Saturday, November 8, 2014

CLG: Obama authorizes 1,500 more troops for Iraq, asks Congress for $5.6 billion toward war, More Than 600 Reported Chemical Exposure in Iraq, Pentagon Acknowledges


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News Updates from CLG
7 November 2014



Previous edition: 'Republicans Retake the Senate: G.O.P. Gains Control With at Least 7 New Senate Seats.' See: Google Filter Instructions for CLG Newsletter.


Obama authorizes 1,500 more troops for Iraq, asks Congress for $5.6 billion toward war [I wonder if the 5.6bn will be used toward the Pentagon's food and weapons drops for I-CIA-SIS fighters?] 7 Nov 2014 President Barack Obama is authorizing the U.S. military to deploy up to 1,500 more troops to Iraq as part of the mission to 'combat' the Islamic State group. The White House says the troops won't serve in a combat role [!?!], but will train, advise and assist Iraqi military and Kurdish forces fighting IS. The announcement is part of a 5.6 billion funding request to Congress and came just after Obama met with congressional leaders Friday.


Obama Approves Doubling U.S. Military Force in Iraq 7 Nov 2014 President Barack Obama has approved doubling the U.S. military force in Iraq and allowing troops to venture beyond headquarters already established in Baghdad and Erbil, in an escalation of the U.S. effort to defeat Islamic State extremists. Obama also is asking Congress to approve 5.6 billion in added Pentagon and State Department spending to 'fight the Sunni militants who have seized a swath of Iraq and Syria.' The president's approval to send as many as 1,500 personnel is in addition to 1,600 he previously authorized, 1,400 of whom are in Iraq today protecting U.S. facilities and assisting the Iraqi military.


Obama to Seek Congressional Backing for Military Campaign Against ISIS 5 Nov 2014 President Obama said on Wednesday that he would seek specific authorization from Congress for the military campaign against the Islamic State, opening the door to a lengthy, potentially contentious debate over the nature and extent of American engagement imperialism in Iraq and Syria. Mr. Obama's announcement, at his post-election news conference, was not wholly unexpected. But it represented a significant shift from his earlier position that while he would welcome congressional backing, he had legal authority to take military action under existing statutes. Administration officials said Mr. Obama still believed he had that authority, but with the elections over, he concluded that the time was right to petition Congress for more explicit authority.

Insane in the membrane: EUCOM chief: More troops, gear needed to deter Russia 3 Nov 2014 The top U.S. general in Europe wants to increase U.S. rotational forces in Eastern Europe and stockpile more military equipment across the continent in response to continued aggressive [sic] moves by the Russian military. Air Force Gen. Philip Breedlove spoke to reporters at the Pentagon on Monday after a spate of tense confrontations involving Russian military aircraft flying in unusually large formations in the airspace of America's European allies. [Speaking of 'aggression:'] In October, the U.S. Army deployed 600 U.S. soldiers from the 1st Cavalry Division at Fort Hood, Texas, on a 90-day mission to Eastern Europe. The soldiers are training with M-1 Abrams tanks and Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles in Poland, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, which Breedlove described as "a first for many of these countries."

Former Russian secret service chief accuses the West of a 'cover-up' over MH17 --Retired secret service chief said Ukrainian forces shot down MH17 5 Nov 2014 Western secret services were today accused of a cover-up over the shooting down of flight MH17 by a retired chief in Vladimir Putin's military intelligence agency. Retired Lt. Gen. Nikolai Pushkarev - formerly a senior official Russia's secret service, GRU - implied that the aircraft was shot out of the sky by Ukrainian forces. [It was.] 'Western intelligence and the Americans are very well aware of all the details - who shot flight MH17 down, why and what for,' he alleged. They 'manipulate this information and this incident for their own benefit. This provocation was organised to lay blame on Russia and force it into sending troops to Ukraine, officially. But the Russian government did not succumb to this provocation'.

