their military prisons 27 Oct 2012 The Pentagon has warned WikiLeaks against releasing information about their military prisons, saying it threatens national security and undermines relationships. [LOL! I think the horse is out of the barn on that one. Here's a link to the documents.] No letup in carnage in Iraq as day's death toll hits 49 27 Oct 2012 Police and hospital sources say at least 49 people have been killed and 63 others injured in bombings and shooting incidents across Iraq. On Saturday evening, two car bombs detonated in Sadr City on the northeast edge of Baghdad, killing 23 people on the second day of the Muslim Eid al-Adha (Feast of Sacrifice) holiday, Reuters reported. Hours earlier, a roadside bomb planted near an open-air market in Baghdad's eastern neighborhood of Maama killed seven people, including three children at a playground. Thirteen people were also injured. Seattle police plan to deploy spy drones 26 Oct 2012 The FAA has approved the Seattle Police Department to start using surveillance drones for law enforcement, but protesters are making it clear that they're willing to put up a fight. The SPD displayed a small unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) on Thursday that they intend on using soon to monitor criminal activity across the city, but opponents of drone use came out in droves to protest the proposed plans. The SPD is one of only law enforcement agencies given the go-ahead by the Federal Administration Agency to show officers the ins-and-outs of UAVs. Mechanical problems delay first lady's plane 27 Oct 2012 First lady Michelle Obama is returning to Washington after her plane was delayed in Nevada Friday night because of mechanical problems. A McCarran International Airport spokesman says her aircraft was held up for three hours but departed about 9 p.m. PDT. Glenn Gardner says he doesn't know the nature of the mechanical issues that delayed her flight home. Sen. Rubio's daughter in car accident 27 Oct 2012 Florida Sen. Marco Rubio's is en route back to Miami after his 12-year-old daughter was in a car accident Saturday, according to a statement by his office. "Amanda Rubio, the oldest daughter of Senator Marco Rubio was injured in an accident this afternoon... She was airlifted to Miami Children's Hospital with a head injury. She has been admitted to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. She is in fair condition." "The Rubio's are touched and grateful for calls from President Obama and Vice President Biden, and Governor Romney's personal message earlier today," a Rubio spokesman said. 21 Oct 2012 http://www.legitgov.org All links are here: http://www.legitgov.org/#breaking_news Breaking: Concern that 'explosives may be present' at Wisconsin shooting scene - police --IED(s) allegedly found --FBI, hostage negotiator now involved --Milwaukee bomb squad, tactical unit on scene --Hospital, mall on lockdown in Brookfield, WI 21 Oct 2012 The suspect named in media reports is Radcliffe Haughton, 45. [This story will be updated.] 7 People Shot at Spa Near Brookfield Square Mall 21 Oct 2012 At least seven people were shot this morning at the Azana Spa across the street from the Brookfield Square mall. Other reports say as many as a dozen have been shot by the gunman, who is still at large as of 3 p.m. The man has been identified by local media as Radcliffe Haughton, 45, of Brown Deer. There is a report on Twitter that the man's vehicle has been located but the suspect has not. Police have confirmed that there are concerns about an explosive on the scene. A bomb squad was called to the scene after 1 p.m. after an explosive device was believed to be in the spa building. Patch has learned the man wanted by police is apparently the estranged husband of one of the hair stylists at the spa. Mass shooting reported in Wisconsin: 7 hospitalized, suspect remains at large, police say 21 Oct 2012 A shooting near a mall in Brookfield, Wis., on Sunday left at least seven people hospitalized, according to local news reports, and police are searching for the suspected shooter. WISN-TV first reported a "mass shooting" at the Azana Salon & Spa across the street from the Brookfield Square Mall at around 11:15 a.m. local time. According to police, the suspected shooter is a 6'1" male weighing approximately 200 pounds and last seen wearing a camouflage jacket, grey sweater, blue jeans and carrying a white and black backpack. George McGovern, liberal standard-bearer against Nixon in '72, dies --Democrat George S. McGovern, a war hero who opposed the Vietnam War, was crushed by President Richard Nixon's Watergate-tainted campaign. A die-hard idealist, McGovern inspired scores of budding politicians. 21 Oct 2012 George S. McGovern, an icon of American liberalism who campaigned for the White House with moral fervor against President Richard M. Nixon and the Vietnam War but lost in a thundering landslide, has died. He was 90. McGovern died early Sunday morning while under hospice care in Sioux Falls, S.D., said family spokesman Steve Hildebrand. He had been hospitalized for various illnesses and injuries since suffering a serious fall last December. US civil rights groups ask international election monitors for assistance --NAACP and others say voter restrictions and ID laws ahead of 2012 US election require planned observer mission to expand 20 Oct 2012 American civil rights groups have appealed to the world's biggest election monitoring organisation over concerns about controversial changes in voter registration ahead of the November 6 White House poll. The eight civil rights group expressed their worry that millions, including those on low income as well as minorities, could be excluded from the vote for the presidency and for members of Congress. They raised the issues during a meeting on Tuesday in Washington with representatives from the Organisation of Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), which represents 56 states in Europe, Central Asia and North America. The remarkable, unfathomable ignorance of Debbie Wasserman Schultz 19 Oct 2012 On 29 May 2012, the New York Times published a remarkable 6,000-word story on its front page about what it termed President Obama's "kill list". It detailed the president's personal role in deciding which individuals will end up being targeted for assassination by the CIA based on Obama's secret, unchecked decree that they are "terrorists" and deserve to die...But Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the Democratic Congresswoman from Florida and the Chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, does not know about any of this. She has never heard of any of it. She has managed to remain completely ignorant about the fact that President Obama has asserted and exercised the power to secretly place human beings, including US citizens, on his "kill list" and then order the CIA to extinguish their lives. [So this is how the Democrats keep the believers believing -- they keep them in the dark, even at the very top of the party! -- MDR] 3 bank failures bring US 2012 total to 46 19 Oct 2012 Regulators on Friday closed two small banks in Florida and one in Missouri, bringing to 46 the number of U.S. bank failures this year. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. seized GulfSouth Private Bank and First East Side Savings Bank, both in Florida. Regulators also shuttered Excel Bank in Missouri. Regulators arranged for lenders to assume the deposits and purchase essentially all the assets of each of the failed banks. Even so, the three bank failures are expected to cost the deposit insurance fund $86.1 million. CLG needs your support. http://www.legitgov.org/donate.html Or, please mail a check or money order to CLG: Citizens for Legitimate Government (CLG) P.O. Box 1142 Bristol, CT 06011-1142 Contributions to CLG are not tax deductible. Feel free -- and CLG encourages you -- to forward this newsletter to your lists and friends! Those who wish to be added to the list can go here: http://www.legitgov.org/#subscribe_clg and add your name. Those who wish to unsubscribe can go here: http://lists.people-link.net/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/legitgov. Please mark clg_news@legitgov.org as 'not spam' and do not delete from a sp*m or 'junk' folder, as such actions trigger false sp*m complaints against the CLG. If you have any inquiries/issues with your subscription, please write: signup at legitgov dot org. Breaking News and Commentary from Citizens For Legitimate Government 04 Jun 2012 http://www.legitgov.org All links are here: http://www.legitgov.org/#breaking_news Ex-Blackwater executives finger CIA in weapons trial 02 Jun 2012 Five ex-Blackwater executives, facing federal firearms charges in connection with a gift of weaponry to a Middle Eastern monarch, have come up with a new explanation for how it occurred: It was a CIA operation. In court papers filed last month in Raleigh, the defendants say the gift of five guns to King Abdullah II of Jordan during a royal visit to Blackwater's Moyock, N.C., headquarters in March 2005 was requested, directed and authorized by the Central Intelligence Agency. Attorneys for the five have filed declarations from two retired CIA officials, including a former Jordan station chief, who say they are familiar with the circumstances