CLG: Radiation from ongoing Fukushima nuclear disaster detected on BC coast, Eugene, OR man killed by police was Army veteran, $45 Billion in U.S. Tax Dollars Goes Missing in Afghanistan - Audit

News Updates from CLG
7 April 2015

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

Previous edition: Iran nuclear deal: negotiators announce 'framework' agreement

In Memoriam, Charlie Mackey | 05 April 2015 | Today's newsletter is dedicated to Charlie Mackey, a faithful reader of the CLG Newsletters, a lovely human being, and someone who made the world a better place. Charlie died this morning at 12:10 AM, Easter Sunday.

$45 Billion in U.S. Tax Dollars Goes Missing in Afghanistan - Audit | 01 April 2015 | Hundreds of millions of dollars are missing in action in Afghanistan, and auditors are blaming the Pentagon's [purposefully] flawed accounting practices for the problem. A new report from the office of John Sopko, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), revealed that there's virtually no way to know what happened to a large chunk of money the Defense Department spent in Afghanistan before 2010. The auditors said DOD handed over data only for 21 billion of the total $66 billion it spent 'rebuilding' the war-torn country. The Pentagon only had data for about 57 percent of the total 795 million spent by that program between the years 2002 and 2013.

Suicide bomber targets protest in eastern Afghanistan, kills 17 | 02 April 2015 | A suicide bomber blew himself up in the middle of a demonstration against corruption in Afghanistan's eastern province of Khost on Thursday, killing 17 people and injuring at least 50 more, government officials said. Footage of the attack showed the explosion struck close to provincial officials, including one of the lawmakers who had helped organize the protest. There was no immediate claim of responsibility and it was unclear whether the attack was linked to the insurgency led by the Afghan Taliban [or, possibly, US contractors, who have a motive in ensuring that the corruption continues].

Lithuania prosecutors restart probe into secret CIA 'black site' | 02 April 2015 | Lithuanian prosecutors have reportedly reopened a criminal investigation into claims that state security officials helped the American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to operate a 'black site' in the Baltic country. Senior prosecutor Irmantas Mikelionis has decided to restart the investigation into the "possible abuse" of power by state employees, the spokeswoman for the prosecutor-general's office told Reuters in an email on Thursday. The investigation into Lithuania's criminal complicity in the CIA program was terminated in January 2011 due to lack of evidence. However, prosecutors decided to reopen it after the US Senate report issued last year said that Washington paid Vilnius 1 million in appreciation for establishing the detention center.

Saudi special forces 'involved in Yemen ops' | 04 April 2015 | Saudi Arabian special forces are involved in the military operation against Shiite Houthi rebels in neighbouring Yemen, a Saudi adviser said Saturday. Saudi army and naval special forces have carried out specific operations, said the adviser, without revealing if they had actually set foot on the ground. [?] Army special forces supplied weapons and communications equipment to militia loyal to President [sic] Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi in the main southern city of Aden, the adviser told AFP.

519 dead in 2 weeks of violence in Yemen: UN | 02 April 2015 | The United Nations (UN) says at least 519 people, including women and children, have so far lost their lives in two weeks of violence in Yemen, as Saudi Arabia continues to target the country with military strikes. In a statement on Thursday, UN Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs Valerie Amos said that 1,700 people have also been wounded during clashes between rival groups in Yemen and in the Saudi strikes against the country. Noting that 90 children were among the victims of the violence, she expressed concern "for the safety of civilians caught in the middle."

Ukraine's neo-Nazi leader becomes top military adviser, legalizes fighters | 06 April 2015 | Ukraine's Interpol-wanted leader of extremist group Right Sector, Dmitry Yarosh, has been appointed as an adviser to the country's Chief of General Staff. He has agreed to legalize thousands of fighters as an assault team subordinate to the regular army. "Colonel General Viktor Muzhenko, Chief of General Staff, and Dmytro Yarosh agreed the format of cooperation between 'Pravy Sector' [Right Sector] and the Ukrainian Armed Forces," Ukraine's defense ministry said in a statement.

Chuck Schumer bucks White House on Iran | 06 April 2015 | DemocRATic Sen. Chuck Schumer, one of Capitol Hill's most influential voices in the Iran nuclear debate, is strongly endorsing passage of a law opposed by President Barack Obama that would give Congress an avenue to reject the White House-brokered framework unveiled last week. Democratic leader-in-waiting Schumer had quietly signed on to a bill allowing congressional review of the Iran deal two weeks ago, but made little fanfare of his co-sponsorship.

