CLG: GCHQ captured emails of journalists from BBC, Reuters, the Guardian, the New York Times and others, Breached pipeline spills up to 50,000 gallons of oil into Yellowstone River

News Updates from CLG
19 January 2015

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Previous edition: Pentagon to deploy 400 troops to train Syrian 'rebels', which NSAssociate relegated to the spam bin. See: Google Filter Instructions for CLG Newsletter.

GCHQ captured emails of journalists from BBC, Reuters, the Guardian, the New York Times and others --Terrorists, listed immediately above investigative journalists on the document, were given a much higher 'capability' score of four out of five, but a lower 'priority' of two. --Agency includes investigative journalists on 'threat' list | 19 Jan 2015 |GCHQ's bulk surveillance of electronic communications has scooped up emails to and from journalists working for some of the US and UK's largest media organisations, analysis of documents released by whistleblower Edward Snowden reveals. Emails from the BBC, Reuters, the Guardian, the New York Times, Le Monde, the Sun, NBC and the Washington Post were saved by GCHQ and shared on the agency's intranet as part of a test exercise by the signals intelligence agency. The journalists' communications were among 70,000 emails harvested in the space of less than 10 minutes on one day in November 2008 by one of GCHQ's numerous taps on the fibre-optic cables that make up the backbone of the internet.

N.S.A. Tapped Into North Korean Networks Before Sony Attack, Officials Say | 18 Jan 2015 |The trail that led American officials to blame North Korea for the destructive cyberattack on Sony Pictures Entertainment in November winds back to 2010, when the National Security Agency scrambled to break into the computer systems of North Korea. The American spy agency [in violation of international law] drilled into the Chinese networks that connect North Korea to the outside world, picked through connections in Malaysia favored by North Korean hackers and penetrated directly into the North with the help of South Korea and other American allies, according to former United States and foreign officials, computer experts later briefed on the operations and a newly disclosed N.S.A. document.

'CIA killed prisoners, made it look like suicide' - Guantanamo guard | 15 Jan 2015 |A former Guantanamo Bay prison guard and Marine explained in details what makes him believe three problematic detainees were killed at CIA black site in Guantanamo and their death was covered up as a triple suicide. Army Staff Sergeant Joseph Hickman was on duty at the notorious prison camp when the three men died, and insists the official version of events is "impossible," he told Vice News. The three men were Salah Ahmed Al-Salami, 37, from Yemen, Mani Shaman Al-Utaybi, 30, from Saudi Arabia, and Yasser Talal Al-Zahrani, 22, also from Saudi Arabia. None of them had been charged with any crime.

US troops training Syrian 'moderates' could top 1,000 - Pentagon | 17 Jan 2015 | The Pentagon announced that a mission to train the "moderate" Syrian opposition may involve over 1,000 US troops. The first soldiers may flow into the region in a month, while the trained fighters may return to Syria to "fight ISIS" by the end of 2015. The earlier announced number suggested 400 pairs of US boots on the ground in countries neighboring Syria, where the training will take place. However, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told reporters in a press briefing on Friday that the total number "could approach 1,000." "It might even exceed that. I can't rule that out," Kirby added.

Kiev's new offensive in Donbass may lead to irreversible consequences - Moscow | 19 Jan 2015 | Kiev's attempt to solve the Ukrainian crisis with military force is a blunder, which may affect the country's territorial integrity, Russia's foreign deputy minister said. On Sunday, Kiev renewed its assault in southeast Ukraine. "It's the biggest, even strategic mistake of the Ukrainian authorities to bank on a military solution to the crisis in Ukrainian society and to all of southeast Ukraine's problems. This can lead to irreversible consequences for Ukrainian statehood," Grigory Karasin, Russia's deputy foreign minister, was quoted as saying by Interfax news agency.

Donetsk shelled as Kiev 'orders massive fire' on militia-held E. Ukraine | 19 Jan 2015 | Ukrainian troops have launched a massive assault on militia-held areas Sunday morning after an order from Kiev, a presidential aide said. The self-proclaimed Donetsk republic's leader accused Kiev of trying to restart the war. The order to launch the offensive was issued early approximately at 6:00 am, according to Yury Biryukov, an aide to President Petro Poroshenko.

