CLG: US government used secret court orders to wiretap former Trump campaign chairman, before and after election

 News Updates from CLG
19 September 2017

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

 

Previous edition: Military personnel replacing police at nuclear power plants as UK raises terror level to critical following Tube bucket-bomb attack

 

US government used secret court orders to wiretap former Trump campaign chairman, before and after election | 18 Sept 2017 | US investigators wiretapped former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort under secret court orders before and after the election, sources tell CNN, an extraordinary step involving a high-ranking campaign official now at the center of the 'Russia meddling' probe. The government snooping continued into early this year, including a period when Manafort was known to talk to President Donald Trump. A secret order authorized by the court that handles the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) began after Manafort became the subject of an FBI investigation that began in 2014.

 

GOP congressman reportedly offered Trump a deal on absolving WikiLeaks' Assange | 15 Sept 2017 | A Republican congressman perceived as sympathetic to the Russian government tried to strike what he described as a "deal" with the White House to get WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange out of legal trouble with the United States government, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday. In exchange, Assange would produce alleged evidence that Russia did not provide the hacked emails released by WikiLeaks during the 2016 presidential election, the newspaper said. In a phone call with White House chief of staff John Kelly on Wednesday, Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Ca., described a possible agreement to pardon Assange or "something like that," the Journal reported.

 

Senate Intel slips sentence into bill that could lead to spying on US citizens | 12 Sept 2017 | A Senate panel may be stealthily trying to give federal law enforcement a new tool to go after the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks and its U.S. collaborators. A one-sentence "Sense of Congress" clause was tacked onto the end of a massive 11,700-word bill that was approved by the Senate Intelligence Committee and is likely to come before the full Senate later this month. The clause says that WikiLeaks "resembles a non-state hostile intelligence service" and that the U.S. government "should treat it as such."

 

House goes to court to protect secrecy of records --An effort to fight a FOIA lawsuit for proposals on health care reform wins bipartisan backing. | 15 Sept 2017 | The House of Representatives is taking legal action to make sure that federal agencies don’t release congressional records to the public through the Freedom of Information Act. The move, which came Friday evening in a lawsuit demanding access to discussions about health care reform between the Trump administration and Congress, threatens to cut off a mechanism liberal watchdog groups were using to gain insight into closed-door negotiations on a variety of policy issues. In legal papers filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, House General Counsel Thomas Hungar said the move to protect congressional correspondence was authorized by a House body known as the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group.

 

US Senate votes against amendment to stop 'endless' war in Iraq and Afghanistan | 13 Aug 2017 | The US Senate has voted 61-36 to kill the amendment, proposed by Senator Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) which would repeal the 2001 and 2002 Authorizations for Use of Military Force (AUMF) in Afghanistan and Iraq. The Senate can't repeal the AUMF without replacing it with a new authorization, said Senator John McCain (R-Sociopath-Arizona). Paul had vowed to delay the passage of the 700-billion d-llar National Defense [sic] Authorization Act (NDAA) if he didn't get a vote on repealing the AUMF. "We have been there for 16 years. It is time for [the wars] to end. It is time for Congress to vote on whether or not they should end," Paul said on Monday.

 

Pentagon was informed about area of Russia's military op in Deir ez-Zor in advance - Moscow | 17 Sept 2017 | The Russian Defense Ministry has denied Pentagon allegations that it bombed US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces near Deir ez-Zor. The Russian military said that its US partners were informed about the area of the operation beforehand. "To avoid unnecessary escalation, the command of the Russian troops in Syria revealed the boundaries of the military operation in Deir ez-Zor to the American partners through the existing communication channel," the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement on Sunday. The chief of Russia’s general staff, General Valery Gerasimov, has reportedly spent an hour on the phone discussing the matter with his US counterpart, General Joseph Dunford.

 

Russia sends 4,000 tons of pipes, cables and machinery in reconstruction aid to Syria - MoD | 13 Sept 2017 | Russia is preparing to send more than 4,000 tons of materials and over 40 pieces of construction equipment to Syria to help the war-torn country in its multibillion-d-llar reconstruction effort. The shipment of industrial aid that is currently being readied for dispatch will consist of "more than 40 units of construction equipment," such as bulldozers, excavators and cranes, Russia's Defense Ministry said. In addition, the country will receive "over 2 thousand tons of metal pipes" that would be used to restore water infrastructure as well as "hundreds of kilometers of high-voltage and fiber-optic cables" to restore electricity and communications lines.

