CLG: Yahoo secretly scanned customer emails for U.S. intelligence, NYT: Paid No Taxes in 2014, Pentagon paid UK PR firm $540m to make fake terrorist videos

 News Updates from CLG
05 October 2016

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

 

Previous edition: Resend of Friday's CLG Newsletter - Google and Yahoo Issues

 

Yahoo secretly scanned customer emails for U.S. intelligence - sources | 04 Oct 2016 | | 04 Oct 2016 | Yahoo! Inc. last year secretly built a custom software program to search all of its customers' incoming emails for specific information provided by U.S. intelligence officials, according to people familiar with the matter. The company complied with a classified U.S. government directive, scanning hundreds of millions of Yahoo Mail accounts at the behest of the National Security Agency or FBI, said two former employees and a third person apprised of the events. Some surveillance experts said this represents the first case to surface of a U.S. Internet company agreeing to a spy agency's demand by searching all arriving messages, as opposed to examining stored messages or scanning a small number of accounts in real time.

 

Pentagon paid UK PR firm $540m to make fake terrorist videos | 02 Oct 2016 | The Pentagon paid a UK PR firm half a billion dollars to create fake terrorist videos in Iraq in a secret propaganda campaign exposed by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism. PR firm Bell Pottinger, known for its array of controversial clients including the Saudi regime and Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet's foundation, worked with the US military to create the propaganda in a secretive operation. The firm reported to the CIA, the National Security Council and the Pentagon on the project with a mandate to portray Al-Qaeda in a negative light and track suspected sympathizers...The Bell Pottinger operation started soon after the US invasion of Iraq and was tasked with promoting the 'democratic elections' for the Bush administration before moving on to more lucrative psychological and information operations.

 

40 Million Russians practice evacuation drill | 03 Oct 2016 | On October 2nd, Oleg Manuilo, the spokesperson for Russia's Ministry for Emergencies (MCHS) announced that a large scale "civil defense" drill will take part in the next few days. Over 40 million personnel from Russia's regional and municipal authorities, as well as emergency and evacuation services, will be involved. "The drill will take place from the 4th to the 7th October 2016. As a total, over 40,000 million people will be involved, with 200,000 specialists from various rescue services, and over 50,000 equipment units will be put to the test," Manuilo said.

 

Putin signs decree suspending Russia-US deal on plutonium disposal over hostile US actions | 03 Oct 2016 | Russia has suspended a post-Cold War deal with the US on disposal of plutonium from decommissioned nuclear warheads. The decision was explained by "the hostile actions of the US" against Russia and may be reversed, if such actions are stopped...While Russia suspended the plutonium reprocessing deal, it stressed that the Russian fissile material, which was subject to it, would not be used for any military purpose, be it production of new weapons or research.

 

'Same people shedding crocodile tears over Syria, support terrorists in country' - Syrian amb. to UN --'This imposed terrorist war is backed by the Western countries, as well as by Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.' | 01 Oct 2016 | The causes of the Syrian conflict are due to an imposed terrorist war, which is supported by the Western countries, Bashar al-Jaafari, the current Permanent Representative of the Syrian Arab Republic to the UN Headquarters in New York. Emphasizing that the five-year Syrian conflict is not only about Aleppo, but about the fate of the entire country, Bashar al-Jaafari said the main cause of the crisis stems from terrorist war imposed on the Syrian people from abroad. "The root causes of this conflict in Syria ravaging the country is due to this imposed terrorist war on the Syrians," al-Jaafari said. "It is about hundreds of terrorist armed groups backed, sponsored, given weapons and protected in the Security Council by the same guys who are shedding crocodile tears over the suffering of the Syrian population in Aleppo," he told RT.

 

7 military trainees from Afghanistan missing from U.S. bases | 01 Oct 2016 | More than half a dozen military trainees from Afghanistan have disappeared over the course of about two weeks. They were training at U.S. bases, including Fort Gordon in Augusta and Fort Benning near Columbus...Seven trainees went AWOL from bases so far this month.

