Net Neutrality: Look whose side Republicans are on! Not yours! CLG: Israel cuts off electricity to thousands of West Bank Palestinians

The FCC was flooded with emails and letters, yet Republicans genuflect to Telecoms.

News Updates from CLG
27 February 2015

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

Previous edition: New leak at Fukushima nuclear plant sees 70-fold radiation spike

Net Neutrality Prevails in Historic FCC Vote | 26 Feb 2015 | The Federal Communications Commission voted Thursday to approve strong net neutrality rules in a stunning decision, defying vocal, months-long opposition by telecom and cable companies and Republicans on Capitol Hill. Democratic Commissioners Jessica Rosenworcel and Mignon Clyburn joined Chairman Tom Wheeler to approve a rule that reclassifies consumer broadband as a utility under Title II of the Communications Act. The FCC intends to use this new authority to ban "paid prioritization," a practice whereby Internet service providers can charge content producers a premium for giving users more reliable access to that content, as well as to ban blocking and throttling of lawful content and services. These rules also apply to mobile access.

Net neutrality activists score landmark victory in fight to govern the internet | 26 Feb 2015 | Internet activists scored a landmark victory on Thursday as the top US telecommunications regulator approved a plan to govern broadband internet like a public utility. Following one of the most intense -- and bizarre -- lobbying battles in the history of modern Washington politics, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) passed strict new rules that give the body its greatest power over the cable industry since the internet went mainstream. FCC chairman Tom Wheeler -- a former telecom lobbyist turned surprise hero of net neutrality supporters -- thanked the 4 million people who submitted comments on the new rules. "Your participation has made this the most open process in FCC history," he said. "We listened and we learned."

Net neutrality: Barack Obama thanks Reddit in hand-written letter | 26 Feb 2015 | President Obama thanked technology enthusiasts on Reddit, the popular content-sharing site, for their activism on net neutrality the old-fashioned way -- with a hand-written note. On Thursday, Alexis Ohanian, one of the site's cofounders, revealed a letter he'd received from the president thanking all of the site's users for supporting his administration's push to regulate the Internet like a utility. "Thanks Redditers! Wish I could upvote every one of you for helping keep the internet open and free," Obama wrote, using a term specific to the site in which a user helps popularize a post.

Chicago police are operating a CIA-style black site where suspects are 'disappeared,' denied lawyers and shackled for up to 17 hours, activists say | 25 Feb 2015 | One man who walked inside said he was cuffed to a bench for 17 hours. Another was only found after he was transferred to the hospital with a head injury. A third ended up dead. What did all three men have in common? They had been taken to Homan Square. Operated by the Chicago police, Homan Square is an unmarked warehouse on the West Side where local attorneys and a protester claim Chicago police are operating a CIA-style 'black site.'

The disappeared: Chicago police detain Americans at abuse-laden 'black site' --Secret interrogation facility reveals aspects of war on terror in US | 24 Feb 2015 | The Chicago police department operates an off-the-books interrogation compound, rendering Americans unable to be found by family or attorneys while locked inside what lawyers say is the domestic equivalent of a CIA black site. The facility, a nondescript warehouse on Chicago's west side known as Homan Square, has long been the scene of secretive work by special police units. Interviews with local attorneys and one protester who spent the better part of a day shackled in Homan Square describe operations that deny access to basic constitutional rights. Alleged police practices at Homan Square, according to those familiar with the facility who spoke out to the Guardian after its investigation into Chicago police abuse, include: Keeping arrestees out of official booking databases. Beating by police, resulting in head wounds. Shackling for prolonged periods. Denying attorneys access to the "secure" facility. Holding people without legal counsel for between 12 and 24 hours, including people as young as 15.