of the king's visit and would be willing to testify about it. US top court rejects Blackwater Iraq shooting appeal 04 Jun 2012 The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected an appeal by four Blackwater Worldwide security guards mercenaries who argued prosecutors made improper use of their statements to investigators in charging them with killing 14 Iraqi civilians in 2007. The justices refused to review a ruling by a U.S. appeals court in Washington, D.C., that reinstated the criminal charges against the guards for their roles in the Baghdad shooting that outraged Iraqis and strained ties between the two nations. US spree killing continues: Drone blitz on Pakistan enters third straight day --Up to 27 people have died in strikes that began on Saturday as US shows no signs of bowing to Pakistani objections 04 Jun 2012 Rockets fired from a US drone killed between eight and 15 people in north-west Pakistan on Monday, officials have said in varying accounts. It is the third strike in as many days after attacks on Saturday and Sunday killed a total of 12 people. US drones hit targets in the South Waziristan tribal region on Saturday and Sunday. There have been a total of seven strikes in less than two weeks. US terror drones kill 16 in NW Pakistan 04 Jun 2012 As many as 16 people have been killed and several others injured in two airstrikes carried out by US assassination drones on the northwestern Pakistan tribal area of North Waziristan. [This is *ridiculous.* People need to get much better at shooting drones out of the sky.] Pakistani Police Confiscates Arms from U.S. Officials 05 Jun 2012 Police in northwest Pakistan on Monday confiscated arms recovered from two vehicles of U.S. embassy officials, police said. The U.S. embassy officials, traveling in two cars, were stopped on the outskirts of Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, for illegally carrying weapons, a police officer said. TV footage showed the foreigners' weapons included pistols and six automatic rifles. Israel fitting nuclear arms on German-supplied subs: report [Send Stuxnet, and mark them *return to sender.*] 03 Jun 2012 Israel is arming submarines supplied and largely financed by Germany with nuclear-tipped cruise missiles, influential German news weekly Der Spiegel reports in its issue to be published on Monday. The magazine said in a cover story that Berlin had until now denied any knowledge that German submarines were being used as part of an Israeli atomic arsenal. But former high-ranking officials of the German defence ministry told Der Spiegel that the government always assumed Israel was putting nuclear warheads on the Dolphin-class vessels. Marines Expand Urination Video Probe 01 Jun 2012 The Marine Corps is investigating other possible misconduct by members of a battalion who drew worldwide attention when a video surfaced purporting to show them urinating on Afghan corpses, officials said Thursday. In disclosing that a follow-up probe is under way, Marine spokesman Col. Sean D. Gibson said he could not provide details of the possible misbehavior or say what prompted the decision to widen the probe. He said the follow-up began May 15 and is to be completed by mid-June. "There are indications of other possible misconduct involving the unit depicted in the video that requires another investigation," Gibson said. Western banks 'reaping billions from Colombian cocaine trade' 02 Jun 2012 The vast profits made from drug production and trafficking are overwhelmingly reaped in rich "consuming" countries - principally across Europe and in the US - rather than "producing" nations such as Colombia and Mexico, new research has revealed. And its authors claim that financial regulators in the west are reluctant to go after western banks in pursuit of the massive amount of drug money being laundered through their systems. The most far-reaching and detailed analysis to date of the drug economy in any country - in this case, Colombia - shows that 2.6% of the total street value of cocaine produced remains within the country, while a staggering 97.4% of profits are reaped by criminal syndicates, and laundered by banks, in first-world consuming countries. [That's why USociopaths won't leave Afghanistan - they want the opium routes that the Taliban virtually eliminated in 2001.] Bradley Manning lawyer in struggle to have government documents released 03 Jun 2012 The US government is in possession of 250,000 pages of documents relating to the transmission of state secrets to whistleblower website WikiLeaks, which it is refusing to disclose to defence lawyers representing the alleged source of the leaks, Bradley Manning. Manning's civilian lawyer, David Coombs, has lodged a motion with the military court that is hearing the court-martial of the US soldier. Coombs writes in the motion that the government has revealed to him in a throwaway footnote that there are 250,000 pages in its possession that relate to Manning, WikiLeaks and secret official assessments of the damage that the massive leak caused to US interests around the world. Advanced Homeland Security Training in Israel by Security Solutions International (SSI Press Release) 04 Jun 2012 With a seven-year history of taking Homeland Security Professionals to Israel, SSI has now created a new Advanced Program that kicks off June 15th. Many of the participants in this upcoming mission traveled to Israel with SSI on the original program. The unparalleled access that SSI enjoys through wide-ranging connections with Israelis at every level in Homeland Security means that SSI is the only company capable of organizing such a mission. Participants will gain valuable know-how from real experts on the terrorist situation [?] on the Northern Border while seeing some of Israel's most memorable natural scenery in the Galilee Mountain Range. Military May Be Using Drones In US to Help Police --Air Force: 'A court order or warrant is not required in all circumstances.' 04 Jun 2012 A non-classified U.S. Air Force intelligence report obtained by KNX 1070 NEWSRADIO dated April 23, 2012, is helping fuel concern that video and other data inadvertently captured by Air Force drones already flying through U.S. airspace, might end up in the hands of federal or local law enforcement, doing an end-run around normal procedures requiring police to obtain court issued warrants. Data collected by drones accidentally, under the guidelines, can be kept by the military up to three months before being purged and can also be turned over to "another Department of Defense or government agency to whose function it pertains." The Air Force guidelines permit using drones domestically to assist law enforcement. [Be sure to get your Drone Hunting Permit.] Congress Looking Happy to Reauthorize Broad, Secret Spying Powers 31 May 2012 House lawmakers of both stripes in a Thursday hearing seemed amenable to the Obama administration's request to continue giving the government broad, warrantless electronic surveillance powers over American citizens - though some suggested Americans or at least members of Congress deserved to know how many people have been caught in the dragnet. At issue is the FISA Amendments Act, expiring legislation authorizing the government to electronically eavesdrop on Americans' phone calls and e-mails without a probable-cause warrant so long as one of the parties to the communication is outside the United States. The communications may be intercepted "to acquire foreign intelligence information." Supreme Court rules for Secret Service in Cheney case 04 Jun 2012 The Supreme Court ruled on Monday that Secret Service agents have immunity from a lawsuit by a Colorado man arrested after he confronted then-Vice President [sic] Dick Cheney and criticized his Iraq war policies. The high court unanimously handed a victory to the Obama administration and the two agents, ruling they could not be held personally liable for damages in the suit alleging they arrested the man in retaliation for his political speech. The agents had sufficient cause to arrest him, the court said. Legionnaires' Disease Outbreak In Edinburgh 04 Jun 2012 Environmental health workers have been cleaning water-cooling towers in an area of Edinburgh after an outbreak of legionnaires' disease. Six people were confirmed as having contracted the disease and four others are suspected cases. At least three of the people infected are being treated in intensive care and one is in a high dependency unit. Oil industry opened the checkbooks to influence Alaska legislators 30 May 2012 The oil industry spent more than $1 million lobbying in Alaska as it tried to lower state oil taxes this year, including a $3,120 dinner in Washington, D.C., when the Alaska Legislature shut down for lawmakers' "Energy Break" trip to the nation's capital. The spending, which ranged from wining and dining Alaska legislators to statewide advertising campaigns, came as the industry and Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell made a heavy but unsuccessful push to convince the Alaska Legislature to slash how much the state taxes the profits made by the oil companies. AIG Chief Sees Retirement Age as High as 80 After Crisis 04 Jun 2012 "Retirement ages will have to move to 70, 80 years old," Benmosche, who turned 68 last week, said during a