CLG: American helicopters drop boxes of weapons in ISIL-held areas in Iraq; US previously airdropped weapons captured by ISIL in Syria, Airstrikes against Islamic State top $1bn, kill over 1,100 people

News Updates from CLG
30 December 2014

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

Previous edition: North Korea not behind Sony hack according to multiple security experts; attack was an inside job

Note: The latest update on the CLG Newsletter duplicates problem can be found here. I hope CLG's webhoster is able to fix this problem, soon. Thank you to all who dropped us a note, letting us know which mail servers are delivering two copies of each CLG Newsletter.

Breaking: Indonesia finds bodies, debris in search for missing jet: official 30 Dec 2014 Indonesian rescuers saw bodies and luggage off the coast of Borneo island on Tuesday and officials said they were "95 percent sure" debris spotted in the sea was from a missing AirAsia plane with 162 people on board. Indonesia AirAsia's Flight QZ8501, an Airbus A320-200, lost contact with air traffic control early on Sunday during bad weather on a flight from the Indonesian city of Surabaya to Singapore. Pictures of floating bodies were broadcast on television and relatives of the missing gathered at the crisis center in Surabaya were shown weeping, their heads in their hands.

American helicopters drop boxes of weapons in ISIL-held areas in Iraq; US previously airdropped weapons captured by ISIL in Syria 27 Dec 2014 Volunteer forces fighting against the ISIL Takfiri terrorists say US military aircraft have dropped weapons in areas held by the terrorist group in Iraq. American helicopters dropped boxes of weapons in Yathrib and Balad districts in Iraq's Salahuddin Province, according to the fighters. The report comes as the Iraqi army and volunteer fighters appear to be gaining the upper hand and making significant gains against ISIL. In October, a video showed the terrorist group captured a bundle of US weapons airdropped in the Syrian border town of Kobani. [Notice that whenever I-CIA-SIS is poised to lose an area, its US handlers immediately spring to the rescue? ISIS is a CIA/MOSSAD Frankenstein.]

Airstrikes against Islamic State top $1bn, kill over 1,100 people 26 Dec 2014 US and coalition airstrikes against the Islamic State in Syria have killed nearly 1,200 people -- including 52 civilians -- and wounded at least 800 others at a cost of more than 1 billion since the bombings began in September. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said Thursday that airstrikes in Syria over the last three months have killed 1,046 fighters from the Islamic State -- most of whom were non-Syrian fighters...Last week, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel authorized the deployment of 1,300 additional US troops to Iraq, according to The Hill.

U.S. Stockpiling Fighting Vehicles Near Iraq Ahead of 'Anti-ISIS' Offensive 22 Dec 2014 Since June, the U.S. military has been slowly stockpiling massive amounts of its gear coming out of Afghanistan at a depot in Kuwait adjacent to a bustling commercial port, in preparation for ultimately shipping it across the border into Iraq for an allied offensive against [sic] the Islamic State group. The facility's warehouses and large asphalt yards now are home to roughly 3,100 vehicles, most of them MRAPs - the mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicles that have been ubiquitous in America's prolonged wars [for oil and op-um] in Iraq and Afghanistan. There is also some electronic equipment and other supplies at the depot, located at Kuwait's Shuaiba port, defense officials say.

Pentagon requests $1.2B for Iraqi army as investigation reveals Iraqi army paying at least 50,000 soldiers who don't exist 30 Nov 2014 The Iraqi army has been paying salaries to at least 50,000 soldiers who don't exist, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said Sunday, an indication of the level of corruption that permeates an institution that the United States has spent billions equipping and arming. A preliminary investigation into "ghost soldiers" -- whose salaries are being drawn but who are not in military service -- revealed the tens of thousands of false names on Defense Ministry rolls, Abadi told parliament Sunday...The Pentagon has requested 1.2 billion to train and equip the Iraqi army next year. The United States spent more than 20 billion on the force from the 2003 invasion until U.S. troops withdrew at the end of 2011.

Afghanistan against US plans to transfer military gear to Ukraine - Kabul official 27 Dec 2014 Kabul is against Washington's alleged decision to transfer weapons and machinery left from its military mission in Afghanistan to Ukraine, an Afghan presidential administration official told TASS. The issue will be discussed with Obama, he added. American specialists in Afghanistan are currently preparing US army MRAP (Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected) vehicles to be transferred to Ukraine, according to the information obtained by the Afghan presidential administration.

My Best Facebook Statuses, through December 26, 2014 (Topically arranged by alphabetical order). By Michael Rectenwald, Ph.D., CLG Founder 27 Dec 2014 [Click HERE for the file.] These updates fall under several categories, including the following: Liberals and Liberalism, Democrats, Elections, Neoliberalism, Economists, Revolution (and Revolution vs. Reform), Belief and Non-belief/Religion and Secularism, 'Race' in America, Identity Politics, Writing and Literature, Education, and more.