Clashes in Yemen's Capital Turn Deadly | 19 Jan 2015 | (Sana'a) Deadly violence erupted here on Monday as government forces clashed with Houthi militants who are ramping up demands for a greater say in the crafting of a new constitution. The fighting left nine people killed and 67 injured, the country's health ministry said. Unknown gunmen fired on a vehicle carrying Yemeni Prime Minister Khaled Bahah, who escaped unhurt, according to Minister of Information Nadia al Sakkaf.

NORAD conducting exercises this week in Washington D.C. area | 18 Jan 2015 | The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) will conduct a series of training flights over Washington this week in order to test its response capability to possible air threats. NORAD and its geographical component, the Continental United States NORAD Region (CONR), will conduct the regional exercise, called Falcon Virgo, Tuesday night through Friday morning between midnight and 5:30 a.m. each day, CONR said in a press release.

Former FBI Special Agent Says CIA Kept Him From Helping to Stop 9/11 Terror Attacks | 18 Jan 2015 | An FBI special agent who lost his job in 2008 told Newsweek his story about how the 9/11 hijackers slipped through the cracks at the FBI and CIA more than a decade ago. Mark Rossini said the CIA prevented him from going to FBI headquarters with the information that two known terrorists, who later went on to carry out the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center, had entered the US. Government reports on 9/11 blame a vague "intelligence failure" for the terrorist attack that killed about 3,000 people in 2001 and provide little clarity on why the CIA didn't communicate crucial information about the hijackers to the FBI.

This is fertile false flag ground: UK and US to Stage Cyber War Games to Test Banks | 16 Jan 2015 | Britain and the US will stage cyber "war games" together to boost both countries' resistance to cyberattacks. During talks in Washington David Cameron and President Barack Obama also agreed to set up of a joint "cyber cell" to defeat execute cyberattacks, the White House said in a statement. The unprecedented amount of intelligence co-operation and information sharing between the two nations topped the agenda of the talks. Plans to force social media companies to share secret information were also expected to be discussed.

US, UK want to tackle 'technical issues' of accessing encrypted private information | 17 Jan 2015 | Western intelligence agencies must be able to intercept any communications in order to thwart potential terror attacks being hatched by extremist groups, and this must be done without violating citizens' rights, US and British leaders said. British authorities don't need "backdoors" into the websites and communication protocols used for online conversations, Cameron added. Instead, he said: "We believe in very clear front doors through legal processes that should help to keep our countries safe."

Charlie Hebdo attack spurs EU anti-terror 'projects' | 19 Jan 2015 | European states have agreed to launch anti-terror "projects" with Muslim-majority nations and improve Arabic skills in response to the Charlie Hebdo attacks in France. EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini made the announcement after talks in Brussels, but gave no details...The EU would step up intelligence-sharing both internally and with countries affected by terrorism, she said, and increase its work to prevent funding for terrorist networks. The European Parliament, she added, would be asked to work on legislation covering the sharing of airline passenger data.

European countries seek sweeping new powers to curb terrorism | 16 Jan 2015 | Belgian leaders on Friday sought sweeping new powers to monitor and punish their citizens for involvement with terrorism, joining France in an effort to rewrite laws just hours after dozens of arrests across Europe offered dramatic evidence of the threats security officials say are facing the continent. Belgian leaders said Friday that they would seek to expand the list of offenses for which they could strip some people of their citizenship. France has fast-tracked the convictions of those accused of hate speech, handing down years-long prison sentences within hours of the initial offense. British Prime Minister David Cameron called for eagle-eyed surveillance of social networks.

Terror cell warning as Europe scrambles to handle threats | 16 Jan 2015 | European counterterrorism agencies scrambled Friday to assess the potential danger of a complex and growing terrorism threat exposed by the arrests of more than a dozen people with suspected links to Islamic extremists. As many as 20 sleeper cells of between 120 and 180 people could be ready to strike in France, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands, a Western intelligence source told CNN. European Union and Middle East intelligence agencies had identified an "imminent threat" to Belgium, and possibly also to the Netherlands, the source told CNN.

