Saturday, May 9, 2015

CLG: Global carbon dioxide levels break 400ppm milestone, Denmark suspends fracking over hazardous chemicals, Kincardine nuclear waste site, to be located on the shore of Lake Huron, gets federal seal of approval




News Updates from CLG
09 May 2015



Previous edition: Texas police were warned about ISIS attack two days before deadly shootout by Anonymous activist


Global carbon dioxide levels break 400ppm milestone --'The last time the Earth had this much carbon dioxide in the atmosphere was more than a million years ago, when modern humans hadn't even evolved yet.' --Dr Ed Hawkins | 06 May 2015 | Record carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations in the atmosphere were recorded worldwide in March, in what scientists said marked a significant milestone for global warming. Figures released by the US science agency Noaa on Wednesday show that for the first time since records began, the parts per million (ppm) of CO2 in the atmosphere were over 400 globally for a month. The measure is the key indicator of the amount of planet-warming gases man is putting into the atmosphere at record rates, and the current concentrations are unprecedented in millions of years.


'It's Gone' - Snowpack Crucial for West's Water Melts Early | 08 May 2015 | The snowpack that is crucial for the western U.S. supplies of water for farming, drinking and recreation has melted early, spelling further drought problems for California. "Across most of the West, snowpack isn't just low - it's gone," Hydrologist David Garen of the United States Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) said. "With some exceptions, this year's snowmelt streamflow has already occurred." After months of unusually warm temperatures, the snowpack at many off the USDA's stations in much of the western U.S. is at or near the lowest on record, Garen said in a statement from the USDA.


First named storm forms before Atlantic hurricane season begins | 08 May 2015 | The first named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season formed off the South Carolina coast on Thursday - nearly a month before the season officially begins. Subtropical storm Ana is located 160 miles southeast of Myrtle Beach, with maximum sustained winds of 45 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami. The storm was drifting NNW-1 mph.


Kincardine nuclear waste site, to be located on the shore of Lake Huron, gets federal seal of approval | 06 May 2015 | A federal panel has [*insanely*] given an overall seal of approval to the controversial nuclear waste disposal site proposed for a subterranean crypt below the Bruce nuclear station near Kincardine, Ont. The panel's favourable view of the project, proposed by Ontario Power Generation, overcomes a major regulatory hurdle in the construction of the Deep Geologic Repository, or DGR in industry jargon, which would nuclear waste buried hundreds of metres underground near the shore of Lake Huron. Supporters and opponents -- there are 152 communities opposed to the project, including Toronto and Chicago -- were poring over the report after it was released late Wednesday, examining closely the conditions that the panel says should be imposed before the project can proceed.


Denmark suspends fracking over hazardous chemicals | 06 May 2015 | Denmark has suspended the first exploratory drilling for shale gas which lasted only one day after it discovered that French gas-giant Total, in charge of the project, had used "unauthorized" chemicals. "They used a product that was not part of those authorized" for the procedure, Ture Falbe-Hansen, a Danish Energy Agency spokesman told AFP Wednesday. The type of defoamer known as Null Foam is used in fracking to extract shale gas and is considered hazardous to the environment, according to Danish public broadcaster DR.


Heads up! A big fat false flag is likely on the way, because the US government wants the Patriot Act renewed: Pentagon raises threat level at bases for ISIS threat | 08 May 2015 | The Pentagon raised its protection levels a notch on Friday for military bases across the country in response to threats from ISIS [I-CIA-SIS]. The change will impact military installations throughout Hampton Roads including all eleven local Naval commands, the Army's Fort Eustis and Fort Story, and, Langley Air Force Base. The uptick to threat level Bravo from Alpha came after FBI Director James Comey told reporters on Thursday that ISIS is attempting to recruit "hundreds, maybe thousands" of potential terrorists across the country.


Security measures increased at US military bases | 08 May 2015 | The US military has increased its threat level at facilities across North America, although most installations were already operating at a higher level of protection. The increase likely means more bag and vehicle checks at military facilities. The military has four levels of security that are labelled A through D. The decision moves the baseline level from A to B at all facilities, even though most were already engaging in stricter security measures individually.