U.K.'s royal palace guards moved behind gates because of attack fears 29 Dec 2014 The soldiers who stand guard outside Britain's royal palaces have been moved behind metal fences because of fears of a terror attack following recent incidents in Canada, local newspapers reported. The Royal Guards, a popular tourist attraction outside royal residences because of their ceremonial uniforms, have been separated from the public, with armed police providing additional protection. The Telegraph newspaper reported on Monday that Buckingham Palace and the police feared that 'militant Islamists' could see the Royal Guards as high-profile targets.

Ebola case confirmed in Glasgow --It is the first case of Ebola to be diagnosed on UK soil. 29 Dec 2014 A Scottish nurse is being treated in an isolation unit in Glasgow after being diagnosed with the Ebola virus hours after arriving home from west Africa via a British Airways flight from Heathrow. The healthcare worker was admitted to Gartnavel hospital after feeling unwell with a fever at 7.50am on Monday morning, having flown into the city at 11.30pm on Sunday. She had spent the last month working as a volunteer with Save the Children in Sierra Leone to help combat the epidemic.

Emergency shutdown at Ukraine's largest nuclear power plant --Accident took place on Sunday morning at 05:59 am local time (03:59 GMT) 28 Dec 2014 One of the reactors at the Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant has automatically shut down after a glitch. This is the second halt in operations in recent weeks at the plant in Ukraine's southeast, which covers at least one fifth of the country's power needs. "Unit 6 at Zaporizhzhya NPP was disconnected from the network by the automatic system that prevents damage to the generator," the plant's official website says, stressing that radiation at the facility is equal to the natural background [?], which is 8-12 microroentgen/hour.

Missouri Towns Sue County Voters Over Red Light Cameras --Three cities in St. Charles, Missouri seek to invalidate the decision of three out of four residents who voted to ban red light cameras. The cities demand that the court declare the voters' decision invalid and unconstitutional. [This fascism is *not gonna fly.*] 23 Dec 2014 Three towns in Missouri joined together to sue the the residents of St. Charles who voted to ban red light cameras. St. Peters, Lake Saint Louis and O'Fallon are asking a county circuit court judge to overturn the charter amendment banning automated enforcement adopted in November with the support of 73 percent of voters. City leaders argue that the 69,469 residents who voted for the measure had no business limiting the right of local politicians to use automated ticketing machines.

House GOP Leader Addressed White Supremacists in 2002 --House Majority Whip Steve Scalise addressed the group to rally support for conservative fiscal policies in Louisiana 29 Dec 2014 House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, the chamber's third-ranking Republican, served in the Louisiana Legislature when he appeared in 2002 at a convention of the European-American Unity and Rights Organization. Former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke founded the [hate] group. In a written statement, Scalise aide Moira Bagley Smith confirmed that Scalise addressed the group as it gathered at a New Orleans-area hotel near the neighborhoods that both Scalise and Duke represented during separate stints as state lawmakers.

Michael Grimm has decided to resign from Congress days after pleading guilty: sources 29 Dec 2014 Rep. Michael Grimm has decided to resign from Congress in the wake of his guilty plea on a felony tax evasion charge, sources told the Daily News Monday night. Grimm (R-Staten Island) said after he entered his plea last week that he planned to continue serving in the House. But he reversed course after speaking Monday to House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), who has taken a hard line on GOPers facing ethics charges. Grimm plans to announce his resignation on Tuesday or Wednesday, sources said.

'Everyone Is on Alert': Gunmen open fire at cops in LAPD cruiser in 'unprovoked' attack similar to killing of 2 NYPD officers 29 Dec 2014 Los Angeles cops were on edge Monday after two men allegedly opened fired on a marked police car in an "unprovoked" ambush Sunday night. The gunfire erupted around 9:30 p.m. in South Los Angeles while two officers were responding to an unrelated radio call in their black and white patrol car, police said..."We don't know the motive at this point," but there's a sense of "uneasiness," LAPD Officer Liliana Preciado told the Daily News.

School banned from basketball tournament in case players wear 'I Can't Breathe' T-shirts 27 Dec 2014 A high school basketball tournament on the Northern California coast has become the latest flashpoint in the ongoing protests over police killings of unarmed black men after a school was disinvited because of concerns its players would wear T-shirts printed with the words 'I Can't Breathe' during warmups. The athletic director for Mendocino High School was informed by his counterpart at Fort Bragg High School this week that neither the boys nor girls teams would be allowed to participate in the three-day tournament hosted by Fort Bragg High starting Monday, Mendocino Unified School District Superintendent Jason Morse said.

AirAsia Flight QZ8501 Missing --Indonesian officials say the flight, which had 162 passengers and crew on board, asked for an unusual route when contact was lost. 28 Dec 2014 AirAsia said the pilot of flight QZ8501 that went missing between Indonesia and Singapore early Sunday had requested "deviation" from the its flight plan because of bad weather. Search and rescue operations are being conducted under the guidance of Indonesia's Civil Aviation Authority. There were two pilots, four flight attendants and one engineer on board.

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