 

U.S. Navy fires two commanders after 'losing confidence in their abilities to command' as sea accidents leave 17 dead --It was the fourth major incident in the U.S. Pacific Fleet this year | 18 Sept 2017 | The U.S. Navy dismissed two senior officers, an admiral and a captain, on Monday after a series of collisions involving Seventh Fleet warships in Asia, citing a loss of confidence in their ability to command. Rear Admiral Charles Williams, commander of Task Force 70, and Captain Jeffrey Bennett, commander of Destroyer Squadron 15, were fired by Seventh Fleet commander Vice Admiral Phil Sawyer, the Navy said. In August, Sawyer replaced fleet commander Vice Admiral Joseph Aucoin, who was fired after the accidents.

 

Police given more time to question Parsons Green bomb suspects | 18 Sept 2017 | Police have been given more time to question two men over Friday's terror attack at Parsons Green Underground station, Scotland Yard says. Yahyah Farroukh, 21, is listed as living at an address in Stanwell, Surrey, which was searched by officers on Sunday. He was arrested at a fried chicken shop where he worked in Hounslow, west London, on Saturday night. Another 18-year-old was detained at Dover ferry port on Saturday morning.

 

Parsons Green attack: 'Iraqi' refugee suspected of trying to bomb Tube 'was spoken to by police several times' | 17 Sept 2017 | teenager suspected of being the Parsons Green bomber had been spoken to by police a number of times, neighbours of his foster family claimed today, amid questions over what authorities knew. The 18-year-old refugee, believed to be Iraqi, was a "problem" to  and they had been contacting officials saying that they were unable to cope, it was said. Neighbours of their house in Sunbury-on-Thames, south west London, said that he had been brought home by officers just two weeks before the attack and they regularly saw plain clothes officers at the property. [Not to pull the false flag and/or conspiracy card, but when you have the *terror suspect* being carted around by *police officers,* questions will arise...]

 

Second man held over Parsons Green bombing | 17 Sept 2017 | A second man has been arrested by detectives investigating the terrorist attack at Parsons Green station, police have said. The 21-year-old was detained in Hounslow, west London at around 23.50pm on Saturday. He is being held at a police station in south London under the Terrorist Act. Thirty people were injured during London's Friday morning rush hour when an improvised explosive device detonated on a Tube train.

 

Man arrested over Parsons Green Tube train bombing --Terror threat maintained at critical after 18-year-old is detained in Dover | 16 Sept 2017 | Police investigating Friday's bombing on the London Underground said they had made a "significant" arrest -- but said the country's threat level remained at critical, suggesting a further attack was imminent. The Metropolitan Police arrested an 18-year-old man -- whom they did not identify, citing "strong investigative reasons" -- at the Port of Dover on Saturday. Neil Basu, a deputy assistant commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, said that, although the arrest was significant, the threat level remained at critical and the investigation continued.

 

Fukushima nuclear plant worker exposed to small dose of radiation - Tepco | 08 Sept 2017 | A worker dismantling tanks at Japan's wrecked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant was found to have been exposed to a small amount of radiation during a routine safety check on Friday, plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco) said. Radiation was detected in nasal cavities of the worker, an unidentified man in his 30s, a Tepco spokesman said on Friday. The company estimated the amount of radiation at up to 0.010 millisieverts and said it did not pose an immediate [?!] health risk.

 

Sea salt around the world is contaminated by plastic, studies show | 08 Sept 2017 | Sea salt around the world has been contaminated by plastic pollution, adding to experts' fears that microplastics are becoming ubiquitous in the environment and finding their way into the food chain via the salt in our diets. Following this week's revelations in the Guardian about levels of plastic contamination in tap water, new studies have shown that tiny particles have been found in sea salt in the UK, France and Spain, as well as China and now the US. Researchers believe the majority of the contamination comes from microfibres and single-use plastics such as water bottles, items that comprise the majority of plastic waste.

 

The 'deplorable professor' is back and going off on one of his colleagues [whom I'd never even had the displeasure of meeting] --Comments by MDR | 18 Sept 2017 | Last year, Michael Rechtenwald [sic - Rectenwald. This 'article' is so factually errant that even the subject's name is misspelled.] - now a Liberal Studies Professor at NYU [He's been a liberal studies professor for over nine years!] - revealed that he was the man behind the Twitter handle @antipcnyuprof, an account under which he has previously rallied [I think you mean "railed."] against politically correct culture, safe spaces and trigger warnings [as well as bias reporting hotlines and the no-platforming of speakers. Reading is fun. You should try it sometime.]. Now teaching at NYU full-time [He was always full-time at NYU. He was promoted from Assistant to Full Professor, the highest rank available. Get your facts straight before pretending to be a reporter.], Rectenwald continues to use this twitter [And you're suggesting that he shouldn't? Why?] and yesterday used the account to go after his NYU colleague Michael Isaacson [Isaacson is not my "colleague." He once taught in Liberal Studies at NYU, as yet another unqualified hack, but does not any longer. Thank goodness there's no longer an avowed Antifa member on faculty, I hope. Isaacson is a hack with no Ph.D., zero credible publications, and no business setting foot in the front of any classroom. He's utterly unhinged as well.], who he claims is an "open Antifa member" [He is. Read the Twitter account. He's a dangerous clown who threatened to kill his own students in the future if they become cops.]. In the tweets issued yesterday afternoon, Rectenwald called out 'notorious Antifa member' Isaacson for coming after him in emails sent over the NYU list-serves, emails in which Isaacson reportedly called Rectenwald an a-hole "four times in the space of four lines." [Isaacson should be fired from John Jay, and this "reporter" should be fired from whatever rag that he "writes" for. Both are incompetent. Isaacson couldn't make an argument against my views, so resorted to vulgarity, just as this reporter resorted to insinuation and stupidity.]