House GOP to push short-term DHS funding to prevent partial shutdown --Legislation to fund DHS for three weeks would be put to a vote in House on Friday - GOP | 26 Feb 2015 | Sounding retreat, House Republicans agreed Thursday to push short-term funding to prevent a partial shutdown at the Homeland Security Department while leaving in place Obama administration immigration policies they have vowed to repeal. "The speaker's pretty adamant that he's not going to shut down Homeland Security, especially in light of the Mall of America and in light of what's happened in New York," said Rep. Dennis Ross., R-Fla., emerging from a closed-door strategy session with the Republican rank-and-file. He referred to a suggestion made by one terrorist group that a sympathizer should attack the Mall of America, an enormous shopping facility in Minnesota, as well as the arrests Wednesday in Brooklyn of men charged with plotting to help Islamic State fighters.

'Jihadi John' From ISIS Execution Videos Was Under Watch by British Intelligence That Tried to Recruit Him [Looks like they did!] | 26 Feb 2015 | Mohammed Emwazi was 6 when his parents moved to West London from his birthplace in Kuwait, and he seems to have lived a normal life, studying hard and graduating in computer sciences from the University of Westminster in 2009. But he came to the attention of the British intelligence services in May that same year, detained as he landed in Tanzania with two friends on what he described as a celebratory safari. British officials thought he and his friends were headed to Somalia, to fight with the terrorist group Al Shabab, and allegedly tried to recruit him as an informant before shipping him back home...Mr. Emwazi appears in 2011 court documents, obtained by the BBC, as a member of a network of extremists who funneled funds, equipment and recruits "from the United Kingdom to Somalia to undertake terrorism-related activity."

ISIS thugs [US mercenaries?] take a hammer to civilisation: Priceless 3,000-year-old artworks smashed to pieces in minutes as militants destroy Mosul museum | 26 Feb 2015 | Islamic State thugs have destroyed a collection of priceless statues and sculptures in Iraq dating back thousands of years. Extremists used sledgehammers and power drills to smash ancient artwork as they rampaged through a museum in the northern city of Mosul. Video footage shows a group of bearded men in the Nineveh Museum using tools to wreck 3,000-year-old statues after pushing them over. Yesterday it was revealed how terrorists had blown up the Mosul Public Library, sending 10,000 books and more than 700 rare manuscripts up in flames. [Book-burning: that's straight out of the US playbook. Also, am I the only one who has noticed that ISIS never destroys anything near Iraq's Oil Ministry and never threatens Israel?]

Three Brooklyn men arrested for 'trying to join ISIS, plotting terror attack on New York and offering to assassinate Obama' --All are charged with conspiracy to provide material support to terror group [Wow, a triple whammy! I guess the DHS really, really wants its money from Congress!] | 25 Feb 2015 | Two men appeared in a Brooklyn courtroom Wednesday afternoon to face charges of plotting to travel to Syria to join the Islamic State terrorist group and wage war against the US by bombing Coney Island and killing law enforcement officers. The two were held without bail after a brief court appearance in New York...Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn said the trio of suspects schemed to hijack a commercial plane, set off a bomb in New York City, kill FBI agents and police officers - and one of the men allegedly offered to assassinate President Obama.

ISIS: 3 New York Men Arrested in Alleged Plot to Join Terror Group, Feds Say | 25 Feb 2015 | Three New York City men were arrested today on charges they allegedly conspired to join ISIS [I-CIA-SIS] in Syria, while also trying to carry out attacks on the terror group's behalf in the United States, the authorities said. The men had planned to travel to the Middle East and had also pledged to launch attacks in this country, including one on President Obama or planting a bomb in Coney Island, Brooklyn, federal officials said. Federal officials said Akhror Saidakhmetov, 19, was arrested today at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, where he was attempting to board a flight to Istanbul.

TSA Issues Secret Warning on 'Catastrophic' Threat to Aviation | 26 Feb 2015 | The Transportation Security Administration said it is unlikely to detect and unable to extinguish what an FBI report called "the greatest potential incendiary threat to aviation," according to a classified document obtained by The Intercept. Yet despite that warning, sources said TSA is not adequately preparing to respond to the threat. Thermite -- a mixture of rust and aluminum powder -- could be used against a commercial aircraft, TSA warned in a Dec. 2014 document, marked secret. "The ignition of a thermite-based incendiary device on an aircraft at altitude could result in catastrophic damage and the death of every person onboard," the advisory said.