More Than 600 Reported Chemical Exposure in Iraq, Pentagon Acknowledges 6 Nov 2014 More than 600 American service members since 2003 have reported to military medical staff members that they believe they were exposed to chemical warfare agents in Iraq, but the Pentagon failed to recognize the scope of the reported cases or offer adequate tracking and treatment to those who may have been injured, defense officials say. The Pentagon's disclosure abruptly changed the scale and potential costs of the United States' encounters with abandoned chemical weapons during the occupation of Iraq, episodes the military had for more than a decade kept from view. This previously untold chapter of the occupation became public after an investigation by The New York Times revealed last month that although troops did not find an active weapons of mass destruction program, they did encounter degraded chemical weapons from the 1980s [provided to Saddam Hussein by the CIA] that had been hidden in caches or used in makeshift bombs.

U.S. Muslim leaders say FBI pressuring people to become informants 3 Nov 2014 Muslim leaders nationwide say the FBI is pressuring some Islamic community members and religious leaders to spy on fellow Muslims as part of a government effort to combat extremist recruiting in the U.S. The campaign has intensified in recent weeks, with mosques in California, Texas, Minnesota, Ohio, Florida and other states reporting unannounced visits by FBI agents, according to the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, the nation's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization. In a nationwide alert, the group urged mosque and community leaders to seek the advice of an attorney if they are approached by the FBI for questioning. They worried that the civil rights of numerous imams were being violated as the religious leaders were asked to meet with FBI agents, who then pressed them to inform on members of their congregations.

Teenager faces terrorism charge after east London arrest 5 Nov 2014 A teenager has been charged with preparing to commit acts of terrorism. Kazi Jawad Islam, 18, was arrested by the Metropolitan Police on August 13. Scotland Yard said he has been charged with preparing to commit acts of terrorism, contrary to Section 5 of the Terrorism Act...The charge comes a few months after the national terror threat level in the UK was raised from substantial to severe, meaning a terrorist attack is "highly likely".

3 Found With Drones Near Nuclear Plant Are Questioned in France 6 Nov 2014 Two men and a woman were being questioned by the police on Thursday after being arrested in possession of two drones near the Belleville-sur-Loire nuclear power plant in central France, news agencies reported. The arrests follow a wave of at least 14 illegal drone flights over French nuclear plants in recent weeks, which have raised concerns about the security of the country's main source of electricity...Law enforcement officials told Agence France-Presse that the three were suspected of having illegally flown two drones near the plant.

Fukushima disaster site 'like a science fiction film' --Science journalist Ranga Yogeshwar has gained extensive access to Japan's battered Fukushima power plant. He speaks to DW about exploring radiation-contaminated zones, and how the cleanup has progressed so far. 5 Nov 2014 ...You see empty supermarkets, beer machines with the beer inside still. You see a fuel station and you see grass coming out next to the fuel pumps, so this is something really spooky...You have closed areas called red zones, where presumably in the next decades nobody will be able to live...And you have lots of decontamination troops going in and ripping off the upper five centimeters of the soil and packing it in black plastic bags. This is like a science fiction film - you drive through valleys that are filled with these black plastic bags.

Fukushima crew removes 400 tons of spent nuclear fuel from crippled reactor 5 Nov 2014 The first of four sets of spent nuclear fuel rods has been removed from a damaged reactor building at Japan's Fukushima power plant, scoring a major success in an effort to dismantle the wrecked facility. The 1,331 spent fuel rod assemblies weighting some 400 tons have been recovered from the upper levels of the Reactor 4 building after a year-long operation, a spokeswoman for Fukushima operator TEPCO reported on Wednesday. The last 11 assemblies were removed on Tuesday. The recovered assemblies were placed in a storage pool at ground level of the plant, the company said.


First Japanese nuclear power plant since Fukushima to resume operations --Local governor gives final approval to restart two reactors at Sendai despite resident' concerns 7 Nov 2014 A local governor in Japan has given final approval to restart a nuclear power plant in southern Japan, the first to resume operations in the country under new safety rules imposed after the 2011 Fukushima Dai-ichi meltdowns caused by an earthquake and tsunami. Kagoshima governor Yuichiro Ito said restarting two reactors at the Sendai power station would go ahead despite the concerns of residents.