weekend interview at his seaside villa in Dubrovnik, Croatia. "That would make pensions, medical services more affordable. They will keep people working longer and will take that burden off of the youth." American International Group Inc. (AIG) Chief Executive Officer Robert Benmosche said Europe's debt crisis shows governments worldwide must accept that people will have to work more years as life expectancies increase to pay for more US wars for corpora-terrorists, such as AIG. [See: New AIG CEO Benmosche to receive $7M annual salary 17 Aug 2009. Then, see: Arming the Left: Is the time now? By Charles Southwell 21 Oct 2003.] New AIG CEO Benmosche to receive $7M annual salary 17 Aug 2009 American International Group's new CEO will be paid a yearly salary worth $7 million and could earn millions more in performance-based incentives, the bailed-out insurance giant said Monday. Robert Benmosche will receive $3 million in cash and $4 million in stock under his annual compensation package, AIG said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Benmosche will also be eligible for a yearly performance-based bonus of up to $3.5 million in stock, the company said. Kirk co-sponsored bills helping ex-girlfriend's clients 01 Jun 2012 U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk (R) was a leading sponsor of congressional legislation that has meant $5.3 million for two clients of his onetime girlfriend, and he is backing another bill that could bring millions of dollars to a third group she represented. Kirk supported bills directing the Treasury Department to mint and sell collectible coins, with a surcharge for three nonprofit groups - all of which had hired Arcadian Partners, a public relations firm led by Dodie McCracken, Kirk's ex-girlfriend and former congressional staffer. Activists converge on Wisconsin for historic recall vote 03 Jun 2012 Political activists converged on Wisconsin on Sunday to join get-out-the-vote efforts two days before a historic recall election for Republican Governor [Koch brothers' troglodyte] Scott Walker that is seen as a test for November's presidential race. Walker enraged the labor movement last year when he eliminated most collective bargaining rights for public sector unions as part of a push to limit government and slash spending in the politically divided state. Some observers are calling the June 5 vote the second most important U.S. election of the year.  16 May 2012 http://www.legitgov.org All links are here: http://www.legitgov.org/#breaking_news Federal Judge Blocks Controversial NDAA --Judge agreed statute failed to 'pass constitutional muster' 16 May 2012 A federal judge [Katherine Forrest] granted a preliminary injunction late Wednesday to block provisions of the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act that would allow the military to indefinitely detain anyone it accuses of knowingly or unknowingly supporting terrorism. Signed by President Barack Obama on New Year's Eve, the 565-page NDAA contains a short paragraph, in statute 1021, letting the military detain anyone it suspects "substantially supported" al-Qaida [al-CIAduh], the Taliban or "associated forces." The indefinite detention would supposedly last until "the end of hostilities." Federal judge: Terror law violates 1st Amendment 16 May 2012 A judge on Wednesday struck down a portion of a law giving the government wide powers to regulate the detention, interrogation and prosecution of suspected terrorists, saying it left journalists, scholars and political activists facing the prospect of indefinite detention for exercising First Amendment rights. U.S. District Judge Katherine Forrest in Manhattan said in a written ruling that a single page of the law has a "chilling impact on First Amendment rights." Judge Napolitano: Shoot down a drone, become an American hero --FAA: 30,000 small, remote-controlled drones could be above the homes of every American. 17 May 2012 Fox News commentator Judge Andrew Napolitano has found a novel approach to handling the whole drone surveillance dilemma that has Americans worried that the government will soon watch their every move from the sky. Speaking out against the future of aerial eavesdropping in America, Judge Napolitano said on Fox on Tuesday, "The first American patriot that shoots down one of these drones that comes too close to his children in his backyard will be an American hero." [Or, even if you don't have children! They're predator drones run amok by predators.] Congress is currently working alongside defense contractors mercenaries, the Federal Aviation Administration and local law enforcement agencies across the country, among others, to draft plans to put unmanned aerial aircraft into US sky in the near future. Drones Up to 25 Pounds Allowed for U.S. Safety Agencies 15 May 2012 Public safety agencies will be able to operate unmanned aircraft with fewer restrictions, in the first changes in U.S. regulations that Congress ordered to broaden domestic use of non-military drones. Police, fire and similar departments will be able to fly drones weighing as much as 25 pounds (11.3 kilos) without applying for special approvals needed under previous regulations, the Federal Aviation Administration said today in a statement on its website. Congress is encouraging more U.S. drone flights under a law that became final on Feb. 14, with the goal of adapting technology used by the military in Iraq and Afghanistan. House Panel Adds $849 Million for Israel's Missile Defense 15 May 2012 The House panel that controls military expenditures proposed a net increase of $874 million for weapons over the Pentagon's budget plans for the year starting Oct. 1. The largest amounts that the House Appropriations Defense subcommittee added in producing a $102.4 billion procurement request were $562.4 million to buy 11 additional Boeing Co. F/A-18E/F Super Hornet fighter jets and $447 million to buy seven more Lockheed Martin Corp. C-130J transport planes, according to the defense panel's report obtained today... The panel recommended adding $848.9 million for Israel's missile defense, including $680 million for the Iron Dome system and $111.4 million for a system called David's Sling. [Oh. I thought there was a deficit.] Iran executes Mossad assassin of top nuclear scientist 15 May 2012 The man convicted of espionage for the Israeli spy agency, Mossad, and assassinating a top Iranian nuclear physicist has been executed in Tehran's Evin Prison. Majid Jamali Fashi, who assassinated Massoud Ali-Mohammadi in January 2011, was executed under the Iranian judicial system on Tuesday. Jamali Fashi was also found guilty of receiving training from Mossad inside Israel as well as $120,000 to assassinate the Iranian scientist. Charges Sought in Bomb Plot Leak 13 May 2012 Top U.S. lawmakers called for criminal charges against the person who leaked classified information about a recent foiled Yemeni [CIA] bomb plot, warning that the intelligence breach posed a danger to national security and ratcheting up scrutiny of its source. Rep. Mike Rogers, the Michigan Republican who chairs the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, said his staff was conducting a "preliminary review" of the leak and could open "either a full-blown committee investigation or we will refer to criminal charges to the FBI." Guantanamo lawyers want ex-CIA official to testify 16 May 2012 Defense lawyers want to force a former CIA official who supervised what they called torture of 'al Qaeda' captives to testify in the war crimes tribunal for five Guantanamo prisoners accused of plotting the September 11 attacks. They argue that Jose Rodriguez, former director of the CIA's National Clandestine Service, has information pertinent to the defense allegation that the government is using security classifications to hide evidence their clients were tortured. The lawyers want Rodriguez to testify during a hearing set for June 12-15 for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the confessed architect of the hijacked plane attacks, and four other captives accused of funding and training the hijackers. Afghan peace negotiator shot dead 13 May 2012 An assassin armed with a silenced pistol shot dead a top member of the Afghan peace council Sunday at a traffic intersection in the nation's capital, police said. Arsala Rahmani was a former Taliban official who reconciled with the government and was active in trying to set up formal talks with the insurgents. He was shot at an intersection in western Kabul by a gunman in a white Toyota Corolla while being driven to his office, said Mohammad Zahir, head of the city police's criminal investigation division. 