UK and US Announce Joint Anti-Terror Push | 16 Jan 2015 | Britain and the US are to establish a new joint group to counter violent extremism, Barack Obama and David Cameron have announced. Speaking after talks with the President at the White House, the Prime Minister said the US and UK are united in their drive to fight "poisonous and fanatical ideology". The announcement came amid heightened fears of a fresh terror attack in the wake of the Paris attacks which left 17 people dead and the arrest of over two dozen people in anti-terror raids in Belgium, Germany and France. They have also agreed to stage cyber "war games" to boost both countries' resistance to cyber attacks.

At least a dozen people detained in detained in Paris over attacks | 16 Jan 2015 At least a dozen people have been detained in the Paris region overnight in connection with last week's shootings, the city prosecutor's office said Friday. The individuals arrested are suspected of providing logistical support for the attacks. The arrests were made in the Grigny and Fleury-Merogis neighborhoods, and those arrested were in Amedy Coulibaly's entourage, the Paris prosecutor's spokesperson said.

No 'Je suis Charlie' or media coverage at all for psycho Saudi Arabia: US ally Saudi Arabia declares all atheists are terrorists in new law to crack down on political dissidents | 1 Apr 2014 | Saudi Arabia has introduced a series of new laws which define atheists as terrorists, according to a report from Human Rights Watch. In a string of royal decrees and an overarching new piece of legislation to deal with terrorism generally, the Saudi King Abdullah has clamped down on all forms of political dissent and protests that could "harm public order"....To that end, King Abdullah issued Royal Decree 44, which criminalises "participating in hostilities outside the kingdom" with prison sentences of between three and 20 years, Human Rights Watch said.

Secret Service investigate multiple shots fired outside Vice President Joe Biden's Delaware home --Local authorities and Secret Service were unable to catch the suspect | 18 Jan 2015 | Shots rang out Saturday night outside the Delaware home of Vice President Joe Biden. Multiple rounds were fired from a vehicle speeding past the New Castle County residence around 8:25pm, according to the Secret Service. 'This occurred on a public road outside the established security perimeter. The shots were heard by Secret Service personnel posted at the residence and a vehicle was observed by an agent leaving the scene at a high rate of speed,' Secret Service spokesman Robert Hoback told CNN.

Delta flight evacuated at RDU after bomb threat made on Twitter | 17 Jan 2015 | Airport officials say a Delta flight from Atlanta to Raleigh-Durham International Airport was evacuated after landing Saturday afternoon due to a bomb threat made on a social media site. Law enforcement swarmed the Delta plane after it landed at RDU. An airport official says they received a threat on Twitter that there was possibly a bomb on board the plane. "We had to single file go past a dog, they sniffed us," said passenger Chris Hart.

Prominent North Korean Defector Lied About His Story of Captivity, Said to Be 'Still Lying' | 18 Jan 2015 | He was the [CIA] poster boy for human rights atrocities in North Korea; a soft-spoken survivor of the North's cruel gulags who eventually met such dignitaries as John Kerry in his campaign to focus attention on the North’s abuses. Now, that survivor fabulist, Shin Dong-hyuk, is retracting central facts of his widely reported life story, memorialized in a 2012 book, "Escape from Camp 14," by a former Washington Post reporter that has been published in 27 languages. Mr. Shin's latest account has raised its own questions. "He is still lying," said a North Korean defector who said he was in Camp 18 from 1967 to 1988 and would speak to journalists only on condition of anonymity because he still had family members in the North.

Breached pipeline spills up to 50,000 gallons of oil into Yellowstone River | 19 Jan 2015 | A breached oil pipeline in Montana has spilled as many as 50,000 gallons of crude oil in and around the Yellowstone River, according to the state. Bridger Pipeline LLC has yet to determine the cause, but has claimed the public is in no immediate danger. Cleanup crews were at work on Monday to address the mess, which emanated from a break in the Poplar Pipeline system about 9 miles upstream from Glendive in eastern Montana. Bridger Pipeline said the rupture in the 12-inch steel pipe occurred early Saturday and lasted for one hour, dispensing no more than 1,200 barrels, or about 50,000 gallons, of crude oil.