U.S. says Iran sanctions face phase-out, Obama knocks Israel demand | 07 April 2015 | The United States made clear on Monday that sanctions on Iran would have to be phased out gradually under a nuclear pact and President Barack Obama poured cold water on an Israeli [insane] demand that a deal be predicated on Tehran recognising Israel. "The notion that we would condition Iran not getting nuclear weapons in a verifiable deal on Iran recognising Israel is really akin to saying that we won't sign a deal unless the nature of the Iranian regime [sic] completely transforms," Obama said in an interview with National Public Radio (NPR).

Heads up! NORAD to fly jets, conduct tests over D.C. | 06 April 2015 | NORAD will be flying jets between midnight and 2 a.m. Wednesday morning over Washington, D.C., as part of its exercise Falcon Virgo 15-07 to test intercept operations and train personnel. The North American Aerospace Defense Command and the Continental United States NORAD Region (CONR) will conduct these flights as part of Operation Noble Eagle, which was created after the terror attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. "...Civil Air Patrol aircraft, Air Force F-16s, an Air Force C-38, and a U.S. Coast Guard MH-65 Dolphin helicopter will participate in the exercise."

CSIS shares terrorism travel info with 'trusted partners': memo --Inclusion of 'non-traditional partners' beyond Five Eyes spy network worries critic | 05 April 2015 | The Canadian Security Intelligence Service has set up a "multilateral forum of trusted partners" to share information on suspected extremists travelling abroad -- a group that extends beyond its customary Five Eyes spy network, a newly released memo says. In the memo, "CSIS Response: Addressing the Terrorist Travel Threat," Canada's spy agency also flags a concern about the challenges it faces in going further to build relationships with "non-traditional partners." The September CSIS memo evokes the kind of information-sharing that led to the overseas torture of four Arab-Canadians following the 9/11 attacks, said Alex Neve, secretary general of Amnesty International Canada.

Six people arrested in Dover over Syria-related terrorism offences | 04 April 2015 | Six people have been arrested in Dover on suspicion of Syria-related terrorism offences, West Midlands police said. In a series of tweets, police said five men and one woman were detained at about 8am on Friday in the departure zone of the port. The group is currently being questioned at a police station in the West Midlands while searches are continuing at a number of addresses in Birmingham.

Teenage boy, 14, and girl, 16, arrested on suspicion of preparing acts for terrorism | 05 April 2015 | A teenage boy and girl have been arrested on suspicion of preparing acts for terrorism. The 14-year-old boy was arrested in Blackburn, Lancashire, on Thursday, while the girl, 16, was arrested after police raided a house in Longsight, Manchester, on Friday. They were both arrested as part of the same investigation on suspicion of terror-linked offences and have been bailed until May 28.

Terror suspects considered attacking NYPD funeral | 3 April 2015 | Two New York City women accused of plotting a terrorist attack are in federal custody. Court documents said Noelle Velentzas, 28, and Asia Siddiqui, 31, were influenced by ISIS and the Boston Marathon bombings. An undercover informant said the women expressed interest in pressure cooker bombs like the ones used in the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings, and Velentzas indicated her preferred targets were cops or the military, rather than civilians. In December of last year, they considered attacking the funeral of one of the two NYPD officers who had been killed two weeks earlier in an ambush attack in Brooklyn.

Snowden cover-up: Unauthorized bust in Brooklyn becomes martyr to cause | 06 April 2015 | New York City Parks workers have covered up a statue of National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden that was secretly installed overnight. The 100-lb bust was erected in Brooklyn's Fort Greene Park, atop the Prison Ship Martyrs Monument. The 4-foot tall Snowden bust was fused to the monument overnight on Monday by a trio of anonymous artists and a few helpers, Animal New York reported. They renamed the tribute 'Prison Ship Martyrs Monument 2.0'.

Eugene, OR man killed by police was Army veteran | 02 April 2015 | The man shot and killed by a Eugene police officer Monday has been identified as Brian Avon Babb, a 49-year-old Army veteran who served in Afghanistan in 2006, authorities said. The incident began about 5 p.m. Monday when officers were dispatched to Babb's home on Devos Street in the Bethel area in response to a report of a dispute. The call to 911 was placed by a local therapist, who told police that Babb was emotionally distressed and suicidal, and had fired a gun inside his home.

Radiation from ongoing Fukushima nuclear disaster detected on BC coast | 06 April 2015 | Radiation from the leaking Fukushima nuclear reactor in Japan has been detected on the shores of Vancouver Island. Scientists say it's the first time since a tsunami in Japan four years ago that radiation has been found on the shorelines of North America. Low levels of the radioactive isotope Cesium-134 were collected last February in waters off a dock at Ucluelet, B.C., about 315 kilometres west of Victoria.