Terror fears as sophisticated mystery tunnel is found yards from Toronto stadium that hosts Canada's biggest sporting events | 24 Feb 2015 | A sophisticated tunnel has been discovered near a major sports venue and a university in Toronto, sparking new terror fears as Canada remains on edge over the threat of possible extremist attacks. A municipal worker was walking through woods close to the city's Rexall Centre last month when he spotted a piece of corrugated metal on the ground, the public broadcaster CBC said on Monday. After lifting up the metal, he uncovered the passageway, also situated near York University...Officials also discovered a set of rosary beads and a Remembrance Day poppy, both nailed to a wall, according to reports.

Tony Blair's ex-private secretary becomes Britain's ambassador to Israel | 24 Feb 2015 | Britain's newly appointed ambassador to Israel, David Quarrey, served as Tony Blair's private secretary from 2004 to 2006. His appointment has sparked controversy as critics consider his foreign policy legacy. Quarry worked as a private assistant to Tony Blair during the ex-Labour chief's decade-long premiership. He subsequently became head of the Foreign Office's Middle East and North Africa department.

Israel cuts off electricity to thousands of West Bank Palestinians | 23 Feb 2015 | Israel's electric company cut off power Monday to more than 700,000 Palestinians in two major West Bank cities and nearby villages, and warned that more outages are coming if Palestinian officials don't pay millions of dollars in outstanding debt. The outage in Nablus, the largest West Bank city, and Jenin, to the north, lasted about an hour, but could become a regular part of West Bank life if the Palestinian Authority and the local electric utilities don't pay their bills, the Israel Electric Corp. (IEC) warned. Palestinian officials described the IEC move as a political step and collective punishment against the Palestinian people after the Palestinian Authority joined the Hague-based International Criminal Court last month. [See also: Israel opens dams forcing hundreds of Gazans out of flooded houses 23 Feb 2015.] #Sociopaths

Canada considers joining U.S.-led military training 'mission' in Ukraine | 25 Feb 2015 | The Harper cabinet is actively and seriously considering whether Canada should join the U.S. and Britain in a military training mission to shore up embattled Ukrainian troops [of Nazis, sociopaths, and war criminals], Defence Minister Jason Kenney said Wednesday. The notion drew a lukewarm response from opposition parties, who seem reluctant to see Canada venture further into the tinderbox of eastern Europe beyond the delivery of non-lethal military aid and satellite intelligence. Britain said Wednesday that it would send 75 military trainers to Ukraine next month to provide instruction and training in military intelligence, logistics and battlefield medical procedures.

TEPCO blasted for concealing latest Fukushima radioactive leak for nearly a year | 25 Feb 2015 | Local fisherman in Fukushima Prefecture, home to Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s stricken Daiichi nuclear power station, blamed the plant's operator on Wednesday for knowingly allowing radioactive substances from a rainwater drainage ditch linked to one of its buildings to flow freely into the sea since April last year. The leader of a local fishing corporative, Masakazu Yabuki, lambasted the embattled utility for its latest gaffe, leading to multiple nuclear meltdowns and the worst nuclear crisis since the Chernobyl disaster in 1986. TEPCO confessed on Tuesday that it had found a pool of highly-radioactive water on the roof of one of its buildings, which had likely been leaking into the sea via a drainage ditch when it rained.

Will the Arctic be ice-free in 40 years? Expert claims temperatures in polar regions are rising four times faster than the rest of the planet --Forecasts that the region's temperature will rise by 7°C within a century --Melting permafrost is already causing damage to buildings in the region | 25 Feb 2015 | The Arctic could be completely free of ice in just 40 years as a result of global warming, one of the world's leading climate change experts has warned. Nobel Peace Prize winner Professor Oleg Anisimov said there is evidence that temperatures are rising four times faster in the frozen region than the rest of the planet. This means that there will only be open water in the polar region by the 2050s, with nothing more than a few floating icebergs at the North Pole, according to the Russian academic.