2014 officially the hottest year on record | 16 Jan 2015 | The year 2014 - after shattering temperature records that had stood for hundreds of years across virtually all of Europe, and roasting parts of South America, China and Russia - was the hottest on record, with global temperatures 1.24F (0.69C) higher than the 20th-century average, US government scientists said on Friday. A day after international researchers warned that human activities had pushed the planet to the brink, new evidence of climate change global warming arrived. The world was the hottest it has been since systematic records began in 1880, especially on the oceans, which the agency confirmed were the driver of 2014's temperature rise. The global average temperatures over land and sea surface for the year was 1.24F (0.69C) above the 20th-century average, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa) and Nasa reported. [See also: 15 of the hottest spots around the world in 2014.]

Newlywed Dies of Sepsis After Getting Flu, Following Flu Shot Mandated By Wisconsin Hospital | 16 Jan 2015 | A Wisconsin newlywed started to feel sick with the flu on a Monday. By Friday, she was dead, ABC News reported. Katie McQuestion, a 26-year-old radiologist [at St. Catherine's Medical Center in Pleasant Prairie] from Kenosha, Wisconsin, got a flu shot to comply with hospital policy and had no underlying medical conditions, but she caught the flu and developed a serious complication from it: sepsis. She died on Jan. 2.

Romney Signals Interest in 2016 Run for President | 17 Jan 2015 | Mitt Romney made it clear publicly on Friday night what he has spent the last week conveying in private to Republicans across the country: He is considering another presidential campaign. "I'm giving some serious consideration to the future," Mr. Romney, the 2012 Republican presidential nominee, told a group of Republicans gathered here for the party's winter meeting. Speaking below deck on the Midway, an aircraft carrier converted to a floating museum in the San Diego harbor, Mr. Romney criticized President Obama and sketched out a three-pronged campaign platform should he seek the presidency for a third time.

Supreme Court to Decide Marriage Rights for Gay Couples Nationwide | 16 Jan 2015 | The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to decide whether all 50 states must allow gay and lesbian couples to marry, positioning it to resolve one of the great civil rights questions in a generation before its current term ends in June. The decision came just months after the justices ducked the issue, refusing in October to hear appeals from rulings allowing same-sex marriage in five states. That decision, which was considered a major surprise, delivered a tacit victory for gay rights, immediately expanding the number of states with same-sex marriage to 24, along with the District of Columbia, up from 19.

Seth Rogen hits out at blockbuster American Sniper likening it to a 'Nazi propaganda film' [It is.] | 19 Jan 2015 |Hollywood star and director Seth Rogen issued a statement about this weekend's blockbuster hit American Sniper, comparing the Clint Eastwood-directed film to Nazi propaganda. 'American Sniper kind of reminds me of the movie that's showing in the third act of Inglorious Basterds,' Rogen tweeted on Sunday. Quentin Tarantino's Inglorious Basterds culminates with an assassination attempt on Adolph Hitler at the premiere of a fictional propaganda film called 'Stolz der Nation' which translates to Nation's Pride. One of the characters of the film is a haughty German soldier who plays himself in Nation's Pride, a movie about how he killed 200 Allied soldiers from a clock tower in one battle.

Oscars race row: Rev Al Sharpton calls for emergency Hollywood meeting over 'insulting' absence of black actors among nominees | 16 Jan 2015 | Reverend Al Sharpton has said the Oscar nominations are 'appallingly insulting' and compared Hollywood to the Rocky Mountains, saying the higher you get 'the whiter it gets'. Rev Sharpton has called for an emergency Hollywood meeting to discuss possible action around the Academy Awards, after no black actors or actresses received nominations. He was due to meet allies and colleagues to discuss plans for before or during the February 22 ceremony. [Al Sharpton should win for best actor in an attempt to appear outraged in a television farce. --MDR]

Ice Pelts Northeast Killing at Least Five and Triggering Pileups | 19 Jan 2015 | Icy rain pelted parts of the Northeast on Sunday, triggering dangerous conditions that led to a fatal 60-vehicle pile-up in Pennsylvania, the deaths of six people and the closing of several bridges in the region. At least one person was killed and 30 other people were injured in the pile-up on Interstate 76 in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, state police said. Four more people died in crashes in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Connecticut because of extremely slick roads.

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