2 US Navy ships collide in Pacific 16 May 2012 An 844-foot-long U.S. Navy assault ship collided with a refueling tanker Wednesday in the Pacific Ocean, causing damage to both ships, but there were no injuries or fuel spills, military officials said. The midmorning accident between the amphibious assault vessel USS Essex and the oiler USNS Yukon occurred about 120 miles off the coast of Southern California as the Essex was approaching the Yukon to be refueled, said Cmdr. Charlie Brown, a spokesman for the 3rd Fleet. Brown said the steering apparently stopped working on the Essex, which was carrying 982 crew members on its way to San Diego for scheduled maintenance. National Guard Probes Another Extremist Allegation 15 May 2012 The Missouri National Guard is investigating whether it may have another extremist in its ranks. Earlier this month, authorities in Florida arrested several members of a white supremacist group who were alleged to be training for a race war in America. Those arrested on conspiracy and hate crime charges were members of the American Front, a militia-style neo-Nazi group with a long history of violence against black, gay and Jewish people. According to an arrest affidavit filed in the case, a member of American Front's Missouri chapter, who also is a National Guard member, was at the group's compound in north Florida in July 2011 to conduct training in hand-to-hand combat and weapons. Mysterious illness strikes hundreds of flight attendants - are 'toxic uniforms' to blame or is it Fukushima? Are Alaska Airlines flight attendants suffering the effects of nuclear radiation fallout? 16 May 2012 Hundreds of Alaska Airlines flight attendants have filed a formal complaint about uniforms they suspect might be causing their skin to rash and develop lesions, and their hair to fall out. But based on the timing of the symptoms and their relation to similar symptoms in local marine life and polar bear populations, it appears as though radiation from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster may also be a potential culprit. San Onofre's future hinges on finding cause of abnormal tube wear 17 May 2012 On Jan. 31, alarms alerted the control room at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station that a radiation leak was occurring in one of the nearly 39,000 tubes that carry radioactive water in the steam generators. That failure led to an unparalleled shutdown of one of California's two nuclear power plants and triggered more than three months of detective work by Southern California Edison officials and federal nuclear regulators that has yet to determine the problem's root cause or when San Onofre will reopen. Since then, the outlook for the plant has gotten worse. Now, about 1,300 tubes — more than 3% of all the plant's tubes — have been taken out of service because of unexpected wear. Prairie Island nuclear security supervisor fired after faked drug test 15 May 2012 (MN) A security supervisor at Xcel Energy's Prairie Island nuclear power plant was fired after he was caught faking a drug test urine sample, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission says. The incident occurred on July 23, 2010, during part of a fitness-for-duty random drug test. The supervisor was fired after failing to report for a second sample, the NRC said. Not guilty plea from Chicago man in NYC Anonymous hacking case 14 May 2012 A Chicago man facing computer hacking charges in a federal investigation targeting the worldwide group Anonymous is entertaining himself behind bars the old fashioned way: by reading books. Jeremy Hammond is doing "great," defense attorney Elizabeth Fink said after Hammond's not guilty plea Monday in federal court in Manhattan. There was no bail request at the brief hearing Monday for Hammond, who pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to commit computer hacking and other charges. He's been held in a lower Manhattan lockup since an initial court appearance in Chicago in March. Anonymous: 'We have access to every classified database in the US' 14 May 2012 Businesses have suggested it. The government has all but confirmed it. And according to one alleged member, they both might very well be right. A hacker tied to Anonymous says the loose-knit collective may be the most powerful organization on Earth. "The entire world right now is run by information," Chris Doyon tells Postmedia News from an undisclosed location in Canada... In a world where the most critical of information isn't locked up in vaults but instead encoded in easily obtainable binary, Doyon says that crackers like those in Anonymous are in possession of some of the most powerful knowledge known to man. Mega barf alert: AT&T named vendor for Homeland Security 15 May 2012 AT&T Inc. said Tuesday that it was named a prime vendor for a $3 billion contract with the Department of Homeland Security, giving AT&T the ability to compete for work under the contract. The so-called Tactical Communications Equipment and Services contract is a base contact for two years and three one-year extension options. Homeland Security uses the contract to buy communications devices, infrastructure and services used by first responders. AT&T will compete for DHS business through its Government Solutions unit, which is housed in AT&T's affiliate AT&T Corp. 8 NATO protesters arrested at Prudential Plaza --Security guards shut down the elevator banks, and approximately 30 Chicago police bike officers responded within minutes. 14 May 2012 Less than one week before the NATO Summit begins, eight protesters were arrested Monday at Prudential Plaza. The protesters said they were taking a stand against the war in Afghanistan. They gathered downtown Monday morning at the building that houses President Barack Obama's campaign headquarters. Student protesters disrupt UC regents meeting 16 May 2012 Student protesters angry about another possible tuition hike disrupted the meeting of the University of California regents Wednesday in Sacramento, with some demonstrators dressed in orange prisoner uniforms and singing about "working on the chain gang." The regents were about to discuss a recent report about the treatment of protesters on campuses and then analyze the impact of the governor's May revision of the state budget on tuition. After 15 or so protesters began chanting and marching around the meeting, they ignored orders to clear the hall. Mystery surrounds Kennedy wife's death 17 May 2012 Robert F Kennedy Jr's estranged wife, Mary Richardson Kennedy has been found dead in her home. Attorney Kerry Lawrence, who had previously represented her, said he didn't know the cause of her death at age 52. An autopsy was scheduled for tomorrow (NZ time). Police confirmed a body was found on Robert F Kennedy Jr's property in Bedford, north of New York City, but wouldn't release the dead person's name. The former Mary Richardson, a longtime connection of the Kennedy clan, married Robert Kennedy Jr, a prominent environmental lawyer and the son of Senator Robert F Kennedy and nephew of President John F Kennedy, in 1994. Wife of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. found dead at NY home 16 May 2012 Mary Kennedy, the estranged wife of Robert F. Kennedy Jr, was found dead on Wednesday at her home in a New York City suburb, an officer at the Westchester County Medical Examiner's Office said. She was 52. Mary Kennedy had four children with Kennedy, the son of the late Senator Robert F. Kennedy and nephew of President John F. Kennedy. He is a prominent New York environmentalist. French President Hollande's plane 'hit by lightning' 15 May 2012 Newly sworn in French President Francois Hollande has been delayed in his journey to Berlin for key talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel after his plane was hit by lightning. The plane was forced to turn back to Paris. "The plane could have been hit by lightning," a presidential spokesman told the AFP news agency. "For security reasons, it turned back. At this moment, the president is again en route." Greece could exit eurozone, IMF chief tells FRANCE 24 15 May 2012 The head of the International Monetary Fund on Tuesday raised the possibility that Greece could leave the eurozone in an orderly fashion. "If the country's budgetary commitments are not honoured, there are appropriate revisions to do, which means either supplementary financing and additional time or mechanisms for an exit, which in this case must be an orderly exit," Christine Lagarde said in an interview with France 24. FBI's Mueller confirms JPMorgan preliminary probe 16 May 2012 FBI Director Robert Mueller on Wednesday confirmed that the agency has opened a "preliminary investigation" into JPMorgan Chase & Co, the nation's largest bank. JPMorgan disclosed last week that it had suffered a multibillion-dollar trading loss due to a failed hedging strategy. A person familiar with the matter said on Tuesday that the FBI's New York office has opened a preliminary probe into the loss, which has been estimated at more than $2 billion. Ron Paul ends campaign, vows to push agenda 14 May 2012 Ron Paul, whose anti-government, pro-rights creed attracted enthusiastic supporters and hefty donations but few delegates, will not campaign in the 11 remaining Republican primary states, he announced Monday. In effectively conceding the presidential nomination to Mitt Romney, the Texas representative turns his focus toward influencing the Republican Party platform for the fall election. Paul said this year's run for the presidency - his third - is part of a 40-year endeavor that will continue no matter who wins the White House. Trayvon Martin killed by single gunshot fired from 'intermediate range,' autopsy shows 16 May 2012 Florida teenager Trayvon Martin died from a single gunshot wound to the chest fired from "intermediate range," according to an autopsy report reviewed Wednesday by NBC News. The official report, prepared by the medical examiner in Volusia County, Fla., also found that the 17-year-old Martin had one other fresh injury – a small abrasion, no more than a quarter-inch in size – on his left ring finger below the knuckle. New Movie Boosts Campaign to Save Polar Bears 14 May 2012 A new 3D IMAX movie about the Arctic is opening in the U.S. and, soon, around the world. The movie, directed by Greg MacGillivray, is part of an international campaign to save the polar bears and their home. Polar bears are in trouble. Scientists say only 20,000 remain, and their long term survival could be at risk. The new IMAX movie, To the Arctic, tells the story of the Arctic's endangered ecosystem - through a polar bear mother and her twin cubs.     