 

Md. man charged with planning to kill US military member to support ISIS | 03 Oct 2016 | A Maryland man has been charged with plotting to kill a U.S. service member on behalf of ISIS [I-CIA-SIS], officials said. Nelash Mohamed Das, 24, has been charged with attempting provide material support and resources to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, a foreign terrorist organization, in connection with a plan to attack a U.S. military member, the U.S. Attorney's Office said in a news release. Authorities say Das is a citizen of Bangladesh who came to the United States in 1995 when he was four years old. He became a legal permanent resident and was living in Hyattsville, Maryland.

 

The Mike Pence vs. Tim Kaine vice-presidential debate transcript, annotated | 05 Oct 2016 | Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine and Indiana Gov. Mike Pence met face-to-face for the first time Tuesday night, as the running mates took part in the only vice-presidential debate of the 2016 election.

 

'He came off as a jerk': Tim Kaine's 70 interruptions of Mike Pence during VP debate gives Clinton's running mate low marks from viewers --Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine's performance in Tuesday's debate against Trump's veep pick was widely panned --Many viewers said they were turned off by Kaine's behavior | 05 Oct 2016 | Hillary Clinton's vice presidential nominee, Virginia Senator Tim Kaine, is getting flack for constantly interrupting Indiana Governor Mike Pence during their debate on Tuesday. Kaine, who was picked as Clinton's vice presidential candidate because of his likability and 'nice guy' image, interjected a total of at least 70 times, according to the political news and statistical analysis website fivethirtyeight dot com. Kaine started the hostilities in his opening statement, and signaled that he would attack GOP nominee Donald Trump.

 

The New York Times Paid No Taxes in 2014 | 02 Oct 2016 | The New York Times has excited the Clinton campaign and the rest of the media with a revelation that Republican nominee Donald Trump declared a 916 million loss in 1995 that might have resulted in him not paying taxes in some subsequent years. The implication, reinforced by CNN's [corporatist dirt-bag] Jake Tapper on State of the Union on Sunday morning, is that Trump "avoided" paying taxes, when in fact his tax liability was zero. But the Times itself has "avoided" paying taxes -- in 2014, for example.

 

Same-day voter registration temporarily reinstated in Illinois | 04 Oct 2016 | An Illinois law allowing voters in highly populated areas to register to vote at polling places on election day was reinstated on Tuesday by a federal court, pending an appeal of a ruling declaring the statute unfair to people in smaller communities. The state is seeking to overturn a ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Samuel Der-Yeghiayan, which found that the law discriminates against voters in less-populated counties.

 

Trump supporters distrust vote count | 02 Oct 2016 | Donald Trump is making the unprecedented assertion that the general election "is going to be rigged," and many people who are drawn to his presidential campaign have major doubts about the accuracy of the Nov. 8 vote. Only about one-third of Republicans say they have a great deal or quite a bit of confidence that votes on Election Day will be counted fairly, according to a poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Half the people who have a favorable opinion of the Republican nominee say they have little to no confidence in the integrity of the vote count, the poll finds.

 

Clinton refers to Sanders fans as frustrated 'basement-dwellers' in new audio release --'I am occupying from the center-left to the center-right.' | 30 Sept 2016 | Hillary Clinton suggested in February that many of the young people who supported Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., in the Democratic primary were unemployed political neophytes who still lived with their parents, according to new audio released this week. "Some are new to politics completely. They're children of the Great Recession. And they are living in their parents' basement. They feel they got their education and the jobs that are available to them are not at all what they envisioned for themselves," the now-Democratic nominee said at a private fundraiser held in Maclean, Virginia.