NSA mass phone surveillance revealed by Edward Snowden ruled illegal | 07 May 2015 | The US court of appeals has ruled that the bulk collection of telephone metadata is unlawful, in a landmark decision that clears the way for a full legal challenge against the National Security Agency. A panel of three federal judges for the second circuit overturned an earlier ruling that the controversial surveillance practice first revealed to the US public by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden in 2013 could not be subject to judicial review. But the judges also waded into the charged and ongoing debate over the reauthorization of a key Patriot Act provision currently before US legislators. That provision, which the appeals court ruled the NSA program surpassed, will expire on 1 June amid gridlock in Washington on what to do about it. The judges opted not to end the domestic bulk collection while Congress decides its fate, calling judicial inaction "a lesser intrusion" on privacy than at the time the case was initially argued. [The goal here by the US government and its corpora-terrorist overlords is simply to *privatize* the bulk data collection - not to end it. --LRP]


Court Rules NSA Bulk Data Collection Was Never Authorized by Congress | 07 May 2015 | As Americans wait for Congress to decide next month whether to renew the Patriot Act and the vast NSA metadata surveillance program it's made possible, a panel of three appellate judges has made the decision on its own: The Patriot Act, they've now ruled, was never written to authorize the sort of sweeping surveillance the NSA interpreted it to allow. The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled on Thursday that the bulk collection of Americans' phone metadata by the NSA wasn't in fact authorized by section 215 of the Patriot Act, as the intelligence community has argued since the program was first revealed in the leaks of Edward Snowden two years ago.


Right, left unite to blast McConnell over Patriot Act move --McConnell wants to extend, without changes, three provisions of the Patriot Act set to expire at the end of the month. | 06 May 2015 | A coalition of advocacy groups from all sides of the political spectrum has joined forces to warn against Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's (R-Ky.) plan to renew expiring portions of the Patriot Act without changes. Traditionally conservative organizations such as FreedomWorks and Gun Owners of America joined the American Civil Liberties Union, the NAACP and dozens of other groups to warn the Senate majority leader against his "clean" reauthorization of the national security law.


Lawmakers back spy bill dubbed 'French Patriot Act' | 05 May 2015 | French lawmakers voted in favour Tuesday of a new law granting the state sweeping surveillance powers, despite criticism from civil society groups that have dubbed the bill the "French Patriot Act". The bill passed the National Assembly with 438 votes in favour and just 86 against after it gained the backing of the two main parties - the ruling Socialists and the centre-right UMP. The bill will now go up before the French parliament's upper house, the Senate, in June.


Victorian police told not to work alone under new anti-terrorism rules | 08 May 2015 | Victorian police will not work alone under new rules sparked by fears they would be the target of a terrorist attack. Officers also must wear bulletproof vests when on patrol or working at reception at a police station under the new protocols, revealed on Friday. Victoria Police's executive command believed that the new measures were needed "in the circumstance, especially considering recent events", a spokeswoman said.


FBI sent alert about gunman before Texas shooting --US authorities have said Simpson had been under surveillance since 2006. | 07 May 2015 | The FBI had warned Texas officials several hours before a provocative Prophet Muhammad cartoon contest that a suspected extremist could show up at the event. But FBI Director James Comey said on Thursday the agency had no indication that the attack on Sunday was planned. Elton Simpson and Nadir Soofi were shot dead after they fired on a guard.


U.S. training anti-Assad Syrian forces to 'fight ISIS' | 07 May 2015 | The United States has begun training Syrian forces to fight ISIS [I-CIA-SIS], Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said Thursday. Carter said that about 90 Syrian fighters had begun their training, and he said a second group would begin training in the next few weeks. He called it "critical and a complex part" of U.S. efforts to fight ISIS overthrow President Bashar al-Assad. Carter declined to say where they were being trained.


Senate approves bill on reviewing a proposed nuclear deal with Iran | 07 May 2015 | The Senate gave overwhelming approval Thursday to legislation that would establish a congressional review for a proposed nuclear deal with Iran, as Republican leaders set aside efforts from their own rank and file to amend the carefully crafted bipartisan compromise. On a 98-to-1 vote, the Senate lent a bipartisan boost to the measure -- which the House is likely to approve next week -- that would allow for a 30-day review of any final deal with Iran, giving what supporters said is a congressional voice to the process as President Obama finishes negotiations with the Islamic republic.


Teenage girl soldier hailed as Ukraine's 'Joan of Arc' by Elle magazine is revealed as neo-Nazi and is arrested over cop killing | 08 May 2015 | A neo-Nazi portrayed as Ukraine's version of Joan of Arc by French fashion magazine Elle for her 'brave' fight against the Russian separatists has been arrested in connection with the deaths of two policemen. Vita Zaverukha was taken into custody after two officers were killed and three more injured on May 4, following a gang's failed attempt to rob a petrol station in the capital Kiev...Vita, 19, is charged with 'an attempt on an officer of the law', reported news outlets in Moscow - and a quick search reveals she is an active promoter and supporter of vile neo-Nazi ideals. What's more, she is also suspected of being linked to an attack on a traffic police post in Bykovnya two days beforehand, and it is also claimed she participated in bloody attacks [war crimes] on the Odessa House of Trade Unions in May last year in which 46 perished and 200 were injured.