News Updates from Citizens For Legitimate Government 02 May 2012 http://www.legitgov.org All links are here: http://www.legitgov.org/#breaking_news  Explosions and gunfire in Kabul hours after Obama departs Afghanistan 02 May 2012 Violence erupted in a diplomatic area of Kabul on Tuesday, just hours after the departure of President Barack Obama from Afghanistan. There were three explosions, followed by sporadic shooting, in the eastern part of the Afghan capital, Afghan officials told the Associated Press. A Taliban spokesman has claimed responsibility for the attack. Referring to the main road out of Kabul, the U.S. embassy in Kabul issued an "emergency message" on Twitter just before midnight Eastern time: "There is an ongoing attack on Jalalabad Road in Kabul today, May 2, 2012. The situation is uncertain." US secures presence in Afghanistan beyond 2014 02 May 2012 The United States and Afghanistan have signed an agreement to extend the US presence in the war-torn country to another decade beyond 2014. Shortly after arriving in Afghanistan under cover late on Tuesday night, US President Barack Obama signed a deal with his Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai to provide aid, advisers, and support for a period of 10 years after the expected departure of foreign combat troops in 2014, CBS News reported. After signing the deal, Obama went to the US-run Bagram Air Base in eastern Afghanistan, met with US troops, and gave a televised speech before ending his surprise visit. 'Occupy' anarchists arrested for 'plotting to blow up Ohio bridge' after months of FBI surveillance --Some of the five men arrested have attended Occupy Cleveland events --Group also plotted setting off a car bomb outside the Federal Reserve bank --Three men charged with trying to use explosives to damage property affecting interstate commerce, while charges are still pending for other two 01 May 2012 Five men, at lease three of them self-described anarchists, have been arrested in an alleged plot to blow up a bridge near Cleveland, the FBI said today. A member of Occupy Cleveland revealed that at least some of the suspects had attended the group's events, sparking concerns that some supporters of the anti-capitalist movement could turn to [the State using] violence. But there was no danger to the public in the bridge-bombing plot because the explosive devices were inoperable and were controlled by an undercover FBI employee, the agency said. [LOL! In other words, the FBI provided the explosives -- as usual.] New York police report more suspicious powder incidents 01 May 2012 Three new envelopes containing suspicious white powder were sent to New York City banks and news organizations on Tuesday, along with notes suggesting the sender sympathizes with is trying to discredit the Occupy Wall Street's Day of May 1 protests, police said. A total of ten letter-sized envelopes were sent over the last two days, and at least some contained an identical note saying "This is a reminder that you are not in control" and "Happy May Day," police spokesman Paul Browne said. In all ten cases, the substance turned out to be non toxic and in several cases the powder was identified as corn starch, Browne said. WikiLeaks Truck Owner Arrested For Photographing Cops; Image Deleted 26 Apr 2012 Metropolitan Transit Authority police arrested a man for photographing them at Penn Station in New York City this afternoon – deleting his photo – before releasing him from a jail cell an hour later. Clark Stoeckley was issued a summons charging him with "engaging in threatening behavior." "I was walking through Penn Station and I came across these MTA cops with semi-automatic weapons," he said in a phone interview with Photography is Not a Crime. "I stopped to take a photo and the cop came up to me and arrested me. I asked, 'why am I being arrested?' 'Because you're a dick,' the officer responded." Occupy movement returns for May Day protests in D.C., New York and around U.S. 01 May 2012 Tuesday marked a noisy return to the national stage for the Occupy movement, which had been dormant for much of the winter. Activists called it "A Day Without the 99 Percent." Marches and rallies in several cities drew thousands, and there were reports of violent clashes on the West Coast, where police arrested more than a dozen people in Seattle, Portland and Oakland. More than 35 people were arrested on a day of wide-ranging demonstrations throughout New York. Feel free -- and CLG encourages you -- to forward this newsletter to your lists and friends! Those who wish to be added to the list can go here: http://www.legitgov.org/#subscribe_clg and add your name. Those who wish to unsubscribe can go here: http://lists.people-link.net/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/legitgov. Please mark clg_news@legitgov.org as 'not spam' and do not delete from a spam or 'junk' folder, as such actions trigger false spam complaints against the CLG. If you have any inquiries/issues with your subscription, please write: signup at legitgov dot org.   CLG Editor-in-Chief: Lori Price. CLG Chair: Michael Rectenwald, Ph.D. Copyright © 2012, Citizens for Legitimate Government ® All rights reserved. Breaking News and Commentary from Citizens For Legitimate Government 05 Apr 2012 http://www.legitgov.org All links are here: http://www.legitgov.org/#breaking_news Tepco Reports Another Radioactive Water Leak at Fukushima Plant --'The site had plastic pipes to transfer radioactive water.' --Tepco has about 100,000 tons of highly radioactive water accumulated in basements at the Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear station. 05 Apr 2012 Tokyo Electric Power Co. said as much as 12 tons of radioactive water leaked from a pipe at its crippled Fukushima nuclear station, the second such incident in 11 days at the same pipeline, raising further doubts about the stability of the plant. Part of the water may have poured into the sea through a drainage ditch, Osamu Yokokura, a spokesman for the utility, said by phone. "There will be similar leaks until Tepco improves equipment," said Kazuhiko Kudo, a research professor of nuclear engineering at Kyushu University, who visited the plant twice last year as a member of a panel under the Nuclear and Industry Safety Agency. GOP/Obusha doling out billions in corporate welfare while the sociopaths quietly push to eliminate Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid: Nuclear centrifuge project to move ahead 30 Mar 2012 A giant nuclear centrifuge project in southern Ohio will move forward despite a setback in Congress this week, uranium enrichment company USEC said Friday. Congress's failure to act on a long-term transportation bill means that a $106 million research and development grant for the American Centrifuge Project remains in limbo. The grant is a stopgap measure while the company seeks $2 billion in Department of Energy loan guarantees to expand the [insane] project. President Obama supported the project when he campaigned in southern Ohio in 2008 and has included an additional $150 million in research funding in his 2013 budget. TVA ups Watts Bar reactor cost to $4.5 bln, online 2015 --Reactor cost up from $2.5 billion estimate 05 Apr 2012 U.S. government-owned Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) said on Thursday it now sees the new reactor at the Watts Bar 2 nuclear power plant in Tennessee online between September and December 2015 at a higher estimated cost of $4 billion to $4.5 billion. In February, TVA said the 1,180-megawatt Watts Bar 2 project was running over budget and behind schedule. Watts Bar is one of five new reactors the industry expects to complete by 2020 as part of a slow-moving [disastrous] nuclear renaissance in the United States. Israel seeks multi-year US missile defense aid --Defense official says Israel looking for multi-year budget program which will not require annual administration approval 04 Apr 2012 Israel is in talks with the US about increasing its financial aid for Israeli missile defense programs and establishing a multi-year budget program which will not require annual administration approval. Israel receives an estimated $3 billion annually from the US under a 10-year memorandum of understanding signed in 2007. Last month, the Pentagon said it would request additional funds for Israel's Iron Dome budget. The US previously approved a $205 million infusion for Iron Dome systems, though it is unclear whether that amount would be matched in the new budget cycle. [Too bad we can't get single-payer health care in the US - or even get a bridge repaired - because