CNN Commentator, Fox News Media Consultant Provided Training to Most Major GOP Candidates - Report 6 Nov 2014 According to a Politico report, CNN commentator S.E. Cupp and Fox News media consultant Jon Kraushar both gave media training to most major Republican Senate candidates leading up to Tuesday's midterm elections. The "bootcamp" was arranged by the National Republican Senatorial Committee and intended to keep GOP candidates from making campaign-crippling media gaffes. Cupp conducted mock interviews with candidates, simulating the kind of interrogation they might receive from the media in weeks prior to the elections. Kraushar, who has worked for Eric Cantor, Paul Ryan and Dick Cheney, handles most of the on-camera training at Fox News. He was also present to ensure that candidates were primed.


Obama Open to Striking Deals With GOP Congress, Such as TPP 5 Nov 2014 President Barack Obama on Wednesday said he hoped to work constructively with newly ascendant Republicans in Congress, highlighting items for immediate action as well as longer-term areas where he hoped to strike deals with lawmakers. "Obviously, Republicans had a good night, and they deserve credit for running good campaigns," Mr. Obama said in his first public comments since Tuesday's election Koch purchases. In a conciliatory gesture, Mr. Obama on Wednesday highlighted areas where he hoped to work with Republicans, such as expanding trade [aka the *disastrous* TPP, as CLG predicted] and overhauling the corporate tax code. [No one is 'secretly celebrating' GOP control of Congress more than Barack Obama. If Obama actually wanted progressive legislation to pass, he would have hammered Harry Reid to change filibuster rules years ago. US media is salivating over the prospect of the passage of the worst 'treaty' in US history, Obama's Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) -- negotiated in complete secrecy by and for corporations -- which turns over governance of the United States to corporations, whose authority cannot be challenged. With the GOP running Congress, Obama can also get the Keystone XL Pipeline built for (his actual buds) the Koch brothers, renew the PATRIOT Act in 2015 (even though he campaigned for its demise in his 2008 campaign, another lie) and start more wars for Exxon Mobil and Monsanto. Start reading. --LRP]


Officials: 13 travelers in Iowa are being monitored for Ebola 7 Nov 2014 The Iowa Department of Public Health said Thursday that 13 travelers who were in West African countries are being monitored in Iowa for Ebola. The travelers were in Sierra Leone, Liberia or Guinea in the last 21 days and are now in Iowa. Twelve had low risk of having been exposed to Ebola in those countries health officials said, so they are being allowed to resume normal activities. IDPH has ordered them to take their temperature twice a day and report their health status to public health.

US supreme court agrees to hear new challenge to Obama's healthcare law 7 Nov 2014 The The US supreme court agreed on Friday to hear a new challenge to President Barack Obama's health care law. The justices said they will decide whether the law authorizes subsidies that help millions of low- and middle-income Americans afford their health insurance premiums. A federal appeals court upheld Internal Revenue Service regulations that allow health-insurance tax credits under the Affordable Care Act for consumers in all 50 states. Opponents argue that most of the subsidies are illegal. [Corporatist fraud Obusha knew the whole bill would eventually collapse under the weight of the GOP/Supreme Court, to help the Insurance Cartel. When Obama was first elected, he had huge Democratic majorities, and could have passed single-payer health care or 'Medicare for all.' Notice that he selected the Wall Street solution. Start reading.]

6th Circuit upholds gay marriage bans, reversing trend 6 Nov 2014 A federal appeals court on Thursday upheld gay marriage bans in Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee, reversing the trend in federal courts to strike down such bans and piling pressure on the Supreme Court to take up the matter. The ruling by the 6th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals is the first ruling by a federal appeals court upholding bans on same-sex marriage. When the Supreme Court in October refused to intervene in the issue, all other appellate courts that had weighed in had struck down state bans on gay marriage.


Mega barf alert! Farmington, Conn. students boycott moldy, hair-laden food provided by NC-based Chartwells --Farmington Students Organize School Lunch Boycott 2 Nov 2014 Students are calling for a boycott of school lunches this week. Farmington High School students say the district's 'food' service provider, [outsourced Charlotte, NC-based] Chartwells, is not providing quality meals and its policies are too harsh if students don't have enough money in their accounts. Chartwells employees have recently begun throwing away food if students don't have enough money in their accounts to pay, said senior David Casella...Casella said he still plans to protest the food company. "We want to get to the root of the problems so the food is better, not having mold, and not having hair," he said.


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