CLG: Sunoco oil pipeline leaks in Ohio nature preserve, More Radiation Escapes from New Mexico Nuclear Waste Facility, et al

News Updates from CLG20 Mar 2014

http://www.legitgov.org/
All links are here:http://www.legitgov.org/#breaking_news

Previous edition: Missing plane: plea to US to release Pine Gap data (which Google relegated to the sp*m bin, of course. Google subscribers: Google Filter Instructions for CLG Newsletter.)

Breaking: Objects may be from missing Malaysia Airlines jet: Tony Abbott 20 Mar 2014 Two objects possibly related to the search for a missing Malaysia Airlines plane have been spotted in the southern Indian Ocean, Tony Abbott says. "The task of locating these objects will be extremely difficult...and it may be they do not relate to the aircraft," the Prime Minister told parliament. Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 vanished on March 8 after takeoff from Kuala Lumpur carrying 239 passengers and crew, including six Australians. Australian aircraft have been scouring the Indian Ocean for signs of wreckage.

TEPCO says 13,000 tons of radioactive water may need to be cleaned again 19 Mar 2014 The operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant said Wednesday that it may have to clean some 13,000 tons of radioactive water all over again, as it has found its water treatment system was not working properly. The Advanced Liquid Processing System, or ALPS, has been developed to drastically reduce the radiation level of highly contaminated water that is accumulating at the plant. But it has been plagued with trouble and its test-run period has been prolonged.

ALPS decontamination system malfunctions again at Fukushima plant 19 Mar 2014 Key decontamination equipment at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant has malfunctioned again, resulting in radioactive water being stored in tanks meant for treated water, Tokyo Electric Power Co. said March 18. The utility said the problem occurred in the B unit of the multi-nuclide removal equipment called ALPS (advanced liquid processing system). TEPCO said there were no irregularities on March 14. But on March 17, the utility found that water supposedly treated at the B unit contained about 10 million becquerels of radioactive substances per liter.

More Radiation Escapes from New Mexico Nuclear Waste Facility 19 Mar 2014 Sensors at a U.S. atomic-waste repository in New Mexico have detected a second release of radiation in less than a month, the Associated Press reports. A brief spike in radioactivity readings occurred on March 11 at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, the Energy Department said on Tuesday. The incident followed a Feb. 14 leak that exposed 17 personnel to contaminants radiation and rendered underground portions of the site inaccessible to workers.

Greenpeace Storms EDF Nuclear Plant at Fessenheim in East France 18 Mar 2014 Police arrested dozens of anti-nuclear campaigners after they entered France's oldest atomic plant, operator Electricite de France SA (EDF) said. More than 60 Greenpeace protesters stormed the site at Fessenheim near the German border before dawn and unfurled a large banner that read "Stop Risking Europe."

World's most pristine waters are polluted by US Navy waste 15 Mar 2014 The American military has poured hundreds of tonnes of human sewage and waste water into a protected coral lagoon on the British-owned base of Diego Garcia over three decades in breach of environmental rules, The Independent can reveal. The Indian Ocean base on the Chagos Islands has been one of the world’s most isolated and controversial military installations since Britain forcibly removed hundreds of islanders in the early 1970s, abandoning them to destitution, to make way for US forces including nuclear submarines and bombers. It has emerged that US Navy vessels have been discharging waste water, including treated sewage, into the clear lagoon ever since a naval support station was established on Diego Garcia in the early 1980s.

Sunoco oil pipeline leaks in Ohio nature preserve 18 Mar 2014 After a major oil pipeline owned by [eco-terrorists] Sunoco Logistics Partners LP leaked hundreds of barrels of crude oil into a nature preserve next to the Great Miami River in southwest Ohio, clean-up operations began on Tuesday. Crews vacuumed oil that had leaked from the Mid-Valley pipeline into a wetland area of the Oak Glen Nature Preserve, 20 miles (32 km) north of Cincinnati, according to local officials. The 240-barrel (10,000-gallons/38,000-liter) spill has been contained, Sunoco said in a statement.

Israeli minister hints at action against Iran 18 Mar 2014 Israel's defense minister says his country cannot depend on the United States to lead an action against Iran's nuclear program and that Israel can only rely on itself. [Really? What about the *billions* in US tax d-llars?] Moshe Yaalon says Israel believed "the one who should lead the campaign against Iran is the U.S." but instead, Washington began talks with Tehran. He says Iran has the upper hand in the talks and that "we (Israelis) have to look out for ourselves."

Ukraine quits CIS, sets visa regime with Russia, wants Crimea as 'demilitarized zone' 19 Mar 2014 The interim government in Kiev says Ukraine will leave the commonwealth of post-Soviet states and force Russians to apply for entry visas, and plans to ask the United Nations to make Crimea a demilitarized zone. The raft of measures - a response to Russia's incorporation of Crimea into its territory following Sunday's referendum - was announced by National Security and Defense Council chief Andrey Parubiy during a press briefing in Kiev. The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) was founded to maintain economic and security links between former Soviet republics when they became independent states in 1991.