taxpayers instead have to fund Israel's 'defense.' --LRP CIA Committed 'War Crimes,' Bush Official Says 04 Apr 2012 A top adviser to former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice warned the Bush administration that its use of "cruel, inhuman or degrading" interrogation techniques like waterboarding were "a felony war crime." Also, newly obtained documents reveal that State Department counselor Philip Zelikow told the Bush team in 2006 that using the controversial interrogation techniques were "prohibited" under U.S. law - "even if there is a compelling state interest asserted to justify them." Zelikow argued that the Geneva conventions applied to al-Qaida - a position neither the Justice Department nor the White House shared at the time. That made waterboarding and the like a violation of the War Crimes statute and a "felony," Zelikow tells Danger Room. Asked explicitly if he believed the use of those interrogation techniques were a war crime, Zelikow replied, "Yes." Death penalty 'trial' of 5 9/11 suspects to resume at Guantánamo 05 Apr 2012 The Pentagon on Wednesday cleared the way for a death-penalty 'trial' against five Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, captives charged with planning the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks [inside job]. Retired Navy Vice Adm. Bruce MacDonald, who is in charge of military tribunals, signed off on the capital trial against suspected mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, 46, and four accused co-conspirators. The men will jointly face charges of terrorism, hijacking aircraft, conspiracy and murder in violation of the law of war, among other charges, in the system set up by President [sic] George W. Bush within months of the attack, and then modified by President Obama in 2009. In rare interview, terrorism suspect wanted in US since 2004 urges Britain to put him on trial 04 Apr 2012  terrorism suspect wanted in the United States and held for almost eight years in a U.K. jail as he awaits extradition urged authorities Thursday to put him on trial in Britain - speaking publicly after the BBC won a legal battle to interview him in prison. Babar Ahmad told the broadcaster that he had suffered a "nightmare fighting extradition for the past eight years," and insisted that he has never been properly questioned about the offenses he is alleged to have committed. Ahmad, 38, has been detained in Britain since 2004 on a U.S. warrant and is accused of running websites used to raise money for terrorists, and of supplying terrorists with gas masks and night vision goggles. He has not faced charges in Britain, but has been held without trial for the longest period of any British citizen detained since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks the United States. Darwin welcomes first tranche of US marines --The number of US troops rotating through Darwin during the dry season will increase in coming years, to reach 2500 by 2017. 04 Apr 2012 Australia's defence minister has dismissed suggestions the nation is acting as America's "deputy sheriff", after welcoming hundreds of US marines to Darwin. On Wednesday about 200 US marines who arrived in Darwin were officially welcomed by Defence Minister Stephen Smith. Australia was described as America's deputy sheriff by a commentator in 2004 to describe the close relationship between the John Howard-led government and the US. Gunmen attack western Afghanistan base killing 10 06 Apr 2012 Kabul Gunmen attacked an outpost of a government-sponsored militia and killed 10 members of the security force in western Afghanistan, officials said Thursday. The Taliban are targeting Afghan and Nato security forces as they fight to assert their power and undermine US efforts to try to build the Afghan military. In other violence, a suicide bomber struck a bazaar in a north-eastern district yesterday, killing two people and wounding 16 others. Eight Afghan local police forces killed in Farah province 05 Apr 2012 At least eight Afghan policemen have been killed in an attack carried out by Taliban militants in Afghanistan's western Farah province, Press TV reports. Local officials say the militants attacked a police outpost in Khaki Safed district late on Wednesday. Mohammad Younes Rasouli, the deputy governor of Farah, told Press TV that "about 50 Taliban militants opened fire on a security checkpoint, killed the soldiers and took their car and weapons." US announces $10 million reward for Pakistani militant 03 Apr 2012  The United States has placed a $10 million bounty on Haafiz Saeed, the founder of militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba that India blames for the horrendous 2008 [US-staged] terror attack in Mumbai. The reward for capturing Saeed, who now runs a charity organization Jamaat-ud-Dawa in Pakistan, was announced by US Undersecretary of State Wendy Sherman in the Indian capital Monday. The reward was later posted on the website of the US government's Rewards for Justice [sic]. AP: Complaint says KBR knew of Iraq toxin 04 Apr 2012 A military contractor knew an Iraqi water treatment plant's lax environmental standards let a toxic chemical contaminate the area, but never disclosed it to Oregon National Guard soldiers who were sickened, the soldiers said in a complaint filed Wednesday. The complaint in U.S. District Court in Oregon alleges Kellogg, Brown and Root knew about the presence of sodium dichromate at the Qarmat Ali water treatment plant months before the date they originally gave in testimony and depositions. Sodium dichromate is an anticorrosive compound that can cause skin and breathing problems and cancer. Delta flight attendant removed from plane at Buffalo airport --Flight delayed three hours; TSA officer at security checkpoint observed irregular behavior 04 Apr 2012 A Delta Airlines flight attendant at Buffalo Niagara International Airport was not allowed to fly this morning after he was spotted acting in a manner that a security officer deemed unfit for flight, according to authorities. A TSA officer at a security checkpoint noticed the male flight attendant's irregular behavior and alerted Delta Airline personnel, Transportation Security Administration spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein said. ACLU: Most police track phones' locations without warrants 03 Apr 2012 Don't want the police or your local government to know where you are? Then put your cell phone in airplane mode or turn it off. New evidence from the American Civil Liberties Union shows that phone location tracking has also become a surprisingly common tool of law-enforcement investigations -- with, but often without, a warrant. The ACLU recently obtained records from over 200 police departments and other law enforcement agencies around the U.S. They found that "virtually all" of these agencies track the location of cell phones with data supplied by wireless carriers. Anonymous hacker denies being FBI snitch --Pastebin post allegedly written by pro-Occupy suspect also claims poor treatment by agents 05 Apr 2012 Federal agents have arrested a Texas man believed to be involved in the CabinCr3w hacking group, an Anonymous-like collective that gained infamy for attacking the website of the Texas Department of Public Safety and for its online attacks in support of the Occupy protesters. Higinio Ochoa, 30, of Galveston, was arrested by the FBI on March 20 and charged with unauthorized access to a protected computer. The March 15 criminal complaint alleges that Ochoa, who went by the Twitter handle @Anonw0rmer, took part in hacking the websites of the Alabama and Texas departments of public safety in February. Despite the bust, Ochoa denied actually helping the FBI, according to a Pastebin post he allegedly wrote. CFTC orders JPMorgan to pay $20 million in Lehman case 04 Apr 2012 The Commodity Futures Trading Commission said on Wednesday that JPMorgan Chase & Co will pay $20 million to settle charges that it unlawfully handled customer segregated funds at Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc... In the Lehman case, the CFTC said that for about 22 months, ending with Lehman's bankruptcy in September 2008, JPMorgan had improperly extended intra-day credit to Lehman Brothers based in part on customers' segregated funds Lehman had deposited at the bank. JPMorgan also violated rules by refusing to release customers' segregated funds for nearly two weeks after the bankruptcy, the CFTC said. Breaking News and Commentary from Citizens For Legitimate Government 23 Feb 2012 http://www.legitgov.org All links are here: http://www.legitgov.org/#breaking_news Congress members threatened with biological attack --NYPD made aware of letters received by some media outlets on Tuesday night and alerted FBI, U.S. Capitol Police --Letters were signed 'the MIB' 22 Feb 2012 Several members of the Congress received mail threatening a biological attack and containing a suspicious powder later found to be harmless as law enforcement officials warned on Wednesday that more letters could be on their way. In a notice to Senate staffers titled "Urgent: Suspicious Mail Alert," Senate Sergeant at Arms Terrance Gainer warned that the sender of the letters had "indicated that additional letters containing a powdery substance will be arriving at more Senate offices and