Oregon governor expands drought declaration | 06 April 2015 | Oregon Governor Kate Brown declared a drought emergency on Monday in three southern and central Oregon counties, expanding upon earlier drought declarations the Democrat made in March, as the state faces record low snowpack levels. Continuing drought has caused "natural and economic disaster conditions" in Oregon's Crook, Harney and Klamath counties, heightening wildfire risk, and threatening wildlife and agriculture, Brown said in her declaration.

California used 70 million gallons of water in fracking in 2014 | 03 April 2015 | California oil producers used 214 acre-feet of water, equivalent to nearly 70 million gallons, in the process of fracking for oil and gas in the state last year, less than previously projected [!], state officials told Reuters on Thursday. Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, occurs when water and some chemicals are injected deep underground at high pressure to break up rock and release oil and gas into wells. The practice has been criticized in the state, which is suffering from a drought so severe that Governor Jerry Brown announced the first-ever mandatory 25 percent statewide reduction in water use on Wednesday.

CDC: Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Carried by International Travelers Spreading Across U.S. --'Shigella bacteria' is resistant to antibiotic Cipro | 03 April 2015 | According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an intestinal illness carried by international travelers is spreading across the nation. The CDC says, between May 2014 and February 2015 there have been 243 cases in 32 states and Puerto Rico. Three cases have been reported so far in Michigan, according to the Michigan Department of Community Health.

Gun control activist Sarah Brady dies at 73 | 03 April 2015 | Sarah Brady, a prominent gun control activist and widow of former White House Press Secretary James Brady, died on Friday at age 73, her family said in a statement. She was battling pneumonia. Brady began gun control work after her husband was shot and severely wounded in a 1981 assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan. James Brady spent the rest of his life in a wheelchair. The Bradys were involved with the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, the largest U.S. gun-control group.

Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign signs lease for Brooklyn Heights headquarters | 04 April 2015 | Hillary is coming to Brooklyn. The former Secretary of State's team signed a lease Wednesday to house its headquarters in a Brooklyn Heights office building, a move indicating Clinton will launch her second presidential campaign within two weeks. The Federal Election Commission gives candidates 15 days to create a campaign committee after "campaign activity" -- which includes leasing office space. Sources said Friday that Clinton's camp has leased two floors, totaling about 80,000 square feet, at One Pierrepont Plaza.

Jeb Bush Listed Himself as 'Hispanic' on Voter Form | 06 April 2015 | Jeb Bush, a former Florida governor and likely presidential candidate, was born in Texas and hails from one of America's most prominent political dynasties. But on at least one occasion, it appears he got carried away with his appeal to Spanish-speaking voters and claimed he actually was Hispanic. In a 2009 voter-registration application, obtained from the Miami-Dade County Elections Department, Mr. Bush marked Hispanic in the field labeled "race/ethnicity." A Bush spokeswoman could offer no explanation for the characterization.

Previously unpublished interview with Allen Ginsberg and Michael Rectenwald | 02 March 2015 | (Dangerous Minds) In 1977, Michael Rectenwald was a disenchanted pre-med student with a secret passion for poetry--Allen Ginsberg and his influences in particular. After a couple of years of covertly consuming, studying and writing poems, he found his interest in medical school had entirely evaporated, so he left school and dove further into writing, eventually sending a letter and some of his poems to Ginsberg himself. Not only did Ginsberg write back, he invited Rectenwald to apprentice him at the Jack Kerouac School of Disemb-died Poetics at Naropa Institute in Boulder, Colorado... See also: Tragic note from the final days of William Burroughs Jr. | 30 March 2015 | (Dangerous Minds) William Seward Burroughs III—better known as Billy Burroughs or William Burroughs Jr.--had one of the more tragically doomed lives in literature...At one point late in Billy's life, Michael Rectenwald--(poet, fiction writer and academic [and Chair/Founder of legitgov.org], who was at the time an apprentice to Allen Ginsberg at the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics at Naropa Institute in Boulder, Colorado)--was placed in a sort of care-taking position for Billy--no easy task for a college student. Nonetheless, Rectenwald saw Billy's devastating final days, and was the recipient of the heart-wrenching note below, left before Billy fled to Florida.

Icy roads cause 39-car pileup, other crashes in Colorado | 3 April 2015 | Icy roads caused several bad wrecks that shut down highways during the morning commute in Colorado, including a nearly 40-vehicle pileup near Boulder. The crash Friday near Boulder closed U.S. Highway 36. Other crashes shut down highways in the Denver and Colorado Springs areas as icy roads caught drivers by surprise following a light snowfall.

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