Pro-Russian forces enter Ukraine navy's Black Sea HQ 19 Mar 2014 Pro-Russian self-defence forces have entered the Ukrainian navy's Black Sea headquarters in Sevastopol and raised the Russian flag above the building less that 24 hours after Vladimir Putin announced the annexation reunification of Crimea in a searing speech to political elites in Moscow. In an hour-long speech in the Kremlin on Wednesday -- likely to go down as one of the defining moments of his long rule governing over Russia -- Putin said western politicians "call something white today and black tomorrow" and aired a long list of foreign policy grievances going back to 2000, saying "we were cheated again and again, with decisions being taken behind our back".

Two dead in news helicopter crash near Seattle Space Needle 18 Mar 2014 A news helicopter crashed near the Seattle Space Needle on Tuesday morning. The Seattle Fire Department reported two deaths and at least one critical injury. KOMO-TV reported that two cars were struck in the crash and firefighters were able to extinguish the blaze within a half-hour. The copter had reportedly been trying to take off from the roof of Fisher Plaza, across the street from the Space Needle, according to the KOMO.

Leaked File Details U.S. Phone Monitoring Abroad 19 Mar 2014 The National Security Agency is recording all telephone calls and their routing data in one foreign country and retaining that information for a month so that it can be analyzed later, according to a report based on a top secret intelligence document. Similar but less comprehensive efforts exist in at least four other foreign countries, according to a classified 2013 document provided by Edward J. Snowden, the former agency contractor. The collection effort was first disclosed on Tuesday by The Washington Post, which cited a classified summary of the program, code-named Mystic. The Post account said that the summary, also leaked by Mr. Snowden, noted that "every single" phone call in one foreign country was saved for 30 days before being purged.

NSA surveillance program reaches 'into the past' to retrieve, replay phone calls 18 Mar 2014 The National Security Agency has built a surveillance system capable of recording "100 percent" of a foreign country's telephone calls, enabling the agency to rewind and review conversations as long as a month after they take place, according to people with direct knowledge of the effort and documents supplied by former contractor Edward Snowden. A senior manager for the program compares it to a time machine -- one that can replay the voices from any call without requiring that a person be identified in advance for surveillance. The voice interception program, called MYSTIC, began in 2009. Its RETRO tool, short for "retrospective retrieval," and related projects reached full capacity against the first target nation in 2011. Planning documents two years later anticipated similar operations elsewhere.

Australia wants to hold web records longer because of Snowden --Agencies want two year data storage 18 Mar 2014 Australian law enforcement is using Edward Snowden's surveillance revelations as an excuse to store web data for at least two years. The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) made its plans known in a note to the Australian Parliament, with the support of the Northern Territory Police, Victoria Police, Australian Federal Police, Australian Crime Commission and Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. The Australian equivalent of the British Government Communications Head Quarters (GCHQ) or US National Security Agency (NSA) made its request in a submission about changes to the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 (TIA Act).

Mandatory data retention back on the radar 18 Mar 2014 The issue of forcing internet service providers to hold on to user data for at least two years is back on the agenda, with the Attorney-General's department siding with the law enforcement agencies on the issue of mandatory data retention. Australian state and federal police forces, along with the Australian Crime Commission and intelligence agency ASIO have all urged the Senate committee reviewing the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 to legislate mandatory data retention. According to their submissions, data retention serves a critical function in the criminal investigations pursued by the enforcement agencies and the current voluntary code implemented by the ISPs did not provide adequate consistency needed to prosecute serious crimes.

Flashback to South Africa's banning orders and the US PATRIOT Act: Ottawa imposes life-long gag order on bureaucrats, lawyers --Under the Security of Information Act, those sworn to permanent secrecy are prohibited from disclosing a wide range of information they were made privy to in the course of their duties. 13 Mar 2014 Ottawa has slapped a life-long gag order on bureaucrats and lawyers working in a number of government agencies dealing with sensitive national security information. The changes enacted Wednesday, and published in the Canada Gazette, reveal employees in 12 government divisions -- five of which have been disbanded -- are now subject to provisions under the Security of Information Act that permanently binds them to secrecy. Those employees, mostly Department of Justice lawyers and senior bureaucrats at the Privy Council Office, could face as much as 14 years in prison for disclosing "special operational information" without authorization.

ACLU urges N.J. State Police to 'come clean' after Christie town hall 19 Mar 2014 The New Jersey ACLU called on State Police today to explain why they took pictures of protesters at Gov. Chris Christie’s town hall meeting on Tuesday. "It raises serious First Amendment concerns that the State Police may be photographing protesters at Gov. Christie's town hall meetings," Udi Ofer, executive director of the ACLU of New Jersey, said in a statement. "The State Police must come clean and explain to New Jerseyans whether it has a practice or policy of photographing people engaged in First Amendment protected speech," he added.

NJ Motor Vehicle Commission passes 'anti-Tesla' rule 12 Mar 2014 If electric car Tesla is your choice, you might have a hard time finding one after the state Motor Vehicle Commission today unanimously passed new rules that will limit Tesla's direct s-les business model. The new rules made more stringent the need for a franchised dealer, a model that the electric carmaker says is "anti-Tesla" as the carmaker operates through storefronts that allow for buyers to purchase directly from the manufacturer. "The Administration has decided to go outside the legislative process by expediting a rule proposal that would completely change the law in New Jersey," the company said in a statement posted on its corporate website. "This new rule, if adopted, would curtail Tesla's s-les operations and jeopardize our existing retail licenses in the state."

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