that some of these letters may contain actual harmful material." Suspicious Letters to Boehner, Coats, and Murray Prompt House-Senate Alert 22 Feb 2012 House and Senate members were alerted on Wednesday that a House member's district office and at least two senators' state offices have received threatening mail this week containing a suspicious powdery substance, all later determined to be harmless. Memos sent to members' offices from the sergeants-at-arms of both chambers notified the lawmakers and their staffs that two of the letters had been received on Tuesday, and that another similar letter was received by the second Senate state office on Wednesday. While the alert memos did not mention which lawmakers had received the packages, three of the incidents occurred in Ohio, Indiana, and Washington state involving offices of House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and Sens. Dan Coats, R-Ind., and Patty Murray, D-Wash. Fortress DC: New Capitol lockdown plan in works 22 Feb 2012 A new and sweeping security project to lock down gateways to the U.S. Capitol is being planned, aimed at targeting gang assaults and lone wolf attackers like the alleged 'al Qaeda' suicide bomber FBI agents seized earlier this month. Architect of the Capitol Stephen Ayers told Washington Secrets that the plan is to spend $7.8 million to secure House and Senate garages "very quickly" should an attacker try bust in. Ayers said the targets are "car bombs or groups of people or whatever the threat may be." CDC Warns That New Swine Flu Strain Has 'Pandemic Potential' [Yeah, especially when you make it so.] 22 Feb 2012 A paper published Tuesday by scientists at the Centers for Disease Control suggests a new swine flu virus has the potential to cause an outbreak. The A(H3N2)v swine flu strain that has infected at least 18 Americans since Sept. 2010 has shown the potential for human-to-human transmission. According to the paper, which was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the H3N2 strains "resemble viruses with pandemic potential." Terrence Tumpey, one of the authors of the study, says the current seasonal flu vaccine won't protect against this swine flu strain, although he says the CDC is working on creating a vaccine for swine flu variants such as the one he studied. [Isn't *that* convenient! First, you create the pandemic. Then, lo and behold, there's a vaccine available to 'stop' the pandemic that you created! Meanwhile, US pharma-terrorists (Baxter, etc.) make a killing on the killing! See 'V for Vendetta' (2005) sub-plot which details this sorry saga. And while you're at it, watch the last five or six minutes of the film for sheer viewing pleasure. --LRP] Radiation detected 400 miles off Japanese coast --Concentrations of cesium-137 throughout range were 10 to 1,000 times normal 21 Feb 2012 Radioactive contamination from the Fukushima power plant disaster has been detected as far as almost 400 miles off Japan in the Pacific Ocean, with water showing readings of up to 1,000 times more than prior levels, scientists reported Tuesday. The ship sampled water from about 20 miles to about 400 miles off the coast east of the Fukushima plant. Cesium-137 wasn't the only radioactive substance released from the plant, but it's of particular concern because of its long persistence in the environment. Its half-life is 30 years. [WHY has Obusha given *billions* to the nuclear industry?] U.S. hints at possibility of arming Syrian opposition 21 Feb 2012 The United States on Tuesday appeared to open the door to eventually arming the Syrian opposition, saying if a political solution to the crisis were impossible it might have to consider other options. The comments, made by officials at both the White House and the State Department, marked a shift in emphasis by Washington, which so far has stressed its policy of not arming the opposition and has said little about alternatives. The United States and its allies hope this week's Tunis conference will allow them to begin drawing up a plan for Syria after Russia and China vetoed a Western-backed Arab League peace plan at the U.N. Security Council. [WHY is it no one ever 'draws up a plan' for the United States? Some conference needs to do that and see how the sociopaths in DC like it.] Syria: US says it will 'consider other measures' to end bloodshed 22 Feb 2012 The United States appeared to open the door to eventually arming the Syrian opposition, saying if a political solution to the [CIA-spawned] crisis were impossible it might have to consider other options. The comments, made by officials at both the White House and the State Department, marked a shift in emphasis by Washington, which thus far has stressed its policy of not arming the opposition and has said little about alternatives. John McCain renews call for arming Syrian opposition 23 Feb 2012 US Republican Senator (sociopath) John McCain has once again urged Washington to consider all options when it comes to helping the opposition in Syria. Speaking at a Wednesday press conference in Tripoli, Libya, McCain reiterated that the anti-Damascus forces in Syria should be given weapons to confront forces of President Bashar al-Assad's government. "We should consider every option ranging from sanctuaries to seeing that weapons are brought to the hands of those who are resisting Assad," he said, also calling for technical and medical help for the opposition. Russia: Israeli strike on Iran would be 'catastrophic' 22 Feb 2012 Russian warned Israel not to attack Iran over its nuclear program, saying on Wednesday that military action would have catastrophic consequences. "Of course any possible military scenario against Iran will be catastrophic for the region and for the whole system of international relations," Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov said. "Therefore I hope Israel understands all these consequences... and they should also consider the consequences of such action for themselves," Gatilov said at a news conference. US presses Pakistan to allow intelligence bases near Iran 21 Feb 2012 An Indian newspaper says the United States is putting pressure on Pakistan to allow Washington to establish espionage bases in the country’s Balochistan province to gather intelligence on Iran. According to a report published by The Times of India on Monday, the US Congress has been discussing a resolution to recognize the right of Baloch people to self-determination as a means of putting pressure on Islamabad to give in to the US demands. The move elicited angry reactions from Pakistan’s top leaders including Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani who described it as an attack on the country's sovereignty. Iraq attacks on Shia and police targets kill 50 23 Feb 2012 At least 50 people have been killed and hundreds injured in a wave of bombings and shootings across Iraq, police say. The violence targeted predominantly Shia areas, in particular police officers and checkpoints. In Baghdad, nine people died in two successive blasts in the central Karrada district. Outside the capital, at least two were killed in Baquba. Health workers linked to CIA's Osama bin Laden assassination plot are sacked --Punishments handed out to 17 low-ranking health department employees for unwittingly helping CIA 22 Feb 2012 Seventeen local health workers have been fired in Abbottabad for their part in a CIA scheme to try to confirm the presence of 'Osama bin Laden' in the northern Pakistani town. The low-ranking health department employees were punished for helping Dr Shakil Afridi, who was assigned by the CIA to set up a fake vaccination scheme in Abbottabad, ahead of the 3 May US military operation that found and killed the al-Qaida [al-CIAduh] leader there. In July last year, the Guardian revealed that Afridi was hired by the American spy agency, which was trying to establish whether Bin Laden was living inside a compound to which it had tracked an al-Qaida "courier". Afghanistan: New clashes over burning of Koran leave seven dead 23 Feb 2012 Seven people were killed in clashes between Afghan security forces and protesters demonstrating against the burning of Korans by foreign soldiers at a Nato base near Kabul. The interior ministry said the clashes in the eastern province of Parwan left four dead. Other deaths were reported at a US base near Kabul, where guards killed one person, and in Logar and Jalalabad provinces. Second day of protests in Afghanistan over burning of Koran --AFP photographer: At least one protester shot 22 Feb 2012 Hundreds of Afghans threw stones, shouted "death to America" and torched tyres, pouring onto streets Wednesday for a second day of angry protests against Nato troops for burning copies of the Koran. About 500 protesters threw stones at a US military base in Kabul, while in the eastern city of Jalalabad more than 1,000 demonstrators blocked the highway shouting "Death to Americans, Death to Obama", AFP journalists said. In Kabul, the crowd attacked anti-riot police, forcing them to retreat, an AFP photographer said. Three US-led soldiers killed in roadside bomb attack in Afghanistan 22 Feb 2012 At least three US-led soldiers serving with the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) have been killed in an explosion in southern Afghanistan, Press TV reports. In a statement released on Wednesday, the NATO-led ISAF said that the soldiers were killed after their convoy was hit by a roadside bomb in the south of the country on Tuesday. Guantanamo Bay prisoner, a former Baltimore resident, reaches plea deal 22 Feb 2012 A former Baltimore area resident held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, has reached a plea agreement with military prosecutors that calls for him to testify at the trials of other prisoners in exchange for a much-reduced sentence and eventual freedom, according to officials familiar with the case. The plea agreement with Majid Khan, 31, is the first with a high-value detainee who was previously held by the CIA at a secret prison overseas. Khan’s plea agreement could mark the beginning of an effort to accelerate the number of military tribunal cases by the new chief military prosecutor, Brig. Gen. Mark Martins, who assumed his position in October. Hearing Held on Program Monitoring Social Media --'The D.H.S. continues to monitor the Internet for criticism of the government.' [*Apparently.