 

Start-up company called Bodega is slammed for 'cultural appropriation' and 'racism' after it reveals plan for vending machines that could replace corner stores --Users online called it 'racist,' 'awful,' 'disrespectful,' and a 'gentrification box' --The company's social media pages already seem to have been taken down | 13 Sept 2017 | A new Silicon Valley startup has enraged the internet with its name, logo, and purpose on the day of its launch. The company, called Bodega, plans to install unmanned smart pantry boxes in apartments, offices, dorms, and gyms, which would effectively kill off the very corner stores the startup is named after - its logo is also a cat, a staple of every real-life bodega. When Fast Companypublished a feature on the startup - which is run by two ex-Googlers - on Wednesday, the piece sent internet commenters into a fury, calling out the company for insensitivity, cultural appropriation, and gentrification.

 

Absolute lunacy: Vanity Fair outrage: Michelle Obama, not Melania Trump, makes International Best Dressed List and people blame politics | 07 Sept 2017 | Vanity Fair just released its annual International Best Dressed List, but there's one name in particular that's missing and people have taken notice. First Lady Melania Trump didn't make the cut, although her predecessor, Michelle Obama, did (not for the first time). But while no Trump family members are on the list, the Washington Post points out that Melania's go-to stylist, Herve Pierre -- who dressed the First Lady for her husband's inaugural ball, along with several other high-profile events -- was named.

 

'Extremely dangerous' Hurricane Maria now a Category 5 storm --Maria is one of three storms churning in the Atlantic Ocean | 18 Sept 2017 | Hurricane Maria is now an extremely dangerous Category 5 storm, according to the National Hurricane Center's 8 p.m. advisory. The storm has 160 mph maximum sustained winds. It is too soon to know whether or not Maria will impact the U.S. coast, including the Carolinas.

 

Hurricane Jose and Tropical Storm Maria may react together and threaten New York City in the coming week --The Fujiwara Dance or Effect is more commonly seen in the warmer Pacific, where cyclones bounces off each other | 17 Sept 2017 | Advance forecasts have raised the possibility that Hurricane Jose could threaten New York City in the coming week. The Category One hurricane's probable path revealed New York City may be in its path, leading to 80mph plus winds and storm surges battering the Eastern Seaboard. According to the Washington Post, based off a European mode, there is a possibility of the extremely rare Fujiwara Effect where Hurricane Jose and Tropical Storm Maria could appear to 'dance.' According to projections for the 24th and 25th of September the storms could pinwheel around each other and slam into New Jersey which was hit by Sandy in 2012.

 

Tropical Storm Maria strengthens into hurricane | 17 Sept 2017 | Less than two weeks after Hurricane Irma left a path of destruction in the Caribbean, Tropical Storm Maria strengthened into a hurricane Sunday on its way toward the Leeward Islands. The storm became a Category 1 hurricane in the Atlantic Ocean on Sunday afternoon. It was 140 miles east-northeast of Barbados with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph, the National Hurricane Center said in its 5 p.m. advisory.

 

*****

CLG needs your support.

http://www.legitgov.org/donate.html

Or, please mail a check or m*ney order to CLG: Citizens for Legitimate Government (CLG) 
P.O. Box 1142 
Bristol, CT 06011-1142 
Contributions to CLG are not tax deductible.

Feel free -- and CLG encourages you -- to forward this newsletter to your lists and friends!

Those who wish to be added to the list can go here: http://www.legitgov.org/#subscribe_clg and add your name. Please add clg_news@legitgov.org to your contacts or approved senders list. For subscription questions, please write signup at legitgov dot org.

 

CLG News Editor-in-Chief: Lori Price. Copyright © 2017, Citizens for Legitimate Government ® All rights reserved.