 

Trump Got Bad Debate Mic --Debate commission acknowledges GOP nominee given faulty equipment in first match | 30 Sept 2016 | Donald Trump had his hands full this past Monday debating Democrat Hillary Clinton and fending off moderator Lester Holt. Now it turns out he had a faulty microphone, as well. Trump said immediately after the debate at Hofstra University that his microphone was not working properly, telling reporters that it was defective..."Regarding the first debate, there were issues regarding Donald Trump's audio that affected the sound level in the debate hall," the statement reads. 

 

Gag me with a chainsaw: University of Wisconsin - La Crosse: Students Encouraged to Submit Their Halloween Costumes for Review for Possible Racist Elements --UW-La Crosse's 'Hate Response Team' has investigated such alleged offensive terms as 'All Lives Matter' and 'Trump.' | 30 Sept 2016 | The University of Wisconsin - La Crosse...seems at the heart of a national trend toward hyper-sensitivity and intense scrutiny over the use of free speech...Now the Ethnic and Racial Studies Department of UW LaCrosse have posted signs for the review of Halloween costumes to determine if they are racist. The poster  asks, "Is Your Costume Racist?" and informs students of a costume review session in early October.

 

Conn. school district bans clown costumes and any 'symbols of terror' for Halloween season --Acct. uploaded four photos showing menacing-looking clowns | 04 Oct 2016 | A Connecticut school district is banning clown costumes and any "symbols of terror" during this year's Halloween season as authorities investigate the authenticity of a number of clown-related social media posts. New Haven Public School officials said Monday principals and building leaders have been requested to ban the costumes until additional information is available. This comes amid an investigation involving police into an account on the photo-sharing social media site Instagram.

 

Conservative Student Is Now 'HIS MAJESTY' After University of Michigan Lets Everyone Make Up Their Own Pronouns | 30 Sept 2016 | A conservative student at the University of Michigan has fairly brilliantly subverted a new campus-wide policy intended to force professors -- and the entire campus community -- to use exotic pronouns to refer to students who insist they belong to some alternate, fictional gender. The student, Grant Strobl, has declared that he shall henceforth be referred to as "His Majesty, Grant Strobl." A Tuesday email from Martha E. Pollack, Michigan’s provost, and E. Royster Harper, the vice president for student life, links to the Wolverine Access student web portal, which students with a free-form box to fill in their pronouns of choice in a "new Gender Identity tab within the Campus Personal Information section."

 

Hurricane Matthew leaves 11 dead in its path as it churns toward Bahamas | 05 Oct 2016 | Hurricane Matthew roared toward the southern Bahamas with its dangerous winds early Wednesday, leaving behind widespread damage and human suffering in Haiti's poor, rural southwestern peninsula where the hardest-hit area was cut off by flooding. At least 11 deaths had been blamed on the powerful storm during its weeklong march across the Caribbean, five of them in Haiti. But with a key bridge washed out, roads impassable and phone communications down, the western tip of Haiti was isolated and there was no word on dead and injured.

 

Gov. Haley Orders Coast Evacuation, Declares State of Emergency | 04 Oct 2016 | South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley has ordered an evacuation of many coastal communities and cancelled school in over half the state in advance of Hurricane Matthew. Haley said the medical evacuations began Tuesday, and general evacuations are set to start at 3 p.m. Wednesday Schools and government offices in the Lowcountry are also closed. Lane reversals will also begin at that time.

 

Hurricane Matthew strengthens to Category 5 storm | 30 Sept 2016 | Hurricane Matthew has gained enough strength in the Caribbean's open waters to earn another major upgrade - this time, to Category 5. According to an update issued by the National Hurricane Center at 11 p.m., Matthew had maximum sustained winds of 160 mph and was located about 440 miles southeast of Kingston, Jamaica. It was moving west at 7 mph. Various models show the storm turning toward the west-northwest by Saturday night, followed by a turn toward the northwest by Sunday. 

 

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CLG News Managing Editor: Lori Price. Copyright © 2016, Citizens for Legitimate Government ® All rights reserved.