*] 23 Feb 2012 Analysts for a Department of Homeland Security program that monitors social networks like Twitter and Facebook have been instructed to produce reports on policy debates related to the department, a newly disclosed manual shows. The manual, a 2011 reference guide for analysts working with the department's Media Monitoring Capability program, raises questions about recent claims by Homeland Security officials who portrayed the program as limited to gathering information that would help gain operational awareness about attacks, disasters or other emerging problems. Last month, a previous disclosure of documents related to the program showed that in 2009, when it was being designed, officials contemplated having reports produced about "public reaction to major governmental proposals with homeland security implications." Northampton 'opts out' of federal law --National Defense Authorization Act 'unconstitutional' 17 Feb 2012 (MA)  The city of Northampton became the first city in New England to pass a resolution rejecting the National Defense Authorization Act Thursday night. Two particular sections of the Act, signed by President Obama in December, ignited a firestorm of controversy. Sections 1021 and 1022 allow the indefinite military detention of any person, including a U.S. citizen, without a trial. At a city council meeting Thursday night, city leaders and advocacy groups came together to demand a "restoration of due process and the right to trial." Anonymous: Power grid concerns are US Govt spin 22 Feb 2012 Anonymous has branded comments by a director of the US National Security Agency that the hacktivist group is a year or two away from having the capability to launch attacks that disrupt the power grid as "baseless" and "ridiculous". Unnamed federal officials, citing comments from NSA Director Gen. Keith Alexander during a series of White House meetings, told the Wall Street Journal that Anonymous has never named the electric grid as a target, but said the group is "headed in a more disruptive direction." A number of flagship Anonymous Twitter accounts spent Monday refuting the report, calling Alexander's comments "baseless," "fear mongering" and "ridiculous." NYPD found no trace of terrorism while spying on Muslims, says report --The report, which was obtained by the AP, showed that the spying in Newark took place for months during 2007, and was so hush-hush that even Mayor Cory Booker was unaware of it. 22 Feb 2012 Abdul Kareem Abdullah of Newark was born in the United States and became a Muslim years ago... The New York City police department secretly spied on and compiled a report on him, his wife and customers at his restaurant. The NYPD's Demographics Unit conducted similar surveillance operations of other Muslims in Newark and on Long Island, filming and listening in on conversations where they worship, at stores and restaurants they frequent, and at places where they work. When the mission was concluded, the NYPD put together a 60-page report about their operations -- which uncovered no evidence of terrorism or criminal behavior. UC Davis sued over pepper spray attack 23 Feb 2012 US current and former students have sued the University of California, Davis, over its campus police's use of pepper spray against peaceful student demonstrators. Seventeen UC Davis students and two alumni filed the lawsuit against university officials and police on Wednesday concerning the shocking pepper-spraying incident in November 2011 that sparked international condemnation. The incident saw campus police pepper-spraying a group of students, who were sitting in a peaceful protest as part of the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement. SWAT, CT State Police Descend on New Britain Hospital --Hospital is on lockdown 22 Feb 2012 State Police say they have responded to a shooting at the Hospital for Special Care in New Britain. Witnesses told NBC Connecticut there is a large police presence at the hospital. The hospital is on lockdown, according to a spokesperson. Newington police said there SWAT team has been called to the scene. Loan guarantees pave way for first new U.S. nuclear reactors in years 16 Feb 2012 President [and Wall Street troll] Barack Obama announced $8.3 billion in loan guarantees Tuesday for two nuclear reactors to be built in Burke County, Georgia. A new nuclear power plant has not been built in the United States in three decades. The new reactors are to be part of an expansion of an existing nuclear facility near Augusta, Georgia, operated by Atlanta-based Southern Co... Nuclear power critics slammed the administration's decision to back the construction of new reactors. "The last thing Americans want is another government bailout for a failing industry, but that's exactly what they're getting from the Obama administration," energy analyst Ben Schreiber said in a press release issued this past weekend. New York judge upholds fracking ban in towns 21 Feb 2012 In a blow to the oil and gas industry, a judge has ruled small towns in New York have the authority to ban drilling - including the controversial method known as fracking - within their borders. In a ruling released late Tuesday, state Supreme Court Justice Phillip Rumsey held that the Ithaca suburb of Dryden's recent ban on gas drilling falls within the authority of local governments to regulate local land use. The case is Anschutz Exploration Corp. v. Town of Dryden, New York State Supreme Court, Tompkins County No. 2011-0902. Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Affirmative Action Case 21 Feb 2012 The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to hear a major case on affirmative action in higher education, adding another potential blockbuster to a docket already studded with them. The court's decision in the new case holds the potential to undo an accommodation reached in the Supreme Court's 5-to-4 decision in 2003 in Grutter v. Bollinger: that public colleges and universities could not use a point system to boost minority enrollment but could take race into account in vaguer way to ensure academic diversity. The new case, Fisher v. Texas, No. 11-345, was brought by Abigail Fisher, a white student who said she was denied admission to the University of Texas because of her race. Supreme Court agrees to reconsider use of race in college admission decisions 21 Feb 2012 The Supreme Court said Tuesday it will reconsider whether affirmative action may be considered when public universities choose which students to admit, revisiting a 2003 decision that allows race as a factor in admission decisions. The court will hear a white student's claims that the University of Texas's race-conscious admission policy cost her a spot in the freshman class. The 'justices' will hear the case in the term that begins in October, making it likely that affirmative action will be an issue in the fall elections. Dow hits 13,000 for first time since 2008 crisis 21 Feb 2012 Wall Street's bulls have reason to celebrate: The Dow Jones industrial average has crossed the 13,000 mark for the first time since the financial crisis after European leaders reached a new deal to prop up the Greek economy. The Dow first crossed 13,000 in May 2008, but was battered down soon after when the mortgage bubble burst. The blue chip index's latest surge has been driven by a stream of evidence signaling that the U.S. economy is on the mend. The Dow has risen 20% since hitting a recent low of 10,655.30 on Oct. 3. CLG needs your support. http://www.legitgov.org/donate.html Or, please mail a check or money order to CLG: Citizens for Legitimate Government (CLG) P.O. Box 1142 Bristol, CT 06011-1142 Contributions to CLG are not tax deductible. General Strike: November 28, 2011! October 26, 2011 by legitgov ShareThis General Strike: November 28, 2011! --The only thing we have left is our labor. This is what we must withhold.  Posted by www.legitgov.org Extend your Thanksgiving weekend by refusing the austerity measures to be imposed on the vast majority by the corporate, military and financial oligarchy! General Strike, Monday, November 28, 2011! http://www.facebook.com/pages/Citizens-For-Legitimate-Government/93486533659#!/photo.php?fbid=10150170431933660&set=pu.93486533659&type=1