North Korea says test-fires submarine-launch ballistic missile: KCNA | 08 May 2015 | North Korea said on Saturday it has successfully conducted an underwater test-fire of a submarine-launched ballistic missile, which, if true, would indicate progress in the secretive state's pursuit of building missile-equipped submarines. The North's leader Kim Jong Un oversaw the test-launch from a location off-shore as the submarine dove under water and "a ballistic missile surfaced from the sea and soared into the air, leaving a fiery trail of blaze," the official KCNA news agency said.


Senior Tories retain top cabinet roles as David Cameron seeks continuity | 08 May 2015 | David Cameron has made no changes to the most powerful positions in his cabinet in a defiant start to building the first majority Tory government in 18 years. Hours after his party shocked pollsters and commentators with a 331-seat return to government, the prime minister called in a line-up of familiar big-hitters to No 10. George Osborne and Theresa May, both tipped by Cameron himself as potential future leaders of the Conservative party, will retain their posts as chancellor and home secretary respectively. May has overseen some of the most high-profile and controversial reforms of the past five years, including the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act and Immigration Act.


Cameron poised to return to power, Labour routed in Scotland | 07 May 2015 | Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservatives are set to govern Britain for another five years but fall just short of an outright majority, an exit poll showed, a result likely to trigger an in-out EU membership referendum. The poll forecast the Conservatives would win 316 of 650 seats in the lower house of parliament and the main opposition Labour Party 239. If accurate, that would be centre-left Labour's worst result in almost three decades and it faced being wiped out in its former Scottish stronghold.


Canada frees Omar Khadr, once Guantánamo Bay's youngest inmate | 07 May 2015 | Twelve years and nine months after he was captured at the age of 15 by US troops in Afghanistan and taken to Guantánamo Bay, Omar Khadr - now 28 - has walked out of jail. A judge rebuffed the conservative Canadian government's attempt to block bail for Khadr, the youngest person ever held by the US at Guantánamo, who was transferred to his home country in 2012. Under the terms of his bail, set on Tuesday by Justice June Ross, Khadr will live with Edney and his wife in Edmonton. Khadr will be subject to extensive monitoring, to include wearing an electronic bracelet and the remote surveillance of his internet usage at Edney's home. He will not be permitted to have a laptop, cellphone or any other mobile device, and he will be subject to a curfew from 10pm to 7am.


Secret Service Adding New Metal Spikes to White House Fence Following Breaches | 07 May 2015 | Following several high-profile security breaches, the Secret Service on Thursday announced they would be adding "temporary security enhancements" to the White House -- including an anti-climb feature with sharp metal spikes. The new security measures will include replacing concrete barriers at vehicle checkpoints with mobile steel plate barriers, adding a new officer booth at a White House entrance and installing a removable anti-climb feature "with sharp metal points" on top of the White House fence, the agencies said in the statement.


U.S. boosts bird flu emergency funds as H5 avian influenza strains spread to 14 states | 05 May 2015 | The U.S. government approved the use of an additional 330 million in emergency funds to help contain the worst avian influenza outbreak in U.S. history, as infected bird cases soared and hundreds of Minnesota poultry workers learned they would lose their jobs. The funds became available after the federal Office of Management and Budget granted U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack's request for additional emergency funds, USDA sources confirmed to Reuters on Tuesday. Virulent H5 avian influenza strains have spread to 14 states in five months and affected about 24 million birds so far, mostly egg-laying hens and turkeys, according to USDA.


Nurse Reveals Routine Vaccine-Induced Injury From Current Schedule at Hospitals | 04 May 2015 | In California and Vermont, it has been confirmed that the community, because of its strong opposition, is simply no longer able to testify on record. Any whisper of the possibility of endlessly stacked parents rejecting votes sees immediate postponement of committee meetings to remove such options...In a recent interview, Michelle Rowton of Nurses Against Mandatory Vaccines was asked her thoughts on the current medical community vaccinating children too early with too many vaccines, she replied: "I think what a lot of people don't realize in a closed space like NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) is that they've decided that we need to vaccinate these babies on-time. Two months after they're born...bam, there it goes. This baby could be four months early and still supposed to be inside their mother, weighting three or four pounds and getting the same amount of vaccines as a 200 pound man."