International Polar Bear Day is observed today | 27 Feb 2015 | International Polar Bear Day is a holiday celebrated every February 27 to raise awareness about the conservation status of the polar bear. International Polar Bear Day is organized by Polar Bears International to raise awareness about the impact of global warming and reduced sea ice on polar bear populations. The holiday encourages people to find ways to reduce their carbon output, such as by turning down their thermostat or driving less.

President Obama vetoes Keystone XL pipeline | 24 Feb 2015 | President Barack Obama, exercising his veto power for the first time in five years, rejected on Tuesday a measure green-lighting the construction of the controversial Keystone XL pipeline. Obama's veto of the bill comes after a yearlong debate on the controversial pipeline which ultimately handed a legislative victory to proponents of the pipeline after Republicans took control of the Senate in January. Obama has said his top concern in making a decision will be "does it contribute to the greenhouse gases that are causing climate change [global warming]."

Chicago mayor to face runoff against progressive county commissioner | 25 Feb 2015 | After failing to persuade a majority of Chicago voters to back his re-election bid, Mayor Rahm Emanuel could face an even stiffer challenge in April against a runoff opponent aiming to consolidate the support of residents unhappy with how the former White House chief of staff has [mis]managed the nation's third-largest city. In a race Tuesday against four challengers, Emanuel discovered it wasn't enough to spend millions of d-llars on TV ads, earn the backing of the city's business leaders, and secure the hometown endorsement of President Barack Obama. [] In order to keep the job, he'll need to win another race in six weeks against Jesus "Chuy" Garcia, a Cook County commissioner who claims the backing of teachers, unions and neighborhood residents disillusioned with [Wall Street's] Emanuel.

No federal civil rights charges in Trayvon Martin case | 24 Feb 2015 | Three years after teen Trayvon Martin was fatally shot by George Zimmerman in Sanford, Fla., setting off a national debate on race and gun laws, the Department of Justice announced Monday it had concluded that there is not enough evidence to bring civil rights charges in the case. In its press release about the decision, the lack of charges against Zimmerman are said to be a result of being unable to meet the standard of proving that the "defendant knew his acts were unlawful, and committed those acts in open defiance of the law." ...Acting Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta of the Civil Rights Division said: "Our decision not to pursue federal charges does not condone the shooting that resulted in the death of Trayvon Martin and is based solely on the high legal standard applicable to these cases."

Sharpton paid to keep quiet about lack of black TV programming: lawsuit | 23 Feb 2015 | The Rev. Al Sharpton's silence was bought for a cool 3.8 million -- so that he wouldn't complain about the lack of black cable TV programming, an explosive 20 billion lawsuit alleges. The National Association of African-American Owned Media claims Comcast paid Sharpton and his National Action Network "cash 'donations'" in exchange for not screaming about its lack of solely black-owned channels. The cable giant also assured that the activist would keep his 750,000-a-year gig as a host on MSNBC, which it co-owns, even as his ratings slump, the suit alleges. [See also: FBI snitch, corporatist fraud Al Sharpton got MSNBC show after getting big donation and endorsing Comcast/NBC merger 6 Jan 2015.]

Mother Cow Hides Newborn Baby to Protect Her From Farmer | 25 Feb 2015 | A former dairy cow was so saddened by memories of her previous babies being taken away by a farmer [terrorist] that she hid her newborn calf to keep her from being taken, too. Clarabelle was rescued from a dairy farm in late November by the Australian farm sanctuary Edgar's Mission. She was hours away from slaughter at the farm, where her milk production was too low to bother keeping her alive. When Clarabelle arrived at the rescue, volunteers discovered she was pregnant...After a bit of a search, they discovered that she had secretly given birth and hidden the baby in a nearby patch of tall grass.

Slurpee waves! The moment semi-frozen breakers rolled ashore in New England amid record cold | 26 Feb 2015 | Plummeting temperatures have broken hundreds of winter records across the country - making February one of the coldest months in history. But in New England, it has gotten so cold even the waves are starting to freeze. These incredible photos of so-called 'slurpee waves' were taken by surfer Jonathan Nimerfroh in Nantucket, Massachusetts. He took his camera out when he noticed the horizon looked strange - and then spotted the surf had turn slushy.

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