Extreme secrecy eroding support for Obama's TPP 'trade' pact --Classified briefings and bill-readings in basement rooms are making members queasy. | 05 May 2015 | If you want to hear the details of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade corporate supremacy deal the Obama administration is hoping to pass, you've got to be a member of Congress, and you've got to go to classified briefings and leave your staff and cellphone at the door. If you're a member who wants to read the text, you've got to go to a room in the basement of the Capitol Visitor Center and be handed it one section at a time, watched over as you read, and forced to hand over any notes you make before leaving. And no matter what, you can't discuss the details of what you've read..."He's [Obama] indignant when we say it's secret," said Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.). "Maybe there's some definition of secrecy he knows that I don't know."


It's time to flush away the TPP | 07 May 2015 | The TPP has little to do with trade. Of 29 draft chapters, only five deal with traditional trade issues...Much of the pact focuses instead on outsized "investor rights." The TPP [Trans-Pacific Partnership] would grant foreign corporations extraordinary new powers to challenge the laws we rely on for a clean environment, essential services and healthy communities. Foreign corporations would be empowered to bypass domestic courts and directly "sue" the U.S. government before an extrajudicial tribunal of private corporate lawyers sitting outside any domestic legal system and not accountable to any electorate, system of legal precedent or meaningful conflict-of-interest rules.


Mega barf alert and gag me with a chainsaw: Jeb: George W. Bush is a top foreign policy adviser | 07 May 2015 | Jeb Bush cited his brother, former President [sic] George W. Bush, as one of his main advisers on the Middle East in a private meeting in Manhattan on Tuesday, according to three people who attended the off-the-record event. The comment came as a shock to some who were in the room because Jeb, a likely presidential contender, has taken pains to publicly distance himself from his brother and his controversial policies, particularly in that area of the world. The Washington Post [covering for Jeb, merely] reported that Jeb cited his brother as an adviser on Israel; however, four sources confirmed to CNN that the comments were focused on foreign policy more broadly. Three of them said Jeb noted his brother was an adviser on the Middle East.


Poll: Jeb Bush trails most of Republican field in Iowa --45% said Bush was 'not conservative enough.' | 06 May 2015 | Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush may be the most popular Republican presidential hopeful nationwide, but he trails his rivals badly in the critical state of Iowa, according to a new poll released Wednesday. Only 5% of likely Iowa GOP caucus-goers told Quinnipiac University pollsters that they planned to vote for Bush, placing him No. 7 in the field of declared or potential 2016 candidates.


Mike Huckabee launches 2016 presidential campaign | 05 May 2015 | Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee announced Tuesday that he will make a second bid for the Republican nomination. The challenges are formidable for the man who won the 2008 Iowa caucuses. In that earlier race, Huckabee, 59, a former Baptist preacher, struggled to expand his reach beyond evangelical voters and ran out of mon-y in subsequent contests.


FBI admits providing air support to Baltimore Police during Freddie Gray unrest | 07 May 2015 | In the wake of last week's riots, federal authorities provided aircraft for surveillance flights over Baltimore, keeping a quiet aerial eye on the lookout for new outbreaks of violence, FBI spokeswoman Amy Thoreson said Wednesday. Thoreson did not say what kinds of aircraft were used or who operated them. But the unusual activity in the sky over several days last week has attracted the attention of civil libertarians, who want more details about the aircraft and the flights.


DOJ announces investigation into Baltimore police practices | 08 May 2015 | Attorney General Loretta Lynch announced Friday the Department of Justice will launch a civil rights investigation into the practices of the Baltimore Police Department. "This investigation will begin immediately and will focus on allegations that Baltimore Police Department officers use excessive force including deadly force, conduct unlawful searches, seizures, and arrests, and engage in discriminatory policing," Lynch said. The civil rights investigation, similar to ones undertaken in cities including Ferguson, Missouri, and Cleveland, will examine the policing patterns and practices of the entire police department.


Judges to Review 3,000 Arrests After Racist and Anti-Gay San Francisco Police Texts | 07 May 2015 | Three retired judges will review around 3,000 arrests connected to 14 San Francisco Police Department officers who are under investigation for allegedly sending racist and anti-gay text messages, the city's top prosecutor announced Thursday. The judges, who are not being paid, will also try to determine if there is a "deeper culture of bias at the SFPD, and what the impact of such bias may be on prosecutions made by the District Attorney's Office," San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón said. At least 14 cops are currently under investigation, the district attorney's office said.


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